For the past 15 years or so, I have been in or helped to lead a small group Bible study of some sort. In that time, I have formed some fairly definite opinions on what’s good and bad regarding such things. This summer, I have been attending a Sunday School (er, Grace Bible Hour) class on small group leadership. The goal of this class is for the leadership to explore and explain some of what they are thinking of doing with small groups. As such, small group Bible study ministry has been in my thoughts.
Don’t Force It
I would say the largest obstacle to success in the Bible Studies I have attended is the attempt by church leadership or even leaders in the group to force some sort of stricture on the group. Here are some examples:
- The group must split every year or two to be healthy.
- The group must adhere to curriculum X.
- The group must, each meeting, spend X time on study, Y time on fellowship, Z time on prayer.
These kinds of regulations could only have been thought up by some life-sucking bureaucrat. They are total bunk. Here’s why: these kinds of rules assume that the groups are made of robots or plants that progress at a steady, well-understood rate. They assume that people can be stuck in a box and expected to stay there. However, people are not simple, ever. People do not like to be boxed in. These rules are demeaning and stupid and onerous and are hindrance.
Leaders Lead
A healthy group has healthy leaders. If they are healthy leaders, the strictures are just going to get in the way of them doing their job. Let the leader establish how the group works. Let him work with his members and work out the dynamics. Let him react to what things are working and not working on the ground.
If a group does not have healthy leaders, then it is time for someone to help out the group and interfere with it, but not through regulation. Help should be personal and charitable. How this interference happens is also going to be a matter of how the small group fits within the church government. In a typical Baptist church, that probably means the leadership cannot do much but try and help the poor leader as much as possible or try to convince them to take on another person to lead with them or for them.
Christ First
Finally and vitally, The most important thing a small group Bible study can do is keep their eyes on Christ. He cannot just be first in word. You cannot say he is first and then actively pursue some small group growth ministry as your model. The small groups must focus on prayer, on exploring and understanding the Word, on application of the Word, on worship, on evangelism, on encouraging and lifting up our brothers and sisters.
Once Christ is your focus, the practical business of building a group, adding new members, establishing new groups, etc. can be brought in and follows naturally. It should not be an afterthought and cannot be ignored. Yet, I think the danger with any program of small group ministry is a temptation to focus on practical matters rather than Christ. Pragmatic ministry is a great danger and I think one we should work against that danger by seeking Christ first.
Cheers.
