September 08, 2006
Small Groups
We’ve always had Bible study groups in our church, but in the last few years that’s all changed and we now have small groups. Our church leaders and staff are totally enamored with the small group concept, so much so that the church catalog lists all of them as ‘SMALL GROUPS: TRADITIONAL’. I’m guessing this is meant to imply that even though the worship service is now contemporary, the small groups will be ‘traditional’. We are told in the communication from the elders [church newsletter] that small groups are, “…how to get more people attached. Growth, comfort, and relationships are developed in these. The need for community involvement, perhaps springing up from these groups, was emphasized.” It appears that what was once used to describe the church now describes small groups. I’m not exactly sure what a traditional small group looks like, but as soon as the contemporary small group comes along, no doubt I’ll be able to tell the difference!
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Gail;
----According to what I have experienced, two differences can be noted between the old Bible study and today's small group: traditional. 1) Bible studies are more apt to be organized by a group of people who recognize the same interests among them and want to study the Bible together. The sg:t (small group:traditional) is organized and orchestrated by the church. 2) Bible studies are more likely to consist of members of different churches, but sg:t are creatures arranged by the church leaders.
----I remember the distress a few months ago when marching orders were sent down from the controlling powers of the leaders that the sg:t were to "stir the pot". If my memory serves me correctly, this "suggestion" went beyond that the people should rotate thru the different sg:t to the actual "suggestion" of who should go where.
----My suspicions always grow proportionately with any human desire to control others, whether it be in friendships, sg:t, Bible studies, churches, or governments. If God wanted man to have big control over broad masses, He would have celebrated the Tower of Babel rather than scattering that clump of folks. (Mega-church, hmmm?)
----I have no hard evidence, but from hearing a bit here and a piece there, and knowing that any sg:t and its leader has to be "registered" with the appropriate church leader, I can not help but suspect that sg:t is one more handy tool for assuring that the thoughts and sentiments around the church are shaping up according to the plans of the church leaders. I am reminded of the morning Bible study I attend. Several men of that group also attend the church you do, Gail. After I circulated a letter to the church that juxtaposed the Word of God over its leaders' behavior towards certain people, the reactions of these men in my Bible study were at first mixed. But as I continued to hear talk of the treatment about the issue over the next few weeks by the sg:t leaders, I was disappointed to see my brothers' attitudes turn cold and unaccepting toward me. Finally, two weeks ago I had enough, and I reminded them once again about the facts of the matter. And once again they warmly know me as their brother.
----I can not help but see the opportunity to micromanage the ideology of the church through the sg:t network. I think the "traditional" probably refers to the sg:t's option to choose its own Bible topic to be fed through the spin process of the "registered" leader. My guess is that the small group:contemporary will be about some social topic and how all these books written by all these contemporary leaders hold the answers, while the Bible becomes a dust bunny.
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