1st Journal for Effective Small Groups (Summer, 2018)


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

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