A Bondservant's Musings

On a recent vacation to the Big Island of Hawai'i, I noticed an abundance of "Slippery When Wet" signs to apparently help stop vacationers from slipping or falling. As I saw more of these in the first few days of our vacation on the island, it got me thinking two things: Do we need all these signs? After all, aren't most things slippery when wet? And do items that don't get slippery when wet -- and I am having trouble thinking of any such items right now -- pose a problem for us? Couldn't we just assume surfaces are slippery when wet? Since there are so many of these warning signs, does anyone pay attention to them? That last question plus the presence of cairns ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairn ) my wife and I followed to stay on the Kilauea Iki Crater Trail in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on a hike later in our trip got me thinking about the spiritual equivalents of those "Slippery When Wet" signs that I think most of us are ignoring and ...

That seems like a crazy title. It doesn't sit well with my math-leaning mind. How can a small group not be a small group? Let's focus on purpose. Small groups are about sanctification (i.e., the process of Jesus' disciples being conformed into His image as Paul wrote about in Romans 8:29, the often left-off completion to the often quoted Romans 8:28). In the Harvest Bible Chapel ( http://harvestbiblechapel.org/ ) paradigm, small groups are about walking in Christ in community. With the purpose defined, I contend there are groups meeting in your church carrying the small group label that aren't really small groups. So when is a small group not a small group? When it is a Bible study Wait a minute. I cannot possibly be dissing Bible studies, can I? Clearly Jesus' disciples should study His word. But small groups are to be more than a "What do you think?" discussion of our favorite book of the Bible. Small group has to be a vehicle to push to application of G...

Small group leaders and flock leaders carry a lot of responsibility in their ministry roles. Besides their own walk with the Lord, small group leaders carry responsibility for leading and shepherding their small group members. And flock leaders are responsible for shepherding the small group leaders in their flock and helping them grow as leaders. But for those of you who are married, your first area of ministry and spiritual leadership is with your wife. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3) I want to concentrate on three areas: Prayer - Pray for your wife and your marriage. Pray with your wife. Have your ears and eyes open for opportunities to take an issue or a trial to prayer. Then take the lead. Be the one to say, "Let's pray about that" (i.e., HBC "Let's pray now" principle). Put your arm around your wife or hold her hand and pray with h...

A few weeks ago in response to Pastor James’ message on the letter to the church in Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29), I challenged you to make sure your small group confronts sexual sin. What steps can we take to cut off sexual sin in our lives and in the lives of our small group members? What resources are available? Set guard rails far back from the cliff – See Pastor James' "5 Moral Fences" article ( http://www.harvestrollingmeadows.org/Content/4/181688.pdf ) Examine current behaviors – Purity Questions from Pastor James' message "Convicted on Purity" from August 2006 ( http://www.harvestrollingmeadows.org/Content/4/183856.pdf ) Repent and invite accountability - Asking for accountability and receiving it is a fruit of repentance. Support one another and hold each other truly accountable – CRAMP accountability model ( http://www.harvestrollingmeadows.org/Content/4/176131.pdf ) Remember all men’s small groups are to use the CRAMP model for accountability. Ask...

Unless you were snoozing through worship this past weekend - and I don’t know how you could have - you heard loud and clear in the "Jesus Confronts Sexual Sin" message from Revelation 2:18-29 that Jesus - and Pastor James - is pretty serious about sexual purity. The question is whether your small group is serious about sexual purity. Does your small group confront sexual sin? You might wonder how a small group can or even if a small group should confront sexual sin. Remember Jesus said in Revelation 2:20, " But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality … " Our small groups cannot be a place where we tolerate anything associated with sexual immorality. But if you are not regularly asking accountability questions around sexual purity, your small group may be tolerating such things. So what should you be asking? Use the HBC accountability questions...