Simple Church: House Church in China

As I sit here in a little coffee shop in Wilmington, NC and reflecting on the last details to finish today for the Christmas Gathering of our House Church tomorrow evening, I am struck with a humbled sense of gratitude.  In all the business and planning we do for our churches in the West, we can lose sight or maybe never see the essence of what church really is.  We can so easily take the Church for granted when caught up in all that we do to run and maintain our traditional Church Organizations; with all the meetings, boards, committees, programs, classes, politics, and facility needs.   

According to the AP reported on November 26, 2009, “A court in northern China has sentenced five leaders of an unauthorized Protestant church to prison terms of up to seven years on charges including illegal assembly, rights groups reported Thursday.”  Among those arrested were the Pastor, his wife and three other church members.  The AP goes on to say, “The sentences are among the harshest in recent years for members of so-called “house churches” — congregations that refuse to register and accept the authority of the government’s Religious Affairs Bureau.” 

A few weeks ago I was sitting in our church gathering, a group of about 20-30 people circled up in a large room off the back of our home.  Looking around the room I was thinking about this story of a pastor and his wife who met just like we were that morning but knowing they were risking their freedom, maybe their lives and yet this did not deter them.  They were doing exactly what we were that morning; singing, reading, praying, studying, laughing, eating, loving, sharing our stories- our lives with each other, and meeting each other’s needs.  However, we were risking nothing that the death of pride wouldn’t fix.  They were risking everything.  It’s amazing how the thought of that can refocus you on what is really important and not, what the church is and not.  It makes you grateful.

According to a study done by the Barna Group, when a Chinese House Church pastor or leader is arrested or killed, the house church may disband, but out of it will form 5 other House Churches. This may explain the latest statistics reported on an article from the Seattle P-I on October 3, 2008:

Zhao Xiao, a former Communist Party official and convert to Christianity, smiles over a cup of tea and says he thinks there are up to 130 million Christians in China. This is far larger than previous estimates.  The government says there are 21 million (16 million Protestants, 5 million Catholics). Unofficial figures, such as one given by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity in Massachusetts, put the number at about 70 million.  But Zhao is not alone in his reckoning. A study of China by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, an American think tank, says indirect survey evidence suggests many unaffiliated Christians are not in the official figures.  And according to China Aid Association, a Texas-based lobby group, the director of the government body that supervises all religions in China, said privately that the figure was indeed as much as 130 million in early 2008.  If so, it would mean China contains more Christians than Communists (party membership is 74 million) and there may be more active Christians in China than in any other country.  In 1949, when the Communists took power, less than 1 percent of the population had been baptized, most of them Catholics. Now the largest, fastest-growing number of Christians belong to Protestant “house churches.”

It is clear that this incredible growth of disciples is a result of the unauthorized and uncounted House Church Movement under great persecution.  This has also served to keep Christians in House Churches focused on what is important and not hindered by Western consumer necessities.  Without our baggage, the House Churches in China have become relational not religious, flexible not rigid, creative not stagnate, inclusive not exclusive, adaptable not compromising, disciple building not building churches and giving not getting.  They are not worried about getting their church name out there.  The only name they are concerned with promoting is Jesus.  What if our Western  Pastors, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists and Churches were more concerned with making the name of Jesus famous than the name on the sign out front.

I am not throwing stones.  I’ve been there.  This is not to say that House Churches are where it’s at or what God is doing now.  It’s really not about leaders, traditional churches, buildings, money or programs.  It’s about evaluating what we think and do as the Church and refocus on what is true and really necessary to be the Church.  It’s about shedding unnecessary baggage.  It’s about seeing through God’s eyes, getting His heart and being led by the Holy Spirit no matter what the cost, even if the cost is how we’ve always done it.  It’s about Jesus and people – all else is negotiable and subject to change.

It about being grateful.

Simple Church – putting a number on it…

Ever feel like you are the only one?

Simple Church, Organic Church or House Church is no longer thought of as some fringe, obscure or illegitimate expression of the Church made up of hippies and those too strange to belong to traditional christian churches.  Let me take that back… some of us are strange.  However, there is a longing amongst many believers today for something more than the status quo, more than church attendance.  There is a growing desire to not change the structure of church but rather be changed people.  This is leading to a shift in how believers meet and gather.  It’s less about the building and more about the relationships and Christ being the center of communal life. 

So is this a passing fad?  It doesn’t seem so.  By the growing numbers it’s becoming a movement – a Jesus movement and is gaining acceptance even among mainstream traditional and denominational churches who are not only embracing it as legitimate but who themselves are now planting Simple Churches.

Give it to me. What’s the number?

One of Christianity’s most influential leaders, George Barna, who has both been a part of the movement for many years and has done extensive research share some interesting facts.  This is a recent article written by the Barna Group entitled “How many people really attend a House Church?”.  CLICK HERE

Simple Church video…

This is a great video about the Simple Church movement by House2House featuring a number of leaders and Simple Church practitioners.

 

The Vision and The Journey…

Not all journeys begin with a vision, but every vision is the beginning of a journey. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am talking about something that originated from the heart of God, not the desires of man.  We have all felt strong desires and placing them in beautifully crafted words and called them a vision.  Church leaders are notorious for this , the proof being captured in many churches’ three part vision statements.  I’m not slamming on the desires of Godly men who want to do good things, but there is a big difference between the visions of men to do Godly things and the visions from God that only He can give and fulfill. 

“That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  John 3:6

God fulfills His visions through us and by the resources He supplies.  We cannot see or understand the full scope of this kind of vision.  If we did, we would run away from it like Jonah or run right out thinking we can fulfill God’s vision.  A true vision from God frightens you and captures you at the same time.  You don’t go looking for it, it finds you.

It was a typical Sunday service.  We were going through the same routine we go through every Sunday.  As we came to our time of worship, I was engaged as I usually am somewhere between sorting out the last thoughts of the sermon I am about to deliver and half listening for any last minute promptings from the Holy Spirit and trying to worship.  All of a sudden I am arrested by God with a vision.  I am engulfed by what I see in the Spirit as everything in the natural fades into the backdrop till I am only aware of God and what He’s showing me.  And, this is all I see…

I was taken outside of our Church building as I watched a storm appear.  It was sudden with no time to prepare.  You could not see the storm, only it’s effects.  It was like seeing one of those storm stories about a hurricane or tornado on the Discovery Channel.  The power of the wind began to tear the building apart starting with the shingles.  Piece by piece the building tore apart, shingles, plywood, timbers and bricks, til all that was left was the concrete slab foundation.  Then as quickly as the church was torn apart and stripped away, God began to build it back.  Suddenly, I found myself back standing in our sanctuary singing our last song if worship.

I tried quickly to compose myself.  What now?  I sensed in my spirit that God was about to do what I saw, but I had no idea what that meant.  As I said before, it frightened me and captured me.  I heard the Lord say, “surrender.”

I made my way up front and stood before the people God had been so gracious to bring together as our church.  I felt compelled to share what I saw and what God said to me.  When I was done sharing the vision, I said to the church that I sensed God telling us to surrender, that if He needed to strip anything away, we needed to surrender and let Him.  If I needed to go, the building needed to go, any programs, any people, finances, ideologies about ministry or personal issues, then we needed to surrender and let Him.   I asked everyone to pray with me a prayer of consecration.

What came next, I would not have expected.  And, so the journey began…

Come along with me.

Changes, changes, changes….

Life is an incredible journey and it is easy to lose sight of it if we only focus on the moment.  Some moments in life can be paralyzing if we let them.  Those of you who have done much flying have been stuck in a city or airport when you needed to be somewhere else.  It’s a layover, not your destination.  None of us decide to permanently stay there.  However, we are there.  We make the best of it, maybe even find a way to enjoy it, knowing it’s a journey not the destination.  We have to learn to enjoy the journey which means embracing changes.

Our Church has gone through many changes over the past 3+ years.  These changes have reshaped and reoriented who we are and what we look like.  There have been many moments in this journey that could have been paralyzing and maybe for a season even were.  But weathering and savoring the good and bad continue to shape us for God’s plan – a people who genuinely reflect Him and reveal Him.

I am not the same nor is our church the same but what we are changing into is something glorious.  This blog and our church blog will begin to reflect the changes we are going through.  Tomorrow I am going to share a vision God showed me 3 years ago that has shaken everything in my life. (Vision: not something I desired or dreamed up, but an actual, literal vision from God.)  This vision was the beginning of a journey.

Have you ever seen a literal vision?  What did you see?

The measure of success…

I just love the awkwardness of conversation.  You know it when you encounter it.  The proverbial “How’s the weather” conversation; the superficial stuff.  We do this when we don’t know someone, don’t know what to talk about or what questions we should really ask.

These kind of conversations are interesting among christians, especially leaders.  This is why pastors, church planters, leaders and those observing them ask superficial questions about success.  How many people do you have coming?  How many groups do you have? 

People want measurable and decisive answers.  I’m always tempted to give such answers, but the truth is these days such answers are not impressive if that is how we perceive success.

Let me leave you with two thoughts:

1. It is much easier to describe to you what I’m doing rather than tell you what I’m becoming.

2. Faith will always lead you down paths where you can’t use your eyes.

Unfortunately these two thing are not impressive to those looking to measure success by superficial things.

What I’m reading…

It has been said that “a teacher that ceases to learn ceases to teach” or “teachers are life long learners.”  You can also tell a lot about a person or at lest their current state by observing what they are reading or in other words, “their teachers.”

So I just wanted to let you peer into my life and mind a little by sharing what I’m reading at the moment.  I frustrate my wife in how I read.  One, I read slowly or at least much slower than her.  Two, I always have 4 - 6 books on the hook and 3 – 4 waiting in the wings.  Here’s what I’m chewing on:

ON THE HOOK

The Normal Christian Life – Watchman Nee

 

 

 

The Watchers – Mark Andrew Olsen

 

 

 

 

 

Finding Organic Church – Frank Viola

 

 

 

The Rabbit and The Elephant – Tony & Felicity Dale, George Barna

 

 

 

Organic Leadership – Neil Cole

 

 

 

 

 IN THE WINGS

So Beautiful - Leonard Sweet

From Eternity to Here - Frank Viola

Organic Community - Joseph R. Myers

Atlantis- David Gibbins

 

What are you reading?

Simplify: The Rabbit and The Elephant…

I picked up this small book after running across it on This Blog.  The title alone was enough for me to buy it.  Curiosity!

I have not finished it yet, but, let me recommend it to you for your reading pleasure.  It is well crafted by 3 great writers, not the least of which is considered one of our most quoted christian leaders of our times,  George Barna. 

Let me quote from George Barna’s website:

“If you put two elephants in a room together and close the door, in 22 months you may get one baby elephant. But two rabbits together for the same amount of time will result in thousands of babies!”  

The idea is that something large and with a complex structure is harder to duplicate.  However, something small and simple is easily multiplied.  What if we applied this principle to Discipleship and Church Planting?

Skye Jethani, managing editor for Leadership Magazine shared these similar thoughts as it related to the church and sharing the Gospel in our times:

“To declare the gospel in a culture where fewer people are likely to step foot in a church means valuing swiftness over bigness, agility over security.  This means smaller, missional communities with less baggage may be better equipped to advance the gospel than some larger churches burdened by their programming and overhead.

Does this mean we should abandon all our institutional baggage?  Of course not.  But like a smart traveler, conditions today require us to be more discerning about what to take on our journey, and what to leave behind.” 

You can read more about this in an earlier post entitle Going Missional.

Is He building His Church or are we building Churches?  We are in desperate need of a Jesus movement, something Spirit lead and empowered that man cannot take credit for.  Are we positioning ourselves in the best way to allow this to happen?  Do our modern Church practices enhance or detract from this happening?  Is the Cross of Jesus and the Gospel of His Kingdom really the central focus of our Church efforts?  Lot’s of questions running through my mind today obviously. 

What are your thoughts on what it will take for Jesus to move in this way today?

Oh yea, buy the book.

My Sentiments Exactly…

As I mentioned in the last post I’m on a most intimate and incredible journey.  In the past two years God has been cleaning my canvas.  What He has begun to paint is an incredible portrait of His Bride.  There is great beauty and freedom to be found in the church Christ builds.  This blog  has reflected many of my thoughts along the way as the fellowship I pastor has changed and continues to.  In reading this morning on Shapevine, which I recently joined to share my thoughts and hear from others on this journey, I came across this post from David Mills  I would encourage you to read it - it’s real short and thought provoking.

What would happen if we relinquished the need to control the church and actually let Jesus build it?  Are we willing to risk years, decades and centuries of man’s tradition to find what Jesus desires?  As I have been finding, we as leaders will need to be willing to lose everything to gain everything God desires.  Our history bears witness to the power of free forms.  God has worked in mighty ways where the focus and pursuit is Jesus (Christology) and the form of Church (Ecclesiology) flows out of Jesus’ mission (missiology).  This requires us to be willing to adjust our forms as needed for our mission.  The problem comes when the form  needs to change and we find we are in bondage to it or worse worship the form rather than the creator.

If you have any thought or comments along these lines, I would appreciate you leaving them.

Going Deep Pt. 1

Last week I started a new teaching series at The Dwelling Place entitled “Going Deep.”  It was prompted by something I posted a few days back where I said “Going Deep is our part, going Big is God’s part.”  As I was reflecting on Acts 2 I noticed something that jerked me back like a dog on a leash.

We have a tendency as church pastors and church planter to give in to the pressure to produce.  Much of our insecurities can be manipulated by the pressure of perceived expectation, that we must make it grow.  Since we are the experts, we must do something to make that thing get bigger.  After all it is the consumers measure for success.  If it’s not succeeding then we are not succeeding.  Let me say to all of you in ministry, “What a load of CRAP!”  Success?  I remember what my Father said to His firstborn, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”  This is it.  I am my Daddy’s son and He loves me.

Moving on.  After finishing a previous series where we looked at what our mission was, I was tempted to work up a mission statement, package it well, capture it in a clever statement and then….jerrrrrk.  I saw it.  

“And they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers……praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”   Acts 2:42,47

The new believers devoted themselves……it produced favor and the Lord added to their number.

Devoted in the Greek means “to be earnest towards.”  It is a compound word for “forward” indicating a direction and movement towards; and to be strong, steadfast or endure.   In the context of verse 42 it means these new believers were moving forward in a stronger and more earnest relationship with Jesus, their leaders (Apostles) and each other.  In other word they were GOING DEEPER in Scripture and teaching of the Apostles, deeper in fellowship, deeper in the practice of faith and deeper in prayer together.

When we enter into this deeper devotion and a missional, incarnational focus on those around us, it will produce favor.  Going deeper in relationship and love with God and people is an attractive thing.  When you find something you really love, don’t you want to tell someone or share it with someone.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  If you don’t want to share the experience of what you have, you might want to check and see if you had it in the first place. 

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”      1 John 4:8

God cannot be contained.  When we try to put God in a box and contain Him, it becomes something other than God.  It just becomes religion and not good religion at that.  Life has to have room to grow or you kill it.    “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”  1 John 4:7

Diversity – embrace it, own it, enjoy it…

Me & Dad

 “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…”   Romans 12:6

I have spent the last 2 years on a personal spiritual journey that has brought me to re-examine everything in my life.  I have read countless books and searched the scriptures.  I have allowed God to search me, correct me, shape me and lead me.

Much of what I hear from our post-modern spiritual and cultural experts, both excites me and concerns me.  Whether its traditional, denominational, emergent, missional, mega church, meta church, house church or something you are afraid of labeling for fear of really defining yourself: One thing is for sure; it misses the point.  Life is not in the “how” but in the “WHO”!

This does not mean we cannot discover or learn from those who are exploring different ways and maybe more effecient ways of doing Church, however, it will never change that we are to “BE” the Church.  The concerning thing is the focus on the newest and best way to do church.  The form.  This has led many such expert who consider themselves out front pioneering the brave new way, to say to all those who have gone before them, “I have found the right way.  God is no longer in the old way.”  Now many have said they are not saying that, while leaving you with no option from their writings to conclude otherwise.  They just don’t say the words.

I am excited that despite the need to write books, do lecture and blog saying “I found the new form of things to come”, these and so many others are wanting a much deeper intimacy with Jesus and a greater impact in the world.  Here in the west we have continued to model a pursuit for intimacy but continue to go around the world trying to establish western christian church forms.  Last I checked various worship music styles were difficult to pull off in the Congo.

Let’s be honest with ourselves and fully embrace the journey we are on.  Just because God begins to move me in a particular direction does not mean that everyone is supposed to jump on board or get left behind.  We all have a tendency when God shows us something and leads us to follow Him , especially as leaders, that we really think we’ve found the newest and best thing and maybe the new move of God.  Care must be taken to keep focused on what’s important.  There will continue to be great diversity in the how’s of our journey but the Who needs to remain the central focus and the aim of our affection.

We all need a place to land where we find the thing God has for us, especially as leaders.  Find it, embrace it and lead.  Do it with all your heart.  Don’t worry so much how others are doing it.  I don’t believe God created so much diversity in His body only for us to discover a new form of how to do things and tell the rest of the body, “You need to do it our way.”  We’d all get pretty tired walking on our hands or make everyone else in the body mad for being an @$$. “Yes I said it. Sue me!”

My brother puts it this way:

“Find the thing you love and do it!”   Scott Hobbs

If you love singing hymns – sing hymns.  If you love small groups – do it.  If you love evangelism, knocking on doors, cold calling – do it. (This however in not my bag. But if yours, do it!)

Folks find your thing and do it to the Praise and Glory of God!

Embrace it and own it and enjoy it with everyone who loves the same thing.  God is Big enough to handle the uniqueness and diversity of His body.  After all He made it that way and places the member where He desires.

My ramblings for the day.

Going Missional…

I read an article this morning that made me think about the many trips I’ve taken with my family.  When we pack the car to go to Grandmom and Pop’s house for Christmas with a family of five, packing becomes an art form if not an engineering miracle.  If you ask my wife, I am the worst at taking less.

If you have flown lately you understand the value of less is more.  Less baggage means more $$$$ in your wallet since they charge extra for each bag now.  Not to mention less baggage to lug through the airport.  We are having to learn how to travel light.

In the Fall 2008 issue of Leadership magazine, Skye Jethani, managing editor shares these thoughts:

Nothing to Declare (but the Gospel)

“To declare the gospel in a culture where fewer people are likely to step foot in a church means valuing swiftness over bigness, agility over security.  This means smaller, missional communities with less baggage may be better equipped to advance the gospel than some larger churches burdened by their programming and overhead.

Does this mean we should abandon all our institutional baggage?  Of course not.  But like a smart traveler, conditions today require us to be more discerning about what to take on our journey, and what to leave behind.”   (pg 5.)

What do you think?

I need your feed back.  So please leave your comments and questions.  Help create some dialogue here.

The Future of the Church?

What is the future of the Church in America?   How are we reaching the men of our culture?   Where are the good soldiers?

There is a shifting going on in our churches and culture causing people to long and looking for something more. Some have a growing discontent and a division is happening between those who want to attend church and those who are looking to be the church. There is a battle to strip away the dependency on an institutional church to find the all sufficient living Lord Jesus and thus revealing a glorious church made in His image. These are incredible times we live in and we have an awesome opportunity to raise up men of God, good soldiers, to lead the way.

Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill shares this great message about the church and church planting.