Our hearts were made for deep, authentic relationships--for community with others. And like nothing else, small groups provide the kind of life-giving community that builds and empowers the body of Christ and impacts the world. In this book, part of the Groups That Grow series of small group resources, authors Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson provide guidance for the strategic decisions that must be made to establish, develop and grow a thriving small group ministry in the local church. In Building a Life-Changing Small Group Ministry, they answer questions like: - Which approach or model for small group ministry is best for my church? - Who has responsibility for the ministry and how are they supported? - How do I organize the groups and coach the leaders? - Where do I find leaders and what kind of training do they need? - How do I guide people toward community life? What are the pathways and events that move people to become part of a small group? - What kinds of groups should we offer? - How do you multiply groups and launch new groups? - How do we define success in this ministry? As you work through the questions in each chapter you'll develop a coherent, strategic plan for building and leading the small group ministry at your church. And whether you are establishing a new ministry or transitioning from older models of small group ministry that are no longer effective today, you'll benefit from the time-tested wisdom of the authors. This workbook can be used as a stand-alone resource or it can be used with the five-session training videos taught by the authors available on the Equipping Life-Changing Small Groups DVD (sold separately).

Why we need to stop wasting public funds on education

Despite being immensely popular--and immensely lucrative--education is grossly overrated. In this explosive book, Bryan Caplan argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students' skill but to certify their intelligence, work ethic, and conformity--in other words, to signal the qualities of a good employee. Learn why students hunt for easy As and casually forget most of what they learn after the final exam, why decades of growing access to education have not resulted in better jobs for the average worker but instead in runaway credential inflation, how employers reward workers for costly schooling they rarely if ever use, and why cutting education spending is the best remedy.

Caplan draws on the latest social science to show how the labor market values grades over knowledge, and why the more education your rivals have, the more you need to impress employers. He explains why graduation is our society's top conformity signal, and why even the most useless degrees can certify employability. He advocates two major policy responses. The first is educational austerity. Government needs to sharply cut education funding to curb this wasteful rat race. The second is more vocational education, because practical skills are more socially valuable than teaching students how to outshine their peers.

Romantic notions about education being good for the soul must yield to careful research and common sense--The Case against Education points the way.