Small Group Ministry

I have always being very concerned about spiritual growth of the cell members. The notion that if they attend enough cell group meetings and heard enough spiritual truths, spiritual growth will tend to happen.

But in real life, some members may grow spiritually while others may not. As cell leader, one of the main things that I do on a regular basis is to teach the cell members about biblical truths and most importantly how they can apply these biblical truths to their lives. It has always been the application. Spiritual growth happens when they apply biblical truths in their lives. But in reality, they may not apply these spiritual truths as often as I would like them to.

Is there something missing? It is not just the teaching of spiritual truths which to some of the members, they have already knew these truths but yet you don’t see much spiritual growth. In this module I learnt about the role of being a facilitator. I, as a facilitator can only facilitate. Henry Cloud in the book together with John Townsend (Making Small Group Works) emphasized that our job is simply to help make certain things happen. The facilitator provides the environment and the proper ingredients so that growth can happen. But we can’t engineered growth as much as we like to. I can only plant the seeds in their lives and it is God who would cause the growth. It is ultimately God through the power of His Holy Spirit to cause the growth in a person’s life. The member’s lives are being transformed when God used the spiritual truths together with the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through the person. Cell members can help to spur one another to growth by sharing their own life’s experiences. This is the value that community of small group brings. When we do life together, we can go far in our walk in God.

In this module, I was tasked to work on the common issues faced in small groups and we did a presentation on this. As I pondered and read the various books and materials, I gathered that when people from different backgrounds and different experiences come together as a community, there will tend to be tensions due to different personalities and as a facilitator, you will need to be sensitive to the needs of the cell members in order to build them up to be an authentic community.

One of the most discussed issue is probably about conflicts. Many, including myself will tend to avoid conflicts as they see conflicts as obstacles and try to avoid them as much as possible. One book (Gladen, Steve, Leading Small Groups with Purpose) mentioned that “conflict is like the dashboard of the car and when the warning lights come on, your car needs attention. When you have conflicts in your group, it’s not a bad thing; it’s simply a warning telling you that your group needs attention.” Conflicts are opportunities for growth for the cell members towards authentic relationships. The dissatisfaction with someone or something in the group is often the catalyst for conflict and change and for consensus to develop. Conflicts can be discussed within the group or outside the group depending on the nature of the conflicts. One thing I learnt is to confront because I care. I care enough to want to settle the conflicts in the group. Facing conflict is not going to be easy but our status in Christ gives us the freedom to confront it even though we sometimes know we will be hurt. There should be no winner or loser in resolving conflicts but rather to work towards creative solutions that will help the whole group. For me, there are still skill sets that I have to learn to be a peacemaker to help cell members resolve conflicts.

The purpose in my mind has always been to build disciples for Christ. That in a sense has been the guiding principle for me as a cell leader. To teach what I have learnt and teach them to “reliable people” who will in turn be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2). But the one thing that I have been wanting to do in recent years is not just to teach these “reliable people” but also consciously to have some form of leadership development to develop future leaders or facilitator. We cannot continue to facilitate without any set purpose or agenda in mind. We need to set this goal in place and let all cell members know that ultimately the group must multiplied and grow and that’s the aim of doing cells. Healthy cell grows by growing into more cells. I need to personally model leadership development in my church and ministry and help the cell members in my group to discover and develop God’s callings in their lives. The privilege of being a cell leader is to see transformed lives and cell member fulfilling God’s calling in their lives. That’s the joy and the motivation in my calling as a cell leader!

Alvin Goh

Childlike Faith

Mark 10:15 NIV Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
>> Jesus doesn’t call people to childish behavior; he calls them to childlike faith. Some of things that I can learn from a child – humility, trust, receptivity and dependency. Make me simple once again to simply trust and believe just like a child.

The Greatest Gift

Luke 11:13 (NIV) If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
>> The greatest gift that anyone can ask of God is the Holy Spirit. The contrast is surprising. Parents giving good gifts to their children versus God giving the gift of the Holy Spirit. What this verse is emphasizing is that if there is one thing God desired to give to us is the Holy Spirit. May that be the one gift we asked of God daily. Fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Real Win

Luke 10:20 (NIV) However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
>> Jesus’ prime concern was not that we defeat the evil one (Satan is already a defeated foe) but that our names are written in the book of life. That’s the real win. That’s what is all about. Winning lives, saving souls from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. We must all see that whatever we do in life and ministry must ultimately lead people to the kingdom of God. That’s the win Jesus wants us to keep in mind.

The Paradigm Shift

One of the words that I usually associate with hospitality is kindness. Being kind to people is being nice to people regardless of their race, religions or status. Kindness is one of the fruit of the Spirit. As the Holy Spirit empowers you, you can be kind to people even those who may be unfriendly. The premise that I adopted as a person was “The Golden Rule” taught by Jesus – “Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:30) and that if you show respect to others, you get respect and you will get what you sow. You don’t have to be unkind. The hospitality class opens my eyes to this lost tradition of Biblical Hospitality. The world that I know is more of a hostile environment instead of hospitality. We are taught from young to be wary of strangers thinking that these strangers will always have ulterior motive to harm us or to steal from us. It would truly requires us to have a paradigm shift to show hospitality to strangers and to love them as Christ would love them. If we can change our perspectives in the practice of hospitality, then it would not be an issue.

The narratives given in Luke 10:38-42 about Mary and Martha never fails to demonstrate the contrast of doing and being. Martha the one who is practicing hospitality (doing) complaining about Mary not helping her to be a hospitable host while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet listening (being) to what Jesus has to say. In this instant, Jesus commended that “but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (vs 42)” The importance of being is that God always wants to transform us from the inside and not how much we can do for Him. Mary was interested in hearing the words of Jesus which can speaks to her innermost being and words that literally transform her. Our doing is usually an outflow of the transformed life. Hospitality is just the outflow of our relationship with God and it flows out to the others which can include people you know and those strangers around you. If our hospitality to others is not under girded by our relationship with God then our acts of hospitality would not last as we may be “drained out” and running on empty. Hospitality is hard work and we can only rely on His strength and provision to do the acts of hospitality.

The idea of gift always give me the idea that one had to be gifted in order to be hospitable but it is in this hospitality class that I learnt that hospitality is more a duty than a gift. It is a Christian’s duty to practice hospitality meaning all of us believers can practice acts of hospitality to others. There were many commands in Scriptures to practice biblical hospitality (e.g. Rom 12;13, Heb 13;2, 1 Pet 4:9). Many of us practice hospitality out of convenience and if it is not convenience than I may not want to do it. Hospitality is risky and hard work and we may not achieve much after all the efforts. This is perhaps the paradox of hospitality that many of us won’t want to attempt doing acts of hospitality. But I want to always return to the words of Jesus in Matt 25:40 “Truly, I say to you, to the extent you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even to the least of them, you did it to Me.” Jesus was the model of hospitality to us and we who are called by His name would want to emulate Him.

We have lost this tradition of Biblical Hospitality and may God helps us to restore this concept of hospitality to its original depth and evocative potential (Henri Nouwen).

We were strangers once. The notion that we were strangers once helped me to appreciate the fact of what God had done for me. We were strangers in the land that our fore fathers brought us to. We planted our roots in the land and made it prosperous. Knowing our roots would help us welcome the strangers to our land because that’s what we were from the beginning. We should help foreigners settled down in this strange land that they came to. Added to that, we are just strangers passing through this place called earth and one day we will leave this earth and go to the place that God had prepared for us. The possessions that God had blessed us with is not for us to horde but that we as His people may be a blessings to others. Our treasures are not here on earth but up in heaven. We should be ready to spent our finances to be a hospitable host to strangers that otherwise may not have a descent meal around a table for a while. Hospitality should cause us to be generous to bless the under-privileged and the marginalized of our society to help them to live a life of dignity because they are people created in the very image of God.

At the end of the day, it would probably take a huge paradigm shift to adopt the practice of hospitality in our lives. We may never fully practice the whole aspects of it but all it needs is the change of the mindset and when our perspectives are changed by God and as we take the small steps to practice acts of hospitality in our lives towards the others, we are already walking towards the ultimate purpose that God had prepared all our hearts for – To be more like Jesus.

​The Practice of Hospitality

Luk 9:3 — Luk 9:4 (NLT) “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town.

>> Jesus’ instructions for His disciples as He sent them out was not to take anything – no bag, no food and no set of clothes for changing. The only way to explain this is simply that the disciples have to live off the hospitality of the people in the town they go to. They are to look for a man of peace who will offer hospitality to them. In their culture, hospitality is much practiced – not just for people they know but even to strangers. Henri Nouwen – “If there is any concept worth restoring to its original depth and evocative potential, it is the concept of hospitality. It is one of the riches of biblical terms that can deepen and broaden our insight in our relationships to our fellow human beings.” I am currently doing an intensive module on the subject of Biblical Hospitality and it has indeed broaden my insight to this lost tradition of hospitality. 

The Listening Time

Luke 8:18a “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given.
>>To listen well, you must also be in an environment where there is minimal noise. In our modern culture of hurry, we don’t really contemplate what was spoken and much less to catch the hidden message. In reflection, if you want God to reveal understanding in His Word, get into an environment without the outside noise (the distractions) and wait to listen to that still small voice of God. Creates that intentional space in your life whereby you allow God to speak in an unhurried manner. Some call this time – quiet time or doing SOAP.  The issue is not the term used but the need to listen to God apart from reading His Words. Sometimes I knew God has spoken because on my own I would not have comprehend the Word of God that way.

Good To Great

Luke 6:35 (Message) “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst.
>> Radical – Departing markedly from the usual or customary; extreme or drastic. The life that Jesus called us to live is a radical one. Love your enemies instead of hating them. Help and do not expect return. You have a God created identity – you need to live this identity by being generous and gracious even if you are at the worst. People at their worst will not be generous and gracious but you can. Wow! The great people of our time have achieved greatness because they don’t do what others would normally do. They will radically do things and think differently. Traveling the road less traveled may be difficult but if you persist, something great will come out of it. That’s may be how we get from good to great.

“Lost” In Prayer

Luke 5:16 “As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer.”
>> The model of prayer that Jesus shows us is that He will pray “as often as possible” – whenever He could find time alone with God. To be alone He needs to withdrew.. purposely and intentionly get out of places and even people to be alone from the distractions and the places He choose were “out-of-the-way”. I believed these are the places that people will not usually go and many times the disciples had problems finding Him. He literally would get “lost” in prayer. “Lost” in time and space with His Heavenly Father. Oh Lord, teach me to pray like you.

Authority And Power

Luk 4:32 “They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.”
Luke 4:36 “All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!”
>> There is a subtle difference between authority and power. When Jesus spoke, He spoke with authority and to authenticate his authority, He cast out a demon possessed man, healed Peter’s mother-in-law and many others who were sick. Power came with the authority. You can have authority but no power or power with no authority. When man fall into sins, he gave up both authority and power. But when Jesus came and redeemed us, he gave us the authority in Matthew 28:18-19 to go and make disciples and the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8. Even the devil had to ask God for permission to test Job – he has the power to inflict sickness but no authority. As children of God, exercise the authority and the power available to us in Christ and the Holy Spirit!