It’s been a very long time since you heard from me and you’ve probably forgotten that you ever signed up for my blog. I apologize! Two reasons for my silence: firstly, I had run out of things to say and didn’t want to repeat myself incessantly. Secondly, I had just been diagnosed with an incurable… Read More
Tag: simple church
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
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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
Erik Fish, founder of Student CPX which teaches students how to make disciples and plant churches on campuses, and his family are staying with us at present. A few days ago, four heavy boxes arrived for him. They were the first copies of a new pocket manual he has written called [pocket] Disciple: Seven Experiences… 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
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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