How was the culture of the Ephesians like ours today? How was it different?

What does it mean to submit to one another? Notice that while Paul admonishes a wife to submit to her husband, he also says that the two are one flesh (5:31-32).

Ladies: How do you feel about verses 22-24? Guys: How do you feel about the standards in 25-33? Both: Which role is more difficult-the one prescribed for men or women? What experiences or parts of our culture make it hard to understand/obey these verses? How do these roles demonstrate our need to live filled with the Spirit (18)? Do these verses make marriage easier or harder?

From what we understand from these verses, what advice would you give a young Christian about marrying someone who is not a believer? How should these verses change the way people in our culture date? What should a man/woman be looking for as they pursue a spouse?

Notice how Paul wraps everything up in 5:33. Does a wife submitting to a husband make him feel respected? Does a husband loving a wife make her feel secure? Some psychologists say there are primary needs in men in women. Do you think that’s true?

6:1-4

How do TV shows today depict the relationship between parents and children? Does this reflect general cultural values?

What is expected of children here? What two motivations does Paul list? What is the significance of the phrase “in the Lord” (1)? As a child, is verse 3 more of a threat or a promise?

Cultural Notes: In ancient Greco-Roman society, the father had complete control of the family–including the right to kill a child even when the child was an adult (although this was rarely invoked). If a father sold a child into slavery and the child earned or was granted their freedom, the father could sell them back into slavery if he wanted. In the case of divorce, the children stayed in the father’s household. In Jewish culture, the Hebrew Scriptures allowed for execution of a disobedient child (cf. Leviticus 20:9; Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

What two motivations does Paul give Fathers?

If you have children (or plan to have kids), how will you apply verse 4? If your children are grown, how have you grown in your understanding of this verse? As an adult, how should we apply this to our parents now? Doewas it still apply? How does it change with age?

Does Paul’s view uphold or contradict the thoughts of his culture?

Excurses: Do you think Christianity elevated or demeaned the status of women and children in ancient Roman Society?

After the last three chapters explain God’s plan and our new position in Christ, how does Paul admonish us to live? Why? Is it easy? How does following Christ give us a new perspective that helps with this goal?

Why might unity be such a big goal for Paul? Are Christians knows better for unity or divisiveness? Why is unity so hard for many Christians?

Does unity mean ignoring our differences? What differentiation is there in the Body of Christ?

The roles described in verse 11 are often referred to as the Five-Fold gifts. Where do these gifts come from? What does each do? What’s the purpose of these gifts? Which of these gifts are still needed today? What other roles are described in Scripture? (See 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Romans 12:7-8.)

Excurses: Some argue against the concept of “Spirit Baptism” in Pentecostalism or baptizing people who were baptized as an infant and come to faith later in life. Can verse 5 be used to argue these points? Why or why not?

To a degree, our culture blinds us from some biblical truths. We make assumptions about what it means to follow Jesus. It has been said that many people who claim to be Christians don’t follow Jesus. That is, we don’t always choose to become like Jesus; rather, we ask Jesus to follow us and become like us. Even those of us who set out to radically follow Jesus, develop blind spots in our lives. Radical challenges many of the assumptions we have about how we live our lives and inspires readers to live a radical life.

If you’re looking for a book to challenge you to a radical life of following Jesus–check this book out! In fact, there’s a year long challenge at the end! Find Radical here on Amazon.

Want to know more about the book, check out what the author, David Platt (Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills) has to say about it:

(Trouble viewing this? Click  check it out on YouTube: David Platt on Radical)

Want a free copy? Be the first to hit me up on Facebook, Twitter or with a comment below and you can have the extra copy the publisher sent me. Or Multnomah is giving more away while supplies last–so check it out here.

Btw, this book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

After traveling around the Northeast with other young adults to explore different young adult ministries, I came to a conclusion: Young adult ministry is small group ministry. Despite the great preaching we heard, every successful ministry we visited used small groups to build community. I’m sure someone will find a young adult ministry somewhere that has been successful in the long term without developing small groups, but as a rule, they are essential to forming young adults into disciples.

Dallas Willard observes in The Great Omission, “As much as I believe in the power of preaching for conviction and decision, I would be naive to believe that preaching alone produces disciples. If preaching could produce disciples, the job of making disciples would be done.”¹ Community is necessary for spiritual growth and it’s part of the answer to making disciples—but just forming small groups of people will not create the life-change. The New Testament specifies no particular structure of small groups for the Church. Small groups are not essential for their structure but for the life produced in them. Building community in the local church is not essential because of a perceived social need, but because it is the life God intends for His followers as Christ transforms their lives.

While small groups form the backbone of most successful young adult ministries, small groups of people are not inherently spiritual. One of our local papers publishes an annual guide containing all kinds of small groups to join. You can walk the mall, wear red hats to dinner, and learn to knit or play folk music with others. I’ll admit that I’ve never actually gone to any group in the guide. While there are undoubtedly believers in some of these groups, they are not Christian Communities. What makes Christian small groups spiritual is that we celebrate Christ in our midst. In our young adult small groups and in one-on-one discipling relationships, we’ve noticed that young adults are hungry for spiritual food and in depth Bible study. We need to be careful to create opportunities for them to grow spiritually—giving them more than they can find in a local knitting group. Jesus must be the center of our community if we want to create life-giving communities of faith.

So, how do we form groups centered around Jesus? Here are a few questions to think through as we move in the right direction: Do we pray about what our groups need to study? Or do we choose coolest thing without thinking about where the group is spiritually and what they need to grow? Are we stuck moving from one curriculum to the next and dealing topically with books of the Bible? Should we take a break from curriculum and consider studying a book of the Bible in depth?

1. Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006), 5-6.

I’ve got to say that I’m a big fan of Mark Batterson. (You can be his fan on Facebook!) His writing weaves together stories that challenge thoughts and inspire action. Primal reminds readers to strip away the superficiality that weighs down our faith and keep us from truly living and experiencing the life God calls us to live. This is a great read if you want inspiration to refocus your faith on God. This book, like his others, inspires readers to live with hearts focused on God while living as part of God’s solution to the problems of the world.

I can’t help but read this and think about Jesus when he encounters Matthew at his tax collector’s booth (Matthew 9:9-13). I doubt Matthew had ever thought that Jesus would want to come, eat and hang out with him. My guess is there are few cultures, if any, that love tax collectors. I’m also guessing that there are a lot of people who don’t feel like “religious people” would be interested in them. So, I imagine Matthew was as shocked and surprised as the religious elite were. When criticized by the religious people for hanging out with the “wrong people” another time, Jesus replied with this story:

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:4-7)

I wonder sometimes if we, as the Church, are pursuing people like Jesus pursues people? To make it more personal…if you’re a follower of Christ, are you pursuing people with the love and compassion that Jesus pursues people?

Since I use Google Docs to type up the notes each week, you can view the all of the handouts here.
(If you’re not familiar with Google Docs, it’s basically an online word processing program. Check out the Wikipedia article on Google Docs.)

We went over the basics of the purpose of Inductive Bible Study and the purpose of this class–to increase proficiency at studying Scripture using the Inductive Bible Study Method and teach how to write questions in order to take people through the process with you. It’s geared to people who want to learn to study the text in more depth or who want to lead discussion of Scripture in Small Groups or Bible Studies.

After this class, the participant should be able to:

• read Scripture with greater depth of insight,
• be skilled at using basic tools (books & online resources) for Bible study and
• be capable of writing & leading Bible studies.

Session 1 – Introduction & Observation

Frontline is a high energy, huge auditorium worship experience complete with smoke, lights, a live worship band and everything else expected in a contemporary large-scale worship event. In addition to meeting in the main sanctuary of McLean Bible Church, they offer multi-site experiences at Tysons Corner (Vienna, VA), Arlington (Rosslyn, VA) and a live simulcast through the Internet. The Gathering, the college ministry division of Frontline, does not have a separate service. Instead, they rely on Bible Study groups on or near the college campuses served by Frontline and meet in places attractive to students like Panera Bread and Starbucks.

Sermon Evaluation

Content and Delivery
John McGowan, who directs The Gathering, spoke the night we came to observe and interview. He began with a personal story told in such a way that it captivated the audience, connecting the personal story to the Biblical message in a fresh way. The presentation was smooth and obviously thoroughly prepared. His animated delivery made the message a joy to watch. He dealt directly with the Scripture and brought it to life. The illustrations were personal and effective, engaging the audience intellectually and emotionally. His words were well chosen and understandable. And the message flowed logically from beginning to end.

Application and Effectiveness
The examples John used made understanding how to apply this message clear and inescapable. He specifically used examples relevant to young adults. He cited examples such as cohabitation, connecting the sermon topic with a setting likely to be relevant to a younger audience. (Ironically, the young adults who evaluated the sermon felt the speaker seemed “anointed” even though the speaker would not label himself as a Pentecostal.)

Authenticity
His passion and enthusiasm for the message were evident. Because he dealt so directly with the application of the passage, the examples John used were not personal. But, he included himself as one who struggles and spoke in the first person plural, which prevented distance between the speaker and listeners. The message was direct but not condemning.

Multimedia and General Effectiveness
One would expect a great deal of multimedia from a ministry as large and successful as Frontline. The feel of the whole experience drew people in, however, multimedia was conspicuously absent. Even without a multimedia experience to help the message stick, the message was effective and convicting.

Interview Summary

Washington D.C. is a highly transient area. A steady supply of young adults moves there for either college or the start of a career in many areas, including the military and politics. Frontline reports that, on average, young adults are with them for eighteen to twenty four months. This brief time period creates a sense of urgency and creates a culture of empowerment serving to connect young adults to Jesus and get them into a ministry role at Frontline before life transition brings them elsewhere.

Frontline is one of two young adult ministries visited during this journey. The worship experience is in the evening, making it possible for persons to attend both Frontline and another church service in the morning. This makes it difficult for the leaders of Frontline to know whether those not connected in a small group or mobilized for ministry are serving elsewhere, such as their home church. The leadership remains hesitant to spend time assessing this during the worship gathering.

The face of young adult ministry has changed a lot since its fledgling days. John recalls the days in the 1990s when a cool pastor with jeans and hot music brought young adults to church or an age-specific service. Now that those things are a part of the mainstream church, the ministry needs to run deeper. John asserts that effective young adult ministries must address four things:

• First, ministries reaching young adults need to focus on community. While living in a depersonalized world, people crave real relationships. So, the church must be a place where people can experience real face time.
• Second, community service is a value that resonates with the current generation. In this world, the church must look beyond its own needs and empower people to serve outside of the church.
• Third, the church must empower young adults to lead. On the mission experiences at Frontline, twenty-three year olds lead trips and events—not forty-three year olds. The church cannot afford to wait until this generation is older. They must be given leadership roles now.
• Fourth, the church must go international. With this point, John acknowledges that “D.C. shapes the conversation lot,” meaning that the people who serve in and are served by Frontline tend to be the ones who really believe they can change the world. They come asking whether changing the world for Jesus will be a part of what they are planning—not wondering if they can change the world.

While Frontline originally directed non-young adults elsewhere, it developed into a service geared to young adults, but embracing all who come. Still, the focus of the preaching and teaching is directed to young adults, not older adults. The teaching team intentionally uses illustrations targeting young, single adults. This allows them to connect with the eighty-one percent single audience effectively. For instance, on the night we visited, while talking about sexual purity, John spoke about the temptation of moving in with your girlfriend instead of the typical example used in American pulpits–cheating on your wife–which he would use if preaching in the morning services at McLean Bible Church.

Speakers
When asking John, “Do you preach as a team or does one person handle most of the proclamation?”, John replied that it is “hard to put together a consistently good talk for fifty-two weeks of the year.” Frontline is blessed with a gifted team of communicators who work together as a team. Five years ago, they approached the process more individualistically. Typically, the communicator scheduled to speak worked on the message in isolation. Currently, the communicators present the illustrations to one another for feedback. The current, communal process yields better results and is preferred by the teaching team.

Sermon Topics
Sermon topics and series develop in three ways.

• First, pastoral direction shapes the messages at Frontline. As pastors, immersed in the ministry and people whom they serve, the Frontline team remains sensitive to whether they feel like it is time to re-cast the vision, talk about their values, etc. They ask themselves where the congregation needs to grow or remark that they “keep getting email about this”. This sensitivity to the congregation births many of the sermon series.
• Second, one of the unique features of Frontline, is their intentional walk through different books of the Bible. Alternating between the Old and New Testaments, they systematically teach the Scriptures.
• Third, they track all the messages they use and review the topics to see what might be missing. For example, the team might be thinking they just spoke on prayer recently. However, in reality, it may have been several years ago, making it time to revisit the subject, especially in light of the highly mobile, transient population.

When trying to reach young adults, John advises becoming a pastor-teacher, not just a good, entertaining speaker. The temptation to perform for personal approval must be eschewed in favor of tangible results. Good preaching results in spiritual change—not just entertainment. Trying too hard to be cool and changing the content of the message, the second temptation when speaking to young adults, must be avoided. Great speeches do not change lives; the Word changes lives. After messages, John often hears statements such as, “I disagree with everything you said tonight, but at least I understand what you believe.” People respect straight shooters and want real answers to real questions. Avoiding the tough things the Gospel addresses avoids speaking into and changing the culture that so desperately needs redemption. While difficult to balance making a talk entertaining and poignant, practice makes it easier.

Extension of Ministry through Technology
Frontline uses the Internet to extend its proclamation in various ways. Frontline maintains a virtual campus, which allows viewers to watch the service at Tyson’s Corner live from anywhere in the world. Although they originally opened a mySpace, content issues caused them to rethink and delete it. They use Facebook groups, podcasts and blogs to reach out to young adults and allow people to view and review the message.

Influences
When asked about his biggest influence as a preacher, John quickly names Lon Solomon, the Lead Pastor of McLean Bible Church. As Pastor Solomon’s children attended meetings of the Gathering, he would ask them what John’s “talk was about.” If they could not reply in one sentence, John got a call and some mentoring. Louie Giglio taught John just to go for it. Although John might not agree with everything everyone teaches, influences include John MacArthur, Erwin McManus, Andy Stanley, Mark Driscoll and Ed Young.

God Stories
As a result of the preaching ministry, people often come up to talk to John and the other speakers and want to follow Christ. One night, John mentioned the current events in a predominately Muslim country. A citizen of that country was there and ran up afterward saying that he needed Jesus Christ and needed to bring the Gospel back to his country. A girl currently nineteen or twenty attended Frontline one night. Having been an alcoholic since age thirteen, she came up and told John that she now has hope. While it is tempting for pastors to tell the dramatic stories only, John mentions that many times a person comes up and just says, “I want to give my life to missions.” Every church or ministry should have and celebrate these stories.

The author contends that healthy small groups must maintain a harmony of three patterns–connecting, changing and cultivating. (Connecting=forming deep relationships. Changing=becoming more Christ-like. And cultivating=living missionally.) Maintaining harmony between these three patterns will help groups remain healthy and be more likely to continue. Each section contains some good questions for group leaders to ask about their groups. This would be a good book to recommend to a small group leader or coach of small group leaders.

Personally, I am looking at how to structure training for group leaders in my church. Since our church uses the words connect, grow, serve and share to describe a balanced life of following Christ, I have been thinking of structuring the training around these concepts. In many ways, serve and share can be combined to form what the author intends for the word cultivate–living missionally. Although I love the word cultivate, it might be easier for our purposes here to retain the previously mentioned four words.