Skip to main content

LIFEGroup Reflections

Cleaning house

This week I experienced a LIFEGroup first. This week our LIFEGroup met at a home. Last week at the end of the meeting some asked “Where are we going to meet next week?” I immediately said “Why not my place?” I’ve been in Muskegon for over a year but haven’t really had any one over from church yet. When I made the suggestion to meet at my house my wife gave me a funny look which I understood immediately. Her look said “That’s fine if people come over but you’d better understand that you will make sure the house is clean.”

I told my wife that I thought the idea of LIFEGroups was to share authentic relationships and it would be more authentic if they saw me as the slob I am. She didn’t buy it so I spent the whole week cleaning. As Sunday got closer I found my self more and more excited. Then I started noticing things around the house that needed to be done. I noticed I hadn’t given the bathroom sink a good scrubbing in a while. I noticed a few pieces of litter in the lawn. I noticed how ugly my trash bag full of pop cans looked in the entryway. I noticed how dingy my furniture was. I noticed the carpet needed vacuuming.

I started to see my house through a visitor’s eyes. I started to wonder “What will they think about me if they see this huge glob of toothpaste on the mirror.” I also wondered how it had gotten there. As Sunday drew closer I realized that before LIFEGroup had even begun I had learned a valuable lesson.

Being forced to look at ourselves through other’s eyes helps us to see ourselves for who we really are. Everything about my house tells you something about who I am. The various papers all over my kitchen table show you I am not organized. The multiple bookshelves in the office show that I like to read. The video games in my playroom show that I like technology. The glob of toothpaste on the mirror shows that I am messy. The used furniture in my living room shows that I am cheap. When I start sharing my life with others I have to take a good hard look at my life. I’ve got to figure out what is worth sharing and what needs to be cleaned up.

When Sunday night came we had a great LIFEGroup. No one went through my house with a magnifying glass looking for my flaws. In fact having the group in my natural environment seemed to help me bond with the group. We had a great time hanging out and we really connected during the Bible study. Maybe experiencing my house helped them experience me.

That night I ended up finding out that I had a lot more in common with the people in the group than I had thought. One of the most exiting things I found out was that I wasn’t the only one in the group who likes video games. We had a lot of fun. It isn’t always easy to let people into your house and into your life. It takes work but it certainly is worth it. I can’t wait to have my LIFEGroup over again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Discussion Questions for Easter

Have several people ask the question, “What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done?” Ask other people, “What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years of your life?” Tell your class that today you’ll be talking about “life mission” or the one most important thing you do that drives everything else. Tell them that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the defining moment in history, so it should be the defining moment in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. How does the resurrection impact some of the crucial beliefs of Christianity?  How would Christianity be different if there was no resurrection? How would you be different without the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. What are some specific ways that the resurrection gives us hope? If you had been a friend of Jesus when he was on earth, how would the resurrection have impacted your life?  How do you think his followers then were effected by the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthian...
3 comments
Read more

10 Summer Activities To Keep Your Small Group Connected

I just sent an email to all our small group leaders (I do this 3-4 times each month). This week's focus was STAYING CONNECTED THROUGH THE SUMMER. Below is a list of 10 summer activities a small group can use to stay connected. These are specifically created for groups at The Gathering, but you can pretty easily modify the list to fit your church or your community. Go to a Dragon's Game together. You can buy tickets as a group from the church for the game on July 11. Design a Progressive Dinner. Have appetizers at one house, salad at another, the main course somewhere else and dessert at a final destination. Have a monthly barbecue party. Serve together. Pick a place (Good Neighbor House, St. Vincents, Victory Project, Pirate Packs, Caring Partners International, One Bistro) and sign up to serve as a group one afternoon or evening. Meet up at the Family Movie Night on June 15. Spend a day at King's Island. Work at the church for an afternoon. We have many proj...
Post a Comment
Read more

20 Questions to Build Group Connections

Here is a great exercise for a new group. The instructions are pretty simple. Go around the group giving each person the opportunity to choose one question and answer it honestly. Anyone can follow-up with an opinion or clarifying question (no critiquing each other's answers, though). Once a question has been answered, no one else may answer that question. If your group is larger, you may want to alter the rule and allow each question to be answered 2 or 3 times. Ideally, each person should end up answering 3-5 questions. As the leader, pay attention to the conversation. Let the discussion run its course as this is how people in the group build their relationships with one another. You can use these questions, modify them or create your own.
Post a Comment
Read more