SimpleChurch Journal aka House Church Blog

Spirit-Led Gatherings

Notes to some friends on Spirit-led gatherings:

“If we will learn to hear and follow His promptings, we will never have a boring meeting (Felicity Dale).”

I believe we all want to see our gatherings fueled by the Holy Spirit’s leading and empowerment.  It is good to remind ourselves some of the ways that we can help facilitate this.

1. Relax.  This is not a performance-oriented event.  In our past church-life we gauged the value of our gatherings by how “good” the church-event was.  We have grown past that.  Our church-life, now, is about being the church everyday, living a 24/7 lifestyle, and about being part of a community of people whom we love and share life with.  We don’t look to the gathering to be the “big event” that will make up for our own lack of relationship with God.  So, we can relax and enjoy whatever God does in our midst.

2. Come to give as well as receive.  This is not meant to pressure anyone, but just a reminder that when we gather we are not “consumers” looking to someone else to mediate our God-experience or “bring the goods.”  Instead, we are part of an interactive community.  We come prepared, whenever possible, to share our current story and use our spiritual gifts to bless and encourage others.

3. Pause.  Take time in the gathering to just sit and wait on the Holy Spirit.  This teaches the entire group to practice listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit:

“The New Testament church was not only the dwelling place for the presence of God, it was also a learning center for the language of the Holy Spirit. People not only worshipped God in church, but they were equipped to hear him, and after hearing God, they were able to give something to someone that would build them up (Jack Deere).”

This takes time to develop.  Pausing, listening, allowing people to express what they believe the Holy Spirit is saying, this allows our gatherings to become more and more receptive to the Spirit’s promptings.

4. Pay attention to the flow.  “God wants everything to be done peacefully and in order… (1 Cor. 14:33).”  This verse is speaking to believers who are gathering together and simply indicates that there is a natural, orderly flow to His leading.  In other words, if the Spirit is leading in one direction, pay attention to that direction and don’t interrupt with something that does not fit in.  Perhaps later in the gathering it will!

5. Prepare.  Many times the Spirit will lead some or all of the participants to prepare ahead of time.  This may be something to talk about at the end of a gathering: “What does God want to do the next time we are together?”  “Are there some pieces that we know God wants us to prepare to bring?”  The Holy Spirit works through structure as well as spontaneity.  We want to make room for both.

6. Be adventurous.  We are learning to dance with a creative, adventurous God.  We can step out and try new things.  We are in a safe place to make mistakes, experiment, learn, and try again.  And as we do, as we learn to gather in Spirit-led groups, we will be part of a great harvest of people who will be prepared to take simple church—and God’s powerful presence—into homes, neighborhoods, marketplaces, and villages any time and everywhere.

SimpleChurch Conference in California

I want to mention our own “SimpleChurch Conference” we are hosting, October 12-14, in San Luis Obispo, California.

We are not making a big “to-do” about this as we are intentionally keeping it small (35 or so people) so that it can be interactive and experiential.

However… if you know of anyone that might be interested, particularly people who are new to simple/house church, please do pass the word along.

All of the details can be found here: http://www.simplechurchconference.com/

Flyer download: Download SCCFlyerB.doc

Why Are We Doing This?

Sometimes it’s helpful to step back and ask the question: “Why are we doing this house church / simple church thing?”

Fame?  Fortune?  Prestige?  Probably not!

Is it because this is the “Scripturally correct” thing to do?  Well… I do think Scripture has something to say about the primary church gathering being small, simple, family-style, and home based.  Paul repeated this type of statement a number of times: “Please give my greetings to the church that meets in their home.”  (Romans 16:5)

And, well, I do see Scripture pointing significantly to participatory gatherings, as per 1 Corinthians 14:26.

On the other hand, I do not see the overall tenor of the New Testament church as being one that focused heavily on “the form” or “the model” of church.  Church, the people of God, is simply believers living an everyday lifestyle of worship, service, obedience, loving others, etc, etc.  Yes, they gathered to bless and encourage one another, but, honestly, the form of these gatherings was not addressed with great emphasis.  I think it was assumed that if Christians lived passionately for God, then gatherings would happen quite easily, organically, and… often very simply.

So… why do we do this house church / simple church thing?

Alan Creech says that we need to understand and do church differently because there is a “deep lack of real transformation going on in the Body of Christ.”  I think this statement sheds some additional light. 

But, I would add more.  Yes, there is a Scriptural basis for small intimate gatherings.  Yes, there is a need for deeper transformation in the Body of Christ.

And… overall… we want to participate with God in His life and in His purpose on the earth.

So… here is my list:

I believe in gatherings that are small, because we need the support, encouragement, and deeper growth that comes from this type of community.

I believe in gatherings where everyone is known so that no one gets lost.

I believe in gatherings where we can learn from each other’s personal lives and stories (not just head knowledge) so that growth and discipleship takes place in the context of genuine, healthy relationship.

I believe in gatherings that are participatory because this involves and engages the entire body of Christ.

I believe in gatherings that call the body of Christ to take responsibility for its own spiritual life and stop relying on mediators, events, or someone else to “bring us the goods” because we need to grow up.

I believe in gatherings that are simple so that we are free to spend time with nonChristians and have the time to invite them into our lives.

I believe in gatherings that are easily multiplied, so that we can see people released to reach people anywhere, disciple people everywhere, and start “churches” at any time in any place.

I believe in gatherings that are inexpensive so that money is freed up for apostolic workers and the needs of the poor.

I guess that’s it!

Is there one particular “model” that all of this fits into?  I think God will constantly challenge, stretch, and re-shape our man-made attempts to “do” church gatherings.  And I think that is okay.  The point is to keep focusing on maximizing our life with Him, our partnership with His purposes, and our spiritual growth.

And, for me for now, this means keeping the whole dog-gone thing simple, simple, simple.