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
Tag: house church
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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
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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
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Some scary statistics
Julie Ross, one of the co-authors of The Black Swan Effect: A response to gender hierarchy in the church compiled these scary statistics: Half the world’s population is female. They comprise 40% of the world’s workforce but own 1%of the world’s wealth. Seventy percent of those living in poverty in the world are female, globally. 100 million… Read More
We may have just helped to start another church. Sometimes starting a simple church can be just that–simple. We’ve had a wonderful couple from a Hindu background who have part of the church in our home for a while. We’ve prayed with them, baptized them, rejoiced with them at the miracles they’ve seen. When they… Read More
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Rethinking movements
I’ve had the incredible privilege of being part of various moves of the Holy Spirit–most recently, the simple/organic/house church movement. Right now, I’m putting considerable thought into the topic of movements. The reason: Others have encouraged me not to just sit back after publishing The Black Swan Effect: A Response to Gender Hierarchy in the… Read More
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3 predictions for 2014
For most of us, the New Year is marked by a sense of anticipation. The old year is done with; what will 2014 hold? Here are three of my ideas for what 2014 might bring for those of us in the simple/organic/house church movement (or those with an interest in the role of women in… Read More
It takes a lot to render me speechless. Even more to make me angry. This story happened yesterday. We have had a delightful lady church planter from India staying with us this week. She trains other women church planters and between them they have seen 50,000 to 60,000 baptisms of women over the last few… Read More
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Could this really be church?
For some time, Tony and I were involved in a church plant in the low-income housing projects in our city. Each time we got together, we started with a meal; at times, it resembled a stampede to the table. On one particular occasion, we had barely finished the meal when a fight broke out between… Read More
Several years ago, I wrote a book called An Army of Ordinary People: Stories of Real-Life Men and Women Simply Being the Church. I recently rediscovered a video where I talk about how I came to write the book and I answer questions about the simple/organic/ house church movement. Enjoy… Q&A with Felicity Dale from… Read More