SimpleChurch Journal

Keeping the Awe of God as the Main Thing

My son, Richard, has written a beautiful post over on his blog called “When My Soul Sings.”  He reminds us that a primal awe towards God must always and forever remain at the heart of all that we are and all that we do.  There is no other starting point for walking out a real, authentic, vibrant life of faith in Jesus.

I have so many questions.... But when the veil of dirt is blown aside and I catch a glimpse of You, even just the momentary, fleeting sight of You moving... I am frozen in my tracks, and can only speak softly, “What are You?”

Actually, excerpts do not do this post justice so go ahead and read it, then let’s discuss how we can keep this type of awe-filled reality alive in our own walk!

2011 National House Church Conference

My favorite conference of the year is coming up, Labor Day Weekend, in Florida.  This year it’s entitled “Momentum: Basics and Beyond.”

Here is a brief description:

We have recruited keynote speakers who are on the front line of the global house church movement! Neil Cole, Frank Viola, and Wolfgang Simpson are pioneers who have each written multiple books on organic church.

Breakout sessions at Momentum provide practical information along with proven techniques and tools for creating a vibrant and growing organic church. Whether you are brand new to organic church, part of a large church wanting to plant organic churches, or a house church veteran, Momentum has breakout sessions created especially for you. Learn what other successful churches around the country are doing to promote spiritual development, discipleship, community involvement, and growth.

Read more and sign up here!

The Power of Community in the Midst of Personal Crises

Because some of you do not read my other ramblings where I have shared on our recent loss of our son, I wanted to just mention it and let you know you can read more here if you would like.

I do want to say, in keeping with this blog’s topic (simple church), that our life during this difficult season, has been richly supported by the kind of authentic, caring, compassionate friends (both local, cyber, and around the world) that one hopes to see in all of our Christian communities.  It certainly speaks loudly to me of the significance of building our spiritual families with the intentional, relational building blocks of true love and care for one another.  I have deep gratitude toward all of you: my family of brothers and sisters.

Time for "The Course" Again

It’s been almost a year since I have been able to offer the online course called “Simple/House Church Revolution.”  But… now is the time and the course begins August 23.

• It’s fun (I think).
• It’s interactive with lots of opportunity to share and hear from others who are on a similar journey.
• It provides a lot of great material that challenges our perspectives and paradigms in order to help us shape our own non-traditional journey.
• It can even be life-changing as it can set our course as pursuers of Jesus in the context of simple church life.

Who is this course for?  It’s ideal for those who are newly exploring simple/house churches or who are in the process of starting simple/house churches or networks of simple/house churches.

Read more of the description here.  No need to journey alone!

NOTE: Only 15 total spaces available so it’s first come, first served.