Day 1 (May 20th, 2018) – Searching for Self-Identity
A friend
told me that he felt lost. He didn’t know who he really was and why he was even
alive. He is not the first person to tell me that and I believe he won’t be the
last one. “Who am I?” This question has resonated with and been searched for by
people since the beginning of human history. It seems that, to have a successful
small group, we will need to address this question first. Everyone in the small group brings his or her
version of self-identity to the group. If we are not careful, we will
inevitably run into inter-personal conflict and the small group may turn into a
battle field for competing interests.
Our identity defines who we are and what
we do. If everyone in the small group identifies himself or herself as the
redeemed son and daughter in Christ, then we know we are all God’s heir,
equipped to do all “good works”[1].
I think that would be a good starting point for an effective small group.
Day 2 (May 22nd, 2018) - What Does It Mean By "In Christ"?
Last night, as I concluded our
Bible study, I wondered if I was running my small group using my own strength
and was just calling in God’s help only if I ran into troubles? As I was
reading Bridges’ “True Community”,
this question popped into my mind - what does it really mean by "in
Christ"? Bridges suggests that this “in Christ” experience is the "abide
in Me" experience described in John 15:5[2].
This “abide in” attitude allows us to put ourselves on a total dependence on
Him and allows Him to enable us to do what He wants us to do. Bridges further
explains that this “abide in” experience empowers Paul to say, “I can do all
this through him who gives me strength.”[3]
Day 3 (May 24th, 2018) – Life Equation
If life is the sum of A's and a's[4],
then when we multiply the sum with a "d" (for death), it results in a
zero. If life is just a sum of what we do at different stages and platforms,
then when death is occurred, everything is in vain. When I put my trust in the
Lord, I realized that a capital H was added to my life equation, which made my
life complete, as shown below:
When we have Christ, we have this
eternal home in us and we are in this eternal home. When we die, we are assured
to be in H (for Heaven) - the only thing left in the life equation when d
occurs. “What is in your life equation?” I asked in my senior youth class.
Day 4 (May 24th, 2018) - My Blessing and Words to Graduates
We had a Senior Night banquet to
send off high school graduates. I encouraged A to find four things in his
life – First, find your own dream and pursue it. A dream gives us a reason, a
motivation to move on and it fuels us to go a long way even when we are facing
difficulties. Second, find wisdom. Wisdom will help us make better decisions. Third,
find the truth. Without truth, wisdom means nothing; without truth, our dream
is just a deception. What is the “truth”? A asked. I replied, “who is the
person who said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life?’” I told A to find
this person. The fourth thing I suggested A to find is his soul mate. “Two
is better than one.”[5]
A lifelong soul mate will help us sustain our dreams, refine our wisdom and
stay in the truth.
Day 5 (May 25th, 2018) - God's Symbol to Me
One of the class assignments
today is to find a symbol to represent God in my own understanding. This is an
intriguing concept since I’ve been studying and learning about God for all my
life, but I’ve never actually used a symbol or an icon to represent God.
I came out with a symbol which looks
like a Yin and Yang in a circle. Yin and Yang are two distinct individuals
who/which govern two distinct domains. Although independent, they are in a
perfect union. The circle defines the third element in this perfect amalgamation
which gives their unity. I thought it may be another way of looking at the
triune God from the perspective of Asian culture.
Day 6 (May 26th, 2018) - What Symbol Represents Me
Another exercise today is to use
a symbol to represent me. This thought-provoking idea links back perfectly to
my earlier journal about self-identity. I used a dragon.
In Western culture, dragons may
be viewed as evil creatures that a prince must slaughter before he can rescue
his princess. In the Far East, dragons are a symbol of power, good fortune, and
blessing[6].
In ancient China, only emperors could use that symbol. In Acts 1:8, “but you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” As believers, we also
received the Holy Spirit, who gave us the power we need to be His witnesses to
the whole world. Like dragons, we are proclaiming God’s good news to people, so
that they can also live in a God-empowered, renewed, and abundant life. That is
“Powered by Jesus”.
Day 7 (May 27th, 2018) - What Symbol Represents What God Has Done To Me
Another inspiring assignment
today – “how to represent what God has done to me?”, I stumbled. I know God has
been faithful to me, I know I have received eternal life, I know I am a
different person now, but what symbol can represent all that God has done to
me? It took me a while and I decided to use an opened eye with a new plant on
top.
God helped me see Him as the
truth and as the source of life through Jesus. What other symbols can be a better
symbol than an opened eye. God has enlightened me. On top of this opened eye, I
placed a new plant. A new plant represents a new life, just like what Paul said
in Ephesians 2:5, “So he gave us new life because of what
Christ has done.”
Day 8 (May 28th, 2018) – Small Group Is Messy
“You think your small group is messy?
congratulations, that means you have created an environment that allows the
‘mess’ to be surfaced,”[7]
said Zempel. Over the past 17 years, my wife and I have hosted and lead many
small groups and I have seen many messes in our small groups. Family disputes,
mental breakdowns, extra-marital affairs, family tragedies, and countless
inter-personal arguments and conflicts over leadership styles, directions and
visions.
Sometimes I wondered if our small
groups were failing or I had done something terribly wrong in leading them. After
I read Zempel’s book, I started to realize that God used these messy issues to demonstrate
how much we needed to depend on His grace and power. Through countless prayers
and confessions, I can witness how we have grown to be more like Christ as a
group. If the environment is right, God always comes in and shows His power of
cleansing. As Zempel says, “there is no perfect Christian, but there is a
perfect God.”
Day 9 (May 29th, 2018) - Reflection on "Authentic" Small Group Leaders
Do small group leaders need to
learn personal communication skills to be “successful”? It seems that more and
more churches are starting to bring in contemporary training programs on personal
communication skills, including an emphasis on Emotional Quotient (EQ)
enhancement, which now ranks among the most important qualifications to be
successful in the business world. Can a person’s EQ be trained? Do our small
group leaders really need a high EQ in today’s church to be “successful”?
It feels like we are trying to
"engineer" our small group leaders. I felt a little unease on the
idea of giving our small group leaders some cookie-cutter personal and
management training. I am convinced that Paul would not have passed our
training to be a small group leader. Paul had a bad reputation about his
temper. He pointed his finger directly toward Peter when Peter walked away from
eating with Gentiles. Paul even broke up with his teammate Barnabas over Mark. Today,
behaviors like Paul’s will certainly be discouraged or even being disciplined
at many churches. It seems that we have developed a certain church “etiquette”,
with which leaders were selected. This probably can explain why many churches are
in favor of using only the leaders who have gone through their own training
programs.
Day 10 (May 30th, 2018) - When We Share, We Learn
Bridges made a good point,
"As we share our thoughts with others, we learn because we are forced to
organize and develop our ideas."[8]
I heard people saying, “teaching is the best way to learn”, but I never thought
of sharing is also a good way to learn.
Sharing makes small groups more
interesting, more interactive, and more personal. Regardless of how much we
know about the Bible, a share of thought in a small group may often open a door
of truth which may lead someone to a deeper relationship with God. Where can I
find these “thoughts”? Bridges suggests reading, studying, and memorizing
Scripture together. Zempel suggests journaling. I think the best sharing is
from a person’s real-life experience. Where he traveled, people he met, things
he encountered, and how he applied his knowledge of Word in dealing with his
daily life. Do we have our life stories to share? Sometimes we will need to go
out of our comfort zones to experience and live out our life stories.
[1]
2 Timothy 3:17
[2]
Bridges, Jerry, “True Community” (Colorado
Springs, CO: NavPress, 2012), 29-31.
[3]
Philippians 4:13
[4]
A’s = Identity, Purpose, Intimacy, Authority; a’s = at birth, at school, at
work, at home.
[5]
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
[6]
Dragons cause the heaven to rain
[7]
Zempel, Heather, “Community is Messy” (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 40. Paraphased.
[8]
Bridges, Jerry, “True Community” (Colorado
Springs, CO: NavPress, 2012), 64