Community: Taking Your Small Group off Life Support

Community groups (small groups) are not easy to execute successfully. Most churches tackle them incorrectly, like they are just another program or a once-a-week Bible study without much depth. Brad House has written Community, an amazing book outlining how not to do small groups and much more on how to do them in a way that keeps Christ the center of everything. Best of all, the book is barely 200 pages long, meaning you can easily finish it in a week or so and still take away great and godly wisdom on how community groups function in light of the Gospel.How do you stay in the Gospel when practically talking about groups of people? Moreover, how do you even define a broad term like "community?" Luckily, House simplifies this by anchoring the definition of community primarily in 1 Peter 2:9-10. He revisits that passage as he underscores different issues within a community all throughout the book.The author points readers into a new direction for small groups unlike most people have experienced before, a direction that requires organization, discipline, and authentic repentance. He spends good length outlining what both leaders and simple laymen need to repent of in a community; how else will people grow if they don't repent of the sin directly in the way first? I feel that many Christian, practical books call for new methods in various fields but fail to talk about repenting of specific and relevant sins there.In dealing with depending on the Lord to defeat sin that clouds true community, House also beats the drum on mission and how integral it is for Christians in small groups to passionately grasp it in their lives and neighborhoods. This is one of the heartbeats of the Gospel that can't be missed (of course none can be missed). He also comprehensively covers what sorts of events and projects community groups can undertake in their neighborhoods, what a true small group leader looks like, and how churches should rally their groups together in an organized way without making them just another church event. Instead, the venue Christians should use to live out the Gospel each week should be their small groups.The honesty in this book is powerful. House calls on leaders to take time to research the needs of the areas where small groups meet and readily admits that differing groups will reach out to places differently based on demographic factors. Also, he's not afraid to name the sins that disqualify leaders and community groups from being effective for Christ. He provides statistics to reveal just how much the church has failed with community in recent years, and he displays many graphs and charts to visually lay out what he is saying. While the material is not complex at all, lazy leaders and readers should probably stay away from this one.Another evident feature of the book is resources. At many points while reading leaders will wonder how in the world they will be able to integrate everything House is saying into their own communities, but he literally acknowledges that hurdle and generously gives a plethora of tips and valuable methods along the way (not to mention there is plenty of extra content at the back of the book to assist leaders further). Towards the end of the book he tells the story of community at Mars Hill and takes the time to talk about the lessons they've used for leaders and community groups over the years. It is humbling to see just how much House has poured what the Mars Hill team has learned and tried with community into this book. In short, there is plenty of inspiration here to help any leader brainstorm and seek the Holy Spirit in nurturing true community where they're at.The one thing I will say is that Community is pointed at a specific audience. I believe the best audience for this one is higher-up pastors, elders, and small group leaders (I say this being a community group leader of three years and a first-year CG coach). But even if the standard layperson purchases this, the impressive blending of practicality, theology, and motivation will not be easily missed. To be honest, this is one of my favorite books I was able to read in 2011. Thank you so much for this, Brad House. I have walked away from this book with so much insight that I've already been able to pass down to my leaders. It's already making an impact.

I was privileged to get a copy of Brad House's book  Community: Taking Your Small Group off Life Support (RE: Lit) , the latest in the RE:LIT series. House serves as a pastor at Mars Hill Church, Seattle, where he oversees community groups for the multi-site church. For me, a good book is built on the basics of God's Word and filled with practicality, or what the foundational truth from God's Word should look like fleshed out.The tension in a book on a particular facet of ministry is that while a broad cross section of evangelicalism may agree that something is important and even rooted in God's Word, we may disagree on its practice. I thought House did a great job of helping us see that what Mars Hill Church has chosen to do, how it has come out of Biblical conviction, but isn't meant to be replicated by every church. We are responsible, however, to flesh out community in our midst and this is the real strength of the book.In Part 1, the foundation (or as he calls them, Building Blocks For Life) is unpacked. This lays some biblical footings for how the book will flesh itself out in the later chapters. Why do we need community? How did God create us for this and other truths.Part 2, health plan, helps to lead us in a positive direction by helping us see the different facts of community that need to be considered. How should groups function, how often should they meet, where should they meet, what should they do? Are you getting a feel for the practical side yet?Part 3, treatment, gives us ways to effect change in our groups. In other words, I'm given practical tools in this section to go about changing things from the way we've always done them. This includes not only changing the past, but equipping leaders for the future.Positives in this book include getting a great feel for what the Bible says about community, how those are fleshed out in a local church taking those commands seriously, humility in communicating what has been pursued, stories of how pursuing this has helped, as well as what I've already mentioned: practical things.Negatives for me were that it is a longer read. At times I felt the book drag. This might have been my fatigue or the time of life when I'm reading this (3 kids under 5), but as I pressed through, it proved to be time well spent.House has definitely thought deeply about this issue. And if community is something you would like help in applying or tweaking in your particular ministry, then this book would be a book worthy of your time and investment.

I perused Amazon for a work that might help me see a clearer vision of small group ministry, and I found that and more in Community: Taking Your Small Groups Off Life Support by Brad House. "Community is an instrument of worship, a weapon against sin, and a tool for evangelism-all for the exaltation of Jesus."Community is as practical as it is theological. It has methods and principles that are scalable for any size program and are true to Jesus' intent for His Church, which we find in the Scriptures. What House proposes is not necessarily the traditional model for church ministry. Many churches view small groups as their end game. If they can get them saved, baptized (through events and outreaches), and connected to a small group, than that is their measure of success. House proposes, however, that small groups provide a much more effective and complete form of discipleship, where the small groups are hands in the community, reaching out and bringing people in through authentic Christian community.House provides enough vision, method, and problem-solving to be truly helpful, and if you are looking for a book that both inspires and instructs, than Community is for you. This is great resource for pastors and small group leaders, as well as any believer who just wants to know why they should be in a small group.

Good to see lessons from a massive church many of which are applicable to smaller churches who want to grow in depth And size

It is great book giving a biblical vision for community? Full of birth faith and practical helpWell worth the time to read it

Great book & price; took awhile too arrive but satisfied nevertheless