In his classic book, Life Together, the late
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, The Christian needs
another Christian who speaks God's Word to him.
He needs him again and again when he becomes
uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he
cannot help himself. He needs his brother as
a bearer and proclaimer of the divine Word of
salvation. Coming up on Living on the Edge, Chip
will unpack the influence and necessity of Christian
community. I'm Dave Drewy. Thanks for joining
us for this special program. And I'd like to
welcome in our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, to
give us a bit of context for this message today.
Thanks, Dave. If you've listened to Living on
the Edge for a very long time, you've heard us
talk about BIO, B -I -O. It's an acronym. It's
for life. Throughout church history or today,
you meet a man or a woman that is a lot like
Jesus. And I will tell you for sure. Three things
are happening in their life, in their practice.
They come before God regularly, probably daily.
And then they're doing life, I, in community.
They're connected to other believers. There's
support. There's accountability. There's real
love. And finally, on mission. The heartbeat
of this ministry is believers, not just hearing
God's word, but actually living it out. That's
absolutely right, Chip. And because we are focusing
in on the I of that acronym today, I wanted to
share an email we received that really drives
home the importance of being in community with
other believers. Here's what a listener named
James wrote. Over the last six months, I've been
part of two Living on the Edge group studies
at church. I deeply appreciate your emphasis
on the importance of a solid relationship with
God over doing Christian things. Your teaching
has challenged me and changed my life. I continue
to do my best to live as a Romans 12 Christian
and trust God to work in and through me to accomplish
His purposes. Such an encouraging story, Chip.
Well, there's few things that motivate me like
when men step up the way James has. And James,
way to go to every James out there because you're
living in a world that is diabolically opposed
to everything that God wants to do. And when
you get in the word. When you get into a small
group with authentic community and then you mobilize
like this man is, the world changes. And, you
know, sometimes we forget that it takes time.
It's organic. And, you know, I think of 1996,
we were on two radio stations and we just had
a dream to help some people. And then, you know,
now what is it, 900 radio stations or so and
then TV around the world. But I'm probably most
encouraged by all the small groups that grew
out of that. Did you notice what he said? I did
two studies. This is what's happening because
he's connected. He's growing and applying. And
we developed those studies because people gave
generously. And I just want to say thank you
to those of you that have partnered with us in
the past. And I would like to ask you, if you
have not done that, would you partner with us?
It's just an amazing time. God is working. We
just need to see more James in more homes. We
need to see more small groups and more churches
living it out, serving their community, and we
can get there together. Let's do it. Good word,
Chip. Well, if you want to help us create small
group materials and get believers into authentic
community, pray about becoming a financial partner.
Your gifts fuel our growing library of resources
to help Christians really live like Christians.
Visit livingontheedge .org or call 888 -333 -6003
to give a gift today. That's 888 -333 -6003 or
go to livingontheedge .org. And thanks in advance
for doing whatever God leads you to do. Okay,
let's get started. Here now is Chip with today's
talk, Why You Need a Small Group. I was reading
an article recently that talked about the very,
very best communicators and Steve Jobs, who started
Apple. He said, information tells, stories sell.
And what he was saying there was, We can give
people 10 reasons, 15 reasons. Here's all the
data. And oftentimes it doesn't make a big difference
in their life. But there's something about a
story that captures our imagination, that connects
to not just our head but to our heart. Let me
give you a story that I hope will grab your heart
and maybe really encourage you. Teresa and I
were in a big, big transition in our life. We
had moved to Texas. We had two little boys. I
was just starting seminary and we found a local
church there in the Dallas area. And this church
had a couple thousand people. We came from West
Virginia where a mega church was 250 or 300 people.
It was very warm. The preaching was excellent.
The worship was excellent. We would drop off
our kids and it was just exciting and they loved
to go to church. The first time we were there,
people invited us over to their home. We had
a meal. We ate ice cream. I mean, if you were
trying to create an experience, we'd say, that's
what a church ought to do. It would be that.
And I'll never forget, maybe it was six weeks
or eight weeks in, of these wonderful after wonderful
after wonderful after wonderful experiences at
church. We were opening the door, and I had my
hand on one of the handles and Teresa did on
the other. And our eyes met. And I turned to
her and I said, do you want to go to church today?
And she said, no. I said, you know, neither do
I. And there was a Wendy's across the street.
I said, let's go get a cup of coffee. And we
sat down and we tried to figure out this is probably
one of the best churches, best services, most
friendly, very biblical that we'd ever been to.
So what's wrong? Why do I not want to go to church?
We were being taught. We learned a lot. But we
were ministering to no one. Nobody knows us.
We don't know anybody else. There was no intimacy.
No one in the church really felt close. Nothing
more than casual hellos and passing concerns.
We were relationally high and dry. And I remember
praying and I got up one morning and I thought
to myself, I knew that leaders, whether it's
a pastor or business owner, were looking for
people that wanted to make a difference, that
were willing to step in and serve. So I got a
3x5 card out and I wrote my name and some contact
information and then very brief bullet points
of I've led a college ministry and I've done
this and I was involved in this, involved in
that. And then I went to the church office during
the week and I said, could I have an appointment
with the pastor? You know, it's a big church
and I'll never get there. And she smiled and
looked on some calendars and then she gave me
a date. He had me meet at a restaurant. It was
just like a diner, nothing fancy. And so we both
sat down, and part of what I wanted to do was
talk about where we might fit in in the church.
And we had lunch, and we talked, and he asked
me a few questions about my 3x5 card and this
and that. Two days later, I got a call from the
church, and they said, hey, we have a large high
school ministry, and would you and your wife
be willing to kind of help team up with the group
that's there? There's a couple couples that are
working there and figure out maybe what role
you could have. And yes, absolutely. And I taught
here and there, and we connected with the church.
We connected with those kids. It was like two
months later. He said, hey, we have a big vacancy.
We don't really have much of a college ministry.
Would you be willing to kind of step in and lead
that? And my wife and I said, yes. And we had
the time of our life. going to seminary, leading
this ministry. And as we would meet together,
I would disciple them and Teresa the girls, and
we would spend some time eating and sharing,
worshiping with the guitar, and help the young
guys learn how to communicate their faith and
build bridges and love people. And I look back,
and all of a sudden, our world completely changed.
I had all this pressure. I was working full -time,
going to seminary full -time. And the highlight
of my week was these 10 or 12 college students
who really love God, who were hungry, and we
were a part of their life. And, you know, we
had a baby during that time, and they just all
gathered around us. And the group grew like crazy.
And, yes, it was a lot of hours. But I don't
know if I could have made it through seminary
apart from that group. And someone asked me,
how do you do so much? And I thought, I'm learning
so much Greek and Hebrew and theology and every
book of the Bible, the joy of teaching every
week that college group. And if you don't give
it out somewhere, you go crazy. And two things
happened. We were using our gifts. We were building
deep, authentic relationships. And we got to
be a part of people's lives changing. I had been
a basketball coach and led a college ministry
on the side as a layperson, and I knew about
developing small groups and discipling men, and
I praised God for the bricklayer who discipled
me, but I had never done it when there was that
much pressure. I'd never done it when it was
my lifeline, and it gave me a completely different
view of the church. Today, like never before,
more people are not going to a local church.
A lot of people have kind of left the church
after COVID and for some very good reasons and
for some not so good reasons. A lot of people
are just online. Others, you know, you go to
church and you hear someone speak and they're
singing and there's some worship and then you
get up and make some small talk and you leave.
And these ideas of life change and joy and peace
and feeling connected, they just are not a part
of a lot of very genuine, sincere Christians'
lives. See, the church isn't that building and
the church isn't what I'm getting out of it as
a consumer. The church is the living, supernatural
body of Jesus that's vital and it's organic and
it's about people and it's about being connected.
It's not going and listening to a message and
evaluating that and maybe even putting it into
practice. That's a very important part of it.
I mean, I hope it's an important part of it because
I've spent decades of my life studying hard,
praying hard, preparing messages to feed God's
people. But what the Bible teaches is that we
can't put it into practice alone. To be loved
and to belong. and to change and to feel God's
love and to be used by him and to discover spiritual
gifts. That can't happen by watching online.
This is not a guilt trip. This is you're missing
out. That can't happen by simply going to church.
And I don't mean this as a bad word, but by being
just a consumer. You have to move to being a
participant. You're listening to Living on the
Edge. And before we continue today's program,
let me ask you, are you in a small group? If
so, are you looking for a new study to do together
this year? Well, join us after this message to
learn more about our library of resources that's
sure to help you and your group grow in your
faith together. But for now, here's Chip to continue
his talk. I'm reading a book on emotions. It's
by a theologian, and he's a counselor and has
lots of degrees. But he talks about the deepest
longings, desires inside every human heart is
number one, to be connected, relationally with
other people. And number two, your life making
a difference. When you go to work, when you go
to church, when you wake up, it's that idea of
having purpose and meaning that what you actually
do. is making a difference. Apart from that,
we lose hope, we lose meaning. We see it happening
in young people, in the next generation, because
once you lose absolute truth and once you have
no spiritual, religious orientation, well, that
means there's no why I am here. And so often,
They don't experience that when they visit a
church, if they ever do visit a church. And the
great majority of young people that have left
the church is because they haven't been connected.
And that longing and that belonging has not happened.
It's been, I hear someone talk about Jesus. They
tell me what Jesus did. They tell me how I'm
supposed to live. They tell me my morals need
to be X, Y, and Z. And when I go home or when
I see my parents who say they're followers of
Jesus, I don't see a lot of difference in their
life. And I am being exposed to... Media and
movies and a culture that's bombarding me each
and every day that says life really has no meaning.
You are whatever you feel. And in all that confusion,
they struggle. What I really want to say is Jesus
really cares about you. He loves you. I mean,
he really loves you and he's for you. And we
all have some common needs. And those common
needs. They can't ever be satisfied by what can
come across the screen. They can't be satisfied
by even doing a good job or having a great career
or even marrying the right person. Loneliness
and depression, the number one health issues
in our world, can only be solved by deep, enriching,
honest, authentic relationships. And all of us
are so insecure. And all of us have so many defense
mechanisms. And all of us are so afraid that
people will get to know who we really are. We
spend so much time posing in relationships. And
Jesus so longs for us to come in honesty and
authenticity and transparency. And that can't
happen in a large group, whether it's 100 or
500 or 5 ,000 worshiping together. That large
group worship service has a very, very vital
and important place. But our personal relationships
require the container of a small group. Psychologists
tell us the only way to overcome the stress and
pressure of life is some sort of small, supportive
group. We kind of laugh sometimes. You get a
little bit older, and if you look at teens in
a high school, and you get the sports group,
and they dress this way, and sort of the music
-type group, and they look this way, and the
more nerdy people look this way. And, you know,
sometimes we can laugh and say that's what kids
do, but we want to belong. I mean, it's inherent
in every single human being. And whether you're
60 years old and on big Harley Davidson motorcycles
with long hair, or whether you're preppy looking,
or whether you're a software developer, or whether
you play softball on the weekends with this group,
we all are looking for groups and belongings.
And then we dress in ways and we speak in ways
that we are desperate for people to say. I want
to be in this group because I'm desperate for
someone to know me and I can know others in a
meaningful way. Our greatest desire is to be
known and to discover who we are and that our
life has meaning and value and that we'd have
that in love and acceptance with other people.
Where and how do you get that? What I know is
that there's a small percentage of followers
of Christ, and there's a small percentage of
people who go to church regularly that are in
what I would call an authentic, deep, relational
small group. This fall, we're going to really
cast a vision to say, you need to be in a small
group. We're going to talk about all of our small
group resources that we make, some things that
every believer needs to study. We have it on
video and we have it in different formats. And
you can tell me, well, my church really doesn't
provide that. I'm going to say, fine, you start
one. I will tell you this, instead of just giving
you some great content and having you watch a
video or study something on your own, I will
lead the small group. You put the video on. Teaching's
only about 25 minutes. I'll lead the first few
minutes of that group. You don't have to be alone.
If you just open your home, invite some friends,
and you would be shocked if you said to a group
of people, my house, we're going to do this.
It's eight weeks or whatever. And why don't you
come? Ask one person, hey, would you mind maybe
bringing some drinks and a few snacks? And you
just do that together. And yeah, it's awkward
the first week or two. But in all of our small
group resources that we make, in the back of
them, We give you, hey, here's how to set up.
Here's how to kind of lead and facilitate things.
Here's a few things not to do. And I just can't
tell you how critical and important this is.
We've just launched hundreds of thousands of
groups all across America and places around the
world. And we help people get connected. We help
people belong. We help people discover that God
will show up in it. And I told you, you know,
we've been doing lots and lots of teaching, and
we just taught through the entire book of Philippians.
And what I want to encourage you is hearing about
that is good, but getting that kind of information
and then a discussion where you share and where,
yes, the truth of that becomes at the core of
meeting, but then you begin to share your life
and your struggles and your ups and your downs,
and you begin to really authentically and openly
Pray for one another. And as you begin to go
on that journey, God will show up. I remember
I was coming off of one of my many back surgeries,
and I realized that my attempts getting back
with it were not doing well. And I'm kind of
cheap, so I didn't want to pay a personal trainer,
but I realized I've got to get strong again,
and I'm not doing well on my own. And so there
was a place. I didn't know anybody there, and
I pulled in. said hi to the guy and told him
what I needed to do. And he said, well, this
last person's done. Let me do a little interview.
And he got a clipboard out and asked me a bunch
of questions. And we got through, I don't know,
maybe 10, 12 questions, 15 minutes. And he looked
at me and said, you sound very familiar. I said,
well, what do you mean I sound familiar? He goes,
well, I've heard your voice. And then he kind
of looked down at the clipboard. He goes, are
you Chip Ingram, like the guy that's on the radio?
I said, well, yeah. And he broke out in this
big smile. And I said, you've got to be kidding
me. And he then began to tell me his story. It's
one of the most powerful stories I've ever heard,
and we have now been friends well over 10 years
since. And he told me the story of being involved
in full -time Christian work and having a huge
moral failure. Lost his family, later married
the woman that he was having the affair with,
had a couple kids with her, and he lived in that
life for well over a decade. And then God got
a hold of his heart. And I had met him shortly
after he had really come back to the Lord. a
really deep repentance. He had gone back and
rebuilt bridges and apologies and was making
amends, was living in a very, very difficult
situation. You can imagine the struggles, the
guilt, the shame, the issues he had to overcome.
In the midst of all this, we would work out three
times a week, and he was a great trainer, and
I was making progress, and we shared a lot. And
as we talked month after month after month, I
realized that there was something missing, and
I said, do you know why you can't get over the
hump? You need a group, man. No one can do this
alone. You're the most disciplined person I know.
You're in the scriptures. You're praying. You're
making every effort. You can't do this alone.
You need a small group. And he goes, oh, my schedule,
I can't do this, I can't do that. I'm working
multiple times and doing this and doing that.
And I had a buddy at a church who's doing a real
early morning small group. Six, 15, 300, 400
guys were coming to it, and then they would break
into groups. I said, you need to go to that.
He's a good friend. He's a great teacher. You'll
meet great men there. The guy rearranges the
schedule, and that was the beginning of life.
of the Spirit of God using other men, of being
understood, of being loved, of realizing he wasn't
alone. And that was for two years or so. And
then pretty soon, they were taking a big, big
break for like months, and his group didn't want
to take a break. And so he kept going, and he
led it. And then after that, there was another
guy that had a friend, and so he starts another
group. And all these years later, He leads about
four different groups. He has led more people
to Christ, his 88 -year -old father and like
90 -year -old mother. And if you really think
about it, the people that really want to change
have learned this. And whether it's AA or Weight
Watchers or Gamblers Anonymous or Teen Challenge
Drug Rehab or smokers that want to quit, any
group of people have found the secret of life
change. They realize you got to do it in a group.
You got to have real people that get to know
you and you know them. And so here's my plea.
You need a small group. And if you don't have
one, launch one. You don't know how, we'll help
you. But Christians need to live like Christians
for their good and for the glory of God. And
Christians cannot live like Christians apart
from authentic community. And authentic community
happens in the context or the container. of a
small group. And that's my prayer. That's my
longing for you. This fall, don't let one more
fall go. Don't let importance of meetings or
of life or of travel or schedule or school or
family or anything. Make sure, whether it's a
men's group, a women's group, a couple's group,
whether it's every week or every other week,
Teresa and I have an unusual group. We actually
meet once a month and we have a dinner. with
people of similar life stage. We just had one
last night. It went four hours. And because of
our schedules, it's hard to get together. And
once a month may not be enough for many. Regularity
is better. But these are mature people in our
life stage. And we eat. And we go to a different
house each time. And then we share deeply for
three or four hours. And we bring each other
up to date. And it is an evening. that I look
forward to every 30 days. And I don't work with
any of them. I don't report to any of them. These
are friends. And when I show up, I'm nothing
more or nothing less than just Chip, Teresa's
husband. And we have an openness and a transparency
that sustains me and is changing my life. I so
long for that for you. You're listening to Living
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Drewy,
and I hope you were encouraged and motivated
by this special message from Chip, Why You Need
a Small Group. Chip's back with me in studio
now, and Chip, it's pretty obvious from this
program why we as followers of Christ need community.
and how necessary small groups are. I mean, they
can forever change someone's life and help all
of us mature spiritually. And as you mentioned
today, we have a growing library of study guides
and video resources for small groups. So take
a minute, if you would, and highlight a few our
listeners should check out. Well, Dave, we all
have special times in our life where there's
either crisis or we know we need to improve our
parenting, our marriage, or there's some emotional
issues. And as people go through, there's plenty
of small group resources like that. But what
I think is missing is what historically has been
called a catechism. A catechism is a well -ordered
process of truth by which you go through it systematically
and intentionally. in order to become more and
more like Jesus and to fulfill more and more
what Jesus has called us to do. And so if you
follow Jesus' life, his actual chronological
life, the first thing is he defined what a disciple
is. And so the very first study I encourage people
to do is true spirituality, becoming a Romans
12 Christian. It'll let them know this is what
it means to be a follower of Jesus. The second
thing Jesus did is he took them through various
experiences to reveal who God was like. What
is God really like? And so our second study,
it's called The Real God. And in that, we study
the attributes of God and how to get them from
your head into your heart. The third thing that
Jesus did is he helped them understand. How does
life change really occur? How do you put it into
practice? We have a study from Ephesians chapter
4 called Transformed, The Miracle of Life Change.
And then the fourth one I'll give you, because
I don't want to lay it all out, is that when
you take these kind of steps, all hell breaks
loose. I don't mean that as a cuss word. What
I mean is it's challenging. It's difficult. There's
spiritual warfare. And that's our study from
Ephesians chapter six. It's called the invisible
war. What every believer needs to know about
Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. So let
me encourage you, unless there's a critical need,
a high felt need, consider studying in order
the catechism. the way Jesus taught his disciples.
Well, to learn more about the studies Chip mentioned
or any of our other small groups, go to livingontheedge
.org or call us at 888 - 333 -6003. And let me
tell you, these materials are so easy to use.
Chip provides the teaching. Then you'll have
time to discuss what you've heard alongside our
helpful study guides. We even offer some insights
for leaders on how to care for and guide their
groups as well. So if you're not in a small group
yet or are looking for something new to study,
check out our resources. And for a limited time,
we've discounted all our small group tools. Visit
livingontheedge .org. or call us at 888 -333
-6003 to learn more. App listeners tap special
offers. Well, from all of us here, I'm Dave Drewy,
thanking you for listening to this edition of
Living on the Edge, and I hope you'll join us
again next time.