Community

Diagnosis: An Introduction

The aim of this book is revive the church by "taking your small group off life support". House gives some compelling reasons why many churches today are struggling and how effective small groups can be the solution by becoming the place where people "experience life-giving transformation" and where the gospel can penetrate deep into the lives of people. House says, "It is my prayer that the ideas in this book will help you breathe life back into community in a way that will not only rally the church to action, but also give your people a means of building a strategy to advance the kingdom in the context of where they live" (p.21).

House then defines some terms:

• Community Group - "the scattered church grouping that may be known more commonly by the moniker small group" (p.21).

• Church - "a community of God's people gathered for His mission... the body of Christ" (p.22).

• Mission - "the making and maturing of disciples... to glorify God by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus for the sake of gathering God's people to Him, and to teach and grow them in their knowledge and love of Christ" (p.22).

...And then gives a summary of the sections of the book. He says that this book "seeks to expand the idea of what community groups could accomplish for the kingdom of God" (p.22):

1. The Foundation: Building Blocks For Life - "This section will address the purpose and need for community groups within the church and how they work together with other functions of the church, such as preaching and worship, to produce transformation in the lives of disciples" (p.23).

2. Health Plan: Redefining Community Groups - "This section will address common pitfalls in the way we experience community that render it ineffective and obligatory rather than life giving" (p.23).

3. Treatment: Effecting Change In Your Groups - "The last section will address how you get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future" (p.24).

Chapter One: Image

House says, "Lifeless community begins when we don't have a clear understanding of why we are in community in the first place. Yet, when we try to rejuvenate small groups, we generally ask how we can get more people in them, rather that addressing the question of why they exist. It is no surprise that we have a hard time attracting people to such a ministry" (p.31).

The essential first question is, "Why have community groups?" Before moving any further, House attempts to revive a gospel-driven purpose for community groups. He says, "If the church is going to offer an alternative to the brokenness and isolation in the world, then it must be a community that is transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus" (p.33).

House will develop this premise with the following sub-sections:

• Created for Community

• Created to Glorify God

• Inspired by His Glory

  • "We want people who have such a clear view of Jesus that temporal circumstances do not make them waiver from their call to make disciples. If we are going to call the church to live our the gospel through the storms of life, we need this kind of inspiration" (p.38-39).

• Empowered by His Grace

• Community is Not Optional

  • "Community groups are essential to the Christian life because we were created for community... We must conclude that if God created community for this purpose, it should be an essential part of every Christian's life... Isolation is our response to sin. Community is our response to reconciliation... To resuscitate life in the community of God, we must reestablish the foundational purpose of community. We must root it in the cross" (p.42).

Chapter Two: Body

House begins with the quote from Sinclair Ferguson:

The church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God. It is not a divine afterthought. It is not an accident of history. On the contrary, the church is God's new community. For His purpose, conceived in a past eternity, being worked out in history, and to be perfected in a future eternity, is not just to save isolated individuals and so perpetuate our loneliness but rather to build His church, that is, to call out of the world a people for His own glory (p.45).

This idea shapes the function of the Body, the church. Community is central, not peripheral. "Our communities should be the most palpable expression of the gospel within the church" (p.45). "If community is vital, then it should have a prominent role in the life of the church. Making community groups a primary ministry within the church elevates them above the peripheral ministries and will be key to creating momentum? " (p.46).

Discipleship:

How will every member of your church be discipled? House says the Community must be employed in "one-another discipleship". "For large, growing churches, we need to leverage community more in conjunction with the preached Word. By leveraging one-on-many preaching with one-another discipleship in community, we get the advantage of clear teaching and the intimacy of community" (p.53). House does not reject one-on-one mentoring or class-style teaching, but primarily advocates this use of Community in discipleship. Sunday gatherings and every-other-day scatterings in Community Groups is the basic two-part life of the church. These two environments work together to achieve the discipleship mission.

Pastoral Care:

How will everyone in the church receive pastoral, shepherding care? Especially the kind that is consistent and proactive instead of passive and reactive? "[Y]ou can see how a robust community group structure can provide a great means for pastoral care in the church. By entrusting delegated authority to community group leaders and leaders of leaders, you can ensure that every member is being cared for and is caring for others. What this understanding implies is that community groups are not merely Bible studies or social groups, but they have a responsibility for the ongoing growth and care of the church. It also means that leaders must be trustworthy and qualified to care for the small flocks in their hands" (p.59). The Community is the active extension of pastoral care to the whole body.

Mission:

The purpose of the church is to fulfill the mission of God in the earth. This happens through people. "Money is helpful and technology is great, but God has chosen to use His people to accomplish His mission. I say this to implore you not to try to shortchange this in your church... The people of God... have relational connections to the people of our cities in all the nooks and crannies... If this is the case, then we must employ the whole church in the mission of God... [W]hen we get to the place where our communities are making disciples and teaching them the Word of God, we are accomplishing the Great Commission" (p.61, 62).

House closes the chapter with implications for "Numbers and Legacy". He says, "understanding the importance of community groups withing the life of the church is about building the right legacy... At the end of the day, success will not only be defined by how many people we reached with the gospel, but by the depth the gospel penetrated into their lives as well... Our goal ought to be to build the largest and deepest churches we can" (p.62, 63).

Chapter Three: Ownership

Following the establishment of a biblical foundation for the significance of Community Groups in chapters one and two, House moves toward action through Ownership. He says, "...change occurs when, and only when, we take ownership of these principles and the mission of God saturates the church... In this chapter, we will explore the need to own the mission of your church and to instill that ownership within every member of the body" (p.65).

House takes the necessary first step of "Defining Mission" on page 66-69. The church is the tool that God is using to carry out His mission. "When we understand the mission of God, we realize that it is the mission that has a church, not the other way around" (p.66). House defines missional as "to participate in the mission of God as a response to the gospel through proclamation and practice" (p.67). Every Christ-follower is enlisted in this mission no matter what age or situation. The way House encourages church leaders to cultivate ownership is through inspiration. He says, "Don't just tell your church what to do; remind them of who they are and what Christ has done. Inspire them to take ownership of the mission that God has graciously given them" (p.72).

House then gives a few suggestions on how to cultivate ownership in the church in the following subsections (p.75-80):

• Profit Sharing

• Program Error

• Leading from the Edge

• Raising Expectations

• Bite-sized Mission

As an introduction to Part Two and before getting into Chapter 4, House makes a few key statements. He says, "This section takes the theological and philosophical convictions that we discussed in the previous section and applies them to the real experience of living life together for the fame of Jesus" (p.83). He then issues an encouragement and warning simultaneously. He says, "This emphasis on the practical outworking of theology can lead to error, however, when we get theology and praxis inverted. When our experiences determine our theological convictions, we have become pragmatists, and not in a good way" (p.83-84). Pragmatism is a capitulation to the culture of the world and leads to weak Christianity. "My encouragement to you," House says, "whether you are a pastor or a member in community, is to live out of your convictions and faith... Don't give up on your convictions and settle for pragmatism" (p.85).

He finishes with an earnest plea for dependence, not upon a strategy, but upon the Holy Spirit of God expressed primarily to a commitment to prayer. "As you use the ideas in this book to develop your own systems and programs, remember to do nothing without prayer and supplication and dependence on the Holy Spirit" (p.85).

Chapter Four: Community

In this chapter House seeks to rebuild our understanding of Community in light of the convictions established in Part One. I personally really appreciate this statement: "Our previous experiences in small groups can limit our imagination of what community can be. So let's dream for a minute that we never sat in that uncomfortable circle and answered icebreaker questions. How would we live in community if we started from scratch? What would be different about community built upon the foundation we laid in the previous chapters?" (p.87). House encourages us to think along the following lines...

Vision vs. Reaction

"As we begin, we want to be visionary rather than reactionary. We want to develop a clear vision for community groups from our convictions and build communities toward that goal. In other words, let the vision determine the expressions of community" (p.88).

Product vs. Purpose

"In order to have a vision for community, we need to understand the purpose of community. In my experience... I have heard many purposes for joining community groups, including but not limited to: belonging, making big church feel small, learning the Bible, pastoral care, fellowship, friends, closing the back door of the church, evangelism, and so on... I would suggest, however, that these 'purposes' are in fact the product of a community rather than its ultimate goal... If we aim at a product such as belonging as the purpose of community, we can achieve that goal without pointing to Jesus... At the end of the day, our purpose is community is to receive the grace of God and respond by imaging Him and lifting up the name of Jesus... if community is about imaging God for His renown and His worship, then community groups must be in the business of creating disciples" (p.89-90).

Who We Are vs. What We Do

"A community group is just the aggregate of its members" (p.93). A Community Group is not primarily identified by doing things, but by Christians being who they are together.

Lifestyle vs. Event

"Key to being this type of community is to redefine community groups as a lifestyle rather than an event. When we see community as a series of events, we hold on to our individuality and see community in terms of what it offers us" (p.96). House advocates "consciously considering one another and including one another in the everyday moments of life... invit[e] members of your community into the rhythms of your life that you typically do by yourself" (p.97).

Life Giving vs. Life Taking

"Community groups are often seen as obligatory and life taking. We secretly hope... we can stay home" (p.98). I appreciate House's candor. I've certainly felt this way before.

"So let me give you permission to avoid the 'circle of awkwardness'... Take time to understand why [your Community Group is not life giving], and take permission to rethink your group so that it becomes a place that is life sustaining, faith strengthening, and joy preserving" (p.98-99).

Creativity vs. Conformity

"So what do we actually do in a community group?... Groups are unique expressions of the gospel lived out in community rather than cookie-cutter copies" (p.99-100). House gives elements of community groups that can be exercised and incorporated in unique ways. There is freedom for a Community Group to take its own shape. These elements include: Bible study, confession and repentance, worship, prayer, hospitality, exercise of spiritual gifts, and mission.

Blessing vs. Obligation

"Through the resurrection of Jesus we are a community. We just need to be it... I know that building relationships within a community group can often feel obligatory... But when we understand community as an expression of our identity in Christ, we open the door for living out our faith in community in ways that give us life" (p.104).

Chapter Five: Neighborhood

The "Neighborhood Approach" has been developed by Mars Hill Church (the church which House is a part of) based on its conviction of incarnational ministry and its understanding of urban planning. "Incarnational ministry will begin with the mobilization of the saints to embody the gospel in community... Around this conviction we have built a missional strategy for reaching our city by building our groups around particular neighborhoods that have distinct cultures and people groups" (p.106). A goal of urban planning is to increase urban density, therefore, the goal of the Neighborhood Approach is to match the movement of the city and increase gospel density - "to concentrate the gospel where the people are" (p.107).

Contextualization

"The effectiveness of this strategy (or any missional strategy for that matter) will be determined in part by the church's ability to contextualize the gospel" (p.107). House introduces the concept of Contextualization with great importance. This is something that the church must think very strategically about. "Contextualization is the communication of the gospel in a particular place, time and culture, to a particular people, in a way that it can be understood without diluting its truth" (p.107). The size and scope of the community will determine its ability to specify or narrow its gospel contextualization. House shares the four levels of contextualization that are employed by Mars Hill:

1. Mars Hill: Generational Contextualization

2. Campus: Local Contextualization

3. Community Group: Neighborhood Contextualization

4. Disciple: Personal Contextualization

"As said before, the size of your church and the context that you are in will determine your focus and scope for the articulation of the gospel. By recognizing the particular strengths of different aspects of the church, we can more effectively reach out cities for the gospel and advance the kingdom of God" (p.110).

Transience

House makes some astute observations about our culture and the impact it has on Community. "The transient lifestyle of our culture makes geographic community increasingly difficult, especially in urban areas... Thus, when we cast a vision for establishing the church in the neighborhoods of our cities, we must contend with the transience of our culture" (p.110,111).

To contend with the transience of our culture, House says we have two options:

1. Align our Community methods to match how our transient culture organizes. On one hand, this approach has merit because of its ability to be relevant. "The purpose of adaptation has to be contextualization of the gospel. This means that we adapt so that we can help people understand the gospel better" (p.111). On the other hand, this approach capitulates to the individualism and consumerism of our culture. "Community doesn't work that way, and conforming to such a culture is precarious... my concern is that when we use this as out primary factor for organization, we reinforce a consumer culture and dilute the gospel truth that we have been reconciled to one another through Jesus" (p.112).

   1. 1. • I believe that this argument has significant implications for "sports ministry", such as The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the organization for which I work. I have added some personal reflection to the text box above.

2. Provide an alternative. The intimate belonging of the community of the church is the alternative to our transient, individualistic and disconnected society. "The church living out its faith in community with a love for Jesus and a love for its neighbors can provide an antidote for a transient society" (p.114).

The best way for the church to deal with our transient society is not to offer a customized version of church that is ultimately a capitulation to the culture of the world but justified as "relevant". Instead, the gospel offers a radical alternative that supplies us with everything we are truly longing for - everything we were made for. "The gospel is the remedy that the world is longing for and the only remedy that can truly transform" (p.115).

House then provides four questions to shape the Neighborhood missional model:

1. Is it accessible? (Big vision/mission broken down into bite-sized objectives)

2. Does it inspire ownership? (Give leaders responsibility, and teach them to interpret the culture of their neighborhood)

3. Is it effective?

4. Is it scalable? (Build a structure than can handle significant growth, utilizing "coaches" and leaders)... (Personal Reflection and Application in the box above)

"The last think I want to address is the question of how you define neighborhoods" (p.122). House gives a few things to consider when determining an "attainable mission field", they are:

1. Size - "The goal is to grow to the place where your defined boundaries are the same as the self-recognized boundaries within your city (not necessarily the municipal boundaries). In this way, you align the mission of those groups with the self-identifying characteristics of the people to whom they are trying to contextualize the gospel" (p.123).

2. Affinity - The risk of affinity-based groups is that it can become a closed club and squelch mission. "The exception is when the affinity inspires mission... If you want to do this well, make sure that every affinity group has a defined mission, a plan to make the group missional rather than a Christian club..." (p.124).

3. Mix it up - "There is nothing that says that you can only do either geography-based groups or affinity-based groups... I have found that organizing groups around geography as our primary structure and allowing affinity groups for people with a passion for a particular group to be most effective" (p.124).

4. Don't mix it too much - "If you build a structure with too many options, you will have a harder time casting a clear vision and being effective for the gospel... so chose the options you offer carefully" (p.124, 125).

Chapter Six: Spaces

"[I]t is time to turn our attention to how the mission of God plays out in those neighborhoods... To see this type of transformation, groups need to be active in the mission of God... The challenge is that churches and pastors have gotten in the habit of doing what God has called His disciples to do. In this chapter we want to begin equipping the saints, His disciples, for ministry..." (p.127).

Barriers and Bridges

Christians must learn how to engage culture if they are going to be active in the mission of God. What does this mean? House makes an important point: "...it is easy to objectify what culture means. The use of generalizations and ideologies causes us to drift from seeing culture in terms of people. Our focus moves from wanting to see people saved by grace to seeing ideas crushed by truth... fight for compassion... Remember that we are talking about people who cannot see and cannot hear and need the grace of God to open their eyes and ears" (p.128).

The goal is to remove barriers to the gospel. Particular examples of barriers that House lists are:

• Practice - "[I]s anything about the space or times of our gatherings that present a hurdle to our neighbors belonging to our communities?"

• Culture - "language and behaviors that alienate people"

• Perception - "images, stereotypes, or experiences that people have had with the church that affect their perception of Jesus and the church"

These are all examples of barriers that the church has created because of the mishandling of the gospel. "As we identify barriers to the gospel, we can begin to build bridges to our neighborhoods... A bridge is anything that provides an opportunity to your neighbors to be blessed and to experience the grace of God through your community" (p.130).

Becoming a Missiologist

"To be a missiologist is to be observant, having your eyes open to the values of people... It is about discovering where people find their identity, what wakes them up in the morning, where they spend their time, and where they hope to experience community" (p.130).

Engaging culture "should be active rather than passive... filter it through the Word of God to determine our response to it... we may receive it, reject it, or redeem it" (p.130).

• Receive: aspects of culture that are not in opposition to the truth of Scripture.

• Reject: aspects of culture that are naturally opposed to the gospel.

• Redeem: aspects of creation that God designed to be good, but have been perverted by sin can be redeemed and experienced the way that God intended. Such as sexuality.

Spaces

"[W]e need to expand the reach of influence of our groups. That influence is going to come through engaging with our neighbors as we share experiences and conversations with them... transformational community happens when we live life together... If we are going to have a gospel impact in our neighborhoods, we are going to have to engage in life with people on our streets" (p.131). House quotes another author saying:

John McKnight has studies communities for 30 years and found that community is built most powerfully by what he calls "association of life," referring to the myriad ways citizens come together to do good work and serve the public interest... neighborly contact constitutes an uncounted and unnoticed glue and connection that makes good communities work (Block, Community, 43).

House refers to the work of some other authors to explore the concept of space as it refers to relationships, intimacy and influence: Public (12'+) > Social (4' to 12') > Personal (18" to 4') > Intimate (0' to 18'). "If we want to have an impact on culture, we must find a way to engage it at various levels of intimacy" (p.132).

Fellowship: "The most common place for a community group to find itself is in the space I am calling Fellowship... The challenge is to build a community where these [Christian devotions] are natural and authentic" (p.137).

Hospitality: "Any time we provide the opportunity for someone to belong in our community group before belief, we are operating in this space... Being missional begin with thinking of the preferences of the people who aren't in your community rather than your own preferences... As a group, you need to be oriented toward your guests rather than to each other" (p.139-140).

Service: "In Jeremiah, God called His people to seek the welfare of the city... That is what the space of Service is all about... the point is to bless the city because Jesus has blessed us... So how do you find out what the needs in your neighborhood are? You can start by asking" (p.141-142).

Participation: "This is when we simply participate in the neighborhood activities and events as a community group... The space of Participation is about being a part of your neighborhood... Participation is about consistency" (p.143-144).

Chapter Seven: Rhythms

"Rhythms are the wineskin of community. An event once a week cannot contain gospel-centered community on mission with God. If we are going to breathe life into community, we must rethink how we practically live life together" (p.148).

Up to this point, House has spent the entire book deconstructing ineffective views of Community and reconstructing focused, biblically informed views. His point in this chapter is that we cannot cram a renewed concept of Community into our old routine. We need a new routine that is an expression of a new approach - a new wineskin, or a new Rhythm.

Event-based Community vs Opportunity-based Community

"An event-based community is one that predominantly sees the event once a week as their community group. It defines a community as a time and place. Opportunity-based community is the idea that we are always a community group whether we are together or apart" (p.149).

The goal is to get to a point where the Community is the context for all of life. It is the point where members of the Community view the experiences of each day through the lens of their identity in the Community of the church. Westerners seem to view life and life's regular experiences through a lens of individualism and personal kingdom-building, rather than through their belonging in the church and building the Kingdom of God. How do you change this?

A New Rhythm

"Breaking free from an event-focused view of community is not that easy. Most of our small group experiences have been event-based Bible studies or something similar. In order to break such patterns, we must begin by re-imagining the basic rhythms of community" (p.150).

House then makes this important statement that serves as a compass for this process, "As we answer these questions, however, the goal is not simply to live life together more. the goal is to be inspired by the death and resurrection of Jesus to live differently. We want to offer more opportunities because we love our brothers and sisters and we have an urgency to share the love of Christ with our neighbors... The questions of time, scene, and substance are questions about how we can be the gospel to one another in community" (p.150).

Scene can have a huge impact on the feel and experience of an environment. "Not only should we consider the aesthetics of a space that make it warm and inviting, we also need to consider whether the location is a bridge builder or a barrier" (p.155). Be careful to craft your Scene. Personally, I love giving attention to this.

"Substance is the content of a particular discussion or gathering... Leaders should be shepherding their groups to comprehend the importance of understanding the right substance for a particular gathering" (p.155-156). The key concept here is that of shepherding. The leader should know the group well enough to know what content will best serve them. The "Spaces of Engagement" illustration above can be used to guide how you determine appropriate content. "As a leader, you will need to think about the tendencies of your group to traffic in particular levels of substance and shepherd them toward different experiences that are still saturated with the gospel" (p.158).

Hearing the Beat

"Part of owning the mission as a community group leader is becoming a student of our neighborhood. When we do this, we start to observe the natural rhythms of the culture. We can then incorporate some of those rhythms into the rhythms of our community group... What are the natural rhythms in your neighborhood, and how can you begin to harmonize with them?... If you want to build a community group that leaves a lasting gospel effect on your neighborhood, you need to make it your goal to know as much about your neighborhood as you can... The best leaders become students of their mission field" (p.158-159).

In a section titled Starting a New Beat, House gives an example of a weekly Community group rhythm. It is illustrated in this way (below) and could give some ideas for a weekly structure for my own Community group...

House closes the chapter with several examples of Community Rhythms. He says, "Note that all the rhythms suggested here are descriptive rather than prescriptive. As we discussed, you need to consider the natural rhythms of your life and the lives of your neighbors. Then you can develop rhythms that incorporate the elements of community in multiple spaces that are unique to your neighborhood" (p.169).

As a leader, imagine rhythms for your community that create a whole-life experience of discipleship community that everyone can enter into.

Chapter Eight: Structure

Structure is essentially the philosophy and strategy for how Community is managed and organized. House begins the chapter with an important preface. He says, "This structure strategy, as well as any others you read about, should come with a warning: do not use without biblical conviction" (p.171). The tendency of some leaders is to implement a "strategy" only because it was successful somewhere else. This is a pragmatic approach. House advocates for a conviction approach. "The structure of community groups should be the outflow of your biblical conviction on community and the ecclesiology of the church" (p.171). Do the hard work of developing biblical convictions about ministry, and then do more hard work of actually executing ministry according to them, and then do more hard work of enduring and persevering over the long haul.

House also brings some clarity to the popular notion of organic community. "The word organic comes from the same root as the work organized... It is impossible to read the Old and New Testaments and not see the attention to detail that God gives to the organization of the body of Christ... So when I advocate for natural, organic community, I am advocating for community that has enough structure to support the healthy expression of the gospel without stifling creativity and authenticity" (p.172). There is a need to debunk the idea that organic means not structured. Structure is critical for success, both long and short-term.

Span-of-Care (p.179)

House makes "an important observation for developing deep shepherding relationships". "Span-of-Care is the ratio of people that a leader can reasonably shepherd well... Finding the right balance is crucial to a healthy community... In my experience, I have found that the average volunteer leader has a maximum span-of-care capacity of about six relationships." If you play this out in theory, one community group with one male and one female leader who each have six relationships would equal an optimal community size of fourteen people.

Expectations of a Leader

Within this chapter on Structure, House addresses the topic of leadership. "The expectations for a leader within this structure should reflect the convictions and purposes of the structure itself" (p.181). House says that there are three basic roles for which a leader is responsible:

• Shepherd - "Leaders are expected to care for and protect the flock in their charge by leading them toward worship of Jesus and maturity as disciples of Christ" (p.182).

• Missiologist - "Leaders are expected to lead the mission with a passion to see Jesus glorified in their cities. This means engaging the culture in your context..." (p.182).

• Administrator - "Leaders also need to organize and plan to that they can accomplish the mission" (p.182).

Apprenticeship

"We ask every group leader to formally identify an apprentice so that they can be preparing for an inevitable plant... [this] creates a culture focused on developing and sending leaders" (p.183). Every leaders must identify and develop the next generation leader.

When it comes to identifying and developing new leaders, House focuses on three categories:

• Calling

• Character

• Competence

House provides some means and measures for each of these categories. He embraces the fact that there is an element of "risk and reward" when raising up new leaders. A potential leader may not demonstrate high marks in every category. So how do you know when to take a risk and elevate someone into greater leadership? "When it comes to leadership, never take a risk on character. If you have concerns about one's character, then this person should not be considered for leadership" (p.185). Instead, House says that Competence is the one category that you can take a risk in. This can be coached and developed rather quickly. Calling is the middle category, where it is extremely important in determining a leader's level of commitment and endurance. So the categories could be rewritten according to priority like this:

1. Character

2. Calling

3. Competence

Training

There must be a system and a structure for maintenance and equipping. House suggests this structure based on the strategy used at his church:

• Basic Training - training in the foundational "DNA" of leadership in the church.

• Sync Meetings - monthly gatherings to unite and invigorate vision among the leaders.

• Coaching - individual, personal, regular attention. House says this is probably the most valuable training vehicle.

Finally, House provides some questions to help you consider the structure of your groups within your church or ministry:

1. Does the structure of our groups flow out of biblical convictions?

2. Does the structure reinforce those convictions?

3. Will the structure survive success?

4. Are we primed for growth or limited by our structure?

5. Are the expectations for our leaders aligned with our purpose?

"The purpose of this section is to equip you to effect change in your ministry in order to align with the convictions and vision that God has formed for you throughout this book" (p.191). House wants to help you bring about the change and transformation that you have hopefully been inspired by as you have read this book.

He gives a great quote by Augustine that says, "If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing" (p.192).

Chapter Nine: Repentance

Reflecting on the purpose and commission of the church given in Scripture, House says, "I do not see the urgency in the church that such a lofty expectation should arouse. We cannot be satisfied with community that is unaffected by the grace of God... Where is that passion among the church? Most Christians aren't willing to endure an awkward moment for the sake of the elect... The change that we long for will not come about with the implementation of a new system or vision for groups. We need the bias of our souls to change. We long to see our hearts realigned to delight in God, in Christ, in His law, and in His people. This kind of change starts with repentance" (p.194-195, emphasis added).

House gives examples of Missional Repentance in Scripture, where "Leaders whose eyes were opened by the Word of God through the Bible or the warnings of prophets begin reform with repentance. That repentance was often personal as well as corporate" (p.196).

The way to bring change is to bring people into deep consideration and embrace of the truth of God's Word. Strong, earnest, straightforward preaching and teaching of God's Word is the need of the hour. This get's by pulse racing more than anything else. It is a foundational conviction of my life and ministry.

House then spends some time addressing issues that he believes are preventing the church from having a fierce "war time" mentality. The three things that cripple the mission of the church are:

• Apathy - not taking sin seriously, not taking the commands of Christ seriously.

• Indifference - not really caring about the things of God and His kingdom or for lost souls.

• Fear of man - fear of rejection, mockery, loss of status, etc.

House closes the chapter with this critical statement...

Chapter Ten: Boot Camp

How???

"...you will need to put together a strategy and a plan for leading people to see a new vision for community groups... This content is a real paradigm shift for most leaders. It isn't a bomb you can drop and watch everyone snap to it. You will need to shepherd them to understand the theology, philosophy, and practice of it. Such shepherding will require time and consistency... One way to accomplish this is to develop a boot camp for leaders" (p.207, emphasis added).

House will then spend the chapter walking through the Boot Camp structure that Mars Hill used and the things that make it successful. Their model consisted of 7, two-hour meetings (7 weeks) with some "practice" intermingled.

• Make it compelling - don't waste people's time.

• Make it necessary - raise the bar of expectation and make it a priority for each leader.

• Reinforce the vision - all content ties back to the big vision.

• Make it interactive - so that leaders can articulate the content themselves.

• Make it practical - move from theology to philosophy and application.

• ELEMENTS OF A BOOT CAMP

  • Worship - cultivate heart change.

  • Teaching - Scripture-based instruction.

  • Neighborhood interaction - make leaders work together.

  • Homework - thinking outside of class.

Boot Camp Trajectory

The "trajectory" is the progression of philosophy and purpose that each leader will travel through during boot camp. The image from the book is below. In addition to this image, House provides an outline for each unit. 1. Truth 2. Repentance 3. Vision 4. Mission I 5. Mission II 6. Strategy 7. Celebration.

Chapter Eleven: History

"To assure you that change is possible, I want to tell you the story of the evolution of community at Mars Hill Church... This is descriptive of our journey, not prescriptive. My hope is that you will have a long-term vision from the start and build community on that trajectory from the beginning" (p.223-224).

The journey is described in phases as the church grew in size and the effect it had on the community of the church. He closes with this encouragement and exhortation...

Appendix

The Appendix provides some very useful tools and documents including:

• Group Plan

• Neighborhood Plan

• Community Group Replication Plan

• Community Group Leader Job Description

• Community Group Coach Job Description

• Head Coach/Community Pastor Job Description