28 March, 2024

Smaller Groups, More Disciples

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by | 5 November, 2010 | 2 comments

By Michael Mack

How many people can you effectively lead, shepherd, and disciple? Eight? Ten? Twelve? Twenty? Let me ask the question another way: If you are to bear much fruit, fruit that will last . . . if you are to see true transformation of people”s lives . . . if you are to see people develop into leaders so that you are multiplying your leadership . . . into how many people can you invest your life?

Jesus formed a small group that would eventually change the world. But first, he called two sets of brothers: Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John. Three of these men, Peter, James, and John, became Jesus” inner circle. Jesus poured his life into these men, investing in them and modeling a life surrendered to the Father for them. He took these three away with him to pray and heal. They were there when he was transfigured.

While Jesus did not ignore the other nine apostles or his other followers, he focused on these three. He intentionally discipled these three and developed them into leaders.

Jesus knew something vital we can learn from him. No one can effectively lead, disciple, or shepherd more than about two or three people. Even Jesus did not attempt it. Leading, discipling, and shepherding are based on close relationships in which the leader invests in the lives of those he or she is leading.

Small Groups Are Too Big!

I can juggle two balls””it”s not much of an achievement, but I can do it really well! I can juggle three balls for maybe five seconds. If I practiced really hard for a long time, maybe I could juggle four or five.

Leading, shepherding, and discipling people is infinitely more complex than juggling balls, and the consequences of dropping them are far more significant. One of the reasons small group leaders burn out and small groups fail is because so many leaders are trying to do way too much! Even the best leaders cannot effectively disciple a small group of eight or more!

Programs, events, or “discipleship studies” do not produce disciples. Not even small groups create disciples! Disciples are developed in the context of authentic community through the power of the Holy Spirit. Small groups are simply the context or environment in which disciples can be produced.

As Leroy Eims says, “It takes individual, personal attention. It takes hours of prayer for them. It takes patience and understanding to teach them how to get into the Word of God for themselves, how to feed and nourish their souls, and by the power of the Holy Spirit how to apply the Word to their lives. And it takes being an example to them of all of the above.”1

Small groups cannot accomplish this. And leaders cannot achieve this on their own with a group of eight to twelve.

Restoring Biblical Discipleship

Discipleship is not a program, a set of practices we learn, or a list of procedures in which we participate. Discipleship is a personal, intentional relationship between individuals who pour their lives into one another to help each other become more like Jesus. Most people can make that kind of investment with, at most, two or three people at once. In the best circumstances, these two to three are people within your small group.

The small group is where you do life together, serve together in missional community, and discuss and apply the Bible together. It”s also a warm and welcoming place where you can invite friends who do not yet know Christ, where they can see love portrayed in your community life and meet the One who makes it happen.

Within that larger small group, discipleship happens one-on-one or with two or three who meet regularly for more intense Bible study, memorization, and personal application, prayer, confession, and accountability. In this more personal and even private setting, discipleship can be very intentional, accountable, and reproducible.

The table on the next page summarizes some of the differences between the larger small group and the subgroup of two or three.

Group members often balk when faced with the proposition of deeper prayer, accountability, and especially confession in the group. And for good reason: Most small groups are too big for these biblical practices. But a core group of two or three is just right!

Creating Fractals

Jesus had relationships with the Twelve, but he had very close, personal relationships with his inner circle of Peter, James, and John. He spent more time with them and intentionally invested in their lives. And while the Gospels do not explicitly state it, I”ve noticed Jesus shared an increasing amount of leadership with these three over time.

Note that the names of Peter, James, John, and Andrew are always mentioned first in the listing of the apostles. Is there any significance to this? We can only surmise, but the order of names in a list usually was very significant in Jewish culture. Why do you rarely hear anything about Bartholomew, James son of Alphaeus, and Judas son of James? Perhaps because they were not the main focus of Jesus” attention.

Also, the fact that Peter and John were key leaders in the early church, especially in Acts 1-6, demonstrates they already had assumed some shared leadership in the group before Jesus” death and resurrection.

Jesus, as part of the Godhead of three, poured his life into the three in his inner circle, who in turn invested in the rest of the Twelve. This design has a name: fractal.

In The Shack by William P. Young, a character representing the Holy Spirit shows the main character a garden that to his eyes at first looks like a mess. The Holy Spirit”s character says that when viewed from above, however, it is a fractal: “a fractal . . . something considered simple and orderly that is actually composed of repeated patterns no matter how magnified. A fractal is almost infinitely complex. I love fractals, so I put them everywhere.”2

Small groups often look rather chaotic and messy from ground view. But if you step back and see the bigger picture that God sees, perhaps you will see a beautifully simple and orderly yet infinitely complex design””a fractal. God is not a God of disorder (1 Corinthians 14:33). The body of Christ, as God designed it, is a living organism that has a fractal pattern. Jesus” small group was also a fractal: it had a repeating pattern of subdivided parts, not very obvious at first glance, but simple and orderly when viewed more carefully.

Consider a new answer to the original question: How many people can you effectively lead, shepherd, and disciple?

Two or three for discipleship within the larger group of eight to twelve for community. This is the simple design that worked for Jesus, and it will work for you too!

Adapted from Chapter 2 of The Pocket Guide to Burnout-Free Small Group Leadership by Michael Mack (Touch Publications: www.touchusa.org).

Michael Mack serves as connect minister with Northeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky. He has written several books on small group leadership and founded SmallGroups.com. You can see his blogs about small group leadership at www.smallgroupleadership.blogspot.com and leadingfromtheheartdevotional.blogspot.com. His Small Group Help Guide, I”m a Leader, Now What? is available from Standard Publishing.

2 Comments

  1. Bill Dinwiddie

    This is the simple design that worked for Jesus, and it will work for you too!

    I can see this in the text, but with or without the math, Jesus kept those the Father gave to Him. None was lost except the son of perdition.

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