“Then these people starting writing books and hosting seminars. And then church leaders like you and me bought into what they were saying because we didn’t recognize that the same faulty worldview that produced a mechanized approach to Christian community fostered a ready-made market in our hearts to consume their quick-fix solutions.”
*Brian Jones
To Read the rest of his article go here
The blog by Brian Jones is an interesting perspective that I believe will definitely provoke good discussion. But I do believe that saying we should euthanize the role of small groups in our churches is sensationalism at its finest. The structure of small groups within the context of the local church have impacted many lives, provided much needed Christ-like care and encouragement, and in many cases became an entry point for Christians to be transformed into passionate and obedient followers of Christ. So for me the idea to throw out the baby with the bath water is a stretch. Now I do agree with Mr. Jones in the sense that Evangelicals have jumped on this structure to be the cure all for spiritual health, spiritual growth, and community. Like all things—something good led out by those who have ulterior, selfish, and lazy motives will lead to an impotent and lifeless end. And I think much of the frustration that we feel towards any structure that “ensures” spiritual growth is that we’ve seen Christian leaders who manipulate and use it for their own name and church not for Christ’s name and His Church. But we can’t allow those observations to skew the reality of life-change and transformation that is happening within many small groups across the country.
Personally, I do think we’d like to think that spiritual transformation could optimally happen within one structure and context. But I believe that someone becoming like Christ is going to be transformed into His likeness through many avenues, structures, and experiences. Small groups may be one of them—a Sunday morning Bible study may be one of them—a men’s retreat may be one of them—becoming like Christ is a very blurry and unpredictable thing to pin point. And because of that it does make us as leaders; vulnerable, fearful, powerless, and God-reliant. And for whatever reason, that’s a place most of us don’t like being in, but it’s the very place where God wants us---humble and reliant.
There is nothing that we do that can replace the powerful, life-giving Spirit of God. And it is very easy to rely on the structures that we construct to produce results that may be shallow and unstable. But I do think a selected structure can coexist with the mighty Spirit of God at the core and freely moving. In Acts 6 we see the disciples who had to resort to creating a structure to meet the needs of the widows and to execute the daily distribution of food. With their leadership they developed a plan with the agreement of the Holy Spirit and reflect the heart of God to those in need.
Those of us who are pursuing Jesus need to be in community, we need to be growing in our understanding, knowledge, and application of the Word of God. Wherever and however this happens doesn’t really matter as long as these things are being weaved into a believer’s life. But as a leader this doesn’t give me the freedom to neglect my gift of leadership, become passive, and to not create environments where individuals can encounter Christ—that’s negligence.
*Jeff Henson
