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

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.

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.