Benjamin: What is your dream of a Small group?

Monday, June 16, 2014

What is your dream of a Small group?

Had this sudden inspiration to finally write out some recent musing that God has laid on my heart for the longest time. And I would love to hear who ever reading this, can too share your own personal insights of what you think small group is to you?

The late John Stott once said this in an amazing book, titled "The Living Church", that “Small groups are indispensible for our growth into spiritual maturity." Although I will not entirely agree with the word "indispensable", as I believe there are other ways that contribute to our growth to spiritual maturity as well. However, I can clearly affirm that small groups is that essential and of utmost importance for everyone in the church to grow spiritually.

Just to set the context to this, there was a series of events in the past year that God has place across my path to not only teach me but use them to impact me to write out and share this dream of what a small group would probably look like to me today.
Firstly, in the last 6mths I had this wonderful privilege to be part of another cell group in a different church in addition to my field placement there. One of my biggest takeaway from that group alone, is this "culture of honour" that I've personally learn from the cell leader and members in the group. They demonstrated to me what hospitality really is, and how they honoured every member in the group always encouraging one another.

Secondly, it was the recent Wesley Church Camp that inspired me to actually write out all this today. After hearing Ps Edmund chan sharing on building a discipleship environment in a community, interacting with leaders and members from different small groups who each shared different insights of what a small group is to them. One of whom was a small group leader who sat down at our table during lunch for awhile on the last day of camp. And I am so thankful of what he shared to us as our small group was currently facing the same situation when his group was just as big as ours once before they eventually multiplied into a few groups today. His sharing affirmed each of us, that sometimes we just need to take that step of faith to just multiply in order to grow.

Thirdly, the biggest impact was actually experiencing what God has being doing in my small group God's clay just this past year alone. Historically this group has been together for more than 13 years since we were formed in Secondary 1 in the Youth ministry, but today it has grown so exponentially that the dynamics is so different than how it was maybe 3 years back. Just in the past year we have more than 10 new comers coming to join us, a couple of them are new believers & one or two seekers brought by friends along the way. Some have assimilated so well that they are already actively serving even though they have been here for just less than 2 months. We have became so big that we have finally come to terms that we actually need to multiply in order for everyone to grow further. To be honest, i've become so comfortable, I know that I do not need to fear coming to a group where there is not less than 6 people there, knowing that each week there always will be a substantial amount of people attending. But that was when God reminded me that as I become too comfortable and drawn by this wonderful vibrancy of people coming in, the potential danger is we may grow in numbers but not in depth in the life of the individuals in the long term. As the group grew, we constantly began to focus on the newcomers but we realised that some were actually left on the fringe, unless we took the next step of faith to actually multiply into even smaller groups, so that everyone can eventually share and grow deeper with one another. (The latest update as I write this, is we finally all came to a common vision an agreement of a feasible course of action to this multiplication which will take effect in the very near future)

I also sense from interacting with different members that each of us come to small group with different expectation. Some would come for small group as a place of fellowship, some to grow in the word, some see it as a place to sharpen each other, "like iron sharpen iron". But I've personally come to see it in a much broader way that Small group actually encompasses all of these aspects in the process of coming together, all this expectations mentioned are the product of what small group life should comprise of and is not mutually exclusive to one another. In short being and serving in a small group will eventually facilitate one in spiritual growth.

Someone once asked me what is my dream of a Small group?

If I can define what small group is first, I would say small group is the best environment on how we as a community of believers can come together to live out our Christian life. Since "regular" church on a weekend contains the larger body of Christ, where we attend a service, worship corporately & listen to a sermon on the pulpit but it is harder for time of closer interactions and personal ministry for one another if we are not in a smaller group. Small group in a way is like a mini church, it allows one to fully experience what church life really is. I say "Church" here not as a building but as a united body of Christ coming together. Just like the early church which described the fellowship of believers in Acts 2:42-47 where members met together in homes, to break bread, worship God, study His Word, share their possession & give to the needy. I believe a small group should emulate such a Living Church which has the same mission and purpose of the direction of the church, but it is carried out in an even smaller community which is the small groups within the church.

Secondly, I would state that we need to come to terms with reality that it is totally fine to have people of different personalities, different IQ & EQ, different occupations, different spiritual maturity an perhaps God would put some in our midst that will really "sharpen" and test us what patience really is. As we can not have the mindset that we can always be this "holy huddle" that just meet every Friday just focusing inwardly at our own needs. That's one of the biggest and likely danger a small group can fall into, and I'm very thankful that the general direction of the small group has unanimously agreed that we desire to be a group that is always Outward Looking which has a "no close door" policy. Ever since we took that stance, an influx of new members & seekers just came flooding through out group which gave us such a new vibrant life that we know inevitable in order to grow further we have to multiply. (This is partly why I sometimes prefer the term "cell groups" as it is meant to multiply)

Thirdly, I will say a small group is the best environment to start discovering, growing and exercising our different Spiritual gifts. It should be an environment that has such a culture of honor for one another that allows one to serve and to grow without being judge. An environment where we can experience the manifest presence of God and just allow the Holy Spirit to fill us & empower us to exercise our giftings for the common good! For example, a small group is a wonderful place for one to exercise the gift of hospitality to each other, especially when there is a new comer. It is also a good place to learn how to facilitate a bible study session, a platform to lead worship for the first time, its a wonderful place to exhort & encourage one another, to show care & concern, to pray for each other, and eventually there will not be any "consumers" or people on the fringe. Imagine this picture of such a vibrant group, if every single one in the group can be mutually loving, serving, giving, discipling, encouraging and ministering to one another. Just like describe in the early church in Acts 2:42-47, It is through this process that we not only grow deeper in the Word together but we will inevitably experience such Spiritual growth as we love and serve one another!

Lastly, I hope to see a small group that can be that "Witnessing Community" , that can live out the mission of "Missio Dei", God's heart for the people. This encompass what I have shared in the last two points where the group have the vision to be outward looking and to serve other with our spiritual gifts! We are to be intentional about being "missional". We are not only to feed ourselves as part of a Christian life as a community but to reach out to others as well. A group that is generally touch by God will naturally touch others too. A group that will look out for the least, the last & the lost and to bless others along the way. Just like our Wesley SGM vision, "Growing groups that bears lasting fruit." That is a wonderful vision that I too hope and dream we can fully embrace and live out in our small group. Yet again, I am already seeing a glimpse of this happening in our small group today. i.e. Ever since we started to do SGM Alpha last year, God provided that one seeker, who eventually came to Christ, and is actively serving in our small group today. And another new believer in our group has recently step-up to lead us in a fresh new direction for the small group ahead! Both of them are just one of the many testimonies that God have been doing something in the individuals in the group. And it's such an encouragement to see the new believers actually playing such an active role & reminding us "long-time" or "second-generation" Christians how vibrant a Christian life really is.

Concluding Remarks

In summary, my dream of a small group is to see such an outward looking group that is like a small group "without walls" where God can use such a group who can mutually love and serve one another, who disciple disciplers and be that witnessing community to the world!

I will like to end with this verse that is very close to my heart! In John 13:34-35 says, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Below are just some of the small groups that have greatly impacted me in recent years!

My very own small group God's Clay...