GROWING TOGETHER

In our world today people hunger greatly for two things: spirituality and community. We long to be close to God and to one another. We long for a place where we can know and be known at the deepest levels.

For the most part, the reality of God and the spiritual realm have been banished from modern culture. In spite of the secularizing influences that surround us, we cry out from our alienation, longing for a deeper relationship with the One who created us.

We also experience the dehumanizing, depersonalization of everyone living on the face of the earth. As only a face in a crowd or a number on a computer screen, we belong to families, neighborhoods, and churches that no longer provide us with a sense of community.

The answer to these two needs can be found in Christian community. The interest in small groups in recent years is a sign that God is meeting these needs in the life of the Church. God is calling Christian men and women into small, face-to-face communities whose sole aim is to encourage one another in their spiritual lives.

Gareth Icenogle is right when he says, "Growth is the process and product of the community, not the isolated individual. Persons grow when they are in relationship with God and with one another. Persons remain in spiritual infancy when

they refuse to participate in community (koinonia). Christians who cannot relate to one another in face-to-face situations are missing the reality, hope, and growth of sanctorum communio, the communion of the saints. To be together with other Christians in a small group is to open oneself to being formed in Christ."

Effective Groups. During the last few years I have been privileged to help form and nurture spiritual formation groups where people gather to discuss their spiritual lives, encourage one another, and make specific plans to grow in their faith, to become disciples of Christ. And through letters and telephone calls I have the opportunity to share in the common joys and struggles that many groups experience. From them I have learned that effective groups have several things in common:

• Living in dependence upon Christ;
• Seeking renewal continually;
• Focusing on Christ together;
• Watching over one another in love;
• Working toward a common goal;
• Cultivating stronger relationships;
• Feeling greater security;
• Deepening their level of trust;
• Growing closer through prayer.

While this list is not exhaustive, it offers some of the important ingredients of an effective spiritual formation group. Often I hear members tell how one or more of these dimensions is experienced in their group and how meaningful it is.