Simple Church Journal

There is nothing like Victor Chouhrie to keep our compasses pointed true-north and to… well… challenge us.  Victor has one of the most fruitful ministries ever with thousands of churches planted and hundreds of thousands of baptisms in India.

You can read all 21 of his steps in a paper entitled “Mega Church to Meta (Beyond) Church.”

Here is just a taste:

• Rewrite the job description of professional clergy from a pulpit orator, sacrament dispenser and tithe gatherer to a shepherd who feeds his flock to be healthy and reproducing by encouraging them to practice priesthood of all believers with authority to baptize, break bread and equip fishers of men…
• Move from meeting in temples to gathering in ‘houses of peace’. ‘God does not dwell in temples made by human hands’; rather He dwells in human hearts…
• Phase out programmed Sunday ‘services’ while implementing informal, small gatherings. The Bride of Christ must have intimacy with her Lord every day, not only for a couple of hours a week, lest she become unfaithful…
• Replace professional music with believers speaking to each other in psalms and spiritual songs, making melody in their hearts to the Lord…
• Shift from spectator-oriented church to ‘metastasizing’ interactive, participatory, prophetic church…
• Infect barren Bride with the multiplication virus. A healthy mature female (Bride) implies that she is ready to have babies…
• Unglue from the pews all those Christians who sit, soak and stagnate and send them to heal the sick, raise the dead, tread on snakes and scorpions (expel demons), bind the ‘strongman’, plunder his possessions and demolish the gates of Hell…
• Empower every Sunday school, bible school, prayer cell, women’s fellowship, and cottage meeting, by calling them full-fledged, authentic churches. They must make disciples who baptize, break bread, equip laborers and send missionaries…
• Filter out selfish-goat church members who come only for hatching (baby baptism), matching (wedding) and dispatching (funeral), and replace them with sheep who take care of the hungry, thirsty, naked, strangers, sick and prisoners….
• Simplify disciple making. Get a Bible and invite a couple of truth-seekers for a meal where the main dish is – The Lamb. Redefine authentic church as wherever two or three friends meet to eat, gossip the gospel, and to multiply…
• Reorient your own personal paradigm. Your business, workplace or home, wherever you spend most of your time, is your ‘primary nuclear church’. It matters little whether you are the CEO, or the janitor or the kitchen queen, you are a full-time minister there and accountable…
• Re-set your priorities to preach Christ where He has not been named. For this you do not have to go to church from Sunday to Sunday nor work from paycheck to paycheck. You are “ordained” to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill your home/workplace/neighborhood and the city with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea…

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:3

The simple/organic church lifestyle opens the door for every believer to step into his unique calling and recognize his unique ‘letter’ written on his heart by the Spirit of God. Every person has the privilege and responsibility of tuning into the process in which God shapes each one for his destiny. Part of that is recognizing the core message—the life message—that He has formed in us.

Tony Stoltzfus says that every Christian has “a special life message that’s a summary of their story—the place where their various life messages join together in one theme… That one-of-a-kind message is the heart of their call.”

There is power in recognizing and affirming our life message so that we are freely sharing this core of who we are with those around us. It fuels our spiritual passion and excitement. Often, it leads us into a clearer understanding of the Kingdom calling in our life.

Recently, as a group exercise, we looked at ways to identify our life message. We used three different methods which I share here. The idea is that you might be able to identify your life message using any one of these three methods.

(Note, that I adapted this from Tony Stoltzfus’ excellent book entitled ‘Leadership Coaching.’)

1. Finding Your Current Life Message by Looking at Your Suffering

Write down a key difficulty you suffered through that has significantly shaped you. Then, write down the core message that this experience built into you for others!

2. Finding Your Current Life Message by Looking at Your Soapbox

What are the themes you come back to over and over when you are helping or serving others? What are you always talking passionately about? What do you most yearn to impart to people? Write down the core message!

3. Finding Your Current Life Message by Looking at What Injustices You Want to Fight

What injustices make you want to rise up and fight for the good of all? What’s the injustice you see, where you have a compelling vision of the better future that could be? Write down the core message that you want others to hear!

I love the way that God shapes us uniquely and then uses that uniqueness for His glory!

On a personal note, it was a challenging season in my own life (which I describe in the first chapter of Simple/House Church Revolution) that led to a re-write of my life message twelve years ago. Out of this came an unexpected re-direction in life and ministry and the formation of Appleseed Ministry. The life message would be something like this: “It’s not structured church or religion that transforms people and nations, rather it’s all about the simple life of Jesus, flowing personally through his irreligious followers, leading to a lifestyle of loving and discipling others.”

Regardless of how we ‘be and do’ church, our first work is to pray and love. Nothing else will touch others and prepare the way for Jesus to draw them. Nothing else will actually make a difference in the world or in the lives of people. Nothing else can change us or those we love. Nothing else can and will change neighborhoods and nations.

Pray

• Pray and seek Him
• Pray and draw near
• Pray and ask for guidance
• Pray and listen
• Pray and ask for the Holy Spirit
• Pray and ask for the Spirit to draw others
• Pray and ask to be used
• Pray and ask for the grace to love others

Love

A relative told me about meeting Billy Graham many years ago when she was a staff person in a government office. She said that what struck her most, besides his wonderfully blue eyes, was the way he had of talking to you like you were the only person in the room. His love was felt by his focused attention.

But love is a bigger topic than a blog post, or a book, or even a thousand books. The bottom line is that we, the church, need much more of it. It is a fruit that we long and ask for so that, when all else is said and done, God himself is glorified because we have grown in our capacity to express his love.

Perhaps if we can get prayer and love in its right place, the church becomes fully what it is meant to be without, really, any further instruction.

One of the easy things about being a member of a traditional church is that someone else takes responsibility for providing programs for your spiritual growth. Your job is to choose the program and show up! This can work for us although, after some time, we may find it stifling and religious rather than life-giving.

But one of the challenges of stepping out of traditional church is that we find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of taking responsibility for our own spiritual growth and spiritual connections. The fact is, both of these are necessary for healthy, vital, Jesus-following living: spiritual growth and spiritual connections. They work together.

So, what does this look like when we are not relying on the programmed church to provide the programs for connection and growth? Indeed, more than likely a house church gathering (unless it has a lot of connectedness going on a daily basis) also does not meet all the needs we have for vital spiritual connection either.

Let’s reflect on some Biblical needs we have for sustaining spiritual health and consider the variety of ways we might go about deliberately building connections and gatherings into our life. The point is that there is no one program/gathering that fits every need, thus leaving the challenge to each of us to build in what works for us.

1. Spiritual Food – “Man cannot live by bread alone.” This is obviously a need that we can meet ourselves individually as we read and meditate on God’s word for ourselves. But others help us in the feeding process:

• A house church gathering where the word is broken open and shared with one another
• A Bible study with friends
• An online study or video or teaching – especially if there is additional interaction involved
• A discipleship group focusing on eating, digesting, and applying the word of God

2. Spiritual Friends and sharing life with one another – “Love one another…” and “Bear one another’s burdens…”

• A house church gathering of spiritual friends
• Coffee or a meal with spiritual friends
• An activity (hiking, working out, or anything) shared regularly with spiritual friends
• Prayer groups

3. Healing Community – “Confess your sins to one another that you may be healed.”

• A house church community that is safe and open so that vulnerability with one another can be shared
• A 12-step meeting or Celebrate Recovery group
• A very good, spiritual friend with whom we can share openly and be honest with one another
• A close-knit group of spiritual friends who meet regularly for open sharing

4. Worship, Prayer, or Deeper Spiritual Life. This is, again, an area where we are able to pursue this on our own but spiritual connection with others help.

• Small group worship times whether house church or others
• Large celebration worship events
• Prayer meetings
• Spiritual / prayer retreats
• Contemplative prayer groups
• Nature retreats

5. Personal Mentors, Disciplers, and/or Spiritual Directors – “I am a father to you in the Lord…” This is probably one of the most important and least sought-after connection whether people are in or out of traditional churches.

• A discipleship group in which I am being discipled
• An informal or formal relationship with a mentor or spiritual director
• Any ‘elder’ that you have invited into your life to guide, direct, challenge, or support you

6. Mission – “Go into all the world…”

• A house church that shares a common, spiritual mission
• A house church that encourages us in our own personal mission and missional lifestyle
• Any group of people that we share a common, spiritual mission with
• Involvement in a local mission cause or organization
• Connection/involvement with others who are going on mission
• Going on mission to other places or peoples

Note that some of these connections can be done virtually and thus do not, necessarily, require a face-to-face encounter though the latter is often much more potent.

The point? We were never called to ‘go to church’ where others program our spiritual life. But, we have been called to an intentional Jesus-following lifestyle which does include regular spiritual connections. We need these to live vital, spiritually growing lives. Without the programming of traditional churches we will need to step into rhythms of connectedness that work for us.

Have you lost intentionality in several of these areas and feeling the dryness as a result? It may be time to ask God for some direction as to how He might refresh you and connect you to others who might support you in one or more of these areas:

1. Spiritual food
2. Spiritual friends
3. Healing community
4. Worship, prayer, and deeper spiritual life
5. Mentors / Disciplers
6. Mission partners or encouragers

What is your experience with taking responsibility to develop healthy spiritual connections with  others? What can you add to the different lists of ways to connect?

Someone recently asked me what our African friends do at Christmas time.

First I replied that most of them travel, if possible, to spend time with extended family and enjoy those relationships. There is no expectation around gifts that cannot be afforded, but a few extra dishes for the Christmas meal turns it into a family feast.

But then I commented that many of our African friends, with a heart for those poorer than themselves and a passion to reach the lost, seek out opportunities to spend time on Christmas day in remote areas. They take a little extra maize flour or vegetables with them to help those who are living on bare subsistence to enjoy something a little more for their Christmas meal. Oh, and it makes for conversations around the meaning of Christmas very rich.

They intentionally seek out those poorer than themselves to be with and to encourage!

This was a reminder to me that Jesus, above all else, modeled what it meant to give up his own riches to seek out and spend time among the poor. Christmas is, above all else, a celebration of this incarnational heart of God.

I am not suggesting that every one of us needs to forsake our Christmas traditions and spend that specific day among those more needy. But we who espouse, the organic Jesus-following lifestyle might at least consider how, when, and where we may seek out those who have less– spiritually, emotionally, or physically–and demonstrate God’s heart as he leads.

Oh, and let me give a shout out to our own December project that provides clean water for villages in Africa where disease from contaminated water is common. I hesitated to mention this here, but it seemed appropriate knowing that 100% of what is raised goes to directly to filters for families.

May Jesus be seen through us in all things…

Share your own comment about how you hope to see the reality of Christmas incarnated through you during this season or upcoming year!

Still one of my favorites…

 

Big things happen, really big things, when there are enough small, collective things taking place.

We are not dreaming big enough.  No, I’m not talking about how big each one of us can become, or how important each one of us can be, or how big of an organization or ministry each one of us can grow.  That’s backwards.  That turns God’s thing around.  We always think God wants US to be BIG.  He’s not into that.  He’s into HIM being BIG.

God is the one doing something big, way bigger than any of us are yet seeing or dreaming. 

But when we see that dream of His and it stirs us and motivates us to do our part with all of our heart, then we become one of the many that He collectively uses to do something big with.  We become part of HIS BIG.

For sure, God is up to some BIG stuff: “My kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”  That’s BIG. “The oppressed set free, the downtrodden lifted.”  That’s BIG.  “The Gospel of the Kingdom proclaimed to every nation (ethnic group).”  That’s BIG.  “The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will fill the earth.”  That’s really big.

Are we dreaming that big?

I believe we need to dream BIG with God in order to step with our whole hearts into the small, but divinely orchestrated, part that is ours to play with all of our gusto.  We are not small when we give our all to HIS BIG.  We are not unimportant when we do our part in HIS BIG.  We are needed more than ever to do all that He has called and gifted us to do with joy and passion so that His BIG collective purposes come to pass. 

And, frankly, there’s nothing better than that!

Simple/organic church folk might be key to the army God is preparing for needed global impact.

Though progress is being made, some estimate there are still over 6,000 unreached people groups (out of 11,700 total people groups) in which less than 2% are believers.  To live within such an unreached group means that it is highly likely you will live and die never hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here is a simple overview of unreached people groups worldwide along with the reminder that Jesus clearly said his target is ‘all nations’ meaning all people groups (‘ta ethne’).

So, why might simple/organic church folk be the very army that God is preparing for global impact?

1. Training is needed throughout the world in disciplemaking movements that lead to church planting movements so that these large groups of unreached people can be reached with the Gospel.  While business/institutional models of church hinder these movements, simple/organic church folk understand the type of church gatherings that can help facilitate and release such movements.  This understanding is needed throughout the world.

2. Simple/organic church folk understand that money is not needed for the church to grow and reproduce making it much easier for the Gospel to go forward.  Furthermore, much money can be freed up from the west, through simple/organic church expressions to flow into unreached parts of the world. 

3. Simple/organic church folk understand that the life of a Jesus follower is a 24/7 lifestyle rather than the passive attendance of church services.  This means more vibrant, impactful disciples are made.

4. Simple/organic church folk are committed to hearing and following the voice of Jesus and none other.  As we continue to tune our ears more and more to him, it is likely that his heart for ‘all peoples’ will motivate more and more people to reach beyond the comfort of their own people group and extend themselves to reach others.

5. Simple/organic church folk understand that the church is a going organism, not a come-and-sit event.  Our mentality is to be involved with Jesus in his mission throughout the world.  We live with a readiness to go where he sends!

An excerpt from the Simple/House Church Revolution book:

 

Solitude and Listening

If I were to point to one great need for us, as God’s people, who desire to experience a deeper intimacy with God, it would be the need for more solitude out of which comes a more available listening heart. Henri Nouwen speaks to this:

Solitude is being with God and God alone. Is there any space for that in your life?

Why is it so important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It's important because it's the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To pray is to listen to the One who calls you "my beloved daughter," "my beloved son," "my beloved child." To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being…

Solitude is where spiritual ministry begins. That's where Jesus listened to God. That's where we listen to God.