Category Archives: Simpler Church

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

The Post-Coronavirus Church

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 a lot of us are really missing weekly fellowship with like-minded believers in Christ. I … Continue reading →

Organic Pastor in Simple Church

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 their experiences with area churches that told of similar accounts of not being able to … Continue reading →

12 Statements of Advice to a New Pastor

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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, memorize God’s promises, and make your preferred Bible your personal friend by marking it up … Continue reading →

Advice to a Church Planter on a Theology of Pastoral Ministry

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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. Having a clear understanding of what you believe God wants from you as a pastor … Continue reading →

Why Not to Start a House Church

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 a house church because you disagree with your current church or minister are not actually … Continue reading →

Sport Fans vs Church Fans?

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 team on Saturday but you can’t express yourself in worship in Sunday?” That statement, and … Continue reading →

We Are Church

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 that I think is challenging to the traditional church leader…  

Church Today, Evil?

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 the leadership of said churches intend to deliberately harm their congregations. I’ve shared the video … Continue reading →

More on Today’s Church

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 attended his first city ministerial association meeting made up of pastors from various churches and … Continue reading →

Simple Church Communities

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

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 the expressed purpose of worship, Bible teaching, and pastoral care that is regular and serves … Continue reading →