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!
