Simple Church Journal

I think there is a common misperception that simple/house churches do not have leaders, do not want leaders, and are, by definition, leaderless. I suppose there is truth to this if our definition of leadership involves position, hierarchy, and title along with roles that prescribe leadership to only a few people. 

But I would like to suggest that the purpose of the church ought to be to develop ALL believers into leaders.  For this reason, I would say that simple/house churches are ALL about leadership.  Furthermore, the problem in the past has been that, too often, we have limited the leadership development of others because there is only so much room for the few who are prescribed to lead from the top.

Think about what it is that ALL believers are called to do:

• To be salt and light in the world.
• To love neighbors sacrificially.
• To make disciples.
• To serve as priests.
• To be an example of the incredible wealth of God’s kindness and grace.
• To bring a song, a word, a prophesy when we gather.
• To be ready to share God’s word of grace with others in season and out.
• On and on and on.

By getting hung up on certain, particular leadership roles (apostle, evangelist, teacher) we miss the true meaning of what it means to be a follower of Jesus: it means to be an influencer.  Oh yeah, that’s what leadership is.

Imagine when the Body of Christ reaches its potential of every member a leader in his/her own right, shining forth God’s glory in his/her unique way.  What a powerful vision of a church that is unleashed to change a world!

Every member of the Body of Christ… a leader!   Should we have any other vision and should we pursue any model of Christian life that does not set this forth as THE priority?

There is a wonderful post over at "The Sheepfold" that I wiil share an excerpt from:

The first century model of church?  Meeting in a simple setting, in a simple place. In a simple church setting you can:

– Be yourself

– Participate fully

– Be active, not passive

– Engage rather than spectate

– Praise and worship as long as you want

– Teaching is interactive; dialogue, not monologue

– Ask questions

– Take as much time as you want or need

– Share one another’s burdens and problems beyond the superficial or quick…

The flexibility and freedom of the “simple church” setting allows others time and space to speak into your life.  To throw parties.  Laugh and play and eat together. Celebrate holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings and other milestones.  Simple church is a place to share our lives and grow in Christ.  It’s a place where  “I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine.”

Complete post is here.

Since I am currently in Africa working with phenomenally fruitful leaders, I thought it would be good to share a few “key words” on church planting movements.  These words are adapted from Galen Currah who adapted them originally from David Watson.  Each “word” listed here has so much meaning and power when walked out.

1. Prayer: Prayer is the starting point for all ministries. Know the mind of God and join Him in His work.

2. Scripture: Scripture is foundational and the source of all teaching and preaching. Scripture → Principle → Practce

3. Disciples: Make Disciples, not converts. Converts focus on religion. Disciples focus on Jesus and obedience to His teachings.

4. Obedience: Teach Obedience to the Word, not doctrine. Doctrine is our church’s teaching from the Bible. It may be highly interpretive, and may not consider the full counsel of the Bible.

5. Churches: Communities of Believers. Form new believers into minimal bible practice groups that will become Communities of Believers (churches) who transform families and communities.

6. Authority: Authority of Scripture and the Holy Spirit are all that is needed to start. Church Planting is an act of God through His Spirit and His people who are obedient to the Word and the Spirit.

7. Persecution: Persecution is part of being a Christian. In pioneer work it is expected and response is trained.

8. Warfare: In areas where the Gospel has never been preached, or in areas where traditional religions have reigned for a significant amount of time, it is not unusual to find those engaging in CPM activities confronted by Spiritual Conflicts that range from annoying to life-threatening.

9. Plan: Act Intentionally: Plan your work & work your plan. Organic does not mean the same things as “accidental.”  Crops are grown through intentional sowing with wisdom.

10. Peace: Start with the Man of Peace or an existing relationship that will permit a Discovery Bible Study or Witness.

11. Household: Focus on households or families, not on individuals. Households include non-related individual living and relating together as family.

12. Evangelise: Evangelism is an intentional calling to a family to study the Word of God in order to move from not knowing God to falling in Love with Him through Jesus.

13. Reproduce: Reproducing disciples, leaders, groups and churches become a part of the group DNA.

14. Culture (Embrace the Local Culture): Do not import external culture, but redeem local culture by embracing all you biblically can in a culture and transforming or redeeming the rest.

This is a great list highlighting the difference between Servant Leaders and Leader-Man Type Leaders.  This came from Brant Hansen via Keith Giles:

Servant Leader: Has something to say
LeaderMan: Wants a platform on which to say something

LeaderMan: Wants you to know he's a Leader
Servant Leader: You're not sure he knows he's a leader

LeaderMan: Loves the idea of the Gospel, and the idea of The Church
Servant Leader: Loves God and the actual individual people God brings across his path

LeaderMan: Helps you find where God is leading you in his organization
Servant Leader: Helps you find where God is leading you

LeaderMan: Gets together with you to talk about his vision
Servant Leader: Just gets together with you

LeaderMan: Wants the right people on the bus
Servant Leader: Wants to find the right bus for you, and sit next to you on it

LeaderMan: Invests time in you, if you are "key people"
Servant Leader: Wastes time with you

LeaderMan: Gives you things to do
Servant Leader: Gives you freedom

USA Today had a nice "Easter" article on house churches in the U.S.

This weekend, Jeanne O'Hair, her friends and family will raise their voices in Easter hymns "as the spirit leads us," she says, in her "house church" — O'Hair's living room in Brea, Calif.

In a metal outbuilding at a shuttered horse track near San Antonio, Jeff Bishop says he will celebrate at his "simple church" under a rough-hewed cedar cross, with "folks who speak 'cowboy' like I do."

In Washington, D.C., at Saturday night Easter Vigil, while "some folks go to services dressed to the nines, we'll be dressed to the fives: We'll keep it casual and focused on Christ," says William D'Antonio, a member of a network of Catholic-style house churches called "Intentional Eucharistic communities."

You can read the full article here.

Neil's new book, "Journeys to Significance: Charting a Leadership Course from the Life of Paul" provides a wonderful map for growth that makes leadership accessible to every believer willing to live the adventure:

"On Leadership I believe that we need leaders who will live adventurous lives and grow in significance with each new journey. Simply put, we really need people willing to surrender everything for Jesus, every day. That’s it. People who are willing to take a risk because Jesus first gave everything for them are the raw material that God can fashion into world changers. Leadership doesn’t start with an education, an obvious spiritual gift, or a charming and electric personality. The journey to significance starts with the mere willingness to surrender the status quo and take the first step of faith into the adventure."

There are some additional, more-in-depth great reviews here and here!

 

I just wanted to share some comments on Neil Cole’s Ten Essential Principles from his book, “Church 3.0: Upgrades For the Future of the Church."  My notes in red.

1. It is decentralized; no central control center must approve all decisions. Everyone is empowered with the work so that the movement spreads to the outskirts spontaneously without needing permission or support.

This is so vital and so difficult because the nature of humans and organizations is to contain and control.  Kingdom life IS organic life IS under the impetus of the Spirit who “blows where He wants to.”

2. It is composed of self-replicating units of people at every level of development—disciples, leaders, churches, and even movements themselves. Every unit of church life must be capable of reproducing itself without needing persuasion, manipulation, or programs from the outside.

This means that disciples are finding their source of life and intimacy in Jesus.  If our life is coming from any other source (the need for success, the approval of others, etc), then it will turn in on outside and fail to naturally reproduce.

3. It has minimal organizational structure that is dictated by the life of the church, not the other way around. We say, “Don’t organize it until you have an ‘it’ to organize … and even then, go slow.”

There is a place for structure but, as stated, it must support the organic life that is taking place not dictate to it.

4. It does not depend on outside resources. All resources for the harvest are found in the harvest. Part of what a CMM [church multiplication movement]does is redeem what was stolen from God by the Enemy. All that is necessary for a harvest can be found in the harvest.

The greatest hindrance I see in two-third’s world countries is church models that require money (buildings and staff) and that are therefore dependent on outside resources.  The church that Jesus birthed does not, in and of itself, require finances to impact and change the world.

5. It is driven by ordinary Christians who have been transformed by God and who cannot help but share the Good News. Absolutely essential, this is the fuel of the spreading movement.

Just, amen.

6. It is relationally linked rather than corporately or organizationally bound. It is not an accepted application and dues that hold these churches together, but relationships. They are not bound in dependence on one another; nor are they independent— they are interdependent.

Formal organization creates hierarchy and control which, by definition, constricts the natural multiplication of living entities.

7. It is characterized by reproduction at all levels simultaneously. This reproduction develops first in the smallest unit of church life and then spreads throughout, ultimately reaching the global scope of a movement.

I believe the quality of reproduction, while not a model, is a principle of life that can look many different way, but is an essential part of any living thing.  Which the church is and must always be.

8. It begins its momentum with the spiritual, before the strategic. Personal transformation precedes community transformation.

I believe there is an important blending of personal and community transformation that is at the very heart of the Gospel as per point number ten below.  Nevertheless, I do agree that personal transformation, with the right DNA does lead to community transformation and not the other way around.

9. It moves evangelism from individual conversions to group conversions. Entire households, social webs, and tribes come to Christ rather than individuals.

Taking Christ’s life into every social web of life is the key to seeing our world changed as opposed to dragging people out of their social webs into our Christian-ghetto clubs.

10. It is dedicated to having kingdom life touch the domains of society and culture, not just individual lives. The people of such a movement represent Christ’s kingdom incarnationally throughout all parts of society.

The Gospel is, by definition, a Kingdom, wholistic, life-changing, community-changing force.  May we unleash it in its full destiny upon the earth!

While walking through a heavy personal challenge last month, I felt God lead me into a 10-day prayer process that clearly fueled several miracles that we saw take place including  my son's physical recovery.  At one point the doctors gave him less than a 25% chance of survival and today he has fully recovered.  Note, however, that this prayer process is not just "God, here is what I want… now give it to me."  Rather, it involves truly and humbly seeking His will, His purposes, and His direction in our own life and in the situation.

The bottom line is that I want to share this process with others and, since this type of prayer is most effective when it is done with others, I am offering to join you in your prayer journey with you.  If we have a small group that want to do this at the same time, so much the better as we will join with one another in prayer.

If you are interested, read more here.

If you haven’t explored the tools made available by I Am Second, I highly recommend them.  First of all, there are some first-rate video testimonials that are unequaled in quality and presentation.  They make great conversation-starters, especially for new gatherings with newer believers (or otherwise).

More importantly, the Bible study and group materials available at this website are excellent.  They incorporate many of the principles that we have found key to starting healthy groups that can reach out to others to start new groups.  Here are some of the principles I see in their materials:

• A “discovery” Bible study method—keeping the focus on God’s word and teaching believers and/or seekers how to learn and discover for themselves what God’s word is saying.
• Application.  There is always application from the studies given.
• New believers are encouraged immediately to begin praying for their “village,” or sphere of influence, and to reach out with compassion towards them.
• Seeking persons of peace and starting new groups is also passed on early in the discipleship process.

Take a look.  And if any of y’all begin using some of this material, be sure to come back here and let the rest of us know how it goes.

Comment!