Is your Small Group White?

Just read a fascinating discussion on the ethnicity of small groups.  The proposition is that small groups are a “white” thing.  While African American and other ethnicities find community in the flow of life, gathering on front porches, maintain ties with extended family, etc… whites need external assistance, a structure, a small group program. 

The most provocative statement of the article is that whites do small groups for efficiency – 90 minutes, state the problems, fix the problems, go home.

I have never considered such issues before; just took them for granted I guess.  I’m have a great time pondering it now.

The Power of “Together”

Ecclesiastes 4.9-12 

9 Two are better than one,
       because they have a good return for their work:

 10 If one falls down,
       his friend can help him up.
       But pity the man who falls
       and has no one to help him up!

 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
       But how can one keep warm alone?

 12 Though one may be overpowered,
       two can defend themselves.
       A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

I’m sure we’d all agree that there is strength in togetherness, but I wonder how many actually get to experience this consistently.  I have all sorts of people to do life with - friends, family, co-workers, fellow sports fans and hobbyists – but being with people doesn’t mean I’m together with people.  I don’t think we’ll really hit at what this text is talking about without sharing dreams with another, having a shared goal and pooled resources, respect and loyalty so deep that you’d sacrifice anything and everything for the other; in short, to see life as intertwined with someone else.  Life is to be inseparable by personal ambition and interest; life is together.

Envy of Ambition

Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 4.4, “I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Does all ambition come down to envy?  Can we truly not aim for success without leaving another in failure?

Steve Covey suggests an “abundance mentality;” a win-win for both parties.  There should be enough good things in this world to go around, but we all, along with Solomon, carry our doubts that this will play out.

Poverty

Ecclesiastes 4.1-3

Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
       I saw the tears of the oppressed—
       and they have no comforter;
       power was on the side of their oppressors—
       and they have no comforter.

And I declared that the dead,
       who had already died,
       are happier than the living,
       who are still alive.

But better than both
       is he who has not yet been,
       who has not seen the evil
       that is done under the sun.

It’s sad to think that anyone could ever say it would be better to have not been born.  According to Solomon, some marginalized members of society wonder just that. 

I imagine that what is rough about poverty is not the conditions in particular, but that everyone holds you down, and no one cares enough to pick you up.

I’m thrilled that followers of Jesus have taken an upsurge of interest in addressing poverty as of late, but I’m not sure what kind of results we’re getting.  I really haven’t researched current contributions of Christians one way or another, but my gut is that we haven’t made a huge dent.  I am familiar however with how few church planters start churches in impoverished area.  It’s just sad that economic viability of running a church has kept the gospel from some of the people who need it most.

I’ve stumbled on two resources that appear to have some answers to poverty at a glance: Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida, and Bridges Out of Poverty by Ruby K. Payne.  Both seem to lift the value of a person’s contribution to society, regardless of class and standing.  Not sure when I’ll get to read them, but I’d like to dig further on this topic.

Book Review – Sticky Church

I did a skim read of Sticky Church by Larry Osborne.  I hope it’s not an oversimplification of his book, but I believe his thoughts can be sumarized into one need and one solution.  The biggest need in churches, according to Osborne, is to learn how to “close the back door.”  Rather than investing in marketing or other things designed to get more people through the doors of a church, Osborne recommends focusing on retention – becoming sticky.

The catch-all solution for becoming “sticky” in Osborne’s mind is to do sermon based small groups.  Sermon based small groups add harmony and community across ministry lines in the church.  The message gets repeated twice, and therefore more internalized.  People are more attentive on Sundays, even taking notes, because they know they’ll need the material later.  The overarching leadership agenda of the church has and added asset for unifying people together.  Friendships and relationships are happening, which adds more solidarity.  All this adds up to a more committed and connected church.  There are more things that pull the church together, and therefore people find their experience “sticky.”

I like the concept Osborne lays out in his book, but I’d prefer to see a more selective application.  There are times when a whole church needs to rally together in the same direction.  These are “all hands on deck” situations that every ministry should bend towards, of which small groups may be the most influential.  However, I don’t think the weekly sermon carries with it the weight or significance to warrant other ministries subscribing to it. 

What’s New?

We’re not without influence or responsibility, but we have to understand that this is God’s world, and we’re just living in it.  Everything “new” has happened before.  Everything “old” will be brought to justice.

It’s a reassuring perspective of God’s sovereignty, but it puts my personal role in a humble and small container.  I want to be held accountable to producing a life of significance.  I want measurable results to be expected from me.  It’s just tough to know that I could do all the right things that God calls me to, and have nothing to show for it.   I want to know if I got it right.  Instead of saying, “What matters most is how you played the game,” I tend to lean on the win and loss column for final assessments.

There’s nothing better than to go about the work he has given us, leaving the outcome to him.  This is a tough pill to swallow for me, but I think I’ll be healthier in the end.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. ¹³ That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

 ¹⁵ Whatever is has already been,
       and what will be has been before;
       and God will call the past to account.

 ¹⁶ And I saw something else under the sun:
       In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
       in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

 ¹⁷ I thought in my heart,
       “God will bring to judgment
       both the righteous and the wicked,
       for there will be a time for every activity,
       a time for every deed.”

Maintain or Develop?

How does a church move forward?  I’ve been a part of churches that take a strong development stance – always rethinking goals and structures, open to new ideas and directions.  I’ve also been a part of churches that hunker down in maintainance – repeating tried and true preaching, connections opportunities, and small groups.

I use to dismiss maintainance in favor of development.  “If you’re not growing your dying,” I’d say with pride.  Leadership, to me, seemed to require new developments.

I’m not dismissing development as the way forward, but I am becoming aware of the movement that can be significantly derived from maintainance.  There a some standard functions for every church; or as Rick Warren would say, purposes such as worship, fellowship, discipleship, service, and evangelism.  A church with a set of ministries addressing these may not need development, as much as they would tweaks along the way.

Purpose

Augustine said, “Our souls our restless until we find our rest in Thee.”  He was pointing to the drive within in all of us for eternal significance, purpose; a pursuit only fulfilled in reuniting with our maker.

Augustine got the pursuit right, but using the word “rest” might be a little misleading.  Ecclesiastes 3.11b says, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Or later in verse 18-22: “I also thought, “As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.  Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless.  All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.  Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”  So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?” 

Bread-and-Butter Angle on Life

I wish life were unilateral, or compartmental.  I wish one approach, one personality, one form of communication and conflict resolution worked in all situations.

Ecclesiastes 3.1-8 explains otherwise.  Or as it says in verse 11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”  Here’s my personalized spin on it…

I wish ambition got me everywhere, but I’m learning that acceptance is often an asset.

I wish nurturing the good in me always brought character change, but sometime I just have to kill the evil.

I wish sticking it out always prevailed, but sometimes you just have to start over. 

I wish staying in one place were possible, but sometimes you have to move on.

I like what quiet reflection does for my soul, but sometimes loud celebration brings me closest to God.

I wish solid boundaries with needy people always got them to the right spot, but sometimes I just have to embrace them, unhealthy coping and all.

I wish diligent planning always achieved the goal, but going with the moment keeps me from missing out on life.

I wish I always had something to say, but I find myself just as helpful when speechless.

I wish fighting for what matters would change the world, but sometimes I just need to make peace with where things are at.

I want a bread-and-butter approach to life.  Something that will work in all circumstances.  God is dragging me through balance however, showing me that the right response makes polar changes according to present situations.

We All Lose

The author of Ecclesiastes has an obsession, or fear, of dying.  He writes on it often. 

Death is in fact the arch enemy of the rich and successful.  Death levels the playing field of all peoples in their final moments.

The author of Ecclesiastes does observe that some ways of living are better than others, but he instructs us not to take our pride to seriously in this regard.  No matter how wise or foolish you are in living life, we all lose everything to death in the end.  Complimentary to this thought in New Testament theology is Jesus’ words in Matthew 11.25, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”  Just as death is loss that levels all, faith is win that lifts all.  There’s not a lot of room to pride yourself in how you live life.

Ecclesiastes 2.13-16

 ¹³ I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
       just as light is better than darkness.

 ¹⁴ The wise man has eyes in his head,
       while the fool walks in the darkness;
       but I came to realize
       that the same fate overtakes them both.

 ¹⁵ Then I thought in my heart,
       “The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
       What then do I gain by being wise?”
       I said in my heart,
       “This too is meaningless.”

 ¹⁶ For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
       in days to come both will be forgotten.
       Like the fool, the wise man too must die!