↓
 

Chaplain Steve Durkac

Daily Email Devotionals

 
 
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog Articles
  • Verse Finder
  • Sentence Sermons
  • Study Guides
  • Prayer
  • Revelation
  • Books
  • Contact

Category Archives: Simpler Church

Simpler Church posts are related to best practices of pastoral ministry and leadership for simpler expressions of church communities.

Post navigation

1 2 >>

Theology of Pastoral Ministry

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on April 20, 2023 by Steve DurkacApril 20, 2023

I want to speak to pastoral care in the context of ministry within the role of serving as a pastor. So here I wish to bullet a few points to consider. • Too often the image of a pastor is built around a “leader-executive” role, but not that of a shepherd. The pastor is expected to focused on getting butts … Continue reading →

Posted in Mere Observations, Simpler Church | Tagged Acts 6:4, Ephesians 4:11, Pastor, pastoral care, pastoral leadership, shepherd-teacher

Church Purposes & Governing Values

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on July 26, 2022 by Steve DurkacJuly 26, 2022

When it came to how we did church, CrossHope Chapel held to the following four church purposes and seven governing values that guide our practices and focuses as a church.    Biblical Purposes 1. We seek to be a church where one can safely, without denominational bias, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged church, CrossHope Chapel, Governing Values

Pandemic, Western Church, & Simpler Community

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on October 22, 2021 by Steve DurkacOctober 22, 2021

I want to continue some thoughts from my last post and email sent to CrossHope Chapel titled “Pastor Appreciation & Keeping Community.” It had occurred to me that some good may come out of  the COVID-19 pandemic for the western church. My thought has been that a remnant within today’s western church may be nudged back to a more biblical … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged Acts 2:42, community, Constantine, Matthew 18:20, simpler, smaller

When Organic Church Goes Bad

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on March 7, 2021 by Steve DurkacMarch 7, 2021

Organic things go bad. Fruit grows old, vegetables go rotten, and meat will decay. When it comes to organic church groups, the principle is the same. Organic church can go bad, too. I’ve been mauling over this for sometime now and because my blog gets a good deal of traffic on my Simpler Church category posts, I thought the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged Acts 2:42, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church

Dear Small Church Pastor

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on September 29, 2020 by Steve DurkacSeptember 29, 2020

There is encouragement for you in the account of Jesus speaking with Peter as recorded in John 21:15-19. Peter was discouraged, he felt defeated, and not exactly engaged in the mission that he had previously responded to when the Lord called him. The focal point of this narrative is in John 21:17 when Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged discourage, discouragement, feed his sheep, John 21:17, Pastor, Small Church, small church pastor

Not Returning to Church After COVID-19?

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on July 29, 2020 by Steve DurkacJuly 29, 2020

I have had at least three conversations in the past two weeks with individuals who have told me that when their church goes back to regular in-person worship services, they will not. All three of these people were from different congregations representing Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, and Nondenominational but all three cited a similar reason as to why they are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged American Church, church, COVID-19, fellowship, House Church, Micro-Church, start a house church

No Official Church Membership?

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on April 28, 2020 by Steve DurkacApril 28, 2020

The church I serve as pastor, CrossHope Chapel, does not have an official sign on the dotted line type of local membership. You can’t sign anything that says you want to be a member of CrossHope Chapel or you can’t sign any commitment to be a member of CrossHope Chapel. One becomes a member of CrossHope Chapel by being a … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged church, CrossHope Chapel, membership, parishioners

Will COVID-19 Change American Church?

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on April 6, 2020 by Steve DurkacApril 6, 2020

The COVID-19 crises is changing the ways we do life in America, and it is yet to be seen how much of those normal ways of doing life will return. I suspect a good deal of what was normal a few months ago will come back, but I also suspect a lot will not. I also suspect that it won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged America, American Church, church, coronavirus, COVID-19, House Church, Simple Church

The Post-Coronavirus Church

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on March 29, 2020 by Steve DurkacMarch 29, 2020

The coronavirus is challenging many of the ways we do life in America. Some businesses are discovering that employees can work from home, families are adjusting to actually spending more time together, and church members are realizing that a weekly formal program may not be as necessary to their personal spiritual growth as they once thought. I am guessing that … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged Brad Brisco, church plant, CrossHope Chapel, House Church, Micro-Church, Non-traditional Church, nontraditional church, Simple Church, Steve Durkac

Organic Pastor in Simple Church

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on September 16, 2019 by Steve DurkacSeptember 16, 2019

In 2006 I was working at a local hospital as a chaplain and taken back by a high number of patients who could express and articulate their personal belief in Jesus Christ and convictions in biblical doctrines, yet who also had no involvement and fellowship in any church congregation. Many of these same individuals also shared stories with me of … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged church planting, church start, House Church, Micro-Church, Organic Church, Pastor, pastoral ministry, Simple Church, start a house church

12 Statements of Advice to a New Pastor

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on May 10, 2019 by Steve DurkacMay 10, 2019

I belong to a Facebook group of some 4000 small church pastors, and recently someone asked what “What would be your advice to a new pastor?” The first thought that came to my mind was “Study, study, study.” Then as I thought it over further, a slew of things came to mind, so here they are… • Study God’s Word, … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged advice, church planting, new pastor

Advice to a Church Planter on a Theology of Pastoral Ministry

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on May 10, 2019 by Steve DurkacMay 10, 2019

If we were to meet over coffee to talk about your hopes to plant a church, I would begin by asking you if you have developed a theology of pastoral ministry. A theology of pastoral ministry isn’t much different than having a theology of God or a theology of the return of Christ or any other conviction of biblical beliefs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged 1 Peter 5:2, Acts 6:4, advice, church planting, Ephesians 4:11, pastoral theology, theology of pastoral ministry

Why Not to Start a House Church

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on December 5, 2018 by Steve DurkacDecember 5, 2018

Don’t start a house church because you want to be in charge. That’s not a good reason. Worse yet, you can not sustain a house church if you just want to be the boss. My personal opinion is that it is perhaps the one really bad reason to want to start a house church. I happen to think that starting … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged CrossHope Chapel, House Church, Organic Church, pastoral ministry, Simple Church, start a house church

Sport Fans vs Church Fans

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on November 26, 2018 by Steve DurkacNovember 26, 2018

There was once a time while I was serving as a hospital chaplain that my family and I attended a new and growing Baptist church. We loved the fellowship, the church, the vision for growth, but there was one thing that use to drive me nuts…the pastor would often say “Why do you get so excited about your favorite sports … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged church, church attendance, Karl Vaters

We Are Church

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on November 24, 2018 by Steve DurkacNovember 24, 2018

Francis Chan has the left the mega church world and is now focused on ministry through his We Are Church house church network. I happen to like Francis Chan and I have a greater respect for his voice when it comes to advocating for simpler and smaller church groups and communities. Here is a video clip that I like and … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged Francis Chan, House Church, We Are Church

Church Today, Evil?

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on September 21, 2018 by Steve DurkacSeptember 21, 2018

That’s what Francis Chan called it, but I would disagree with calling today’s consumerism church gatherings as out right evil, and I also think Francis Chan didn’t mean it as harshly as he said. Evil is something with an intention to deliberately harm, and I’m guessing Francis Chan meant to stress the “harm” done by a consumerism church, not that … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged American Church, Francis Chan, House Church, Simple Church

More on Today’s Church

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on September 4, 2018 by Steve DurkacSeptember 4, 2018

A few weeks ago I posted on 2 Corinthians & God’s Word and got into a bit of a rant on my observations on the waywardness of today’s church with a trend away from preaching from the Bible. You can read about that at https://www.crosshopechapel.org/2-corinthians-gods-word/. Sunday I shared about a comment in our pastors’ Facebook Group from a new minister who … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged American, Bible, church, John 12:32

Simple Church Communities

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on August 21, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 21, 2018

In a previous post I gave a definition for what I think when I use the term “Organic Pastor” and you can find that post here. In this post I would like to help you understand just what I mean when I use the term “Simple Church Communities.”  My definition of the term “Simple Church Communities” is any gathering of people for … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged church planting, House Church, Matthew 18:20, Organic Church, Simple Church, Small Group

Pull or Push Leadership?

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on August 15, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 15, 2018

I can remember one of my Old Testament professors discussing the difference between leaders who pull and leaders who push. He explained the difference by sharing with the class something he witnessed on a trip in the Middle East while he was traveling from a teaching assignment in Israel to a new teaching assignment in Ethiopia. He explained that when … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged leadership, Pastor, pastoral leadership, shepherd

A Definite Aim

Chaplain Steve Durkac Posted on August 14, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 14, 2018

David Jones was a British teenager who wanted to make a career out of his love for music. He was playing and performing his music before he ever graduated from school. He became a leader of several bands and finally recorded his first album. The album received positive reviews by England’s harshest music critics, yet it sold little. In a … Continue reading →

Posted in Simpler Church | Tagged goal, leadership, Pastor, pastoral leadership, purpose

Post navigation

1 2 >>

Archives

  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015

Categories

  • Bible Answers
  • Grief Experience
  • Marriage Notes
  • Mere Observations
  • Pastoral Notes
  • Simpler Church
  • Spiritual Care
  • Thru Revelation
© Copyright 2023 Steve Durkac | Site Map | Powered by DreamHost Privacy Policy
↑