Self-examination questions for Christian community
I recently received the following question: ‘I am involved in a housegroup and we are working hard at making it a place of genuine community and we have been doing so for a year. Early next year I want to examine our housegroup to see whether we feel we are being a genuine community to one another. I wondered in your experience what would be the five (or more) questions you would ask of our group to help us examine whether we are growing Christ-like in community together.’
It’s a good question. Here’s my attempt to put together some questions. Please feel free to leave comments and maybe we can refine the questions and make them more useful.
I’ve organised my questions around five top level questions, each with a batch of sub-questions that hopefully give some signs that the top level issue is actually being reflected in practice.
1. God: Are you God-centred?
Do people often extol the goodness and greatness of God to one another in normal conversation? Is prayer a regular feature of your life together? Do people pray as and when issues arise and not just in ‘prayer meetings’? When you pray, do most people in the community contribute? Is it sometimes difficult to contribute to times of community prayer because everyone wants to pray? Do your prayer requests focus on God and his glory rather than upon you and your comfort?
2. Love: Are you other-centred?
Are you sharing your lives together? Do people see one another between scheduled meetings? Do most people eat with other members of the community at least twice a week? Are people helping one another in practical ways like doing chores for one another? Do people feel a sense of responsibility to and for one another? Do people use the language of ‘we’ rather than ‘you’ (‘We should …’ rather than ‘You should …’)? Do people share their time and money? Are people willing to discuss their time and money? Do people open their homes to one another? Do people make decisions with regard to the community and in consultation with the community?
3. The Bible: Are you word-centred?
Is there a hunger for God’s word and an excitement when it is taught? Is the word often discussed outside scheduled Bible studies? Are people meeting up to read the Bible together? Is there a process of learning together? Is there evidence of the word changing individual lives and the life of the community as a whole? Do people speak the truth in love when others face pastoral issues? Do people repent of their negative behaviour and emotions (like anxiety, complaining, fear of others, self-justification, bitterness, anger, selfishness) and look to the truth about God (that God is in control, God is good, God is gracious, God is to be feared more than people) rather than blaming their circumstances? Are people rebuking one another with the truth?
4. Grace: Are you grace-centred?
Are people open about their sin and struggles rather than there being a culture of pretending? Is community life messy rather than sanitised and respectable? Are broken people attracted to your community? Is conflict open rather than suppressed? Is forgiveness and reconciliation actively pursued? Do you constantly return to the cross in your conversation, prayers and praise?
5. Mission: Are you mission-centred?
Do you have regular contact with unbelievers? Are unbelievers involved in the life of the community? Do unbelievers see your love for one another? Does your community life raise questions in the minds of unbelievers? Are you having opportunities for gospel conversations? Are you taking those opportunities? Are evangelistic opportunities celebrated by the community and made a matter for prayer? Are you crossing cultural boundaries? Do you have relationships with marginalised people? Are you trusting in God’s sovereignty rather than trying to do his work of conversation or worrying about ‘results’?
The word ‘you’ above is normally plural – i.e. you as a community. But I think the questions could also be used to explore an individual’s participation in community by taking the ‘you’ as singular.
Good stuff Tim. Any suggestions as to “how” and “what to do” to make a community reflect these values?
Thanks Mike. For the ‘how to?’ you’ll have to wait for the publication of Total Church! ;-)
Hi Tim, thanks for the response to my e-mail – I found this very helpful indeed. I am thinking of taking one of these titles a week with my hosuegroup and talking about them. I like this idea of coming back to these questions, it sets not so much a standard but more of an aim. I wondered if you could help further by perhaps giving a passage of scripture to each of the titles to aid us in our focus?
Appreciate that’s a tall order so no worries if you can’t. Just thought I’d be cheeky.
Cheers
Hi Tim,
Thanks for all the resources you have available here. I must admit that this is the first time I’ve actually been to your page, despite many “oh yeah, I must check it out” moments during Northern Training. These self examination questions are helpful. I printed them out and am excited to share them with Adam; I think it’d be useful for Manor team to work through them.
Also, yay God and thank you for a great talk yesterday. I’m stunned by the purpose, power and joy of a community of saved sinners together growing mature in Christ. It’s so winsome; God’s plan really works!! :)
ONce again, God is using you to steer us back to mission. Keep up the ministry! Do you make it to the state often? I am in Michigan?
Tim,
We’re preparing to use these questions for discussion next week in our small church here in Los Angeles. I think I’d add some questions along the line of preparing to plant a church or looking to plant a church to the mission examination questions. Maybe something like, “Are you preparing or positioning to plant another church?”