Dear Friends,
I was recently visiting a friend’s
house when I saw the title of an interesting book that caught my attention. The
title is Creating Stories That Connect.
Interestingly enough it
was written by Dr. Bruce Seymour, one of the pastors who preceded me at the
church where I had recently pastored.
As I thumbed through the
book, I came across a story told by Bill Hybels who was then the pastor Willow
Creek Fellowship, a Mega Church outside of Chicago, Illinois where I had once
attended for a weekend church leadership conference
Having been a strong
proponent of small group life and having been involved in small groups in all
the churches I have pastored, I was moved by Bill’s account which I share in
his words.
I just finished presenting
my weekend message at Willow Creek, and I was standing in the bullpen, talking
to people. A young married couple approached me, placed a blanketed bundle in
my arms, and asked me to pray for their baby.
As I asked what the baby‘s
name was, the mother pulled back the blanket that had covered the infant's
face. I felt my knees begin to buckle. I thought I was going to faint. Had the
father not steadied me, I may well have keeled over. In my arms was the most
horribly deformed baby I had ever seen. The whole center of her tiny face was
caved in. How she kept breathing, I will never know.
All I could say was,
"Oh my God, ..."Oh my God"...."Oh my God."
"Her name is
Emily," said the mother. "We’ve been told she has about six weeks to
live," added the father. "We would like you to pray that before she
dies, she will know and feel our love."
Barely able to mouth the
words, I whispered, "Let’s pray together.” We prayed for Emily. Oh, did we
pray. As I handed her back to her parents, I asked, "Is there anything we
can do for you? Is there any way that we as a church can serve you during this
time?"
The father responded with
words that still amaze me. He said, "Bill, we’re OK. Really we are. We’ve
been in a loving small group for years. Our group members knew that the
pregnancy had complications. They were at our house the night, we learned the
news, and they were at the hospital when Emily was delivered. They helped us
absorb the reality of the whole thing. They even cleaned our house and fixed
our meals when we bought her home. They pray for us constantly and call us
several times every day. They’re even helping us plan Emily‘s
funeral."
Just then three other
couples stepped forward and surrounded Emily and her parents. We always attend
church together as a group," said one of the group members.
It was a picture I will
carry to my grave, a tight knit huddle of loving brothers and sisters, doing
their best to soften one of the cruel blows life can throw. After a group
prayer, they all walked up the side aisle toward our lobby."
As I thought about this
story, I wondered how that couple could have gotten through this tragically
difficult time had it not been for a tight knit group of friends who loved and
cared for them.
Small group life is an
indispensable ministry in the church, and I’m grateful to be a part of
a church where almost 2/3’s of our members are involved in one of our many
small groups.
The Bible reminds us: “You
are members of God's very own family... And you belong in God's household with
every other Christian.” (Ephesians 2:19. TLB).
It has been said that
small groups are not a “ministry of the church, small groups are not
a program of the church, small groups are not an outreach of the church,
small groups are not even an event of the church, small groups are the
church.” From Small Group Network.com.
If you are involved in a
group, I hope you will seriously consider joining one. If you do,
you might discover a wonderful source of help in time of need just as
Emily’s parents did
Yours in faith and
friendship,
Tom
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