A breath of fresh air

Last night we got to go to small group for the first time in a couple months. It was like a breath of fresh air. Recently I was talking with a church staff that is looking ahead to planting a church. They were asking about our experience and I shared that the biggest hardship we've faced is the lack of small groups meeting over the summer. I likened it to having the oxygen shut off. In many ways I feel like July and August were a time of struggle gasping for breath. And I feel a sense that many around SRC are taking a deep breath right now. Small groups have started, and people are connecting again.

I had one of those, "man, I'm dumb" moments just this week. Several times we kicked around at our leadership meeting that as the OT we were connected and excited about what was happening at SRC, but many people didn't have that excitement or know what to be excited about. I think the rest of the OT with me thought that was because of the decisions we were making, vision we were seeing, etc. But I've changed my mind. It was because we were consistently meeting as a small group. It's not the stuff that made us feel connected, it was the relationship. SRCers know that we have a vision path, that is a system of discipleship in Large Group, Small Group and Prayer Groups. All SRCers should be part of that system at every level. We discovered early on that people apart from small groups get very weary in the hard work of planting a church. That's because they lose connection to the work of the church which isn't the stuff, it's the relationships.

I'm so thankful to be back in the swing with a small group. Corie and I were talking on the way home last night about how great it was that God put us in this small group. We have a group that has polar opposites: people who've been in the church their whole life, and some that are just starting to explore that teachings of Christ. It is so refreshing, and empowering when you see the mission working right in front of you; making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey God's word.

Breathe deep!

--Ben

* It's not too late to get into a group. You can sign-up again on Sunday. You can check out information here.