¶ Introduction and Host Welcome
me in this limited podcast series is my fellow cohost, Bradley. Say hello, Bradley.
Hey, I'm Bradley Sunlin, I'm the engagement pastor at Saddleback Irvine South, which is, uh, one of our, campuses in Southern California.
We're excited to be starting this dream. Now series with you, small group hosts. It is a call for a generation to pursue God size dreams. Whether you are a seasoned host or you just started leading your small group for the series or for immerse. We pray that this resource will help you feel equipped to make the most out of your time together.
¶ Bradley's Dream: Starting a Diner
Start us off, Bradley, why don't you, tell us about a dream that you've had?
A dream that I have now, and I've had for years, is to start a diner, actually. And part of that would encompass small groups, just bringing people to a place where they can feel comfortable, they can feel safe, and get a good meal, and just In a way, kind of be the hands and feet of Jesus through serving some good food.
So, sort of a third space type of,
yeah, exactly. That term's been thrown around a lot this year and, you know, you got your house, you got your church, but, or your, you know, wherever you're living, and then that place where you can just meet friends, kind of like the, you know, what they do in Seinfeld, or
Yeah. What are, what are some of the key pillars of your diner menu?
Um, for me it's always gotta, we, we gotta have bacon and eggs on every menu. And, and again, you can do that in so many different ways, uh, whether it's like in a sandwich or just by itself. I'm personally more of a, a salty, like, more savory flavored person, but, probably put some pancakes on there for, uh, the sweet tooths as well. But yeah, gonna have a good cup of coffee and just a solid, starchy breakfast.
Sounds great.
¶ The Importance of Shared Dreams
Yeah. I think, uh, the older I get, the more I personally value shared dreams. So, I'm married, I have kids, like dreams for things for us as a family. Uh, I remember Being younger, being a teenager and having shared dreams with my friends. A lot of times those dreams were goofy or funny or, uh, teenagery, but I think that all of the biggest, the most beautiful things, the most valuable things were usually built together and not necessarily just by one person.
And I think that that is true of the Christian life.
Yeah, and that's why I really am excited about this series, because it's like, hey, DreamNow for you, yourself, DreamNow, like, as a couple, if you're married, uh, DreamNow as your church, and, uh, DreamNow also just for the community, right? Like, all these things are encompassing of that. Right. Simple.
¶ Biblical Examples of Dreaming Together
that we see that have big dreams and big visions like Nehemiah, he didn't do that on his own. He had teams of people working together to build the walls of Jerusalem. He did a lot of delegation. He had support from the King. He cast a vision, got financial support, got teams of workers
There was so much passion for that area, and like, there was hurt, and I think a lot of dreams, the best dreams are start from like, what is something that you're passionate about, or something that just breaks your heart, that you want to change. Yeah.
¶ Saddleback's Dream and Small Groups
Saddleback, of the campuses he was looking to start, of the people he was looking to reach, but Rick didn't do it on his own.
No, I mean, it was, it was him and Kay, and then also the Bible group, the Bible study that was meeting at his apartment for a little bit. And then from there, it just continued to flourish. They would meet in schools for years, before they finally had, well, their first official building. I
And all that dreaming together really is built into the DNA of Saddleback that we are a church of Small groups and not just a church with small groups.
¶ DreamNow Series Overview
So you and your small group are a key component of building and sharing our dreams together with Saddleback this series, we're going to be going through, dream now book for your small group. each week, your small group will begin with the sermon on the weekend. And then whenever your small group meets, for example, mine meets on a Friday. You will start your small group series by watching the video that you'll be able to find it on the dream.
Now, small group page, you'll be able to find it on the YouTube channel.
now that's saddleback. com slash stream now.
Yes. You'll be able to find it there. And you'll begin your series by watching that video. And after you watch the video as a small group and discuss the discussion questions, Then you can go through the daily devotional. So for example, my week begins on Friday for our small group. Well, the previous weekend we'll attend, our campus together. We'll, hear Andy's sermon that Thursday or Friday, we will watch the video discuss together. And then the following day I will be in the daily devotional.
So Bradley, any questions on
¶ Encouragement and Resources for Small Group Hosts
that so far? Any encouragement for your small group host?
No, I think for me that's really clear, but I think the encouragement is, Hey, this isn't just something that you put on the back burner and just show up, every week. Granted, the materials are there, which you could do, but this is something that needs to be incorporated into your everyday life with the reading. And I mean, honestly, I've liked this pattern that we've been having where, It's something that you do for your daily quiet time, along with the weekly discussion as well.
And I think the other, help that we want to create for you all is the weekly email that goes out to the host and co host. This email is designed to be helpful and useful to you as a small group. Please feel free to share it with members of your small group. But if you have any feedback on that, or if you have stories of Life change in your group. If you have thoughts on how we can improve the email, if you, want to share your dream with us, just reply to that email because we love those stories.
Oh,
absolutely. And if anything too,
yeah, we might be excited to share your dream with you.
Yeah.
¶ Conclusion and Weekly Podcast Announcement
So with that, join us each week as we put out this help for host podcast for the dream now series. And once again, I'm James Browning and
Um, Bradley,
and we'll see you next week.
you next week.