Churches are closed! Groups limited to no more than 10! What are we to do?
This morning I gathered with a group of six (including myself). We talked about this very thing. When Church doors close, as they have during this emergency, what are the parishioners to do?
1) Some will put their Bibles on the shelf and turn to watch Netflix/Pureflix/Disney+.
2) Some will watch pod-casts and other visual materials acting like shut-ins.
3) Some will worry and say, "I don't want to catch this plague!"
4) Some will realize their Churches are irrelevant.
5) Some will realize a great opportunity to reach out in small groups and begin to teach and train those within their sphere of influence to be awake and prepared for such emergencies.
I want to be in group 5.
This morning as we met, we had a lesson on how to have a quiet-time. I say "we" because all participated in the lesson. The passage we went through for our quiet-time was Jesus' time of prayer in the olive press (Matt 26:36-46). What stood out to them was telling regarding our situation today:
1) Jesus returned to check on those He wanted with Him because those relationships were important to Him.
2) Jesus' disciples are tired/lazy/unmotivated.
3) Jesus wants His disciples to be awake and prepared.
At the end of the lesson, we broke into groups of three and practiced what we had just learned. Afterwards, I asked of the entire group, "What stood out as we went through and then practiced what we learned?" There were several things:
1) The prayer time (we prayed for the application of the quiet-time of the person on our left) was much more personal.
2) Having been told the lesson, going through the lesson, and then practicing the lesson makes individuals more secure at accomplishing and passing on the lesson.
3) How one relates to personal quiet-times, man-to-man, small group Bible study, and even larger groups is different.
After this discussion, I asked a final question: "Do you believe yourself prepared to share this same lesson in your own homes with another small group?" The answers were a resounding "YES!" I sent these small group leaders off with the admonition as spoken by one of those as we practiced the quiet-time lesson: "Since Jesus has served me, I am willing to go and serve others. (John 13:6-9)"
Serve others by gathering in small groups, passing on the basics of how to maintain a relationship with Jesus. Start with how to have a quiet-time, send them out to meet with others in small groups, and see what it looks like to re-imagine discipleship.
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Thx!