Much has been written about the practice of one-to-one spiritual directions, but much less about small group communities that offer in-depth mutual spiritual support and guidance to its members. But small groups are most likely the more usual setting for spiritual companionship and have strong biblical, theological and historical foundation in the Christian tradition.

This book offers a detailed presentation of ten small group models, plus guidance in group leadership dynamics. It also presents material related to group retreat work, spiritual guidance with organizations and peer supervision/consultation model for supporting leaders of spiritual companionship groups and retreats.

Church leaders, spiritual directors and educators are looking for the kinds of resources this book provides to assist them in understanding and leading groups and retreats.

Where Two or Three ARE GATHERED

Morehouse Publishing

Contents

Chapter One

The Importance of Small Groups

Small groups provide a powerful support for and influence on people. We are not made, as the Genesis creation story says, to be alone. We are hard-wired for community. Consider the popular television shows that mirrored our desire for support, belonging, and a safe place to reflect on our lives and interact with intimacy. Cheers, a show that ran from 1982 to 1993, is set in the local tavern, the place "where everybody knows your name." Friends (1994–2004) picked up a new generation of television viewers with a similar theme and song assuring viewers, "I'll be there for you." These shows were enormously popular because they tapped into our primary need for human community.

In November 1991 the Gallup Organization conducted a national survey of 1,021 people who were members of small groups and 962 who were not members. The findings, summarized in Robert Wuthnow's book "I Come Away Stronger": How Small Groups Are Shaping American Religion, speak to how important small groups are for many people in the United States:

* Over half of American adults are now (40 percent) or have been (15 percent) involved in a small group.

* Nearly one-fourth of those not currently involved in a small group would like to join one.

* Nearly six of ten small-group members are part of a church- or synagogue- sponsored group.

* About six of ten say they joined a group because someone they knew invited them.

* A high level of importance and satisfaction is expressed for small groups among the vast majority of members.

* The vast majority of members see small groups as a source of community and personal support.

Those who were members of church-based small groups reported:

* Ninety-seven percent of people in church-based groups say they need to be "part of a group that helps you grow spiritually." Sixty-four percent say this need has been fully met.

* Eighty-four percent say that their faith or spirituality has been influenced from involvement in the group.

* Eighty-six percent say they have "sensed God's presence in the group."

* Ninety percent feel closer to God (33 percent in non-church group [n-c]).

* Eighty-seven percent have a deeper love toward other people (55 percent n-c).

* Eighty-five percent have a better ability to forgive others (53 percent n-c).

* Eighty-two percent have a better ability to forgive themselves (52 percent n-c).

* Eighty-five percent say the Bible has become more meaningful (21 percent n-c).

* Seventy-five percent experienced answers to prayers (25 percent n-c).

* Seventy-five percent feel it helped in "sharing your faith with others outside the group."

Group members also reported other significant benefits:

* Fifty-three percent experienced "healings of relationships."

* Eighty percent worked with the group to help someone inside the group who was in need (65 percent n-c).

* Seventy-two percent worked with the group to help other people in need outside the group (57 percent n-c).

* Sixty-one percent state they have "become more interested in peace or social justice" (51 percent n-c).

* Forty-two percent have "become involved in volunteer work in your community" (44 percent n-c).

* Eighty-seven percent have "experienced feeling better about yourself."

* Eighty-four percent say they are "more honest and open about yourself" (70 percent n-c).

* Eighty-three percent say they have "more open and honest communication with other people."

Wuthnow drew the following conclusions from this study:

In sum, the small-group movement has been successful in attracting a relatively large segment of the American public into its ranks. Its members attend meetings frequently and over long periods of time. Most who have ever been involved are still involved. Current members express high levels of satisfaction with their groups. They feel cared for and supported. And they believe their groups function well.

He added this observation about church-based small groups: "What is [clear] from the survey is that church-based groups are an effective means of keeping church members active, and perhaps even of activating nominal members." These findings are consistent with an earlier survey by the Gallup Organization in 1988 commissioned by then-Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning and reported in the booklet The Spiritual Health of the Episcopal Church. The Gallup Organization suggested that development in the following areas would further improve the spiritual health of the church:

* Listening to people's remarkable religious experiences and spiritual journeys.

* Encouraging evangelism and invitation.

* Encouraging an exploration of new expressions of faith.

* Encouraging a deepened prayer life.

* Encouraging study of the Bible.

Then the research organization recommended a focus on small-group development: "Perhaps the best vehicle for carrying out the steps described—and for changing church life from the merely functional to the transformational—are small groups—groups that meet for Bible study, prayer, or special ministries."

Small groups can meet the need to:

1. Become open and vulnerable to each other, to become healed.

2. Deepen one's prayer life.

3. Study Scriptures and to bring the Bible into one's daily life in a meaningful way.

4. Test one's faith and to gain insight into such basic questions as: What is my relationship to God? Who is Jesus Christ and what does he mean to me?

5. Learn how to share one's faith with others in the group.

6. Become equipped to reach out to others outside the group and share one's faith.

7. Become empowered for social service and outreach.

In more recent times writers and consultants on churches and church growth have emphasized the need for small groups. Diana Butler Bass has written of how small groups can help churches "re-tradition" ancient Christian practices for contemporary times. Congregational development consultant Kennon Callahan makes small groups one of his twelve keys for church growth. And the Natural Church Development model makes "holistic small groups" a key part of its platforms for development. Given such an emphasis on small groups in churches by so many, it is important that we take a look at the different kinds of small groups and the location of spiritual companionship groups within that range.

Varieties of Small Groups

Willow Creek, a megachurch that sees itself as a church of small groups, provides the following ways of classifying groups:

Age/Stage Based—children, youth, singles, couples, families, men, women, etc.

Need Based—pastoral care and a community of support for people experiencing health or economic crisis, grief recovery, divorce, recovering from addictions, etc.

Task Based—service groups focused on meeting needs within the church (ushers, building and grounds, altar guild, vestry, choir, etc.) or in outreach responding to the needs in the world (food pantry, Heifer Project, Habitat for Humanity, etc.).

Interest Based—shared interest (Bible study, prayer, or other spiritual formation groups, movies, restaurant exploration, etc.) or common profession, skill, hobby, etc.

While this classification system is useful, I think it is helpful to supplement this by categorizing groups on two axes—whether the group is oriented on task/problem solving or support/guidance, and whether it primarily focuses on providing information/action or serves the formation/contemplative shaping of its members. This can be graphed as follows:

The particular groups we will look at in detail in this book will be those that emphasize the formation/contemplative and support/guidance dimensions of group life, such as those listed closest to the upper right quadrant. This is not to diminish the importance of other groups, but to recognize that there are substantial differences among groups. These are spiritual companionship groups that are concerned about mutual support and spiritual guidance, desire spiritual formation of members, often engage in contemplative practices to help shape members' spiritual lives, and intentionally mediate opportunities for encountering the Divine Presence.

But first we will look at the backstory of how spiritual guidance has developed, especially in Christian traditions, and what has helped shape group spiritual companionship. For the Christian and Jewish traditions have much to share about divine interaction with humans.

Development of Traditions of Spiritual Guidance

Ancient Roots

Spiritual companionship and guidance have ancient, prehistoric roots. Our early human ancestors developed a capacity for recognizing a spiritual dimension to life, manifest by being in touch with a sense of wonder and mystery and an interest in investigating and interacting with the internal and external forces that influence and shape life. Traditional shamans, seers, oracles, prophets, priests, and sages are the ancestors of this art and ministry.

The Hebrew Scriptures

The Hebrew Scriptures reveal God's intimate interest and involvement in human history, desire for companionship with the created order, and intent to make divine guidance known in human affairs. God offers companionship and guidance on multiple levels, ranging from personal relationships to communities, peoples, nations, and globally.

In the Hebrew Scriptures we see various ways that God provided spiritual companionship and guidance. For example:

* Moses and the seventy elders (Num. 11:10–30) received a portion of God's spirit for leading and working with those on the Exodus journey in the wilderness.

* Ruth and Naomi ventured together back to Naomi's homeland. Ruth received her mother-in-law's mentoring (Book of Ruth), which has been understood as a prototype for spiritual friendship.

* Prophetic guilds or bands emerge in Scripture as early as the eleventh century BCE. Samuel was the leader of such a guild (1 Sam. 10:5; 19:20).

* The prophet-priest Samuel provided spiritual challenge and guidance to Israel, and at the insistence of the people, anointed King Saul (1 Sam. 9–13).

* Jonathan and David's friendship (1 Sam. 18:1–3) is viewed as a prototype of spiritual friendship.

* The prophet Nathan both counseled and challenged King David when he set up the killing of Bathsheba's husband (2 Sam. 12:1–15).

* The ninth-century BCE relationship between Elijah and Elisha gives us a glimpse of the mentor/disciple pattern of this prophetic tradition (1 Kings 19:16–21).

* The prophets of the sixth century BCE continued to provide spiritual counsel and challenge to royal courts and people during this tumultuous period of exile and return, as evidenced in the writings of the major and minor prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and Amos. Much of the challenge was related to unjust treatment of those who were socially and economically most vulnerable.

Christian New Testament

Christian tradition claims that God intimately dwells with us and calls us to be at one with God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Incarnation speaks of divine wisdom fully embracing human flesh and becoming one with humankind in Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus in turn called together a small band of disciples to live intimately with him and one another. In that intimate context disciples were eventually formed into an apostolic band of Spirit-empowered people equipped to share the good news of God's love breaking through in Christ.

Early Christian writings such as Paul's letters, in 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, 28; Ephesians 4:11; and Romans 12:6–8, instruct the communities that the Holy Spirit disperses gifts (charisms) among the members for the benefit of the whole community of the faithful. Some of those gifts helped provide spiritual guidance and support for the community, such as the gifts of prophecy, the discernment of spirits, wisdom, knowledge, and pastoring.

Age of Martyrs

In the age of martyrs, the faith of Christian communities was tested by the threat of persecution—people risked their economic, social, and physical well-being in following Christ. Such testing during persecution entailed the formation of secret faith communities supporting their members, who when discovered were called upon to make a courageous witness to the reign of Christ in the face of a hostile empire. This period of time saw the development of catechists, who provided formation and instruction of those candidates (the catechumens) who were in preparation, sometimes for several years, before their baptismal initiation into the Christian community.

Desert Elders

By the fourth century the Christian religion had undergone a tremendous change. Emperor Constantine legalized Christian worship by the Edict of Milan in 313, and as its patron gave Christianity favored status in the Roman Empire. People began flooding into Christian churches when it became socially desirable to be identified with them. Now Christianity became marked by internal strife over theological issues. The testing of a vital spirituality was becoming more interiorly focused in the absence of general persecution and the dangers of a diluted civic religion. Some Christians moved away from the urban centers to the desert wilderness to seek God, confront their personal demons, attain purity of heart, and refine their spiritual lives.

This era marks the beginnings of the tradition of the desert elders, the ammas and abbas, the spiritual mothers and fathers who usually were solitaries living in the desert wildernesses of Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, and Persia. These abbas and ammas were sought out as spiritual guides by fellow anchorites (hermit monks) and visitors from the urban areas in their own quests for holiness. The era of the desert elders (especially from the fourth through sixth centuries, but beginning earlier with some anchorites such as St. Anthony) gave birth to a recognized tradition of seeking personal counsel from an experienced and mature spiritual guide.

The desert elders emphasized a simple spiritual rule of life, memorization and recitation of Scripture (especially the Psalms), silence and contemplation, discerning the source of thoughts, and fasting and other ascetical practices. A key goal was to become a well-ordered person, reflecting that one was made in the image of God (imago Dei). Although living separately, many of these early monks regularly gathered weekly for a common liturgy on a Saturday night or Sunday.

Many of the stories and counsels of these early spiritual directors were remembered and passed on by word of mouth, and eventually collected as the Sayings (Apophthegmata) of the Desert Fathers. Here are some examples of these sayings:

A brother came to Scetis to visit Abba Moses and asked him for a word. The old man said to him, "Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything."

A brother questioned an old man saying, "What good thing shall I do so that I may live?" The old man said, "God knows what is good.

I have heard it said that one of the Fathers asked Abba Nisterus the Great, the friend of Abba Anthony, and said to him, 'What good work is there that I could do?' He said to him, "'Are not all actions equal? Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. Elias loved interior peace and God was with him. So, do whatever you see your soul desires according to God and guard your heart.'"

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, "Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?" Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands toward heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame."

Amma Syncletica said, "In the beginning there are a great many battles and a good deal of suffering for those who are advancing towards God and afterwards, ineffable joy. It is like those who wish to light a fire; at first they are choked by the smoke and cry, and by this means obtain what they seek (as it is said: "'Our God is a consuming fire' [Heb. 12:29]): so we must also kindle the divine fire in ourselves through tears and hard work."

Development of Monasticism

A further development from the desert experience was the growth of monasticism and the intentional Christian communal form of guidance shaped by a mutually agreed upon rule or regula (such as the fourth-century Rule of Pachomius and Rules of St. Basil, and the sixth-century Rule of St. Benedict), which members took upon themselves for the stability of the community and the spiritual well-being of the members. The monastic movement provided early and continuing emphasis on communal dimensions of spiritual guidance, as well as provided elders within the community for the spiritual direction of its members.

Great spiritual directors who arose from those monastic communities over the centuries included John Cassian, Aelred of Rievaulx (with his treatise On Spiritual Friendship), Bernard of Clairvaux, Catherine of Siena, and the Spanish Carmelite mystics John of the Cross and his own spiritual director, Teresa of Avila. Spiritual direction was also provided by members of the mendicant orders, including their great founders, Francis of Assisi and his sister Clare, who embraced "holy poverty" and identified with Jesus' suffering humanity, and Dominic, who emphasized preaching.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Where Two or Three ARE GATHERED by Daniel L. Prechtel Copyright © 2012 by Daniel L. Prechtel. Excerpted by permission of Morehouse Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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