SimpleChurch Journal

Walking Butterflies

I believe we have seen a profound movement, over the past decade or two, of people metamorphosing out of religious mindsets and structured church settings into a greater freedom in Christ.

However, I sense that many who have become butterflies do not fully know how to use their wings. There could be a host of people who are no longer caterpillars, whose wings are full of life, yet continue to walk because, for a variety of reasons, they are not ready to embrace the purposes God has called them to in their freedom. They are the walking butterflies.

Just a thought.

Here are some possible reasons why people may not yet be flying.

1. Some are still looking for another butterfly to hand them the external model for ‘how to do church.’ We are so accustomed to others showing us ‘the way’ that we continue looking for the ‘simple church manual’ or the ‘organic church step-chart’ that will give us the exact system to follow. In other words, some are not ready to trust that Jesus can speak to and lead them personally without someone else’s blueprint.

2. Some do not trust that God can help them connect with their unique destiny and Kingdom purpose. Or, perhaps more to the point, some are not willing to take the risk to step out into their own special Kingdom purpose and destiny. It’s just easier to lose themselves in lesser focuses.

3. Some still devalue themselves and/or their calling as being less significant than that of others.

4. Some avoid the silence and have not taken the time to seek God deeply in those quiet places where He can speak profoundly to them and give them the confidence as well as direction needed to move out and fly.

By the way, butterflies that never fly, never reproduce. Maybe as we all find ourselves and our courage, we will see a whole new generation of butterflies begin to emerge!

Lives Change When the Church Gets Outside of Its Walls

Brooks does a wonderful job of describing the changed lives of women in Burundi.  These stories are the direct result of the church moving outside of the walls of church life and meeting people in the hard places of real struggles.

We are still traveling in Africa and this is from our travel blog:

I wish you could have been there. Some of them dressed in what we would call rags; some in brightly colored beautiful African dresses; each with a smile, a knowing peace, a joy they had never known before. They told of this lady or that coming to them and telling them about Someone who had answers for their lives, Someone who had hope and love for them. Not only did they tell about this Savior, but they showed them in a physical way a kind of love and caring they had not known.

Here are just a few of their stories. Many were the same: lives of scraping by at best for a marginal existence for themselves and their children, sickness, prostitution, the death of at least one or more of their children, alcoholism, and/or rejection, abandonment by their husbands, if they had ever had one. Yet, each one told a story of redemption and grace and love. Meet just some of these ladies...

Read more here.

 

When to Take New Disciples 'To Church'

Guy Muse has an excellent article on "What does Scripture actually say about the church, the Bride of Christ?"

He writes:

One of the most common questions I am asked in church planting training is: at what point do we start taking the new believers to church? This question always frustrates me, but I understand the paradigm struggle many face with house churches being "real churches."

The response I am tempted to give is, "what I hear you asking is at what point do we stop making disciples, and allow them to just start attending church services?" Of course, I bite my tongue before saying this, but it reflects the difficulty we have of understanding the who, what, when, where, and why of the true nature of the New Testament ekklesia.

Read more here.