We recently adapted this idea in a dream group that I was leading. It felt suprisingly risky to lead, but the feedback has been wonderful.

The idea is simply to create 45mins (or however long you want to aim at) of silence and space.

The only props were a lit candle, some paper and pens for those who wanted them, and some quotes that we showed on a screen. The quotes included bible passages and some of Henri Nouwen’s writings on silence. During each ten minute period, they were up for just a couple of minutes, followed by eight minutes blank screen and then a prompt (such as “25 minutes left”). So for most of the time, the screen was blank.

A number of people were astonished at the way time seemed to speed up, rather than drag, and felt that it sparked a hunger in them for their own regular space with God.

Most loved it, although a few found it very uncomfortable, although unpacking the reasons for that has been very fruitful.

The The Fresh Expressions Share Guide is now live online and looks like a fantastic resource.

Lots of people have used the Singapore model of 4W’s (Welcome, Worship, Word & Witness) as a structure for cell meetings.

Laurence Singlehurst together with a friend who works in the city developed an alternative that particularly suits short meetings, in the workplace that gather at the start of the day or over lunch.

Presence: Some simple reflection or activity that helps you to all become aware of the presence of God as you gather (eg read a Psalm)

Pressures: Sharing together the pressures that life has at work, home, etc and praying for one another

Purpose: Focussing on the purpose God has for you in that workplace - your mission.

It clearly mirrors the up:in:out lifeshape that many have found really helpful.

I’ve started a facebook group as a hub for the emerging conversation about starting small missional communities/cell planting/whatever else you call it.

You’ll need to be a registered on facebook to use it, but that’s very quick. I know some people loathe facebook (I both love and hate it), but it was by far the quickest way to get something started. Hopefully the conversation might develop to a point where it makes it worth creating something more substantial of facebook.

CMS, Cell UK and Dream are all already involved in this kind of thinking, often just using different jargon, so this could be an exciting place for creative conversation. The more different voices there to share thinking, stories, ideas and issues the better….

Laurence Singlehurst is the director of Cell UK. He reflects here on an emerging vision for “cell planting”.

Occasionally, we all have moments when something comes together. For me it is a case of God speaking to us and what He is saying being highlighted through circumstances that reinforce His voice. We often then have a ‘chance’ conversation and know that it is really significant.

A number of years ago a cell church leader took me to his village and shared with me his dream that in his village of 1000 he can have his big wing, his corporate expression of church. Then in the smaller villages around plant a cell, sending out or empowering two existing people who already live there. In so doing he would put, as it were, a missional mandate around their existing relationships and plant cells and then his corporate wing would support through coaching and encouragement what was happening. As he shared the vision somehow deep inside I knew that this was not just a local thing but one day this would be a new way to galvanise and enthuse the cell movement. I think that day has now arrived.

We had a very exiting day recently when we gathered people who had seen cells planted either in a geographical area or through a particular people group. As I imagined there are a number of situations where cell groups are being planted and here is a story from one initiative:

I am leading a cell plant that has been happening now for a year with good results so far. We are looking to reach out together to the council estate where we live. We have seen 4 people come to faith. We have done fun days, set up youth clubs, done joinery, bricklaying and plastering courses, bbq’s, X factor nights to build relationships.

We now meet as a cell every fortnight – the core group – the in between weeks we do a social where we invite as many people as possible, and also do intentional discipleship with those on the edge of our community on the other week of our four-weekly cycle. Our vision is to have a cell group on every road on our estate. Each person in the core group in cell acts as a street pastor to their road and has the potential to be a cell leader in their own right.

Longer term we see that we will continue as a core group and meet in secondary cells in the in between weeks. We also recognize that lots of people in our community are not ready for cell straight away – we encourage them to go through Alpha and also the Freedom in Christ course whilst doing some intentional discipleship every 4 weeks.

Joe Pienaar, St Chads Church, Romiley

As we think of this idea of planting cell groups many of you might already be thinking that you have done something like this in your own setting and if so we would love to hear about it. Some of you may have planted groups through Alpha courses where the small groups continued on as a new cell.

The challenge as I see it is to hear what God is saying to us and then run with it. Many of our groups will grow in the time honoured way as new people are added in and multiplication occurs. However I think something different is also happening and groups are being planted in lots of different ways. So take a moment to come before God and see if He speaks to you as I think He is speaking to me to see cells planted as a means of kingdom growth. I look forward to hearing the stories of what God is doing amongst you.

I’ve used this loads of times for small groups in the dream network.

Spend the first half of the evening catching up with each other and discussing a project or initiative you’re all involved in. Then…

-Light a candle.
-Put on some chilled out music.
-Use a compline liturgy (severely pruned down if it’s as long and wordy as the common worship compline).
-When you get to the ‘intercessions’ part allow time for some sort of open prayer for one another and the stuff you’ve discussed.

btw I wasn’t a fan of the daily office at college, but I love this approach.

Excellent talk here by Mike Frost on what it really means to be the “missional” church

(ht the forgotten ways)

This is as simple as it gets, but easily overlooked. Telling our own story, while others listen attentively, and hearing those of others, builds trust and community. So find some ways to hear each other’s stories. For example…

1. Have simple questions like “what would a snapshot of you when you were thirteen show us?”

2. Each time you meet, set aside up to an hour where one member of the group tells their own story. They could bring photos or other props. Then the whole group does some sort of simple creative prayer for that person. Keep this going, either each time you meet, or periodically, until everyone has had their turn. New people may join and therefore have missed some of the process, but they’ll still pick up the level of trust and openness in the group.

Jonny Baker’s recent post highlighted the need for creative resources for small groups.

We’d like to use this site as a place to share ideas in a kind of “gift economy”. So we’re starting a series called “community chest” where we’ll post simple worship or group activities that have worked in cells or small missional communities. Feel free to adapt and change them, and email your own ones in to add to the collection.

One of the most helpful insights into team/cell dynamics is knowing the typical cycle that groups go through. There are various versions, the most popular being ‘forming: storming: norming: peforming’. It certainly helps me to know that ‘storming’ is an important and inevitable part of the process rather than a sign of failure (storming is the honeymoon ends, and we stop become disillusioned, simply because we’re not maintaining the illusion of pretending to be nice to each other all the time.

I’ve also found the Belbin team roles which, I teach on regularly, really useful.

Over the past eighteen months though, I’ve found an even more helpful framework from a gem of a book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. It’s a ‘must read’ for anyone leading a team/cell/missional community.

It’s a management/business book which comes in the form of a simple fictional (and slightly cheesy) story through which he gives a framework for understanding five issues that most often hold teams back. Each ‘dysfunction’ is caused by a failure to address the previous one.

They are
1. Lack of trust: We’re working together but I don’t share anything vulnerable of myself in the process.
2. Lack of conflict: We don’t genuinely say what we think as issues are discussed, feeling free to disagree vigorously.
3. Lack of ownership: Because I didn’t express my reservations, I don’t fully buy into the process and decisions.
4. Lack of accountability: We don’t hold one another accountable to follow through on the things we are each responsible for.
5. Lack of commitment to team results: To use a football analogy (painfully current!) a player finishes a match elated that he scored a hat-trick even though his team lots 4-3.

Lencioni’s writing here and in some of his other books on conflict as something not just good but essential is particularly helpful. (In Death by Meeting for example he reckons that lack of the right sort of conflict is the reason most meetings are boring).

Go buy.