Continuing on from last week's Factotum post, which began examining potential pitfalls for small group ministry, this week we examine two more issues that can affect our small groups in an unhealthy way. In order to understand these points properly, it's a good idea to read over the testimony that began the original article:

We had a great time in our small group last night. I was able to talk about my brother's illness for the first time. There were lots of tears and hugs, and we prayed together for healing and faith. We really felt the presence of God. It was a little taste of heaven. Actually, I'm finding the whole small group experience is bringing me closer to Jesus as we get closer to each other. There is a real sense of community, not like at church on Sundays. It's great being able to let others know what is really going on inside and then feel accepted for what we are. And as we experience God's healing in us, we can reach out to others in need. There is a real sense of mission together.

Now on to the second half of the article:

Experience

The enthusiastic testimony given for small groups above expresses a common sentiment: that the small group experience brings people closer to God. ‘Experience’ is another group buzzword because it is a profound experience to meet regularly in a small group. This is especially true in a society hell-bent on isolation and privacy. But for some who promote the small groups movement in the church, the experience of intimacy in the small group has become everything. They urge that the reality of God is found primarily in the experience of being close to others in a small group and finding ‘healing’ of emotions and hurts through this closeness. In this way, the group is said to bring us right into the presence of God.

There are several dangers with this view, which severely undermines the gospel.

• We create our own small group god. If we determine God's character and will from the small group experience, we will create our own small group god. This imaginary god may have little resemblance to the one true God. Our small group god might be welcoming and affirming, but is unlikely to be the God who wiped out Pharaoh for his insolence or who killed Ananias and Sapphira for their lie to the Holy Spirit! Such a God would be too discomforting in a small group experience. We will have moved from Christian revelation to mysticism.
• Our faith can be in the small group experience, not in Jesus' mediation. If the small group makes God real to us, and brings us closer to God, our salvation lies in the quality of that group experience. Presumably, in some groups, we would be deemed further from God because the experience is diminished. This has moved a long way from the absolute assurance of God's favour for those who cling to the cross of Christ.
• Experience is the god of this age. We can create all kinds of small group experiences—from songs of praise to primal screaming. Who can tell what they mean? Of course we feel great in a warm affirming group, but to label this feeling as being ‘closer to God’ is an unwarranted leap in thinking.

Exercise

1. What can be the positive outcomes of the small groups ‘experience’?
2. What can be the negative outcomes?

Mission

Small groups easily become small teams. Significant things can be achieved through a disciplined, committed team with common goals. This leads small group supporters to talk a lot about mission. The mission of the group will be defined by what the group perceives itself to be achieving. If it is aiming for community, it will want to draw others into that community. If it is working for experiences, it will seek to share those experiences with others.

The net effect of these goals can be to see mission in social terms, with evangelism as an optional extra. Mission becomes a ‘horizontal’ activity—between one another—rather than a ‘vertical’ activity—bringing others to God. The preaching of the death of Christ to a dying world is too often seen as a narrow understanding of mission—one that is out of touch with a holistic (another buzzword) view of meeting all human needs.

Exercise

1. Is your group in any danger of losing its gospel focus?
2. Are any of the anti's evident in your group?
3. What changes do you need to make to avoid the pitfalls for small groups?

The ‘anti's’ of small groups

There are some further implications of the small group focus on community, experience and mission. If these are misunderstood, small group ministry can become:

Anti-preaching

The value of proclaiming the word of God is diminished in favour of small group discussion and personal discovery. The experience of the group process in Bible reading is prized above the actual message. The sermon is seen as an inferior context for learning about God because the experience may be less than scintillating. This is not what we want. Small groups ought to generate a thirst for good preaching because they develop a hunger for God's word.

Anti-the minister

Small group ministry has become a lay movement, responding to perceived deficiencies in the churches. It can be a way for the laity to take power for themselves, in competition with congregational pastors. Some parts of the small groups movement are avowedly ‘anticlerical’. It is right to see the limitations of only having the professionals do the work of ministry. Small groups are a superb way for every Christian to get involved in ministry. However, this must not be an expression of mutiny, rejecting the authority of recognized, trained, Bible-teaching pastors.

Anti-the church

The closeness of community in small groups is prized above the total congregational life. In short, group members reduce commitment to church. This is a disastrous result, and creates isolated, unaccountable groups each doing what is right in their own eyes and not pulling together to make the whole church more fruitful.

Read the full article online.

1 Comment »