SimpleChurch Journal aka House Church Blog

Community as Family

I am convinced that our communal Christian life must contain elements of both mission and authentic family.  There is often a tension between these two: the need to be missional and focused outward and the need to be a family that is concerned for one another.  Perhaps this tension is because we miss the point: both family and mission provide the opportunity for us to learn how to love for the sake of others.

I so appreciate Ruth Lang’s post on “family” (as in spiritual family) that I want to share some quotes:

Being born again means a huge family change! Being born again just can't be viewed in any other way. It's a drastic family change…

Love is the defining factor in our birth and relationship within this new family. When love is the one and only defining factor, the result is ultimately a weaving of our lives together, deeply into other people's lives. This weaving is out of genuine love and concern. This type of family interacts genuinely and therefore loves deeply every day of the week, (definitely not out of religious obligation). {Certainly it does not interact just a few times a week at some neat "services". If we would be honest, this interaction is really basically for self: so that we can feel better firstly about ourselves, then possibly secondly about others} That whole analogy that we read where Jesus talks of this concept of losing our lives for others ... we hear this over and over in the Bible, but in truth, this is something that can only begin to happen when we understand this idea of family in His Kingdom. Love in His family is love that is for the sake of others vs the retaining and reassurance of self. It is a huge shift…

Right doctrines, good deeds, and/or being able to articulate and interpret religious truths, such as how and when we should "do Church". These things are meaningless in any one and all of us, if we don't understand the simple truth of truly being birthed into His family and love within His family. We let our lives reflect this love for His family, 24/7.

This biblical practice of “family” is in many ways at the heart of mission.  Jesus said the world would be attracted to us by our lifestyle and our love for one another.  When mission and family-life are both practiced in the context of developing love for others, then, perhaps, they become perfect compliments.

You can read Ruth’s entire post here.

Read or add your own comments here.

Testimony From Kenya - House Church Unity Protects Christians

Two weeks after we left Kenya, in December, rioting broke out following a presidential election due to accusations of vote-rigging and cheating.  In case you have not seen the news on this, you can catch up here.

We have been heart-broken to hear some of the stories that our Kenyan friends have shared with us:

There is real challenge here now that the post election violence continues.  People continue to be killed, their houses burnt, and property destroyed. Several families have run to our home for refuge.

There is a woman who ran to us with 7 month twins.  Her husband was hacked to death, her house burnt, she ran with machete cuts on her head.  She arrived at our place hungry, with hungry children nearly dying.

BUT, in the midst of this, we also received this report from Dawson Mudenyo who has been involved with house churches for a little over a year:

Hello Brother Roger,

Greetings from Kenya. We are doing great and going strong. I have a testimony to share with you. Yesterday we visited a refugee camp where the displaced are staying. More than 10 families from some house churches we had started shared with us their story. No one was hurt or killed from their house churches.  They had learned to live together as family and their fellowship was more of a family worship than congregational worship.

When the skirmishes started, every one thought about protecting the other one in their church family. While other people were planning to come and burn their houses unaware and even kill them, one of them who was from the tribe that planned to attack, came and shared with the others and prepared them for what was about to happen.  As a church family they all worked together to ensure that no life or property that belonged to them was damaged.  They all escaped unhurt and are now living in one camp and continuing with house church fellowship as before. They say house church taught them how to live together as family. They take care of one another.

To understand the true nature of this miracle one has to understand the tribal tension that underlies the violence.  This display of inter-tribal unity among Christians is an exciting triumph of God’s power over evil!

Read or add your own comments here.

Church in Starbucks Five-Days-a-Week

Jan Cowles talks about a new believer who started out in a house church and then started one with her boyfriend a few months later.  Then, while reading her Bible at a Starbucks another person asked her what she was doing and then joined her, along with a third person, to become a Starbucks house church.  They now meet five days a week!

Read more of Jan’s stories and insights here.

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Suggestions from a Consumer-Driven Church-Goer

An excerpt from a fun post by Bill Kinnon:

I’m a consumer.

So. You want me in your church. Here’s how to get me.

1. Parking. I need lots of space for my big SUV. And it better be close to the doors. Don’t want to do much walking. So if it isn’t - how about a shuttle.

2. Nice Building. This is important. I’m not interested in some strip mall church that looks like it’s struggling. Or an old traditional church - unless you've done millions in renos. I’m an upwardly model semi-professional. I want my surroundings to reflect my importance.

3. Proper HVAC. This isn’t important. It’s critical. I want to be cool when it’s warm and warm when it’s cool. 68ºF to 72ºF - year round. Is that too much to ask.

4. Comfy chairs. And when I say chairs, I mean chairs. Preferably theater-style. With wide arm rests. Give me some space for my girth - and safe distance from the other arriving consumers.

More here.

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Building Ministry on Jesus Rather than on Men’s Personalities

A quote from Oswald Chambers that speaks for itself:

When we say, "What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!" then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32 ).  From His Utmost for His Highest.

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It's a Way of Life Not a Service to Attend

I often say that we need to get the focus off of the structure of our church gatherings or who our leaders are or what movement we are part of and onto the lifestyle that we, who are organically connected to the Vine-Jesus, are meant and empowered to live.

Our church-gatherings are meant to support believers who are fully released into the life of intimacy with Jesus, listening to Jesus, following the adventurous Jesus, and laying down their lives for His life and purposes.  When these types of believers gather, wherever and however, life will happen.  When these types of believers go, life will be imparted.

I love the way Tom Wymore speaks of this dynamic lifestyle and reminds us of Jesus’ tendency to be a “sinner magnet.”

I was headed to Luke 15, the story of the Lost Son, because Papa had been speaking to me about how to avoid becoming like the older brother. I was arrested by the Holy Spirit, however, as I read the first two verses of the chapter. I have always known that Jesus was called "the friend of sinners" and was truly a "sinner" magnet, but somehow the contrast between Him and how Christians are perceived by pre-Christians today became more real today than ever before.

Luke 15:1-2 says, "Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (NIV) As I read these two lines this morning I was struck by how completely different Christians have generally become from Jesus! When was the last time we heard of "sinners" constantly gathering around a Christian to listen to him/her? I live in Colorado Springs, a city so badly divided between churched and unchurched people that it's best not to pray over a meal in a restaurant with your head bowed and where some of the more popular bumper sticker is "Focus on your own damn family!" or a fish symbol with "sushi" for the letters, etc. How ironic that the city with the highest percentage of churched people in Coloradois also the city known among unbelievers as a bad place to live!

So what happened? I find myself often asking Jesus, "How did those whom you love so much, over whom you and your angels rejoice when they return to you more than over us, become my enemy? The answer, of course, lies somewhere in the terrible definition that the "church" has given to what it means to be a Christ follower. If being a follower of Jesus means that we merely join a club and take sides, then of course there are those who are "in" and those who are "out."  But if to follow Jesus means that we are joined in intimacy with Him and His heart, then we will also become sinner magnets, exuding His love, presence and power so consistently and powerfully that people who don't know Him will want to hang around us.

You can read his entire post here.

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U.S. Conferences in 2008

Someone recently asked me if I knew of any U.S. house church conferences in 2008. I know of the following.  Please use the link below to add comments regarding other conferences that you are aware of anywhere.   

1. Southern California in February is the Organic Church Movements Conference (Neil Cole): http://www.cmaresources.org/conference/ 

2. Central California in the Spring is our own SimpleChurch Conference.  We have not set a date for it yet but you can see what we are doing here: http://www.simplechurchconference.com/      

3. Over Labor Day weekend (September), House2House always has the national house church conference. Stay in touch with them here: http://www.house2house.com/

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The Virus Can No Longer Be Contained

My wife, Brooks, wrote the following observations following our return from a ministry trip in Kenya:

The Revolution is happening – it’s happening all over the world.  We are in a Reformation.  Acknowledge it or not.  Be a part of it or not.  Jesus longs for his church to come alive, to become a living, breathing, organism.  He longs for us to be in a real, live, intimate relationship with Him, regardless of others – and then in real, live relationship with our families – earthly and spiritual.  And, He’s begging us to come alive, be who we are as individuals, alive and free in Him, telling the world who and what He has done for us.

While visiting Kenya recently, I saw a part of the world that is saturated with Christianity.  However, like many of us, the church there is dull to true life in Christ.  We are like dead men walking.  We depend on evangelists, teachers, preachers, and prophets to experience God, to hear from God, to learn from God, to have that deep relationship with God and then to tell us all about it.  We are lazy, apathetic, and very content to have second-hand relationship with Him.  We are insecure.  We are busy and exhausted from seeking relationship with other people and other things first.  Or, we believe our relationship with God is second-rate to someone else’s and so we put our relationship with Him aside and live out our lives through someone else’s relationship with Jesus.  Jesus is calling us out.  He is calling his disciples out.  As Felicity Dale refers to in her book, An Army of Ordinary People, He is forming an army and He is calling for soldiers to join the ranks! 

What I saw in Kenya, I see in America and I see in other parts of the Christianized world.  The enemy accepts that Christianity is in the world – real, strong, alive Believers in Christ.  But, if he can just contain us, keep us from contaminating others, there’s little to worry about.  If he can contain us in buildings, then the world will not know the truth and few will be set free.  But what I saw in Kenya, I also see in America and other parts of the world.  The virus is leaking.  The Reformation of the 21st Century, led by the Holy Spirit, is taking Christianity out of containers into the open spaces of the neighborhoods and nations of the world.  The virus of Jesus Christ’s love and resurrection power is leaking into the world.  Disciples of Christ are no longer content in the restraints made by man, they hunger to hear what their Master is saying.  The virus is gaining momentum and it is intensifying.  There is, indeed, a revolution happening and it’s happening all over the world!

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Without a Vision, People Perish

This statement, from Proverbs 29:18 (“Where there is no vision, the people perish”) is used over and over to put forth a corporate church vision by “church leadership” asking everyone to fall into line and support “what God is doing” in the church.  I have used this verse myself in just this way.

How freeing to the Body of Christ to discover that every believer can reach for the vision and calling that God has placed in his/her own heart and fulfill the destiny of a life shaped and sent by the Creator.

Yet, I am finding that the verse is still applicable.  If believers do not seek out and open themselves to God’s vision for their life, they often do become rudderless and begin to drift in their spiritual life.

Sometimes, as people transition out of more structured churches where the corporate vision is provided by leadership, they do not transition into a sense of personal vision and do, at times, become spiritual drifters.

This is a conversation we are introducing at some of our churches this year.  Having transitioned out of a corporately assigned vision, have we transitioned into a personal vision for our lives and spiritual family… or have we found ourselves adrift?  What, if anything, do we want to do about this?

Share some comments with us if you have had a similar experience or have had this type of conversation in your simple church.

Practical Tools: Questions for Participatory Bible Study

I love the following questions from Ray Kemp that can be used to involve every person in exploring a passage of Scripture together.  After reading the passage through, each person can share:

1. What did you hear?
2. What does it mean to you today (in your life)?
3. What does it cost you to live this message?

A.W. Tozer wrote: "Though God... has provided answers to our questions concerning Him, the answers by no means lie on the surface.  They must be sought by prayer, by long meditation on the written Word, and by earnest and well-disciplined labor.”  The power of participatory Scripture study is that every believer learns how to read and explore God’s word rather than rely on a few preachers to study and hand out truths to the many.

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