Simple Church Journal

Something always resonates in me when I hear things like this:

Shechtman's discovery (quasicrystals) in 1982 fundamentally changed the way chemists look at solid matter. It initially faced strong objections from the scientific community, and even got him kicked out of his research group in the United States.

Now 30 years later, including years of ridicule, Shechtman has just received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

I believe that God is continuing to shake up the way we view and understand His church.  It is by definition a living organism filled with all of the wonder—and more—of all living systems throughout the universe.

What does this have to do with quasicrystals that shook up scientists understanding of matter?  Here is the description of the clusters and atoms within quasicrystals:

“It is perfectly ordered, it is infinite—and yet it never repeats itself.”

“The atoms… congregate in patterns which are not reproducible and are unpredictable.”

Prior to this, it was assumed that matter only contained elements that could assemble in specific predictable patterns.

Okay, so I’m no chemist, but I still think there is something wonderful about this that speaks to all living things including the church.  It does not take a scientist to stand in a forest, have one’s breath taken away by the overall order of the foliage while still realizing that every tree, shrub, and blade of grass is completely unique and even unpredictable.

In contrast, we tend to look at everything through the lens of the industrial age: reproducing patterns of things (from automobile assembly lines to Big Mac kitchen lines). We have learned to design patterns and then replicate them.  We have done this in traditional churches, mega-churches, and yes, even in simple/house churches.

My contention is that we still have not tapped into the full wonder of the living Body of Christ which is meant to express itself in a wholly unpredictable and infinite way while still being ordered because of its organic connection to the Creator and King.

  Some of the most difficult people to like are religious people with religious fronts.

“Hallelujah, brother. God is good and I am blessed. Are you walking in his blessing today and everyday?”

It’s not that I can’t love this guy or even appreciate his sincerity on some level, it’s just that I can’t touch him.  I can’t connect with the person who is behind those religious words and who is really like every other human.  Deep inside we are all conflicted: both needy and fulfilled, happy and sad, faith-filled and fearful, victorious and defeated… human.

Unfortunately religion creates barriers between people because it is posturing, it is a face to wear and it’s not real.

Jesus spoke of his followers as being poor of spirit and those who know they need a doctor.  Humans who are real can connect on a deep level with other human beings and that is the dynamic through which the Good News of the wonder of Jesus is can be deeply shared and communicated to others.

Amy Grant sings a song, Better than a Hallelujah, that expresses this well (excerpts here):

Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah…

God loves a drunkards cry,
The soldiers plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes…

The woman holding on for life,
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes
The tears of shame for what's been done,
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah…

May our communities be filled with something better than a hollow “hallelujah!” so that the love of Jesus can flow from one honest heart to the next in a world that deeply needs Him!

It’s important that the church continue to dream and have visions of what we—the Bride—can become.  I don’t claim prophetic insight here, just a longing to see the church fulfill her destiny.  Note that these thoughts relate mostly to the church in the “West” where it has been long established but vitally in need of renewal.

What the Church of the Future Looks Like:

The church of the future continues to throw off its religious garb that has robbed it of its impact and lulled it into sleepiness.  Intimacy with Jesus becomes a reality, not just a cliché, and Jesus begins to shape His own church in His own image: irreligious, daring, caring, compassionate, out-of-the-box, person-impacting, regional-impacting, adventurous, incarnational among the poor, without bounds, and full of power.

The church becomes known more for its works than its rhetoric.  The Good News that is proclaimed as a result of this is simply the person Jesus.  His presence and work is expressed, not just with words, but with actions that demonstrate the compassionate love of God.

Discipleship movements spring up naturally and regularly in workplaces and neighborhoods as people seek out authentic life with Jesus.  Followers of Jesus present a counter-cultural way of life that challenges yet attracts more and more people who have become disillusioned with the so-called American Dream.

New monastic communities continue to spring up that take on more and more of the social responsibilities in many needy areas.  They provide many services that otherwise would no longer available: rehab and sober living homes, medical clinics, elderly care, support for the disabled, and counseling for the emotionally distressed.

At the same time, social entrepreneurs are inspired to start more and more non-profits as well as for-profit ventures that address social ills and poverty through creative innovations.  And Jesus is given the glory for this.  These ventures create jobs while providing solutions for people’s needs whose lives are impacted by a declining world economy.  Radically creative innovations are given to these new breed of entrepreneurs who live personally for the Kingdom and do not buy into the excesses of materialism.

Coffee shops continue to become more and more pronounced as places where followers of Jesus can be found.  Some type of discovery Bible study is taking place around the clock in almost every place where God has empowered Starbucks (and other coffee companies) to build space for this to take place.

Discipleship movements are taking place through social networking and ipad-type video conferencing.

Traditional churches continue to exist but those that thrive look more like para-church organizations than churches that we see today as they involve themselves in the real needs of the community they are in.

At the same time, most of the “real” church is less visible apart from its service to the community.  It is organized at a grass roots level using social media as the primary means of communication and coordination.

Self-sustaining leadership “hubs” have developed that connect relationally to regional and cyber networks.  These hubs are apostolic in nature, selfless in the way they function, require no formal allegiance, yet serve the organic movements of the Spirit.

I believe that, as we walk forward with vision, faith, and a deepening love for Jesus, we will see the church become more of what we are meant to be than ever before.  It’s an exciting time to be His!

I wrote this in a recent post:

“We don’t need evangelists, just Jesus-people who live and act in a way that brings about change, that lifts the hopeless, that cares for the tired, that releases the oppressed and that simply says—“this is Jesus at work.”  “Follow Him!”

Someone challenged my statement, rightly so, that we “don’t need evangelists.”  From a strictly Biblical use of this work, he was correct.  I was trying to challenge the non-Biblical use of that word (converting people to the religion of Christianity) and re-define it as the Bible intends.  I don’t know that I accomplished that in those few words that I wrote.  But the following article, by Carl Medearis, should help add to this conversation:

Here is an excerpt from his post entitled “Why Evangelicals Should Stop Evangelizing”

What if evangelicals today, instead of focusing on “evangelizing” and “converting” people, were to begin to think of Jesus not as starting a new religion, but as the central figure of a movement that transcends religious distinctions and identities?

Jesus the uniter of humanity, not Jesus the divider. How might that change the way we look at others?

This is more than just a semantic difference.

When I used to think of myself as a missionary, I was obsessed with converting Muslims (or anybody for that matter) to what I thought of as “Christianity.” I had a set of doctrinal litmus tests that the potential convert had to pass before I would consider them “in” or one of “us.”

Funny thing is, Jesus never said, “Go into the world and convert people to Christianity.” What he said was, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

Encouraging anyone and everyone to become an apprentice of Jesus, without manipulation, is a more open, dynamic and relational way of helping people who want to become more like Jesus — regardless of their religious identity.

Just because I believe that evangelicals should stop evangelizing doesn’t mean that they should to stop speaking of Jesus.

I speak of Jesus everywhere I go and with everyone I meet.

You will enjoy reading the full article here.

We have now said, for years, that the church needs to get out of its walls and into the street.  The problem is: this is not enough.

We have people leaving churches, changing church expressions, meeting in homes and workplaces, but the life of Jesus is still not seeping into the world, at least not enough.

We need more from “the church.”  We need “the church” to begin living their unique destiny as followers of Jesus audaciously.  We need people who are not sleep-walking in religion or incapacitated by the franticness of our Disneyland culture.  We need people who know who they are, who love Jesus more than life, who are willing to bring fresh and new ideas and innovations that change society.  We need people who influence, not toward religion or church-going, but toward Jesus, and life, and hope, and faith, and transformation, and the power of the Spirit.  We need people who have passion and are not afraid to step out and speak up about those things (including Jesus) that are burning on their hearts.

We need Change Agents for Jesus.  We don’t need evangelists, just Jesus-people who live and act in a way that brings about change, that lifts the hopeless, that cares for the tired, that releases the oppressed and that simply says—“this is Jesus at work.”  “Follow Him!”  Those that need to and want to, will follow Him.

We need a church that does not look like “church” in any way, shape, or form.  We need an uprising of “heretics” who break all the rules but glorify Jesus’ love and presence in the process.

We need people who are authentic and real and without the need for pretense.  We need people that others can relate to and see Jesus through—weaknesses and all.

We need to become the trend setters.

Religious people follow the traditions and rules.  Our culture mesmerizes us with faulty ideas of success and security.  We don’t need more of either of these.  Instead, we need people who lift others through their love for Jesus, their willingness to step out and do risky, compassionate things, and because of their new ideas, fresh ventures, and radical investment in the needy and in the needs of our world.

We need trend-setters who know how to manage resources for the Kingdom: make more money (sometimes), spend less (always), and funnel funds in a way that glorifies Jesus.

We need a church that’s out of the walls, out of religion, out of our culture’s drivel, and sacrificing everything to become everything that Jesus is.

Another form of “simple” church life is reflected by people who share life in community, within a community, to incarnate Jesus. It was great to see a USA Today article on these “new monastics:”

They are new monastics, dedicated to helping the poor, sharing resources and caring for creation. Known as Castanea, meaning chestnut tree in Latin, these young Christians are working to transform a run-down apartment complex into a place of reconciliation.

Castanea's members moved to Chestnut Hill, Tenn., in South Nashville two years ago, planning to live in close proximity to one another, fulfilling their vision of Christian community and helping others.

Read the entire article here.

You might also enjoy the book “Punk Monk: New Monasticism and the Ancient Art of Breathing” by Andy Freeman and Pete Greig.

As Andy Freeman explains in this book, Boiler Rooms are communities that are centered on a disciplined rhythm of prayer and committed to the outward and upward practices of creativity, hospitality, learning, mission and justice.

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!

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!

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.

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.