Customer Reviews

Community That Is Christian

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I'm currently working with small groups in the Christian Union group at my university, and literally stumbled over this book while searching for other titles on Amazon. Based on the "Editor's review", I quickly decided to give the book a try, and ordered it.

I would greatly recommend this book to anyone working with small groups in a christian setting. It can in fact be very helpful for those who work with small groups in any setting, as much of the book is devoted to the processes that take form in a group of 5 to 12 people.

But first and foremost the book is about what makes a christian community unique, and how to stimulate this deep community in a small group. Especially, a clear distinction is pointed out between real community, where members love and know each other, and pseudo-community, where members appear polite and careful, but without showing real care for each other.

The author shows great insight into the reactions and different stages that take place in a small group, and uses this knowledge to explain what steps might be wise to do as a leader of such a group. As an extra bonus in addition to the excellent text, each chapter is followed by a section of "Firestarters" which can be used as is in your existing small group. These "Firestarters" are helpful games, questions or case studies that helps the group members open up towards each other. These sections are nearly worth the price themselves.

I was impressed by the scholarship that went into this book. Many books on small groups seem to be merely descriptions of local models. While those kinds of books also have value, Gorman's book is different. She begins with biblical/ theological foundations for Christian community and then tries to prompt the reader to look at community from outside of the American cultural perspective. She makes the point that there is a difference between small groups and community. She also contends that certain American approaches to small groups may actually stem from an individualistic mindset rather than from a desire for true community. Her views are certainly thought-provoking.

As was already mentioned in the other reviews, Gorman also gives much practical direction and information for small-group leaders. Included among the topics are communication and conflict in groups. I would recommend this book to anyone who is studying the topic of small groups. It is among the better books, which I have read.

My first thought was that a 400-page book was simply too much information, especially in light of several other recently read books on the same topic. I did not relish such a significant time commitment and prayed the rewards would be worth the effort. My apprehension was dispelled within the first several chapters, at which point I slowed my reading speed to better absorb the informative, engaging, and authoritative material. Having a fair amount of experience leading small groups off and on, I recognized in the author a much higher level of experience. Overall, the book was a fast read, which gives credit to the author's writing experience to cover a vast spectrum of variously complex material ranging in a way that does not bog down the reader.

I liked many things, for example, Gorman's ability to fully present concepts, e.g. the tendency for believers to start with God and then take care of things themselves is not just wrong thinking, but it is not a biblical vision for life and in fact is the essence of sin (60-61). This kind of depth proved engaging and helpful in most places, but it became tedious in others, perhaps because the book was geared almost entirely toward those in small group leadership.

Gorman had numerous catchy phrases and I marked several memorable quotes from her words along with her plethora of snippets from other writers. Among many choices, a definition of "be at peace with everyone" (Rom. 12:18) is to "live positively with differences" (192), being wise is to "demonstrate bendability" (224), and the opposite of rugged or hard individualism is "soft individualism" (236). A concept that spoke to me was Gorman's unique language on the subject of being a listener, seeking to understand rather than to be understood, and seeing others' worlds through their eyes--which is "using their currency" (289).

Something I especially appreciated was Gorman's knowledge of interpersonal communication (chapter 10) since this was the focus of my undergraduate degree. Parts were a welcome and thorough review of communication principles--and I noticed many other aspects of other chapters that stemmed from her knowledge of the subject.

Without a doubt, Gorman knows the Word and for the most part brought it fully to bear on the subject, undergirding, infusing, and supporting most sections and points with the perfect passages. Her well-honed scripture knowledge, however, was not omnipresent, e.g. chapter 13 on gender differences in groups. Not until the very end was Christianity, scripture, or faith even mentioned, making it more of an after thought than an essential component as it was in most of the rest of the volume. The chapter was a worldly analysis from beginning to end, replete with too many stereotypes to name--although to her credit Gorman made a concerted effort to be fair. Even within that balance, however, hers clearly was a woman's perspective with both more empathy and analytical details for the female view and a proportionate lack of the same for males.

The problem is that the worldly view might reflect general truths but they are unconverted truths and uninspired practices of unsaved individuals of both genders. Saved men and women think and behave differently from their prior unsaved behavior, especially in groups. In my mind, there was no justification for omitting this incomparable difference between the world and the church. The world cannot be expected to behave as if in a Christian community, nor can the church be expected to accept pre-Christ gender stereotypes as unquestionably foundational within Christian community.

In other sections, the Christian element is not only inseparable but steers every word and thought. Gorman missed a golden opportunity to contrast Christian gender views with those of the world in exactly the same way as she did with leaders and even culture--which surely are subjects every bit as generic as gender. Especially when coming together in mixed small groups, Christian men and women both need gender specific, scripturally sound wisdom that takes into account their born again natures, spiritual habits, and Christian worldview. For me, this was a profound oversight.

My other criticisms are much more minor by comparison.

Some sections had what amounted to him to be distracting and annoying questions, querying readers as if all are staff small group leaders. At the least, these could have been in a sidebar and directed specifically to such professional leaders, or she could have recast them as "Think about" or "Time to Ponder" rather than a direct query to the reader that assumes too much experience.

In one place, Gorman mentioned an "awareness wheel" (207), but even though she used many other charts, she did not illustrate this one.

In another place, Gorman did what other writers did and tried to specify an exact number as the ideal group with another number as the maximum (132). This seems limiting and legalistic, not to mention confusing when other "experts" quote different exact numbers.

Overall, Community That Is Christian is a valuable, well-written, well-researched resource that the reviewer will revisit many times in the coming years. In every area except gender, she thoroughly fulfilled her purpose, which again was "a call to believers to explore a community that is distinctively theirs by covenant and calling" (11).