Creating Community part quatre

Creating Community part quatre


(Taken from Bread for the Journey blog - http://www.george24.blogspot.com/Check it out !)

Mike Yaconelli in his book, "Messy Spirituality" writes:"

Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality, not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws, but because we let go of seeking perfection and instead seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God's being present in the mess of our unfixedness."

Connection is so very important in our culture today. People want to connect. That's not the issue. The issue is breaking us all out of our apathy and lethargy to connect. Connection costs. It costs our time and effort.

Andy Stanley writes, "As important as small groups are in executing our strategy, it all falls apart if people have a difficult time connecting. If they cannot get into a group, then we cannot deliver on the benefits of a group."

So true.

Let's again ask the questions:What do we want people to become?
What do we want people to do?
Where do we want them to go?

This is done in steps, incrementally. There are three different "locations" to describe our environments that can connect people relationally and help move them into small groups.

Stanley calls it their, "foyer to kitchen" strategy.

Like the rooms of a house, the environments of the church function for different purposes to help people connect.

We desire that people go from the foyer as a guest, to our living room as a friend, to our kitchen as family. We desire that our small groups connect to the extent that people have "refrigerator rights," as Randall Neighbor said.

Let's go to the foyer. Foyers are to be designed to change people's minds about church. Most people today don't have a problem with God, they have a problem with the church. They view the church as being irrelevant to their everyday lives.

The foyer would be our worship services on Sunday mornings.

We must continually stay relevant to where people are!

Then there is the living room. Our living rooms are medium-sized environments designed to change people's minds about connecting.

This would be our adult electives and other smaller settings where people begin to get to know one another.

Then there is the kitchen table.

The kitchen table is often where life's most meaningful conversations take place.

It's where we being to feel like family.

Small groups are to be designed to change people's minds about their priorities, as Stanley writes, "that through the activity of God and the influence of their group, their priorities and God's priorities will line up; that over time, their lives will change."

One of the barriers to participating in a small group is the decision-making process of deciding where we fit in.

Some people fear they will be trapped if they join a group..That after a few weeks, the group will not be what they wanted or expected and it will be too late...They will be STUCK.

As Stanley writes, "and so for the next eighteen to twenty-four months, they will be condemned to group hell."

North Point Church has 8 week "starter" groups, which is a group that "dates" for 8 weeks. If the group gels, they continue on for the entire covenant period as a fully functioning community group. If it doesn't no hard feelings. No questions ask.

Let me ask you these question and try to generate some response. How can we do this at First Assembly of God.

How can we help people overcome this fear?How can we get folks to join a small group while overcoming the barriers of feeling trapped by the commitment levels involved?

What are some barriers for people getting into a small group?

Why is establishing clear expectations form the beginning so important for a group's success? How could you do this effectively in your setting?