Visit to Buckhead Church, Part Two

This is part two of my trip report from my recent US trip. Check out Part One first, if you haven't seen it yet.

After the 9am service at Buckhead Church, I went to the :Connections bookstore to get some resources.

On the way there I passed Starting Point, an environment for small groups for new members of the church. When you join Buckhead Church you go into a small group that meets here for 10 weeks. It's your introduction into the faith and the community.

According to the environment's definition (from the Starting Point website):

Starting Point is a conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community.

The North Point strategy is to be crystal clear about what you are doing, and who you are doing it for. You can't be all things to all people in the same place at the same time, so you make a choice about what you can do for who, and you do that.

Here's a shot of the :Connections Resource Center:

I already had these three books: Communicating for Change, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, and Creating Community: 5 Keys to Building a Small Group Culture.

Of the three books, I would only recommend "7 Practices of Effective Ministry". For small groups, I would recommend The Cell Church, by Larry Stockstill, and for Preaching Communication, definitely Creating Messages that Connect, by Alan E. Nelson.

The sermons that are delivered in the North Point churches in the form of multi-part series, are video taped and later released on DVD. These DVDs include a small group component, where you can watch 15-20 minutes of a message in small group setting, then discuss using an accompanying discussion / study guide.

One other book that I got there, that totally rocks the house, is this one:

Cracking the Communication Code: The Secret to Speaking Your Mate's Language.

I got the hardcopy book and the 11 CD Audio Book. You can check out something of the awesome information in this book at the author, Emerson Eggerich's website: www.loveandrespect.com.

Let me give this one principle that the book is based around:

Men speak the language of respect - that's what they need to hear.
Women speak the language of love - that's what they need to hear.
The problem of miscommunication in marriage springs from the fact that they are speaking two different languages.

That is such a profound and crystal clear insight. From this starting point you can do an amazingly helpful analysis. Check out the website and find out more.

In the next edition of this series, I come back at midday for a tour of the children's facilities - all four floors of them!