Amy Carmichael was born in Ireland in 1867 to a well-to-do family. She decided to follow Jesus at the age of 13. At 18, her father died, leaving the family in a difficult financial situation. They moved to Belfast, where Amy became involved with the “shawlies,” mill girls who wore shawls rather than hats. She… Read More
Tag: mission
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The church moves West (part 2)
The focus of Christian missions has historically moved west. This is the second of a three part series (here is part one) looking at this phenomenon, and is part of the foreword I have written to a new Kindle book, Greet the Church in Your House. by Victor Choudhrie, due out in September. This book… Read More
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The church moves west (part one)
Over this past month, I’ve had the privilege of writing a foreword for a book written by one of my mentors in the faith, a church planter in India named Victor Choudhrie. The book, due out in September , will be available on Kindle and is called Greet the Church in Your House. It describes… Read More
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God’s view of time
The church has become accustomed to measuring success by the world’s standards–not just in terms of numbers but in terms of speed. In our Western world we expect fast and instant. Think microwave dinners, air travel, Internet. I think God views time differently. A story comes to mind; the story of James O. Fraser, chronicled… Read More
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The Holy Spirit and DL Moody
I’ve just finished reading A Passion for Souls: The Life of D. L. Moody, an account of the life of the famous evangelist. I found myself surprisingly moved by his life. DL Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts. His father died when he was only four years old and his mother was left caring for… Read More
The term, organic, means natural, nonchemical, living, and alive. When applied to church, it refers to something that grows naturally. Two people have popularized the name, organic church within the simple/organic/house church world. Neil Cole was the first one to do so with his superb book, Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens, which God has used to… Read More
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Multiplication tools: vision
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
Winston H. Churchill is the full name of our standard poodle. (Winston Churchill obviously stems from our British heritage. The middle initial, “H,” stands for Houdini which we added after he twice escaped from a wire kennel, leaving the door bolted behind him. No, don’t ask!) Winston: before grooming One of the advantages of a… Read More
I am privileged to have Ed Waken, an evangelist, write this outstanding post on evangelism. What could happen if we didn’t view spreading the good news as a chore, a somewhat socially embarrassing spiritual duty to be performed, but instead an adventure with Jesus. You can read part 1 of this post here. Ed is… Read More
Are all of us called to evangelize? This series of blog posts has been on simple/organic mission and evangelism. It has provoked a slew of questions. I am blessed to know Ed, an evangelist who is involved in organic churches. Here is his unique take on some of the questions. Ed is a leader in… Read More