Simple Church Journal

A note I sent out to our churches:

What’s the Holy Spirit Speaking to You About Your Life in 2005?

The beginning of a new year is often the time when we make New Year’s Resolutions. Usually, these are human desires or resolutions that we want to pursue; more often than not, they are forgotten by January 20.

Maybe there’s a better way!

The week before Christmas several churches studied Mary’s angelic visitation. What we learned there was

1. Mary was ready to receive whatever miracle God had for her: “be it unto me according to your Word.”

2. God spoke to her about what He intended to do

3. Mary believed that Word

4. The miracle happened

So… I’m suggesting that God has many wonderful and awesome miracles for us in 2005: things that He wants to do in us, for us, through us, and even miracles that will take place right in the midst of those trials we are in (He does specialize in bringing beauty out of ashes).

Our part, then, is to:

1. Be open—“God whatever you have for me I’m ready to receive”

And

2. Ask the Holy Spirit what He has for you in 2005

I suggest that we intentionally ask Him to reveal to us, just as He did to Mary, what He wants to do in and through us in 2005—good things, things that bring us joy and life, things that will bless others, things that will cause us to rise to a new level of confidence in who we are in God. We ask and then we take the time to listen.

This is more than seeking after our normal human desires or things that comfort us. This is, “God, what do you have for me in the coming year?” I’m not saying that God is not interested in our normal human desires. But He operates on a higher level. When we open ourselves to His purposes more fully, deep joy and satisfaction will naturally follow.

So… our key question again… What is the Holy Spirit speaking to YOU about YOUR life in 2005? This will be something that we cannot accomplish on our own. By opening ourselves to what He is saying we are opening ourselves to more of Him-at-work in our lives.

I will probably ask each of us this question personally. It’s so powerful. House church is not about one person coming up with God’s vision for the coming year; it’s about every person listening and responding to whatever God is saying, and then collectively entering into a new level of God’s-power-at-work. How exciting!

Scary? Maybe a little bit. Worth it? Yes. What God does is always so far above and beyond the “good” that we can imagine accomplishing on our own.

What is the Holy Spirit Speaking to YOU about YOUR life in 2005?

Chris Marshall has such a good post here that I simply suggest you read it in its entiretly.

This is by Phil at Signposts:

Jesus says the kingdom is like a mustard seed
And we say the gospel is like a building
Jesus says the kingdom is like yeast
And we say it is dressing in a suit and singing some songs
Jesus says the kingdom is like salt
And we say it is how we collect the communion glasses
Jesus says the kingdom is about how we treat others
And we say it is all about us
Jesus says the kingdom is like little children
And we say complex theological constructs
Jesus says find the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son
And we say it is about me

Thanks, Phil!

Jayne Ozanne, invited to participate in a high council for the Church of England, presented this vision of what she saw for the future:

A new Church will begin to arise – a new Church in England. It will take the form of many single cell groups across the land, united in a common bond founded on grace and truth. No longer recognising denominational badges, people will look to see the mark of spirit-filled faith in each other. Rather than demanding a “king” to be appointed over them (as with Saul), this new Church will discern the God-appointed leaders who have naturally risen to positions of prominence.

This Church bears all the hallmarks of an underground movement, indeed it will fast become an underground resistance movement. It will be united in its purpose, clear in its vision, firm in its resolve and will consist of people who “do not love their lives even unto the death”. The most powerful weapon that this army wields is love – a love that conquers all, costs all and never fails!

The full article is here.  Thanks to Alexander.

Chris, from Kingdom and Principalities, asked if I could provide him with a little more information about the upcoming, May 6-7, West Coast Regional House Church Conference.  We are still working on specific content, but I wrote the following to him and thought I would share it with y’all:

The best way to give more info on the conference is to first talk about the speakers.

Tony and Felicity Dale have been planting simple church expressions for over 30 years, first in England and then in the United States.  They are the catalysts for an annual “House Church Conference” that draws people from all over the world.  They also publish a magazine called House 2 House that is available here at their website.  The Dales have firsthand experience with simple church planting movements in Mozambique, India, and other parts of the world.  They model kingdom living lifestyles as they work in business, plant house churches in neighborhoods and apartment complexes, and coach house church networks all over the world.  They believe that God is just beginning to unleash a movement in this nation that will transform our communities.

Neil Cole, along with a small team, began Awakening Chapels in Long Beach, California, by reaching out relationally to the lost in an urban coffeehouse setting.  His goal is to see disciples and churches reproducing quickly.  By the end of 1999 there were 9 Awakening Chapel churches; by the end of 2000 there were 50!  Since then, Neil and his team have seen spontaneous multiplication at a rapid pace.  They now have missionaries reaching out in five states and four countries.  Where do the leaders come for this movement?  From the harvest itself!  Disciples are taught to quickly reproduce themselves; churches are set up to multiply.  Neil offers training at his Greenhouse conferences around the country and has many excellent resources at his website here.

The West Coast Regional Conference on The House Church Movement will provide a basic exposure to simple church expressions:

• Key paradigm shifts in our concept of “church”

• Practicals of starting reproducible house churches

• Relational ministry models and tools

• Missional, kingdom living

We hope this will be a conference that will benefit those who are new to these ideas as well as those who already have their feet wet in simple/organic church life.

We will be able to receive registrations in a couple of weeks, but if you would like to receive updates on the conference, email me here.

We don’t yet have a website set up yet… but…

We have firmed up plans for a House Church Conference on May 6-7 in Santa Maria, California with Tony and Felicity Dale and Neil Cole.

I will keep y’all posted, but if you would like to receive details by email send me a note.

We had an excellent meeting last night with four couples who have a "church planting" desire.  It gave us a chance to really explore the shift in our way of thinking about church.

For starters: you don’t plant churches.  Churches are movements; people-movements.  We use this terminology "plant churches" to refer to starting organizational entities.  This is something that anyone with basic marketing skills can do:

• Plan the event or gathering
• Choose the place and time
• Invite, market, advertize, whatever
• Pull off the event or gathering
• Evaluate the event
• Improve the event
• Plan the next one

Voila… a church as an organizational entity is "birthed."  One can do this within the context of a simple or house church as well and the result will be simply a small organizational event or series of events (which we then call "church").

The shifting paradigm begins with the realization that God never calls anyone to plant churches. He calls us to plant Kingdom seed (Word, Spirit, life) into the lives and hearts of PEOPLE.

So how does this shift in paradigm play out?

1. Focus on people, people, people.
2. Carry in prayer the people in your sphere of influence… and all those that God has called you to: friends, acquaintances, ministry spheres, and people-groups that you have a calling to.  True prayer is the starting point for serving PEOPLE from the heart and without recognition.
3. Live 24/7 Kingdom lives everywhere we go: build relationships, love and compassion them, pray for divine appointments, go live among them, take the Kingdom of God and your own spiritual gifts everywhere that you go.
4. Develop your ministry tools according to your spiritual gifts and use them to bless others.  You will be doing this among Christians seeking more, hurting Christians, and non-Christians.  Our caution here is to throw out old tools that are program-based, otherwise the organic gathering (step 5) will be headed in the wrong direction.  Ministry must be relational, participatory, and bringing the person into their own encounter with God’s Spirit and voice.
5. As God leads, gather with those who are ready to gather.  Take this gathering into whatever context is most suitable for them and the friends in their sphere that they will be reaching out to.  These gatherings are participatory, Spirit-led, and easily reproducible.

This should lead to the reproduction of Christians who have the same 24/7 Kingdom-living DNA.  Every single Christian becomes an active church/Kingdom-life planter by becoming involved in the interactive life of the Spirit in everyday life.

I have corrected this post.  The following was apparently written by Dave Barry for the Miami Herald (I had given credit to someone else).  In any case, I thought it was appropriate (and helpful) for the time of year:

GIFT WRAPPING TIPS FOR MEN 

This is the time of year when we think back to the very first Christmas, when the Three Wise Men; Gaspar, Balthazar and Herb, went to see the baby Jesus and, according to the Book of Matthew, "presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

These are simple words, but if we analyze them carefully, we discover an important, yet often overlooked, theological fact: There is no mention of wrapping paper.

If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so: "And lo, the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of paper. And the paper was festooned with pictures of Frosty the Snowman.

And Joseph was going to throweth it away, but Mary saideth unto him, she saideth, ‘Holdeth it! That is nice paper! Saveth it for next year!’ And Joseph did rolleth his eyeballs. And the baby Jesus was more interested in the paper than the frankincense."

But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the very first Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because the people giving those gifts had two important characteristics:

1. They were wise.

2. They were men.

Men are not big gift wrappers. Men do not understand the point of putting paper on a gift just so somebody else can tear it off. This is not just my opinion: This is a scientific fact based on a statistical survey of two guys I know.

(more…)

Alexander Campbell raises what he calls a challenge to the emerging church:

Having taken a closer look at what most within the EC are doing (certainly here in the UK), it has become increasingly clear to me that their fundamental model of church is based on exactly the same model as existing / historic church. There is no underlying difference. This model of church will not produce movement. It may be more culturally relevant and effective in reaching specific subcultures but when it comes to the ability to reproduce and multiply it will be no different from the existing church model.

Full article is here and is a good read.

Prodigal Kiwi quotes from Parker Palmer who was, apparently, peaking into my past life and telling my story…

A third shadow common among leaders is “functional atheism,” the belief that ultimate responsibility for everything rests with us. This is the unconscious, unexamined conviction that if anything decent is going to happen here, we are the ones who must make it happen – a conviction held even by people who talk a good game about God.

This shadow causes pathology on every level of our lives. It leads us to impose our will on others, [to get resentful and frustrated], stressing our relationships, sometime to the point of breaking. It often eventuates in burnout, depression, and despair…

The gift we receive on the inner journey is the knowledge that ours is not the only act in town. Not only are there other acts out there, but some of them are even better than ours, at least occasionally! We learn that we need not carry the whole load but can share it with others, liberating us and empowering them.

This has been such a significant "inner journey" in my own life… to look at my own burnout and recognize that I am carrying ministry in a god-like fashion by taking on responsibility as though the salvation of the world depends on me.

God is God, I am just called to take part in community with others and let the Holy Spirit carry both the lead and the responsibility.  What a freedom this is! 

And how desparately today’s church fights against this freedom!

Many want to to carry undue responsibility. This feeds their need to be needed.  This feeds their unconscious need to be "at the top."  And… many others want to let others carry the load!  This allows them to remain comfortably coddled in their spiritual life.

The inner journey and solitude frees us to just be his children and to discover the joy in relating to God freely and worshipfully as the Sovereign that He is.  We can begin to peel off our unconscious needs and masks, and simply be human, enjoy community, and let God be God.