I am a proponent of any small group experience that lifts the name of Jesus above all other names, creates a safe place for everyone involved, and produces an environment where unbelievers feel as though they are equals on a spiritual journey so they attend consistently.
This week I spent some time meditating on various small group systems and how they do or don’t accomplish these goals. When I got to the sermon-based small group experience, I had to pause. These concerns came to mind.
1. Elevating the pastor’s words while inadvertently diminishing God’s word – When utilizing biblically based, well-done curriculum the conversation is strategically turned toward what the Bible is saying. When discussing the weekend sermon the discussion is built around what the pastor said. The primary voice in the Bible study isn’t God and His Word, it is the pastor and his words. Instead of hearing phrases like, “The Bible says,” or “Jesus told us,” or “God’s Word demands,” small group members hear phrases like, “Pastor told us,”, “If the pastor was here he’d probably say,” or “I’ll check with the pastor and see what he meant.” The pastor’s voice may inadvertently become known as the ultimate truth source rather than the Bible being the only source of all truth.
2. Senior pastor worship – Sermon-based small group experiences can easily lead to high levels of senior pastor worship. My experience has shown that the senior pastor’s name is brought up and he is held in awe at least six times during each group gathering. Jesus’ name and his personality are discussed much less than the pastor’s personality and the senior pastor’s name. Jesus is subconsciously established as the senior pastor’s sidekick, the secondary personality in church life. Before long, many believers speak more of their pastor and his great sermons than their Savior and His redeeming power.
3. Those farthest from Christ won’t attend a small group – Those who are far, far from Christ are not going to attend church services, which means they’ll never feel comfortable in a sermon-based small group experience. Let’s face it… People who are far from Christ are not going to come to a group to discuss a sermon they haven’t heard. To expect a not-yet-follower of Christ (who didn’t hear the weekend sermon and never will because they are not going to attend a weekend worship service… ever) to come weekly to a sermon-based small group experience is like asking someone to come to a book club for a weekly meeting to discuss a book they refuse to read. They aren’t going to attend. Doing sermon-based small group experiences may mean many who might have heard the Gospel and come into an eternal relationship with Christ never will.
All that said, let’s answer a few questions for those who use sermon-based small groups in their churches:
1. How can sermon-based groups be used for God’s glory, for the good of the local church, and for the good of the community?
Anything that brings glory to God is used by God to glorify Himself. And any time He is glorified the local church is better for it. And anytime the local church is known as being focused on bringing glory to God the community is enhanced.
No matter if a group is sermon-based or not, if she is, “a city on a hill,” (Matt. 5:14) a light shining brightly for Christ on the street or cul-de-sac where she functions as a mission of the church she represents, in the community where she has been placed, she glorifies God.
Doing sermon-based bible studies, using curriculum based studies, or using the Bible as the only document being discussed is not the factor that determines whether or not a group gathering brings glory to God. It is the missional activity of the group and group members that brings glory to God. That then affects the group, the church, and the community.
2. How can sermon-based groups “remember” their leaders (Heb. 13:7) rather than forget what their leaders spoke?
One of the most positive aspects of sermon-based Bible studies is that group members are reminded of the main points of the sermon. If this is the goal of your groups, then sermon-based groups are the right approach for your church.
To optimize the sermon based approach… after establishing the main points of the sermon, group members should then process what they heard in the sermon then make commitments to live out what was preached.
3. How can I lift up the name of Jesus above all names and respect my pastor?
This has to be approached when training your small group leaders. Humankind will instinctively worship that which they can seen and touch. Thus, the pastor becomes the focus of attention rather than Jesus. In order to overcome this, small group leaders should be trained to elevate the words found in the Bible above the clichés and phrases spoken by the pastor in the sermon. Then, consistently during the bible study time, leaders should point people to Jesus and His word rather than focusing on the teaching pastor and his words.
4. How can people move beyond after-service surface-level chat—“great sermon”—to significant conversations?
A very short answer ought to do it… GREAT discussion questions that are placed in the right order. When this happens a transformational conversation will be experienced.
I think every church doing sermon-based Bible studies must ask if they have people capable of creating these kinds of experiences. This is where most fall very, very short.
5. What are some upsides of Sermon-based small group studies?
• The pastor is happy with the small group pastor knowing he or she is working in tandem to establish the principles and practices that were unearthed during the sermon.
• Small group members are reminded of the main points of the sermon which helps establish the truths that were taught.
• Sermon based Bible studies make more time to discuss application. Since the principles and practices that would normally to be unveiled as group members discussed the passage are already established (the pastor took care of this when preaching.) the group can climb immediately into discussing how these principles and practices are to be lived out. A caution… Many would say that the discussion the group has together determining what God is saying is vital as group members learn how to interpret Scripture without a talking head. Many may never learn to think on their own or use their Bibles or interpret scripture independent of someone telling them what it means if the model for processing Scripture is sermon based discussions alone.
