This is the first of several posts that look at how to follow the Holy Spirit when we gather. Everyone spends some time (10 minutes or more) on their own seeking God for what he would like them to bring. It might be a Bible passage, a thought, a picture, a song, a prayer need… Read More
Jesus wants to be Lord of our times together. He is not the honored guest but the Master of Ceremonies. If we are to follow the Holy Spirit in a gathering, it is important to know how to hear him in a group context. How do you know what is the Holy Spirit and what… Read More
Chris Jefferies posted the following comment to the last post I wrote, and it reminded me so much of when we learned the principles of following the Holy Spirit back in the UK. It was so good, I thought it worth posting as a main blog. "Felicity, you and Tony will certainly remember times in… Read More
Our friend Wolfgang Simson, likes to say that programs are what the church is reduced to when they don't know how to follow the Holy Spirit! The main difference between meeting in a house and simple/organic church is that we learn to follow the Holy Spirit when we get together. The key verse we refer… Read More
“The single most important thing that makes house church meetings reproducible” Felicity has written a very helpful blog on the subject of simple patterns for house church. There are many benefits to this kind of simplicity. One of the benefits is that it makes it easy for house churches to reproduce. The question then… Read More
The fourth reproducible element from Acts 2:42 in our times together is prayer. Prayer is foundational. It takes many forms. It includes praise, supplication, intercession for unbelievers, prayer for each other, warfare and so on. Again, the Holy Spirit is very creative and as we listen to him and follow his leading, we will find… Read More
The third of the four things that the early disciples devoted themselves to was "breaking bread." The second half of 1 Corinthians 11, which discusses the problems caused when some people ate all the food without waiting for others to arrive or even got drunk (!), makes it plain that this was in the context… Read More
In the last post we looked at the first of the four things mentioned in Acts 2:42, namely the apostles' doctrine. The second of these is fellowship. The Greek word koinonia has connotations of intimacy, of community, of communication. What does it look like in the context of simple church? It means a willingness for… Read More
Jesus spoke far more about the Kingdom than he did about the church. He demonstrated the Kingdom, taught about it, lived its principles. Between his resurrection and his ascension, he spent 40 days speaking to his disciples about the Kingdom (Acts 1:3). Then came the Day of Pentecost, when 3,000 became disciples. What did… Read More
One of the problems with the "Honey, I shrunk the church!" approach is that it is too complex to be reproducible, especially by new believers. Since most people's greatest fear is of public speaking, that makes giving a talk a huge hurdle for people to attempt, even with a smaller audience. What if there is… Read More