Through the study of Ephesians this week my eyes were opened up in new ways to a truth that I had understood but it seemed much more real in my life than ever before. Eph. 4:11-16 speaks about how God is doing the work of growth in peoples lives by giving the tools to other people so they can do the work. Henry Cloud has said, To be truly Biblical, as well as truly effective, the growth process must include the body of Christ.” There is nothing new about or earthshattering about this thought but it is worth mentioning because this is Gods number one plan for spiritual growth in the lives of believers. It has to be in the context of community and if a Christian is not a part of a spiritual family of some sort, it will be impossible to grow.
As I was reading and meditating on this thought I started to think about my home improvement projects that I've been working on. when I started remodeling on my house I knew next to nothing about plumbing, electrical, framing and anything else asscociated with building a house, but I do have very good friends that know alot about those things. In time I have grown in my knowledge of these areas because my friends have spent time teaching, equipping and sharpening my skills in these areas. The same is true in my spiritual life. I am surrounded by a multitude of people who God has placed around me to be a catalyst for spiritual growth in my own life. All that I have to do is be willing to give them a voice in my life. The flipside is also true, God has placed many people around me that I am commanded to be a catalyst for spiritual growth in their life. All that I have to do is open my mouth.

I spent some time meditating on Ephesians 4:11-16, here are some of the words of Paul from this passage.

"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. And He himself gave some to be apostles, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

For a small group to be a healthy, these are characteristics and aspects of ministry must be present and encouraged. A group will survive and maybe even appear to thrive if only one aspect is present but the group will almost certainly be unbalanced.

For example, if a group is led by an individual with a heart for teaching the natural tendency of that person would be to teach every single week because it is the gift that the Lord has given him/her. Even though teaching is the spiritual giftedness of this individual, using it in this manner actually stifles the growth of the entire group because other areas of ministry that the Lord has given to His church would not get utilizied. As mentioned in earlier posts one of the most beautiful things about the church is when people are unified in purpose despite diversity of gifts and interests. Which is exactly what Jesus called the church to be! Each of the gifts have been given "for the equipping of the saints for ministry and for edifying the body of Christ." The ultimate goal of a small group in response to this particular passage is that every individual in that group can come to the full measure of who Christ has called them to be. That can only be done through the contributions of people with different gifts ranging from Apostles and Evangelists to Pastors and teacher and everything in between. Each of these giftings are to be celebrated and utilized for the building up and equipping of the body.