Groups Guy

There really is so many ways to use this ReGroup DVD. The first few times I reviewed this curriculum I missed the two longer lessons on conflict and confrontation. This is such a good issue to tackle for groups because everyone will go through it. It’s really just a matter of time before folks rub each other the wrong way or offend each other.

These two lessons are on the second DVD & deal with confronting & conflict resolution. They have a nice mixture of teaching and drama. For my ABF I have to pick and choose what parts of the lesson we can do for the sake of time. There is just too much to cover in a half hour on a Sunday. Here’s what our ABF is doing this Sunday.

I have three things we’ll be touching on. We will watch the teaching portion of the video and the drama first. This sets the stage well for confrontation. The authors give strong biblical texts and benefits of delving into this sticky topic. We’ll break into five groups randomly using the last two digits of participant’s SSN. The drama leaves you hanging, so it is a nice lead into our second part, the group interaction time. We’ll discuss possible solutions for the group they’ve just watched. We will get a bit more personal in the group time by asking, “What do you need from others when you’re confronted?” It is a great question because we all have many different needs when we are confronted. Do you need: a compassionate tone, straight talk, expressions of acceptance, time? Both of those together should take about 30 min. If I have time we will finish up the morning with our conflict style chart. It is a great visual expression of the scope of how we deal with conflict. Do we accommodate, avoid, collaborate, compromise, or compete?

I’ve attached the handouts here. Regroup-confrontation Conflict Styles Chart

I’m looking forward to our couple week series on Conflict Resolution in our ABF and from the pulpit.