Subscribe to the NetworkSmall(er) Groups [2]: 5 Concerns
To continue this series, here I will issue 5 concerns I have with our structure of small groups. In the next post (tomorrow or Thursday) I will issue some specific ways in which my concerns affect our college ministries. But this must come first.
I want to make sure it’s clear that these are concerns, not condemnations. There is certainly beauty that takes place in many small(er) groups. I do believe however that these concerns are things we ought to take into consideration and honestly process through.
Of course some of these concerns apply only to some, not all, contexts and groups. But I do think that these apply to MUCH more than we’d like to admit. This structure we’ve instituted over the last 40 or so years, I think, needs to be evaluated clearly and honestly. This series is an attempt to help us do just that – especially in our individual college ministries.
An overarching question I’d like to ask for this is: Are small groups the BEST way to go about ministry with college-age people? Only you can answer that for your ministry – and I hope this conversation helps you in clarifying your position in the ministry in which you serve.
Here are my 5 concerns:
They have an illusion of accountability. Small groups are said to be a structure for accountability, but the truth is they are not. They are a structure for disclosure, not necessarily accountability. In a small group that meets weekly we are only accountable for those things we disclose to others in that particular group. This is “selective” accountability at best. To take this a step further we only disclose what we see in ourselves – which we know we are blinded to some things. In addition, we not only have to see the issue, but we must also want help with that particular area in our lives. True accountability comes when my friends know all my other friends. I can’t hide. True accountability comes when people see me – not at a men’s group – but with my wife and kids on a daily basis. People see all the areas of me, not just those I see in myself and disclose to others. This, is accountability.
For the additional 4 click here
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Thanks for starting this discussion! Here are some thoughts on your 5 concerns:
They have an illusion of accountability. I agree with what you’ve said, and there are definitely limitations due to selective disclosure and involvement in each others lives. But I think what you’ve shared as real accountability is very difficult to achieve. Small groups may not get to the pinnacle of accountability, but they can certainly come closer than what we’ve normally got going on in Christian circles. And I advocate that the small group isn’t simply a once-a-week one hour encounter, but that life is shared outside of it as well. Our leaders have generally all come to realize that meeting once a week simply isn’t enough.
They are centered on sameness. Maybe we’re different than other places, but that hasn’t been completely true for us. Sure they’re the same age group and life stage, but we have a wide range of spiritual levels (radically growing in Christ to non-believers) as well as nationalities (obviously many Americans, also Indians and Chinese students).
They can make discipleship more difficult. When you talk here about older mature believers, are you referring to adults? I’m guessing that’s what you mean. I completely agree that connecting college students with adults is one of the great challenges of collegiate ministry, especially ones that are not directly tied to a church. We are trying to establish an adopt-a-student ministry in our local churches to deal with this challenge. I see this from a little bit of a different angle, though. To me, having students disciple other students is key because we’re trying to teach them how to be disciplers. The skills they learn by discipling their peers will be skills they can implement for the rest of their lives – and hopefully ones that they’ll be willing to pour into the younger generations to come.
They can enable compartmentalization. This ties back a bit to what I said earlier – I think a small group meeting needs to be a catalyst for life outside of the group. That could mean serving together, random fun get togethers, intentional one-on-one time between different members or something else. But I think this objection can tie to much of Christian culture as a whole. I think for many people, church attendance is just as compartmentalized. I am more concerned about what students are doing with the other 160+ hours of their week.
They can enable (maybe even create) consumeristic mentality. This is definitely a challenge, and I think it goes along with what I said above. I think in all realms of ministry we’ve got to continually challenge, model and provide opportunities (to an extent, some of it just needs to come from them) for them to be outward focused. I think our natural tendency is to migrate toward the Christian bubble, whether it’s in collegiate ministry or church life in general.
I hope I didn’t come off too antagonistic here, because those are all legitimate concerns in small group ministry. But I think if we recognize that, we can take steps to avoid those challenges and make our groups that much better and more effective.