Small Group Worship

In an article published in the September 12, 2005 issue of The New Yorker entitled "The Cellular Church", Malcolm Gladwell writes of the growing shift from attending religious worship in large church gatherings to worshiping in smaller "cellular" groups. Gladwell describes the role of the small group as an instrument of community and how the formation of such groups has been instrumental to the success of many social movements. The article goes on to describe the results of the shift to a small group model in churches:

When churches—in particular, the megachurches that became the engine of the evangelical movement, in the nineteen-seventies and eighties—began to adopt the cellular model, they found out the same thing. The small group was an extraordinary vehicle of commitment. It was personal and flexible. It cost nothing. It was convenient, and every worshipper was able to find a small group that precisely matched his or her interests. Today, at least forty million Americans are in a religiously based small group, and the growing ranks of small-group membership have caused a profound shift in the nature of the American religious experience.

Another intriguing issue raised in the article is the notion that small group worship is more conducive to putting the spiritual teachings being studied into practice:

"Small groups cultivate spirituality, but it is a particular kind of spirituality," Robert Wuthnow writes. "They cannot be expected to nurture faith in the same way that years of theological study, meditation and reflection might." He says, "They provide ways of putting faith in practice. For the most part, their focus is on practical applications, not on abstract knowledge, or even on ideas for the sake of ideas themselves."

Some interesting insights from the social sciences on the wisdom of the focus of the Baha'i world on study circles, devotional gatherings, and children's classes.

With thanks to Allen for sharing this article.