Have we reached 'peak house church?'

The gauntlet has been thrown. But is there anyone left to take it up?

It's a safe bet to say House Church was never a tremendously popular stream in American Christianity. However, its legacy cannot be denied.

No, we've never undergone the level of persecution that often drives large number of churches "underground" and into private homes, such as the ones we know of in China. Rather, we meet simply as a means of keeping the focus on Christ.

Denominations and church planting associations answered this gauntlet-throw of returning to New Testament Christianity. They gave their cell groups greater authority and roles in the life of the church. They returned to local, community-based churches. Megachurch leaders such as David Platt and Francis Chan have taken cues from the movement and incorporated them into their own ministries.

Healthy skepticism or 'practical atheism?'

Below is my latest post on Seedbed.com based on a rather obscure sermon from John Wesley and how it intersected with my skeptical side. It's a little eccentric, but I hope you get something out of it!

... Does this “practical atheism” even cloud our understanding of salvation? And what about sanctification? 

Wesley, urging his hearers to flee the darkness (no matter how cozy and convenient one’s own “tree trunk” may be), warned them not to confuse outward religious ritual, or a mere moral resolution to swear off conflict and injustice, with the “blaze of gospel-day!” 

A faith that takes risks on the improbable can generate the kind of inward excitement and passion that leads us into an adventure like no other, one worthy of many tales to be told. ... 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.seedbed.com/christians-and-the-allure-of-practical-atheism

Wisdom: a group discussion

Some (much-summarized) thoughts from Sunday's group discussion on wisdom, based on the previous Sunday's interactive teaching on the subject.

Brandi:

Though we may not know if we're wise, it's the little things that God does through us, in us, and in those around us that gives us the knowledge that we're on the right track.

Jesus was a Democratic Socialist and other urban legends

Communism in Poland. And you thought Franklin's was bad.

"... We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty." --II Peter 1:16

There's a Robin Hood version of Jesus in the popular imagination with whom I have an on-again/off-again relationship.

On one hand, I like that just about the entire world wants a piece of Jesus of Nazareth. Even hard-core secularists who indict the God of Abraham for alleged war crimes and laugh off the Holy Spirit as a mere superstition revere Jesus to some degree. They like what he represented. He "stuck it to The Man" and preached love and forgiveness. Even Gandhi, a Hindu's Hindu, famously said "'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

It's that Folk Hero Jesus that paves the way for me to introduce my Lord and Savior to just about anyone I meet. It's like asking someone if they'd like to talk about Mr. Rodgers. Evangelism made easy.

On the other hand, I cannot stand the way personal attitudes and biases are often projected on Jesus. Because he preached forgiveness, he must be indifferent to whatever sin you're practicing. Because he was all about healing the sick and helping the blind to see, then anyone who boldly preaches Christ (or happens to hurt someone's feelings otherwise) must be a hypocrite that has never read the Red Letters.

This Folk Hero version of Jesus I can do without, as it flies square in the face of many things Jesus taught as a perfect Jew and one with God the Father. The one who would go to the bar and have a drink with you, while laughing his way through all the heartache and bad life decisions. "Buddy Jesus."

Fewer than 12 percent of Christians surveyed (according to a Barna study) thought Joan of Arc was Noah's Wife. A recent Lifeway Research study discovered only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week, 40 percent occasionally, and 1 in 5 never read it at all.

Non-Christians read the Bible even more seldom, naturally. But this doesn't stop them from building opinions about Jesus. Be their misconceptions stem from church tradition, folklore, non-Christian religions, or even TV, it's comforting to believe a popularly-held lie.

In a recent worship gathering, I thought I'd engage in a little myth-busting on these folk tales about Jesus. I'm not talking about apocryphal accounts of Jesus (such as turning clay into pigeons or rebellious children into goats or a Gnostic take on the crucifixion) but the twists-of-truth that plague us even in the 21st Century.

Here are four I could think of off-hand. If you can think of any others, by all means leave a comment!

Being a disciple means growth, not simply preservation

Don't be this guy.

Living as a disciple is nothing that can be taught out of a book, or made into a systematic approach that works the same for every single person. Every Christian's story is different. And for it to be a story it must be lived out in a manner worthy of being told, as well as communicated to others.

Too often we relegate one's "testimony" to that time when he or she first accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. But is that where it stops? Does Jesus trap us in amber as soon as we're his, only to be released on the Last Day? Inasmuch as we can stand on God's promise of a future salvation, our testimony continues day by day, as we not only testify of God's power to deliver, but live out the work of God in our lives! We're set free for a purpose, and it's not to simply wallow in his grace.  As the old saying goes "we've been saved, we're being saved, and we will be saved."

Below are four indispensable elements of becoming the kind of disciple that makes other disciples:

Discipleship: Reading the Scout Handbook is fine, but don't forget to camp!

Seedbed's timing in running my article on discipleship -- as it relates to a recent camping excursion with my stepson -- goes well with our church's discussion theme this month:

It [discipleship] has to be more than a concept taught by a book. It has to be more than a series of meetings. Discipleship must be lived out and lived together. 

There are, of course, many helpful and proven curricula, book studies, and Bible study guides available for new disciples and their mentors. There are countless retreats, conferences, camps, and camp meetings as well. But, nothing is a substitute for walking alongside a fellow Christian in regular, plain-old daily life. 

While in the tent, I jotted down a few elements often missing from discipleship. ...

Read more: http://seedbed.com/feed/a-basic-vision-for-local-discipleship

Proving who you say you are

Subject: Keeping one's word

Target passage: I John 2:1-6

Date: Jan. 31, 2016

When we're asked today to identify ourselves, there's more than one way to respond. Readers of this blog may remember my misgivings of having to show a driver's license to claim my one-year-old child at a mega-church recently! 

A scanner can verify your identity through your fingerprints and your irises to prove that it's you, so long as your fingerprint and "eye print" are registered in the correct database. A credit score tattles on your financial history. We're on the cusps of facial recognition technology, where a camera can tell who you are from a long distance, and pull up a rap sheet on you in a matter of seconds. "No Hiding Place Down Here," indeed.

The Modern Reject's refreshingly organic take on 'prayer requests'

I ran across this now-inactive blog today and thought I would share the link for future reference for those curious about what this house church thing is all about. 

The author explored many of the topics we've addressed as a community in her journey from institutional church to a home-based fellowship that at one time gathered upwards of 60 people.

http://modernreject.com/category/featured/house-church

Here's an eye-opening snippet concerning why her church doesn't practice prayer "requests," per se (not that there's anything wrong with them -- methods vary!):

'Amen' digs below the surface

Subject: "Amen"
Target passage: Various
Date: Jan. 24, 2016

With the proliferation of social networking "share and type amen" memes, "amen" has continued as one of the most overused, misunderstood, and misapplied expressions in the English language.

Five reasons why you should NOT join a house church

That's not a typo in the headline.

Our friends at Seedbed published a guest blog post from yours truly that lays out a quintet of reasons for why many people may try out house churches, but also why those same people should re-consider their motivations.

If you’re just curious, or seriously considering leaving your brick-and-mortar church for a house church (or simple church, organic church, micro-church, etc.), we want to assist you as you prayerfully seek God’s will. Aside from their many advantages, below are five reasons why you should not join—or not start, for that matter—a house church.