Category: Uncategorized

Pastor William, from Ghana, West Africa, is visiting with us this weekend and joining us for three of our house church gatherings. After pastoring in a traditional church, he is now planting a simple church expression that “focuses on the person” rather than on “buildings and church.” Last night, William encouraged us with a wonderful…

We continue to have quite an adventure on Tuesday nights as we meet in the restaurant. It just seems to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable to come… from any background. Last night was no exception: A 90-year-old son of a Jewish scholar — I’m not sure if he has ever been in a…

I have been thinking a lot about church planting movements– how to be part of one and how to initiate more of them. The following, from the International Misison Board, is an excellent summary of the elements needed for true church planting movements to take place: Ten Universal Elements After surveying Church Planting Movements around…

In Part 3 of “The Insider” Jim Petersen gets down to the practical lifestyle of an insider (one who reaches out to those around them, sharing the Kingdom life). He suggests seven specific patterns of behavior that will be part of a fruitful insider’s life. He devotes a chapter to each pattern. 1. Taking little…

Alan Creech does a good job of answering the question, “Why Do Church Differently?” This is why. I can answer for some and not all. We have looked and we have seen the deep lack of real transformation going on in the Body of Christ. We aren’t – we haven’t been – being changed into…

I have been summarizing Petersen’s book on “The Insider” which encourages us to see our primary ministry and calling in the fields where we live our lives each day: at work, in the supermarkets, with friends, etc. I have also been seeking to live more intentionally, each day, in God’s presence– more conscious of His…

In Part II of “The Insider,” Jim Petersen explores four obstacles to fruifulness in our ministry to those around us. The first obstacle he describes is fear: “I’m not comfortable around unbelievers,” “I don’t know enough,” or “I don’t have it together myself.” He describes these kinds of fears as inevitable, but he encourages us…

If any of my readers are unaware of the Labor Day Weekend House Church Conference in Colorado… I recommend that you take a serious look at it!

Haven’t had time to get back to “The Insider,” but I intend to soon. In the meantime, here’s a wonderful article by Steve Sjogren on servant evangelism. I particularly like his focus that evangelism is a process: Paul saw evangelism as a process, a view unlike our American mindset, which focuses mainly on “closing the…

In the last post on planting kingdom, not churches, I talked about focusing on people, not gatherings. We have tried to become very intentional about this. “The Insider” workbook encourages us to list all of the people in our life to whom we are an “insider.” This means that we are in their life for…