What I've Got So Far

On Tuesday afternoon, I wrote about having a job where I get to spend time daydreaming about the future of small groups at Great Oaks. (This is code for "developing the Vision for small groups.")

All day yesterday, I walked through Scripture (you always start here!) looking for instances of community, leadership/shepherding principles, etc. I'm nowhere near completing this walk-thru, but here are some things that jumped out to me as I went through some of the Old Testament...

• Genesis 28:3 - Isaac's blessing of Jacob - "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples." The small groups at Great Oaks are to be a "community of peoples." This implies there is unity and shared vision & direction.
• Exodus 3:5 - Moses standing before the burning bush - The small groups at Great Oaks are to be places of "holy ground" where heaven meets earth...where God meets men & women where they are and propels them to His purposes for their lives.
• Exodus 18 - Jethro's advice for Moses to designate leaders of "thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens" - Some small group leaders at Great Oaks will be able to lead more people than others. It's only natural.
  
• Numbers 27:12-23 - Joshua to succeed Moses - Small group leaders need to identify apprentice leaders to prepare for the future.
• Deuteronomy 5:1 - Moses teaches the people the Law & commands of God - Small group leaders and small group members must know the Word of God! Throughout Scripture reformation/revival is always seen when people come back to the Word of God.
  
• This is also seen in Joshua 8:30-35 (Joshua reads the Law to the people) & 2 Chronicles 34:29-31 (Josiah's reforms) & Ezra 7:11 (description of Ezra as a "man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord.")
  
• Joshua 24:1-27 - Leaders remind people where they have been, paint a picture of their current reality, cast a compelling vision for the future, and lead by example.
• 1 Samuel 8:1-5 - Small group leaders must not sacrifice the leadership of their families while leading the church family.
• 1 Samuel 16:7 - When identifying small group leaders, I cannot rely on the outward appearance.
• 1 Kings 19:9-18 - Small group leaders must remember they are never alone in their leadership.
• 1 Chronicles 12:32 - Small group leaders should be people who "understand the times" (see also Esther 1:13)

All day today I spent time researching other churches and networking with Small Group Pastors from around the country. I've learned from and/or connected with churches in...

• Washington D.C.
• Williamsport, Pennsylvania
• Bloomington, Illinois
• South Barrington, Illinois
• Naperville, IL
• Cartersville, Georgia
• Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (this one might require a field trip to learn first-hand from them)
  
• Las Vegas, Nevada.

I've seen some things that might work for our context and some things that definitely won't work for our context. We've got to discover what God is calling our small groups to be... at Great Oaks. At the end of the day, no matter who we learn from and what we see, we've got to run it through the filter of who we are and what God is calling us to accomplish. We don't imitate... we adapt and personalize to fit our context.

This is an on-going process, so keep tuning in to see who/what is influencing the development of the Vision for small groups at Great Oaks!