Small Group Dynamics

One of the realities of virtually any small group is that you have some people who are more verbal and some that are less. God seems to have created us in such a way that some people process things internally without speaking, and some process externally through speaking. If balanced properly this can work out but in practice the more verbal ones dominate the group and the less verbal ones say little, if anything. This presents a serious problem for the group. If the more verbal ones cannot be persuaded to restrain themselves they will kill the group, as people drop out. If the less verbal ones are not encouraged to speak, the group will lose what God may have contributed through them. Unfortunately the habits of decades are not easily broken. A wise individual will do his best to encourage the less verbal, and slow down the more verbal. Sadly, the leader is usually the most talkative, exacerbating the problem.
Am living through my third illness of the year, with four months to go. As I have remarked in the past, our present bodies are not meant to last, but for those who have truly placed their trust in Christ for salvation, new bodies are on the way. (1 Corinthians 15: 35-57)
God has blessed me with a room in the section of Boston that He had said I should live, and I intend to move in on the 1st. Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness.