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February 2013

In my first year of being a GSR, my home group called a group conscience. The church we met in had recently made our meeting go non-smoking, which at that time cut our attendance by about a third. Then some good old-fashioned disagreements between members caused a split (all healthy of course), and suddenly we were down to six core members. The topic of our group conscience was whether or not we could keep our doors open. My sponsor said that the doors were open when he got here, and that as long as we simply stayed “in the books,” we would survive. We unanimously agreed.

We younger members were big on attendance and growth. One young lady suggested that we change our weekly speaker meeting to an “eat and speak.” Enthusiasm climbed as we talked of how great the idea seemed. Feed them, and they will come! All we needed to do was make sure that each of us brought an oversize dish to make sure we had enough to feed the crowds that would come. Oh, how we would grow.

My sponsor, the voice of wisdom on the previous matter, quietly sat back and listened as we bantered about the proposed opportunity for growth. Finally he spoke: “We’ve done this a couple of times before, and it’s always started out good, but eventually it ends up with just a few of the same people doing all of the work and leads to problems and resentments. If we just stay in the books, I’m sure the growth will come and we’ll be fine.” The vote went four to two in favor of the eating meeting. We set a date, and I figured we could carry the meeting without his help.

The day came, and just as we got started, my sponsor walked in and asked me to help him carry in an ice chest full of sodas, plus a large casserole and a peach cobbler. He showed up early and stayed late at every eating meeting we had. We lasted three or four months before the workload took its toll. He never once said “I told you so.”

When I asked him how come he went ahead and participated when he obviously didn’t agree, he simply said, “God speaks through the group conscience, and he knows better than me what’s best for us all.”

Hopefully, his example will always remind me to respect the group’s conscience—that his will, not necessarily mine, be done.

Harold C.

Nicoma Park, Oklahoma