Influence: Living a Contagious Life

By Brett Eastman, Dee Eastman, Todd Wendorff and Denise Wendorff

What does it take to build character? How do you instill godly qualities inside yourself that are displayed consistently through words, actions, and attitudes that reflect what Jesus himself is like? Building Character Together takes you and your small group inside the Bible to learn character-building lessons from some of its most compelling figures. In six enjoyable, interactive sessions, each volume in this six-volume series helps you deeply explore the complex issues of developing Christian character. Combining study, discussion, and shared experiences, here is a pathway to growth both individually and as a group. Explore the lives of David, Mary Magdalene, Jacob, and other men and women of the Bible. Learn lessons from their successes and failures and from their relationships with God and other people that you can readily link to yourself and your own life circumstances. Enjoy frank discussions that draw you and other group members deeper into each others’ lives. And put it all into action in a one-day group retreat, a service project, a mini-mission work, and other experiences that help you make the leap from good words to good works.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Feb 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9780310857129

Brett Eastman

Brett Eastman has championed small groups and leadership development at both Saddleback and Willow Creek Community Church over the past decade. He is president and founder of LifeTogether, and one of the authors of the Silver Medallion winner Doing LifeTogether, the adult curriculum published by Zondervan.

Book preview

INFLUENCE

---

living a

Contagious

life

BRETT and DEE EASTMAN

TODD and DENISE WENDORFF

Contents

Cover

Title Page

READ ME FIRST OUTLINE OF EACH SESSION

SESSION 1 FESTIVE INFLUENCE—LEVI, JESUS, AND THE SINNERS

SESSION 2 UNSTAINED INFLUENCE—DANIEL

SESSION 3 UNITED INFLUENCE—PETER AND CORNELIUS

SESSION 4 REBORN INFLUENCE—NICODEMUS

SESSION 5 BROTHERLY INFLUENCE—ANDREW AND PETER

SESSION 6 ALIEN INFLUENCE—PAUL AND THE GENTILES AT ATHENS

APPENDIX

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

SMALL GROUP AGREEMENT

SMALL GROUP CALENDAR

SAMPLE PERSONAL HEALTH PLAN

SAMPLE PERSONAL HEALTH PLAN

PERSONAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT

TELLING YOUR STORY

LEADER’S NOTES LEADING FOR THE FIRST TIME

LEADER’S NOTES INTRODUCTION

LEADER’S NOTES SESSION 1: FESTIVE INFLUENCE—LEVI, JESUS, AND THE SINNERS

LEADER’S NOTES SESSION 2: UNSTAINED INFLUENCE—DANIEL

LEADER’S NOTES SESSION 3: UNITED INFLUENCE—PETER AND CORNELIUS

LEADER’S NOTES SESSION 4: REBORN INFLUENCE—NICODEMUS

LEADER’S NOTES SESSION 5: BROTHERLY INFLUENCE—ANDREW AND PETER

LEADER’S NOTES SESSION 6: ALIEN INFLUENCE—PAUL AND THE GENTILES AT ATHENS

SMALL GROUP ROSTER

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Life Together Resources

Copyright

About the Publisher

Share Your Thoughts

READ ME FIRST

OUTLINE OF EACH SESSION

Most people want to live a healthy, balanced spiritual life, but few achieve this by themselves. And most small groups struggle to balance all of God’s purposes in their meetings. Groups tend to overemphasize one of the five purposes, perhaps fellowship or discipleship. Rarely is there a healthy balance that includes evangelism, ministry, and worship. That’s why we’ve included all of these elements in this study so you can live a healthy, balanced spiritual life over time.

A typical group session will include the following:

SESSION 1

FESTIVE INFLUENCE—LEVI, JESUS, AND THE SINNERS

We moved to New England a number of years ago when our family was just beginning, and my wife and I went with a commitment to invest in our neighborhood community. Our goal was to be in relationships with people in general without distinction as to their beliefs. This was new for me, having grown up fairly isolated in a protective evangelical environment.

Through my wife’s involvement in the leadership of the local YWCA and the Chamber of Commerce, we soon developed a relationship with four other couples that grew into a monthly get-together we called the Dancing Fools night. It all started when the ten of us had dinner at one of our homes and ended up putting music on and dancing our socks off. We had so much fun, we decided to meet again at someone else’s house and thus began a little round robin tradition. Though these evenings were formed around fun, they also deepened our relationships and strengthened our faith message whenever we shared it.

We no longer live in this community, but we think of the Dancing Fools often and remember this experience as a model of the kind of relationships that are possible if we just extend ourselves a little beyond our comfort zones. I think I was the one who learned the most, having been almost brainwashed by my upbringing to dislike non-Christians. I found out what beautiful people God has created, and how opportunities to be a fragrance of Christ are a natural result of simply and genuinely loving people for who they are.

CONNECTING WITH GOD’S FAMILY     20 MIN.

Given the choice, most of us would rather party with our Christian friends than hang out with those unfamiliar with or even hostile to our spiritual beliefs. But who would Jesus have