God's Eternal Design

“[Abraham] was looking forward to the city
that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
HEBREWS 11:10 ESV

An artist sees a new painting before he picks up the brush to create it. A musician hears a new song in her head before she picks up her instrument to compose it. A writer conceives ideas, concepts, and things to be conveyed to others in his heart long before he sets words to paper. An architect designs the building before construction begins.

The creative process is the progressive, orderly arrangement of things until what is seen outwardly lines up with what has already been seen inwardly. God is the Ultimate Creator. We find that He established an order of things before He ever brought them into being – an eternal purpose that He purposed in Christ. The crucifixion of Christ was not God’s startled reaction to the unforeseen and unimaginable fall of Adam. God envisioned things straight through to the end before He set them in motion.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

THE CHURCH OF TOMORROW

THE CHURCH of TOMORROW
-by Andrew Strom.

A lot of people probably read some of our writings and wonder,
"Where is all this headed? What is the goal?" A glib answer might
be- "We want to get back to real 'New Testament' Christianity."
But what exactly does that look like?

This is an important topic - and something I have pondered a great
deal over the years. What exactly would the 'New Testament Church'
look like if it was translated into a modern western city?

To get started, I want you to forget about today's church just for a
moment - with all her obvious problems and contradictions, and
picture something quite different. I want you to imagine that you
are still living in the same city, in the same year, but you are right
in the middle of a 'Book of Acts'-type scenario. Somehow everything
has changed.

For some reason, all of the Spirit-filled Christians in your city have
left their Denominations and divisions behind. They have truly begun
to fulfill the prayer of Jesus - "That they all may be ONE". They now
hold huge gatherings all over the city - right out in the open. And as
well as these united gatherings, on most streets there is now a
house-meeting, where all the Spirit-filled believers from that street
gather together, eating and sharing and having communion, etc.
(ie. A "NEIGHBORHOOD CHURCH"). The power of God flowing in
these house-meetings is amazing. Many healings and miracles
are occurring. The 'gifts' flow freely every day.

It seems also that many of the church buildings and cathedrals have
simply been abandoned. No longer do Christians want to hide them-
selves away behind "four walls". They want to gather out where the
people are - presenting Jesus to the whole world. They want to be
truly "one body". There is no way that any of their old buildings
could contain the crowds, anyhow.

And the men whom God has raised up to lead this vast movement
do not seem much like the 'Reverends' or even the 'televangelists'
of old. In fact, quite a few of them have never even been to Bible
College, and they seem to be very plain, ordinary people from
humble backgrounds. But what an anointing! It is very clear to
everyone that these 'apostles and prophets' (as they are known)
have spent many years in prayer and brokenness before God -
drawing closer and closer to Him. When they speak, the very fear
of the Lord seems to come down, and many people repent deeply
of their sins. Demons are cast out and the blind and crippled are
made whole. -These kinds of things are happening all the time.
The whole city is just in awe of what is going on, and thousands
upon thousands are being saved. Even the newspapers and
television are full of it.

As soon as someone repents they are immediately baptized in
water and hands are laid on them for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
-This is expected from day one! And it is also expected that every
Christian has a gift and calling from God - and that they should be
encouraged to move forward and fulfill their calling. No longer is
there a distinction made between those who are "ministers" and
those who are merely 'laity'. Now it is expected that EVERYONE
is a minister of the Lord! (However, there are 'elders' - ie. older
Christians to guide things).

Some of the bishops and pastors from several denominations have
actually denounced this great move of God very strongly. They say
it is "deception" and warn their people to stay away. (-Every Revival
in history has been accused of this - usually by religious leaders).
But to be honest, it is so obvious to most people that God is the
one behind it all, that very few take these men seriously. The Spirit
of God is sweeping all before Him. The glory of the Lord has come.

One of the reasons that these leaders are so upset is that a lot of
the Christians' GIVING now does not go to church buildings, but
rather to the POOR. In fact, God has spoken to many people to
start supporting widows and orphans overseas, etc. They also give
generously to anyone in their midst who is in need. Many even sell
their own possessions in order to do this.

The huge over-riding theme of this great movement is LOVE.
"Behold how they love one another" is the catch-cry of many who
watch this 'new church' in action. And everyone is given to MUCH PRAYER.

And so, gathering "as one" in the outdoors and breaking bread from
house to house, they eat together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord
adds to their number daily those who are being saved.

CAN This REALLY HAPPEN?

The above description is taken straight out of the Book of Acts - as
applied to today. Everything in the above paragraphs is put there to
give you an idea of what it would be like to live in the Jerusalem
church at the start of Acts. -And it was like that for YEARS. Imagine
the impact of such a church on the world around it! God is wanting
to do this again. And He wants to use ordinary people like you and
me to help bring it to pass.

I am convinced that we are NOT supposed to treat the early church
as a "special case". It was given to us as an 'example'. It is what
the "normal" church should be like all the time! And yet we have
fallen so far below this standard. Only in times of Revival do we
approach it again for a time. But I believe it is supposed to be
"normal" for the church to be like this - day in and day out. This
is the way that Jesus always wanted us to be.

However, one thing is clear. It will take a great "SHAKING" for us
to get anywhere close to the above description today. You have to
be aware that in order to get there from here, a whole lot of
'hierarchies' and church boards and careers and titles and positions
would be on the line. And a lot of men simply don't want to lose
those things. It doesn't matter to them whether it is Truth or not. If
it affects their reputation, their position or their organization, they
will oppose it with everything they have.

Sadly it is very difficult to see a "smooth" transition to this kind of
Christianity. I believe we are in for a shaky ride. But I certainly
believe that it is on God's agenda. And like the Great Reformation
before it, I believe He will do WHATEVER IT TAKES in order to
get us there.

Here's to true 'NEW TESTAMENT' Christianity, my friends - the
kind that Jesus and the apostles actually invented in the beginning.

Let us settle for nothing less - WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Please send feedback to- prophetic@revivalschool.com

God bless you all.

Andrew Strom.

Continue in Tribulation

"[Paul and Barnabas] returned...strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'"
ACTS 14:22

Our idea of overcoming is to avoid tribulation, not pass through it. We certainly do not connect entering the Kingdom with going through tribulation. We think having the victory means eliminating all tribulation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In order to enter the Kingdom there must be an increase of Christ and a decrease of Self. This is an ongoing process, and by it we judge how far along the Path we have progressed.
But how is Self decreased? The answer is in our circumstances and trials. They are sufficient to decrease us. We need not do anything but wait for them to come, and see them as our opportunity to have Self decreased and Christ increased.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

TOP 10 IDEAS FOR A GREAT FIRST SMALL GROUP

Top 10 Ideas for a Great First Group Meeting

Mark Howell gives great tips for making your first small group meeting simple and effective.

Any time you’re starting a new small group, a great first meeting is very important.  I include these ideas on a simple handout inside every new leader packet.

1. Be sure and refer to the ABCs of a Great Start for Your Connection Group for important tips on making sure your group members come to the meeting.
2. Plenty of food goes a long way in making your first meeting a relaxed time together.  But…make it easy for everyone to bring something.  You might be tempted to supply it all, but don’t.  Asking each person to bring something to the first meeting helps ensure turnout.
3. Encourage everyone to come a little early and plan on “grabbing a bite together.”  There isn’t a one-size-fits-all prescription, but allow at least 30 minutes hangout and eat together time (i.e., if you’re meeting begins at 7:00 p.m., plan on hanging out until 7:30 p.m.).
4. It’s a good idea to have an icebreaker or two in your pocket for the hangout time.  While it definitely helps to have a plate with food on it and a cup with something to drink in it, it’s still a little unnerving for many to have first conversations.  Here are a few “while we’re eating questions”:  (a) Where did you grow up?  (b) Are you from this area?  (c) If you could live anywhere, where would you live?  Why?
5. Give everyone a 5 minute warning that “we’re about to move into the living room and get started.”  When you get settled, let everyone know that “we’re just going to use tonight as a way of getting to know each other a little better.”
6. This is a great time to ask a few “get-to-know-me” questions: (a) Would you describe yourself as more of an extrovert or an introvert?  Give an example.  (b) Would you describe yourself as a structured, “just settle it” kind of person?  Or more of a play it by ear type?  (c) Are you a hugger?  Or a non-hugger?
7. How about a little more info:  (a) What motivated you to sign up for this group?  (b) What are you most hopeful you’ll gain as a result of being in the group?  (b) What are you most afraid of (in terms of the group)?
8. This is a great time to talk over the Life Group Agreement.  No commitments required.  Nobody’s signing anything.  Just a good way to get values and expectations on the table.  Simply read over the values and reconfirm expectations.
9. Distribute copies of the study you will begin at your next meeting.  Collect any payment that your group members have ready.  Ask any who were unprepared to bring payment next time. (Important: If there is anyone in your group that cannot afford to pay, we have a way to help.)
10. Pray to close the meeting.  Make it really simple.  Ask, “Is there anything we can be praying about for you personally?  There may be times when we pray for those who aren’t part of the group, but today, let’s keep prayer requests focused on just group members.”  Write down any prayer requests.  Close with a very simple prayer.

Bill Hybels: What I'd Do Differently If I Planted a Church Today

Bill Hybels: "What I'd Do Differently If I Planted a Church Today"
By Bill Hybels

 The suburban Chicago church plant, launched by a 22-year-old Bill Hybels back in 1975, would dramatically impact the face of American Christianity. What later became one of the nation’s first megachurches, which now draws some 25,000 worshippers each week, Willow Creek Community Church began in a closed-on-Sunday-morning movie theater and was mostly staffed by teenaged volunteers passionate for Jesus Christ. As Willow grew, sharing what it learned with other churches became one of its highest priorities.

 In this interview featured in the new Exponential Resources Series eBook MOVE for Church Planters: What Willow Creek and 1,000 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth, Hybels shares what he has learned in 37 years of ministry; how his experience might impact his actions were he planting a church today; and what advice he would most like to share with those whose passion is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with unchurched people in a relevant, compelling and successful way.

Welcome to that conversation.

Before we start talking about what you might do the same and differently if you were planting a church today, let’s talk a little about our current environment. What societal factors have changed in the past 40 years that would impact your decisions today? 

Bill Hybels: I think that there's even more resistance/cynicism to the idea of the institutionalized church now than there was then. And I think that’s the result of all of the skepticism created as too many well-known pastors—and even some denominations—have broken trust. People who are starting a church today have to present an even stronger argument than we did in the mid-‘70s for Why another church?

So I would spend a lot of time coming up with the rationale for why would I be starting another church. What's going to be different? What's going to keep it from becoming like these others? That would be very important, because I think there's a general feeling that there are already enough churches.

In short, if you are going to launch a new church, you have to start with a white hot, differentiated, compelling vision, or why take up more real estate?

With this current environment in mind, can you give us an example of what worked well in your church plant 37 years ago that you would duplicate if you were planting a church today? 

Bill Hybels: One thing I really got right is that I started Willow with my friends. The founders are still with me today and we're still best of friends. I had an incredible team of proven people around me, and we had established a loving and joyful community before we held our first service. That I did right, by the grace of God. So if I were starting fresh, the minute I felt I had clarity on the vision for starting a new church, I would present that vision to close, trusted friends who I wanted to come along with me on this adventure.

Do you have an example of something you would do very differently? 

Bill Hybels: Something that I didn't do well—and this is a common problem all across the world—was to adequately capitalize our ministry. Therefore, the financial pressures were terribly destructive to the life of our church for the first five years. And it didn't have to be that way. Most church planters and church planting organizations these days say you’ve got to raise X amount of money, so you’re sure people can survive—like, making sure your rent payment can be made. That kind of information was not widely known because there weren't many church plants going on in our era. So I rather naively said, “God's leading us to do this, so God will provide. We're going to hold the first service and pass a plate around and it's all going to be good.” Well, we didn't have a big enough core. We didn't have people who had professional careers and resources to be able to invest, and we sank further and further into debt. All of us had to do things like take on part-time jobs and bring boarders into our homes, which led to a chaotic, unsustainable lifestyle.

Any other practical steps you’d recommend to church planters? 

Bill Hybels: I can think of two. The first is how to decide where to locate their church. When I talk with church planters, I always start by talking about vision. But quite quickly after the vision talk, I ask this question: “What demographic do you think calls the best out of you?” When you’re with a certain kind of people, do you get a sense of exuberance—that these are the kind of people I want to do life with? Some church planters actually think that's an illegal question. But let me give you an example. I was talking with a church planter who was on the verge of quitting. I knew his family background. These were very sophisticated people—grad school trained, excellent educational institutions and all that. And the church planting organization had put him in a blue collar, lower education level, semi-rural setting that was boring this guy to tears. These were lovely people. It's just that they didn't call the best out of him. He would want to discuss complex subject matters and things that are going to shape the future of the world. But they were not willing to engage in those conversations—the kind that gave him a lot of life and excitement. So I said, “Before you quit and go back into the business world, why don't you see if there's another plant that can be done in an area with a demographic that you actually feel fairly excited about?” And he said, “I couldn't ask for that because that would be arrogant.” I said, “I don't know that you ought to feel like that’s so bad, because a certain environment is going to call the best out of you and in another environment you're not going to feel like such a great fit.” And I think "fit" is key. God can always overrule it and call you to do anything. But if you have a choice in the matter, why don't you choose to locate where the demographics call the best out of you? I heard from him several years later. He had relocated. It was like talking to a different guy. And he said, “I wouldn't have stayed in ministry in that setting. But this is the group I'm supposed to be with.” It works the other way, too. Sometimes working with the poor and uneducated calls the best out of very sophisticated people. But they know that it does, so it works. The main thing is, find the fit. You have to have the self-awareness to know who calls the best out of you. A second practical issue is how to think about using volunteers vs. adding staff. In my opinion, the more a young church can get done through volunteers, the better. The fewer the staff, the better. As I said earlier, when we startedWillow, we were undercapitalized and one of the downsides of that was tremendous financial stress. One of the upsides was that every week I told everyone attending the church—we need you! And they knew it was true. We needed everybody to step up—to take care of kids, to help set up and take down chairs, and eventually, to help us find a piece of land. That brought people forward. At one point, I think we were dangerously close to having 100 percent of our attendees serving because we didn't have any paid staff.

What you describe sounds like a strategy to Create Ownership, which is one of the four best practices discovered by REVEAL. Can you elaborate on how REVEAL has influenced your thinking about how a church can best fulfill its mission to help people become fully devoted followers of Christ? 

Bill Hybels: I’d start by going back to something that was a miss in the early days ofWillow, and it's still a mystery to me why it was so much of a miss. It may be due to the fact I was still a fairly recent Christian when we started the church. In fact, I had only been a Christian five years. So when I startedWillow, I loved reading God's Word and I loved communicating with Him in prayer and reading good Christian books. I liked that just because of my relationship with God. But I dramatically underestimated how often my colleagues and the people in the church practiced the classic spiritual disciplines. I just thought everybody spent time with God and surrendered their spirits before Him every day. That everybody worked hard to receive promptings from God, quieting the ambient noise in their lives so they could hear Him. I misjudged that, and the few times that I preached on it, I remember seeing the semi-confused faces of the people in the crowd and thinking, “I must be doing a terrible job of teaching this because they are not getting it or they are not interested. I'm not getting the same kind of feedback that I get when I teach on other subject matters.” So, I wound up not teaching on the spiritual practices very often. It's hard to do, and I got mixed response. Decades later I found out, primarily through REVEAL, that I should have stuck with that. I should not have been dissuaded by the kind of feedback I was getting. I should have done a major series on the classic spiritual disciplines every single year, whether I saw confused faces or not. I should have just dug in and made that a regular part of the menu. We also had some feedback that went like this: “Yeah, well, interesting. But I'd really like to know something more practical than this, like how to be a better parent. Why don't you teach this other stuff at a seminar, not on Sunday morning?” Well, we didn't have the facilities or the teachers to hold those kinds of seminars. So, it wasn't until decades later when we found out—through REVEAL—that you can strip away almost every other thing the church does. But at the core of the core of the core, growing people into Christ followers is all about helping them engage in God's Word and inspiring them to invite God to be at the center of their lives. I did not emphasize that as much in the early days as I do now.

So you would do things differently today? 

Bill Hybels: Absolutely. Now at Willow we have what we call the Getting Started Classes. The second movement in the Getting Started Classes is the spiritual practices: how to read your Bible, how to pray, how to surrender, how to confess your sins. We get people on track with these very basic things that will help them walk with Christ as soon as they show any movement. In the early days of Willow, when someone showed spiritual movement we would congratulate them and point them toward a ministry where they could serve or a group where they could get to know other people. But we didn't instill a strong awareness that, more than anything, people need to know how to relate to God through His Word, and how to hear His prompting. How to navigate a day with Him in your head, in your heart, at your side—and all of that. It's a deep regret I carry.

Christ-Centered leadership is at the heart of REVEAL’s best-practice findings. How do you keep your passion for Jesus fired up? 

Bill Hybels: In Romans 12:11, Paul says: "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." He's saying don’t let your zeal burn low, but he’s also saying you're responsible for your zeal. I like to remind myself of that. It's my responsibility to keep my passion hot. It's no one else's. So if mine starts running low, I have to discern what cooled it off and then I’ve got to stop letting that happen. I have to figure out who the people are, what the books and the experiences are, that refresh my spirit—and then lean into whatever works to re-fire a passion for Jesus. For example, whenever I'm around certain people for any length of time, I feel my pulse rate increasing. They fire me up. I need to be around them a little more. And, besides the Bible, the book I’ve turned to more often than any other for inspiration and encouragement is Dallas Willard’s Spirit of the Disciplines. If I need spiritual refueling, that book works for me. So, who I'm with, what I read, where I go—that’s what keeps me charged up. To close, do you have a final word of advice or encouragement for church planters? Bill Hybels: You're one of the luckiest people on the planet—because the most important thing happening on earth is the establishment and building of local churches. God selected you to be able to form a community where this incredibly important work is going to be going on under your direction for perhaps the next 40 years. You won the lottery! Enjoy it! Every day realize you don't have to stand at a drill press. You don't have to load and unload trucks. You get to traffic in kingdom ideas and work with great people who are pulling with you to try to form this Acts 2 dream of Christ's church. You should fall on your knees and say, “God, what an incredible privilege to be invited by your Holy Spirit to play a key role in the most important thing happening on planet Earth.” I tell pastors all the time that I've had a ball! We've taken our hits. There are bad days. But I've had an astonishingly blessed ride. And I think God would have that same heart toward every pastor. I think he wants every pastor to love His Word and love the adventure of His work. I don't even know what it's like to lay my head on the pillow and say that today was a waste. Every night, I feel like we moved the ball. We may have only moved it a foot, but we moved the kingdom ball ahead a little bit today. That's good enough for me. A high percentage of the human race hits the pillow at night feeling like their day was a waste. They didn't move anything eternal ahead. They didn't touch any lives. They didn't do anything that's going to outlive them. So my final word to church planters is this—you won the lottery! You get to lead the coolest endeavor on planet Earth, the only agency God said he was going to predictably bless and favor.

You get to be a part of that! 

Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek, is well-known for his relevant and insightful Bible-based teaching. He is the author of 17 books, including Rediscovering Church and Fit to Be Tied (both co-authored with his wife Lynne), Too Busy Not to Pray, Becoming a Contagious Christian (with Mark Mittelberg), and The God You're Looking For. He is chairman of the Willow Creek Association's board of directors. Bill received a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity College. He and Lynne are the parents of two adult children & have one grandchild. 

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." MATTHEW 5:44 The nature of the Kingdom of God is quite different, and its character reflects that difference. There is not a kingdom on the face of the earth that could ever adopt a philosophy that says "love your enemies." If you accept the premise that Jesus really is a King then you are compelled to acknowledge that this King and His Kingdom are truly not of this world. A national defense policy based on "Love Your Enemies" would be political and national suicide for any earthly government. This Heavenly Order is such a radical departure from the ways of the world that it requires some rather deep experiences with God before a person can really enter into the service of the King, because that service is so unlike anything anyone has ever seen or experienced. Source: "The Irresistible Kingdom" by Chip Brogden http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/the-irresistible-kingdom.html

HE WILL BE IN YOU

"You know Him; for He dwells with you, and will be in you." JOHN 14:17 Just as Testimony follows Revelation, so Life follows Light. We simply know what to do because He Himself is doing it through us. If we have put on the Lord Jesus then we need not look to the past, or to the future. We need not look up to the heavens, or down upon the earth. We need not look outward at all, for the Kingdom of God is within us. The One Who said, "I am with you, and will be in you" has now taken up residence within all who believe. Source: "Lord of All" by Chip Brogden http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/lord-of-all.html

WHY SO LITTLE FRUIT?

"We who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake." 2 CORINTHIANS 4:11 The answer to why there is so little power and genuine spiritual fruit in the lives of those who follow Jesus is a simple one: they desire the Life of the Lord, but not His Death. They want a daily pouring out of the Lord's Life, but they shun the prospect of daily sharing in His Death. The saints of the Lord are well instructed in living victoriously, being blessed, walking in power, overcoming the enemy, and living up to their potential. By comparison, the majority of them know next to nothing about self-denial, bearing their Cross, boasting in their weaknesses, being joyful in trials, winning by losing, gaining by giving up, working by resting, accepting both the bitter and the sweet as gifts from God, enduring hardness and accepting suffering. God desires to increase us and enlarge us; He therefore calls us to go back to the Cross and start over again. Source: "Embrace the Cross" by Chip Brogden http://theschoolofchrist.org/books/embrace-the-cross.html

JANUARY FRIENDS LETTER

Greetings Friends
‎ "My name is Ania, I am 20 years old. Before coming to Christ, my life was a nightmare. Our mother was a drunk,& my sister Ira & I were given wine at 6 years at her parties. We often spent nights in basements and attics of apartment blocks. We drank & smoked marijuana. At age 11, my sister (she is elder) & I were raped in a beastly manner & after that we often thought about suicide. By 13 I was living with a drug addict who beat me & at 14 I had Umed, my baby boy. When my boyfriend went to jail & my sister & I had no money for food, we prostituted ourselves. Eventually we hit bottom & didnt want to live. It was only because of my son that I did not commit suicide. At the end of 2010 uncle Sergey came to us & started talking about Jesus. We repented & received Him & our lives have changed. We started learning to read & write & now we can read the Bible by ourselves. In the summer of 2011 we were water baptized & now we are serving girls who are like we were in the past. We gather girls and boys from the streets, hold fellowship with them & talk about Jesus. There are some who have received Him. Now we are praying for a home. We have been through a tragic life and understand them. Whoever reads my testimony, please pray over my sister and me, so that we would be able to lead many addicted girls and prostitutes to Christ. Blessings to you in the Lord, Ania and Ira"

Yes, Jesus changes lives and we have the privilege of partnering with our friends there as He does so. The story above is from Tajikistan. Will you pray with them for a home? Our friends in Kazakhstan have just started their second "Doma Mira" (House of Peace) residential community.

Friends in Pakistan want to translate "The Luke 10 Manual" into Urdu, Punjabi and Pashtu and give a copy to all the church leaders in Pakistan, Saqib "My soul has a great passion to change the mind set of all these brothers and sisters who are wasting their energies and resources trying to build western style Mega Churches." They can print for under $2.50 per copy and will start with 2,000 in Urdu. Will you pray about helping with this project? Western governments have spent billions combating terrorists. Let us help release a wave of Jesus followers.

A Burmese friend will publish 1,000 in Burmese and we need help with that project as well. Their cost is $2.00/copy. The Norwegian version came out last fall and one friend there said it was the most important book he has ever read! Not sure I would say that but it does pack a punch. Another Norwegian friend paid double for the book, "It was worth a double!" Need a Norwegian copy? Contact Inger at ingerjek@gmail.com

To order the English version of Luke 10 go to www.harvest-now.org and click on the book and Lulu will send you your order.

Opportunities are growing and so are the challenges.
We appreciate your friendship, prayers and partnership in putting the go in the gospel.
Steve & Marilyn

www.harvest-now.org
www.harvest-now.org

THE LION AND THE LAMB

"His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace."
REVELATION 1:15


When John was given a revelation of Christ in the Isle of Patmos he
described the feet of Jesus as "fine brass as if refined in a
furnace." Brass is a symbol of judgment, and the furnace is a
symbol of wrath, purification, and refinement. This dimension of
the Lord Jesus was something quite new to John.

Because Jesus did not come to judge the world right away, but to
save it, we tend to think of Jesus only in terms of the "Lamb" -
meek, silent, longsuffering, and turning the other cheek. He
certainly is all that.

Yet here we get a glimpse of Jesus as the "Lion." He said He was
indeed a King, but that His Kingdom was not of this world. Up until
now the kingly aspect of Christ and the majestic glory of His
Kingdom had remained hidden.

Forty Trends Back To Simplicity

Dear Friends on my A Word in Season list,
I am writing a book entitled THE STAINED GLASS WINDOW - Forty Trends Back to Simplicity and I am sending it out to friends and family to get their feedback to do the final edit before publishing. I would be grateful if you would read each of the forty trends. Some are more lengthy than others, most are only one page. The entire book is based on the current phenomena of the house church movement around the world. Please do not judge the whole message till you have read it all. Any comments from you will be helpful, both pro and con. Here is the second trend.

Trend #2.



From "Christianity" to Christ . . . not a religion, a philosophy or a system but Christ in me, living his life in me and through me.



The word "Christianity" is not found in the Bible. The early church did not build a religious system or a formal priesthood, or organization, or denomination. They were "followers of The Way." It was a way of life. But deeper than that, it was a new relationship with God. It was Christ in you, the hope of glory!



No other religion in the history of the world has been established on the same ground as that of Jesus Christ. Every other religious leader who ever lived also died and remained in the grave. Jesus died and rose again, but more than that, he reincarnates himself in the lives of his followers. It is "Christ in you!" This is the genius and the uniqueness of being "in Christ!" And since I am in Christ, Christ is also in me!



Jesus said, "He who dwells in me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do." That is exactly how we are to operate. The normal Christian life is God in me doing the same kind of works Jesus did. Paul had grasped this truth when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." In another place he says, "For me to live is Christ." Again he said that the "mystery" that had been hidden from ages and from generations was, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Christ in me is the only hope of glory, which means the outshining radiance of the presence of God shining through my life.



The most powerful personal letter I have ever read explaining his experience of the spiritual mystery of Christ in you, was written by the man who founded the China Inland Mission, J. Hudson Taylor. Here is his letter written to his sister, Amelia, October, 1869 while he was still in China in the early days of that Mission: (used by permission of OMF International) May his testimony bring this truth to us in all it's beauty and transforming power.



"My own dear sister - So many thanks for your long dear letter. I do not think you have written me such a letter since we have been in China. I know it is with you as it is with me. It is not that you will not. It is simply that you cannot. Mind and body will not bear more than a certain amount of strain, or do more than a certain amount of work.



As to work, mine was never so plentiful, so responsible, or so difficult; but the weight and strain are all gone. The last month or more has been, perhaps, the happiest of my life; and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul.



I do not know how far I may be able to make myself intelligible about it, for there is nothing new or strange or wonderful - and yet, all is new! In a word: “Whereas I was blind, now I see.”



Perhaps I shall make myself more clear if I go back a little. Well, Dearie, my mind has been greatly exercised for the past six or eight months, feeling the need personally, and for our Mission, of more holiness, more life and power in our souls. But personal need stood first and was the greatest. I felt the ingratitude, the danger, the sin of not living nearer to God. I prayed, agonized, fasted, strove, made resolutions, read the Word more diligently, sought more time for retirement and meditation - but all was without avail. Every day, almost every hour, the consciousness of sin oppressed me.



I knew that if I could only abide in Christ, all would be well, but I could not. I would begin the day with prayer, determined not to take my eyes from Him for a moment, but pressure of duties, sometimes very trying, constant interruptions, often very wearing, would cause me to forget Him. Then one’s nerves get so fretted in this climate that temptations to irritability, hard thoughts and sometimes unkind words are all the more difficult to control. Each day brought its register of sin, failure, and lack of power. To will was indeed present with me, but how to perform, I found not.



Then came the question, “Is there no rescue? Must it be like this till the end - constant conflict and, instead of victory, too often defeat?” How, too, could I preach with sincerity that to those who receive Jesus, “to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (i.e. God-like) when it was not so in my experience? Instead of growing stronger, I seemed to be getting weaker and to have less power against sin; and no wonder, for faith and even hope were getting very low. I hated myself; I hated my sin; and yet I gained no strength against it.



I felt I was a child of God. His Spirit in my heart would cry, in spite of all, “Abba, Father” but to rise to my privileges as a child, I was utterly powerless. I thought that holiness was to be gradually attained by a diligent use of the means of grace. I felt that there was nothing I so much desired in this world, nothing I so much needed. But the more I pursued and strove after holiness, the more it eluded my grasp, till hope itself almost died out and I began to think that perhaps to make heaven the sweeter, God would not give it to us in this life.



I do not think I was striving to attain it in my own strength. I knew I was powerless. I told the Lord so and asked Him to give me help and strength and sometimes I almost believed He would keep and uphold me. But on looking back in the evening, there was sin and failure to confess and mourn before God.



I would not give you the impression that this was the daily experience of all those long, weary months, but it tended to be a too frequent state of soul and I almost ended up in despair. And yet, never did Christ seem more precious a Savior who could and would save such a sinner! And sometimes there were seasons not only of peace but of joy in the Lord. But they were fleeting and at best there was a sad lack of power. Oh, how good the Lord has been in bringing this conflict to an end!



All the time I felt assured that there was in Christ all I needed, but the practical question was how to get it out. He was rich, but I was poor; He was strong, but I was weak. I knew full well that there was in the vine, in the root, the stem, abundant fatness; but how to get it into my puny little branch was the question.



As gradually the light dawned on me, I saw that faith was the only prerequisite to laying hold of His fullness and making it my own. But I did not have this faith . . . I strove for it, but it would not come; I tried to exercise it, but in vain. Seeing more and more the wondrous supply of grace laid up in Jesus, the fullness of our precious Savior - my helplessness and guilt seemed to increase. Sins committed appeared but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief which was their cause, which could not or would not take God at His word, but rather made Him a liar! Unbelief was, I felt, the damning sin of the world - yet I indulged in it. I prayed for faith but it did not come. What was I to do?



When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never seen it before. McCarthy, who had been much exercised by the same sense of failure, but saw the light before I did, wrote (I quote from memory): “But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.”



As I read I saw it all! “If we believe not, He remains faithful.” I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed) that He had said, “I will never leave you.” “Ah, here is rest!” I thought. “I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I’ll strive no more. For has He not promised to abide with me - never to leave me, never to fail me?” And Dearie, He never will!



But this was not all He showed me; nor one half. As I thought of the vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured directly into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in having wished to get the sap, the fullness, out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus would never leave me, but that I was a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine now I see is not the root merely, but all - root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit; and Jesus is not only that; He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for, or needed. Oh the joy of seeing this truth! I do pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given us in Christ.



Oh, my dear sister, it is a wonderful thing to be really one with a risen and exalted Savior, to be a member of Christ! Think what it involves. Can Christ be rich and I poor? Can your right hand be rich and the left poor? Or your head well fed while your body starves? Again, think of this bearing on prayer. Could a bank clerk say to a customer, “It was only your hand that wrote that check, not you,” or “I cannot pay this sum to your hand, but only to yourself?” No more can your prayers, or mine, be discredited if offered in the name of Jesus (i.e. not in your own name, or even for the sake of Jesus, but on the ground that we are His, His members) so long as we keep within the extent of Christ’s credit - a considerably wide limit!



If we ask anything unscriptural or not in accordance with the will of God, Christ Himself could not do that; but “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us; and . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”



The sweetest part, if one may speak of one part being sweeter than another, is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will and His will is mine. It makes no difference where He places me or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient.



It matters little to my servant whether I send him to buy a few dollars worth of things or the most expensive articles. In either case he looks to me for the money and brings me his purchases. So if God places me in great perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; or in positions of great difficulty, much grace; or in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength? There is no fear that His resources will be unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.



All this springs from the believer's oneness with Christ. And since Christ is now living in my heart by faith, how happy I have been! I wish I could tell you instead of writing about it.



I am no better than before (in one sense, I do not wish to be, nor am I striving to be); but I am dead and buried with Christ - yes, and risen too and ascended; and now Christ lives in me, and “the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”



I now believe that I am dead to sin. God reckons me so, and tells me to reckon myself so. He knows best. All my past experiences may have shown that it was not so; but I dare not say it is not, when He says it is. I feel and know that old things have passed away. I am as capable of sinning as ever, but Christ is realized as present as never before. He cannot sin; and He can keep me from sinning.



Faith, I now see, is “the substance of things hoped for” and not mere shadow. It is not less than sight, but more. Sight only shows the outward forms of things; faith gives the substance. You can rest on substance; you can feed on substance. Christ dwelling in the heart by faith (i.e. faith in His word of promise) is power indeed, is life indeed. And Christ and sin will not dwell together; nor can we experience His presence with love of the world or carefulness about “many things.”


And now I must close. I have not said half I would like to say if I had more time. May God give you the grace to lay hold on these blessed truths! Do not let us continue to say, in effect, “Who shall ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down from above.” In other words, do not let us consider Him as far off when God has made us one with Him, members of His very body. Nor should we look upon this experience, these truths, as only for the few. They are the birthright of every child of God, and no one can dispense with them without dishonor to our Lord. The only power for deliverance from sin or for serving the Lord is Christ. Your own affectionate brother, J. Hudson Taylor"






--
Robert Fitts
76-6309 Haku Pl
Kona, HI 96740
robertjoni@gmail.com
www.robertfitts.com

THE STAINED GLASS BARRIER

PRESENT TRENDS BACK TO SIMPLE CHURCH



From the sanctuaries to the streets . . . doing the works of Jesus wherever we find a need.



As we read through the life of Jesus in the New Testament it is difficult to find him organizing a religious gathering or an evangelistic meeting, or any kind of meeting. It seems that all of his large meetings, such as the feeding of the five thousand or the multitudes that gathered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee all took place more or less spontaneously as crowds would gather to hear what he was saying and to be healed of their diseases.



Jesus sometimes spoke in the synagogues on the Sabbath. Once he sent out the seventy, two by two, into the towns and cities where he himself would come later. He arranged for the final meal with his disciples, but aside from that, most of his earthly ministry took place as he walked among the people, taught them, and met their needs as he moved about in the ordinary events of daily life.



Jesus’ strategy was to go where the people were; to see the needs and minister to those needs. We find him healing a man at the Pool of Siloam as he walked by and saw his need. We see him feeding the hungry, ministering, teaching in the Temple, teaching on the streets, at the beach, in a synagogue or on a mountainside.



Once as he sat near a well waiting for the disciples to return with food for lunch he spoke the word of life to a woman of Samaria who had come to draw water. This resulted in making a trip to her town where so many people were listening and receiving his word that he stayed in that town two whole days preaching the Kingdom of God.



Nicodemus came to him at night seeking to know who he was and Jesus shared with him the message of salvation. It was to Nicodemus that Jesus spoke the most life changing sentence ever uttered, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)



As he walked along a crowded road one day he saw Zaccheus, a man small of stature, who had climbed a tree to get a better look at Jesus as he passed by. Jesus invited him to come down from the tree and as they ate a meal together Jesus led him out of his darkness into the light of life. Zaccheus became a different man right on the spot!



He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever when he arrived at their house for a meal. She immediately arose from her bed of affliction and began to serve them.



Jesus' primary ministry was spontaneous responses to the needs of people as he walked through each day. In every place where he found people in need, he met that need in the power of the Holy Spirit.



At the age of seventeen, when I first started going to church, it was a tremendous challenge to learn "church talk." The King James Bible was the only Bible people used in those days in West Texas. Everybody prayed using King James language. It was unthinkable to address God in our prayers as "you." To be respectful we had to use "thee" and "thou." Then there was "wouldst" and "couldst" and "whence" and "hither" and "whither" and "thither." I finally got used to it but it took me a while.



Then I had another problem, I was finding it difficult to talk to people about spiritual things when I was not in a church setting; to talk about Jesus to people at work or to my friends who did not know Jesus was a huge leap of faith for me!



Then, the day came when I knew God was calling me to preach! The thought that I was to stand up on a stage behind a pulpit and speak formally to a lot of people through a microphone was the scariest thing I could imagine! At age seventeen, the first time I had to do that, I became physically ill as I sat on the platform awaiting my time to talk. I almost vomited on stage right there in front of the congregation, but somehow I got through the ordeal. It was only a three - minute talk on "Youth Night" at our church, but it was a major challenge for me!



From the time I was a very small boy, I was always very shy and quiet around people. The fear of man was on me something awful for as long as I can remember! But I went off to Bible College and finally learned how to bring formal teachings from the pulpit and how to lead in prayer in a public meeting. But in spite of the curious language we always used as we preached and prayed in church, somehow I learned how to witness to unsaved people one on one.



But something was still missing. It was not the spontaneous, unplanned kinds of things that Jesus did in his ministry. All our evangelistic and teaching ministries had to be planned well in advance so that we could be well prepared and most of our evangelistic efforts were inside the four walls of a church building. I was still not trained to always be ready to minister healing to the sick or do the other things Jesus did such as, speak a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, a word of prophecy or rebuke the devil as I went about my daily routine. That was all in another realm of ministry that I learned to move in later on, but at the time, I trembled to even think about it.


Recently God has given me a way to move toward the Jesus kind of spontaneous ministry. It is by praying daily with another believer the Divine Appointment Prayer: "Father, give us a divine appointment today with someone who is hungry for God, or sick, or in need, and give us the grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit." God is answering that prayer for us and I am encouraging people everywhere to find a partner and pray that prayer together daily in person or by phone. It is exciting what God will do in answer to that simple prayer of agreement! "If any two of you on earth shall agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father in heaven." - Jesus





Robert Fitts
76-6309 Haku Pl
Kona, HI 96740
robertjoni@gmail.com
www.robertfitts.com


A Declaration of Unity
I belong to everything that belongs to Jesus and everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to me! It's not us and them. It's just us! There's only one Body of Christ, and the problems of the church, the whole church, are our problems, for we are the church and we can do more united than we can do divided! So let's unify, simplify, and multiply!

Divine Appointment Prayer
Father, give me a divine appointment today with someone who is hungry for God, or sick, or in need, and give me grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Winning the War on Terror by Prayer
Father, give every terrorist an encounter with Jesus such as Paul had on the road to Damascus.

Living to Give
Father, make me a generous giver today! Show me where to give and what to give, and let all my giving bring glory to the name of Jesus.

Grace, YES! Law, NO!
Law demands, demands, demands
But gives me neither feet nor hands
Grace and Truth are better things
They bid me fly and give me wings

Do you miss church?

Some thoughts from Karla


Dear Friends,


For those of you who are "outside the camp"...

How many times do you catch yourself missing the things that "church" offers?

Especially this time of year, with the holidays approaching, it can be a lonely time for some who used to go to church.

Do you miss the singing, praise and worship, Women's ministry, Men's ministry, potluck dinners, preaching, tithing/giving, children's ministries, even listening to people giving "prophetic words" (just to name a few).

Ask yourself a question...

Are the "things" that I miss really ministering to the LORD or to ME?

Really look deep into yourself and ask this question.

"Church" for the most part gives you the mindset of Martha. Busy little Martha, trying to minister to others, much serving, and even fulfilling her own need to be needed; maybe even fulfilling a desire to be in charge (because she thought Mary should be doing more to help her).

How many of you can remember working your butt off in churches thinking, "Why isn't everyone else working as hard as me?"

But we see Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, ministering to Him.

A lot of people write in and ask us what it means or looks like to minister to the Lord. I always picture Mary sitting quietly at Jesus' feet. She has no other person on her mind or any concerns other than sitting at His feet and listening, talking, sharing, and loving the Lord Jesus while He is right there in front of her.

Did she do this 24/7? No, of course not. Jesus went on with what His Father had Him to do, and Mary went on to do her daily things that needed to be done. But remember that she did take time out to sit at His feet and Jesus said this is what is needed.

So when you start to miss the things you once enjoyed so much in "church", remember where the Lord has brought you. Do not be like the children of Israel who always complained and wanted to go back to Egypt, thinking you had it better in "church".

There is a reason and a purpose for bringing you out. Let the Lord guide you in this new walk. Let Him teach you His ways - which are far better then your ways or the church's ways. And remember that the main lesson is: He will increase and I will decrease. This process is not an easy one but you have to go through it!


In Him,

Karla Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

Chinese House Churches Raided, Two Foreign Pastors Missing

Chinese House Churches Raided, Two Foreign Pastors Missing

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

SICHUAN/HENAN, CHINA (ANS) -- ChinaAid (www.ChinaAid.org) has told the ASSIST News Service that on Sunday, September 26, 2010, Youqing Church in Qu County, Da Prefecture, Sichuan province, China, was raided by the local police.

"Objects were smashed, books were confiscated and people were taken to the local police station," said a ChinaAid spokesperson. "Their family members were requested to pay money to bail out the detainees.

"On September 29th at 5 p.m. local time, four of the church members attempted to negotiate with Sichuan police in hopes of having their confiscated belongings returned to them in accordance with law. Instead, they were arrested on the spot."

ChinaAid is also reporting that a raid was conducted on Wednesday,September 22, 2010, at around 4 p.m on the Mid-Autumn Festival Day where a house church meeting in Wancheng District, Nanyang City, Henan province ,was invaded and all who were present, except for one elderly woman, were arrested.

"Two foreign pastors present at the meeting, one from the United States and one from Russia, were detained and so was their translator," said the spokesperson. "During the arrests, one member of the church, Ma Hanzhong, was beaten. The whereabouts of the two foreign instructors are unknown. The officials of Henan province have threatened to sentence the detained believers to re-education through labor."

In both of these critical cases, ChinaAid calls for worldwide attention and advocacy on behalf of those in need.

"We encourage Christians to stand with the persecuted and continue to pray for them," added the ChinaAid spokesperson.

UNDANGAN Simple Church Network

UNDANGAN
Simple Church Network


Shallom,

Kepada saudara saudariku dalam Kristus Yesus, Simple Church Network, merupakan sebuah komunitas orang percaya yang terbeban pada penanaman gereja dan mereka yang perduli terhadap apa yang tengah Tuhan kerjakan dalam kehidupan umatNYA. Di seluruh dunia dewasa ini Tuhan tengah membangkitkan pria maupun wanita untuk terlibat bersamaNYA memasuki pengalaman dan petualangan baru yang menantang. IA memanggil kita semua untuk terlibat dalam pelebaran KerajaanNya dengan melahirkan banyak keluarga Kristus yang bergairah dalam Dia (simple churches = gereja sederhana, gereja organik, gereja rumah,dll) di seluruh wilayah dan kelompok suku bangsa.
Simple Church Network bukanlah sebuah organisasi tetapi kumpulan penanam gereja yang berkumpul sebagai saudara seiman dan keluarga dalam Tuhan. Saling berbagi pengalaman, pelajaran, mendoakan, mendukung pelayanan seorang dengan yang lainnya, menasehati dan lain-lain. Tanpa memandang ia berasal dari denominasi atau organisasi mana. Sebab kita semua satu dalam tubuh Kristus.

APAKAH SIMPLE CHURCH NETWORK?

Kami adalah keluarga penanam gereja. Tuhan Yesus memanggil kita semua untuk terlibat dalam Amanat AgungNYA. Kita dipanggil untuk melahirkan keluarga-keluarga baru secara rohani (yang sering disebut simple church, gereja rumah atau gereja organik). Kita dipanggil untuk memultiplikasikan gereja dan memobilisasi setiap anak Tuhan untuk terlibat dalam pelebaran Kerajaan Tuhan.
Kami adalah komunitas praktisi. Kami adalah sebuah komunitas praktisi penanam gereja. Kita di sini bukanlah kumpulan “pakar”, tetapi kumpulan orang yang mau belajar bersama.
Kami adalah komunitas keluarga. Komunitas ini tidak memiliki kepemimpinan dengan sistem sentralisasi tetapi desentralisasi. Kita ingin bergerak bersama secara fleksibel dengan keunikannya masing-masing dan dengan kecepatan optimal tidak dibatasi oleh sistem hierarki yang kaku dan menghambat. Kita menitik beratkan pada sisi kekeluargaan dan kebersamaan.
Kami berjejaring dengan LK10 dan Outreach Fellowship International. Dua badan ini telah menjadi rekan dan juga mentor kami dalam hal penanaman gereja sederhana atau simple church.
Kami mengikuti teladan pelayanan Tuhan Yesus. Langkah awal pelayanan Tuhan Yesus memilih 12 orang murid, di mana Ia menginvestasikan hidupnya pada mereka (Lukas 6:40). Lalu Ia mengutus mereka untuk masuk ke kota maupun desa, menemui keluarga-keluarga memberitakan Kabar Baik dan memuridkan mereka, memulai gereja di rumah-rumah. Setelah itu mereka melaporkan apa yang telah dikerjakan pada Yesus (Lukas 9:10). Pada tahap ke dua, kita melihat kini Tuhan Yesus mengutus 72 orang murid, untuk melakukan tugas yang sama dan lalu mereka pun memberikan laporan atas apa yang telah terjadi (Lukas 10:17). Kerinduan kami sebagai murid-murid Kristus adalah untuk mengikuti pola yang telah IA berikan dengan memuridkan orang percaya, mengutus mereka dan saling menguatkan dalam memperlebar Kerajaan Tuhan.








DESKRIPSI BAGI YANG MAU MENJADI BAGIAN SIMPLE CHURCH NETWORK

Rekan jejaring Simple Church Network

1. Seorang yang memiliki hati dan gaya hidup seorang ayah atau ibu rohani (1 Tes 2:1-12). Mereka berfungsi sebagai seorang pemimpin berhati hamba yang merindukan setiap “anak rohani” yang dimentor beroleh keberhasilan (Mat 20:25-28). Ia memiliki karakter yang terefleksikan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dari seorang episkopos (penilik) dalam 1 Tim 3.
2. Seorang yang memiliki hati dalam penanaman gereja Tuhan, pemuridan, kesatuan tubuh Kristus dan pelebaran Kerajaan Tuhan; seorang yang isi hatinya tampak dalam pekerjaannya. Seorang yang mungkin pernah atau tengah mementor paling tidak dua buah penanaman/perintisan gereja (simple/house/organic/emerging church). Simple Church Network tidak pernah membatasi rekanannya dalam berorganisasi. Mereka dapat saja terlibat dan melayani di dalam organisasi/institusi gereja tradisional atau sebuah denominasi atau yayasan Kristen (parachurch).
3. Seorang yang setiap hari berdoa sesuai Luk 10:2b, meminta penuai-penuai baru di ladang Tuhan. Seorang yang tak berhenti berdoa dan mencari “man or woman of peace”(orang yang layak menerima damai sejahtera) di dalam sebuah wilayah atau kelompok tertentu. Luk 11:5-10, 18:1-8, Pkh 4:9-12.
4. Seorang yang dalam tiap kesempatan mengajarkan semua orang percaya untuk taat pada semua pengajaran Tuhan Yesus (Mat 28:20).
5. Seorang yang merasakan panggilan Tuhan atas suatu wilayah (lingkungan tetangga, kota, propinsi, negara dst) atau suatu kelompok suku dan budaya tertentu (suku terabaikan, suku yang mayoritas belum percaya, subkultur {punk, gothic, bikers, anggota gang/mafia, skaters, dst}, postmodern dst). Seorang yang bersedia berjejaring dan saling memperlengkapi di dalam jaringan ini. Dimana setiap saat kita saling berkomunikasi melalui milist, email, chatting, blog, SMS, telpon atau bertatap muka dalam pertemuan tahunan. Dimana setiap rekan jejaring bersama-sama mencari wajah Tuhan untuk mendapatkan strategi dalam memperlebar Kerajaan Tuhan dengan cara yang beragam, kita disini tidak mau terjebak dalam “penyeragaman strategi”.
6. Seorang yang secara pribadi siap untuk membina hubungan dengan semua rekan jejaring dalam skala nasional. Siap untuk bersama rekan yang lain untuk hidup saling memperlengkapi dalam jejaring regional.
7. Seorang yang pembelajar (memiliki hati yang mau diajar) dan pengajar/pelatih bagi penanam gereja lainnya (atau bagi mereka yang baru mau melangkah menjadi penanam gereja). Seorang yang mau belajar dalam Konferensi Simple Church Network dan mengajar dalam konferensi tersebut.









TIM SIMPLE CHURCH NETWORK AKAN:

1. Kami akan membawa diri Anda dalam hati kami (Kel 28:29) dan berdoa bagi Anda (Fil 1:3-11).
2. Kami akan ada untuk Anda melalui telpon, e-mail atau mengunjungimu kalau hal itu memungkinkan (1 Tes 2:8).
3. Kami akan menyediakan bahan-bahan pelajaran bila diperlukan untuk memperlengkapi Anda maupun jemaat (http://gerejaperjanjianbaru.blogpsot.com , http://enonlinebibleschool.blogspot.com , http://zoeministries.blogspot.com, www.LK10.com, www.robertfitts.com , dll)
4. Kami akan menghubungkan diri Anda dengan rekan-rekan jejaring lainnya dalam jejaring ini.


CONTACT PERSON:

DAVE BROOS
E-mail : davebroos@yahoo.co.uk
Mobile phone : +6281330135643

“MENILIK SEJARAH GEREJA MULA-MULA" (E-BOOK BE THE CHURCH)

“MENILIK SEJARAH GEREJA MULA-MULA”


Gereja yang sejati jauh lebih dari sekedar terfokus pada struktur organisasi dan badan hukum maupun masalah anggaran dasar dan rumahtangga.

Matius 28:18-20 Yesus mendekati mereka dan berkata: “Kepada-Ku telah diberikan segala kuasa di sorga dan di bumi. Karena itu pergilah, jadikanlah semua bangsa murid-Ku dan baptislah mereka dalam nama Bapa dan Anak dan Roh Kudus, dan ajarlah mereka melakukan segala sesuatu yang telah Kuperintahkan kepadamu. Dan ketahuilah, Aku menyertai kamu senantiasa sampai kepada akhir zaman.”
Gereja Tuhan ditugaskan untuk menjadikan semua bangsa murid Tuhan Yesus. Kita dapat melihat intervensi ilahi sejak awal Tuhan Yesus memberikan Amanat Agung ini, Ia berjanji akan menyertai kita semua sampai akhir zaman dan segala kuasa ada dalam tanganNya.

Kitab Kisah Para Rasul dimulai dengan pertemuan 120 murid Tuhan di sebuah tingkap di Yerusalem dan saat itu mereka mengalami ketakutan. Saat itulah Tuhan Yesus membaptis mereka dengan Roh Kudus sesuai janjiNya sebelum Ia naik ke sorga. Kisah Para Rasul 1:8, ‘Tetapi kamu akan menerima kuasa, kalau Roh Kudus turun ke atas kamu, dan kamu akan menjadi saksi-Ku di Yerusalem dan di seluruh Yudea dan Samaria dan sampai ke ujung bumi.” Rasa takut itu lenyap dan mereka dipenuhi keberanian untuk mengabarkan Injil. Ketika mereka mengalami kepenuhan Roh Kudus, mereka berubah menjadi saksi Kristus. Saksi di dalam bahasa Yunani adalah martus yang berarti saksi atau martir. Gereja mula-mula zaman para rasul atau murid Kristus dimulai tahun 70-130.
Dalam kurun waktu satu generasi, Injil sudah diberitakan di seluruh Asia Kecil, memasuki Eropa, jemaat-jemaat kecil didirikan di semua kota besar, bahkan Roma yang kala itu merupakan pusat dunia.
Jemaat mula-mula ini bersifat misioner. Mereka self governing (memimpin diri sendiri, mandiri secara kepemimpinan), self supporting (mandiri secara keuangan), self propagating (giat memberitakan Injil) dan self reproducing (berkembang secara natural).

Saat gereja mengalami aniaya yang berat, orang Kristen memulai suatu tradisi menggambar lengkungan di tanah menggunakan kaki atau tongkat mereka. Bila orang di hadapannya menggambar lengkungan kedua yang berlawanan dengan yang pertama hingga membentuk gambar ikan maka mereka berdua tahu bahwa mereka merupakan saudara seiman sehingga mereka dapat bersekutu bersama dengan bebas.

Gereja mula-mula diperlengkapi oleh pelayanan lima jawatan, Efesus 4:11-15 “Dan Ia (Tuhan Yesus)lah yang memberikan baik rasul-rasul maupun nabi-nabi, baik pemberita-pemberita Injil maupun gembala-gembala dan pengajar-pengajar, untuk memperlengkapi orang-orang kudus bagi pekerjaan pelayanan, bagi pembangunan tubuh Kristus, sampai kita semua telah mencapai kesatuan iman dan pengetahuan yang benar tentang Anak Allah, kedewasaan penuh, dan tingkat pertumbuhan yang sesuai dengan kepenuhan Kristus, sehingga kita bukan lagi anak-anak, yang diombang-ambingkan oleh rupa-rupa angin pengajaran, oleh permainan palsu manusia dalam kelicikan mereka yang menyesatkan, tetapi dengan teguh berpegang kepada kebenaran di dalam kasih kita bertumbuh di dalam segala hal ke arah Dia, Kristus, yang adalah Kepala.” Mereka pada umumnya berpindah-pindah sesuai pimpinan dan bimbingan Roh Kudus.

Sedangkan pemimpin dalam jemaat mula-mula adalah penatua (penilik) bersama diaken. Ini bukanlah sekedar jabatan tetapi lebih pada fungsi pemimpin sebagai seorang teladan, ayah dan hamba. Dapat dengan jelas kita baca di dalam 1 Timotius 3:1-13 Benarlah perkataan ini: “Orang yang menghendaki jabatan penilik jemaat menginginkan pekerjaan yang indah.” Karena itu penilik jemaat haruslah seorang yang tak bercacat, suami dari satu isteri, dapat menahan diri, bijaksana, sopan, suka memberi tumpangan, cakap mengajar orang, bukan peminum, bukan pemarah melainkan peramah, pendamai, bukan hamba uang, seorang kepala keluarga yang baik, disegani dan dihormati oleh anak-anaknya. Jikalau seorang tidak tahu mengepalai keluarganya sendiri, bagaimanakah ia dapat mengurus Jemaat Allah? Janganlah ia seorang yang baru bertobat, agar jangan ia menjadi sombong dan kena hukuman Iblis. Hendaklah ia juga mempunyai nama baik di luar jemaat, agar jangan ia digugat orang dan jatuh ke dalam jerat Iblis. Demikian juga diaken-diaken haruslah orang terhormat, jangan bercabang lidah, jangan penggemar anggur, jangan serakah, melainkan orang yang memelihara rahasia iman dalam hati nurani yang suci. Mereka juga harus diuji dahulu, baru ditetapkan dalam pelayanan itu setelah ternyata mereka tak bercacat. Demikian pula isteri-isteri hendaklah orang terhormat, jangan pemfitnah, hendaklah dapat menahan diri dan dapat dipercayai dalam segala hal. Diaken haruslah suami dari satu isteri dan mengurus anak-anaknya dan keluarganya dengan baik. Karena mereka yang melayani dengan baik beroleh kedudukan yang baik sehingga dalam iman kepada Kristus Yesus mereka dapat bersaksi dengan leluasa.
It’s about character! Kepemimpinan dalam gereja mula-mula menekankan pada ketaatan, karakter dan teladan bagi “keluarga rohani”nya.

Pada abad pertama umat Tuhan bersekutu dan beribadah di rumah masing-masing dan tidak mempunyai gedung ibadah khusus. Mereka beribadah tanpa memakai suatu tata ibadah yang tersusun rapi.
Mereka saling mendoakan, menyembah Tuhan dengan bebas, ada pengajaran, makan bersama, saling menguatkan dan membantu. Mereka terbuka pada pimpinan Roh Kudus, sebagaimana tertulis dalam 1 Korintus 14:26-28 “Jadi bagaimana sekarang, saudara-saudara? Bilamana kamu berkumpul, hendaklah tiap-tiap orang mempersembahkan sesuatu: yang seorang mazmur, yang lain pengajaran, atau penyataan Allah, atau karunia bahasa roh, atau karunia untuk menafsirkan bahasa roh, tetapi semuanya itu harus dipergunakan untuk membangun. Jika ada yang berkata-kata dengan bahasa roh, biarlah dua atau sebanyak-banyaknya tiga orang, seorang demi seorang, dan harus ada seorang lain untuk menafsirkannya. Jika tidak ada orang yang dapat menafsirkannya, hendaklah mereka berdiam diri dalam pertemuan Jemaat dan hanya boleh berkata-kata kepada dirinya sendiri dan kepada Allah.” Demikian pula dalam Efesus 5:18c-21, “tetapi hendaklah kamu penuh dengan Roh, dan berkata-katalah seorang kepada yang lain dalam mazmur, kidung puji-pujian dan nyanyian rohani. Bernyanyi dan bersoraklah bagi Tuhan dengan segenap hati. Ucaplah syukur senantiasa atas segala sesuatu dalam nama Tuhan kita Yesus Kristus kepada Allah dan Bapa kita dan rendahkanlah dirimu seorang kepada yang lain di dalam takut akan Kristus. Atau sebagaimana kita baca dalam Kisah Para Rasul 2:42-47 Mereka bertekun dalam pengajaran rasul-rasul dan dalam persekutuan. Dan mereka selalu berkumpul untuk memecahkan roti dan berdoa. Maka ketakutanlah mereka semua, sedang rasul-rasul itu mengadakan banyak mujizat dan tanda. Dan semua orang yang telah menjadi percaya tetap bersatu, dan segala kepunyaan mereka adalah kepunyaan bersama, dan selalu ada dari mereka yang menjual harta miliknya, lalu membagi-bagikannya kepada semua orang sesuai dengan keperluan masing-masing. Dengan bertekun dan dengan sehati mereka berkumpul tiap-tiap hari dalam Bait Allah. Mereka memecahkan roti di rumah masing-masing secara bergilir dan makan bersama-sama dengan gembira dan dengan tulus hati, sambil memuji Allah. Dan mereka disukai semua orang. Dan tiap-tiap hari Tuhan menambah jumlah mereka dengan orang yang diselamatkan.
Jemaat mula-mula memiliki kekuatan dan keuntungan. Dalam sebuah ibadah di rumah atmosfir yang terbangun adalah suasana kekeluargaan, masing-masing saling mengenal dan lahirnya kepedulian dalam persekutuan lebih nyata.
Dengan pertemuan di rumah, kita dapat menghindari hal-hal yang kurang praktis. Umpamanya masalah pakaian formil yang membuat beberapa orang merasa rendah diri, masalah harus bersikap “hormat dan kudus”,dstnya. Dalam pertemuan di rumah perbedaan di antara lapisan masyarakat dapat lebih mudah diatasi.
Jumlah umat Tuhan yang lebih sedikit memberikan kesempatan bagi setiap orang untuk berfungsi di dalam ibadah dan bertumbuh secara kerohanian.
Mereka tidak memerlukan dana besar untuk membeli tanah, mendirikan bangunan, pemeliharaan dan izin gedung gereja. Uang persembahan digunakan untuk membangun “gereja” (umat Tuhan) yang membutuhkan, membiayai perjalanan para rasul dan pelayanan lima jawatan yang ada, pekabaran Injil dan pelayanan diakonia(sosial).
Dalam gereja mula-mula (di rumah) pemimpin dan jemaat lebih mudah mengatasi pencobaan. Salah satunya kesombongan rohani menganggap diri sebagai “selebritis rohani”(orang penting) atau kesombongan organisasi. Sebagaimana sering terjadi kini ketika jumlah anggota jemaat bertambah besar dan aset organisasi bernilai milyaran rupiah, karakter pemimpian maupun anggota jemaatnya berubah.
Pengkaderan pemimpin lebih mudah dalam jemaat mula-mula. Menjadi pemimpin pada saat itu lebih menekankan pada fungsi membapai dan melayani sesama bukan sebagai sebuah jabatan bergengsi sebagaimana terjadi dalam gereja modern. Dimana pemimpin gereja lebih mirip CEO sebuah perusahaan mapan dengan gaji besar. Patut disayangkan hal ini terjadi.
Jemaat mula-mula lebih fleksibel, mereka dapat bertemu di rumah bahkan di kuburan bawah tanah (katakombe), di dalam gua atau hutan. Meski coba dihambat mereka merambat semakin dibabat mereka makin mencuat. Jemaat ini sudah teruji sulit untuk dihambat meskipun mengalami penganiayaan berat bahkan dapat dikatakan sadis.
Jemaat mula-mula menekankan setiap anggotanya untuk menjadi pelaku firman Tuhan dan berfungsi memperluas Kerajaan Allah. Jemaat modern lebih suka mendengarkan khotbah, dengan hanya sekedar mendengar saja kita hanya belajar sedikit. 10% dari apa yang kita dengar sajalah yang masih kita ingat dalam tempo 3 hari. Bandingkan dengan jemaat mula-mula yang bukan saja melakukannya tetapi juga mengajarkannya pada murid atau orang percaya lain, 90% apa yang mereka dapatkan menjadi bagian dalam kehidupan mereka.

Jemaat mula-mula memberitakan Injil secara natural, semua orang terlibat dalam pelebaran Kerajaan Allah dan dalam hal menghasilkan murid bukan semata tugas para rasul saja. Bandingkan dengan gereja modern kita yang menitikberatkan tugas pelayanan atau pekerjaan Tuhan hanya pada sekelompok rohaniwan. Lingkup memenangkan jiwa baru dan menanam gereja baru pun kini dikerjakan oleh “pasukan elit rohaniwan” yang kita kenal sebagai penginjil dan misionaris. Tidak heran kini gereja “mandul”.




SAAT TERJADI DEGRADASI DALAM GEREJA

Gereja mula-mula secara alamiah bertemu dari rumah ke rumah, biasanya mereka berkumpul dalam sebuah ruangan yang cukup besar di salah satu jemaat. Para ahli sejarah gereja sepakat bahwa jumlah mereka berkisar 15-20 orang. Ketika jumlah mereka membesar, otomatis mereka akan memulai kelompok baru di rumah jemaat yang lain. Jika tidak maka dapat dipastikan akan timbul masalah. Origen, dalam khotbahnya di gereja rumah di Kaisarea mengatakan,”Orang-orang yang bersembunyi dalam jumlah besar biasanya memiliki kisah yang mengenaskan.”
Pada tahun 95, Rasul Yohanes meninggal di Efesus, ia merupakan rasul dan murid Tuhan Yesus terakhir yang meninggal dunia sedangkan yang lainnya telah mati sebagai martir. Sejak saat itulah perlahan-lahan “gereja mula-mula” mulai memudar sinar dan pengaruhnya. Tahun 100 baptisan Roh Kudus hilang dari pengajaran gereja, disusul dengan hilangnya pengajaran tentang penumpangan tangan dan nubuatan pada tahun130. Tahun 160, kepemimpinan jamak (kepenatuaan) digantikan dengan sistem keuskupan. Lebih celaka lagi tahun 180 muncul denominasi pertama (denominasi berasal dari kata Denome = the name artinya nama), tanpa sadar roh Babel (Kejadian 11:1-9) menyelusup ke dalam gereja Tuhan sepeninggal Yohanes, membuat umat Tuhan mulai terpecah belah dan kesatuan lokal dalam sebuah kota hilang dari gereja. Tahun 185 baptisan orang percaya hilang dan tahun 210 keimamatan orang percaya mulai digantikan imam-imam profesional. Dan tahun 225 spontanitas dalam pertemuan ibadah lenyap.
Tahun 300, gereja kehilangan pengajaran kekudusan dalam keluarga dan para imam dilarang menikah mulai saat itu. Kekristenan yang tadinya menekankan kekuatan pada hubungan (relation) terhadap Tuhan dan sesama saudara seiman, kini mulai terjebak pada keagamawian (religion) yang menekankan pada upaya manusia berbuat kebajikan terhadap Tuhan dan sesama. Ketaatan bukan karena kasih (dengan rela hati) tetapi hukum (dengan berat hati).
Gereja mula-mula makin melemah, sekitar tahun 311-313 pemerintah Romawi mengeluarkan Edik (dekrit) Milano dimana kekristenan menjadi salah satu agama di antara agama-agama lain (diakui resmi). Seiring bertobatnya kaisar Konstantin dan menjadi Kristen pada tahun 312. Hingga sejak itu tidak ada lagi penganiayaan terhadap orang Kristen. Tetapi sejak saat itu pula orang Kristen mulai beribadah di gedung ibadah yang disediakan pemerintah Romawi. Dilayani oleh kaum rohaniwan yang akan memimpin semua acara keagamaan seperti pemberkatan nikah, baptisan air, pentahbisan “imam” dan kegiatan keagamaan lainnya.
Pada masa itu negara memberi kuasa bagi para “imam” untuk menekan mereka yang tidak taat kepada peraturan yang ada. Mereka yang tidak mau taat akan menghadapi konsekwensi dibunuh atau dihukum jika melanggar peraturan kerohanian dan standar-standar yang telah ditetapkan. Gereja sudah menjadi tawar dan padam kala itu. Pada masa itu gereja hidup berdampingan dan kompromi dengan agama-agama palsu.

Kurang lebih tahun 320, permulaan sebuah kebiasaan baru dengan menggunakan lilin di dalam kebaktian dan berdirinya biara pertama yang didirikan oleh Pachomius di Mesir. Tadinya “gereja” mendapatkan amanat dari Tuhan untuk berfungsi sebagai garam dan terang di tengah masyarakat tetapi kini “gereja” menarik diri dari tempatnya. Gereja mengasingkan diri dari dunia yang gelap kala biara berdiri. Kelompok orang percaya yang seharusnya menjadi teladan dalam masyarakat kini mengasingkan diri demi menjaga kekudusan, punya waktu lebih dengan Tuhan, dll. Tujuannya baik, idenya baik tetapi tidak semua tujuan dan ide baik berasal dari Tuhan. (Good destiny and good idea are not always God’s destiny and idea)
Setahun kemudian 321, hari Minggu ditetapkan sebagai hari raya kudus di seluruh wilayah kekaisaran Romawi. Dan sejak tahun 336, perayaan Natal ditetapkan sebagai hari suci umat Kristen di Roma. 25 Desember atau Natal sebelumnya adalah perayaan hari lahirnya Dewa Matahari dimana diubah sebagai perayaan hari lahirnya Tuhan Yesus pada saat itu. Pada tahun 350 mulai muncul prinsip amal sebagai pengganti pengajaran keselamatan adalah kasih karunia Tuhan melalui pengorbanan Kristus di kayu salib.

Tahun 380 keluarlah Edik (dekrit) Theodosius 1 Agung yang menyatakan kekristenan sebagai agama satu-satunya dalam kekaisaran Romawi. Edik atau dekrit ini diberlakukan di seluruh kekaisaran Romawi pada tahun 392. Gereja mulai berkompromi dengan kekafiran, gereja lebih mengutamakan gedung sebagai tempat suci, berdoa pada patung, mimbar atau altar, beragam atribut hingga menjadikan doa sebagai mantra. Inilah awal yang saya namakan “kecelakaan gereja”. Setiap warga Romawi dipaksa menjadi anggota gereja dan harus percaya kepada “Lex Dei” yaitu hukum iman. Segala kelompok dan gerakan, termasuk orang Kristen yang berkumpul di rumah dilarang bertemu. Beribadah di rumah menjadi sebuah kegiatan terlarang dan barangsiapa tetap melakukannya akan ditangkap sebagai seorang kriminal. Mulailah terjadi sebuah era dimana “gereja” menganiaya gereja.

Praktek baptisan percik dimulai pada tahun 400, hukum indulgensia (pengampunan dosa) mulai diajarkan dan populer. Sejak itu dimulailah perjalanan gereja memasuki “the dark ages” selama 1200 tahun.
Setelah itu gereja makin lama makin meninggalkan “the sound doctrine”(doktrin yang benar). Tahun 431 adalah permulaan penyembahan kepada Bunda Maria (theotokos). Sejak tahun 440 hingga 460 Leo 1 Agung menjadi Paus pertama dalam arti sebagai pemimpin penuh dari gereja sebagai wakil Tuhan di muka bumi. Tahun 593 muncul dogma Api Penyucian (purgatorium) yang ditetapkan oleh Paus Gregor 1 Agung. Pada tahun 600 muncul doa kepada Bunda Maria, orang-orang suci dan para malaikat semakin berkembang.

Saat degradasi terjadi dalam gereja muncullah Muhammad pada tahun 570-632 dan agama Islam berkembang. Wilayah-wilayah yang dahulunya telah dimenangkan bagi Tuhan kala itu beralih imannya akibat “degradasi” iman yang terjadi dalam gereja.
Hingga suatu hari terjadi “sejarah hitam” yang dilakukan oleh gereja yaitu “perang salib”. Gereja yang seharusnya hidup dalam kasih, menyatakan kasih dan dikenal sebagai orang-orang yang penuh kasih sayang menjadi kaum barbar dengan mengatasnamakan Tuhan.

How do I start a house church?

A very practical "Weekly Thoughts" today: How do I start a house church?
Right after "How can I find a house church in my area?", "How do I start a house church?" is the 2nd most common question I receive. There are several things to consider.

In scripture we have the names of several people who were the original hosts/leaders of their own house church; Lydia in Philippi, Jason in Thessalonica, Titus Justus and Crispus in Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus (and at another time in Rome), Philemon in Colossae, a lady named Nymphas in Laodicea.
(Acts 16:15, 40; 17:5; 18:7-8; I Cor 16:19; Rom 16: 3-5; Col 4:15, Philemon 2)

The pattern is that usually the full burden does not rest on any one individual - they had help. For instance, we are told Lydia had employees and the Philippian jailer and family, Philemon had employees, and in Corinth the Jewish leader of the synagogue Crispus teamed up with the Roman, Titus Justus. Apparently though, Priscilla and Aquila, a husband and wife team, appear quite gifted with hospitality for they are mentioned as hosting the church in their homes both in Rome and Ephesus - wherever they went apparently they hosted the church.

We have found the same pattern to be true; unless really graced with hospitality, you will need to team up with someone at some point. Maybe at the start you can host and lead alone, but after a bit the Lord will usually bring someone alongside on the same spiritual page to bear the load. From there we've found that rotating homes and leaders each week shares the load and brings everyone up spiritually. If at some point you don't start rotating leaders and homes each week, meetings become a miniature of what we left, with everyone looking to one couple or one leader for 'the word'.

Intentional
Many house churches start by de-churched friends inviting other de-churched friends over for a meal, some prayer, worship, study in the Word - and talk of home based church. House churches differ from prayer meetings or Bible studies in that people who attend are serious and purposeful about why they are meeting on a regular basis.

We use the word 'intentional' in several applications here in our Tulsa churches. We are intentional about each other, intentional about how and why we meet, intentional neighbors and intentional about moving those we fellowship with 'up' in our priorities in life - in prayer, in fellowship, in communication between meetings.

One does not just start a house church without these careful considerations. This is not just another event to fill the week, it is intentional Christianity, relationship based faith and relationship based church.

Starting
Earlier in this series I spoke of following Jesus' instructions from Luke 10 of finding people of peace. These are people who accept you for you long before they accept Jesus. They are family, friends/neighbors and those in the community, and co-workers. They are people within your existing sphere of influence. There are many people, believers and unbelievers, who prefer to come to a living room rather than a church building.

Thus hosting starts very small scale, often 1 or 2 others. Have a meal in your home, then have a time of worship and prayer and discussion...that's how it starts. That said, I know one situation where a couple decided after a time of not going anywhere to church to invite everyone they knew that was de-churched. They started right off with 6 or 7 couples and families!

Intentional prayer
When a house church actually meets varies, but a threshold is crossed when people realize the seriousness of what they are doing - mentally the jump is made that this is more than just friends having a meal and time in the Lord - this is their spiritual home and their spiritual family.

When that happens sometimes the switch is made to meeting Sunday mornings, sometimes Saturdays, sometimes a weekday night - but the mental change happens that this is church, this is my spiritual family.

So here is what happens typically, but not all the time, just a sample: People arrive and visit for the first 1/2 hour or so. (The host has put out some water and finger foods - maybe cheese and crackers and fruit - something simple.)

After the first 1/2 hour or so the host/hostess who may also be the leader(s) for the meeting, starts by asking for prayer requests...after a time of sharing those requests everyone starts praying for those needs. At this point anything can happen - people may want prayer personally, and people will lay hands on them and see what the Lord may say through the gifts of the Spirit, or just prayer.

Depending on the gifting of the leader, the group may start worshipping, or maybe just continue in prayer and the flow of the gifts of the Spirit, or right into a Bible study or hearing what is on the heart of the leader of that meeting.

Intentional worship
Worship flows from the heart, born from the existing intimacy and vibrancy of each person's closeness with the Father and Jesus, and a true worshipper can at a moments notice break forth in their own words adoration and love for the Father and Jesus. They need no cd or instrument, or if there is such, those things merely accompany the existing melody in the worshipper's heart.

God inhabits the praise and worship of his people, so if people in house church are not willing to worship vibrantly from their hearts (or not willing to learn to find their own words and melody) they're not as likely to have the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit (and gifts of the Spirit moving) in that meeting.

When people want the baptism with the Holy Spirit but struggle speaking in tongues, in many of those cases they don't know how, nor practice worship on their own - to truly get lost in the Spirit in their expression of love to the Father.

Side note: Most 'big' healings I've been a part of both personally and with others, involves the person receiving during worship, getting so caught up in expressing their love for the Father and Jesus that just being in the Father's presence, where there is no lack, heals them.

Think of it; the Greek word for 'worship' is pros-kuneo, pros meaning 'toward' and kuneo meaning 'to kiss'. Worship is therefore the intentional ("towards") kissing of the Father God - a full on expression of love - and He is seeking those who will worship from their spirit and in truth (pure motives) to worship him.

But if you say 'Let's worship' in most churches of any structure, and if you don't have someone else's music and lyrics, people don't know how to express that kind of love to the Father. That's one reason Paul says to "Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise and voices and making melody in your heart to the Lord. And in everything give thanks." (Eph 5:19-20)

(So maybe a house church needs to purposely study worship a bit and not have a cd for a season until people learn how to worship, how to use their own words instead of a song writers to tell Father God why they love Him, and why they love Jesus?)

Intentional Word
The things of God involve the Spirit and the Word - both elements must be present. If you have the Spirit without the Word people get off balance. If you have the Word without the Spirit things are dry and boring.

If people in house church are not willing to move from their heart - if they haven't mentally prepared to be active and go over and lay hands on someone and expect God to speak through them or give them a word for that person - then house church will stagnate.

In many meetings the vibrancy of prayer and worship lead naturally into a study and discussion of the Word, though in practice the Word and prayer and worship may follow any order, differing according to how the leader feels led for that meeting.

This is where people get nervous - the expectation that they will bring forth a study or message. In house church though everything is discussion oriented, not sermon oriented. Many excellent times in the Lord have started with merely a single verse, or a single thought about a single verse even. You're among friends, others will fill in the gaps because it's discussion oriented...relax, share what's on your heart, it's safe.

Paul told the Corinthians "When you come together every one of you has a psalm (worship/prayer), revelation (something God showed me, this week or another time), doctrine (something God taught me this week or another time), tongues/interpretation (freedom to move in the gifts of the Spirit)." I Cor 14:26

Depending on the way God created whoever is leading is how the meeting will go. A leader more graced in intercessory prayer may lead everyone in worship and prayer, a teacher may forgo worship in favor of a deep study in the Word, someone may just have one recurring thought that stayed with them all week they'd like to share (a revelation) - and it goes from there.

The point is that it is intentional. Whoever is leading is seeking the Father for the upcoming meeting. My pattern has been, and often this is the case with others I've discovered, is along about Wednesday (for a Sunday meeting) the Father starts putting a thought or verse or Psalm or revelation or subject on the leader's heart - and they think on that for those several days before the Sunday meeting. It's natural, flowing, and completely easy because a person can be themselves, as the Father directs them.

Intentional relationships
A house church revolves around people as guests in someone's home, getting to know one another. As such one of our founding verses is Galatians 2:9: "But when Peter, James and John...perceived the grace in Barnabus and me, they gave us the right hand of fellowship..."

Perceiving the grace is essential to knowing and loving people of varying ages, races, backgrounds, and life experience. Perceiving the grace in the verse above meant that though Peter and the others were called to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles, they were in fellowship and relationship. Peter would later write that some of what Paul wrote was hard to understand, meaning that even though he didn't fully understand Paul's call, teachings, or life experience, he perceived the grace and loved him. (II Pet 3:16)

This means we look for Jesus in another person - when you find Jesus in them and what He has done and is doing in them, their past, their race, their socio-economic standing falls into the category of irrelevance. This is how we walk in love with people who are very different from us - perceive in your spirit Jesus in them, and love Him in them.

House churches do go through stages though. We've found that for the first 90 days all are on best behavior. In the 3-6 month time frame (if they stick around), personality conflicts arise and people have to learn to perceive the grace in others. In the 6-9 month time frame they work through it all, learning how to be proactive in meetings and walk in love, and by 12 months a core group of friends has worked through personality conflicts and grown to truly enjoy each other's company. Somewhere in the 6 month to 18 month time frame a house church starts turning outward to invite others - though this varies widely.

Intentionally connected
Lastly, there are no stand alone house churches in the New Testament. Many start off as individual house churches, all alone, like in Acts 11 in Antioch, or Acts 16 in Philippi. But at some point each house church sought to be connected to an apostle and a larger network of house churches. From those relationships people wrote back and forth, traveled back and forth, sent money back and forth - they were connected to each other.

It must have been some discussion in Corinth, for according to I Corinthians 3 they were acting like un-born again people, so caught up in strife were they over this issue - some said they wanted to be associated with Apollos, some with Paul - he told them it shouldn't be a point of strife and they were acting like babies. Later in chapter 9 he told them he was the most instrumental in their spiritual life and they should be supporting him, but the point is they wanted to be connected.

In Antioch, once connected to the leaders in Jerusalem, they sent an offering to help against a prophesied famine, and Paul thanks the churches in Philippi (which started you'll recall in Lydia's house) for sending support twice while he started the house church in Thessalonica - they wanted to help start other house churches by extension through Paul's ministry. (Acts 11:29, 16:40/17:1-8, Phil 4:15-16)

And in II Corinthians 8 Paul is receiving an offering for the leaders and believers in Jerusalem from the Corinthians and once again mentions the house churches of Philippi and area (Macedonia) giving as well - so Philippi was connect to Thessalonica and also to Corinth and all were connected to Paul who was also connected to Jerusalem....and on it goes.

We try to emulate Paul - he sought to build relationships not a network. Networking and those relationships developed naturally over time, but relationships were the point.

And that is why this second foundational verse is so important, from II Corinthians 1:24: "Not that we would have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by your own faith you stand."

Neither Paul nor we have dominion over someone's faith - each house church is an independent, real church. Our part as leaders, and as others in a network, is to be helpers of joy. And there is great peace in that.

Be intentional, you can do it, you're not alone!

New subject next week,
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch.org