In 2007, in the book Small Is Big!: Unleashing the Big Impact of Intentionally Small Churches (originally The Rabbit and The Elephant) which I co-authored with my husband, Tony, and George Barna, I wrote the following under the subtitle, “A fashionable fad”: Another hazard we face is that of becoming fashionable, the latest phenomenon in church statistics, the… Read More
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Skate Church
What is God doing with simple/house churches in this country? This past weekend, Tony and I spoke at a simple church conference in Lexington Kentucky. On the way there, I asked the Lord, “Father, what are you doing with house churches around this nation? Are they healthy?” I sensed his reply to me: “Check out what… Read More
A few years ago, I had the privilege of training a church in India in the principles of church planting. One of the activities we did was to listen to the Lord on behalf of the church. What was he saying to them as a body of believers? They were a wonderful group of people and… Read More
In the late 70s and 80s, Tony and I lived in community. We didn’t all live under the same roof, but many families lived in a very small area of the East End of London, which at that time was 92 percent government housing. They were amazing days. We shared meals, tools, at times, cars.… Read More
Gary Shogren and his wife are missionaries in Costa Rica and professors in a Bible College and Seminary. Gary is an expert in the Greek New Testament with a PhD from Aberdeen University. He has written an exegetical commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Recently, Gary sent me a post on the NIV 2011 edition… Read More
I am hugely blessed (and definitely humbled) whenever I hear that something I’ve written has made a difference in the life of another person. John White is a good friend. We’ve known him and his wife, Tamela, for almost 15 years. I have been watching what the Lord is doing through Lk10, the organization that he… Read More
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For such a time as this
For some time, I have wondered why the Lord has placed an emphasis on small groups meeting in homes. (According to a survey by the Pew Forum in 2009, nine percent of Protestants in the USA “hold services” in homes.) In other nations, the rise of house churches is often in response to persecution. But… Read More
In his book, The New Covenant, Bob Emery dramatizes the story of the New Testament through the eyes of the apostle, John. It contains many fascinating insights–ideas I had not seen before in my reading of the New Testament many of which I found myself researching and coming to an “Aha!” moment. Here’s one of Bob’s insights into… Read More
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What are we thinking?
I came across a shocking statistic earlier today. According to the International Bulletin of Missionary Research (2012), the cost per baptism globally is $762,000! What are we thinking? I’m sure these figures include seminaries, buildings, training pastors etc., but sometimes I wonder, is this why Jesus died? I know you cannot put a figure on the… Read More
Sometimes being a Christian in this country is synonymous with having a certain political opinion. Ross Rohde wrote an interesting post on this topic. David Theroux is Founder and President of the CS Lewis Society in California. He recently sent me a quote from a lecture he gave on how C.S. Lewis’ viewed liberty: The… Read More