Conefessions Of A Small Group Leader - Two Words Of Warning

Here is the final section of Joe's article:

Two Words of Warning

Ministry in a small group requires a solid ecclesiology. Without it, two pitfalls become real dangers for small-group leaders.

First, people can make you feel you have to start a church, if not formally, at least informally, complete with polity, clergy, and other trappings. The danger is losing sight of the original purpose; the group can begin to exist for its own sake.

Remember Amos. God may be raising up a neighborhood Bible study or a young-adult sharing group just for a certain time. Meet as long as you see fruit. Quit when the purposes have been fulfilled.

A second pitfall is thinking that because you're not a church, you can get by with less commitment and preparation. The difference between an organized church and a home Bible study is often no more than people sitting in pews or on sofas. The body of Christ is anatomically identical whether in a living room or a cathedral. It requires our best effort.

Don't confuse the wineskins with the wine. Whether the wineskins are organized churches with pews and payrolls or home Bible studies with coffee and questions, the wine is the same.

So small groups are sometimes fraught with dangers—largely in the temptation to make them something they're not or in not respecting them for all they are. But don't allow the perils to dissuade you.

Despite my less-than-perfect experience, I still believe the small group is the best vehicle available for the full employment of all the spiritual gifts and blessings in the church

When Joe wraps up this article it is quite confusing. First he says don't turn your small group into a church, then he tells us that the only difference between your small group and an organized church is pews and sofas. So if they are the same and our churches are not fruitful should we close those up too?

I do think there is a time and place when a small group should close up shop. Sometimes it is easier to start fresh than to wake the dead. My worry is that people will read an article like this and they will close their group simply because they are facing adversity. When times get tough in group life and a leader is experiencing conflict between group members, or a study seems boring, or the leader is crossing their own spiritual desert, it gets kind of tough to see the fruit. Maybe there are seasons with no fruit. Often I have found fruit comes after hard labor.

Despite our collective less than perfect state of existence, God will still use us to help people connect with each other and Himself.