Category: Uncategorized

The last two posts have brought up the tension between being missional and building effective community.  I am continuing this discussion by mentioning an excellent article by Mark Van S in the new NextWave: You are church before you do church. This is one of the fueling insights of the missional church movement. This isn’t…

I find myself often caught between the two tensions of being missional while developing community life.  Both are vital.  Both are part of the calling of Christian living.  Neither one is mutually exclusive of the other.  I firmly believe that if we can balance these two we will see a unique synergism that will draw…

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…

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…

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…

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.

I’m off, tomorrow, for the House Church conference in Denver.  Hope to see many of you there… will miss those of you who can’t be present. I’m looking forward to both Rolland Baker and Wolfgang Simson.  Will try to keep you posted here a bit as to how the week goes. Appreciate the prayers.  My…

Newsweek has quite an article on the current upurge in spirituality in America: A major poll, commissioned jointly with Beliefnet.com, reveals a breadth of tolerance and curiosity virtually across the religious spectrum.  And everywhere we looked, a flowering of spirituality: in the hollering, swooning, foot-stomping services of the new wave of Pentecostals; in Catholic churches…

Dan Kimball offers an interesting "Reality Check" on his blog, Vintage Faith, that describes 10 stages from traditional church to house church back to traditional church.  It’s a bit of a downer (perhaps that’s what a reality check is about) but it provides some useful insight and markers.  For example, he describes this "house church…

There is nothing like hanging out with brand new life in the Vine.  This past couple of weeks, I have found it to be invigorating… but also very, very challenging to my own spiritual journey. Three weeks ago new life was birthed in Rick–age 40-something–married, successful in the world, two kids, lots of toys… but…