Spiritual Transformation

Taking on the Character of Christ

Peace

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781498276887
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Transformation is what Christianity is all about. To follow Jesus is to enter into a journey from an old way of living to a new way of being. As Christians our goal is to become ever more conformed to the image of Christ. Of course we cannot attain this high goal in our lifetime. But we can make progress. We can become more of who we long to be. We can leave behind old ways that have not served us well. We can become more loving to others, more open to God, more in tune with who we are called to be.Such transformation does not happen automatically, even though it is the Holy Spirit working in us to change us. We are asked "to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil 2:12-13). We work; God works in us. This book is about our part in the work of transformation. Spiritual Transformation examines two main themes. 1) The Dynamics of Spiritual Transformation are explored in six small group sessions: what it is and how it happens. 2) The Goal of Spiritual Transformation is described in six small group Bible studies focusing on Romans 12 & 13, where Paul provides a blueprint for how we are meant to live as followers of Jesus.

Leader’s Notes for This Study

Starting a Spiritual Transformation Small Group

All it takes to start a group is the willingness of one person to make some phone calls. When you invite people to consider joining the small group, be sure to explain how the group will operate since this is a different sort of small group. See “How to Use this Guide” at the front of the book which explains the nature of the group.

The best way to use this material is to do each session in order. However, this will involve twelve sessions. If your group does not have that much time there are various options you can choose:

• Work through a reduced number of chapters. Simply select the sessions that interest you most, doing as many sessions as your schedule allows. Do the sessions in order since they build on one another. If you skip a session, have each person read through it on their own.

• Do only the sessions on the process of transformation. These are the odd numbered sessions.

• Do only the Bible studies on Romans 12 & 13: These are the even numbered sessions.

Find a comfortable place to meet, preferably in a home with a room in which you circle the chairs so everyone can see the eyes of the others (which is prerequisite for a group conversation). Make plans to deal with potential distractions such as children, pets, and cell phones.

Get enough copies of the books so each person has one. The book contains all the information needed for each of the small group sessions.

The Art of Small Group Leadership:

It is not difficult to be a small group leader. All you need is:

• The willingness to do so;

• The commitment to read through all the materials prior to the session (including the leader’s notes for that session);

• The sensitivity to others that will allow you to guide the discussion without dominating it;

• The willingness to be used by God as a small group leader.

Here are some basic small group principles that will help you do your job.

Ask the questions:

Just read the questions and let various group members respond.

Guide the discussion:

Ask follow-up questions (or make comments) that draw others into the discussion and keeps the discussion going. For example: “John, how would you answer the question?” or “Anybody else have any insights into this question?” or “Let’s move on to the next question.”

Start and stop on time:

Your job is to start the group on time and, most importantly, to stop it on time. Certain people will always be late so don’t wait until they arrive. Most importantly, end on time. If you don’t people will be hesitant to come again since they never know when they will get home.

Stick to the time allotted to each section:

There is always more that can be said in response to any question. So, if you do not stick carefully to the time limits for each section you will never finish the study. And this usually means the group will miss out on the really important application questions at the end of the session. It is your job to make sure that the discussion keeps moving from question to question. This means you may have to keep saying: “Well, it is time to move on to the next question.” You may not be able to ask all the questions. Know the material well enough so that you can select the most important questions and skip the rest. Remember: it is better to cut off discussion when it is going well than to let it go on until it dies out.

Model answers to questions:

Whenever you ask a question to which everyone is expected to respond (for example, an Open question as opposed to an Analysis question), you, as leader, should be the first person to respond. In this way you model the right length of response. If you take 5 minutes to respond, everyone else in the group will feel that it is okay for them to take at least 5 minutes (so just one question might take 50 minutes for the whole group of ten to answer!). But if you take one minute to answer so will everyone else (and the question takes only 10 minutes for the group to answer). Also, by responding first, you model an appropriate level of openness. Remember, the leader should be a bit more open than others.

Understand the intention of different kinds of questions:

You will ask the group various kinds of questions. It is important for you to understand the purpose of each kind of question:

• Experience questions: These are often the first type of question you will ask. The aim of these questions is to get people to recall past experiences and share these memories with the group. There is no right or wrong answer to these questions. Such questions facilitate the group process by getting people to share their stories with one another, by being easy to answer so everyone has something to say and thus the group conversation begins, or by getting people to think about the session topic on the basis of their own experience.

• Forced-choice questions: Certain questions will be followed by a series of suggested answers (with check-boxes next to each possible answer). Generally no one answer is correct. In fact, often each answer is correct! By offering options, group members are aided in responding. This also helps direct the response. When people answer such questions, you may want to ask them to explain why they chose the answer they did.

• Analysis or Discussion questions: These are questions that force the group to notice what the biblical text or Consider material says and to probe it for meaning.

• Application questions: These questions seek to help the group make connections between the meaning of the text and each person’s life circumstance.

• Questions with multiple parts: Sometimes a question is asked and then various aspects of it are listed below. Have the group seek to answer each of the sub-questions. Their answers, taken together, will answer the initial question.

Introduce each section:

This may involve a brief overview of the focus, purpose, or topic of the section plus instructions on how to do the exercise.

Comments:

Occasionally it will be helpful to the group if you bring into the discussion some useful information that you have gotten from your own study. Never make long comments. Do not allow yourself to become the “expert” to whom everyone turns for “the right answer.” Invite comments from others.

Notes on Each Session

Prior to each session, go over the notes for that particular session. These focus on the specific materials in the session. The assumption in this book is that virtually anyone can lead a small group session since all the necessary material is contained in this book. However, when a small group leader has an understanding of the background and goal of each part of the small group experience, he or she is better able to lead. This is the intention of these notes: to provide background ...