Simple Church – Something More?

Continued from last time…

Some who left the IC registered concern with the clergy/laity dichotomy typical there as well as a heavy-handed authoritarian structure that felt “artificial,” “stifling” or “exclusive.”  Again, these people aren’t perennial malcontents, fruit loops or flakes.  These are solid, sincere Christians who expressed honest concern and frustration with what they perceived to be a “rigid, inflexible” structure that stifled creativity, authenticity and real spiritual growth.  They weren’t leaving the IC because they lost their faith; they left to protect their faith.

Weary of  Gender Wars

Interestingly, a few intrepid women and men with whom we talked expressed a growing disillusionment and frustration with “gender discrimination” within the IC.  They grew weary of an “old boys club” paradigm that excluded women from church leadership and other key positions or roles.  “Disrespect” and “smothered” or “slapped down” were words that kept cropping up.  (Comments came from self-identified “conservative evangelicals.”)  These people affirmed “service by gifting and calling, not by gender” and found themselves “like fish out of water” in their particular IC context.  They left and are serving the Lord “full-throttle” in other contexts, sans the gender shackles and stereotypes.  (For more on this, see Kevin Giles’ excellent article on “House Churches” in the Winter 2010 issue of CBE’s Priscilla Papers as well as his Patterns of Ministry Amongst the First Christians.  Also check out:  House Churches: Facilitating Community, and  Leadership in the Early Church.)

Evidence of Hope?

This may sound negative or critical  – maybe even threatening -  especially if you’re trying to keep your institutional church afloat.  But look again.  Isn’t the frustration and disenchantment expressed with the “IC status quo” actually a sign of life, evidence that people are looking for something “more” from their “church”?

Your Turn

Simple Church (or “organic church”) may not solve or address all these issues/concerns and we’re not suggesting you bail out of your IC if that’s where you feel God wants you.  Just realize that the IC isn’t the only option.  You can worship, serve, reach out, grow and be the church outside of a building or a committee-driven institution.  Whatever your view on “church,” if the discussion spurs real change, real movement, real thought and deeper dives into the heart of God as a result, won’t that be a good thing?

What do you think?  What’s your “church experience”?   We’d like to hear from you.

For further reading ( NOTE:  Listing here does not necessarily imply endorsement.  You’re encouraged to do your own digging):

Simple Church Resources from Amazon

Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples

by: Thom S. Rainer, Eric Geiger

Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 10/28/2009)

Revolution

by: George Barna

Amazon Price: $12.23 (as of 10/28/2009)

Houses that Change the World

by: Wolfgang Simson

Amazon Price: $8.79 (as of 10/28/2009)

So You Want to Start a House Church?: First-Century Styled Church Planting For Today

by: Frank Viola

Amazon Price: (as of 10/28/2009)

The Church Comes Home

by: Robert J. Banks, Julia Banks

Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 10/28/2009)

For Further Reading:

Revolution by George Barna is a must read for anyone interested in house churches. He articulates the reasons why 20 million believers (between 2000-2005) left local typical churches in their search for God.

The American Church In Crisis by David T. Olson, 2008, provides you with some of the most recent research on the spiritual and religious trends of North America. A must read.

Missional House Churches by J.D. Payne, 2007, chronicles a research study on house churches found in North America.  Highly recommended for current church leaders.

unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons is sobering.

The Search to Belong by Joseph R. Myers explains a paradigm shift and what it means to “belong” in today’s world. This book is very challenging, especially in how a church relates to the question of belonging. A must read for current church leaders.

Revolution in the Church by Russell Burrill is a short and easy read that prepares the way for the coming Revolution.

Evangelism, and Gospel workers, by Ellen White. These two books are recommended by Dr. Cho, pastor of the worlds largest church in Seoul Korea.

Fire Your Pastor: hope for a lost world by Lonnie Wibberding. This book has an edgy title but it is well written and is recommended by Russell Burrill. A free PDF copy is available at www.FireYourPastor.org Lonnie in an Adventist pastor serving in Pennsylvania.

The Present Future – Reggie MacNeal

Reimagining Church & Pagan Christianity – Frank Viola

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Up next: an eight-part series based on 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady.  (The inaugural post for the “10 Lies” series is entitled, So What IS ‘Biblical Womanhood,’ Anyway?, followed by “Biblical Feminist”: Oxy-Moron or Real Deal? Because it’s stirred significant interest, we’re launching a series on “Spiritual Abuse“  in late March.

See ya soon!

Pew Perspectives: Sound Familiar?

Reasons for leaving the “traditional” or “institutional” church are legion (see prior posts).  “Juniper Tree” enumerates things he’s hearing “from committed believers these days.”  Do any of these sound familiar?:

• We are bored.  Sitting through the same old rituals and listening to the same tired voice week after week has dulled our spiritual passion.
• We feel disconnected. Sitting in rooms full of people we hardly know, watching the same people perform on the stage, isn’t building the kind of relationships we long for.
• We are tired of seeing people blasted with guilt and religious obligation. Guilt is a great motivator but it hardly leaves us feeling wanted and needed.
• We are sick of the political games, played behind the scenes, to serve someone’s ego and preserve the institutional priorities over the priorities of Jesus.
• We are frustrated with asking questions and being pushed away and not listened to by leaders who don’t like the questions we are raising.
• We found the performance based gospel being preached by the institution was causing us to spend ourselves serving the institution rather than the Savior.
• We found we were being forced into pretense and hiding rather than led into authenticity and openness in order to create the illusion that all was well in the Family.
• We felt like the institutional church had so abandoned the truth of Jesus for some safe program of happy truth that we no longer could experience the reality of God in our lives.

We might add things we’ve heard:

- We’re tired of church cliques, power plays, “head trips,” office politics and fake, happy-face “unity.”

- We long to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with our community in fresh, dynamic ways, but our church is focused on itself.  It’s more concerned about buildings, mortgages, salaries, committees and maintaining a “religious club” to serve “club members” than it is on outreach or others.

- We are tired of the bloated bureaucracies and hierarchies in the IC.  Is this what God intended?

- Whatever happened to the “universal priesthood of all believers”?  Why is the “heavy lifting” in so many ICs up to one or a small group of paid professionals who try to control everything and everyone?

- We see “church” as who we are, not something we do or a place we go once a week.

- From parents of a family of eight: “I don’t like the age-segregated thing that goes on on Sunday mornings – kids go to one class, parents to another.  I want to ‘do church’ with my family.   I also want my kids to be able to fully participate and contribute, rather than be seen as “distractions” or “sidelines” to be “shushed” or herded aside so the “real” business of church can be conducted by adults!  Since when is “church” grown-ups only?”

- Likewise, we’ve often wondered why the “real” business of church is a male-exclusive domain in some settings.  With virtually half its “troops” sidelined into the kitchen or nursery rather than fully exercising their gifts and calling, is it any wonder that the IC is making so little  impact – and why some believers long for a fuller, richer expression of faith, worship, and service as well as a more authentic walk with God?

***

Join us next time for “Something More…?”

If you’re interested in ministry to children, don’t miss our new blog, Victory Circle, “where ‘little victories’ matter.  MOST.”

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In the pipeline next: an eight-part series based on 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady.  (The inaugural post for the “10 Lies” series is entitled, “So what IS ‘Biblical Womanhood,’ Anyway”?) Because it’s stirred significant interest, we’ve decided to launch a series on “Spiritual Abuse“  in March.

Doesn’t the new header look luscious?!

Fine. Tell us why.

A myriad of indicators as well as the Barna research noted previously corresponds to a book authored by global house church expert Wolfgang Simson, a German who has been engaged in tracking the organic church world for more than two decades.  In The House Church Book, Simson provides a simple but compelling discussion about why house churches are valuable entities in the kingdom of God, and some of the insights he’s gleaned about how they work best.

A persuasive advocate for house churches, Simson writes that “church as we know it is preventing church as God wants it,” discussing the attributes of the New Testament church and how it differs so dramatically from today’s churches.

“The New Testament church was made up of small groups, typically between ten and fifteen people. It grew, but not by forming big congregations of three hundred people… Instead it multiplied ‘sideways,’ dividing like organic cells once these groups reached about fifteen or twenty people. This then made it possible for all Christians to get together in citywide celebrations,”

which facilitated a greater sense of the body of believers in an area as well as dynamic worship and growth experiences.

A greater sense of the body of believers.  Dynamic worship.  Real growth.  Isn’t that what “church” is supposed to be?

Here’s your chance to chime in.  If you’re in an “institutional, traditional” church, fine.  Tell us why.  If not, what are you doing to love, serve and worship God and grow in grace and wisdom?  If you left the IC, tell us how come?  (As always, please observe our comment policy.  All comments are moderated.  Absolutely NO flames.)

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Up next: Pew Perspectives and Something More?

“The average church spends…?”

“The average church in the United States will spend as much as 64 percent of its budget on staff salaries. Additionally, it will spend as much as 30 percent of its offerings on maintaining its buildings.5 Researchers say that churches spend between 82 – 96 percent of their financial resources on maintaining themselves.6 This does not include the millions that are spent on building bigger buildings.”

According to Generous Giving, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to spread the biblical message of generosity and grow generous givers,” financial priorities in the average church look like this:

Buildings over Evangelism: When asked “What would you do with an unexpected financial windfall?” 31 percent of Protestant pastors said they would build, expand or update their church buildings and facilities. Seven percent said they would give more to foreign missions and evangelism.

Salaries over Missions: Almost 50 percent of the average church’s budget goes to staff and personnel salaries. Missions and evangelism accounts for about 5 percent.

Large Staff: On average, mega-churches in America had 20 full-time leadership staff in 2005, up from 13 in 2000.

American churches spend an average of 22 percent of their budgets on the upkeep or expansion of their physical buildings.

Overseas Ministries: Only 2 cents of every dollar given by American Christians goes to support overseas ministries.

***

Question: Does this model and these priorities look like a New Testament church to you?

5  William Tenny-Brittian, House Church Manual (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2004), 67-68.

6  Larry Kreider and Floyd McClung, Starting a House Church (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2007), 107.

***

Join us next time for “Fine. Tell Us Why,” followed by “Pew Perspectives” and “Something More?”

Why “Simple Church”?

We’ve taken a brief (very brief) look at what “Simple Church” (SC) is and how it may look.  The next question is usually, “Why SC?”

Possible answers are as many as there are potential respondents.  This post isn’t intended to – nor can it possibly – provide a comprehensive overview of all the possibilities, reasons or perspectives why people choose SC over the IC (institutional church).   So we’ll limit ourselves to those that in our opinion number among the most salient.  Read on.

“The church, as a whole, is doing more and more. And the church, as a whole, is making less and less of a difference. Church complexity is costly. The cost is beyond time and money. The kingdom is not expanding. Lives are not being changed. Transformation is not happening. Churches are not growing” (Rainer and Geiger, Simple Church, p. 228).

Start at the Beginning

Is Rainer and Geiger’s statement accurate?

Well, let’s start with some research  by the the Barna Group, a  leading marketing research firm focused on the intersection of faith and culture.  Founder George Barna’s best-selling book,  Revolution (2005), issued a  predictive snapshot of the church in America as well as some sobering statistics.

A brief synopsis:

- Thirty percent of committed believers are no longer attached to a traditional congregation. (A traditional congregation is one that meets in a large group setting, is led by a pastor/board, promotes and leads programs by committee and funds their institution by the gifts of those who attend.)

- If the same demographic continues, in 20 years, 70% of committed believers will no longer be attached to the traditional church.  (Important note: Barna is NOT saying that people are leaving the traditional church because they’ve lost their faith.  They’re leaving to protect their faith.  Big difference.)

- Committed believers are leaving because the institutional church didn’t fulfill their spiritual hunger and wasted too much of their time and energy on programs and activities that did little or nothing to promote a deeper dependence on Jesus or healthy relationships with other believers.

- For more “eye witness” accounts, see Letters from Leavers.  Also see A Journey in Simple Church. (Click on Stories.)

Additionally, the View from Juniper Tree observes:

What Barna said created quite a firestorm of criticism from the establishment, as you can imagine.  What institution wants to spend the next 20 years vainly hanging on to their committee-driven vision, while year after year the most committed among them opt out for something no committee or elder board can ever provide, an authentic encounter with the living God and a deep and fulfilling relationship with His people?

Last week, in 3 separate conversations with passionate and committed believers, I heard the cry that seems to be building in the Family; “where can I go to find people who love Jesus, love each other and want to spend their time helping people find hope and healing, rather than sitting in committees trying to fire a vision for the same old thing?” (Been there, done that.  Bought the T-shirt.)

These were not negative, critical people but highly involved, motivated and Spirit filled lovers of the Father, yet they were as disillusioned with their church as they have ever been.

Does  this sound familiar?  If so, there’s HOPE!

More next time.

***

Also in the pipeline: an eight-part discussion based on 10 Lies the Church Tells Women. Because it’s generated significant interest,  a series on “Spiritual Abuse” launches in March.

Some “Simple Church” Distinctives

Karis Productions, in association with House2House, has also produced Tidal Wave:

Simple church models vary, but the concept is anchored in the New Testament model.  Some of the distinctives of Simple Church include the following, per Tidal Wave:

1. Real Community

In “simple church,” church “isn’t where you go, it’s who you are, and we are together.”  It’s being the church vs. going to church.

2. Organic – “Everyone’s Involved”

-   Everyone participates.  Simple church isn’t  sitting in rows listening passively to one person, one day a week.  Simple church is a conversation, a dialogue, coming to census.

-   “Simple church” is a place where each person contributes.  There’s no clergy/laity dichotomy.  No age or gender restrictions.

-  Not just about a meeting one day a week.

-   The church isn’t assigned exclusively to a group of “ministry professionals,” it’s for everyone.  It’s a family.  (Kids are included, not shunted off to a separate room or program.)

-    It’s where everyone’s involved and kingdom work isn’t left “to a few professionals with seminary degrees,” so reproducing happens naturally, organically.

3. Rapid Reproduction

-   “Simple churches grow ten times faster than the fastest growing traditional church” – Wolfgang Simson

-   Simple churches “bypass barriers to church growth.”  The video notes that it usually takes “$1 to $2million to build a church building.”  SCs aren’t tied to building funds, or paying salaries or other overhead.

-   In “building-based churches,” the focus is on bringing people in and hiring staff to accommodate them, not on spontaneous growth or going out.

-    “Simple things reproduce – complex things break down…. Simple isn’t the same as simplistic; some of the most profound things in life are very simple (Note Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed).”

4.    Liquid Church

-   SC is fluid, flexible, simple.  Not tied down to one central geographic point.

-    Permeates every facet of society – “going to where the lost are and sharing the love of Christ, not trying to draw people out of their comfort zones and into the pews.”

-   Circles of influence – getting people to take their faith outside.

5.   Leadership

-    Official training and charisma aren’t required.  Simple church isn’t “about celebrities or leaders who are in control.  The Holy Spirit is in control!”

-    “It’s about releasing an army of ordinary people” and seeing leadership potential realized and released in Kingdom work.

-    “When the joy and the peace leave, we aren’t doing it His way” – “my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

-   Getting rid of hierarchical structures that “lock people out” and consign so many to spectator status.

-   Means a “death to create an empire, to be in the limelight,” to be in control.

-   Assembles around tables and homes where people who love Jesus share, eat, laugh, cry, celebrate, strengthen, support and equip – and God gets the glory.

-   No “Old Boys Club” with male-only leadership.

6.  Money

-    Simple church isn’t about building funds and salaries.  It goes where the needs are (James 1:26, 27).

-   Uses Kingdom resources to reach and help people rather than meet a budget or pay overhead.

7.  Unity in Diversity

-    Different groups of people with different backgrounds “setting aside personal agendas and listening to the Lord together to advance Kingdom work.”

-   “Many members, one body: His.”

-   “An army of ordinary men and women around the world, changing the world, and not man, but God gets the glory.”

We’ll get in to some “nuts and bolts” next time.

For more info, see Simple Church.  Additional resources here.

***

Coming up: Why Simple Church?

What is “Simple Church”?

Greetings, sports fans…

Okay, okay.  It’s a tired, over-used salutation.  But we’re still in “recovery mode” after the holidays and want to open up a discussion on “simple church” and related issues and… well… as usual,  God only knows.  Ready?  Set?  Let’s go!

What Is It?

What is “Simple Church” (SC)?    Models vary, but the basic concept is found in Acts 2:42-47.

Simple church doesn’t have buildings, professional clergy, budgets, or denominations.  SC meets where people live.  “SCers” gather together in the name of Jesus around His Word.  As Christ-centered communities, SCs nurture each other in God’s truth and move out in the amazing journey of joining Him on His mission.

“Simple Church” may sound a little weird if you’re used to another model, but SC is just that: simple. Take a gander at the video below for some basics – and see ya here next time for more:

***

Coming up next: Some Simple Church Distinctives.

Also in this series:

- Why Simple Church?

- The Average Church Spends…?

- “Fine.  Tell us why.”

- Pew Perspectives

- Something More?

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If you’re interested in ministry to children, don’t miss our new blog, Victory Circle, “where ‘little victories’ matter.  MOST.”

“Un-Crossing the T”

For the law was given through Moses;

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

– John 1:17

How you ever believed a lie?  Swallowed a whopper hook, line and sinker only to discover that it was a falsehood fabricated in a misrepresentation, wrapped in a warp and tied up with a tainted twist?

I have.

What lie did I swallow?  About whom?  Well, to “begin at the beginning,” it wasn’t one lie, but several.  From a trusted, high-profile source I respected.

Davis (pseudonymn) and I didn’t see eye-to-eye on a certain product and the institutional priorities and financial resources surrounding its development and distribution.  He had his data; I had mine.  A long-time employee with power and position, my former colleague manipulated the situation in his favor by omitting key facts and mangling others.  Leveraging his considerable influence to rally stockholders to his cause, Davis crafted and choreographed a “crossing the T” campaign like Lord Nelson at Trafalgar.*  The effect was withering, but the target wasn’t another ship, product, proposal, or priority.  It was me.  The main casualties?  Grace and Truth.

Trying to make some sense of this later, I asked God: “What’s true here?  Is Davis right, accurate?”  Davis’s thundering pronouncements had me doubting my skills and abilities.  Myself.  “I know what Davis thinks – but what do You think?”

Ever notice how you can get so wrapped up in wanting to hear from God on a specific issue or question that you start demanding He speak?  The louder you holler, the less able you are to hear.  Sometimes God isn’t speaking on that subject that day, so be patient and keep listening.

Thumbing through my Bible later, I revisited my question about Truth. My Bible opened to Ephesians 2:10:

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

The word “workmanship” connotes “work of art.”  “Prepared in advance” carries forward the theme of God’s sovereign purpose and planning.  In other words, no “oops” moments.  What are the odds my Bible would fall open to just this page, on just this day?  But that’s not all.

Over the next week I “just happened” to catch two songs, one poem and two separate books by different authors published more than twenty years apart that spoke directly to the topic at hand.  Coincidence?  Or was God speaking?

That “still, small voice” whispered, “You’re my work of art.”  High quality.  Beautiful.  Precious.  Masterpiece.  Created to do “good works.”  Not junk.  And not what Davis asserted or assumed.

I could almost see the Lord smiling.  At me!

Buoyed by vociferous objections to “the Davis spin” from family, friends and co-workers, my heart lightened by a ton and a half.  The “T” began to lift, list.  Sink.

Now don’t misunderstand.  I’m not suggesting you automatically discount or ignore what’s hard to hear just because it’s hard to hear.  Dismissing wise counsel or loving reproof can short-circuit your spiritual health and cripple your growth.  But don’t assume that a big name or a robust personality attached to a value judgment makes it valid.  Or that they’ve cornered the market on truth.  Check.  The goal of biblical confrontation should be edifying and restoring (See Matthew 18 and Galatians 6:1,2).  If crushing or condemning are in play, dig deeper and:

-         Evaluate motive.  Was it to help or harm?  Mend or malign?  Was there overt hostility?  Disrespect?  Self-righteous rock-chucking?  Were you a target of truth or a convenient opportunity to unload some residual resentment?

-         Ask: how well does this person know me?  Are they in any position to issue an accurate, definitive value judgment?  If the frank feedback of close family members or friends is markedly different from what your source alleges, take note.  (Also take the other party with a grain of salt.  Maybe a big one.)

-         Is the criticism or complaint demonstrably off-base?  Did they presume or pre-judge?  Is there something else in play?  Stress?  Fatigue?  A power-play?  Head trip?  Intimidation?

-         Do they have all the facts, or did they pick and choose those that support their views or version?

-         Were you given a chance to explain?

-          Was  a hidden agenda in play?  Did the other party engage you directly, one-on-one, or did they drag others into the fray to brace a sagging backbone?  (This is the mark of a coward.  It may also constitute spiritual abuse.)

-         Follow-up if possible.  If the other person is unable or unwilling to engage, that’s a clue.  At this point it may be best to disconnect and move on.  This is especially important if the relationship turns toxic, or if the other person holds a position such that further damage can be inflicted or distortions disseminated unchallenged.  Get out and get safe.

-         Search for Truth in what God says via His Word, outside counsel, salient facts and other avenues.  Evaluate.  Ask.  Listen.  Evaluate again.

I eventually realized that Davis’s tactics were more about him than me.  Exposed to the light, the lies and license shriveled and died.  Truth “uncrossed” the T.

Stronger and sturdier from my “naval engagement,” I look at the open water ahead and give thanks.  For frank friends and family.  For a still, small voice.  And for Davis, who gave me reason to leave the harbor and launch into a “big blue” I hadn’t seen before.  Surging into the surf, my sails fill with the twin winds of grace and truth.  Their welcome return signals a fair wind.  The sea is up, the water running full and free.  Full steam ahead!

* “Crossing or capping the T” is a classic naval warfare tactic attempted from the late 19th to mid 20th century, in which a line of warships crossed in front of a line of enemy ships, allowing the crossing line to bring all their guns to bear while receiving minimal fire from only the forward guns of the enemy.   The tactic was employed by Lord Nelson at t he Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, when the British defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet in the most decisive and important naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

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Stay tuned for Part 1 of our seven-part series on Simple Church, followed by an eight-part discussion based on 10 Lies the Church Tells Women. Because it’s generated significant interest,  a series on “Spiritual Abuse” launches in March.

And…

If you’re interested in ministry to children, don’t miss our new blog, Victory Circle, “where ‘little victories’ matter.  MOST.”

Top Posts of 2009

Taking a look at the stats from the past year, we compiled a short list of the Top Five Posts of 2009.

“May I have the envelope, please?” And the “winners” are:

Nuggets and Nudges (Ideas for Women’s Ministries)

“Spiritual Abuse”

Cleaver and Conundrums – Why I Don’t Do Women’s Retreats

“True Woman Manifesto:” A Response (Part 1 of 3)

Invisible Christian Women

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Up next: “Un-Crossing the T,” followed by a 7-part series on Simple Church and then a series based on 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady.  (The inaugural post for the “10 Lies” series is entitled, “Are You A Biblical Feminist”?) Because it’s stirred significant interest, we’ve decided to launch a series on “Spiritual Abuse“  in March.