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Why I Need a Small Group
by Coach Dan Reeves, Dr. Howard G. Hendricks, & Rebecca Manley Pippert, Discipleship Journal, Issues 42-44
03/14/05
During this past year, I was in a couples' Bible study group. It continued even through football season. (All of us can look at our schedules and say we don't have time. But we each have to just make the time for those things that are vital to our lives.)
I need people—like those in my group—who are not primarily interested in me because I'm the Denver Broncos football coach. They are primarily interested in me and my wife, Pam, as individuals and as a married couple. There is genuine, sincere caring about my personal, spiritual needs and concerns.
Furthermore, I value the fact that because of my small group, I know there are people who know me and uphold me in their prayers as I seek to do what is best as a Christian father, husband, man … and coach. The prayers of my group have been a real source of strength in my life. I'd encourage all Christians to be involved in some type of study or support group.
—Former Denver Broncos Coach Dan Reeves, Issue 42
I'm committed to small groups because I believe in learning by discovery, by involvement. A small group provides an ideal context for getting involved in the learning process.
Furthermore, being in a small group has caused me to ask the right questions and find people who've been able to direct me toward the answers. That's the key to motivation, and that's one of the primary reasons why I believe in small groups.
Over the years I've observed that when people are in small groups where someone knows them—where they can ask the threatening, embarrassing, naive questions, and share where they are—then they can take giant steps in their faith. That can't happen in a church service of 200 or 500 people.
—Dr. Howard G. Hendricks, author and professor, Issue 43
Small groups have been and continue to be vital to my spiritual growth. My concern is—as I minister to my husband, children, and the church at large—that my inward journey matches my outward journey. I have to make sure that I'm not coasting, that my spiritual roots are deepening. It is essential that we have something to stimulate this spiritual growth, whether it be a spiritual guide, a mentor, or a small study group.
Another thing small groups have helped me maintain is perspective. I recall the small group I was in during our years in Washington, D.C. One of the most valuable things about that particular group was the diversity—the people were married, single, widowed, racially mixed, professionally mixed, young, and old. Seeing life from so many different perspectives, and reflecting on what the Scriptures mean at a particular period of life, was a tremendous lesson for me. I learned that some of the problems I struggled with were typical for my stage in life, and I saw some of the unique problems of other age groups. It taught me what it means to be a human being at different stages of life, as well as how I can better appropriate the grace of God at each stage.
Within my small group people really get to know me. I can trust them with my burdens and problems. We nurture one another and facilitate each other's spiritual growth. We help put each other's pain in perspective, as well as the reality of God. I would encourage Christians to be part of a small group—to experience it as richly and deeply as they can.
—Rebecca Manley Pippert, speaker and author of several books, Issue 44
© Copyright 2005 Smalley Relationship Center. Used by permission.
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