SUPPORT THROUGH SMALL GROUPS

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  (Galatians 6:2)

It’s amazing to me that some people think the small group movement is a new thing. Small groups are as old as the Bible, and they are so essential. Jesus knew how important it is to have our family and our friends helping us, surrounding us with love, supporting us, encouraging us, setting us free in every moment, but especially in those dramatic moments when we are trying to make a new start with our lives.

Recently a man stopped by to see me. A little over a year ago, he went through a great personal tragedy. He is coming through it with the help of God and with the help of the church, especially his adult Sunday school class. He said, “I was devastated. I was disillusioned and defeated and saw no hope for the future and no relief for my pain. I was so hurt that I was immobilized. All the life was drained out of me, but God brought me back to life… and this church has been there for me every step of the way. My Sunday school class has been so incredible. I don’t know what I would have done without them. I couldn’t have made it without them.”

You know what he was saying, don’t you? He was saying, “God brought me out of the tomb, and my friends in my small group helped me, and supported me… and together, by the grace of God, they loved me back to life.” 

-- James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!” 

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THE NEW SPIRITUAL MAN

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

A new spiritual man is emerging in America. He does not confuse faith with politics; he does not require exclusively sports-based metaphors to gain a spiritual yard or two; he is struggling hard to be authentically Christian and countercultural in the workplace; and he understands the language of servant leadership in the home. This man is less confrontational than those who seek to effect change via condemnation and acrimony because he is learning to remember that Christ teaches us to overcome evil with good. “Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)

If he is married, the new spiritual man knows that his wife is his partner, not one more subject for his domain. If anyone asks about the dynamics of power in his family, today’s disciple has learned to share the truth about relationships that are grounded in the security and freedom of God’s invitation to fullness [in Christ].

We live as witnesses to God’s amazing and redemptive love. Relationships experienced in the context of God’s social economy stand as a living testimony to our salvation, and to our independence from the warped values and skewed priorities of this broken and unsatisfying world. 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”

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NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

Men, I hate to break it to those of us who like to exercise worn stereotypes, but women are not the only gender to have benefited from the social revolutions of the past thirty years. Like it or not, John Wayne is long gone; sometimes manly men really do just need to have a good cry; and the idea that strong, silent men are supposed to “bite the bullet and get the job done, by golly, because we don’t ask for help from anyone…” is not only pathetically inappropriate but fundamentally contrary to God’s best intention for our lives.

Men who want to grow in Christlike grace need one another.

Men who intend to be the kind of followers Christ empowers through His strength and love more often than not discover their purpose and their power in community.

Besides, we were created specifically for relationship, relationship with God and with one another. We were created for communion with God and with other men. Being alone runs contrary to the most primary and basic intention of creation. 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”

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COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  (Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV)

Jesus may be God Incarnate, Lord of All Creation, Emmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Coming Messiah, Light of Life, and so on, but the Master Himself deliberately engaged His public ministry here on earth by surrounding Himself with a small covenant group of other men who knew and loved God. How much more should we place ourselves in the company of fellow believers?

Jesus is our model and guide. Understanding and committing to the same spiritual disciplines the Master found important in His ministry among us is no small potatoes. There’s no way we can close our eyes to Christ’s precedent: finding companions for the journey is huge. 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”

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