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Worship within the context of the small, intimate, simple church gathering is one of my favorite subjects.  I love the type of worship I have come to experience within simple church. Don’t get me wrong.  I love the awesome, live music that sometimes accompanies the more performance-oriented big worship events.  I still enjoy, on rare…

There is a good article written by ABC News.  Following is an excerpt.  The complete article is here. Every Monday night, Meredith Scott and eight of her friends get together at one of their homes in St. Paul, Minn. They cook a meal, share what’s going on in their lives and pray together. But Scott…

This is an article worth summarizing, particularly if you have been a church-growth junky in your past life (as I have).  It is written by Ray Baumann: I used to be a Church Growth Hormone addict. For my first eight years in the ministry, I was on a daily diet of books and videos centered…

Call me sentimental, but this time of year seems like a good time to reflect on community life. Chris Marshall wrote: "I often say that church is not someplace you go but it’s a people you belong to." (Please share your own experiences with The Shared Life via comments below). I have had some awesome…

I have been looking for a book that provides some solid direction for those who are seeking to start a gathering that is particpatory and Spirit-led or who want to see their gathering supernaturally empowered in a greater way.  Joel Comiskey’s "The Spirit-Filled Small Group" fits this bill quite well. I wrote the following as…

Just a note of thanks to all who participated in the last post by sharing their deconstruction stories.  I have found it very, very fulfilling to get to know many of you in this way.  It’s amazing the diversity of backgrounds and experiences, yet the similarity of how God is working in moving his people…

I am looking for people’s stories of deconstruction from traditional church.  What caused you to begin looking at the way you were doing church?  What was the process you went through?  What were the difficulties you faced?  How was your thinking and understanding changed?  What has been the result in how you understand and experience…

I still remember the joy and freedom that came from stepping out of the institutional/organizational world of Christianity.  In fact, that sense of relief is still with me almost four years later.  John White forwarded a letter from a pastor recently out of a traditional church staff position:     As of midnight Saturday night…I…

We have invited some folk from our community who are interested in learning a little more about the "house church movement" to join us for some coffee and discussion.  It has provoked me to reflect again on the basics which I always find to be an invigorating and useful exercise. So, if you do not…

I want to follow up on the last post on leadership with some quotes from an article given to me by Mike Steele (Dawn Ministries).  I must confess that Mike may (or may not) be the author of the article (I will be checking with him to find out).  –NOTE: I AM ADDING THIS TO…