Too many choices?

On the train to Arlington, VA for the April Small Group Ministry conference I read a copy of Scientific American. In the issue was an article entitled "The Tryranny of Choice". The author, Barry Schwartz, describes research examining how we feel when we have various degrees of choice. The research highlighted in this article suggests that we feel good when we are given freedom (more choices), but start to feel overwhelmed and bad when we have too much to choose from.

If this is true, what does this mean for Unitarian Universalism?

I suspect that many newcomers do not know how to handle the freedom we offer. Perhaps long time members and friends as well. I cannot say as I have not asked them yet. How many "tracks" or pathways does your congregation offer people for spiritual growth and exploration of various beliefs? Many congregations have a newcomer class orienting people and new UU classes. On the other side of these offerings our members and friends have countless pathways for spiritual growth, almost all of them being up to them to create & follow.

After reading this article I was trying to visualize what this must be like for someone coming from a more structured faith community. I decided that it mus be like walking down a path, taking a sharp left turn, and then ending up in the middle of a parking lot. Why a parking lot? Because a parking lot is what you get when you have pathways leading away from you in all directions -- all path, not grass. Standing suddenly in a vast open UU parking lot I think it is natural for people to simple park and wait.

Enter small group ministry.

I believe that small group ministry is a path. It is a spiritual discipline. Whereas much of what we discuss is principle and philosophy, small group ministry is an immediate action. Join us. Go to church. Participate in this group. Together we will explore, reflect, share and make sense of the world.