Spiritual Formation in the Small and Local

"I think the focus of church work should be small and local; I think if you gather in a big place fine but the work of God doesn't take place simply when we are gathered but when we are reaching into the lives of others. So, I think missional is the key for the future. For me, the church is what happens during the week more than what happens on the weekend; I don't think the singular point of the church is gathering on Sunday for a sermon; I think it all fits together into a community of faith that embodies the gospel and individuals whose lives flow out of that community in whatever calling a person has."

-Scott McNight


I trust that you are taking the small and local serious. I believe that part of Satan's trap in our particular culture is that we've become so enamored with the grandiose and the global (not least from the influence of mass media) that we to quickly dismiss the small and local as unimportant or insignificant. Nothing could be further from the truth! If you look at the Scripture you'll quickly recognize that God works almost exclusively in the small and local.

The world redeemer was born in a manger and raised in Nazareth. Conceived in the small and local. A handful of men from the same local fishing village of Galilee would spear-head a movement that eventually changed the world. Conceived in the small and local. A small group of men in England meet regularly for prayer and confession (dubbed by outsiders as the Holiness Club lead by John and Charles Wesley) and through them God transforms the landscape of 18th century England and initiates a revival of global preportions. Conceived in the small and local.

Do not be deceived. The gospel of Jesus does not somehow favor best-selling Christian authors, world renown communicators or ordained pastors. The pulse of the gospel beats (I'd argue most powerfully) in the ordinary, the small and the local. In is a great injustice to minimize our role in spreading light, goodness and justice into the world by dismissing our responsibilities as unimportant. God has not called you to go to the end of the earth to accomplish this task of living the gospel. He wants you to start in your home. In your small group. With your neighbor. Everyday we have an opportunity to "embody the gospel" in small and local ways. So, just do it.

I'd like for you to read the quote above a few times. Let the words sink in and ponder them. Next, ask yourself how God is calling you and your small group to embody the gospel in small and local ways right here in Hayward, WI.

May we become convinced that what's happening in our kitchens, living rooms, over the phone and in other obscure places throughout the week is precisely the place where our God likes to move.

Take the small and local very seriously. The kingdom of God flourishes in such places.