SimpleChurch Journal

Inward Focused or Outward Living?

The question about house churches being inward and not reaching out came up in some recent comments that I wanted to bring to the forefront.

My friend, Mark, commented:

When reading Dan Kimball's post and the comments, he makes a very valid point about the necessity of house churches reaching the lost. How has your experiences been in this regard? Dan seems to have a pretty jaded view of house churches as being inward and non growing. Is this a pretty valid perspective?

Here is the response that I offered Mark... and I would love to hear comments from others as well:

Hi Mark... Good to hear from you.

In regards to house churches reaching the lost... I continue to learn myself... but I would like to say that churches do not reach the lost. Followers of Jesus reach the lost. Whether we gather in churches or in buildings, the gatherings themselves are not the focal point for outreach (in my opinion). I doubt if few unbelievers were reached, in the New Testament, while the believers were sharing meals house to house. However, MANY unbelievers were reached when the believers took the love and power of the Gospel out into the world.

So, yes, our house churches can easily become inward... if we are merely transplanting Christians from church buildings to house buildings. For me, the challenge is not to do church differently, but to learn, as Christians, what it means to BE the church all day, every day, taking Kingdom life, love, and power wherever we go. House churches, hopefully, are just a simple way to facilitate community life for those going-Kingdom-minded Christians.

Is that happening for us? Yes and no. No, not as much as I would love to see. Yes, it is happening to some extent and growing. I always start with myself... Am I reaching out the way that I want and feel called to be? That is the first question. Let me consider it... I currently go to a small restaurant that locals hang out at in which I am well known and through which God gives me opportunities to minister to the lost. I have recently been invited to join an "investment group" (long story--believe me, I am not some major "investor") through which I am building relationships and sharing my spiritual story. I am also, currently, praying about the next Person of Peace that God will show me to start a new church alongside. In fact, I realized today that one of those guys in that investment group could well be a person of peace.

So... that's my input on the subject of reaching out. Like I said, we are still learning... and I love to hear others tell their stories of living kingdom in the marketplace. This is really the heart of BEING the church, much more so than how or where we gather.

More Barna: "Revolution"

Here is an excerpt from Barna's pre-manuscript called "Revolution":

As we journey together, I want to show you what our research has uncovered regarding a growing sub-nation of people, already well over 20 million strong, who are what we call Revolutionaries.

What "established systems" are they seeking to "overthow or repudiate" and "thoroughly replace," in Webster's words?

They have no use for churches that play religious games, whether those games are worship services that drone on without the presence of God or ministry programs that bear no spiritual fruit.  Revolutionaries eschew ministries that compromise or soft sell our sinful nature to expand organizational turf.  They refuse to follow people in ministry in leadership positions who cast a personal vision rather than God's, or who seek popularity rather than the proclamation of truth in their public statements, or who are more concerned about their own legacy than that of Jesus Christ.  They refuse to donate one more dollar to man-made monuments that mark their own achievements and guarantee their place in history.  The are unimpressed by accredited degrees and endowed chairs in Christian colleges and seminaries that produce young people incapable of defending the Bible or unwilling to devote their life to serving others.  And Revolutionaries are embarrassed by language that promises Christian love and holiness but turns out to be all sizzle and no substance.

In fact, many Revolutionaries have been active in good churches that have biblical preaching, people coming to Christ and being baptized, a full roster of interesting classes and programs, and a congregation packed with nice people.  There is nothing overtly wrong with anything taking place at such churches.  But Revolutionaries innately realize that it is just not enough to go with the flow.  The experience provided through their church, although better than average, still seems flat.  They are seeking a faith experience that is more robust and awe-inspiring, a spiritual journey that prioritizes transformation at every turn, something worthy of the Creator whom their faith reflects...

Revolutionaries zealously pursue an intimate relationship with God, which Jesus Christ promised we could have through Him...

In this book I will describe what The Barna Group has learned about this under-the-radar but seminal renaissance of faith that will remake the religious contours of this country over the coming quarter-century.

Barna goes on to predict the complete re-shaping of the way people experience "church" in America:

Whereas "Christian community" has generally been limited to the relationships facilitated within a congregation, the Revolution is bursting open the walls of the worldwide Church to birth a truly international network of relationships...

The U.S. will see a reduction in the number of churches, as presently configured (i.e. congregational-formatted ministries).  Church service attendance will drop...  Donations to churches will drop...  Churches' already limited political and cultural influence will diminish even further at the same time that Christians will exert greater influence through more disparate mechanisms.  Fewer church programs will be sustained in favor of more communal experiences among Christians...

To some, this will sound like the Great Fall of the Church.  To Revolutionaries, it will be the Great Reawakening of the Church.  New scenarios do not mean mayhem and dissipation.  In this case, they represent a new day in which the Church can truly be the Church--different than what we know today, but more responsive to and reflective of God.

When I consider how widely read Barna is by traditional church leaders, I predict this book (due out in October) will rock some worlds.

The New Revolutionaries

I have so much to write, having returned from the House Church conference in Denver, and so little time right now.  One highlight was Thom Black, from the Barna Research Group, who shared some incredible facts about what is happening in the church of America.  I will quote from Wolfgang Simson (who was at the conference) who summarized this information in his Friday Fax:

"Revolution", George Barna's new book, will be published in September. Barna leads a church research institute, and is currently the most-quoted person in the Christian church in the USA because of his statistical work. To summarize the book's most important conclusions:

    * The number of Christians attending local church in the USA is declining
      rapidly. Today, 70% of Christians attend traditional churches, but this
      will sink to 30-35% in 20 years;
    * The number of followers of Jesus who do not attend a local church will
      grow from 30% to 70% in the next 20 years;
    * Alternative fellowship forms (house church/simple church, post-modern
      churches etc.), currently home for 5% of USA Christians, will grow to
      make up 30-35%; another 30-35% will live out their faith in the fields
      of media, arts and culture; the remaining 5% of Christians attending
      non-traditional forms of church will have a family-based spiritual life;
    * Conclusion: a minority group presently not even noticed by many will
      become the mainstream of North American Christianity in only two
      decades.

We received a pre-manuscript of this book and it will rock the church world.  Barna describes this growing group of Christians that no longer attend traditional churches as "revolutionaries."  He goes on to describe them in a very positive light.  I will follow with more quotes when I have the chance.

"Live Blog" from the Denver Conference

My friend, Bill Reed, is blogging session-by-session from the Denver House Church Conference.  He set up a blogsite just for this purpose.  Stay tuned to it here.