Darryl has a small group of about 10 adults, and it's time to choose curriculum again! Over the past couple of years, some of the faces in his group have changed and now there is a division over the curriculum issue. Part of the group is really into academics. They want lots of homework and want to study and prepare for the discussion each week. The other part of the group are busy young families with kids and just want the group to be a retreat from their weekly grind. They would rather just show up for a lesson and take some "small" steps during the week to apply what they've learned. Darryl feels he could maximize the desires of both sides to benefit the group as a whole, but doesn't quite know where to start.
What should Darryl Do? |
YOUR RESPONSES:
This is a very common issue in the life of small group ministry. Part of the problem lies within the expectations of each individual group member. At our church we addressed this particular issue in a retreat we had last year. For us the answer was found in with a refocus on what our small groups were actually trying to accomplish. With our church being very new to the whole small group life/culture many of our folks came in with the idea that our groups were one more "bible study" like Sunday School. We have very intentionally tried to explain the difference--which in a nutshell for us is this: a typical "bible study" in most people's minds is about learning content--i.e. knowledge aqusition, whereas our community groups (our very careful word selection of what we are calling our small groups) are about application and life change. It has been said by many that information does not equal tranformation though it very often is a component of the transformation process. For this reason God designed the discipleship process to include prayer, accountability, and action. So, if I were Darryl, I would review the purpose and components of group life, and point the more academic minded of the group toward other avenues within the church where content and learning information are the main foci of the particular ministry (which is in fact the way that our church has designed out discipleship process). For those who are simply thinking "retreat" I would remind them that while the group is certainly about care and relationships, there are things in our journey as disciples of Jesus which call us to careful and thorough heart and life examination--which is hard work. Often it takes hard work to get to the application. So the answer to me lies in between both of the requests of the group members. Furthermore as the group leader, a shepherd of God's people, Darryl must have a heart beat on each member and must trust the Holy Spirit to lead him and the group to the study that is specific to the group and where they are at collectively as well as individually in their walk with Christ. There is no easy answer here--there often never is. That is why the Christian walk is about wisdom, not simple answers to complex questions.
Tim, Olivet Baptist Church Wichita, KS
Ask the ones who desire to study more to develop a lesson for those who want to do the minimum. Hopefully, both will benefit. By the way, it's okay for the ones who are so very busy to do a little study and/or preparation, just not extensive.
Terrie Dagley, Grace Fellowship
Darryl could allow those who want more "work" to take turns leading the group. That way, their extra work could be prep that would still be beneficial to those who are not able to do the extra.
He could also assign "relational homework" instead of academic work. He could encourage those seeking to study to use their time instead to aid the other group members in their busy lives.
Jesus did say he desired MERCY not SACRIFICE.
David Rudd, Calvary Church, Fruitport, MI
