Why Small Groups?/Take This Group and Own It!

Chapter Three: Take This Group and Own It!

Greg Somerville

We begin with a tale of two cars: an aging Plymouth Voyager and a sleek new Lincoln Continental. I had the opportunity to drive them both last year, but I treated them quite differently.

The Plymouth minivan looked as if it had been owned and operated by a second-rate day care center. There were footprints on the vinyl and nose prints on the windows. Cracker crumbs littered the floor. Acorns, rocks, chewing-gum wrappers, and other collector’s items filled the cup holders. In the cracks between the seats I found a wide assortment of archeological remains. And judging by the smell, the windows had been left down during a series of heavy thunderstorms.

It was a well-used vehicle.

The Lincoln, on the other hand, appeared to have rolled off the assembly line moments before I got behind the wheel. The floor mats were notsticky with spilled soda. The rearview mirror had notbeen knocked off and reattached three times. The carpet didn’t ooze with some unidentifiable engine fluid. The odometer had not broken a thousand, much less a hundred thousand. And the smell—is it only guys who notice?—the smell of that new leather interior, untainted by rotten bananas and car sick-ness and all the other fragrances of a family van.

It was a beautiful car...but it was a rental car, and I treated it that way. I filled it up with low-grade gas. I accelerated fast and braked hard. I didn’t wash it, vacuum it, or change the oil. And by the time I returned it to the rental lot, those pristine floor mats were thick with dirt 

and sand.

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body shop, hoping the skilled staff at Paintmasters can  unbend a fender that just got smashed. My vehicle looks worse than ever, but it’s mine.  The rental car wasn’t. And that explains why I treat an aging minivan better than I treated that mint-condition Lincoln Continental. 

The issue is ownership. Not only does ownership affect the way we care for our cars and homes and lawns, but it determines how much—or how little—we invest in our small groups. 

Do you think of your group as yourgroup? 

Do you ownyour group and its vision? 

Or do you simply rent a chair on Thursday evenings? 

As a group leader, I usually don’t have to think about these questions. Of course I’m an owner. I’m supposed to lead by example in

worship, in prayer, in discussion, and in fellowship. If I simply show up and smile, there’s a good chance the meeting will be a flop.

(Though God is gracious enough to spare even the most incompetent leader!) 

Recently, though, my friend Jim has been leading our discussions. This has given him a great opportunity to grow in leadership...and given

me a great opportunity to fine-tune my laziness. Suddenly it doesn’t seem so essential that I study the book in advance. The pressure isn’t

on me to think up questions that will help others apply what we are learning. During this season, Jim is the one having to discern where the

Spirit is leading our discussion—not I. So guess who has tried skimming the material 30 minutes before the meeting? That’s right. As a

result, I not only neglect to feed my own soul, but I lower the quality of my contributions to group discussion. 

If you see yourself as an owner of your group, you will take the assignments seriously. You will show up on time. You will work to make

the group a success. But if you’re only renting space you won’t be motivated to invest yourself. You may go along for the ride, but when

the group hits a pothole or some maintenance is required, you may choose to look for a new group rather than get under the 

hood and help make repairs. 

Your group may not be a new Lincoln Continental. It may be an ’86 Ford Escort with bald tires and a leaky radiator. But it’s yours! And

you’re responsible for taking care of it. Look closely at Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus: “From him the whole body, joined and held 

together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work”(Eph 4:16). 

A small group doesn’t belong to the leader. It belongs