Back in August of 2007 I began talking with my wife about starting a small group that would meet at our house. The purpose of the group would be to reconnect with friends, create an atmosphere where people burned by “church” could come into a community, and hopefully spend some good time in study of the scriptures. We have no name for the group or ever intended to try and classify it. Sometimes it acts as a bible study and sometimes it functions like a much deeper community. Thankfully I think more and more the traditional definition of church is being challenged by groups like these. When considering how to structure our time together I’ve found that the most successful groups are ones that remove as many barriers to immediate discord as possible. If I had chosen a book to study or a topic there’s a good chance that scripture would not be the driving force behind our theological shaping but likely our egos. So instead I opted for asking the members of our group to come together to read scripture aloud in the hopes that it would be the catalyst for our discussion.
So our group of about 10-12 began with the Gospel of John and have been working through it little by little each week. So far we’re in chapter 17 and getting close to finishing it out. We take turns reading and then when we’ve gotten around the circle we stop. We go as long as we need to and there’s no set amount to read just whatever someone feels like reading. When we’re finished we spend the next thirty minutes or more talking about the passage. When we’re finished we take time to go around the group and to share what I would call a stress session. This is a time for people to share about their week, talk about joys, share struggles, and solicit prayers. Each person gets whatever time they need. By the time we’re done we’ve typically gone about 1.5 - 2.5 hours and sometimes longer.
So far I’ve been thrilled with how it’s gone. The group has definitely morphed and changed over the months. We no longer meet at just our house and sometimes we incorporate other disciplines. We certainly don’t always agree or necessarily get along when it comes to our times of discussion but through it all I think we have definitely grown and developed a sincere love for each other and this time we share. Recently, a group member suggested a retreat and so after some thoughtful planning we’ve decided to put together a retreat for people to come and experience what we’ve been doing. We’re extending the invitation to those outside the group and hope that the weekend will bring some newcomers. Much of the driving force for this groups has been from thoughts about the role of scripture and other spiritual disciplines in the transformation of character. I think we can all see how this time has started to shape our character. I hope that the group as well as the retreat can continue to offer opportunities for people to ask tough questions about the sayings of Jesus as well as provide a plan for spiritual formation.
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