Seeker Small Groups

New Beginnings Through Stories

Jesus is used the power of stories (aka parables) to communicate his most important messages. We read of only a few "sermons" in the four gospels, but Jesus told countless stories to his followers and asked a lot of great questions. I am sure Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were only able to convey to their readers some of those that he told. I continue to be amazed at the stories that you are telling now about your experiences with launching and leading seeker small groups! These stories are powerful. I believe they are the greatest encouragement you can give to one another.

So beginning this week, our Blog will be dedicated to briefly telling those stories and introducing you to the leaders that are telling them. Hopefully you'll find something in their stories that will encourage you as you lead. In addition, I hope that you will pray for each of these leaders as you learn more about them and their personal ministry to reaching those that are far from God. - Mary

Questions Google Can't Answer

I had invited 30 women to come to my home to explore some of the toughest questions about God and faith issues in the spring of 2002. Fifteen people came that first day. There were three of us that had agreed to co-lead the group - Judy, Kristin, and I. We had been friends for a long time. Throughout the years we had spent time together on school field trips, fundraisers, and praying for our kids. We all knew the women that came that day. They were neighbors and friends from our Portola Valley community.

I think each of us walked into this new situation with a little fear that we would somehow be expected to have all of the answers. So we quickly made it clear at the very beginning that we didn't have all of the answers. If that's what they were looking for, they'd be disappointed. They would need to discover the answers for themselves. All of us would be learning together in the process. Over time, we might share some of what we have discovered, but that was not our main job. Our job was to keep the conversation and the group a safe place to explore the questions and answers. I think everyone was relieved (including us) when we made that simple declaration.

This sign board in front of a church was indicative of what we found in our group. The richness of the questions about God will not allow a simple Google search to find the answer. It is the process of self-discovery which is best done in a safe and caring community, where there's laughter, love, safety and respect that slowly produces answers for the spiritual seeker. And it starts the first time you get the group together to set the tone for all future gatherings. That's why the first meeting is so important. -Mary

Party Theology

Step 4 of the six steps in starting a seeker small group is "Launch the All-Important First Meeting". This is the first time you get people together in a small group to start discussing spiritual matters. This meeting is critical because if the people that come have had a positive experience, most likely they will want to return. Pat Sikora, founder of Mighty Oak Ministries and author of the recently published book, "Why Didn't You Warn Me?", talks about "party theology" in her June 4 Blog entry (see http://whydidntyouwarnme.com/2007/06/04/party-theology).

She quotes ministry leader, Eric Bryant of Mosaic, in which he tells of how their pastor Erwin McManus "does a message on what we call 'party theology.' It’s basically looking at Levi (his name later became Matthew). Not knowing any better, after becoming a follower of Jesus, Levi decided to throw a big party, he invited all of his friends who happened to be tax-collectors, prostitutes and sinners. Upon the invitation, Jesus went. In turn, Jesus had a horrible reputation, because He went to this party; He was known as a drunkard, a glutton, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Although Jesus was neither a drunkard nor a glutton, He was willing to ruin His reputation on behalf of befriending people that He disagreed with He disagreed with and weren’t honoring to Him. And more so, He (Jesus) didn’t expect people who did not know God to live like they did. And so for us at Mosaic, every year we would hear about this “party theology” and started putting it into practice. It’s amazing that in the context of a party, it’s simply inviting people into your home that you would normally never invite into your home." She further quotes Bryant saying, "Party theology is putting the needs of others before our own, in the context of relationship."

Pat goes on to talk about how difficult that is for her to do now. But how necessary it was for her to experience that as an unbeliever. Check out her full Blog entry to hear her struggles with this as well as to examine her new book, "Why Didn't you Warn Me?" in which she discusses some of the challenges of small groups and how to effectively address them. You can also learn more about Pat at her website, http://www.mightyoakministries.com. Pat Sikora is a great small group resource for all of us in the bay area. Pat has graciously offered to help us in our ministry! Feel free to contact her through her websites. - Mary