We are thinking about the church equipping people to be “Minutemen:”

A highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that enabled the colonies to respond immediately to war threats.

Such a force would be in keeping with Jesus’ command in Luke 12.35, 40:

Prepared for action at a moment’s notice, alert and ready at all times. (The Passion Translation)

Unfortunately, churches and their members don’t always think like that. I was in a meeting with a lady who had discovered a Bible study that was very meaningful to her. She said something like, “I hope I can get permission from the church to lead some of my friends through this study.” I (in a very unofficial capacity) said, “Who is going to stop you? Why would you need permission to gather some friends together to do a Bible study?”

I don’t know if she ever got official permission, nor do I know if she ever shared that Bible study with anyone. But attitudes like hers mitigate against our being “a highly mobile, rapidly deployable force…prepared for action at a moment’s notice” – to combine the Minuteman description with Jesus’ call.

By contrast, I used to run a Tuesday morning, 6a, men’s program that I developed with the senior pastor. It was designed to teach the men how to do Bible study on their own by having them actually do the Bible study during the meeting. After a few years, it was not hard to notice that the attendance was declining from over 100 men in the early days to maybe 30 or 40. I couldn’t figure it out until someone told me, “Bob, remember how you introduced the study? You would say, ‘Men, one day you will figure out that you don’t need to come here on Tuesday mornings. Nothing is stopping you from running this play yourselves whenever and wherever you like.’ Bob, there are at least 13 groups meeting all over town doing what you told them they could do. That’s why there aren’t more people here on Tuesday mornings!”

I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. (Romans 15.14, NIV, emphasis mine)