The Rooted Church + Fort Worth

Fight clubs are simple, but people still sometimes have questions. Here are a few of the more common ones.

1. Isn’t this just another man-made method?

Not really. The 3 components of Fight Clubs are straight out of Scripture. This is a simple and reproducible way to get serious about following Jesus, which we think is really important.

2. Why no more than 3 to a group?

Digging deep into life and confessing sin happens best in close relationships. Plus, Fight Clubs should multiply. Adding people to existing groups makes them ineffective, but multiplying by spinning off new groups means you can end up with 1,000 people fighting to love Jesus with no diffusion in the quality of the groups.

3. Why are the questions so personal?

Jesus isn’t after shallow, superficial church attenders. He wants disciples who will follow him to the grave. We must get real about our lives and the junk that is in them if we are to root out sin and become more like Jesus. The Fight Club questions are designed to go beyond our behavior (Did you do this? Did you look at that?) and get to the root. We want to find the places in our hearts where we’re failing to believe in the all the glorious implications of the gospel – where we’re trusting in lies instead of in Jesus.

4. What if I love the group I’m in and don’t want to split?

No doubt, this is hard. First, get in a City Group where you’ll have long term relationships with people. If the members of your Fight Club are in your City Group, you’ll continue to see them. Second, the goal is not simply to get ourselves in the fight, but others as well. It takes an attitude of sacrifice to give up our comfort for the good of others.

5. Who leads the group?

No one. You are all equally helping each other to follow Jesus.

6. What about being mentored by wiser Christians?

Great question. Fight Clubs aren’t the end all of following Jesus, just one tool among many. You ought to be seeking out wisdom from godly mentors who are older in the faith and can speak into your life. Just remember, they aren’t discipling you. You are a disciple.

7. God must really love me for being in a Fight Club, huh?

No. You aren’t righteous because you read 30 chapters or really opened up about your sin. You are declared righteous and accepted by God because of Christ alone and His work on the cross. The minute you forget this and feel pretty good about yourself because of your “holiness” is the minute you need to repent and be reminded of the gospel again.

8. Why 30 chapters? It’s too much.

God really did speak in the Bible and you really will find true and unshakable joy as his words change you by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing magical about the number 30. We want to reinforce the fact that following Jesus is hard. It’s serious. It’s life or death. So we need to get serious about what the King has communicated to his people.

Furthermore, you won’t be able to read that amount of Scripture immediately before your meeting, so you’ll have to commit to read during the week. You’ll also know that the others in your group are reading it and it’s not right for you to just bail and blow it off. You very well may not finish 30 chapters every week. That’s okay. It may take 3-4 weeks for everyone to read it all the way through. But don’t lower the bar. We find that if you do, you ruin the whole dynamic and sabotage your group. You’ll be less likely to meet your reading goals with fewer chapters.

9. What if I’m having trouble reading it all?

If you don’t have time to be serious about God’s Word, you’re too busy. Something’s got to go, even if it’s some church activity. If you can’t be serious about this, you aren’t ready to be a disciple and you need to be refreshed in the gospel. If you’re just not a strong reader, no problem. You may need to invest in a good audio version of the Bible (here’s one of our favorites). You can also listen to any chapter of the Bible for free here.

10. What other curriculum do we use?

None. You’re reading the ultimate discipleship material: the Bible. And lots of it. If you want to read other stuff, great. But don’t assign it to the group.

11. When do I pray for lost friends that we mention in the group?

Write their names on the Fight Club card and stick it in your Bible. Every time you read part of your 30 chapters, finish by praying for a couple on the list.

12. What do I do when these friends start to show interest in Jesus?

Bring them into your Fight Club! As they begin to read the Bible, confess their sin, and pray for others, God may very well use these things to change them and cause them to trust Jesus. Get them in a City Group as well where they can begin to be around solid Christian community even more.