Small Groups

There’s something inherently communal in this phrase. I’ve recently begun a new DVD based workout program. At the beginning of many of the workouts the main guy says something to the effect of “Let’s Go” or “Let’s Do It.” He’s working out in the company of some friends of his, shooting the video in a studio surrounded by people. But he’s inviting all the people viewing it at home to join in, to sweat along with them, to participate. He’s making a plea for a shared experience. Across the barriers of time and distance he’s using technology to generate a feeling of community, almost like you’re right there with him and the others in their gym. He talks to the camera as though he’s talking straight to you. Sometimes he’s pretty annoying, but we’ll forgive him that because sometimes he’s really encouraging. He knows when to challenge the home viewer to stick with it. He periodically provides some sage advice to coach everyone along. He talks “with” the viewers, even asking them questions, as though we are his friends.

It’s not by accident that he’s creating an atmosphere in viewers’ living rooms and garages and basements, getting them to feel like they’re there with him. He knows that if most people don’t actually make it to a gym, then they’ll have little accountability to a work out system. He’s well aware that without some camaraderie, there’s little hope for sticking with such an intense work out as his. He’s smart enough to know that if his program is going to be successful in business that he’s got to have satisfied customers who are pleased with their results who’ll in turn tell their friends about the program and encourage them to give it a try. He knows that to get satisfied customers he’s got to get people to stick with it. And he knows it’s a lot easier to get people to stick with something if they feel like they are part of a team, like someone is going through it with them, like they’re not alone. To enhance everything he says that helps create the feeling of community during the workouts, his company has created an interactive internet site where participants in the program can talk to others who are going through it. They can share their stories. They can get accountability. They can be part of a community. And it works. I know I do a lot better with most exercise programs when I’m joined by others. Currently, my brother-in-law and some friends from church are all in the same program, so I talk to them regularly about it.

But it’s not quite the same as having someone else right there in the room with you, experiencing the challenges and the joys and the pain and the good results. Having someone to high-five and talk smack with and grunt with and be sore with and celebrate with. We hunger for community and relationship on so many levels. In many ways I think we’ve grown past the two year old child’s mentality of “I do it” (though we don’t always admit it – more on that in a later blog, I’m sure) and we’ve matured to the mentality of “Let’s do it.” I’m convinced at our core that we want to participate in something bigger than us. Something great. Something with a promise of legacy and fulfillment. And so many of us have found our small group to be a place to experience this on various levels. There’s a sense of assurance and confidence in a shared journey. So…let’s do it.