03.16.10
Healthcare, Controversy, and Small Groups
“Never discuss religion or politics.” Many of us know this phrase. It has been a staple on the Keep the Peace menu for generations. This is really good advice when leading a small group.
Conversations can quickly turn into controversies and controversies have the ability to overtake the reason a group exists, especially in the dramatic political times we’ve been placed in.
A few suggestions:
· Keep in mind (and if necessary remind your group) that debating religion and seeking a biblical view are not always the same. Oftentimes discussing religion has as its goal to instill someone’s dogma, whether or not that dogma is God’s truth. Seeking a biblical view has as its goal to find out what God is saying for the purpose of building up one another.
· Keep in mind that the depth of passion accompanying a political perspective is often as intense or more intense than a person’s passion for Christ. This doesn’t mean that the group member is no longer passionate about Jesus, sometimes it simply means that the individual believes that they are losing ideologies that, in his/her mind, Jesus Himself espoused. They are dogmatic because they see the moral values Jesus inspired and taught are soon to be no more welcoming in an era of moral anarchy. The group member has as her/his, sometimes subconscious, goal to save society. Respect them for their integrity, love them because you are their shepherd, and silence them if necessary to protect community.
· Keep in mind that you may have group members who remain silent during these types of conversations but internally they are losing respect for you (because you allowed the conversation) and for fellow group members. Why? The silent or subtle group member has a differing opinion than those who are zealous and vocal and are unwilling to enter the dangerous arena of debate.
· Don’t allow political conversations to take place during group meetings. Political discussions during a small group meeting seldom end well. But most importantly, a secondary gospel becomes primary. It is the gospel according to the Republican or Democratic Party (sometimes your Independents will get their ideology espoused) and will certainly confuse the unbeliever or young believer in the group. Your goal is to make sure the pure gospel of Jesus Christ is the target and that no obstacles are placed between that target and the hearts of your group members.
· Point out to your group members that God places leaders in the roles that they have. Romans 13:1
· Pray together for your elected officials even when your views or the views of your group members are different than the ones these elected officials are espousing. I Timothy 2:2
· If a small group member’s heart is overtaken by the political scene and needs to process with someone, meet him/her at a time other than the group meeting for a conversation.
I would be thrilled to hear your thoughts on this blog post. What do you think?
I had to rein in a discussion we were having in our small group just last week that had spiraled into politics. It's dangerous because people can become offended by something other than the Gospel (which is offensive enough!).
This is a great resource, Rick. I'll be referring back to this when I train small group leaders. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Ben. I know you handled the situation very well. Love your blog!