Redemption Group vs. Community Group from mhcwestseattle on Vimeo.

Hopefully, you have experienced sharing your life with people who love you in the expressions of both grace and truth. Grace is full and unreserved acceptance of where you are, and truth is unabashedly not leaving you where you are. This is a community group. This is a redemption group.

These definitions of grace and truth “accepting someone where they are and not leaving them where they are” is reflective of how God acts towards his children and can be clearly seen in Titus 2:11-15 (especially verse 14), which proclaims that God sent our “Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” God receives us where we are without condemnation or accusation yet moves us out of our sin and bondage to grow closer to him.

As this plays out in community, we are called to submit to one another (), to love one another (), to practice humility with one another (); in the same way, we are also told to exhort (), admonish (), and teach () one another. God makes us aware of our sin through conviction of his Holy Spirit which can often come by way of human interaction. Inevitably, your sin is amplified through relationships, as brothers and sisters around you see distortions of your view of God and how that distortion pours out into your life. As they serve you as Jesus in your life, they are able to receive where you are while pointing out the distortions and directing you to who God really is.

This is no different from redemption groups. There is an active approach to listening for distortions of how a believer sees God in the midst of their life experiences, and those distortions are highlighted by the counselor and replaced with the truth of God.

Grace and truth, whether in community groups or redemption groups, is vital. When there is an active exchange of grace and truth among believers, growth can occur and true transformation can happen.

Romans 5-6
Hebrews 10

Pastor James is a Biblical Living Pastor at Mars Hill Church West Seattle. He currently oversees counseling for the campus, and is responsible for equipping and training volunteer biblical counselors and leaders at all levels.

If you are hurting and would like to speak with a counselor, please email westseattlecare@marshillchurch.org

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This was the second post in the series Bringing Counseling Back Into The Church
To read the other posts in the series click HERE.