"Small Groups: New Hearts in Action"
Nov.7/04 Col.3:5-17
"Groupie" -- or Scriptural?
"The Doctor is - IN...5 cents." So proclaimed Lucy's ramshackle clinic-front in the Peanuts cartoon, where Charlie Brown and other characters could come and get their nickel's worth of amateur psychotherapy. Charles Schulz was perhaps poking fun at our society's obsession with the latest therapy. Twelve-step groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous have been going a long time, with significant results. Many other twelve-step groups and self-help or support groups have sprung up following AA's example. Self-improvement books line the bookshelves, TV ads pitch the latest exercise equipment, new diets and alternative therapies 1vie for our attention. There are critics who say small groups in the church are just one more example of our culture's selfish focus, a means for Christians to jump on the post-70s therapeutic bandwagon. What about it? Are small groups Biblical, or just a modern trend?
In Exodus 18, after leaving Egypt, the millions of Hebrews depended on Moses the prophet for pastoral support. He sat all day to judge between them and resolve their disputes. Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, warned that Moses and the people would only wear themselves out by such a system. Jethro counselled Moses to divide the people up into small groups - tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands, and to appoint leaders over them. These leaders would decide the simple cases by themselves, and bring only the difficult cases to Moses. Jethro concluded, "That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you." Instead of Moses being the only "shepherd" or pastor for such a big flock, he enlisted many volunteer 'pastors' who would look after smaller units. This multiplied the leadership resources and greatly improved the access people had to someone in an official role of accountability - so they did have to stand around Moses "from morning till evening" waiting to get a hearing (Ex.18:13-36). Essentially the whole nation was divided up into small groups up to ten in number.
We see Jesus as well multiplying leadership and using small group principles to increase the impact of His ministry. While he preached in the open air to crowds of thousands, that's not the only way He structured His outreach. He trained and sent out 72 sub-evangelists to preach ahead of His arrival (Lk.10:1). He deliberately, carefully, and prayerfully chose a small group of 12 men, the Apostles, into whom He poured His life and teaching 24/7 throughout His brief career (Lk.9:1). Even within this there was an inner triad of three, Peter James & John, who were closest to the Master and accompanied Him at times of extreme significance (Lk.9:28; Mt.26:37). So we see the beginnings of small-group philosophy right within Christ's earthly ministry. After the Resurrection, with the Holy Spirit's guidance these trained leaders spread the movement far and wide, appointing other leaders or apprentices in turn.
Acts 2(46) talks of the early church breaking bread in their homes; Acts 5(42), they taught and proclaimed the good news "in the temple courts and from house to house." The apostle Paul refers to churches that met in the homes of Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila, Philemon, and Nympha (Ac.16:40; Rom.16:3-5, 1Cor.16:19; Phm.2; Col.4:15). So right from its beginnings the church appears to have been organized in small communities through which believers experienced fellowship and nurture.
Tony Campolo writes, "One of the primary means to experience regular renewal is by being a part of a small group...I believe that everyone should belong to a group with 2 or 3 other people who meet regularly.I, myself, have such a group that meets for prayer and fun on Tuesday mornings. We meet at Joe's an old-fashioned breakfast place that's close to where we live. When we get together, we talk about what's going on in our lives and listen to one another's troubles. In the context of intimacy, there is something of God's Spirit that flows between us and energizes each of us.The New Testament gives evidence that Jesus had such a support group...Church historians tell us that John Wesley had such a group at Oxford University. He and his friends met so methodically that the other students at Oxford ridiculed them and called them 'The Methodists'. That's where the name of that denomination came from.Testimonies about spiritual renewal are countless, but among those who have 'made it' as Christians, most consider the dynamism of the Spirit experienced in small-group encounters to be a primary instrument for the maintenance of their faith."
Training Wheels for Beginners
When we learned to ride a bicycle, most of us can remember somebody running along beside us to steady it on our first try. Only after some experience did we try it solo, and then many of us had those little training wheels bolted on behind for a while to keep us steady. Small groups are like training wheels that we never really grow out of. Even those who are most experienced in the Christian walk still need support and accountability; and the way God has designed the Church to continue through the centuries is by having the "pros" help out the "novices" as they take their first wavery forays into spiritual discovery and warfare. If you're not BEING held by someone, it's your turn to steady a newbie!
You may think New Age religion is really new - but I have news for you. Paul wrote the letter to the church at Colosse to combat New Age religion back in the first century. This false teaching or 'syncretism' tried to combine with Christian truth ideas from other philosophies (such as Greek thought) and religions (strains of Judaism and paganism). This false teaching later became known as Gnosticism. Paul is careful to emphasize the difference between tradition-based or rule-based religion and Christianity, the real lived-out relationship with God and our fellow human. He warns them both against (2:8) "hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world" on the one hand; and on the other, regulation or rule-based religion that in futility orders, "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!" (2:21)
He explains that, for Christians, there has been a radical change from the inside out. "You have been given fullness in Christ," he says (2:10). We were "circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature" (2:11), deep surgery done by Christ. We were "buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him" through our faith in God's power. Col.2:13 says, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.He forgave us all our sins...” "You died," Paul says (3:3), "and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." When He appears, we also will appear with Him in glory: our life is tied up with His, for the Father's purpose is to transform us into Jesus likeness "with ever-increasing glory" (2Cor.3:18). 3:10 says we have a NEW SELF that's "being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." Adam marred God's image by sinning in the Garden, but Jesus Christ undoes all that and gives us a fresh start over again, to become the people of beauty and holiness God intended all along.
Much of this happens unseen, inside, in our hearts and the invisible spirit component of us. But it can't stay hidden. The renewal must become obvious and transform our old sinful habits. This is where community with other flesh-and-blood people becomes so important: the small group is our training ground as we learn to ride the bicycle and find balance and skill in living as Christians.
Look through chapter 3 verses 9-16 and you'll notice Paul mentions "one anothering" explicitly four times. The Christian life is not feeling (nice as our worship songs can be); the Christian life is BEHAVING, learning how to relate to others with grace and love as Jesus does. Relationships with other people are vital for this: you can think you're practically perfect as long as you don't have anything to do with other people!
As winter draws closer and the temperatures drop, we start digging the winter clothes out of storage, and put away the shorts and uninsulated clothes of summer. In this section Paul uses the language of dressing up in winter duds as a metaphor for applying Christ-like qualities to ourselves (8 rid, 9 have taken off, 10 have put on, 12 clothe yourselves). Those former rags the enemy supplied are going to consistently give others a chill! Paul commands we're to put off immorality, impurity, vile passions, evil desires, greed (which he likens to worshipping an idol), anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy talk, lying, and prejudice.(Doesn't leave a movie director much to work with these days, does it?!)
Cozy up instead in these down-filled duds that glow with Jesus' warmth: v12, "clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Maybe compassion would class as what we're packing in the Samaritan's Purse shoebox for next Sunday. Kindness - being extra thoughtful of someone else. Humility - waiting your turn, letting the other person go first even if you WERE the first to get to the intersection. Gentleness - like the big guy in the Green Mile, it doesn't mean weakness but strength under control. Patience, what one version calls "a power of undergoing all things": if you 'just can't stand it' - now you can, because God's in charge, God who chose you, and to whom you're "holy and dearly loved."
Group interaction of any kind practically guarantees you'll gain experience in forgiveness, because no one is perfect. Even the most ideal small group will have people who disappoint or frustrate you or say something inappropriate or let you down in some way -- as you undoubtedly will do to them; this calls for grace. When v13 calls us to forgive "whatever grievances you may have against one another" - to forgive others as the Lord forgave us - the verb used has the "grace" as part of its root. We're to give graciously, freely forgive, so others taste the grace of Jesus through our absorbing the cost or hurt they've caused. V14 wraps it all up by telling us to put on love over all these virtues, love that binds them all together - kind of the way a pair of coveralls contain your whole outfit, covers any unpresentable patches, and holds your whole outfit together.
Healing the Broken Hallelujah
Small groups are proving effective in recent decades partly because our culture is so dysfunctional when it comes to relationships. Even a mediocre small group provides several essentials people crave that have simply vanished from the scene compared to yesteryear. Bob Logan and Tom Clegg point out that in our postmodern culture, increasingly we see -- family fragmentation; lives that are out of control; increasing numbers of victims; more and more stress; lack of genuine relationships; loss of 'small town' community; need for authentic life change; and desire for authenticity. Small groups offer Christians the chance to put their new hearts into action in a way that deeply impacts newcomers who've been searching for real love, connection, and caring.
There was a news item this week of a lady hoping to set a Guinness World Record for "speed dating". Apparently the plan is to get 200 single women and 200 single men together in a big room in a hotel in Niagara Falls. They're to work their way around the room until they find the person who's right for them. Talk about frantic fraternizing! Finding a life mate is something that ought to take much time, prayer, and interaction over a variety of situations. Yet that anyone would even try "speed dating" reflects individuals' desperation to find relationship; there's an urgent craving.
This heart-cry for companionship comes through even in kids' movies. Recently my wife and I watched "Shrek". It's much like a fairy tale, with a lot of comedy and creativity. But at a climax in the movie there's a remarkable song. Shrek the Ogre has rescued Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded tower, and it looks for a while like they might be falling in love. But due to misconceptions over a part of a conversation overheard, there's a falling-out, and the Princess seems as intent on marrying the evil Prince Farquaad as Shrek is intent on never letting anyone get close enough to hurt him again. Here's where this song with Biblical allusions comes in. It's composed by Leonard Cohen, who was raised as a Jew in Montreal.
"I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
(Chorus goes)
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah"
Initially, you wonder if the song's going to be an optimistic piece of praise; but instead it echoes the hurting cry of a heart that's been jilted, is really baffled, and questions whether it will be able to love again. The pain is so great the singer doubts God, and suspects love is just an exercise in hurting someone else worse:
"Maybe there's a God above
And all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah."
What a surprising piece for the middle of a children's movie! How powerfully it cause feelings to resonate in anyone who's ever struck out in a relationship, been betrayed by a friend, or felt inferior due to their non-idol-category appearance. That's most of us.
Small groups provide the church with a convincing opportunity to demonstrate Christ's grace to such hurting hearts. To share with Shreks and Fionas the new heart Christ has placed within us, a heart that can show genuine compassion, forgiveness, kindness, and grace. This is the context in which real Christian community presents itself with Resurrection convincing-ness. Here the peace of Christ rules, we teach and admonish one another with all wisdom as Christ's word dwells in us richly (as v16 describes it). Jesus shows Himself alive through the caring, and gives genuine healing where before there was only a "cold and broken hallelujah".
In a small group context, we come to not only know one another, we come to know ourselves, warts and all, and the new "me" Christ is growing me to become, in His likeness. This close community dispels the dreadful anonymity that today's urban sprawls and mass media create.
Christian Schwarz says, "In one of my seminars I once shared the story of the world's largest church in Seoul (Korea), which at that time had half a million members. One of the participants immediately responded that she could not even imagine becoming part of such a church. When I asked her why she felt that way she said: 'Well I could never stand the anonymity. I need the familiar atmosphere of people I know well.'
Just a short time later I actually met a pastor from that church and asked him how they deal with the problem of anonymity. He looked rather puzzled: 'Anonymity? Nobody has ever complained about that in our church.' Then he proceeded to tell me about how this church has developed a system of self-reliant cell groups of up to 12 members and how most of the members of this church are integrated into this network."
St Teresa of Avila once said, "The nicest thing we can do for our Heavenly Father is to be kind to one of His children." As Jesus has helped us put on the new self, renewed us in His image, and drawn us into the circle of the Kingdom, small groups provide a way for us to show His kindness to others so the Father is glorified in new fellowship -- and genuine 'hallelujahs' from hearts full of gratitude. Let's pray.