by Mario Vega
A fundamental purpose of cell work is the pursuit of intimacy. The number of people that attend the cell meeting is kept small to allow the members to develop a closer relationship.
There’s no doubt that a reduced number of people in a cell is an important element to achieve intimacy. However, the number of people in a group doesn’t necessarily mean that a group will reach a place of intimacy.
For example, a group might only have two people, but it’s possible for those two people to be quite distant from one another–as distant as the rich man was from Lazarus. It’s also possible to have a group of 120 (like in the case of the disciples on the day of Pentecost) and achieve perfect unity (be in “one accord”)
What’s the difference between these two examples? The values. The true key to intimacy are the values that are practiced within the cell. It is possible to reach intimacy when solidarity, unity of purpose, love and faith are present.
It is important to keep the number of cell’s attendees low, but we must also work to plant, model and promote the values that will allow those people to reach intimacy.
What do you think?
Mario
Translation in Spanish
Valores para la intimidad.
Un propósito fundamental del trabajo celular es la búsqueda de la intimidad. El número de personas que asisten a una célula se mantiene reducido con el fin de permitir que sus miembros desarrollen una relación más estrecha.
No hay duda que un número limitado de personas en una célula es un elemento importante para lograr la intimidad. Sin embargo, preocupa que repetidas veces se insiste en el tema de la intimidad relacionándolo solamente con el número de personas y dejando de lado otros componentes muy importantes.
Un grupo de personas puede ser tan reducido que llegue a ser de dos. Pero esos dos pueden estar tan distantes el uno del otro como el hombre rico y Lázaro en la historia de Jesús. Otros grupos no son tan pequeños, pueden llegar a reunirse hasta ciento veinte como el primer núcleo de discpulos y ser completamente ‘unánimes’.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre estos dos ejemplos? Los valores. La verdadera clave de la intimidad son los valores que se practican al interior de la célula. Cuando la solidaridad, la unidad de propósitos, el amor y la fe están presentes la intimidad es posible de alcanzar.
Es importante conservar bajo el número de asistentes a la célula pero también hay que trabajar por sembrar, modelar y fomentar los valores que permitirán a esas personas alcanzar la intimidad.
¿Qué piensa?
Mario
Mario, I couldn’t be more in agreement with you. In fact, one of the great distortions of group life seems to be that of the distortions people have concerning intimacy. I believe most people enter a group expecting intimacy. The problem is that each member may come with a different definition of the term or vision concerning how intimacy will be lived out. One may think tht means crying on one another’s shoulders on a daily basis, another may perceive intimacy is acheived when he/she has someone to play golf with weekly. Maybe a first step would be for a group to discuss what it will look like when the group is living life together and being “intimate” then the small group leader announce what values will be necessary to accomplish any level of intimacy.
Just my meanderings on intimacy…
Intimacy, whilst more a cultural concept than a biblical requirement, probably is a side-benefit of believers obeying the commandments of Jesus and of the NT to love one another, serve one another, exhort one another, encourage one another….
Now, now can such reciprocal actions happen amongst big numbers of folk? Perhaps by those big numbers meeting sometimes in little numbers wherein everyone can participate.
Thus, a useful guideline to cellular and congregational leaders is to ensure that all believers have opportunity to exercise the one-another commands of the NT.
I don’t know how people can love one another and not be intimate. Bible says to love one another. Can’t do it without being intimate. So if God commands us to love one another, he is also saying be intimate!