June 13, 2017
If you're part of the Facebook group, this week's newsletter won't be news to you. However, this was just too good to not send it out to the entire group. iWork4Him invited Felicity Dale and John White to share about their work in house churches in a podcast titled "Are Smaller Churches Better Churches?"
Here are some of my favorite moments from the podcast:
John at 13 minutes: I think there are good things about large churches. I'm not negative about that. But I think real discipleship takes place in an environment where we are known and know people. That's where lives are changed. A sermon by itself doesn't generally change hearts. It can be part of the process, but what is needed is that interpersonal reaction.
You probably get why this is a controversial statement for some traditional church folks (but not as many as you might think). A lot of folks grew up in churches where preaching and teaching were the central spiritual gifts. I get it. I love good preaching and teaching too. The problem is that too many churches behave as if preaching and teaching are the primary vehicle for helping a group of people to be the church. So part of what John is saying here is something that we her in LK10 are already very aware of, that the difficult, nitty-gritty, painful, and beautiful work of discipleship happens in small communities of people who are deeply engaged in each others' lives and in Christ's work among them.
But what you might not guess is that this is also a controversial statement in house church circles. A lot of house church folks come out of traditional churches, feel burned or burned out by their experience, and don't like it when other house church folks are more open to the idea that God can still work through traditional/large churches. I don't know where you stand on this topic. Personally, I love the way John is open to God's ability to change people through whatever church expression God wants to work through. But at the same time, I also love that John makes the point that if big churches aren't helping their members experience small, intimate community, then they aren't practicing discipleship. At least, not in the way that Jesus practiced discipleship.
Felicity at 27 minutes: My husband and I have a business, and discipleship goes on there. The people at the business are there for forty hours a week. What better place, in a sense, to disciple them? To spend time studying the word together, to pray together...if somebody has a problem and they come and they talk about it, to say "can I pray with you?" So our company employs Christians and non-Christians, but we've tried to make it a very easy place for people to find Jesus, and that's certainly been true. We've seen many of our employees have actually found Christ within the workplace.
Oh boy. This gets me excited. So first off, let's get a couple things out of the way. Felicity isn't advocating here for only employing Christians. She also isn't advocating for a workplace where people are coerced into becoming Christians. What she IS advocating for is taking the LK10 practices directly into the workplace. The LK10 practices are all about becoming attuned to the voice of Jesus and letting that attention become the lens through which we view those around us. But that doesn't stop when we finish our time with our house church. It doesn't stop when we finish our time with our CO2 partner. We can continue practicing that lifestyle of listening, of deep attention paying, even at work. Even with our neighbors. Even when we're driving. Even with our spouses. Even with folks who aren't taking part in the LK10 practices. Do you see the implications for evangelism here? Can you imagine the ways the world could change if more Christians were practicing this lifestyle of listening in every area of their lives? If EVERY Christian lived this way?
Finally, something a little less serious. At 34 minutes, Felicity responds to the question of what to do with the kids with the best sound bite I've heard in a while: "The kids don't have a junior Holy Spirit." Boom. That's one sassy British lady.
So what jumped out to you in this podcast? Did it help you come up with new things to try with your house church? With your big church? Did it lead to any questions for you? Come over to the Facebook group and jump in the conversation!
If you're part of the Facebook group, this week's newsletter won't be news to you. However, this was just too good to not send it out to the entire group. iWork4Him invited Felicity Dale and John White to share about their work in house churches in a podcast titled "Are Smaller Churches Better Churches?"
Here are some of my favorite moments from the podcast:
John at 13 minutes: I think there are good things about large churches. I'm not negative about that. But I think real discipleship takes place in an environment where we are known and know people. That's where lives are changed. A sermon by itself doesn't generally change hearts. It can be part of the process, but what is needed is that interpersonal reaction.
You probably get why this is a controversial statement for some traditional church folks (but not as many as you might think). A lot of folks grew up in churches where preaching and teaching were the central spiritual gifts. I get it. I love good preaching and teaching too. The problem is that too many churches behave as if preaching and teaching are the primary vehicle for helping a group of people to be the church. So part of what John is saying here is something that we her in LK10 are already very aware of, that the difficult, nitty-gritty, painful, and beautiful work of discipleship happens in small communities of people who are deeply engaged in each others' lives and in Christ's work among them.
But what you might not guess is that this is also a controversial statement in house church circles. A lot of house church folks come out of traditional churches, feel burned or burned out by their experience, and don't like it when other house church folks are more open to the idea that God can still work through traditional/large churches. I don't know where you stand on this topic. Personally, I love the way John is open to God's ability to change people through whatever church expression God wants to work through. But at the same time, I also love that John makes the point that if big churches aren't helping their members experience small, intimate community, then they aren't practicing discipleship. At least, not in the way that Jesus practiced discipleship.
Felicity at 27 minutes: My husband and I have a business, and discipleship goes on there. The people at the business are there for forty hours a week. What better place, in a sense, to disciple them? To spend time studying the word together, to pray together...if somebody has a problem and they come and they talk about it, to say "can I pray with you?" So our company employs Christians and non-Christians, but we've tried to make it a very easy place for people to find Jesus, and that's certainly been true. We've seen many of our employees have actually found Christ within the workplace.
Oh boy. This gets me excited. So first off, let's get a couple things out of the way. Felicity isn't advocating here for only employing Christians. She also isn't advocating for a workplace where people are coerced into becoming Christians. What she IS advocating for is taking the LK10 practices directly into the workplace. The LK10 practices are all about becoming attuned to the voice of Jesus and letting that attention become the lens through which we view those around us. But that doesn't stop when we finish our time with our house church. It doesn't stop when we finish our time with our CO2 partner. We can continue practicing that lifestyle of listening, of deep attention paying, even at work. Even with our neighbors. Even when we're driving. Even with our spouses. Even with folks who aren't taking part in the LK10 practices. Do you see the implications for evangelism here? Can you imagine the ways the world could change if more Christians were practicing this lifestyle of listening in every area of their lives? If EVERY Christian lived this way?
Finally, something a little less serious. At 34 minutes, Felicity responds to the question of what to do with the kids with the best sound bite I've heard in a while: "The kids don't have a junior Holy Spirit." Boom. That's one sassy British lady.
So what jumped out to you in this podcast? Did it help you come up with new things to try with your house church? With your big church? Did it lead to any questions for you? Come over to the Facebook group and jump in the conversation!
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