GDI trains, coaches, and inspires pastors and Christian leaders to establish indigenous, multiplying, disciplemaking movements, both nationally and internationally.
Micro Groups: The Container for Transformation and Multiplication
What qualities come together in a micro group to create an ideal transformative environment? At GDI, we like to say that micro groups are “hot houses of the Holy Spirit”. What does that mean? In other words, just like a “greenhouse”, the environmental conditions are just right for accelerated growth into Christlikeness and multiplication of disciples. What are those environmental conditions? 1. Relational Transparency: A major reason the groups are kept to 3 or 4 (triads/quads) is to develop an atmosphere of self-revealing trust. Here is the principle: The extent to which we are willing to reveal to others the areas of our life that need God’s transforming touch is the extent to which we are inviting the Holy Spirit to make us new. The seed of God’s word can only take root in tilled soil. The tilled soil (our openness) creates cracks and crevices in our hearts. It is these cracks and crevices that reveal our areas of needed transformation. As we articulate the awareness of our b
If you are a pastor reading this blog post, you would love to have reproducing, disciple makers in your congregation. Even better, you would love to see a culture where the expectation and practice is that a maturing Christian is one who makes disciples as a lifestyle and you are experiencing the momentum of disciple makers reproducing to the fourth generation. If this were the case the forward movement would be off the charts. I know, I have seen it and felt it. People now leading disciple making groups after being participants move to a new different level of ownership and passion. It takes time and sustained focus to get this place. But most churches never get here because of two fatal errors: You try to move too fast: By far the number one reason disciple making movements don’t even get off the ground is attempting to move too fast. I can’t count how many times I watched pastors catch the transformative power of a micro groups only to shoot themselves in the foot by tryi
Why are the micro-groups we talk about in GDI so effective for accelerating authentic spiritual growth? For twenty-five years as a pastor, I depended on dictation. I studied hard all week, and then stood on the platform on Sunday to excitedly share what I had learned from God's Word. I provided note-taking outlines in the worship program to assist sincere learner's. After more than two decades of this, we took a congregational survey to determine how much of fundamental orthodox doctrine the congregants really understood. I was shocked! Not only was there still great confusion, but things they did seem to understand couldn't be intelligibly articulated or shared with someone else. I remember the Sunday I stood before the congregation and told them; if you have to make the choice to come to hear me preach, or go to your discipleship quad...go to your quad. I knew they would learn much more from the ninety minutes of preparation and ninety minutes of interaction with their
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