Month: August 2007

In Wednesday’s blog, I mentioned the article “Sharing Our Lives in Difficult Times” (March 2007) writen by Mike Messerli, pastor of small group ministries at at a church in Texas. You’ll remember that the senior pastor at his church fell into sin and many left the church as a result. Mike found in general that those who were connected to cell life continued through the crisis, while those without cells tended to fall away.

Pastor Mike writes, “In light of our pastoral loss, the elders of our church have put us to this task–to focus our attention on small groups and discipleship. What they realize, as do I, is that it is the small groups that bond us together and care for our body.”

He makes several suggestions for those facing similar crisis situations:

1. Small groups are the best way for people to find community in your church.
2. When life’s problems happen, it will be the small group that will care for your people in the best possible way.
3. Times of crisis bring out the best in the community of faith. In those times of trial, you will be amazed to see those in
small groups care for each other.
4. Sharing all things in common happens most visibly in times of crisis.
5. Needs are not bad things. They offer the body of Christ an opportunity to care for each other. It is important to
share this most important part of the ministry with the small group leaders.
6. People are reluctant to share their needs with one another. You will need to teach the body that being transparent in community
is vital for the health of the church.
7. Crisis in a church and in people’s lives does one of two things–it draws us together or it scatters us. You will find that those in small groups will draw together to care for each other. Many of those who are not in community will scatter from the flock. It is a harsh reality, but from my experience it is true.

Pastor Mike concludes the article by saying, “I am more convinced than I have ever been that small groups are the backbone of the local church.In this time in history, it is the small group where the life of the church can really be lived out. And realize that crisis is not always a bad thing in your church family. It is where you find the family of God pulling together and caring for one another.”

Comments?

Joel

 

 

By Steve Cordle

 

When was the last time your group left the living room and did an outreach project? Or enjoyed a social event – or spent the whole group time praying? If it’s been recently, my guess is that your group feels healthy and vibrant.

Variety can be the spice of group life! Meeting at the same place, and following the same order with the same material can be comfortable, but predictable. And that can lead to lower expectations on the part of the group members — they think they know what will happen before they arrive.

As leaders, we can help people hear the voice of God in different ways simply by changing the location and the content of the meeting. The “Ws” are a vital framework to group meetings, but most would agree that the life of the Spirit in community cannot be contained by one form. We can help our groups stay well-rounded by intentionally breaking out the standard meeting format and doing things differently every few weeks: creating a schedule that features outreach, fun, service, meals, mission.

What ideas have you found helpful in creating variety?

 

I’m a member of www.smallgroups.com. I like to read through the monthly newsletters and a few days ago I came across an especially great article called “Sharing Our Lives in Difficult Times” (March 2007). The article was written by Mike Messerli, pastor of small group ministries at at a church in Texas. In the article he talks about a time in late 2006 when the senior pastor at his church was discovered to be in sin. The elders asked the senior pastor to resign and then announced the the problem to the congregation.

Many left the church. Pastor Mike says, “A church always loses people when something like this happens. It has been very difficult to watch. It has been heartbreaking to see longtime members simply walk away from our church. I got an e-mail tonight telling me of another family that has decided to call it quits. For all our best efforts, there are families who have left our church looking for another church family.”

Yet, what is so powerful to me is that those who were committed members of small groups were able to weather the storm, whereas those who were simply Sunday attendees tended to leave. Pastor Mike writes, “What I have seen is this–those who are not in a small group are those who have left our church. Not all of them, mind you, but most of those who have left the church were not committed to a small group community. The small groups create Velcro. Those in small groups have a community of people who care for them, who pray with them, who love them and, most of all, who provide a place to share the hurts and sorrows of life. They have a place to grieve. They have a family of believers to care for them. admits that many left the church.”

The power of the cell is that it becomes a famly. It’s one-another ministry at its best. Those in the cell don’t depend on the man in front to make church happen. They realize that they are the church. And the community that develops within the cell becomes a refuge in the time of storm.

Comments?

 

Joel

Joel’s post yesterday reflected upon recovery cells.  What an awesome mix, eh?  People who desire to be whole and…. cell life.  When we participate with the Spirit of God in the context of community hope is instilled into our hearts.

One day Jesus encountered a demoniac.  Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”  He replied, “Legion.”  Who gave him that name?  Certainly, it wasn’t his parents.  It probably was the community folks who lived by the sea.  He resided in a graveyard.  This was a man of great rejection and he was the subject of “lock down” and “throw away the key.”  As time faded, he began to reject himself by mutilating his own body.

Why did Jesus ask him, “What is your name?”  Nobody knows for sure, but let me share one thought.  Wholeness only comes to us when we face our fragmented lives.  Could it be that Jesus wanted the demoniac to say his name as a starting place for his pathway to wholeness and healing?  “I am Legion…..[Hundreds and hundreds of evil spirits indwell me]….Yes, this is who I am.”

Notice as well that Jesus did not avoid or ignore him.  He didn’t send one of his disciples to “take care” of Legion.  By asking his name, Jesus is extending himself to Legion.  It is a form of acceptance.  It wasn’t what Legion usually encountered.  He was used to rejection, not acceptance.

Do you see the connection?  Legion’s name clearly identified what he needed from Jesus.  It’s not as cut and dry in this life, is it?  Our name does not generally reveal what we need from Jesus.  Yet, we are fragmented and in need of a touch from Jesus.  We all need recovery in the context of community– your cell members.

May your cell have the courage to face our fragmented lives and cooperate with God’s Spirit pursuing a new level of wholeness.

Dr. Mike Erickson loves cells and cell church. He’s the associate pastor of Big Bear Christian Center in Big Bear, CA (senior pastor is Jeff Tunnell). I had the privilege of coaching Mike (and Jeff) over a three year period and I can testify of Mike’s effectiveness in coaching cell leaders and multiplying cell groups. God directed Mike to start cells among those broken by alcohol and drug abuse.

God used Mike to help people in AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) and NA (Narcotic Anonymous) to become converted, baptized, and equipped through the church’s training process to multiply new cells. When I interviewed Mike in March 2006, he had seen twenty-two people baptized from AA and NA programs and has planted three new groups among them. Many were attending Big Bear Christian Center. I asked Mike to write an article on his experience and you can access it here.

The good news is that now you can learn all about how to start recovery cells in your own church through Pastor Mike’s new book called Recovery Cells: Small Groups for People in Recovery (picture to the right).

My motivation for promoting Mike’s work is simply because I believe cell ministry works so well among people with addictions. I’ve also seen Mike’s passion for the cell church strategy and how God used him to apply that strategy to those in AA and NA.

p.s.: If you live in Southern CA., Mike will be signing his book at Barnes & Noble on September 29th at 2:30 pm. (27460 Lugonia Ave., Redlands, CA 92374 tel: (909) 793-4945). Also, check out Mike’s press release