Title: Community: Taking your small group off life support
Author: Brad House
Summary
Brad House lays out the fundamental reasons for why small groups are necessary for believers and how they can be life-giving instead of life-taking. If you have been part of small groups in the past, many of them feel sterile and may require more energy for each person. House implores community group leaders and pastors to design their small groups to be communities where life is done together and that these groups are where most of the churches’ discipleship should happen. In fact, the author uses a diagram on page 60 to show the percentage of care a typical Christian should receive. The believer should always be receiving care in a community group. Occasionally, the individual may require 1:1 counseling from a pastor or licensed counselor. And it’s also possible that the individual may occasionally require a small group that is focused on a specific issue like addiction, parenting, finances, etc.
One of Brad House’s main points is that small groups (which he refers to as community groups) are part of the bigger picture of discipleship. He uses a “transformation cycle” to explain how community groups fit into the larger discipleship picture. Sundays are focused on worship, proclamation of the Word and has a level of attraction. The product of the Sunday morning service is conviction. Community groups provide an incarnational application of the Word. The product is confession and repentance, leading to life-change.
Interesting Pieces
On page 107, Brad House speaks on contextualization of the gospel. He is explaining that each community group of a church has the unique opportunity to make the gospel impact specifically to that are of the community like no other people can do.
Beginning on page 165, the author describes the weekly routine of his own community group. They begin on Sunday by coming together at a worship service at their church. Their group meets on Tuesday evenings in someone’s home. They begin with dinner at 5:00 so the kids can eat. Everyone shows up as their schedule allows. During dinner, the adults begin the conversation about the Scripture that was preached on the previous Sunday. Then, they move into the living room to move deeper into discussion around the sermon and the applications of the Word. They also spend time together in prayer, inviting the children to join them. Every other Thursday, their group has a standing reservation at a local restaurant. They eat appetizers and share a meal together. This provides “a low energy barrier opportunity to invite friends and neighbors” into their group. Lastly, every other Saturday, they serve their community by making breakfast for their neighbors together. Additionally, they take one Saturday per month and serve the community in some way.
Review
Overall, this book is a solid overview of how small groups can be life-giving to the believer. Brad House takes the traditional model of small groups and turns it into a Biblical approach to “doing life” together. I had the opportunity to share a meal with Brad House while he was speaking at a conference I was attending, and I will say that his life backs up what he has written about. I appreciate his humility and wisdom in the area of small groups!
Where to buy
If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Community, you can find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Community-Taking-Small-Group-Support/dp/143352306X
