ServePoint – Three Week Curriculum

You’ve heard it announced… you’ve seen it in the bulletin – ServePoint. What exactly is ServePoint and how does it relate to Small Groups?

ServePoint is a workshop that presents a biblical view of serving and assists participants in discovering their God-given passions and gifts so that they can become active influencers at LifePoint and beyond.

The benefits are obvious: you already have a set meeting time and place, you don’t have to give up your Saturday, or figure out what to do with all those kids! In addition, it can be more effective to do a self-evaluative curriculum with those who know you best.

We are excited to announce that  “ServePoint for Small Groups” in available via video curriculum. We have already had TEN groups complete ServePoint. Here is one leader’s description of their group’s experience.

Going through ServePoint as a community group was an amazing experience for our group.  As we invest in each others lives, it only seemed fitting to learn more about one another and how God has gifted each and every one of us.  In some cases it confirmed some things that we already knew and in other cases were able to learn something new about each other.  It was also an opportunity for us to encourage one another and point out to one another how we see God working in each of our lives.  As we continue to grow, having attended ServePoint together, we now have the opportunity to hold each other accountable and continue to encourage one another…..what a blessing! ~ Nina Dukes

Here is the format for the 3-week series:

Session One: Learn the Biblical perspective on serving and how your individual passions intersect with your spiritual gifts.

Session Two: Learn about the spiritual gifts presented in the Bible and explore how to discover and unwrap your personal spiritual gifts.

Session Three: Learn how to connect your passions and spiritual gifts to real ministry opportunities.
Note:  Session three is presented by a Serve Team member. This gives us an opportunity to answer any questions your group members may have, as well as giving you up-to-date information on current ministry opportunities.

The curriculum is very user-friendly and includes a leader’s kit with assessments, workbooks and clear instructions for the Small Group Leader.

We believe the ServePoint curriculum is valuable for every member of LifePoint. Even those who already serve will benefit from taking a closer look at the many aspects of this curriculum, including the ever-evolving ministry opportunities offered through LifePoint Church.

Contact  Jodie Zorbaugh at: jodiezorbaugh@lifepointchurch.us to schedule your dates and receive materials. It’s that simple!

 

What about those who have never heard?

One of the most common questions asked in StartPoint (and one that I hope comes up in your Community Groups from time to time) is

“What about people that never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus? Do they go to hell?”

The question about what happens to people that have never heard the gospel is one of the most important questions that we can ask and one of the most difficult to answer. If we accept that belief in Jesus is the only means of salvation then it follows logically that anyone who does not believe in Him cannot be saved. Salvation by faith alone through Christ alone is a non-negotiable of Biblical Christianity. Nevertheless, there is something about the idea of a person being condemned to hell who has never had an opportunity to believe in Jesus because of lack of information that just seems unfair. How can God hold someone responsible for not believing content that they were never presented? It seems unjust. Even if we accept the truth that every person, in their sin, rightly deserves condemnation from God, it is still difficult to grasp why some people, by virtue of the time and place they were born, are given the opportunity to believe and others are not. It does not seem right and we are placed in the uncomfortable position of thinking God unjust.

What is perhaps more frustrating about this dilemma is that there is very little in the way of a clear answer to the question. Indeed, theologians are deeply divided on the issue. Some take the hard line and say that those who have never heard go to hell; others posit that the Holy Spirit miraculously intervenes and offers a chance to believe; still others maintain that perhaps a more vague belief in Jesus – such as was held in the Old Testament when less information was available about Him – will suffice for salvation. All of these views are to one degree or another connected to some truth about God but all of them also seem to fall short on one level or another. None of the explanations satisfies completely and God for whatever reason has not left us with a clear picture of exactly how He operates in such instances.

Honestly, I can say that after some 17 years of grappling with this question, it still frustrates me. The best answer that I can give is that I don’t know the answer. I am not sure what God does in these instances. As frustrating as not knowing is, the more I reflect on the issue, the more I am starting to suspect that God has some very profound reasons for leaving us in the dark on this one.

First and foremost, the fact that we do not have a direct answer to this question forces us to think seriously about the nature of God. What do we REALLY believe about who God is? Do we really believe that He is good and will do what is just for all people? Do we really believe that God desires the salvation of all people infinitely more that we ever could? Essentially, our ignorance in this matter is an opportunity to confront what we really think about God and whether or not we really trust Him to do what is right. (Incidentally, this is my answer to the question: “I don’t know, but I believe that God is good; and when I don’t believe that He is good, I ask Him to remind me.”) In many ways I think this is more important than having a direct answer.

The other reason that I suspect God has remained silent on this issue is that the tension it creates gets us in touch with God’s heart for lost people. It should bother us that there are people who have never heard about Jesus, because Jesus is our only hope and the only one who can fill our lives so that they will never again be empty. This gets us in touch with the heart of a Father who “desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). For whatever reason, God has chosen remain silent on certain issues, but even His silence is purposeful and meant to draw us into a deeper understanding of who He is and how perfectly He loves us. How unbelievable is it that we serve a God who reveals Himself to us even in those things He has not told us?

~ Mike Hipsley

Note: This is a re-post from last week. We had some technical issues with our Feedburner account – the program that automatically sends these posts via email. If you received this twice we apologize and thank you for your patience! ~ LifeSupport Admin

 

The Disciple Maker – What it ‘means’ to me… Part II

In my last post (sorry for the absence, I took a month off after the birth of our second child) we were dealing with the critical question of whether or not a biblical passage can have multiple meanings or “personal” meanings. I tried to make the case that although a passage of scripture might have many applications for our lives, it has one and only one meaning for all people and that meaning is found in the text. For the group leader, maintaining the distinction between meaning and application is an invaluable tool and can really help to keep lines of communication open in a group setting.

A very important question remains though.  How can we as group leaders help our group to discover what God’s word is really saying so that we come to know God better and correctly apply His Word? Here are a few suggestions. Space is limited so please post questions for the benefit of all.

1) Approach the Bible as a Detective – A good detective does not take theories into his investigation, but rather creates his theories based on what the evidence tells him. To be effective in discovering what happened, a detective must be deliberate about remaining objective and letting the evidence tell the story of the crime. The same is true when trying to discover the meaning of the Bible, we need to do our best to drop our preconceived notions and observe the text so that we can “pull-out” the meaning from the text.

2) Take your Time – An easy mistake to make when doing a Bible study is to rush into application. One of the most amazing things about the Word of God is how powerfully it applies to our lives. However, if we rush to get to application we run the risk of misapplying the text because in our haste to understand how the text applies we do not take the time to correctly understand what it means.

3) Do Some Homework – The 66 books of the Bible were written for us, but they were not written to us. The better we understand the original audience, author, and circumstances of the book we are reading, the greater the insight we will get into its meaning. Taking time to learn about the historical background and the setting of a book provides tremendous insight into the meaning of the text and will greatly enrich your study.

4) Context, Context, Context – In real estate the three most important things are location, location, location. In Biblical studies it is context, context, context. We must interpret the passages of the Bible in the context in which they were written. Context provides meaning. For instance the word “bark” by itself can have multiple meanings; it could mean the outer coating of a tree, the sound a dog makes, or the manner in which a drill sergeant gives orders to his recruits. The only way to know what the word means is to see it in the context of a sentence. The same holds true of a verse from the Bible; the only way to know what it means is to consider it in the context of the passage which contains it.

5) Go Looking for God – I think one of the biggest mistakes we can make in a Bible Study is to lose sight of the most amazing thing about the Bible – that it is the revelation of the God of the Universe. The Bible is first and foremost God telling us about Himself and His love for us. When studying the Bible it is easy to become so concerned with how it applies to our lives that we can miss the greater gift of what it tells us about God. I truly believe that if “getting God” becomes the central focus of our Bible Study, and we go in looking to know who He really is, we will find Him. The desire to pursue God over an above ourselves is the core element for successful interpretation. If we really want to connect with the meaning of the Bible we must, above all, seek to pursue the source of all meaning.

Mike

Editors note: Study Bibles are great tools. they often include introductions to each book of the bible which include information on the historical background, setting and the books author.

Also… we constantly make changes to the content of this blog, so keep your eyes on the right sidebar for up-to-date information on Serving Opportunities and new Resources. Check out the new Lending Library tab in the upper bar. We’ll be adding more Small Group study ideas in the weeks ahead!

 

The Disciple Maker – What it ‘means’ to me!

Q: Mike, last month you offered insight into the personal application of God’s Word, I was encouraged by your insights. I’ve noticed lately that in the process of our group study, I often hear people say, “what this means to me is…” I understand there can be tons of different applications of a passage, but I get confused when we get different meanings from a text. Can there be multiple meanings? If not, how can we know which meaning is more likely to be true?

Great questions! They are incredibly important and will definitely come up in the course of leading any Small group. There are two questions here, I’ll answer the first, concerning meaning this month and the second, dealing with how to find the meaning, next month.

I think the first thing to do is to clarify what the person meant when they said “what this means to me is . . . .” Sometimes what is really meant is, “it means this for me,” or “it applies to me in this way.” They are really addressing application, not meaning. If this is all the group member means then all you need to do is focus on using more precise language to avoid confusion. However, when group members really believe that scripture can have multiple meanings, then you have a great opportunity and a great need for discussion.

I would begin by asking some questions.

- Can a passage mean something different for me than it does for you?

- Does each person get to decide what the passage means?

- Can God mean different things at different times to different people with the same passage?

If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” then we ultimately have to abandon the idea of biblical truth. We could never be sure what a passage is really saying or if it would continue to say that in the future. This undermines the very basis of our faith. How can we know what “It is by grace you have been saved through faith . . .” (Ephesians 2:8) or “that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) really mean? If a passage can have different meanings for different people, then it can have any meaning for any person and it ultimately means nothing at all.

The truth, however, is that a passage has one and only one meaning; and the meaning is in the text and not in the person reading it. A passage might have numerous applications, but it can have only one meaning. Since this issue is very difficult to see clearly in a book as complex as the Bible, let’s consider a simple example. Consider the familiar STOP sign at an intersection.

In this example it is clear the text has only one meaning: “STOP.” It’s meaning is the same for everyone, everywhere. We do not have the right to interpret it any other way. Try telling a police officer that the sign has a different meaning for you and see what happens. However, although this sign has only one meaning, that one meaning can be applied at many intersections. Its meaning can even be applied outside of its original intent. For instance, elementary school teachers often use this sign when they want students to stop talking. However, the sign always means the same thing regardless of how it applied.

What is true of this sign on a basic level is also true of the Bible on more complex levels; although the texts are more complex and the meanings more profound, the nature and location of meaning is no different – there is only one and it is in the text. Although the meaning of a passage may not always be immediately clear, at least there is only one and we can all find it in the same place. What is more, there are tools that we can use to discover the meaning of the text so that we can apply it accurately. So tune in next month – same bat time, same bat channel – for more.

Mike

 

 

 

Applying God’s Word

Q: As a group we’ve studied several books of the Bible. The struggle I have as a leader is helping others (and myself) bridge the gap between the knowledge we are learning, and the application of that knowledge in our day to day lives. It’s not that I don’t want to apply it, sometimes I just don’t see how it applies. Do you have any ideas that can help us see the possible applications of a text?

I cannot tell you how many times I have wrestled with this issue in my own life, study, and leadership. As a seminary student I delved into the Bible to a depth that I never dreamed was possible and discovered truths about God and life that still have me in awe; but in the midst of all the learning, I still struggled with the question of whether or not the truths that I was immersed in were really transforming my life. As a leader of a number of small groups over the years I have also wrestled with the question of how to help people discover the truth of God in a way that will significantly change the way that they see and approach life. So often it seems that there is a disconnection between our hearts and our minds. How do we bridge this gap in our own lives and help those we lead to study God’s word in a way that will lead to the abundant life that Jesus promised?

Although I am far from having all the answers on this one, I have thought long enough about the matter than I think I might be able to lend some insight. So I offer three brief thoughts on the matter and invite your comments and discussion.

1) Be Encouraged – If we are struggling with this question we can expect growth. The very fact that we are even wondering how God’s Word applies to our lives and yearning to connect God’s truths to our lives demonstrates that we are indeed already going beyond mere head-knowledge of the word of God. People who do not want to be transformed do not ask these kinds of questions. It is always a thrill to me to when members of a small group wrestle with this question because it is a sign that they truly want to pursue God.

2) Be Patient – The Bible was written for us, but it was not written to us. The words we read in God’s Word were originally intended for another audience. Not everything in scripture will have immediate application for us. Sometimes it is enough for us just to get greater insight and understanding of who God is. While this may not always seem to have a transforming effect, filling our minds with thoughts about God will change our lives in the long run.

3) Broaden your mind – Romans 12:2 tells us that transformation occurs through the renewing of our minds. The word mind (nous), however, is broader than what we normally mean when we use the word; it includes all of the elements of human cognition. The mind includes the intellect, emotions, and will. To truly engage and love God with our minds we must seek to incorporate all of the elements of our minds. It seems to me that a commitment to renewing our minds and challenging those we lead to consider how God’s truths apply across the spectrum of our mental activity is a key element in moving towards transformation because this will effect all the aspects of our existence.

Thanks for taking the time to engage with me. I really am looking forward to your thoughts, comments and questions.
Mike Hipsley