Allow me to vent just a little bit.

Tonight, I attended a planning meeting with the leaders of a church group that I'm a part of. After being involved in the group for about two or three years now, and after sharing an idea I had for a faith sharing topic, I was invited to come along and help plan out next meeting, as well as knock around some ideas on how to improve the group. The short version of the story is that after almost four years of existence, we're still having trouble finding new people to get involved, and getting new folks to stay involved.

I came ready to share ideas I'd had, and also my frustrations about the intimacy smallness of our group. Unfortunately, when time came to share, I couldn't open up. Part of me didn't want to rock the boat, being the new guy (and, in fact, the only guy) in the room. One person talked about how we shouldn't plan things if the leaders aren't able to attend. (For example, one leader's participation in an out-of-town kickball tournament would have taken precedence over a tubing trip I was planning if rain hadn't cancelled said trip.)

If anyone out there has any suggestions on how to improve and grow groups (be they religious or non-religious in nature), please let me know. This group has done a lot for me, I would hate to see it wither away due to lack of participation and interest.