by Travis Moore, Elder
If you could take a time machine voyage back to the 1980s and 1990s, there would be lots to take in. Of course, you could watch Reagan disarm communism in the Soviet Union, Jordan fly through the air in Chicago, experience Super Mario in 8-bit, or get some Ukrop’s customer service in Richmond. Arguably more interesting than any of these landmarks, however, would be me sitting in a classroom at church on a Wednesday evening working on an RA pin. That is where I was just about every Wednesday night (except for my brief stint dominating the big bass bells as a handbell choir member).
I suspect that is not all that different from your church experience as a youth during that era. We like Wednesday nights for church gatherings and, obviously Sunday mornings for worship and in-depth learning. Yep: Sunday mornings from nine-thirty to eleven, and then eleven to noon(ish). Wednesday evenings from five to seven(ish); that was the extent of my discipleship time. Every other day I spent working on my jump shot, popping wheelies, and tucking the bottom of my parachute pants into my tube socks. Why though? How come more emphasis was not placed on growing as a disciple of Jesus?
Obviously, bashing the rigidness of my childhood schedule (or the scheduled times of gatherings here at Bethany Place) is not the intent of this article. I learned a great deal about Christianity and Jesus during that time, in fact. Instead, however, the intent of this literary masterpiece is to address the importance of the poorly-named but highly effective “D-Group.”
Over the years, many attempts have been made by many churches to enhance the small group experience outside of traditional Sunday School. Within the past couple of years, some Bethany Place members have been achieving this through D-Groups. Generally-speaking, the goals of these groups are to help other members grow in their faith, provide opportunities for group members to speak openly about struggles, and gain a deeper personal relationship with fellow believers. All of this is accomplished under the ministry heading of “discipleship.” That word is, of course, a focal point of Christianity. In Matthew 28 we are called to “make disciples of all the nations.” If you slide over to the church website’s What We Believe section, you can see that we strive to be “disciples who make disciples.” Catchy, I admit.
In case you have not yet figured it out, the “D” in D-Group stands for discipleship. I have been blessed to be a part of two such groups here at Bethany Place. The first was led by Kaintuck’s own Gene Cornett. Not surprisingly, he had us read a book. That book was Growing Up: How to be a Disciple that Makes Disciples by Robby Gallaty. Although it was not a bad read, the real bonding of that group came through the discussion of Scripture that took place as we read through 1st and 2nd Peter. Not only was my biblical knowledge increased during this time, but so was my love and appreciation for the Christian brothers in that group. I recall one member of that group remarking that he felt like he could “call any one of us at two in the morning if necessary.” That is the kind of close bond that we developed in that group where we shared openly about a multitude of things.
So powerful was that D-Group experience, in fact, that we did not want to end it. Gene’s D-Group culminated with a steak dinner, and the task of forming new groups. I helped to lead a second D-Group (which was re-branded as the bearded group for a bit); it had a similar impact as the first but with new folks.
D-Groups at Bethany Place are not intended to serve as a Sunday School replacement, but rather as an additional means of growing closer to God, forming stronger bonds with fellow church members, and creating disciples. Ironically, my two groups met on Wednesday night, but there have been several others that have taken place on a variety of days at a variety of times. It should also be noted that while D-Groups work best when members are all of the same gender, we have had both mens and womens groups in the past.
If you have not yet committed to this form of discipleship, I would highly encourage you to do so. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out to me and we can work to make it happen!