Dean Craig

Sunday we had a great turn out for our first “Get Small” event @MapleGrove.

People interested in finding a LifeGroup pre-registered for the short get together held immediatly after the Sunday morning service.  Everyone was seated at tables and were asked to share answers to a couple simple ‘ice breaker” questions. Read more…

Dean Craig church administration, relationships, small groups get small, home groups, LifeGroup, small groups

Did you play checkers when you were a kid?  Or Monopoly?  Or marbles?  Chances are that you did.  Did anyone ever tell you that you were going to turn into a marble head?  Or a checker addict?

I keep hearing people talk about kids and their video games like it’s some kind of plague.  But in my opinion, the games kids (and many adults too) are playing are much more than simple distractions.  They are much more social than you would think.

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Dean Craig misc ramblings, relationships, small groups

In two weeks our church is launching a church wide campaign using the backdrop of the new movie Fireproof.

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Dean Craig church administration, outreach, relationships, small groups

Small groups are very important to church growth today.  They get people connected with each other, and keep them connected to the body in a way that is impossible in one hour a weekend.

I believe that one of the greatest threats to being successful (in whatever you are doing, or trying to do) is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of doing. This applies as much to getting small groups going as anything else.

Think about all of the books you have read, the classes you have taken, and the Bible you have studied. Consider every lesson you have learned up to date. Now ask yourself – how often do you actually do what you know is best?

• You know you should exercise, but do you?
• You know you should get more sleep, but do you get to bed earlier?
• You’ve heard the principal of compounded interest, but do you consistently put money in savings?
• You know what the Bible says, but do you always obey it?

So how does one learn to “just do it?” Several tips that might help are:

1. Cut
   If you find that you are having trouble doing something new, look for things that might be getting in the way. Cut out stumbling blocks, unnecessary activities, and distractions that keep you from focusing on what you need to do.
2. Narrow Your Focus
   If pruning is not enough, narrow your focus so you concentrate more on the most important thing that you need to learn to do.
3. Commit
   Plain and simple – you need to commit, stay focused, and just do it.  There may be times when no one comes, but if you keep changing the schedule or canceling meetings because you think no one will come, then no one can.
4. Make it Reflex
   Do not stop focusing until you begin to do by reflex. Once it becomes habit, you can switch your focus onto the next thing. However, always be mindful, and refocus if you begin to slip out of habit.

If you believe that small group were important enough to start, then they’re important enough to keep doing.  Sometimes the only difference between success and failure is “just doing it” enough to let it happen.

Dean Craig small groups