SimpleChurch Journal

Kingdom Movements in the USA

The excellent magazine, Mission Frontiers, has devoted an entire issue (available online) to movements in western contexts, specifically the USA. Some of the articles are good for sparking ideas and dreams of what can happen as God releases his church ‘out of the building’ and into the process of making disciples and gathering simply. And, isn’t it interesting how many traditional worshipers are, in fact, out of their buildings at this time!

The lead editorial is titled: “Movements Can Happen Here Too, If We Are Willing to Work for Them.” Here are a couple of highlights:

The model of ministry pursued by most churches in the U.S. where we go to a big building once a week, sing a few songs, listen to a sermon, go home, forget what was said in the sermon and then repeat this process week after week, is killing the Church in America and everywhere else it is exported. At best the Bible-believing Church in America is barely holding its own and is likely in a slow decline with an increasing number of people moving into the “no faith” category. We are losing the culture to increased secularism, biblical illiteracy and moral decline. We are also often losing our own kids to unbelief. The status quo is unacceptable.

The doing-church-as-usual crowd may be comfortable with a Christian faith that requires little of them and provides the worship experience they are looking for, but this model of doing church is leaving the great majority of lost souls untouched and the surrounding culture unchanged.

Employing an attractional approach to ministry in the hope that the unsaved will come in the door of your church, hear the gospel and be saved is at best a passive approach to ministry that leaves most of the unchurched, untouched. According to Barna research, two-thirds of the unchurched have been to church and do not wish to return. Creating all sorts of new programs in the hope of attracting them will not work. We need a new strategy.

Instead of asking the unchurched to come, why not equip your church members to go and make disciples of their friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances? People who will not darken the door of your church will very likely respond positively to an invitation to dinner at a friend’s home where the gospel may be sensitively shared. They may even respond well to an invitation to see what the Bible says about God.

This, for me, captures the heart of what I refer to as “simple church.” Not a different way to 'do church’ but a lifestyle that is primarily outside the confines of buildings and traditions where believers are interacting with, loving, and reaching those who are far from God. It is not so much a strategy as a Jesus way-of-life. Simple, reproducible, engaging organically with people, gathering for growth and accountability, and motivated to join the Jesus-mission of doing the same with others.

Many of the articles are worth a look.

Christianity Today - Getting this Bit Right?

Jeff Christopherson writes an article in Christianity Today that is pointing in the right direction. You can read the full article here: When Culture Tilts Away from your Church.

Here are some highlights:

Thinking differently can be difficult. Our ruts testify to our staggering preferences for the familiar. Even if they slow us down to a creeping clamber, they’re ‘our ruts,’ and we prefer what we know.

But at some point, in our crawl, some of us look up and around and ask, “Is this familiar path that I’m traveling taking me where I need to go?”

...Few among us believe that we are still in the “golden age” of church growth, yet many of our systems are still calibrated with methodologies designed for a previous era. We prioritize launching worship experiences which bake in the preeminent consumeristic value of excellence with the principal metric of attendance...

When culture is tilted toward the church, we instinctively know what to do. We position ourselves as a preferred, or at least viable alternative. We welcome them in with a warm and sincere greeting. Hand them a nice gift bag with a quality T-shirt and a mug. Invite them to a casual meet and greet with the pastor. And get them to sign up for the new member’s class.

Its muscle memory for most of us.

But what happens when the culture is tilted away from the church? What do we do when there are only social disadvantages to our evangelical ties? What do we do when our golden era techniques no longer have an attraction?

Make no mistake, this is the current reality of our mission field.

But to that difficult question, there is some very good news. Much of the disciple-making within the majority world, and numerous immigrant and inner-city churches within North America, and the entirety of the book of Acts embodies three priorities that appear to be alien to our “golden-age” thinking – but serves as living proof to the Jesus-way of his community.

From here, Christopherson outlines three priorities the first of which is this:

We need a different kind of church. Rather than a hyper-focus on the gathering, we must prioritize equipping people for a disciple-making movement. Disciple-making is the goal, not a hopeful byproduct of the gathering. By decreasing our focus on the gatherings as an end, we now have the margin to increase our effort to make disciples who live vibrantly sent lives. We are no longer a church of the intentionally gathered and unintentionally scattered – but of the gathered and intentionally deployed.

Amen. This paragraph alone is worth reading the article for. Again, you can read the entire article here.

House2House Website

After a 10 year hiatus, it is very exciting to see the House2House website running again. Tony and Felicity Dale, along with others, first started a print magazine in 2000. Their subsequent website, books, and training have had a tremendous impact on our own simple/house church journey through the years. The current website has many invaluable resources!

From the website:

This is being written as we are in the middle of the crisis, and everything has been closed down, including church buildings. Many people are having church online. Although things will slowly begin to return to normal, the likelihood is that churches will not be able to reopen as they were for months, if not years. It therefore seemed expedient to make available the best of the resources that House2House has produced over the years, again to be a resource for those who are meeting in homes or online. The dynamics of a small group are very different to those of a large meeting with its professional musicians and pastors. Obviously, the majority of the materials were produced in pre-Covid days, but are easily adaptable to the current situation.

Take a look here!

Methods and Tools vs Prayer and Obedience

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25

Westerners love methods and tools. I see it in our churches where we plan programs and services that look much the same from one place to the next. I see it in our house churches where we want to know 'how things are done' and then implement accordingly as we seek to follow the methods that others tell us work. I also see it on the mission field where we focus on the currently popular missiological methods.

For example, people love to talk these days about disciple making and disciple making movements. The tools that are taught in this vein are the current 'way to do ministry' that all must follow in order to be 'successful.' In fact, as I travel around the globe, I find that DMM (disciple making movements), and the corresponding tools that are now taught, is the ONLY way that missions is to be done.

Don't get me wrong. I am a proponent of most of these tools and have helped many to implement them. I spend much time training these very methods to others!

BUT, we so often miss the real point in our reliance on the right tool, the right method, the right practice, and the right way to do ministry.

Let me share what an African woman told my wife. She and her husband are currently working with 1,000 disciples in their area who are actively reaching others. They expect to have 2,000 disciples meeting in house churches later this year and 4,000 by next year. My wife asked her some routine questions about her life and also probed about her spiritual life. This very humble woman spoke about her prayer life without any pride in her voice, "Naturally I am walking close to God and spending much in time in prayer. How else would we be seeing this kind of fruit?"

Oh, right! How else? How else is fruit born? How else is the Spirit released to work? How else is the work of God accomplished? You mean it's not all about methodology and programs?

The Issue is Always Love

I recently ran across this quote from Alan Hirsch:

"It is LOVE that is the final defense of the faith. Jesus actually expected no other kind of apologetic when he said that it is by our love that the world will know we are his disciples (Johns 13:34-35). Love is therefore the defining mark of authenticity."

One of the transformations that the church is going through is the metamorphosis into a new creation that has the motivation and ability to love with no strings attached.

Let’s be honest here, while Jesus said that his followers would be known by his love, this is frequently NOT the case.

Someone wise said:

Christians are re-discovering that the heart of the Jesus-way-of-life is not church attendance and a smug attitude toward others, rather it is truly embodying the love of Christ—anywhere and everywhere—in a world that is desperately in need of this love.  It is a type of reaching out that is marked by authentic concern for people. (Okay, I wrote this myself in Simple/House Church Revolution).

When Jesus-followers are known by their outbreaks of love towards a world in need, along with a clear Gospel message, we will again find a fertile environment for making disciples and our gatherings will be filled with vitality and excitement.

Easy to say. But it does require a transformation of our inner heart that can only happen by His grace and powerful love creating this ability and motivation in each of us.

Every Believer is a Church Planter

This is a reprisal of a post I wrote several years ago as a reminder that each one of us has an identity as Christ's ambassador, as a disciple-maker and, thus ultimately, as a church planter.

Several years ago, at a Verge conference, Alan Hirsch said: "Every believer is a church planter; and every church is a church planting church."

Now, let me say, that this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever… unless you have a Biblical understanding of the organic nature of church.

As long as we think of church as a meeting, a place, or an organized something, we will continually discount ourselves and others from being ‘church planters.’  But when we see that the church is a natural, organic expression of believers, who are connected to Jesus, expressing Him with others in a wide variety of ways, then we can begin to understand that Alan does speak the truth.

The church (we-folk) initiates new sprouts (planting) every time we initiate anything spiritual among any group of people, friends, or colleagues whether reached or lost or anything in between.  In fact, isn’t this what the church does?  We plant seeds of life into the lives of others.  This may be informal or formal.  It may start informal and become more formal.  It may start formal and become informal.  Whatever it looks like, the church (God’s people) continually plants seeds of Kingdom word and actions into the lives of others.  That is, simply, who we are.

I believe, to see this in our lives more clearly, we can do five things:

1.  Keep Jesus as our Source and Guide.  Sure, we can learn from others and need to, but organic life, by definition, flows out of our organic connection with Jesus Himself.

2.  Recognize that each of us plants seeds differently.  We need to honor who we are and the spiritual gifts God has given to each of us.  Some evangelize with their words, others show much compassion with their actions and by their love as well as words.  Some initiate things among larger groups of people, others with just one other individual.  Some of us are comfortable among youth, others among immigrants, etc.  Some of us are passionate about sowing among the least reached, others feel drawn to heal and mature existing believers.  I could go on and on.  The point is that the organic expression of ‘church’ is meant to take many different forms and have many different looks as each believer and group of believers takes the initiative to be seed planters in his/her own way.

3.  Get better at it.  Whichever way God uses us to plant seeds into the lives of others, we can grow into better farmers.  Learn from others, hone your skills and tools, and improve your work.  This does not mean that the goal is, necessarily, bigger and more impressive.  It may be just the one that we are called to at this time.  Great!  Plant well and seek fruitfulness!

4.  Build relationships around living out a divine connection with Jesus.  It’s not a formula, it’s a lifestyle you have developed that keeps you connected to Him, to His voice, and to His power.  You share this with others and help them experience this same connection.  This is called discipleship.  And when you gather together, in whatever setting, to experience God, this is called a church gathering.

5.  Finally, organic life reproduces itself.  However it is we are called to plant into the lives of friends, family, neighbors, other groups in other places—whatever it is we are doing—always invite those we touch to do the same.  In other words, whatever you do, reproduce yourself.  Thus ‘organic’ remains ‘alive.’

In short, plant Jesus as He leads you, and help those you plant seeds in to do the same.

Are You a Christian?

There is an older article by Wayne Jacobsen that raises issues still relevant for today. I would love to hear your take on it. You can read the whole article here while following are some excerpts:

"Are you a Christian?" I used to love it when someone on a plane asked me that question. "Absolutely," I'd answer, proud to be on the side of all that's good and right in the world. But over the last fifteen years, answering that question has become far more difficult...

So now when I'm asked the question today, I hedge a bit. "It depends on what you mean by 'Christian'," I often respond. If they are asking whether or not I am a faithful adherent of the religion called Christianity, I have to confess that I'm not. I'm not even trying to be. But if they are asking me if I am a passionate follower of Jesus, the answer would be an enthusiastic yes...

When the early believers were first called Christians, we don't know if it was a compliment or a mockery. We do know that they didn't invent the term for themselves. The culture called them "little christs" because they had found so much identity in following Jesus. Whatever spawned the term, those early believers adopted it for themselves and for 2,000 years it has been the dominant identifier for those who claim to follow Christ. But that might be changing.

Recent surveys show even believers are becoming uncomfortable with the term. At least in the United States it is increasingly used not for people who reflect the passion of Jesus in a broken world, but for adherents of a religion that has been built on a distortion of the life and teaching of Jesus, not necessarily it's reality. The results can be confusing.

Many of us came to faith enamored by the life and teachings of Jesus. We were promised a relationship with God but were handed a religion of doctrines we had to believe, rituals we had to observe, obligations we had to meet and a standard of morality to adopt. While most of those were true enough, many found that their attempts to follow them did not produce either the life of Jesus it promised, nor the reality of true, caring communities of faith…

I guess all of this begs the question, did Jesus intend to start a religion called Christianity, or did we do this to ourselves? I suspect the latter. I am wholeheartedly convinced that he came to end all religions, not by lashing out against them, but by filling up in the human spirit what religion promises to fill but never can. Religion seeks to manipulate human effort to earn God's approval, when such approval can never be earned…

I meet many believers and leaders who have a profound faith and are seeking healthy ways to communicate that journey with others. I rejoice in that, as I do the amount of compassionate aid that such groups share with the world in need. But too many people miss out on the life Jesus offered them by practicing it as a religion instead of growing to know him…

We live in a great day. The emptiness of tradition is being seen for what it is and people are hungering for the reality of relationship. Live there each day and there's no telling where that will take you or who you'll end up walking alongside as Jesus becomes your life.

You get the gist. Thoughts?

Digging Deeper into Intimacy with God

Since the Covid virus has altered our lives, I have posted about the possible opportunities of these times:

1. Virtual gatherings - developing our community life with online tools
2. Missional opportunities that may have arisen due to life uncertainties of those around us

But one of the obvious opportunities for many of us (not all) is the time to dig deeper into a more intimate life with God.

As with these previous posts, I mostly want to hear from you as we encourage one another what it means to refresh our relationship with God and go deeper.

Simple church / house church is not about a church model, rather a lifestyle that arises organically out of a person’s relationship with God.

If I can quote from myself in Simple/House Church Revolution:

Jesus did not invite us to follow a religion of rules, nor did he mandate an order of service or church structure to follow. He did ask us to follow him. Out of that flows all of the life, joy, and power that we need to live fully in him and for him…

We discover that there is no end to the depth of relationship that God desires with us and offers to us. Although we make many missteps on the journey into intimacy with Jesus—faltering, hesitating, becoming religious and proud, distancing, retreating—God never gives up on his quest to be close to us…

If I were to point to one great need for us, as God’s people, who desire to experience a deeper intimacy with God, it would be the need for more solitude out of which comes a more available listening heart…

What about you? Are you digging deeper and what has it looked like?

Finally, I do want to acknowledge that there are still many people who have less time than ever because they are serving in essential services or as frontline healthcare workers or have children at home. May we keep all such people/friends in our prayers!

Covid-19: Missional Opportunity?

Is it possible that we have been given the opportunity of a lifetime for people to respond to the Gospel? Does the uncertainty of our time create openness in people’s hearts like never before? It is certainly possible.

My question is, how are we responding to that? Especially given the unique circumstances of social distancing and a greater reliance on technology to communicate.

This post is more about asking questions than providing answers. I hope that you will share your experiences, ideas, and aspirations to reach people during this season.

Here are some of the universal principles that normally guide me.

• Pray, pray, pray.
• Sow abundantly. Look for new opportunities to both love and connect with others.
• Demonstrate the love of God.
• Always be ready to share the Gospel starting with your testimony/story.
• Make disciples using ‘discovery’ tools and teach them quickly to do the same with others.

And here are a couple of tools that have recently encouraged me: Turning Everyday Conversations into Gospel Conversations by Jimmy Scroggins, and the resources offered by No Place Left.

But what does all of this look like in our current, isolated contexts? Ideas? Thoughts? Recent experiences? What tools and/or methods are you using? What are you trying? What is working? Share with us!

Also, if you are looking to connect with others, virtually, who are specifically interested in encouraging mission among one another, use this form and check box "c" where the form asks you to "Choose the one that best describes your number one reason for meeting in a virtual house church."

Virtual House Church

I want to do three things:

1. Share some of my own experiences with house church via group video chat.
2. Invite you to share, if you have experience with virtual house church gatherings, by commenting at the end of the post.
3. Offer a form here where you can sign up if you want to find others who are interested in doing house church via group video chat. I make no promises that I will be able to connect you with others, but I will try. You can also use the same form if you already have your own group members but want some additional technical or practical help in doing a virtual house church

I have been meeting now with two different virtual groups and we are all learning.

Here are my thoughts so far.

I recommend 5 or 6 people as the maximum size. Moving conversation from one to the next takes some time and larger groups may become tedious. If you already have a larger group, you may want to divide it into two groups.

It is more important than ever to know the purpose of the group so that everyone has the same expectations and are on the same page. Is the group primarily to share in fellowship and be a place of prayer, care, and support for one another? Or is it primarily to provide an opportunity for discovery of the word of God together? Or is it primarily to be a base for planning and carrying out missions, works of compassion, and discipleship with an outward focus? Or a balance of all three?

Assuming that the modus operandi of the group is that all participate, it is important that there is a good facilitator who keeps the conversation moving, does not let one person dominate, and invites conversation from those who would, otherwise, remain quiet. The facilitator (who can rotate among the group, by the way), should be responsible to carry out the purpose of the group as mentioned in the previous paragraph.

In regards to technology, I have experience with Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts, and Skype. There are pros and cons to each and there are others, but they all serve the basic purpose of getting you face-to-face virtually with others.

If you have been doing or just starting a virtual house church group yourself, please do use the comments section to share:

• What technology are you using?
• Are you incorporating worship? If so, how?
• What are some of the challenges you have seen?
• Benefits?
• Anything else that might be helpful to the rest of us?

Finally, as I mentioned already, I will try to assist you if you want to connect virtually with others and do not have a group. OR, if you have a group of people but could use a little encouragement on how to get started. Either way, you can communicate with me here and I will do my best.