Churchless Christian

A couple of years ago, I made a decision to leave my denomination I was a Minister in because of some behaviour I saw being exhibited.  I shared what I was going to do with the friends we gather with.  A couple of days later one of these friends turned up to help me fix some fences.  While we were working he casually mentioned that he had found it interesting what I had said about the behaviours I had seen in this organisation I had decided to leave.  He casually mentioned that he had seen those same behaviours expressed in my own life towards other people. As I was thinking and struggling with what he said, he also mentioned that perhaps before I left the organisation, I should go around and put things right with my own people in regards to those same behaviours”.  This was said in love, by someone who in the past had invested in my life.  Obviously I was convicted and did as he said or I would not have told this story, but that is a perfect example of brothers being submitted one to another.
read 5 KEYS TO STAYING SAFE

House Church Simple Church Covering

I realise that quitting and stopping can be a really productive and correct thing to do. It’s right to stop sin, to stop doing things that abuse others, that are serving no purpose, that damage you. But there’s a difference between pushing through a dip and knowing when to just quit because you’re actually not in a dip, you’re about to run into a cul-de-sac or off a cliff.

So here’s my questions to you:

- what have you quit this year and do you think that was right?

- what do you need to quit?

from http://whatsyourpointcaller.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/quitters/

Well this blog finally broke the one hundred thousand page views last week. Also went over forty thousand visitors mark. Blog.co.uk say that they filter out all the spiders etc from the count but I am a tad suspicious I must confess.

The interesting thing with a blog so I have discovered is that after a year or so your hit rate naturally seems to get bigger even if you are not posting much. The reason given to me is that as a blog gets bigger in physical size you will be getting a longer 'tail' (e.g. all the archives and old stuff one has forgotten about) which will naturally steadily pick up more hits. I guess its like getting a bigger and bigger fishing line with more hooks on it.

As many will know, I am a bit of a 'Messiah' buff. Every Christmas I shout myself to it at the town hall. Well this year Kim passed the audition for Auckland Choral and will be singing in the choir at the Messiah. The trouble is I don't know if I want to go now, as I will be feeling so nervous for her

1.  Our Community   One of  our family's aims this year is to live out our Christian values and witness through the Autism Community in our city by establishing a support group, support systems where those have been lacking.  A lot of this activity will be on the weekends.    We feel we would not have the time to do this if we were fully committed to normal church.  New Zealand statistics support the statement that the larger the church one is committed to, the less community involvement one has.

2.  Our Kids  a) Our kids love doing Simple Church and get annoyed when we don't have it.  b)  We believe that the Bible is clear that the Parent has responsibility in raising there child in spiritual things.  We feel that we are finally getting some good authentic traction with our kids in this area and don't want to break the flow.  c)  One of our children is autistic.  A large room with lot's of noise and strangers would be unbearable for him not counting the expectation that he would have to sit still for an hour or so.

3.  Our Weekend  Okay so this may be pure laziness.  I love sleeping in, I love hanging out with my wife and kids not doing any chores or tasks on Sunday.  Having to get up earlier and get the family into there Sunday best and rush off to a service does not hold a lot of attraction to us at this time.  Simple church seems to click in so well with our Sabbath day.

4.  Our Resources  Simple church in the end takes a minimum of two very precious resources; time and money!  This enables one to use the rest of there time and money if one wants on other kingdom activity.  We are not prepared to commit lot's of time and money into things that are in the end self serving (over 80% of all money and time given to normal church is used for buildings and salaries not counting other organizational costs involved).

5.  Our Biblical model  I believe (others will disagree) that when a gathering of believers meets together in a home and prays for one another, eats together, worships together, has communion together, learns together and supports each other, this is incredibly close to the expression of church in the New testament.  .  I believe doing Church this way  is light years closer to what is talked about and modeled in the New Testament then the way I used to do church.  I acknowledge this is not the be all and end all of church as I once thought but it is still important to me to try and get back some of the original pattern.

6.  Our Questions  four years ago, the Southern Baptists radially retrained Kim and I in the way we read the Bible.  They challenged us to forget everything we had been taught or assumed before and read the book of Acts again looking for the themes throughout the book.  When we found the themes we were meant install those same themes into our lives and calling and life would never be the same again.  But I just couldn't stop at the book of Acts i have tried to read every book of the Bible in the same way and have arrived at a lot of questions about my original beliefs and world view which i am still processing and working through.  Normal church needs conformity to function effectively and I feel Simple / emerging church gives more understanding for people like me to wrestle with, ask and debate the big questions.

7.  Our Enjoyment   Since the day I was born I have disliked going to church.  The only time I liked going to church was if I was speaking!  Even as a pastor I would not like going to church when i was on holiday.  Like many men, I find church very disconnecting (dare I say it feminine) from the way we sing and worship (as Pentecostals), the words we use and the passiveness of sitting and listening.  After half an hour I'm bored out of my tree no matter how flash the preacher or the sound system or the building.  I loved two things the notices (bizarre I know!) and the cup of tea at the end!  Conversely I love getting together in Simple Church.  In fact I look forward to it, and miss it when we don't do it (which is where are currently).  I love relating and living with other believers even when it sometimes goes for five hours and through two meals!

stole this from Justin Kuek http://www.nhm-i.org/

a) The earliest English translation of the Bible (from the Latin Vulgate) was by John Wycliffe in 1380 (and was handwritten). THIS bible does not contain the word CHURCH. Congregation was used instead (still not a correct rendition of “Ekklesia” in my opinion).

b) 1517 – Martin Luther nails 95 Thesis to the door of the Cathedral at Guttenberg and the Reformation begins.

c) Around 1525-6, Tyndale produced another translation – Again, this translation does not contain the word Church – Congregation was used.

d) In 1557, the Geneva bible was produced. Again “Ekklesia” was translated Congregation.

e) In 1611, the King James Version of the bible was completed. The translators were instructed to ensure that the translation would not contradict what was being done in the Anglican Church (King Henry the 8th had split from the Catholics in 1529). The “brief” to the translators of the KJV had 15 general rules that they were instructed to follow. The most significant with regard to our study of the word “Church” is rule 3 which states, “The Old Ecclesiastical Words to be kept, viz. the Word Church not to be translated Congregation &c.” (see http://www.av1611.org/kjv/kjvhist.html). This shows the bias (it is more important to fit the new translation into church traditions rather than be true to what the bible actually says!) of the translation and fits in completely with the thesis of my article. It is ironic that many Protestant denominations insist on only using the KJV bible – when it was NOT a Protestant translation! (King Henry broke with Rome because of Rome’s opposition to his divorce, not because of a theological difference.)

The word “Church” is derived from the Greek “kyriakon” which is different from the Greek “Ekklesia”. Therefore it should never have been used to render “Ekklesia” as it has a very different meaning. (kyriakon means “House of God”, while ekklesia means “the called out ones” – the people of God).

I have been really struck this week, how if we just get on with what we are meant be doing, God brings the right people across our path. On Thursday I was with a group of offenders working up at a camp. Interestingly enough this camp has been established by a 74 year old man who cheerfully announces (including in the Newspaper!) that he is a Christian who does not go to church. So here are the two of us with a pretty similar point of view 'coincidently' working three days a week in proximity together.

On Friday This same man mentioned to me that Wyn Fountain was coming to check out the camp at lunch time. Well how strange! I by 'coincidence' receive Wyn's email newsletters (salt shaker) as he is a real Christian radical who has walked the walk as well has talked the talk, and has really grasped the bondage of what 'doing church' is. So I had the privilege of meeting him and talking with him that day (while working of course!)

Then on Sunday we drove down to the Clevedon A & P show. Funnily enough I bumped into someone I had never met but who had emailed me a year or so ago about House Church. We had a great chat and were an encouragement to one another.

So all in all it was a great week of networking and bumping into Organic Christians making a difference in the world and none of it planned and most of it done on tax payer money. Who needs a Pastors salary?

I just came across my Grandfathers obitury in the N.Z Presbyterian Synods minutes. I had to laugh about what they said about his faith. I guess the question has to be asked, does it run in the family? Read on

"For 40 years his was a familiar voice singing with considerable gusto the hymns of
his faith and the songs of the land of his birth, Wales. For 23 years his preaching,
marrying, burying, and visiting ministries made an impact on the lives of Dunedin
people. Lloyd was always there for people. He was there when needed in time of war
and gave distinguished service. From a modest background…. [He] never lost his
love of and common touch with ordinary folk. Gifted with good memory, his was not
a towering intellect nor he would say a towering faith. But his life, his witness, his witness inspired, encouraged and enabled many people to rise above their own
frailties, and to rise high in their callings as human beings and servants of God"

We had a chat with some Friends a week or so ago (over a green Thai Curry!) about gathering together in the future and came to some decisions;

1. That we would commit to gathering together over a meal once a fortnight on average.

2. That we would be real with each other in regards to God in our life.

3. That we would go to each others homes when we gather instead of just going to one place.

4. By gathering Fortnightly we have the opportunity of connecting with others beyond the gathering.

5. That we would see if others were interested.

6. That with the busy fragmented lives we all lead, a level of commitment is needed for gatherings to happen in our culture.

7. That we would not kick off until early February 2008

8. That we would give it a trial then reassess how things are going.

9. During gatherings we would not argue theology or Church practice but focus on Christ.

by www.tallskinnykiwi.com

We had a Whanau (extended family) Gathering on the weekend. Note the massive wine glasses brought by my Mother in Law!

13/11/07
Since I posted about Willow Creek, Ive read that Willow Creek acknowledged what they had done was not working as they thought, but there was no announcement to really change from what they are famous for (Seeker programmes and more programmes). Perhaps it is was just an opener to grab peoples attention, before they carried on to announce the next stage of their Church?

Thanks to Out of Ur
Few would disagree that Willow Creek Community Church has been one of the most influential churches in America over the last thirty years. Willow, through its association, has promoted a vision of church that is big, programmatic, and comprehensive. This vision has been heavily influenced by the methods of secular business. James Twitchell, in his new book Shopping for God, reports that outside Bill Hybels’ office hangs a poster that says: “What is our business? Who is our customer? What does the customer consider value?” Directly or indirectly, this philosophy of ministry—church should be a big box with programs for people at every level of spiritual maturity to consume and engage—has impacted every evangelical church in the country.

So what happens when leaders of Willow Creek stand up and say, “We made a mistake”?

Not long ago Willow released its findings from a multiple year qualitative study of its ministry. Basically, they wanted to know what programs and activities of the church were actually helping people mature spiritually and which were not. The results were published in a book, Reveal: Where Are You?, co-authored by Greg Hawkins, executive pastor of Willow Creek. Hybels called the findings “earth shaking,” “ground breaking,” and “mind blowing.”

In the Hawkins’ video he says, “Participation is a big deal. We believe the more people participating in these sets of activities, with higher levels of frequency, it will produce disciples of Christ.” This has been Willow’s philosophy of ministry in a nutshell. The church creates programs/activities. People participate in these activities. The outcome is spiritual maturity. In a moment of stinging honesty Hawkins says, “I know it might sound crazy but that’s how we do it in churches. We measure levels of participation.”

Having put all of their eggs into the program-driven church basket you can understand their shock when the research revealed that “Increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT predict whether they love God more or they love people more.”read the rest here