Small Groups and the Value of Good Cliques

Jesus chooses the twelve

The question has been asked, “Won’t small groups create cliques that will divide our Church?” Great question.

In Mark 3:13-19, Jesus is followed by a large crowd of people all vying for his attention. The Bible says that He healed many, before eventually pushing away from the crowd. (That’s right, even Jesus got away to rest occasionally).

While heading up the mountain to get away, Jesus does something interesting:

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Here is the point in Christ’s ministry where He separated the twelve from the rest of the crowd. He called them out to be His “small group.” They would spend concentrated time together training and preparing for ministry.
Put another way, Jesus started His own clique. There, I said it. But before you call me a heretic, let’s define “clique.” Read more