I agree wholeheartedly with Jim's posting here and agree that you cannot fake these sorts of things. I do suggest though that there are times when it would be quite legitimate for a leadership in a church to suggest that for teaching and learning purposes it would be a good idea to have small groups so that the task can be accomplished more effectively. In the matter of technique generally I am of the opinion that when there are problems in a church one should look at the preaching and the pastoral care aspects. If there would appear to be no problem there then one could look at technical matters, e.g. location, facilities, organization, etc. However, I think, and I think this would be Jim's point too, that when you take care of preaching and pastoring generally many of the other so-called church difficulties take care of themselves. (Hope I haven't presumed too much here!) God bless, Jeff >-----Original Message----- >From: H Dorrington [mailto:hjdinfl@...] >Sent: Wednesday, 14 April 2004 1:22 AM >To: soundofgrace@... >Subject: Re: [soundofgrace] Small Groups..... Community2 > >I don't know if this is a problem unique to small groups. Sunday School >classes are often divide up in such manner as are church activities. The >softball team may be more twenty year olds than 50 year olds. If cell >groups are targeted to certain groups then there needs to be other >activities that expand peoples contacts within the local church. > >"James W. Allen" <jallen@...> wrote:My second problem with >the modern small group phenomenon is this: you >cannot fake life. > >In the small group promotional materials, we are frequently told how "real >fellowship" manifests itself in caring, intimate groups, whose members >support one another and take care of one another, thus fulfilling >scripture's commands to us as brethren. This is all well and good and, I >think, probably true when applied to the naturally developing "small >groups" >about which the comments are made. I absolutely believe that the Christian >life, seriously approached, does result in individuals developing >relationships with one another that often evolve into little "cells" of >people who are supportive and whose spiritual walk is enhanced thereby. > >But you cannot fake life. And these naturally evolving "cells" exist for >that very reason: they naturally evolve. They receive impetus from the work >of God in the lives of people, they are empowered by the fruit of the >Spirit >expressing itself in the lives of people. They have a natural life and >cohesion as a result of God's working. > >These naturally occurring small groups are like apples on a tree, they are >an expression of the life within the tree. When I see a church where such >groups have evolved, I am encouraged because I know that the fellowship and >brotherhood manifested in those groups is an expression of life. > >However, you cannot fake life. You cannot tie apples on a dead tree and >give >it life, nor can you glue blooms on a dormant tree and make it spring. > >The "small group" emphasis often ignores this difference. I have been in >several churches that have gone through their "small group" phase. Each >time, there is a great promise about how wonderful it will be when we are >all in small groups. But, and this is important, the "small groups" that >are >created are false. They do not evolve naturally from the working of God in >the hearts of his people, but are imposed by the leadership based on a >plan. > >There is a fundamental and very important difference between a "small >group" >that evolves naturally through God's working and a "small group" that is >artificially created. In the natural case, no one has "planned" it or >caused >it, it just happened. Like friendship, you do not plan it but suddenly wake >up one day and finds that you are involved in the lives of people who care >about you and about whom you care. > >When churches "institute small groups," they have to short circuit this >process. They "create" the groups, usually based on age, marital status, >and >geography. When the groups meet, they are often strangers to one another >(or >barely know one another) and are really more of a home Bible study group >than a real "cell" of caring people. It is common to see churches with >"Young Married" small groups and "Senior" small groups and the "West Town" >small group. In other words, when we artificially create the groups, we do >so on artificial grounds. We assign people based on fleshly similarities >(age, sex, marital status, location) and then expect spiritual >relationships >to form around those fleshly similarities. > >I think this is wrong-headed. When we act this way, we (1) create divisions >in our church and (2) are usually disappointed. We create divisions when we >tell someone "you can't go to that group, but must go to this one." Often, >our assigned divisions ignore real relationships that have already begun to >spring up, by separating people who have started to have real fellowship. >The small groups are not expressions of unity but of division and do not >have the healthy "older/younger" dynamic of the church (see Titus 2). > >I think effective personal fellowships are an important and highly desired >evidence of God's working in our lives and churches, just as apples are an >important and highly desired evidence of life in an apple tree. But just as >tying apples to a tree cannot put life in the tree, so creating artificial >small groups cannot put life in a church. > >My experience has been that when a "small group program" is announced, >there >is usually great fanfare and promises of the wonders that will result. The >program is presented as an "exciting opportunity" to "experience true >fellowship." The idea is that having small groups will "energize our >church." > >At first, there is great excitement and pretty high attendance. But the >false fellowships (and most will be false because they were created on >false >premises) fall apart quickly. Within six months, there is much less >excitement and much lower attendance and, within a year, most of the groups >have quit meeting at all. Usually, one or two groups will survive and >prosper or, perhaps, a smaller version of a failed group will survive and >prosper. Sometimes, out of a whole group, what you end up with is two or >three guys who meet for breakfast every week. > >And, ultimately, the program is seen as a failure because it did not live >up >to its promise. > >I think churches should encourage individuals and groups to meet and pursue >fellowship together (even to the point of reducing "church" meetings to >allow more time for personal fellowship), but I am not convinced that >artificially trying to recreate the "small group" NT plan ever really >brings >life to a church where such life does not already exist. > >You cannot fake life or create life by pretending it exists already. You >can >make it easier for the true life to express itself, however, by being open >to doing whatever you can to support the natural development of personal >fellowships in your church. > >James W. Allen >jallen@... > >-- >Read the Sound of Grace pages at >http://www.soundofgrace.com > >To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: soundofgrace-unsubscribe@... > >To view our online archive go to our web page at >http://www.associate.com/groups/soundofgrace > > > > > >--------------------------------- >Do you Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway - Enter today >-- >Read the Sound of Grace pages at >http://www.soundofgrace.com > >To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: soundofgrace-unsubscribe@... > >To view our online archive go to our web page at >http://www.associate.com/groups/soundofgrace >