SMALL GROUPS: SCHOOLS OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER
Who do you want to be? Take a second. Give yourself the freedom to dream a little. If I had to guess, the person you dream of has some of these qualities: they’re thoughtful; they’re always putting others needs above your own; they approach the day with a spirit of hope on the lookout for ways to bless others; they see the best in the people in front of them; when faced with a difficult situation, they lean into prayer and rely on the Lord, prayer and their friends; These are the things I think of, but I think they’re universal. We’re all made in the image and likeness of our God: our selfless, self-giving Savior and the family of our love-effusive Triune God.
Sometimes, though, it can be difficult to grow into these qualities, to grow in Christian character. We fall into patterns or, in the midst of everything else going on in our lives; we end up living just to get through the week. And probably the biggest factor: we don’t have anyone in our life calling us on to more, to be that person we dream of. We don’t open our lives to others to be encouraged and to be challenged. We need structures of community in place in our lives that allow for this kind of growth. Character is only formed in community—when we get outside of ourselves and let others in. Or more Scripturally, there can be no love of neighbor without neighbors—real neighbors, not strangers you happen to see once in a while.
God has fashioned us in a way that we are instruments of spiritual growth and character formation to one another. Character is gained with the help of your brothers and sisters in Christ. In short, we pursue the character of Christ in relationships of Christian brotherhood and sisterhood: community. We are only parts of a body. My joy somehow affects everyone else in the body. My suffering is the suffering of everyone else in the body. We are the instruments of the formation of the other. The modern definition of friendship means hanging around with people I already like, and we do things we like to do together. There’s nothing wrong with that, but friendship in the modern world tends to be easy. The Lord has made us brothers and sisters, and real Christian community calls us on to more.
All that I’ve said so far applies to a work that we’ve been about in our parish for some time now: small groups. Small faith sharing groups are like incubators for Christian community and growth in Christian character. We need community; we need friendship. Small faith sharing groups are a great way to grow in these. This Lent we will be launching another round of small faith sharing groups, organized according to age and gender. Groups will meet twice a month from March-May, and meetings will incorporate aspects of prayer, teaching and service. If you are looking to grow in character and live more deeply the Christian call to love your neighbor, we invite you to join a small group. Email nate@ourholycross.org with questions. Visit ourholycross.org/small-groups or call the parish office to register.
Nate Whipple