Is your group a safe place for people to admit real struggles? Sometimes people don’t admit their struggles because they are afraid of the response from others.
Last fall I was introduced to a YouTube phenomena called “awkward turtle” that is popular among some teens. The idea is that if someone does or says something embarrassing then you make a “turtle” with your hands who swims away (with you attached) from the awkward situation.
Because LIFE IS MESSY, you may have wished you had an awkward turtle following the confession of somebody in your group. You don’t want to embarrass the individual, you don’t want to ignore the sin. But what do you do? This comes from SmallGroups.com
One of the aims of our small groups is (or should be) to create a safe environment where people can grow closer to God. Well, growing closer to God often involves the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the need to repent of sin. If someone's confessing, it means you've done a good job leading your group and you should give yourself a pat on the back. (Okay, you can actually give God the credit, but you get the point.)
The Spirit has decided it's time for them to bring their sins into the light and deal with them, and you are the lucky person who's been chosen to help them in that process. So what do you do?
Although this is found within the context of speaking about physical healing and prayer - I think what the Holy Spirit is exhorting here is to be transparent with each other.
ReplyDelete"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" James 5:16
Oftentimes the healing needed we run across most frequently is not physical at all - but spiritual. A healing of the rift between a Holy God and an unrighteous sinner or a healing of the break in fellowship between a Holy God and His wayward child.
I think it very sad that when someone would feel secure enough to be willing to be transparent within the context of the church (small group or large) that this would create an ackward moment - I think the biblical reaction would be one of love, prayer, support and accoutability.