However. The corporate church and the small groups can benefit from the examples, stories, theological definitions and the practices of Swinton’s practical theodicy in order to fully reclaim the practice of lament. Swinton explains, “that small groups take us back to the community of the early church where small groups of people met, often in the midst of extreme tribulation, to share fellowship, joy, pain, and hope, and look forward to the time when evil would be no more” (124). He explains, as groups form and develop, friendships also form and develop, and friendship is a place where we practice lament. Swinton contends, “it is within the intimacy of our friendships that we can find a vital context to express the pain, the hurt, the agony, and the yearning for closeness to God that the lament psalms desire to instill in those who seek to love God and resist evil” (125).…