The Latent Flaw of Small Groups
Posted by David | Filed under Spirituality
It’s past 11:00 on Saturday night and I’m still up looking for a church to attend tomorrow morning; you see, I’ve just moved to a new community (details and photos to come) that has no less than 20 churches nearly within walking distance of my new apartment. As such, I’ve taken the rather modern route of Googling each one to find out more about their beliefs — specifically, their focus (or lack thereof) on small group settings and how they relate to the church as a whole.
Why small groups? In recent years I’ve begun to see cracks in the contemporary model of “church” that forms the basis of mainstream non-denominational Christianity, largely attributable to the average size of the congregation. Mega-churches just don’t make sense, on either organizational or relational levels — how can you have an integrated, loving community when most people don’t even know each other? After studying and participating in a church-planting effort in New Jersey, my heart is firm in the belief that a “church,” literally a community of Believers, needs to be small enough to build relationships with each and every person involved. Thus, small groups are the real form of church that I seek.
(Interestingly enough, this idea has roots in the secular realm as well. Malcolm Gladwell touches on the size and effectiveness of small groups in his popular book The Tipping Point.)
The concept of small “cell” groups has taken hold of many mainstream churches, yet their execution of the idea has been inherently backwards — that is, they require one to first be a part of their larger congregation before joining one of their small groups. Like many Believers planting churches across the globe, I believe it would be better to invite people to a small group setting before trying to entice them into a Sunday morning church service. For one thing, sitting down with 8-10 people in a living room discussing spirituality is more real and approachable than having your first religious experience be among 400 other people singing disturbing phrases like “His blood cleanses me” and “sacrifice my life” from a Powerpoint slide with entirely-too-peaceful backgrounds of waterfalls, doves, and crufixes.
Another crucial difference in the implementation of small groups is the idea that each community actually functions like a typical community — they live near each other, send their kids to the same school, get involved locally and generally spend a lot of time “doing life together.” The goal is not to have a weekly Bible study (good as that is), but rather to form and maintain genuine relationships with other Believers that can support and encourage you daily. By definition this goes against the modern American ideal of independent security and passionate self-worth, because you are opening your life for others to witness and (inevitably) judge. Your weaknesses won’t be hidden for long, but neither will your redemptions.
Does that sound at all like the contemporary Christian movement in America today?
Tomorrow (or later today, rather) I will begin hunting for a community of Believers that recognizes a holy God in our secular world, that understands the importance of fellowship, and that fosters genuine relationships with Christians and non-Christians alike. If these ideals truly align with God’s own, then I believe there’s a “Hello, my name is…” sticker somewhere out there waiting for me.
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