In our modern American vernacular the term “church” often refers to a building where people meet on Sunday mornings for worship. However, the biblical definition of church is really those called out of the world to follow Christ Jesus. So my headline for this post is a reference to those who follow Jesus without being in regular involvement with an institutional church where people gather on Sunday morning for worship. I meet these people everyday … Continue reading →
For nearly 12-years CrossHope Chapel was an informal, simpler expression of church, where one could encounter the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, engage others in authentic New Testament fellowship, and be encouraged through the verse-by-verse study of the Bible. It was the open study of the Bible that was probably the mark of CrossHope Chapel as a church fellowship. Opening to a selected book of the Bible and reading chapter by chapter then discussing … Continue reading →
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 has arrived for me to make mention of this. I don’t expect every organic church … Continue reading →
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 return to feeling the same. I am not convinced that on the other side of … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
Dear Church Friend in Mobile, Alabama, Have you ever invited the guy you work with or the lady at that office or the couple in your neighborhood to attend your church but they just haven’t? Maybe you have great Bible conversations with someone who doesn’t attend church anywhere. Maybe you’ve heard the same excuses as I have for not attending – burned-out, hypocrites, politics, clicks, personality conflicts, boring, bla bla bla.. However, there really are … Continue reading →
In the morning, thousands of people will wake up and get ready to attend a church of their choice. Some will put on their best clothing, some will happily re-wear something from the day before, and some will be more concerned over their toddlers and children keeping their cloths clean at least until they are checked into their Sunday School programs within a secluded room away from the adults. They will make their way to … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
I just watched a documentary video on the issue of children and youth leaving their parents faith and practices behind as they enter adulthood. The YouTube video documentary is embedded below and the link is too, because I am aware now that sometimes the embedded video doesn’t always show. (It is at https://youtu.be/3fKsWait2pE) We’ve all heard that upward of 80% of our youth do not remain in church attendance as adults and the documentary is suggesting … Continue reading →
I consider myself an advocate of house churches, but I have long been perplexed by books, blog posts, and statements that claim an identifying mark of a house church is having “no pastor” or no leader. Usually the flip side of that coin is often explained as “the priesthood of all believers” and everyone in the house church is involved. This is puzzling to me because according to the Bible in Ephesians 4:11-12 it was … Continue reading →
Want to do some more exploring about how others are doing simple church? Let me suggest a couple online visits you can make to explore the concept of house church ministry. The sites I’ve listed below do not imply an endorsement, but they do give some clarity to today’s house church movement. • YouTube video: “What is Simple Church?” • Ed Stetzer on House Church • Francis Chan’s We Are Church • Dr. Randy White on Starting … Continue reading →