Washington Times columnist Julia Duin writes that the group movement is "showing its age." If I can scooch my walker a little closer to my laptop, I will try to peck out a response.
Duin interviewed one of our Group Life Advisory team members, Bill Search, the author of "Simple Small Groups." He did a great job of pointing out the strengths of ministry through community and showed how churches like North Point and Southeast Christian have flourishing group life ministries. It's really a great article.
Interestingly, Duin positions the heyday of groups back in the '70's. If you ignore the contributions of Jesus, Wesley, the Navigators, Bill Bright, and hundreds of others, then she'd be right on. Outta sight. I mean "the 70's" was when we carried a copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and a Living Bible in our guitar case when we gathered in our bellbottoms. Then we discovered Serendipity, and everything changed. I suppose that is when many of us discovered the power of community and realized that we had been missing the redemptive impact of "each other" and the movement exploded. The theology and practice of community was then explored and developed by Lyman Coleman, Ralph Neighbor, Roberta Hestenes, Gareth Icenogle and many, many more. Carl George and Gilbert Bilezikian had a particular influence on Willow Creek that was later supplemented by Bill Donahue, Russ Robinson, and others. If it's this particular chorus of voices she has heard, then she may have a point. Many of these fine mentors... and their apprentices... are getting a little long in the tooth. What's missing from the analysis is the handoff to the next generation... Bill Search, Heather Zempel and Eric Metcalf are just the tip of the newly emerging iceberg.
The "aging" of the movement is not Duin's most fascinating point. Her best quote summed up the movement with these words: "It never really worked." Her example:
"... The pastor at the church I was attending was heard to say that he could not find qualified leaders, so he was letting groups die a natural death as soon as their current leaders got burned out..."
Kids these days. This young pup pastor expected leaders to materialize out of thin air... To arrive fully formed with no investment in training or sacrificial mentoring. It's no wonder that in many churches groups "never really worked." Thank God for young punks like Search who still have the energy to write great books to straighten out this kind of fuzzy thinking. If I can release the death-grip on my walker, I'll dial Bill up on my rotary phone and praise him from the bottom of my Lipitor-infused heart.
I'd write more, but it's time for my nap. You can read Duin's whole article here.
