God’s kind of Small Group! (according to His scripture)

If we truly take God’s Word as being sufficient and complete, then we will see that the New Testament reveals what a small group of believers should look like when they come together to help each other grow in spiritual maturity and become like Jesus.  Whether your small group meets at the church building on Sunday mornings/evenings or whether it meets off campus at any other day and time, the same four characteristics will be at play in the life and relationships of your group members.  The name of your group really does not matter; Sunday School class, Disciple group, Life group, commonality group, women’s group, men’s group, and so forth, they all have the same four characteristics.  What are these characteristics (qualities, ingredients, etc.)?  See below:

Developing Community in Your Small Group

More from Rick Howerton’s blog and his interview with Mike Mack.

THE MIKE MACK INTERVIEW DAY 3… CREATING COMMUNITY IN GROUPS

 

This is day 3 of my interview with Mike Mack. Mike is one of the long-time leaders in the groups movement and is one of the most prolific writers on the topic. Mike knows more about groups than almost anyone I know. This is one guy every one of us ought to be reading.

Check out what Mike has to say about why churches don’t always create community.

 Rick: Mike, as you know, churches do not always create community even though that’s their target. What are the markers that a church may be gathering people but aren’t creating community?

Mike: I think the markers are the one another passages in the New Testament. I regularly ask groups (or ask our coaches to ask) questions such as,

• Are you encouraging one another … daily?
• Are you spurring one another on to love and good deeds?
• Are you accepting one another … just as Christ accepted you?
• Do you admonish one another when necessary?
• Do you honor one another above yourselves?
• Do you carry each other’s burdens?
• Do you confess your sins to one another (to at least one other person in the group) and pray for one another?
• Do you each use the spiritual gift you’ve received to serve others? (Is everyone sharing ownership in this group?)

Groups can assess themselves on these in an honest discussion. I developed a simple evaluation tool using the one anothers that you can download from here.

Rick: What are the elements of community every group must build into group life so that that group is experience true biblical community?

Mike: Real community life is messy, as Heather Zempel has said. It can be fun and enjoyable, but it’s also sometimes hard and takes work. It takes GUTS to live in healthy, authentic, Christ-centered community. It must be:

• Genuine, marked by being authentic with one another, taking off the masks we wear everywhere else. Paul said we are to love one another with genuine affection (Ro. 12:10).
• Unconditional, meaning we love each other “anyway.” We accept one another and forgive each other unreservedly, treating one another with the same grace that God has extended to us.
• Tangible, in deeds not just words. We serve one another and take care of each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. When one person has a need, everyone else jumps in to help.
• Sacrificial, laying down our lives for our friends. We put their needs above our own, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

All of this takes great commitment and is costly. It also sets us apart as the Christian community—the body of Christ—from the rest of the world.

Rick: A lot of the churches I work with aren’t experiencing true biblical community. They want to transition their groups from just being about Bible study or just being about friendship. They often ask, “How do I go about getting the groups that have been meeting for years to rethink and revisit how they do group?” What guidance would you give these groups point people?

Mike: I face the same thing as I work with churches. It’s not an either-or proposition, but both-and. I work with these churches to consider what makes their groups biblically healthy. All seven of the vital signs of a healthy group are essential, and they all work together to develop biblically functioning community where disciples are made, grow, and serve.

It begins with a group learning to put Christ—not their leader, themselves, their issues, or what they study—at the center. When a group meets in his presence, under his power, and for his purposes, they will naturally live out the other healthy patterns for a group. The other six vital signs are all built on this strong foundation.

Rick: Mike, I can’t thank you enough for spending this time with me. You have some incredible insights that shouldn’t be overlooked. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

Mike: Thanks, Rick. I appreciate you and your ministry. With you, I dream of a biblical small group within walking distance of every person on the planet making disciples that make disciples!

 

From LifeWay’s Ed Stetzer: 5 essential elements of transformational small groups

 

Transformational discipleship involves moving people from sitting
in rows, where they are simply in proximity to one another, to sitting
in circles. From there, they move into community with one another.

When Eric Geiger and I were writing Transformational Groups, we studied 2,300 churches sponsored by 15 denominations. Fewer than half of those churches said they had a plan for discipling people. Only 63 percent had
someone responsible for the spiritual formation of children, students, and
adults.

The majority of these churches weren’t satisfied with the state of disci-
pleship or spiritual formation. We know there is a great level of dissatisfaction in many churches about where they are on the issue of discipleship, but what is the solution?

We also conducted a Transformational Discipleship study of more than 4,000 Protestant churchgoers in North America and asked them about spiritual formation. One of the five items most predictive for spiritual maturity was participation in a small class or group of adults such as a small group, Bible study, or adult Bible fellowship.

But what makes a small group thrive?  Our studies discovered five elements of a transformational small group environment: mission orientation, Word-driven mentality, multiplication mindset,
stranger welcoming, and kingdom focused.

MISSION ORIENTATION

First, every small group should be mission oriented and focused on becoming part of and following God in His mission for the world. When someone becomes a believer, he or she takes on the responsibility of being globally minded; this mindset contributes to his or her spiritual growth and maturity.

WORD-DRIVEN MENTALITY

Second, small groups need to be firmly rooted in the Scriptures, which are a source of life and growth. Sharing life’s struggles and encouraging one another is a healthy part of any community.   But too much sharing can make the group seem like a support group. The needs people share in the group need to always be hedged-in and examined through the lens of Scripture.

MULTIPLICATION MINDSET

A third aspect of transformational discipleship groups is a multiplication
mindset. The purpose of a group is to eventually reproduce into another group that is making and growing disciples of Christ. This element of small groups helps members stay open to change and inviting to new people.

For this element to function effectively, church leaders need to relinquish
ministry and leadership into the hands of believers in their church and not cling tightly to power. While groups can multiply under the leadership of an elite few in the church, the possibilities of growth are minuscule compared to what occurs when the laity leads small groups.

STRANGER WELCOMING

A fourth element of small groups is that they welcome strangers. Small groups must always be aware of new people in the church and new people in their groups, intentionally creating a welcoming and relational environment for them. Without this the group becomes inward-focused and loses sight of the mission to make more disciples.

KINGDOM FOCUSED

A fifth and final component of transformational groups is a kingdom-focused mindset. Group members need to stay focused on what God wants to accomplish in their time together, not how they can be the most exciting small group in the church.  Groups cannot exist for the sole purpose of emotional support for their members, but must find their
place in God’s greater plan of advancing His kingdom.

Transformational discipleship can happen when small groups focus on God’s mission, His kingdom, and His word, and when they are welcoming to strangers and intent on multiplying. All of this begins when people move out of the pew and into circles in order to be in community
with one another and provoke one another to love and good deeds. This is
essential.

Small groups that produce transformational discipleship are essential not only to the spiritual growth and maturity of church members but also to
the advancement of the gospel.

ED STETZER (@EdStetzer) is executive director of LifeWay Research. For more visit  www.EdStetzer.com

 

THE MIKE MACK INTERVIEW, DAY 2… HOLINESS, LIFE IN COMMUNITY, AND WHY IT MATTERS

Today Mike joins me in discussing a topic that seems to be lacking in the minds of many… holiness in community and why it matters.

Rick: Mike, I know you as one of the most biblically focused authors I know of when it comes to group life. Not only that, I’ve seen the way you live your life. You are a man who lives a holy life. I think many groups are struggling to understand the importance of holiness in group life. Why is holiness in the life of each individual group member important to the group and why it is important if a group is going to experience true Christian community?

Mike: One of the topics I love talking to group leaders about is Christ-centeredness, both in the group and in the lives of the leaders and members. Living lives of integrity (holiness/piety) comes out of spending time with God on a regular basis, individually and as a group. When we come near to God, he will come near to us (Jas. 4:8). Spiritual leadership starts with remaining intimately connected with God (John 15), and when we do, his love, power, grace, compassion . . . flow out of us.

Discipleship doesn’t happen merely in a once-a-week meeting. People grow as they spend time with God in his Word, in prayer, in personal worship, in fasting, etc. regularly. Then, when a group of people who have been spending time with God all week come together, it is powerful, as each one shares what God is doing in his or her life with the others.

This is why investing in people’s lives is more important to a leader than facilitating a good study. Both are important, but real transformation happens when you simply but compassionately get involved in one another’s lives.

Rick: The Groups world has taken a turn in a new direction. Whereas we once talked mostly about “community,” the groups movement is now abuzz about what it means to make disciples. Mike, how would you describe disciple making and what do you think the groups movement must do in order to do more than just create groups where people do life together?

Mike: I could write a book on this one! I believe we as a groups movement need to get serious about the things Jesus and his group were serious about. When we design groups (and churches, for that matter) for consumers, they remain consumers. But when we make it clear up front that being in a group requires a commitment (to Christ, the group, and to mutual discipleship), those groups will bear fruit. Our model leader, Jesus, spoke often about the cost of following him, and so should we. Are we willing to sacrifice numbers over the short term for spiritual maturity over the long term? I hope we go with the latter.

Rick: You’ve consulted many churches through the years so you know the importance of the senior pastor’s involvement in the groups ministry. Some senior pastors don’t understand the importance of community life through small groups. When a groups pastor asks the question, “What do I do if my senior pastor isn’t involved in a group and has little concern for the group ministry?”, how do you respond?

Mike: I secretly wish I had had an opportunity to talk to them before they took the responsibility! At that point I could counsel them to be sure they and the senior leadership (senior pastor as well as the leadership board and other senior-level leaders) are all on the same page in regard to values and expectations.

Once a groups pastor in in the role, he or she can leverage several opportunities, depending on the church and the pastor. First, partner together with the pastor to achieve common objectives and carry out the common mission. Ask how you can help him (not how he can help you) to carry out the mission of the church. Love him. Invest into him. Pray for him. Learn to speak his language. Work within the confines of your leadership structure (if you report to a second- or third-tier leader, don’t go over their head), and yet find ways to lead up. Don’t be afraid to invite him to participate in a group—after all that’s your passion and your job—but don’t lose faith if he says no. Help him discover the group he already has—a leadership group for instance, or a team he is on—and ask him to talk about that group in his sermons.