Lyman Coleman: Leader for Lifelong Learners

Lyman Coleman, D.D.

Lyman Coleman grew up in the South on black-eyed peas, corn bread, fried chicken and the Bible, attending a “shouting” Methodist Church with an “Amen corner,” altar calls, and revivals every summer. At Baylor University, he fell under the spell of the Navigators and carried boxes for the Billy Graham Team in New York’s Madison Square Garden Crusade, where he fell in love with and married the Team secretary from Great Britain. He finished his education at Biblical Seminary of New York and New York University, where he specialized in small group dynamics in the late 1950’s.  There, Lyman learned from pioneers in the church renewal movement, such as Sam Shoemaker and Bill Wilson (of the “12-step program”), Bruce Larson, Elton Trueblood, and Keith Miller.

By the 1960’s, when Faith At Work was developing under the leadership of Lloyd Ogilvie, Bruce Larsen, and Keith Miller, Serendipity House was also coming to birth. Lyman joined forces with this new renewal effort as he trained and taught leaders in small-group dynamics. From that early beginning of “Frog Kissing” Workshops, to “The Coffeehouse Itch,” to his latest “CookBook for Small-Group Leaders,” more than 500,000 small-group leaders have been trained and 60,000 churches equipped for ministry.  The principles of “Serendipity” are deeply woven into the fabric of most small-group ministries and materials.  Around 1980, Zondervan Publishing House invited Lyman to incorporate small-group principles into a study-Bible format.  He became the general editor for the Serendipity New Testament, the Serendipity Bible for Group and Personal Study, and the Serendipity Student Bible.

Lyman’s life and ministry took a dramatic turn when he lost his son and his wife, Margaret, in separate accidents. He searched to find a support group who could walk with him through his grief and loss.  As a result, his latest small-group ministry is one directed to people who’ve experienced a “train wreck” and need a safe place to experience the church as it was meant to be.

JOIN THE FREE WEBINAR called "More than Sunday Morning" on Thursday, August 26 at 2:00pm (Eastern) as Dr. Daryl Smith, associate professor of Mentored Ministry and Christian Leadership, and specialist in small-group and team ministry training, joins Lyman Coleman for a premier training session on how to move from small groups as a “fancy” appendage to your ministry, to small groups as ‘the way people are cared for and ministry gets done.’

REGISTRATION: www.asburyseminary.edu/lifelonglearners