By Brian Jones
A few years ago I brought in a nationally recognized pastor to do some consulting for our church. One of the things I remember most about my time with him was a side conversation we had about small groups.
“I haven’t really figured out the small group thing,” I confessed to him.
“Well, Brian, that’s because they don’t work. Small groups are things that trick us into believing we’re serious about making disciples. The problem is 90 percent of small groups never produce one single disciple. Ever. They help Christians make shallow friendships, for sure. They’re great at helping Christians feel a tenuous connection to their local church, and they do a bang-up job of teaching Christians how to act like other Christians in the Evangelical Christian subculture. But when it comes to creating the kind of holistic disciples Jesus envisioned, the jury’s decision came back a long time ago—small groups just aren’t working.”
“Finally,” I said, “I’ve met someone who’s got the guts to euthanize this small group sacred cow.”
I have been leading, participating in, championing, and applauding the efforts of small groups for the last 20 years of my ministry.
But now I’m done. In my opinion, they just don’t work. Let me share why.
A Flawed Starting Point
Church-initiated “small groups” begin from a flawed starting point.
For reasons that still escape me, soon after becoming a Christian at age 18, Deron Brickey, Dave Polonia, Jeff Snyder, and I started hanging out with one another.
Soon that group grew to 10 to 12 friends. We laughed together, prayed together, studied the Bible together, ate together, evangelized together, and served the poor together. Even though we had no leader, no real set meeting time, no agenda, and no plan or focus, it was through these friends that I made incredible strides toward becoming a holistic disciple of Jesus.
And it all happened by accident.
In fact, looking back on my 25 years of following Christ, here’s what I’ve noticed: Every small group I’ve ever been in that helped me grow as a disciple started by what appeared to be an accident.
I wasn’t looking for it. I wasn’t interested in joining a small group in the least. And in many respects, I didn’t even feel a need to grow spiritually.
Most of all, I wasn’t participating in some superficial churchwide small group sign-up initiative the senior pastor dreamed up to jack up small group attendance because he heard church analysts say you should always maintain a certain ratio of worship attendees to small group participants.
It just happened, naturally and spontaneously.
Those experiences couldn’t have been planned, even if I tried. And for the most part, that’s exactly how it’s been happening in the Christian community for, say, I don’t know, the last 1,960 years. That is until we westerners, particularly Americans, started messing it up.
Well-intentioned Christians, armed with the latest insights in organizational theory, let their pragmatic and utilitarian hearts delude them into thinking they could organize, measure, and control the mystical working of the Holy Spirit in community in order to consistently reproduce disciples in other contexts.
Then these people started writing books and hosting seminars. And then church leaders like you and me bought into what they were saying because we didn’t recognize that the same faulty worldview that produced a mechanized approach to Christian community fostered a ready-made market in our hearts to consume their quick-fix solutions.
So we came home, armed with our “101 Sure-Fire Discussion Starter” books and binders full of slick recruitment techniques, and started small group ministries at our churches.
We preached powerful sermons. We cast vision. We contorted Acts 2 into saying what we needed it to say. We blathered on and on about all the “one anothers” in the Bible and about how, if we met one time a week for 1.5 hours and followed a well-conceived discussion regime, we could experience Acts 2 in all of its splendor and glory.
And what happened? You know what happened. They failed. Like big-time.
And meanwhile, while our people were constrained by their obligation to the church and their sense of loyalty to us as leaders, their hearts searched for real community and an opportunity to grow as disciples.
What would happen if we euthanized all of our small groups, taught the value of discipleship and community, and then simply let the Holy Spirit do his work?
Achilles’ Heel
When I attended my very first church growth conference in 1992, a nationally known small group “expert” stood up and said, “The way we say it at our church is, “If you can read, you can lead.” If a Christian can read the questions in our study guide, he can lead a small group at our church.”
That’s easy, I thought. Too easy, in fact. And ridiculous.
“If you can read, you can lead” is a great slogan for people who organize a rugby team from your church, or your knitting circle, or the Saturday morning llama-riding group. But not for someone recognized by the community of faith as a mentor of new disciples.
The Achilles’ heel of the modern-day small group movement is simple: Small groups don’t create disciples; disciples create disciples. And modern-day small groups are led, for the most part, by people who have attended the church, had a conversion experience, led a reasonably moral life, and can read the study-guide questions, but are not disciples themselves.
American churches have lowered the bar of small group leadership to an absurd level. In fact, it’s so ridiculous most churches would be better off not even having small groups than to offer them with leaders who aren’t disciples.
The common argument against small groups is flawed. The problem with small groups isn’t that they pool the group’s collective ignorance; it’s that they pool the group’s collective disobedience. And it’s not the small group leader’s fault.
It’s the fault of the people who installed the leader and convinced him he could lead their group to a place where they themselves have not gone.
Jesus in Your Group?
Would Jesus join a small group in your church?
Think about that for a moment. Forget about your goals. Forget about your motivations for offering them. Forget about all the supposed benefits of participating in one. Do you honestly think Jesus would join, lead, or start a small group within the existing structure of your small group’s ministry at your church?
Of course not. Not a chance. Not in a million years.
Why?
Because while your people are stuck in the “hairball” of your church’s ministry (to steal Gordon MacKenzie’s great line), Jesus would be out rubbing shoulders with people in your community, helping them find their way back to God, and teaching them to obey his teachings.
Jesus would actually be doing what small groups say they want/should/need to be doing, but they can’t, because they’re too busy being a “small group” inside the confines of your small group’s ministry infrastructure.
It’s like a jogging class where the instructor, instead of taking his class jogging and commenting on technique while class members actually are jogging, stuffs everyone into a classroom and lectures to them three days a week and then gives them a final exam.
Disciples are created “out there.” Small groups, if not by their definition, definitely by their practice, all occur “in here.”
With few exceptions, modern-day small groups are great at producing:
• Christians who sit in circles and talk to one another inside a building
• people who read and comment on the Bible
• people who rant about how they long to “get out there” and do something that matters
• people who awkwardly end their time by praying for “prayer requests”
• people who go home unchallenged and unchanged.
You would think there’s a Small Groups Revised Version of the New Testament somewhere. And I quote: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore stay where you are and make Christians of the people you already know, baptizing them in the name of American consumer Christianity, and teaching them to sit in rooms with one another, read the Bible, and pray for one another. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age'” (Matthew 28:18-20, SGRV).
If the Small Groups Revised Version of Matthew 28:18-20 were the stated purpose, then most American small groups would be nailing it.
In my humble opinion, the Americanized small group is a remnant of an impotent religious institution that can’t transition effectively into a post-Christian, postmodern world.
Thank God small groups worked in some instances, and in some contexts!
But for every story of success about a small group creating an authentic disciple, my hunch is there are three times as many failures (and that just takes into account the 10 to 30 percent of church attendees who actually participate in them).
If we had time to waste, this wouldn’t be an urgent problem.
But we don’t.
Brian Jones is founding pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley in Royersford, Pennsylvania. He’s the author of Second Guessing God and Getting Rid of the Gorilla: Confessions on the Struggle to Forgive. See www.brianjones.com.
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I would be interested in knowing your ideas on what WOULD help with making disciples. I see what you are getting at and agree: organic is better than simulated, when it comes to small group relationships. However, there does need to be teaching – quality teaching – done on small scales. Instead of small groups, what would you do?
I couldn’t agree and disagree more. In stating your case against small groups you also provide a glowing testimony to their power. You recount a small group of disciples that grew together early in your life. It sounds as though this group had a positive impact on your life. Enough so that you recount details 25 years later. The group’s purity of beginning and power to disciple created the framework by which you make your evaluations of other small groups or small group “programs”. You emphasize this happened by accident, and I believe I understand why you want to emphasize the “accidental” nature of your group’s beginning for the sake of your article. But I would think that if we had some time to chat over a cup of coffee, we would agree together that God provided the means for that little community to form. Give the Holy Spirit some credit here. These pockets of discipling are what I believe God intends for us, as modeled by Jesus and the 12. And I agree we have really messed things up. But Brian, instead of handing people needles with instructions to euthanize small groups, you could instead offer hammers and a blueprint that will help them experience what you experienced in the past. Just because something needs to be remodeled does not mean it needs to be destroyed. Small groups would not be the first element of the Christian experience that has needed renewal to make it viable, vibrant and relevant again. But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Small groups need to be more organic. Small groups need strong, trained leadership. Small groups need to be expected to be light and salt to the world around them. Small groups also need to be taught when to put the study guides away and put feet to what they already know. Small groups need many things except to be euthanized, because they are still the best environment for life change and discipleship.
I love my small group. It’s nurturing and encouraging and creates stronger ties in the family of Christ than we can hope to experience on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, however wonderful those services are. They are a wonderful time for growing more in the Lord, fellowship, and ministry. In our church they are God organized and the teachers are God picked. They are working well and not necessarily meant to produce disciples, but to build foundations in which discipleship would be a fruit as well as other Godly characteristics, such as true love and focus on the welfare of others. I also believe that they are necessary for the positioning of the church in the last days. I am blessed and I am a blessing in my group. Our church has discipleship classes for those just coming into the faith. Anyone who would shun small groups, I believe, is of a legalistic nature and is looking for attention.
AMEN Brother !!!
Please permit me the liberty to expand on the good brother’s article. In my 32 years as a born again Christian – I’ve noticed many Churches – patircularly non-denominational – attempting to create new names for the Church (and in some instances dropping the word Church from their signage). The first one I noticed to change was “Sunday School” – which probably was renamed “small groups”. A sort of “Camouflage” – which can probably be traced back to the Willow Creek movement. Let’s don’t talk too much about the Bible or have images or other Scriptural reminders which may make folks uncomfortable. Until sinners become uncomfortable in who/what they are – they see no reason to change (be converted).
Next, it seems the Church and Preachers attended one too many siminars – which undoubtedly espoused that passing out Gospel Tracts and knocking on doors wasn’t effective in the new age. That people didn’t want to be bothered. So they heeded the instruction of the seminar / conference presenter and discontinued “evangelistic outreach or soul winning” – which ever name you wish to call it. Forgetting this passage; 1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Confrontational evangelism is the Bible way. How we have strayed so far from that is a mystery?? Its the way of the Disciples and Jesus himself. So the opposite of small groups is Sunday School.
Nothing should ever take the place of Church > Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
God placed a premium on Preaching – which is the centerpiece of Church.
Lastly, in response to the writer of what then should we do? Every Church should Preach on “witnessing” to the lost and all Sunday School classes should explore that topic in detail. Nearly all Christians who don’t or won’t share the Gospel are ill – equipped; lack courage; or lack confidence. Most will say – I don’t know what to say. I’ll get the Preacher to call them……..he knows how to do that. Well friends, the plan of Salvation is simple. And we should be able to give it with the same vigor as alerting someone (even a stranger) about the new sale at Walmart.
The challenge for all Churches in 2011 should be to equip their members on how to share the Gospel (soul win). This will be greatly enhanced with a Gospel Tract all can carry in their pockets and give to whomever they talk to; invite to Church; or insert their “tip” in it before leaving the resturant (provided its a good tip !). In celebration of the 400th year of the Authorized Version of the Inspired Word of God – The King James Bible – all Churches should use it for Church services this year. Even do a Ezra did in Nehemiah 8:5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
This prescription (fundamental) from the Bible will start you on the Great Commission and the making of Disciples.
Wow. I was going to jump all over the article from the title and say “What a moron” but I would have to agree with parts and still disagree in parts and I also think that this has bigger implications then just small groups.
A model for Biblical community is based usually in Acts. We can read that the disciples met in houses and in the temple as well as synagogues. They met often and frequently and shared life and teaching together. There was a system of organization to the church with Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers as well as Deacons and Overseers.
So the part that I agreed with sort of was the part in which you write about a flawed starting point on how your most effective discipleship group started by accident by a bunch of friends hanging out. Small groups and church community is best accomplished by sharing real life together, not just meeting on Sunday mornings for 2 hours listening to some guy or/plus the once a week meeting.
That being said the Bible also gives a lot of leeway on how churches can do church depending upon culture. Small groups have excellent potential for discipleship and evangelism if they are built right but like many house churches (and even regular churches) can also become a spiritually incestual hanging out time that serves to only give us encouragement.
I think with intentionality, leadership, & authenticity small groups and churches could have the potential for effective discipleship and evangelism with true community instead of the pseudo-community we often experience.
Brian, it seems to me most of your criticisms aren’t of essential aspects of small groups; they are criticisms of small groups done wrong. Sounds like throwing the baby out with the bath water to me.
Yeah, having small groups led by unqualified leaders is bad. So, why not disciple and train small group leaders instead of killing small groups? Yeah, small groups ought to do more than sit around discussing published discussion questions. So, why not model small groups that facilitate deep relationships among their members, fervent prayer, serving in the community?
I’m all for making small groups more “organic.” I think we ought to follow the example Jesus set with his small group of disciples. And I think churches can do a lot to make that happen by providing encouragement, training, and modeling for disciples who want to disciple others.
The American Church is an easy target. Solutions are much better than hitting the target. your point is well taken, and i agree and have seen much frustration in this area in particular myself. However, i have learned that i need to be more like Jesus and less like John the Baptist in my views. It’s easy for me to say what is not working – that’s always easy. Armchair quarterbacking… i agree with the post above and would only add that i am currently developing ways to make disciples on a systematic/congregation-wide scale, rather than split sheep up in different, smaller corrals and call it productive.
Thanks, though, for being another voice in the fight to do what persecution is not doing for us. We have it easy here in America, and it shows. Small groups work – small groups that make the Bible their standard, that is. I wouldn’t kill small groups, i would replace administrators and managers with leaders and see what that gets ya.
Brain,
I noticed that you have what appears to be a small group ministry in your church. Your website (www.moviechurch.com/get-involved/groups) says:
“CCV groups provide a comfortable, interesting and fun way to connect with other people and to learn more about God. Because we know one size doesn”™t fit all, CCV”™s Group Life Ministry offers a wide variety of groups. Whether you”™re new to the “small group” thing or a veteran, no matter where you are in life, there”™s a group ready to welcome you. Find couples and singles groups, mixed groups, men’s and women’s groups, parenting and sports groups. Jesus tells us that, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20. Plugging into a group is easy; search by category here or download the Winter 2011 Groups Catalog here. If you’re having trouble finding a group, we are here to help.”
What am I missing here, man? How does this jive with your admonition to “euthanized” our small groups?
Small groups (would not say all small groups) may be on life support; but are we ready to pull the plug?
Given much of my experience with small gorups, I do share in the frustration of shallow discussions, conversations about our self-induced busy schedules, and prayer requests for pets. But, as has been stated by many comments before mine, small groups can be a useful tool and if they are not achieving the desired effect in many cases, the better approach may be to ask some questions…
How can we effectively assess the health of our small groups?
* Relationally: Is our current approach of make a group, split and form two new groups every 18 months (whatever your timetable is) good for small group relational development? Do they need to be longer term? As we know the discipleship process can take quite a bit of time.
* Spiritually: How do we monitor teaching within the multiple groups? Some groups may have very capable leaders / teacher and others may have the facilitator type of leader as described in the above article. Are groups relying too much on published Bible studies that are too shallow in nature? What is the degree of Biblical illiteracy?
Again, I intuitively agree with many of the problems espoused by Mr. Jones and have discussed the same issues with others in different small groups, but I have not seen any valid surveys / studies confirming / better defining these issues.
Until these questions are answered, arriving at an efffective solution will be, at best, a shot in the dark.
I would be very interested in knowing if any of you are aware of any work that has been done in confirming the exisitence of these problems and, if so, are they adequately described for solution development.
Just curious how well your church members who are not in small groups are being discipled. Show us what works.
Excellent article.
Some comments use the word “organic.” I have come to hate that word in all its uses. It has become fake and phony and simply a cover-up for just more sterile organizations.
When God puts something together, by “accident,” it works; when man tries to do it, it doesn’t. I believe the main reason it fails is because rather than address the issues that divide people and keep them from relating, we cover up the root issues, form our groups, and then say we now have fellowship. Poppycock.
There is certainly a valid place for having home Bible studies. Just do that; don’t call them Small Groups, which even in their formation, are too often exclusive and cliquish. Jeremiah said, “Small groups and church community is best accomplished by sharing real life together, not just meeting on Sunday mornings for 2 hours listening to some guy or/plus the once a week meeting.” He hit the nail on the head. And until we catch this vision, and live it, it’s all pretty much just a bunch of hot air.
The world, and the church, is full of lonely people longing for real relationships and love. Not another group.
I’m a church musician by trade and have always been bored by small groups (and usually required to be in one because of my job.) Forced together with people I don’t know and with whom I have no chemistry, I snore through a lame Bible study program led by someone who has no theological training. I chuckled at the awkward prayer request comment – totally agree.
Where I do my spiritual growing is by hanging out with friends and living life with them – basically an organic small group like you’re talking about.
But some people love their small groups and it’s a lifeline. They do work for many people so why throw out the baby with the bathwater? Just please don’t get yourself in a wad, Baby-Boomer-pastor-armed-with-the-latest-church-marketing-hype, if I don’t want to be in one.
“In my humble opinion, the Americanized small group is a remnant of an impotent religious institution that can”™t transition effectively into a post-Christian, postmodern world.”
Cool opinion…and, you were able to work in at least two key buzz terms (post-Christian, postmodern) as well. Unfortunately, your article and your opinion are flawed by broad sweeping statements that substitute for real facts. if the American church is, indeed, an impotent religious institution, then small groups are the least of the problem. The “euthanizing” of small groups won’t empower the Church anymore than turning up the volume of the worship band will empower real worship.
I agree that the typical small group is a joke, however I also see that the small group is the only place where the “common believer” – i.e. not the pastor – can actually participate in a discussion.
If we were to follow the biblical, New Testament model, there would be no preachers. The “church” is not a building, it is the people. Someone above noted that “The Church” is biblical, citing the verse from Hebrews 10:25 – but what we see in the Bible is NOT the thing that we attend each weekend. It was a small group of believers that met in someone’s home and encouraged and built one another up in the faith.
So, if you are going to say that we need to revamp the system, why stop with small groups? Why not toss the whole idea of “church” as a place we attend, get rid of “church leadership” and start getting out there & rubbing shoulders with the common man.
Ah, because the people wouldn’t like that. Western Christianity has screwed up a lot of things. We took the power to teach away from the laity and gave it to the clergy – we effectively put someone between us and God again. The only people allowed to speak on a Sunday morning are on the church payroll. There is no chance for the un-believer or new believer to ask questions in that setting, hence the small group setting being made available.
If you toss aside the notion of a small group of Christians gathering together to study God’s word as something man-made and flawed, well, it IS man-made and flawed, but does that mean that it can’t be Spirit-filled pr Spirit-led and WORK because God makes it work?
Yes, small group leaders need to be disciples. They need to be mature Christians that spend time studying God’s Word and can answer questions that come up. But small groups also give the body a place where discussion can happen. I like to call them bible studies. I also like to call them groups of people that know one another deeply and can pray for one another and hold one another accountable. They are also groups of people that come together to put that faith in action and go out into their community and make God’s love and their faith verbs that are acted out to help those around them.
These things are what a “small group” should be. They are the church – WE are the church.
I believe that the ineffectiveness of small groups is meaningless when sin and unbelief inhabit nearly every aspect of current Christian “culture”. If church-goers stopped sinning and started believing in God our small groups would be the most effective discipleship ministry you could have. It wouldn’t matter if they were “organic” or organized. Jesus’ small group wasn’t “organic”. It was organized AND had a leader.
If you find your small groups to be ineffective, the first question you should ask as a church leader is am I leading people to God? The fruit of effective small groups are people who are poor in spirit, people who mourn, people who are meek, people who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . . Christians. If not, maybe think about doing a few months of sermons on salvation. That is my humble but bold opinion. Biblical opinion but opinion none the less.
Thank you Brian for speaking out on this issue. As i began looking at the small group movement it fascinated me the timing of these groups came just a few years after popular psychology began using groups for therapy and organizations began using them for communication and to improve quality. It seemd to me the church merely adapted what the world thought successful without examining the roots of the “program.” Every time we adapt without considering the foundation we risk building on sand.
We discovered inviting people into specific discipleship groups is more effective in disciples making disciples. We spend two years inviting and challenging people to follow Jesus through living out the bioblical principles of discipleship. We’ve seen men and women grow in their intellectual understanding of following Jesus, move out into the community and world to serve as they are called to bring the kingdom to earth today, and share their faith in the context of life with those who are seeking. Essentially we are following Jesus’ model of discipleship, and it works!
Thanks for challenging the “silver bullet” mentality of discipleship.
small groups work? Think twice
Let me guess……. this author believes that these “small groups” should be categorized as “para-church” entities. “Para-church” is an UNBIBLICAL term that was created by the aristocracy of the paradigm of the institution. Why? “Where two or more are gathered……. ”
This is opinion based in the very same pragmatism and utilitarian heart he accuses the proponents of small groups of having, yet ignorant.
If what Paul tells us what is supposed to happen in every assembly 1 Cor. 14:26 is not happening in this author’s own “church” then he AINT creating disciples either; and giving “spiritual milk” is all that can happen from the pulpit. That special “mysterious” work of Holy Spirit, not just creates love and maturity in the hearts of the believer, but He moves the Body, in ALL of her body parts (members) for the, 1 exercise of the Body and Her gifts and 2. the edification of the Body by the Body- with Jesus as her Head……… not you. Do you believe that Jesus can move the assembly by His Spirit? Why not? Is this not your experience? Does your lack of experience nullify everyone else’s? Isn’t that the height of Pharisaical institutional pride?
If in this author’s assemblies, he or his specially anointed few (the more prominent members of the Body), are the only ones speaking (operating in their gifting), then according to Paul’s unambiguous teaching on the assembly, the stagnation and the atrophy of the rest of the Body is in full effect. Paul ACTUALLY DID KNOW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT when he gave direction for the assembly……… and assemblies in those days were much smaller, much more closely related to today’s small groups, then ANYTHING we see in the average assembly of 350. If you believe that Paul knew what he was talking about in 1 Cor. chapters 12 and 14 then you must allow for any of the members of the Body to contribute to the edification of the Body in the assembly. “We have too many people to open it up as such!” then your assembly is TOO LARGE!!!!
If Jesus is the Head, and not the senior pastor, and the assemblies are to be open according to Paul’s direction and you do not structure accordingly, then you do not believe Paul? The Scriptures? Or has your understanding matured past the understanding of the intentions of Scripture? Be careful how you answer, unbelief is a sin.
EDITOR’S NOTE: There are several Letters to the Editor posted about this article. You can access the letters via the CONTACT US drop-down at the top of this page.
Meanwhile, here is a comment from Felix sent to us via e-mail:
“Brian Jones . . . should have his mouth washed out with soap for writing such a condescending article about people who are at the very least coming together in an effort to praise Yahweh . . . instead of going out on the street corners looking for drugs or hookers, or to some bar getting smashed & destroying his or her family with their addictions. I’ll have you know I used to go to a church that produced a disciple or two, which is a moot point compared to this mindless, heartless attempt by you, Sir, to undermine what the Bible tells us to do in numerous places like Acts 2:42-47 & Isaiah 55:6-9. Mr. Jones, while you sit back there slamming people who are making at least an attempt to follow Scripture instead of their sinful natures, remember YAHWEH IS IN CONTROL, NOT YOU! While you blurt out the opinions of an anarchist, our Heavenly Father is the one who really knows. Maybe we’re both wrong, but has it ever dawned on you that people need somewhere to go to after being bombarded by the world & all of its garbage all week? I could go on & on. But in my opinion, Mr. Jones, you need help.”
Moreover, is not a gathering of the brethren, by NT definition, the “Church”?
Wow! I’ve read more than my fair share of books and articles on church life and many of them have expressed their frustrations. This is definitely one of those articles. The sad thing is that our frustrations often cause us to jump to conclusions and overstatements. I know this first hand. Most of my first drafts are full of such claims because I am a passionate person. I’ve written six books on small groups and most of them have been motivated by my frustrations with what I assumed to be true about groups but my experience taught me something different.
I appreciate the honesty here, but the reality is that the issues are much more complicated than the claim “small groups just don’t work.” Well of course they do. Even a little bit of historical research reveals that they do. Does the popularized, Americanized version of evangelical small groups work in a way that fits the Kingdom? Of course not!!!! But we can say the same about Sunday worship in almost every tradition of the American church. We are not producing disciples in our preaching so why would we assume that throwing people together in a small group would be any different?
But there are churches that are doing small groups in a different way. It seems to me that this article only proposed two alternatives, either programmed or organic. There is more to leading people into group life than that. I would like to say more, but no one would actually read that far down.
Thanks for your honesty, but I hope that readers will do a little more digging before they come to the conclusions that you have chosen.
Interesting blog entry. Provocative to say the least with all the comments on both sides posted.
I believe the church should be making disciples or stop calling itself a church. Small groups are a great structure for supporting discipleship already underway… ie, providing a necessary environment for the lifestyle of reaching friends for Christ and working out their free gift of salvation in biblical community.
But small groups do not disciple people in and of themselves. They’re an excellent exoskeleton to protect and support the life within. The exoskeleton does not create life.
Now let me temper the comment above with something far deeper. Small groups all begin as man-made groups of believers gathering together with lots of personal agendas, some noble and others being selfish. If the members of that same group can abandon these agendas and gather together in Christ’s name and for His sake they will discover a metamorphosis and become a sacred, incarnate body of Christ. The widespread lack of this transformation across the American church small group movement is what causes blog articles like this to be written.
“Would Jesus join a small group in your church? Think about that for a moment.” OK, I’ve thought about it. I’ve been in small groups my whole Christian life (45 of my 57 years). The one sure thing i can say about my small group experience is that Jesus has indeed joined the small groups in our church. And he has been well pleased to be our leader (Mt. 23:8-12). I wouldn’t keep going if Jesus wasn’t there. Yes, I’ve seen people try to squeeze Jesus out a time or two by arguing over the opinions of a “nationally recognized pastor” or a “nationally known small group “expert””. But Jesus has a way of getting our hearts refocused. More often than not, he uses a sensitive learner like Mary rather than a strong “leader” like Martha to get us headed in the right direction . Grace and Peace.
I could not agree with Brian anymore on this situation. He even states in his article that in some situations small groups work. However, when we try to force Christian community by herding people into created groups that study material that was canned for the purpose of small group discussion there is little growth that takes place. However, when Christian people naturally look to serve the world together, leaning upon one another for strength, for prayer, encouragement and search the Bible for answers to real life situations that arise from going and reaching, then true community will take place.
As a leader in the church I have long since given up on being frustrated that small groups don’t work. We have one effective small group in our church. However, what has happened in the last couple of years is that we are developing discipleship groups that form naturally. These groups have developed as a two to four men or women meeting together for prayer and true accountability.
Finally, the point about “if you can read, then you can lead”, is true is so many other areas of our churches. “If you can sing, we will give you a microphone.” It doesn’t matter that you really have no interest in being a disciple and you are only interested in being seen on stage. We need people in the church that are leading and serving out of the overflow of their own relationship with Christ, not just warm bodies that are willing. If we don’t have the right people to lead, then perhaps we should scale back in our efforts until God raises up that person.
I wonder… Is the problem that we have small groups or that we as church leaders are incapable or unwilling to disciple people who disciple people?
Please know that I believe this article makes some very important points. But the problem may not be that a church has or does not have groups. It may be that our pastors are taught to teach the Bible, oversee the running of programs, and counseling those who are hurting. Bible colleges and seminaries do no instruction concerning how to make disciples. Disciples are not made in pews although the Sunday morning teaching is part of the process, disciples are made by disciples and when church leaders begin to see it as their responsibility to make the first generation who then disciple others, then and only then will we have churches that are disciplemaking churches. This normally happens in groups of 12 or less.
If you would like to see a full response on my blog… http://blogs.navpress.com/rickhowerton/My-Blog/January-2011/Why-Churches-Should-Euthanize-Small-Groups“¦-Some-T
By the way, if church leaders are discipling people who disciple people their weekend Bible teaching will take on a whole new and more exciting dimension as you’ll be teaching people who really do care to learn, your church will have little need for programming as the heart longings of parishioners will be met in a much more substantial way, and your counseling load will diminish greatly as Isaiah 61: 1 – 2 (binding broken hearts and setting captives free) will be accomplished through the power of Christ rather than counseling sessions being a band-aid that needs to be replaced ongoing.
I’m guessing Brian is venting over some unexpressed frustration. It’s easier to knock down a house than it is build one. I’ve been involved in small groups for over 15 years, I have yet to see any “method” more biblical or effective.
I also have mixed feelings about this article.
I believe the root message here is that programs don’t ensure progress.
Servants who are struggling before God with life are the kinds of leaders that lead to effective relationships.
My wife and I received much needed love and friendship from a couple who led a small group. They were the kind of people that didn’t have all the answers, but struggled to keep Christ at the center of their lives. It wasn’t the form of the group that God used to change us. It was the people that God used to change us.
Myron Williams (above) hit it on the head. We can’t continue to look for “silver bullet” answers.
It is true, disciples are used to make disciples. That can lead to all kinds of questions that are difficult for us to face and answer. Questions like are our Bible colleges creating knowledgeable speakers and programmers or are they turning out disciples? Are the people in our pulpits disciples or preachers? In both cases, we need the knowledgeable speaker, programmer and preacher, the heart of all of them must be the heart of a disciple.
We need the same in small group leaders, leaders with the hearts of disciples.
Hello.. Brian? Are you there? Do you have a response? There’s a lot of strong points made here. Why kill small groups? Why not identify leaders, train them and do it better? I never leave comments on peoples posts but this one doesn’t have a strong foundation of biblical reasons to follow, and build on.
O’man, I feel sad for you 🙁 You have obviously had some really bad and sad small group experiences.
I’ve lead the small groups world in my community for a few years now and we get to watch time after time people’s lives changing, meeting Jesus, getting baptized, taking next steps and taking on the adventure of leadership in our community. Perfect? No, but making a difference and helping people become who God created them to be – heck yeah!
For a church like us, Sunday morning is a tool to introduce people to Jesus and his mission. Everybody belongs. And because we do that well, God keeps filling our services with people far from him. And so the natural next step for those seeking Jesus and those young Christians is to get grouped and live in biblical community like Acts 2|42-47.
So we get to celebrate having 75% of our adults living in group life throughout the week. And we do that because we don’t distract them with a bunch of other programs – no men’s ministry, no women’s ministry, no Sunday school, no mid-week service.
So for us the primary organizing factor for small groups is to create community (an experience that is reproducible). To to keep community from being diluted to the issues you mention, we keep their core values around discipleship that isn’t a transfer of information. Our small groups grow in relation to God, his Body and his Mission. So they serve together, they live life together and then we use an apprenticeship model so groups multiply as they grow.
“Because you can read it you can lead it” is absolutely absurd. That’s why we don’t ask people to become “facilitator” of a discussion, we challenge them to become leaders – more accurately, pastors in our community. They apprentice, meet higher levels of accountability and are equipped to lead. We’ve found that by raising the bar of what it means to be a leader in a small group, it inspires the type of people you’d want to trust with a decentralized care structure. Perfect – no – but messy, awesome and life-changing – absolutely!
Obviously I’m passionate about it and blessed to be able to watch biblical community spring up as Jesus does what he does best in peoples lives. It’s not about me, how smart I am or our staff – it’s about creating a context where people can take risks to lead, experience community that isn’t insular but focused on making a difference in the world.
So, like your first commenter, I too am interested in what you say is the answer. What’s the answer for spiritual formation, discipleship and creating community to you?
BTW Brian – I don’t think you need to wash your mouth out with soap. I totally agree with your observations and critique of the way a lot of churches try to do small groups. But I say nay to euthanizing small groups as a whole.
Geesh. Seems like some pretty mean responses…
The overall point is valid – many (not all) small group ministries don’t produce better disciples in any substantial way. They typically DO create a place for believers to belong and with that comes relatively good pastoral care via the small group, so they do have some value, even if done poorly. But just having a small group ministry does not mean the church is effectively and strategically making disciples…which should be our ultimate purpose.
Discipleship certainly happens best in smaller groups. However, having small groups does not mean the church is effectively making disciples. It is a hard tension to navigate.
What matters most (when it comes to discipleship) is what happens in those small groups. The small group movement has mostly been a church growth movement – about connecting more people to the church – which it has done fairly effectively. What the author seems to be echoing in this article is the same point many others have been saying in recent years, that we need to be more concerned about the growth (i.e., discipleship) of the individual (not just the growth of the church).
The discussion really needs to take a step back from small groups and focus on really defining what discipleship is. Is discipleship bible study? Is it service? Is it involvement? And so on… Everything we do as a church should foster discipleship (it should not be compartmentalized) which means that once we have defined what we mean by discipleship, we structure everything we do as a church around it. So, small groups will still have a huge role, but it must be strategic (the same is true for worship services and any other “programming”).
While I agree that on the whole, churches are not doing a good job of discipleship in their small groups, there are exceptions – churches that seems to navigate the tension of church growth and individual growth well. If you want to see a good example, check out Real Life Ministries in Idaho. http://www.reallifeministries.com/
Finally! Someone has said the Emperor has no clothes. We gather on Sunday as a body to worship & praise our God. What we need is to spend the rest of the week on the mission field sharing the good news & interacting with those around us. That is what we are suppose to be about – rescuing the perishing not making ourselves feel good. When we are in the world the rest of the week it will amaze you how eager you will be to here the truth on Sunday and not just some feel good message.
Interesting article. Thank you for at least challenging the popular mindset.
I can see both sides and have experienced some of both in my last church. Everyone kept talking and pushing small groups but I can’t recall any of them that were effective in true discipling. Some of them were nice gatherings of fellow believers and that was where it ended. And for the most part, they were all on marriage. While that may be important, every couple months was a new marriage study with a different view on how to have a successful one by following this new set of exercises. That got old fast.
Many of us were strong-armed into being in small groups whether we thought it beneficial or not just to make the appearance of a unified front that small groups are the sure-fire way to build up our church. We attended one because we felt we had to (another night given up and away from our kids in an already busy week). The people were nice and it wasn’t a bad experience but certainly didn’t contribute much to our spiritual growth. And, being in a leadership position within the church, I never felt truly comfortable “sharing” and found it difficult to trust people to keep confidentialities. However, my wife and I did have a small group of friends that we felt comfortable with and could trust, but that wasn’t good enough for the leaders because it didn’t fall into the “official” package and we were labelled as a clique. Nice.
If small groups are working at your church – Great! Be thankful, and find ways to improve them! But realize organized small groups do NOT work for every person or in every church. Just be diligent to find what will work, and don’t be afraid to try new and different ways.
Small Groups (capital letter – programmed driven) are difficult to make effective, ime. small groups (lower case- just believers being together in groups) often produce joy and all things in ‘commoness’….in my experience. I have discovered the best disciplining group was 2 or 3. We just read big chunks of the bible on our own and then met and discussed it seeking Christ to lead our time…and then prayed. Thank You Mr Jones for contributing to the conversation…
As a Small Group Champion, I know that I am not without my bias here, but I do disagree with your assessment.
I would ask though, I see that the author’s church does indeed have small groups (quite a few of them actually). Is this that we just don’t know anything better to do? I am a bit confused by this article written by someone who is actually doing the opposite of what he suggests.
Interesting…
Brian,
I think we all resonate in many ways with a message from someone who is taking exception to anything that falls short of the best intentions of its creator. I suppose that whoever it was who decided that small groups were going to be a powerful force in the life of the Church, and whoever agreed with them, just didn’t foresee all of the weaknesses of the people who would lead and populate the ranks of our small groups. The only problem I see with the truly excellent thinking behind all of your observations…you could have transferred at least 80%…maybe even more…of your arguments against small groups to an article chastising the church for most of the same failures. Maybe whoever started the Church just didn’t foresee all of the weaknesses of the people who would lead or populate the ranks of the Church. If He had, surely He would have never thought it would work. Maybe what’s really happening is that within the ranks of both the church and small groups, which are an integral part of the church, the Lord is working in the hearts and lives of all who are true seekers of a deeper personal relationship with Him and are devoted disciples of Jesus Christ, and the imperfections of the institutionalized church and all of its sub assemblies cannot deter nor delay their march towards the Lord’s ultimate goals for them.
Murray
There are three issues I’d respond to with this article. First, the question is “Are small groups effective discipleship tools.” Of course, no method or way of discipleship will be 100% effective with 100% of the population. God created every person uniquely and thus we grow into unique disciples. Brian’s criticism of typical small groups may be valid in many contexts, but they are also true of other things the church does: worship services, Sunday School, outreach programs, food pantries, etc. Nothing is perfect because we’re imperfect beings. Should we euthanize worship services because many of them are lifeless or uninspiring? If the point of his article was to simply ask that question, then the obvious answer is “No, they are not always effective–just like everything else the church does.”
The second issue is the way that Brian arrives at his conclusion. The article is full of anecdotal generalizations based on one person’s experiences. Show us some research data that backs up your point. Do some homework and produce some real evidence to support your thesis rather than pin an entire philosophy on a couple of stories. Don’t be the person in your church that says, “Lot’s of people are upset at this” when we all know it only that person. His position may be dead on or it may be only the rant of a talking head, but there is nothing substantial that demonstrates it. If the small groups that he has participated in were run in the same manner that he researched this article, I see why they failed.
Last, it doesn’t take any effort whatsoever to point out the flaws in something. Anyone can look and see the shortcomings in church initiatives or programs. What are your proposed solutions? Enlighten us. Seriously, what’s better than the way we’re doing it? If you want the position of being a leader in the brotherhood by writing an article on faulty discipleship, step up the plate and show some leadership by proposing a better way.
This really seems like the classic “straw man” argument. I’ve never been a part of or heard of small groups operating in the manner the author is discussing.
Characterizing the small group methodology with such incendiary (“…baptizing them in the name of American consumerism…”? Come on!) but ill-defined terms is misleading and unfair.
It feels a little like the author is looking for a platform to get some attention and this is his niche. It’s too bad because while our faith certainly isn’t in the small group method it can be a really effective approach.
Dear Brother,
Your comments and criticisms are well noted. If the church (your church) run a small group ministry as programs definitely your observations are true. But if the life your church can be small-group (cell group) centered, definitely it another story. Here in Asia, small groups works both as evangelistic and discipling environment of churches who are free from the clutches of traditionalism.
I agree with S. Boren and Randall N. who are the real champions of small/cell group in America. Cesar Castellanos definitely will disagree with your observations.
Therefore, your observation is not a conclusion. Just charge it to your experience.
There is a disturbing trend among a certain generation (of which I’m a part) to think all ORGANIZATION is unnecessary and in some cases bad, to couch things in this term of “organic”. However, I think if we look to Acts, if we look at Jesus, if we even look at CREATION…God is a God of organization/order. We, humans, function BEST in an organized manner. Small groups are an ATTEMPT to get in line with being the best ORGANIZED church we can be, so that we can meet the needs of those involved. In Acts the church organized themselves to take care of each other, and therefore the church was noticed by those outside of it.
Small groups/sunday school classes (whatever you call them) are a vehicle to connect people into the caring, loving BODY of Christ. It is Church. When you have a member of a small group become ill…its a natural thing for the members to surround them with support (meals, rides etc… you can even set up a system by which to provide this care, infact, they are necessary). If their need grows beyond the scope and care of the small group…the larger church or even larger Sunday school class can step in and provide that care. And if that need grows beyond what that specific Church can handle, guess what? Other churches can be contacted…the Body of Christ is able to function well in an ORGANIZED and CONNECTED manner.
We fail, small groups, churches etc… when we are not connected. All of us connected. Its an ORGANIZATIONAL thing. It is. I think the root of our issue is that we disagree on the fact that organization is needed or not.
Now I realize I have veered away from the comment on discipleship. But honestly, I think that you grow disciples as we serve one another. When we care for each other and serve one another, we take on the very character of Christ. We transform and reflect Christ’s love as we serve each other.
Nothing that WE do is perfect, and true sometimes people’s needs are not met, they are missed, but BUT if you take away and throw out this structure of small groups what then is the structure/organization by which you best care for people and by caring for them attract people that don’t know Jesus to His love?
I hope, hope, hope this article did not fuel fire for those that just don’t like the term “Small Group” and therefore will cling to this article as a banner to wave in their argument. I hope, hope, hope that those that see Small Groups as an effective tool will be encouraged to reassess their efforts and to make sure that they are trying their best to serve the members of their group.
In the future, I wish that these types of articles are at least labeled as Editorial, not Cover Stories.
You say small groups are flawed. I say this article and you’re information is flawed.
“The problem is 90 percent of small groups never produce one single disciple. Ever” I’d like to know what “grand” research was done to get this statistic. Because we all know it is “factual” that 90% of statistics are made up.
“They help Christians make shallow friendships, for sure.” I don’t know about your church, because obviously it is the standard, but anywhere I have ever gone to church in the main assembly people have the “deep relational” friendship of the typical “Hello, how are you?” “I’m good, how bout you?” “Doing well.” And they keep walking by.
Has it ever occured to you that small groups don’t work for you because you’re not doing them right? Effective small groups happen. Terrible small groups happen. It’s like some people can play basketball and some people can’t. Maybe you should just try and play in the band because basketball isn’t working out for you. Small groups aren’t working for you, maybe have another option. Church and its organization shouldn’t be limited to a certain structure and formality. It should have guidance that allows freedom and flexability. So if it didn’t work for you try something else. Don’t condemn and abolish something that might be working for another congregation. That’s ridiculous in every sense of the word.
“Would Jesus join a small group in your church?” Well personally I don’t know the mind of Christ and I don’t claim to have psychic powers to know his thoughts and motives. Do you? Because if you do, then I would love to hang out with you. Bottom line, Jesus loved being in a smaller group of his close personal friends, that is a no brainer. So to answer your question, I don’t know and neither do you. Because when you try to tell people what Jesus will and won’t do, you take on authority that is not authorized to you and I believe the Bible has many warnings about that type of attitude. So if I were you. I would stick with works for you and not try and assume the roll of the Lord and just allow what works for others and figure out what works for you. Because this article just aint working for you.
I have been involved on some small groups that been extremely awkward and frustrating. But out of each small group experience I can list a close friendship/discipleship connection that happened out of each group. I can list one or two people from each group that went through huge life transformation, that were baptized and started following Christ for the first time.
I don’t keep in contact with everybody that was in each group, but from each group there are one or two that I do continue to connect with.
I guess what I am saying is that the organic connection comes out of the structures that we are put in. Jones talks about a group that he was in which connected organically and he says those have been the best disciple-making groups in his experience. Well, It’s out of structure that he was able to find those organic discipleship friendships, whether in student ministry, college, job, or some volunteer organization.
At most if not all of our churches, there are many people who are longing for that connection who don’t have a structure to form Christ honoring friendships. That’s one of the reasons we do small groups.
There will be failures, but to throw out the whole model because of those experiences…we could say that of every church and church structure.
THIS COMMENT IS FROM BRIAN JONES, AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE:
I”™d like to thank everyone for taking the time to post their comments. This is such a passionate discussion because a lot hangs in the balance.
Let me make just a few comments to respond to the various thoughts expressed here”¦
First, I was only allowed to use 1200 words for the article. My original article was actually 3500 words, so much of what came across as thinly substantiated or knee-jerk in nature came as a result of leaving roughly 2/3 of my original ideas on the chopping block (or can be attributed to poor writing on my part).
Second, this article originally took shape as a series of blog posts where our Small Group”™s Pastor and I held an online debate on my blog. I”™d post, and then he”™s react to it. I”™d post, and then he”™d react to what I wrote. It was a really healthy discussion played out before our entire congregation. I”™ve always believed that the most helpful thing a pastor can do for his staff and congregation is to think and live as authentically as he can, even if that means expressing ideas that might seem at first to contradict existing ministries and programs in the church.
Third, as many have rightly pointed out, we have a flourishing small group”™s ministry here. Many wonderful leaders here lovingly and faithful envelope people into their groups on a regular basis. I love them dearly and support them in their efforts. However, and here is the crux of the conversion ““ do the people in these groups live the life of discipleship any differently than those who do not participate in them? Are they more loving? More kind? Is the fruit of the spirit more readily observed in their lives than in non-participants? Do they more readily engage in the spiritual disciplines than non-participants? Do they have more of a heart for the poor than non-participants? Have the group participants as a whole brought more people to faith than the non-participants?
My observation after championing small groups in four states over 20+ years is that it depends. Are disciples created in small groups? Of course they are! But I would say that is more of the exception than the norm. People who hang out with truly committed disciples become disciples themselves over time, whether it”™s in a Sunday school class, small group, teaching team for an elementary kid”™s class or whatever.
Small groups began (and I”™m dating myself here) as a church growth tool. They are awesome at making people feel connected. But feeling connected isn”™t the point. I”™m sick of people who are super-connected in the church having affairs, watching porn, stealing money from work, and treating their kids like they are orphans. No doubt small groups help people feel connected. But do people emerged changed after spending a year or two spending 1.5 hours a week, every other week (excluding holidays and summertime) with other people in these groups? If you say “yes,” then show me substantive data to back up your claim. I don”™t buy it.
Fourth, I”™ve come to the conclusion that true discipleship never occurs until men and women are separated. Men and women will only go to a certain level with the opposite sex in the room. I honestly don”™t care how much scripture you know and how much you give to the church if you don”™t have at least one person in your life who knows the true condition of your soul at all times. For me that is my spouse and two other men in my life.
Fifth, and this is the last thing I”™ll say – when I say “I”™m done with small groups,” what I mean by that is I”™m done saying that “As a leader, I can look across the congregation and know that I have done everything possible to make sure people have discipleship opportunities BECA– USE a vibrant small group ministry is in place.” A flourishing small group ministry confirms that people are getting connected, an awesome thing that needs to happen in the church. But it”™s not something that CONFIRMS that we can “check the box” and say “our best strategy is in place for making this happen.”
If you”™re free I”™d love to talk to you live about all this. I”™ll be speaking, ironically, at the Cincinnati Christian University small group”™s conference April 1-2. ïŠ
http://www.ccuniversity.edu/cca/sgc11/
Press on,
Brian
Brian,
Thanks for posting a response to the questions/criticisms of the article. Personally, I wish you has made your response the article. I completely agree with your questions about the effectiveness of small groups (which should also be applied to worship services, etc.) We should always be assessing our effectiveness in every area. We asked those same questions of our discipleship process and decided to try to see if it was being effective. If you’re wanting some substantial data, we are doing the hard work of assessment at our church. I’ll be happy to talk with/send it to you.
If we go with the Pauline statements that everyone has a different calling in the church, then small groups fit in with some people and not with others. Some folks have the gift of gab in groups or in public, and others go along with the crowd. Yet they are equally the salt of the earth. Some show Jesus by their quiet and kind actions,and others get right alongside people to bear witness to the truth. Let’s go easy on this issue. If the mental and social abilities of a child of God only allow for discussion in a small group, can we really ask for more? There are varieties of gifts, service and workings, but Father God and Son and Spirit are actively at work inspiring every one.
I think that the authors bonding of baby and bathwater would have us shutting down almost everything the church does, including Sunday morning. I think his irritation with Small groups is misdirected. It isn’t groups that is the problem, it is curriculum writers and conference trainers and the ridiculous promised they have made. They make the exceptional example the expected norm. And they make hard and fast rules about group make up. They promise that anybody can lead a group, all you have to do is use their material. And promises about what this six week study will do for you. Christian marketing and publishing is the real problem. I submit exhibit a for your browsing pleasure (from this publisher)
Enjoy!
http://www.standardpub.com/Products/CategoryCenter.aspx?SearchTerm=small+groups
An earlier commenter asked what the author would suggest we do, if not small groups. I went to his church web site and found his answer. Very interesting.
http://www.moviechurch.com/get-involved/groups
WE RECEIVED THIS COMMENT ABOUT THE ARTICLE VIA E-MAIL, AND HAVE CHOSEN TO POST IT HERE:
Brian”™s given us all some good fodder in his article “Why Churches Should Euthanize their Small Groups.” Small Groups that have become programmed around a meeting do tend to become more of “””just one more meeting” than something that produces real, visible growth in individuals. I think the most important line in his entire article is this: “Small groups don”™t create disciples; disciples create disciples.” And Jesus would start a Small Group in our churches for that specific purpose. We need to train leaders who have that purpose as well, not who simply become adept at leading a discussion. Small Groups that are intentional about doing life together in more informal ways and which have a leader who can actually build into the others and take them places he/she has been, is probably the most powerful, practical tool at our disposal for making and growing genuine disciples. Brian admits himself that that kind of group is where he made his greatest strides as a Follower of Christ. Small Groups that have as their mission, reaching and discipling others, and are strategic and intentional about it, will never become”””just one more meeting.” Brian, do you think we really need to just wait around for “accidents” like this to happen, or can we be all about creating this kind of people-reaching, disciple-making environment? Come on, man!
–CHUCK
The author may not see the value of small groups, but in the right context, they can and do make disciples. Who said that we have to confine our small group to those we know and are already chummy with? That’s not a bad place to start, but then by inviting others to join in, how are we not making disciples? How else would you carry out the great commission in this age? What do you propose? Standing on the street corner and yelling the gospel? This is a disappointing and discouraging article. I detest authors who complain about something just because it hasn’t worked for them, and worse yet, who don’t propose any alternatives.