Billie Davis - Small Group Dynamics for Dynamic Group Leaders

Small Group Dynamics
for Dynamic Group Leaders

BILLIE DAVIS

2018 Billie Davis

Small Group Dynamics for Dynamic Group Leaders

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All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Book design by Dawn M. Brandon ().

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018941265

ISBN 978-1-595557278 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-595557537 (Hardbound)

ISBN 978-1-595557551 (eBook)

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CONTENTS

W E WERE CREATED FOR RELATIONSHIP . The image of God that imprints us, marred as it may be, still draws us in spiritual hunger toward our Creator. It also draws us into circles of human relationship that profoundly shape our livesfamily connections, friendship networks, working relationships, and Jesus-centered fellowships. We thrive best in relationship, we grow best in relationship, and we heal best in relationship. That is by divine design.

We also learn best in relationship. While studying undergraduate aerospace engineering at the University of Minnesota, I had a favorite teacher whose lectures on fluid mechanics were riveting. He had an odd way of printing and writing cursive at the same time, and he could fill the chalkboards faster than I could take notes. It just flowed out of him. He seemed to lose himself in wonder as he would lay out elegant equations and proofs and explanations. His lectures instilled in me a passion for a field that most people wanted to avoid.

But that experience, valuable as it was, centered on the old model of learning without relationship. That all changed when I entered graduate school and he became my advisor and I his research assistant. He walked me all the way through a Masters degree and a Ph.D. We spent five years together, solving problems, building experimental equipment, and publishing research. In somewhat Christian terms, I had gone from being a student to being a disciple. The difference? Relationship.

Add relationship to any group and you get, in the words of Billie Davis, a dynamic group. Her book is fittingly titled, for here she shows herself to be truly ahead of her time. When so many are still thinking education, she is thinking formation. Where many of us are still stuck in lecture/sermon paradigms, she is describing a model of spiritual formation that binds the learning experience to the dynamic of personal interaction. We really do learn best in the context of relationship.

Few people have influenced the scope and shape of Christian education in the Assemblies of God more than Billie Davis. Her passion is contagious, and her insights into group dynamics are invaluable to true learning. From sitting in a little red chair as a young girl in Sunday School to teaching in the university classroom, Billie Davis lives and exudes Christs call for His people to learn and grow. Whatever the age of your group, whatever its sizewhether youre leading a Sunday School class, Life Group, cell group, small group, or Bible studySmall Group Dynamics for Dynamic Group Leaders lays out a pathway for interactive learning that will help you connect with members for dynamic, memorable, life-changing learning.

The headwinds of cultural secularism, religious pluralism, humanistic materialism, and moral relativism cannot be met by a church that is biblically illiterate, theologically shallow, relationally disconnected, and missionally passive. These headwinds of darkness must be met by people who are Spirit-empowered, Scripturally-versed, theologically-grounded, and relationally-engaged. While too many people are disconnecting from churches, as churches are failing to leave room for intentional discipleship and biblical learning, may the message of this book spark a new commitment to effective group learning that calls us to our highest and best for Christ, together.

Dr. James T. Bradford

Lead Pastor

Central Assembly of God, Springfield, Missouri

Small Group Dynamics
for Dynamic Group Leaders

Our Good Shepherd has become the model for under-shepherds. His great concern is the good of the sheep. A good shepherd gives himself to the sheep. A thief comes to get something from the flockwool or mutton. Jesus our Lord made every personal claim subservient to the blessing of his flock; even to giving His life that they might live.

WALTER J. CHANTRY

Y OU SHARE WITH OTHERS some needs and goals. You interact with these people, working with them in various ways to meet your needs and reach your goals. You recognize a pattern in your relationships, including leadership and individual roles and responsibilities. You feel loyalty and a comfortable sense of attachment to these persons.

This is a definition of group membership. You belong.

As you think about this concept, you may be somewhat startled to realize that almost all meaningful activity of your life requires some type of membership. You are who you are and do what you do in a context of belonging.

EVALUATE Consider a handful of your most meaningful activities in life. Now identify what groups you are a member of as you are involved in each of those activities. To how many different groups do you belong?

CONTEMPLATE Consider your deepest needs and your highest objectives. What is important to you? What is pleasant and satisfying?

In most cases, you will find yourself thinking in terms of relationships: your family, church group, work group, and friends. Most needs are met and goals are accomplished in the context of interpersonal interactions. This is so natural to human beings that usually it goes unobserved. The highest gratifications come with sharing. Group activity promotes learning and personality development.

EVALUATE What has group activity helped you learn? How has being part of a group helped to develop your personality? What evidence do you see of your groups promoting learning and personality development in members of your current group?