Biblical Principles for Small Groups

Christians need each other. We were created for community and fellowship with God and one another through Jesus Christ.

This blog shares selected quotes from the classic book, Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945). I think of these quotes as operating principles for small groups.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote the book, Life Together (1938), to encourage biblical community living among theological students. He was a German Lutheran pastor, who was executed in 1945 because of his anti-Nazi resistance.

Here are some of the quotes that have been helpful to me in thinking about doing life together in small group settings.

Christians Need Each Other: The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer (p.19).

Christ is Central: Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ… We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ… a Christian needs others because of Jesus Christ… a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ… in Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity (p. 21).

Mutual Respect: God does not will that I should fashion the other person according to the image that seems good to me, that is, in my own image; rather in his very freedom from me, God made this person in His image… Strong and weak, wise and foolish, gifted or ungifted… The diverse individuals in the community, are no longer incentives for talking and judging and condemning… They are, rather, cause for rejoicing in one another and serving one another (p. 93).

Listening: The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for one another is learning to listen to them… listening can be a greater service than speaking… We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God (pp. 97, 99).

Helpfulness: This means, initially, simple assistance in trifling, external matters. There is a multitude of these things wherever people live together. Nobody is too good for the meanest (most menial) service… (p. 99).

Bearing Each Other’s Burdens: “Believers bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2)… The Christian… must bear the burden of a brother or sister. They must suffer and endure each other. It is only when he or she is a burden that another person is really a brother or sister and not merely an object to be manipulated (p. 100).

Speaking the Word of God: What we are concerned with here is the free communication of the Word from person to person, not by the ordained ministry which is bound to a particular office, time, and place. We are thinking of that unique situation in which one person bears witness in human words to another (p. 101).

Spiritual Authority: Jesus made authority in the fellowship dependent upon service to one another. Genuine spiritual authority is to be found only where the ministry of hearing, helping, bearing, and proclaiming is carried out (p. 108).

This has been an overview of principles for Christian small groups. These selected concepts include: Christians needing each other; Christ being central; mutual respect; listening; helpfulness; bearing each other's burdens; speaking God’s word; and spiritual authority.

This blog has provided some of the quotes that have been helpful to me in thinking about doing life together in small group settings. The book, Life Together, may be purchased by clicking here or from the Virtual Resource Center. It may also be viewed as a YouTube video.

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