Dennis McCallum

Modern theory states that the canon of the Old Testament was only finally closed by the council of Jamnia (90 AD). This position is seen as part of the evidence that Daniel is a late book (written later than 200BC because it was apparently included in the writings, not in the prophets, where it should have been). They argue that Daniel couldn't be included in the prophets because that part of the canon was already closed at the time of Jamnia. Our evidence will show, on the contrary, that the canon was known and immediately recognized as scripture as it developed in each generation.

Dennis McCallum

Our leadership course stresses that "there's more than one way to skin a cat." We feel that leaders working within a too-definite paradigm become easily frustrated when things don't go as they should. However, for new leaders, a simple model can be useful in gaining a general idea of where to head with a home churches. The following model gives a general idea of how individuals and home churches at Dwell progress. Note that the years are general guidelines, and that these may change substantially depending on the age and marital status of the group. Also the "stages" of discipleship are imaginary and never actually exist exactly as described. The diagram reads from left to right, and then from top to bottom, before starting over.

Dennis McCallum and Gary DeLashmutt

When seeking to dive deeply into the Bible, the Inductive Study Method is a straightforward and effective method. See the steps to overview and then the 6 specific study questions for each paragraph.

Gary DeLashmutt

Evangelistic campaigns are sometimes necessary and helpful to raise awareness about the importance of reaching out, but we need a church in which most people are mobilized to live an outreach lifestyle. Most of us are not gifted evangelists, but we can all have dynamic lifestyles of outreach. Here are three simple and easy to remember keys that help us to develop this lifestyle.

Doug Patch

Does your leadership team get in needless (not to mention ungodly) squabbles when trying to make decisions? Do you feel you are successful at facilitating change by building consensus? Leading a home group largely entails making decisions, some with large impact, and some less so. We'll explore some common areas of decision making.

Dennis McCallum and Gary DeLashmutt

During recent discussions with members and each other, we have discovered confusion and possible misinterpretation of our position on leadership and authority boundaries. To avoid further confusion and to bring glory to God, we have consulted the elders and come together to compose our thoughts on this key subject. The elders have affirmed this paper as accurately reflecting our policy. It can be freely disseminated as members see fit.

Dennis McCallum

Dwell home churches are led by teams. This offers a number of advantages, but can cause problems as well. A successful home Church must maintain the unity of its leaders. Disunited teams usually can't lead home church growth and the strength of relationships among leaders directly affects meeting quality. Strong groups nearly always have skilled encouragers and visionaries on board with the maturity to work as a team. For these reasons, it is essential that home church leaders learn to deal with conflicts maturely and quickly. When working with fellow leaders, the following considerations are helpful.