Dancing With Dinosaurs, Chapter Five
"Cell members nurture one another and invite their unchurched friends to their group."
-- W. Easum (Dinosaurs, p.63)
"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ."
-- Acts 5:42
"Cells are not another ministry of the church; cells are the church." is the quote of Dale Galloway that heads this chapter. Learning to think in new ways is difficult.
Jesus often tried to get people to think in new ways and as often as not those people failed to make the mental shift. It is as if we have a mental mono-rail and only grace, often in spite of our best efforts, can get us on a new track.
Thinking about "paradigm communities" may feel comfortable. Whether it feels comfortable or threatening we need to always ask, "Have I allowed God to change my mind, my mental track, my unhelpful habits?" Isn't that what metanoia, salvation is all about? A complete change of mind? A complete turn around?
1- On page 57 Bill Easum introduces the term "paradigm communities." His definition includes the material in the previous two paragraphs. Write a brief definition of the term:
2- Sifting through the chapter what do you see as the effective role of the laity? the clergy? Make some notes on the next page:
Effective Laity Roles Effective clergy roles
__________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ | <> </>_________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ | <> </>
3- Describe the helpful, important and/or biblical elements of a cell that catch your attention.
4- What do you think is meant by Easum's words on page 74, "Building up the Body of Christ is the goal of spiritual gifts, not meeting the needs of the participants."?
This is an online Study Guide for use in the local church, compiled and produced by David P. Harris of Ephrata, PA.