Simply ChurchWhen I received my advance review copy of Jesus, A Theographyopy, I was excited to delve into it. Jesus told the Pharisees, “All Scripture points to me.” We think we know the Jesus of the New Testament, but do we really believe that he can be found throughout the pages of the Old Testament? And what… Read More
Whenever I share about the nine years of wilderness we experienced when we first moved to the States, something about the story resonates with other people–especially the length of time we were there. It seems to give people hope that they, too, might emerge from their own desert experience with their faith stronger, and prepared for the next… Read More
Modern day fisherman on the Sea of Galilee While we were in Mongolia a few years back, I had a dream which over time has had a profound effect on my thinking. In the dream I was handing a small group of people a book. “It’s about how to be a commercial fisherman,” I told… Read More
Why is transitioning a church so difficult? Because when existing Christians get involved in simple/organic church life they have to go through a process that our friend Wolfgang Simson calls “Death Valley.” And it’s usually a slow and painful journey. Jesus told us in the parable of the wineskins that those who have tasted the… Read More
As the simple/organic movement becomes more mainstream, and the financial trends force more and more traditional churches to cut back economically, then many churches are asking the question: should we transition our legacy church into a network of simple/organic churches? Photo credit: Dan4th (Creative Commons) Every church needs to hear from the Lord about their… Read More
A dream Two nights ago I dreamed there was a movement of Christians all over the country who had decided to pray in public. They asked to pray in a secular context before business meetings. They prayed openly before meals asking the non-believers with them how they could pray for them. They refused to be… Read More
Simple things multiply; complex things are much harder to reproduce. Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks (Creative Commons) One of my favorite quotes from a Filipino church planter is this: Never do anything in church that a one week old Christian would be unable to duplicate. Only model what you want to see reproduced and what will lead… Read More
Before Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile, everyone assumed it was a physical impossibility. Once he showed it could be done, it became a commonplace occurrence. I came across a fascinating concept in a video the other day. The video is from a charismatic viewpoint, and there are some questions about the information on… Read More
The vision the individual members have for your group will determine the actions they take and your group’s ultimate destination. Photo credit: woodleywonderworks (Creative Commons) Why are the people in your group meeting? Simple/organic church provides a more intimate community. This is great, and an important component of simple church, but if that is why… Read More
Accountability has been key to the church that meets in our home over the last few weeks. Photo credit: ItzaFineDay (Creative Commons) In the last post, I described how a challenge to pray with someone during the week, led to my reaching out beyond my comfort zone to pray with a total stranger over the… Read More