Leaving the Lifeboat

Last night was the first "official" meeting of our new small group. It has taken us a while to take the plunge here at our new church. I can't even really say why. I could give you a bunch of really great excuses, like how I was waiting for Mike to move here, but he's been here a year now. Or how we wanted to wait until we had a home here, but we could have just as easily met in someone else's home (which is what we are doing).

I mostly think we have been reluctant because joining a small group is equivalent to joining arms with a bunch of strangers and jumping out of your lifeboat together. Because, if you do it right, a small group, the community that you build there, those people become your lifeboat. And that is a risky venture, to say the least.

Over the years we have had the privilege (notice how I spelled that right, Becky?) of being in two wonderful small groups (home groups, growth groups, whatever you call them at your place of worship). But we have also been a part of one seriously dysfunctional one, and one so-so one.
So there is no guarantee in small group land.

And the especially scary part for us is that our last small group was amazing and life changing. They are people that we will spend the rest of our lives loving. People that spoke hard truths into our life. People that loved us unconditionally. People who challenged us about how we treated our spouses or our children or one another. People who deeply desired for us to know Christ in a deeper way. And the thought that we might never find a group like that again . . . well, it scares me a little.

But, we can't exist outside of community just because we fear we will never find community again. That's illogical.

All that to say, we've locked arms and jumped out of the lifeboat. And in the distance we see a few swimmers who are afraid of joining us because they almost drowned trusting their last group. But community is a risky venture. I hope they swim over and give it another shot.