In a recent sermon, John Huffman shares this: "The September 12, 2005, issue of The New Yorker has a profoundly observant article about Saddleback Church and how Rick Warren's congregation grew. It's titled, 'The Cellular Church.' After describing the phenomenon of Rick Warren's ministry, the success of his book, The Purpose-Driven Life, and the huge mega-church he's built here in South Orange County, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, becomes quite philosophical. He notes that vibrant churches hold one thing in common, no matter how small or large they are. They basically are made up of 'small groups' of committed people who know each other and are united in a common commitment. He quotes philosopher Dick Westley, who writes:
As I see it, one of the most unfortunate misunderstandings of our time has been to think of small intentional communities as groups "within" the church. When are we going to have the courage to publicly proclaim what everyone with any experience with small groups has known all along: they are not organizations "within" the church; they are church.
The article goes on to note the church in the United States is becoming increasingly active in producing volunteers who are bringing change to our environment. Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow, who has studied the phenomenon closely, says:
Small groups are networks . . . They create bonds among people. Expose people to needs, provide opportunities for volunteering, and put people in harm's way of being asked to volunteer. That's not to say that being there for worship is not important. But, even in earlier research, I was finding that if people say all the right things about being a believer but aren't involved in some kind of physical social setting that generates interaction, they are just not as likely to volunteer."
(From e-news, www.preaching.com)
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