Groups Guy

Are iGroups just a fad that will fade away?

Maybe.  They are a fad and they very well could fade away after a while.  Surprised by the answer?  They are a fad like the “Tract Era” in the sense that they are culturally motivated ways of reaching out to people who do not know Christ.  But there is something deeper going on in iGroups.

When we begin to scrap beneath the surface we realize that this “fad” has been prompted by something deeper.  Hopefully, the reason for doing what you are doing, the reason you reaching out to your co-worker and neighbors, the reason you are actually in an iGroup, is because of one thing and one thing only: obedience to the prompting and power of the Holy Spirit.

This is what the second chapter of “Just Walk Across the Room” is all about.  Jesus Christ has given us this supernatural power to accomplish the mission he has given us.  In fact, before Jesus releases the first disciples to spread the gospel, he commands them in Acts 1:8 to “wait for the gift” (which is the Holy Spirit).  This is why we have launched iGroups.  This is why you are beginning that process.  We have been given the Holy Spirit to help us reach out to people who do not know Christ.

In Galatians 5:25, the Apostle Paul encourages the people of God to “keep in step with the Spirit.”  This verse helps highlight an important distinction:  we can have the Holy Spirit without listening to its’ promptings.  It’s the idea that Hybels stresses during the chapter.  We are called to keep in step with the Spirit–especially when reaching out to others.  The way to keep to step with the Spirit is to be available.  Be ready to respond.  To understand the role the Spirit has assigned you…and to do it.  This is what we are called to.

The tough part of our calling is our roles may not always be desirable or what we expect.  We may or may not see life-transforming conversions during our iGroups.  We may have co-workers who, on the spirituality scale, are –10, but throughout the six weeks, God has moved their hearts to a –2.  And who knows, maybe in 6 months, there will a sermon or a conversation that will lead to a life-transforming conversion.  The stories Bill shared were inspiring—and very true to reality.  In the case of the men who approached him in the restaurant, there may be 25 years of love without a trace of growth.  On in the other hand, in the case of Bill’s neighbor, there were six years of conversation before a conversion happened.  The results are not up to us…the only thing up to us is to fulfill the role the Holy Spirit has given us.

And so, we should not be alarmed to hear that iGroups are a “fad” that may or may not be around in 15 years; instead, as we read through this book and start our iGroups, we should ask these questions: How am I fulfilling the call of the Holy Spirit on my life?  Have I been available for the Spirit’s promptings?

As you read through this chapter, what are ways for you to fulfill the call of the Holy Spirit?  How will you do that?  Hybels offers a simple beginning place on p.47 with a prayer: “God, I am open for whatever role you might have me play.  Whatever it is, I’m available to be used.”

This is the prayer for us that I hope will never become a fad.