Weekend Groups, Sunday Schools, and ABFs

Last week I received a catalog from a  publisher advertising the curriculum for the upcoming year. What struck me was a sentence on the opening page. "Sunday School resembles the early church more than anything else we do..." I had to laugh. not because it's untrue. No, I laughed because for over twenty years small, home groups have been making that claim. As I pondered the claim I had to admit, a good Weekend Group (what my church calls adult Sunday School) really does resemble the early church. They provide a place of connection for believers, they encourage genuine life change, and they missionally cultivate hearts for other people. What struck me was the polarization of the claim - "more than anything else we do." I had to search my soul on that one. How often have I made such bold declarations about the value of small, home groups? I have a feeling that most senior ministers believe that the large gathering for corporate worship and teaching actually resembles the early church more than anything else we do (they might be right about that).

I understand the "more than anything else we do" phrase. It's marketing. It's how you sell stuff. And I believe that the guy who wrote it really believes it. He should, he champions Sunday Schools. However, perhaps within the church we could declare an armistice and instead celebrate the small and large, the on campus and off campus, the classroom and the living room. I think the early church was less idealistic about location and size of the group. I would venture a guess they just needed to meet with other believers to learn, encourage one another, and pray for each other. I bet they were just happy to have a space to gather.

Jesus declared that wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am. I'm glad he didn't condition it on a particular day of week and location!