Week 3: Dream Now For Our Church
James Browning: Hello, everyone,
and welcome back for week three
of the Help for Host podcast
for the Dream Now initiative.
I'm your friend, James Browning,
and this week we will be talking
about Dreaming Now for your church.
We're also joined by a very
special guest, your friend and
mine, our pastor of Dream Now.
Groups and one of the elders
here at Saddleback, Steve Gladen.
Steve Gladen: Hey everybody, it's so great
you have made it to the halfway point
and James how's uh, your group doing,
you know, moving into that halfway mark?
James Browning: We are doing great.
I love the, downhill momentum
we've got going on and all of this,
Steve Gladen: it's actually
been, really impactful.
I don't know for each one of
you and in our small group,
it's just being able to dream.
I mean, obviously we've gone through
dream for your life and we've gone
through dream for your family.
Obviously those have made a huge impact
on, on us personally in our small group.
So it's one of those things
where we're going, Oh my, what's
a, what's in store in this next
weekend, dreaming for your church.
James Browning: That's right.
So again, congratulations
for making it halfway.
But since we have Steve Gladen here, who
is literally the guy who wrote the book
on small groups, Steve, I wanted to ask
you, What should hosts start to look
at as we begin to conclude this series?
Steve Gladen: Yeah, you're asking
a great question and a lot of times
we're just kind of motoring through
the dream now booklet and just kind
of going, Hey, what's the next circle?
What's the next circle that pastor
Andy's talking about, but this is
a great time for you as a host.
I'm just going to kind of break you
up into a few different categories.
You're like, if you are an existing small
group, and that's where my small group is,
we've been around for a couple of decades
and motoring through life and in that.
Yeah.
But this is the time in that halfway
point when you're going to start to
put the seed in the ground of just
talking about, you know, what's next.
And if you're an existing small
group, we have two amazing
curricula that is coming out.
One of them is What's in
a Name by Megan Greider.
And it's a brand new
series that we have out.
It's on the watch page.
I would encourage you to do that.
It's got a great workbook that goes
with it and a video series that's there.
And another one that if you're an
existing group, that'd be great is,
uh, whether you know it or not, we've
been releasing the book of Mark in
a great way where you, uh, read the
book, read through the book of Mark.
You get to know a little bit about
the context of where you're going
to have some discussion questions.
Unfortunately, uh, I, and I say,
unfortunately, because a lot of small
groups love this mark series because
there's no homework and you just kind of
show up to group and you do everything
in house, but it's, it's one of the
popular ones you may want to consider.
Mark one chapters one
through four is already out.
We're getting ready to release
mark five through eight.
And as an existing group, I
encourage you to jump in there.
If you're a brand new group.
Uh, this is a good opportunity for
you, Dean, to talk to your group
and to say, Hey, we have, uh,
we've enjoyed this DreamNow study.
And there's two curricula that
we have that are especially
designed for a new group.
One of them is called Basecamp.
It's on the Watch page.
Uh, you can be able to get that and
we also have mark one through four.
Both of those are great introductory
studies that your group can move
at whatever pace you want to do.
It also be great for, if you're an
on, on campus group, if you've been
at a table for a while and you're
listening to this and you're had that
opportunity to take it into a home,
this, these curricula that we've been
mentioning would, would be great there.
The main thing is, is that you want to
start to be thinking through and just
planting the seed, like saying, what
if we could dream, no pun intended,
about staying together as a small group?
And one of the other things I want you
to start thinking about as the host, Is,
right, it won't be too long, we'll be
sitting at the end of week 5, and Andy
will have concluded the dream now, and
we're getting ready to head into holy week
and then to Easter, but I want you to be
considering, you know, how are you going
to be celebrating and we're going to be
giving you a couple great things to talk
about when you're at your celebration
that have direct correlation to each
one of the five circles in dream now.
So be looking for that excited about that.
But the main thing is that we want to
talk about is just to be start to be
thinking about, you know, what is it?
That we we want in the future of our
group So planting that seed of what's
maybe another curricula you want to
do and talking about the celebration
James Browning: Just to follow up,
Steve, if you're an existing group,
you recommend checking out the what's
in a name study, which is on the
saddleback watch page, saddleback.
com slash watch, scroll down to
studies and click through to find
the study and then the new upcoming
mark five through eight journey
that's on the journey app, right?
Steve Gladen: Yep, it sure is.
And it's a great way for your group
to, uh, be able to roll through
it real time in your small group.
Or if you want to, you can jump
ahead and, you know, start to read
the those chapters and go through
James Browning: Okay, that sounds great
and base camp also on the watch page
and mark one through four also a journey
Steve Gladen: Yeah, and it's very
applicable for you to use it, whether
you're a brand new group, or, you know,
if you're doing base camp, you can do
it as a new group, or if you're a new
group coming out of the, uh, on campus,
uh, studies at any one of our campus.
James Browning: Okay.
So let's say that you are a newer
group, or a group that's been meeting
on campus and you want to continue on.
What are some of the tips you
would recommend for someone
who's preparing for a meeting?
Steve Gladen: Yeah, again, uh, first off,
just so excited and so appreciate each one
of you as you've been just, uh, week, week
on and week, weekend and week on, you've
been, you know, going through the dream
now series and I just want to encourage
you to not deviate from the path that has
helped you so much in your group so far.
One of them is, is that we want you
to continue to preview the content,
you know, you've been reading through
the devotionals, you know, make
sure that you're caught up, you
know, on the study part, you know,
what is it that we're going to do?
Think through your transitions.
And then also watch pastor Andy's video.
Uh, it was in the newsletter that,
uh, we sent out to you, and then
we want you to watch that video.
And we also want you just to be acquainted
with the book, understand what's going
through, what are the topics of the week
that you're going to be talking about.
And then this is second, but obviously,
and it's just not a, you know, a church
trite statement, but we want you to be
praying for your meetings, pray for your
meetings, pray for your conversations
because every time your group gets
together, it's a divine appointment.
God has put, you know, a handful
of souls in your care that he wants
you to help navigate and help them
with be able to pray for your group,
you know, name by name, and just
praying for the conversations.
I know that, you know, you as the
leader, uh, you don't, you don't have
to spend a ton of time on this, but you
know, your people and just spend that
extra bit of time before the meeting.
James Browning: That's right.
I know in my own small group,
there's been times where I've
been praying ahead of time.
And honestly, God's kind of placed
something on my heart that has
opened up a lot of discussion.
And just like we talked about in the last
episode, people aren't looking for you
to be experts, but they are looking for
you to be present and to be prepared.
Steve Gladen: Yeah.
So as you've been thinking about,
you know, what's before the meeting,
we've kind of went through that.
Now I want to talk to you
about the, the meeting itself.
And part of you want to do is, you know,
after you, you may have be doing a meal
together and then going into group, you
may just have a, you know, a handful
of snacks, which tend to be a meal.
At least that's what
happens with my small group.
Even though they're quote unquote snacks.
Uh, this is when you're heading into
this time, you may want to think of
an icebreaker and, uh, you know, in
the newsletter you, we gave you a,
uh, an icebreaker or two, but also
one that you, as we were talking about
dream now for your church, you may
just want to ask your group, what is
it that you love about the church?
What is it that you love about the church
and what brought you back to the church?
You know, when you think about Saddleback,
because so often we start to take for
granted that we just go to Saddleback
church, but without thinking about.
What was it that I really like about it?
And so that would be a
great first question there.
Then the other thing you always
want to be thinking through and
rolling back in your head is make
sure you want everyone to talk.
If you've been into this for a few weeks
now, if someone hasn't been showing up
or talking a lot, uh, make sure that you,
you engage them and make sure you think
it through some time in the meeting.
How can I get them to share a little bit?
Uh, about what they're thinking about.
And so make sure you, you do that
and make sure everyone talks.
Then another point that you may want to
do is, uh, just go through and say, what,
what stood out to you in the message?
Uh, if you can remember the message
and hopefully that is a positive, yes.
Uh, but you know, what stood
out there, look at your notes.
They, you know, what, what stood out.
You know, the fourth thing that you may
want to be thinking through during your
meeting is, you know, discuss, just
ask them when you are listening to the
message, discuss with them what dreaming
about the church looks like to them.
And for every person that may
be just a little bit different.
The last thing I want you to jump into is,
you know, thinking through as you're, and
again, as you're going through the book.
Remember, it's not just about, you
know, motoring through the material
to check the box to say, I got
through all the questions in dream.
Now I got through everything that
pastor Andy talked about, but
be, be sensitive to the room.
And what do you think is
happening in the room?
So just remember, you don't
have to get through all of it.
There's been many times in my own
small group that as we're going through
something, we may not get through
everything in that particular week.
And we just say, Hey,
we'll pick it up next week.
Uh, I know for some people that
are pretty linear and you're like,
well, man, it's a five week series.
I gotta get through all five
weeks, uh, but we've left a
little cushion in there for you.
So feel free if you need to, uh, either,
you know, just catch up with everyone
in the following week or, you know,
just say, Hey, you can study it on your
own if we don't get through everything.
But the main point is, is don't stifle
a great conversation because you're
just trying to get through the material.
James Browning: Yeah, I love that and
another tip that we frequently give along
those lines is if your group is larger.
I don't let the size stifle
the conversation either.
Take the opportunity to subgroup.
Uh, you know, have your beginning where
everyone meets and hangs out and shares
their snacks, but then maybe have the,
all the men's men go to one room, the
women go to the other, or, or however
your group breaks down and then have
the discussion in smaller size groups.
And at the end, bring it back
together and kind of share what
you got out of the discussion.
And a lot of times this allows
for, uh, opening up a lot more.
Steve Gladen: And one of the other
things, you know, James, as you're
talking about subgrouping, uh, you can
subgroup for the discussion sometimes too.
It may be helpful just to throw a
little mix into the equation is to,
uh, subgroup for your prayer time.
Uh, be able to take your prayer
requests and sometimes you can even do
the prayer requests in the subgroup.
Uh, and I always like to encourage
people to subgroup by gender.
Uh, obviously if you're in a men's group
or a women's group, you're going to
just subgroup by numbers, uh, with that.
But a lot of times just people of
the same gender will go a little bit
deeper for different prayer requests.
And so, uh, I love what you're talking
about there, James, because it's a,
it's a great way just to throw a little
bit of spice into what your small group
has normally been doing throughout
these, uh, first few weeks of the.
James Browning: Why don't you
share something for, uh, table
leaders for on campus groups?
Steve Gladen: One of the great things
I'd really want to encourage you,
and it actually in your own small
group, you can do this idea too, but
especially for our on campus, uh,
hosts that are leading a table, make
sure you have like an email thread, or
a text thread, or a whatsapp thread.
To be able to just stay in touch with
everyone throughout the week doesn't
have to be anything big but just you
know It could be hey just checking in.
How's everyone doing thumbs up thumbs
down But just get some engagement between
your meetings so that you just know people
are alive You can always step that up
just a little bit And be able just to
ask them what's a prayer request that
they have going into it, or, you know,
as you know, you get the email about,
you know, Andy's video, you could even,
uh, you know, Copy that, uh, URL link or,
you know, a way to watch the video for
them, send it to them so that, you know,
they can watch the video ahead of time.
Again, it, it's not so much what
you're doing, but you gotta make
sure that you have some type of
touch point between the two meetings.
It'll help the stick factor.
It'll also help feel much, people
feel much more, uh, connected.
And then also, you know, get to
know each other in a special way.
James Browning: It is a great way to make
a big church feel small and personal.
And that is, I think, something that a
lot of people underestimate about just how
powerful that one quick message could be.
Even in my own small group, uh,
this week, someone was sending out
a text message asking for prayer.
They're going through a job interview.
And so just that quick bit of
encouragement is meaningful to that person
who's going through that job interview.
Steve Gladen: Super good point.
James Browning: All right, so as always,
if you have any questions or stories
from Dream Now, we'd love to hear them.
We'd love to hear your dreams.
We'd love to hear how
God is changing lives.
Please don't hesitate to send
those to us or any questions you
have at smallgroupsatsaddleback.
com or your local small group point
person, your campus small group pastor.
Steve, thanks a lot for joining
Steve Gladen: I'm super excited for each
one of you as we're moving through dream.
Now, the opportunities that you'll see
at our church and be able to understand
if you didn't get a chance to go to the
premier night, which was just phenomenal.
I really want to encourage you
to be able to go back online.
Catch the stream and just under and
understand more about Dream Now and the
initiatives that God has placed on Pastor
Andy's heart and where our church is going
to be going over these next three years.
James Browning: All right,
we'll see you next week
Steve Gladen: Bye bye.
