The Genius of Small Groups

Pastor Pete Beck III • Jan 09, 2017

Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble heart s,  Acts 2:46 (NET1)

The early church consisted of a network of small groups that stretched out over the Roman world. These were churches that met in homes for the most part. When the early disciples met at the Temple, it was in the outer open air areas, such as the covered colonnades of Solomon’s porch. Even later in the Book of Act s, the small group paradigm is still intact.

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18  And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19  serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20  how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, Acts 20:17-20 (ESV)

There is a genius to the small group structure on several levels.

Strength Against Persecution

Small groups in the New Testament were part of God’s strategy to help the church survive and thrive in times of persecution. The more centralized and clergy-centric the church is, the easier it is to shut it down. That is what happened in the USSR under communist rule. The Russian church’s leadership consisted of clergy arranged hierarchically and their churches (the people) were building centric. All the KGB had to do to control the people was to imprison, kill, or intimidate the leaders. This was often done by threatening to take away their church buildings unless the leadership complied to government directives.

In contrast, the church in Communist China has grown exponentially during persecution over the past many decades. This is because the Chinese adopted a small group structure and a decentralized non-hierarchical form of leadership. If the government imprisoned or killed a leader, several others were ready and willing to replace them. The government was unable to hold the church hostage to its buildings because there were none. In the Chinese underground church, new converts are taught from the beginning that they are church planters. In other words, they are expected to share the Gospel, make disciples, and launch new small group churches.

God’s small group strategy in China has been extremely successful, and no organization or denomination can take credit for it.

It is impossible to stamp out a movement that multiplies leaders and groups at a rapid rate and can go underground at a moment’s notice. That is how the early church operated until the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. After that the church grew increasingly in love with and dependent upon power, prestige, buildings, land, and money, all of which contributed to her corruption. Will it be that in the last days God will return us once again to his original plan because of persecution?

(If you wish to read more about this topic, I recommend three excellent books: The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations  by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom, and two books written by Nik Ripken – The Insanity of God and The Insanity of Obedience.)

Connectedness

Small groups provide the opportunity to know and be known relationally. For those who desire this sort of connectedness, the small group is perfect, especially when discussion and interaction around the Scriptures is the norm. In contrast to the talking head model where large numbers congregate to listen silently to a teacher or preacher, the small group affords the possibility of discussing the meaning of the Scriptures. Jesus certainly modeled this sort of thing in his own discipleship band. I have heard LifeNet attenders say repeatedly that in such a setting they have learned more than they ever did just listening to preachers.

As people interact, we become known to one another. In the Gospels, we get to know Jesus and his disciples through their interactions with each other and the words they spoke.

We know that Peter was impetuous, headstrong, and brash, not to mention loyal and deeply in love with Jesus. We learn that James and John sought glory for themselves, and that all the disciples argued over such things as who was the greatest. We find out that they were sometimes blind to truth and lacking in faith. We see them being rebuked and congratulated, succeeding and failing. The small group provides the opportunity to be real without fear of rejection. Such honesty is a welcome relief from the hypocrisy that characterizes so much of Christianity. People in general, unless they have something to hide, want this kind of loving transparency, where they do not have to pretend to be something they are not and can be loved for who they are. After all, if people only love our projection of our desired image, they are not really loving us. They are loving a false image. Real love requires real relationships, and small groups promote both.

Multiplied Ministry Opportunities

One of the important truths that was restored to the church during the Protestant Reformation is called the priesthood of the believer. The Roman Catholic church adopted the Old Covenant concept of the priesthood and emphasized the clergy-laity divide. Both of these things are in direct opposition to the New Covenant. The priesthood was abolished when Jesus died as the Great High Priest, thus inaugurating the New Covenant, through which all believers have direct access to God. There is no other mediator between God and man, except Jesus the Messiah, who opened up a “new and living way” directly into God’s presence, where all believers have ongoing free access. (Hebrews 4:16)

Jesus also taught that, in the New Covenant, leaders are to be servants, not part of a domineering hierarchy. Every person can be a servant-minister of some sort or another; even though, some are uniquely called to five-fold ministry (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher) and eldership. In fact, all Christians are expected to be such servants or ministers. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth:

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV)

This dynamic can only take place in a small group or a relatively small assembly. Otherwise it quickly becomes unmanageable. This is why so many larger churches do not allow for the gifts of the Spirit in their main meetings or for individuals to participate by sharing what God has shown them either by revelation or through the Scriptures. This is why worship services tend to be orchestrated in larger churches; whereas, small groups are able to be more “free flowing” and led by the Spirit, with multiple people participating.

Small groups help to tear down the spectator mentality so prevalent in our consumer culture by encouraging interaction, sharing, and contributing through teaching, singing, prayer, etc.

Instant feedback is available, just as it was in Jesus’ discipleship band. The group can stop what it is doing to teach, coach, etc. This flexibility is what is needed to help people develop in their use of the gifts, in learning how to pray, in learning how to share the Word and the Gospel, and in learning how to lead. When small groups have a strong missional component, ministry to those who do not yet know Christ is available to every member of the group and highly encouraged. Missional groups help eliminate the idea that ministry is only supposed to happen during church meetings. People are taught to take church with them wherever they go.

Multiplied Leadership Opportunities

In a decentralized small group structured church, where leadership decisions are spread out as much as possible, while still maintaining organizational integrity, up and coming leaders have a wonderful opportunity to develop. Part of the genius of the small group structure is that multiplication requires new leaders to emerge and take responsibility. While this is a good thing, it can also be intimidating to some, who have been trained in the old way of doing things to depend on ordained clergy to both lead and minister.

The best way to learn to lead is by being mentored while doing. This is very doable in a small group setting where the acknowledged leader can turn over various responsibilities to others in the group while watching them in action and afterward giving feedback.

Training for new leaders can be customized for each individual and tailored to his or her particular abilities, experience, and availability. The hope is that taking leadership responsibility will be viewed as attractive, attainable, and expected as part of the normal process of spiritual growth, rather than being viewed as belonging to a specially educated clergy.

Flexibility

The larger an organization, the more difficult it is to change course and adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Small groups, by their very nature, are not bound by such constraints and can flex and bend in whatever way is needed to fulfill the mission. This is both exciting and somewhat daunting, since most people are creatures of habit and can be intimidated by such freedom of movement, expression, and ministry. Those who have experienced the flexibility of a small group structure usually fall in love with it, however. As one of LifeNet’s leaders has said, “I could never go back to the old way of doing things.”

Conclusion

A small group structure provides a number of very positive benefits. This is not to say that other modes and methods of being the church are illegitimate. Far from it. God loves variety, and Jesus is the Lord of a tremendously variegated church. The important thing is to be faithful to what the Holy Spirit has shown each of us to do, without being critical of others.

By Marie Janssen 20 Jan, 2024
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