Seegeephobia-what's the cure?

I have to admit that I suck at evangelism. Recently, a friend asked me what I was doing one Friday night and I told her that I was about to go to my small group. When I invited her, she politely declined, saying that she didn't function well in small groups

Now, mind you that this is someone who is no stranger to church stuff. She knows what a cell-group is and probably attended many in the past but now is not. But I also know that for many non-christians, the concept lands somewhere between somewhere between weirdsville and just weird. And the general impression, even for Christians, is that it's bunch of bored people talking Jesus stuff until they can go for supper.

At times, a CG can be pretty boring. And scary. You are sitting in a group with a bunch of people, some of whom you don't know very well, that you are encouraged to go Dr.Phil sharing caring with. So, is this is the way to spend a Friday night?

Damn right it is. You see, part of the beauty of a cell group is that it's the only way you can get introduced into the incredible awesomeness of a christian community family safely. The key word is 'family'. You don't always enjoy being with your family, and you have disagreements at times but when it comes down to the crunch and you need someone to help you out..blood is thicker than water

So too, Christ's blood binds us in small pockets of family called a cell group. We learn about head the head of this family, Jesus, in study; sometimes it's interesting, other times, not so. We share, awkwardly at times, defesively others until we realise that those walls that we have so cleverly built up come slowly tumbling down.

There is no love when there is no authenticity. And there cannot be authenticity without love. A good cell group doles this out, and the measure of a good group is not so much what techniques the leader uses but rather how much the leader and the group loves Christ.

The cure for my friend is simple. She must take the plunge. There is no love without risk and no one can scuba dive without submerging first. If you don't, you'll always snorkel on the surface admiring the view from the top but never quite getting up close.