My reason for emphasizing this point is that, as many of us realise, not all small groups gathered for religious or spiritual purposes are of equal value.  At their best they can be immensely life giving and faith-building; at their worst they can be manipulative, embarrassing and humiliating.

On many occasions I have had the privilege of seeing small group interactions of such quality that they have supported and encouraged profound, positive changes in the lives of those involved.  Those who have found such environments helpful report a whole variety of beneficial outcomes.  Some talk of being properly listened to for the first time or how they were able to experience a heightened sense of the presence of God.  Others speak of how their mental horizons were expanded by listening to the wisdom and insight of other group members or of how such groups have been a catalyst to the healing of difficult relationships. Married couples have reported how they became free to talk both to each other and to their children in ways they had never previously imagined.  For many such people small groups have become oases of peace in their increasingly busy lives, places where they discover the joy of soul friendship and feel the support of others who share a common interest in the spiritual life.  This experience can be particularly heart-warming when the sharing of personal experience reaches across the boundaries both between different denominational groups and beyond into wider society.

Sadly, examples of negative experiences in small groups are also not difficult to find.  I have come across many people who have withdrawn from groups because they were made to feel ignorant or naive.  Still more have felt pressured, judged or simply not valued for who they are or what they had to contribute. Such occurrences can be particularly painful if those concerned subsequently discover that what they had disclosed, in confidence, has been talked about elsewhere.  Perhaps even more alarming are examples of people using the power of the small group to manipulate others.  On occasions I have been present in groups where disagreement with a particular dominant point of view was not only ridiculed, but group members were encouraged to condemn others present for their divergent opinion.

It needs hardly to be said that small groups are powerful social environments, particularly when they are designed as vehicles for exploring the spiritual dimension to life.  Touching as they inevitably do the deeper parts of our experience they need to be handled with sensitivity and care.   How this may be accomplished is what we will be focussing on here.

My second hoped-for-outcome in the groups we create is that there will be enough space in them for God to play. The Hebrew word for ‘breath’ is the same as for ‘spirit’ and if these conversations are to have lasting value, they must be open to what I would like to call ‘the prophetic dimension’.  While I would hope that we will all find being part of such groups enjoyable, let them not be so safe that we avoid the real challenges life experience invariably contains.