There is nothing quite like being part of a healthy cell group community. When people are loving and being loved, known and being known, serving and being served; when Christ is changing lives in a visible way, and lost people are being found… that is literally awesome!
On the flip side, being part of a group in which members are sniping at each other, blowing off commitments, and generally stagnating… well, that’s just awful.
Cell group community rarely looks like the books says it should. (I say that as one who as written a book on cell ministry!).
Why does community get messy? Sometimes it happens because we’re immature (when you have baby Christians you need to change diapers!) Sometimes it’s because of sin; we hurt one another because we’re not perfected yet.
At other times it’s just because the members are getting real. When the masks come down and we see the real person behind the image, it can startle us. And that’s a good thing!
When a member shares a dark part of her soul and it provokes a stunned silence, that’s when God can start to work at new levels! What gets exposed can get healed.
It is important that as leaders we not only expect the messiness to happen, but we lead through it to help create a culture of authenticity and genuine growth. Don’t fear the mess!