Several months ago I had the privilege of attending the Purpose-Driven Small Groups conference at Saddleback Church. Randy Frazee was the opening plenary speaker, and he started off with a quote from Lyle Schaller that still has my attention today: "The biggest challenge of the church is to address the fragmentation and discontinuity of the American lifestyle."

That's why I'm such a big fan of small groups. When done correctly, no other ministry has greater potential for life-changing connection and community. No other ministry has a better shot of sewing together the fragments and divisions of the American church - let alone the American lifestyle.

But that begs an important question: What makes a small group a small group?

I started thinking about that after spending some time with my grandfather - Pap Pap, I call him - in St. Augustine, Florida, this past summer. He is exceedingly proud to have a grandson working for Christianity Today International, although it's taken some convincing ...