Wild Hope

2003-06-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

Had breakfast with a friend yesterday morning. They (his family) had gone to a certain church on Sunday. Said that they were so turned off by what was going on there.... The worship seemed more like a show. And the pastor talked way too long and too much about their building program. He even divulged the amount some were giving .......
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Last night had coffee with Wayne. We asked the question, "Is there anybody in our lives that we need to forgive?".......
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Tomorrow I will be meeting with someone in the hopes of reconciliation.......
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I was thinking about different ideas that we in "simple church" could implement.
1- instead of paying someone mega bucks to do a conference we could meet at someone's cottage and have discussions about the direction we are heading. (Lt's idea).
2- We need more people who will write inspiring books with no more than 70 pages in them. In the last 5 years I have rarely read a book right through. It's not that I don't enjoy reading but most people say in 312 pages what they could say in 70 or less. Anybody want to start up a small book publishing firm in their basement?
3- Sharing choruses and music that we have written for free.
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Why is it that when someone writes a book on a certain topic, he or she becomes the resident guru and everyone falls all over themselves trying to book that person for a conference? For example there are some writers who write about house church but they always seem to be on the road and talking about house church but never seem to be in one... mmmmmmm.
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Cute one liners. How does a butcher introduce his wife?........... meet patty!!!! Did you hear about the two Saskatchewanians who went hunting? ...... they were following some tracks and got hit by a train....
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2003-06-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

THE TITHE?????
I do not believe the tithe exists for the Christian today. It is because of the erroneous teaching of the tithe that church justifies having buildings. If there is any way we can begin to convince people that the building is unnecessary begin with dismantling or deconstructing in the minds of people the teaching of the tithe. The tithe is the central reason for the existence of church buildings. Without the tithe we would have no buildings or system of church that we have today. These are the reasons I believe the tithe is not binding on us today.
1- New Covenant.... The destruction of the temple
2- Transportation of the gospel to the nations.... not Jewish customs
3- Paul's appeal for giving..... not the tithe
A quick overview of scripture regarding the tithe. I will not spend a lot of time here. There are three reasons given for the tithe in the O.T. First, to support the Levitical priests since they had no income. Second, for celebration around the temple system and the regular celebrations in keeping their religious customs. The third reason had to do with the sojourner, the stranger and the needy.
First: The New Covenant.... There are not very many of us who understand how new the New Covenant really is. Here is a question.... Who's idea was it that the Temple system come to an end....? was it a) house church and emerging church types. b) the Roman government in the apostolic age. c) the apostles, or d) George Bush. The answer is none of the above .. It was God's idea. When Jesus was overlooking the Temple in all of it's splendor he predicted that not one stone would be left upon another thereby predicting the Temple's destruction. He was not lamenting this but knew it had to be. He had already taught the woman at the well that people would not be worshipping in this place or that but in spirit and in truth. He wiped out the need for the Holy mountain .... Sinai .... and the Holy City.... Jerusalem. This was the new covenant... the new reality.... that God was not going to live in temples or buildings made of stone.... but amongst living stones.... His people. Now if the temple is destroyed and we no longer have that system what need is there of the tithe......mmm unless, of course, we the church have resurrected the temple system..........
Second. 95 to 99% of the gospel message was transported out of the nation that rejected Jesus as their Messiah and given to all the nations around them and all around the world. What was not being transported was the Jewish temple and the continuance of Jewish customs including the tithe system. They were transporting Jesus and His message. The nations knew nothing about the Jewish customs and celebrations and so on. So when Paul talked about giving, what was his foundation or what did he appeal to....... The tithe or first fruits?????? Hardly.
Third. The way teachers teach about tithe, it is very odd that neither Paul, nor John, nor Peter have anything to say about it. Paul often talked about giving. He even half heartedly confronts the Corinthian church to give. He uses the example of the Macedonian church on how to give. Now if the tithe were still in place it would have been Paul's right to go into some lengthy teaching about the tithe and how it was their responsibility to give based on the tithe. Of course he didn't because we no longer give based on any law. We give based on our being followers and being alive to Christ. Paul did not appeal to the tithe like so many preachers do today. Instead this was the reasoning he used. "the grace of God that is in you." "Give what you have purposed in your heart." Give sacrifically like the Macedonians" and give when there is need like in the Acts church. In an article in (www.house2house.tv), magazine entitled "Sacrificial Giving" Maurice Smith says.... "I am convinced that the New Testament standard and model for giving is not tithing, but radical sacrificial giving out of a transformed life. Now, I don't really want to engage in a "debate" over tithing, but I would challenge anyone to produce a single New Testament passage where tithing is demonstrated in practice in the life of the New Testament church. I can't find one. But I can find many examples of radical, sacrificial giving out of a transformed life which went far beyond tithing."
I would love to see a Pastor stand up and say to his congregation. From this day onward we teach that the tithe is not binding on you as a congregation. If you want to keep this going then it will have be totally on your giving. But before you give to this organization called church, have you checked around for struggling single moms or dad's? How about widows? Have you responded to our brothers and sisters who are hungry and homeless in Africa and India? How about our persecuted family in other countries. "But, but, but, pastor if we do that then there will be no money to pay for our building". To this the pastor answers "so be it" "But, but, but pastor if we do that we won't be able to afford to hire you". "Mmmmm never thought of that". Next Sunday his sermon is "The absolute necessity of Tithing." It would be better for him to have said "so be it."

zuzu@mts.net

2003-06-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well I am back blogging. Last week I did some construction work for a friend.....aaaahhhhggg every bone in my body shut down. I was walking around like a zombie for a couple of days. here are a few updates. Last weekend Leighton Tebay (surprisingly pronounced Teebee) dropped by. He was in Winnipeg for a conference. We chatted for almost 6 hours straight. Seemed like we were just renewing old friendships instead of meeting for the first time. I'm not sure he got what he came for but we sat and talked about a lot of things. Thanks for dropping by Leighton. By the way Leighton calls his blog "the Heresy". you wanna talk heresy.... he likes coke and the Calgary Flames. It makes a guy wonder.
This weekend our former church invited me to do worship. I haven't done that in over 5 years. They are having family camp and they always end off the camp with a church service on Sunday morning.... that is when they want me to lead. It's funny... friends from that church were over for supper a couple of months ago and asked about our philosophy of church. So I answered.... relational, organic and the fact that we have done away with the church service. Of course that was the short answer. Well I was waiting for some kind of rebuttal and none came. Instead he talked about burn out and not really liking church and so on. I told him that I did not like church or the church service. A couple of weeks later I stopped and chatted with him at a building site. and he said "I have a hard question and an easy one. The hard one is "will you work for me on Monday?" I said yes. Then he said the easy one is "Will you lead worship at our family camp." It shocked me out of my pants." (I guess you can imagine the embarrassment i felt standing there with no pants on). Talk about mis judging the questions. I told him that I had to pray about this one. It took me three weeks to decide. The Lord kept telling me "They are not the enemy... they are not the enemy." so I'll have to shake the dust off of my overheads and get ready.
Just heard about another group in Steinbach who may be pulling out of their church to meet organically and an relationally. Interesting....... I am trying to get people 40 and over to start blogging but..... it's like trying to make changes in a church. whew....... My kids came home from a church family camp...... Amy my 13 year old had only 3 hours of sleep the first night and none the second night. Lynn and I were not around when they got home so Amy went to bed at 3:30 yesterday afternoon and go up at 7:30 this morning...... Jeff our 16 yr old (soon to be 17) had enough sense to get an average of 4 to 5 hours a night...... July 1rst is Lynn and my 25th anniversary. Wow i remember when my parents celebrated theirs. I thought they were old. Pressure's on to do something. I thought either Miami or Holland. Since Manitoba has towns with those names it might not be so expensive after all........... What to do for a job???????? Anyone want to visit the "Church of the Saviour" with me in the next couple of years? Today i will be working on a little article. (Half or three quarters of a page) entitled. The Central Reason the Church building exists is the erroneous teaching of the tithe. So that's it for now zuzu@mts.net

2003-05-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

PART V

So what lesson did I learn? Well it is bridging the gap between the immature visionary and the practical visionary. To understand, in a deep way, that it is never about how many people one has in a group but whether those people are willing to count the cost. The immature visionary gets 10 people together and cares very little about those 10 people. His mind is scheming and thinking about the next 10 people he has no interest in helping. His satisfaction is not found in building quality but rather in numbers. Gordon Cosby of the Church of the Saviour has said this, "Vision is the destroyer of essence." This is coming from one of the most visionary minds the church has ever seen. For Cosby it is not about vision and fruit. It is very much about vision + sacrifice and commitment and then fruit. Does that mean we are to do what the church of the Saviour did. No. But there are lessons we can most definitely learn from them. I know that there are people who talk about being a missional church and wanting to make a deep impact but care little about the hard work that comes with it. At the same time, essence of the church is NOT the vision: Listen to Gordon Cosby in these 3 quotes: Read them slowly and let it sink in.

“…The essence of church is not its mission. [The “vision statement” is not what its about.] It’s not a matter of a group, battling homelessness, or working with at-risk children or people who don’t have jobs or people who are addicted or working with issues of justice or peace…the soul of the church is a gathered people whose only reason for gathering is Jesus. The church is a people who gather because they want to know Jesus in a deeper way. The focus must not be on the vision first but on the relationship with the one who gives the vision. The vision will not ultimately sustain us, but the one who gives the vision will…”

We will commit ourselves to an intensive love effort with a few people. We will be committed to smallness. Large numbers tend almost inevitably toward depersonalization and institutionalism, toward a lessening of commitment. So we resist the temptation of numbers and the power that comes through numbers.

The central reality of Church is a group of people, core people, called to be in deepening personal belonging of friendship with Jesus of Nazareth and through him to others.
Unfortunately when some people read this they think Cosby is affirming their belief of having no vision. But this is reading Cosby way out of context. He is saying that mission is NOT the essence of church. I find it very sad that many small groups never get beyond themselves and look outward. END PART V

2003-05-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

PART IV

I am not free to share about the Winnipeg group so I will fast forward to my chat with Wayne. I went to his place and we began to talk about growth and so on. We began talking about problems people have and as we talked about these things I believe the Lord was revealing something. You see I view myself as a visionary. The problem many visionaries have is that they tend to see the positive and that positiveness is usually linked with how many people will come along (ie numbers). We will have 20 to 30 new groups in the next 2 years and will plan and just about do anything to make it happen. They do not see that people come with all sorts of problems. And they need patient people to come along side them. It takes time for many people to get from where they are to being where God can reveal to them the flower that is in them and the gift that God has put in them. But we visionaries want some measure of success and we want it now. I will call this group immature visionaries. These visionaries spend much of their time wondering why the groups they have established keep falling apart.
On my way home from Wayne's I began thinking about all of this. Then my thoughts turned to the Church of the Saviour in Washington D.C. I had first read about them in 1994. The book was called "The New Community" by Elizabeth O'Connor. Then I read "Call to Commitment" by the same author. I had to visit them and in 1996 I did just that. I was amazed at what was happening there. Well as an immature visionary I was astounded by what I could see. The dilapidated apartments they transformed into beautiful living quarters. Drug addicts being healed. Free health clinics. The depth that seemed to be a part of them and so on. My eyes beheld the fruit of their work and I was amazed. What my eyes could not see were the hours upon hours of commitment and sacrifice that went into the work the Lord gave them to do. I wonder if those of us who are immature visionaries understand the commitment and sacrifice it will take to establish new communities. End PART IV

2003-05-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

PART III
On Saturday morning I was cleaning my tapes up and came across a tape by Clarence Jordan called "The Substance of Faith.". Clarence Jordan began a communal farm just after World War II. His outreach purpose was to hire black people to work on his farm so they could save up money to buy themselves a house. Now Clarence Jordan was educate in agriculture and had a masters degree in theology. He was 6' 4" and usually wore suspenders. He did not look the educated type. Anyway in his effort to love black people (in Georgia) in the 40's and 50's, their farm was shot at, barns set on fire and bombed.... bullets often whizzed by them in the kitchen. Their farm was boycotted by all the businesses in Americus Georgia. So the words I share from Jordan are not words coming from a man that closes himself in an office and reads about the faith of others. He experienced real persecution in the States. Jordan was also the man who came up with the idea for Habitat for Humanity. He died in 1968 just before the first house was completed. Here are a few quotes that has helped out in my fight against FEAR.

"Faith is not belief in spite of the evidence, but a life lived in scorn of the consequences."

"Faith is not a way of thinking but a way of acting."

"Faith is the activation of our aspirations. The life based on unseen realities."

"So long as the word remains theory to us and is not incarnated into deeds and living... you do not have faith. You may have good theology but you do not have faith."

"Fear is the polio of the soul that prevents us from walking by faith."

"The foundation of fear is self-preservation."

"Death is fear's greatest worry"

"But death has been ABOLISHED."

"Fear will be overactive in us so long as it sees anywhere on the horizon the specter of death."

"we must have the assurance of the abolishment of death."

"Faith lay in the power of the resurrection"

"They did not preach ethics, but the resurrection."

"Three aspects of the life of Jesus are...His life, his crucifixion and His resurrection."

"We must stop putting our emphasis on freedom..instead that we are bound slaves.. slaves of the living God.
End part III

2003-05-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

PART II
I don't think that I can remember all these in chronological order. I'll start with Mark 4. The part where Jesus is sleeping on a boat. A storm arises and the disciples are afraid. They wake Jesus up and His words hit me like a ton of bricks, "Why are you so timid.... don't you have faith." Well a revelation happened in getting me to see that fear works against faith. As long as fear was operative then how could faith.... which is always connected to conviction and action..... flourish? If one is paralyzed by fear then faith shrivels up. Now there are some things that are out of our control... like healing, changing someone's heart and the like and the only thing there is to do is to come to Jesus and believe...... but even some of those who were healed in scripture acted..... they sought Jesus out. But there are things that are firmly in our control and if we let fear rule then nothing will happen. For example our next door neighbors have lived there for about 2 or 3 years and we haven't said boo to each other. Well putting aside my fear I went over and had a chat with him for a half an hour.(this was about 4 days ago). Afterwards Lynn, my wife, brought over some rhubarb meringue pie. I also said that they could use our trampoline for their little guy anytime they wanted to. But if I continued to let fear control me it would not have happened.
Also Wayne, Lynn our children and myself are reading the book of Mark.... Well one of the things that comes out quite strong is the fact that throngs of people sought after Jesus. My thoughts are, how in the world could he keep up. Coupled with this is the same idea when Leighton Tebay (www.theheresy.com) posts "Escape from Christendom" on his blog. I scrolled down and my eyes fell on the fourth wilderness called the harvest. The question that was asked was, "But will I have the strength to keep on working among people with such great needs." This happened two nights ago shortly after I got in on Sunday night after my conversation with Wayne. Now tripled with that was an article I read from house2house magazine about someone's excitement about starting simple churches in their neighborhood. After being there for 5 years they have led only one family to the Lord and have started no other home groups. Then that person went on to tell how a couple of people in Spokane had a word from the Lord that revival was going to happen. Their question was "will the people of these cities be ready." And that was this person's question.
I wonder, when we pray for revival, do we know what we're asking? The truth is, if my neighbors did start coming to the Lord and home groups did start forming and multiplying on my street, my life would change. The usual routines would have to go. My thoughts and time and energy would have to be focused on a whole new group of people and a whole new set of challenges and opportunities. This is the crucial question remains "Do we really want this to happen...... end PART II

2003-05-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

PART I
What do these things have in common? Mark 4: The book of Mark. The Church of the Saviour. Clarence Jordan. Escape from Christendom. An article called, "Are we ready for revival." Assinaboine Park in Winnipeg. A group from Winnipeg. Last night's chat with Wayne........ ANSWER: the leading of the Holy Spirit...... to teach me one small but significant point that is crucial to home groups and reaching out.
Three weeks ago today, which is Monday, May 12th, I went for one of those long walks in Assinaboine park in Winnipeg. I struggled with the Lord about how our group had been together for a year and a half and no one has joined us in our journey. It seemed very much as if the Lord led us out of the traditional church and had asked me to begin small buildingless churches or home groups...... but nothing was happening. As I was praying and thinking, I began thinking of different ways to make contact with people and basically plan different ways to let people know about these kinds of churches. Well my spirits really began to soar. The Lord was with me.
I came home and a few days later came across a verse that hit me like a ton of bricks. "I will arouse him in righteousness. And will make his way smooth. He will build my city and will let my exiles go free. Without any payment or reward." Well I knew the Lord had aroused me. I also was sensing that a hedge was being built around me concerning a certain sin. That strengthening has lasted three weeks thus far. The area of fear was also always in my face. Somehow that had to be dealt with. But how? Now remember this is all happening in the last three weeks. That is over the past three weeks there has been a deep sense that God is speaking to me. I know this because of an aura or a sensing. My reading and circumstances are revealing deeper things. And I am understanding that it is purely a gift. This ends part I

2003-05-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

So here is the home church situation as far as I know it in Manitoba. First there is our group of 5. We are connected to another home group in Sprague. Sprague is a good hour drive from our home. Good people there. They are in the south east corner of Manitoba just a few kilometers from the U.S. border. There is a Mennonite house group in Steinbach. We went there three or four times about 3 or 4 years ago. Not quite what we were looking for. In Morden, there are apparently 5 home groups. (Mennonite). Do not know too much about them. There is a home group of two families in Anola. In Pinawa a new home group has just started. They are connected to 3 other autonomous cell groups in Winnipeg. Through the grapevine we have heard about a Ken Stade, who is interested in house churches.
What I'd like to do is make connection with all the above and see if we can connect and learn from each other. There are three fears that I have concerning this. First, those who are a part of a denomination tend to want everyone to come under their umbrella. For example the Mennonites in these home churches are proud of their Anabaptists roots. If they were really honest with their "roots" they would realize that the early Anabaptists did not want to be called by any name. Just brothers and sisters. The name Anabaptists was not a name they chose for themselves. It was quite derogatory. It meant "you re baptizer." Many lost their lives because of re baptizing. It was only later when gifted leaders (learned or charismatic) began boxing everything in and making rules and regulations for everyone. Of all the so called theologies I identify most closely with the Anabaptists. I just think we need to drop the name and call each other brothers and sisters.
The second fear is connecting with those groups who have merely transferred what they did on Sunday morning to the home. When they have a few more people they will think about renting the school with the hope of building someday.
The third fear is two-fold. First, the simple church will become denominationalized...... aided by me. I got a phone call about a year ago and the person on the other end was very gracious. But he said that there was a possibility that a national house church leader could be appointed. This is why, amongst other things, we have been slow to jump on to this wagon. It just seemed that this strategy would naturally lead to the 20,000 and first denomination. Do you remember when the Israelites wanted a king like all the nations around them. God called them a stiff-necked people. I think you get the analogy. The second has to do with my own heart. I tend to want to connect with only those who share our vision and way of doing things. But how is this possible? Will this not lead to spiritual pride and building my own kingdom? What can we learn from each other? As I begin, which is for me a scary thing, to contact some of these groups I pray that we will be able to network to offer each other support and encouragement. Please pray for me.

2003-05-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

So here we are a group of 5 rebel-like 50 year olds meeting in our homes and other places. We have all but done away with the church service. We like to eat when we get together and share. I guess you could call us organic. I used to think that that meant you were a vegetarian. (I'd gladly be a vegetarian if they dropped the rules of no meat). The dictionary meaning has to do with body organs... mmmmmm interesting. The 3rd definition is almost the opposite of what I thought it meant. 3. of plant or animal... having organs or an organized physical structure. Organized physical structure?????? Having organs????And what type of organ do they use, pipe/electric or standard. I don't know, I think I'll come up with my own word. I need a word that means all these things. 1-eating together. 2-relational. 3- caring. 4- learning. 5- mobile, fluid, adventurous. Any ideas????
Anyway this is not going where I first intended it to go. As I read about what is happening in the church I am encouraged to see the church is changing. What I am a little concerned about is how the Lord is doing different things. My concern is not with the Lord but with us. Will we all separate and do our own thing instead of working together? Recently I got to thinking that it seems kind of useless to only connect with those home groups/simple churches who think exactly like us. Or to try and birth simple churches that have our values and way of doing things. There are groups out there that take a Jesus only approach. There are others who just wanna hang out and have nothing to do any type of training or discipleship. Next you have groups that have a vision. Those who have some basic values. There are some who get into deeper training. There are those who are simply doing the church thing but in their homes. There are groups which focus highly on evangelism.... some on community.... and some on mission. Some a mixture of all three..... And you know what each group is producing bible verses to support their stand. As for me and my house we like em all. Well we don't like em all but what good does it do to stay away from each other?
What I desire is a mixture of all the above. In 10 years from now I want people to look at us and say, "they were about vision because they embraced vision and came to a fullness of being visionaries. (fullness does not mean perfection) Then they look at us and say "look how they loved one another because we embraced a lifestyle of one anothering and came to the fullness of loving one another." They look at us again and say they have helped so many people because they embraced mission and came to a fullness of being missionaries. They were mobile, fluid, bubbling, adventurous. They loved diversity. The loved to celebrate. They engaged with the hard sayings of Jesus. They loved the Word of God. Through the valley of tears and failures, the the ups and downs, through the dying and the living of life, through the struggles, through the joy and laughter, through all of the crap life and the enemy throw at us, they learned to be disciples of Jesus.
But it doesn't start with all the above. It starts with getting to know the Father, the Son...Jesus and the Holy Spirit. "For they who know their God shall gain strength and take action" (Daniel 11:32) I do not think though that we are called to do all these things in different seasons. For example, we will get to know God for a year and a half. Then we will pray about all this for a year. Then we will build community for three years and then we will think about reaching out. No no no. They all begin at the same time. The orders have all been given. But the foundation is getting to know GOD. Let's walk together.......

2003-05-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a song I wrote about 20 years ago.

ANGELS UNAWARES

I met a man whose name was
I admit that I don't know
He had dirty hair
And his back was bare
He had nothing

When he looked into my eyes
I quickly turned away
It was plain to see,
He would ask me
For something

As he slowly came my way
He reached out his hand
But I told him no
That i had to go
Somewhere

As I walked away I heard someone say
Who is my neighbor?
From deep down inside I heard someone cry
I knew it was my Saviour I knew it was my Saviour

As I turned to watch him go
My heart was stilled in fear
He was standing there
Then into the air
He disappeared fjd

This song is based on a true story about a man I helped in L.A. just after I gave my life to the Lord. (1975) The story is too long to retell but his last words were I'll meet you back here at 4 o'clock. I came back and he never showed. (At least not in the flesh). Who knows????

zuzu@mts.net

2003-05-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

I was really inspired this morning by Laurie Chalmers blog. I haven't blogged in a while. But inspired by Laurie, I will share what our church is in the process of doing. Becoming a little more intentional about what we do. Three of the five people in our church live in Southern Manitoba. The other two (Winnipeggers) about a 45 minutes away. . The 3 who are southerners have been talking about becoming more intentional in our area. For example, this past Saturday morning, we met for breakfast. Chatted and caught up on our lives. Wayne is a Christian book distributor and is on the road a lot. We also discussed some of the things we'd like to get more intentional about. We prayed a bit and i shared some scripture. "trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and He will make your paths straight." There is a single mom across the street from us (early 30's) who lost her husband in a boating/hunting accident when they tried to cross a lake (about 5 years ago). Halfway across a storm met them. Being quite experienced at what they do, they thought no sweat. But as the waves got bigger two of the three in the boat were thrown overboard. They died. Now she has been alone for 5 and a half years. Their two boys are a handful. I mean a handful. (but they are great, just two boys full of enegy). Well any way, my wife Linda went to talk to Linda (the widow) (earlier in the week) and she put together a list of things for us to do. So after breakfast we went over to her house and raked the leaves from around her bushes and house, dug up the weeds from the soil around her hedges and cleaned all the windows on her house. It took us about 5 hours. Someone (Phyllis) brought us donuts. Wayne had to leave so Lynn and I invited Linda and her boys over for pizza. I share this hoping that it will inspire others to good works.
I recently read something by Elton Trueblood ( forward to "Call to Commitment). He was quoting Gordon Cosby. "If you want to make something real, make it local." I do not believe being intentional about something takes away from being authentic. Nor do programs. The Church of the Saviour intentionally agree to pray for an hour each day and weekly attend "the school of Christian living." People are astounded at how real, deep and authentic they really are............ Thanks Laurie for sharing your coffee time with us. Feel free to contact me at zuzu@mts.net

2003-05-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Our God is a God of beginnings. There is in him no redundancy or circularity. Thus, if his church wants to be faithful to his revelation, it will be completely mobile, fluid, renascent, bubbling, creative, inventive, adventurous, and imaginative. (Jacques Ellul)
I’d like to introduce to you a fellowship of believers that is breaking all the rules of traditional “church.”…………. to the horror of many and to the delight of a few. A church that is mobile: that has no central building to meet in once a week. It meets in homes, restaurants, the park, one on one, at a senior’s home, the home of lonely people, and so on. It meets to discuss, to pray, to laugh, to eat, to share, to worship, to encourage, to plan, to sing, to teach, to reach out, to admonish, to impart…… to learn. A fellowship that can meet to sing and pray one week and the next can meet with a lonely senior and the following week is on the beach fellowshipping with one another. It can show up at a traditional service as well as work side by side with those who have a desire to reach out. In this way the well worn out cliché “being the church” takes on real meaning.

A church that is fluid. Like the floating lands in C.S. Lewis’ Perelandra, it can respond to needed change. It can respond to the changes that occur all around us. It can be comfortable worshipping God at sunrise on Easter morning as well as entering a bar to have a beer with a non Christian friend. (It can change its own order and look to new ways of church forms, mission and being the church with one another. It is a church that is as comfortable square dancing and celebrating as it is worshipping awe and reverence. It can embark in transforming programs (as needed) as well as seeking rest and refreshing. It can cancel it’s meetings as well as add a few for a season ……. It takes a while to get used to the floating lands but once you do there is no returning to the fixed lands………

A church that is renascent. A church is made to be birthed and to be re-birthed again. A church is not made to be institutional nor traditional. It is made to listen to the voice of God. Neither is it an entity that is perfect. It resembles more the marks of the Spirit. He blows this way and that. You hear the sound of Him, but don’t know where He is going or where He has come from….. so it is true of them who are of the Spirit. Renewal goes way beyond morality (morality is actually a dirty word in scripture). It is a deeper renewal…. Renewal of the heart. Renewal of the heart certainly brings renewal everywhere it goes. Listen to Elizabeth O’Connor…. “We would say that the church of Christ is never an experiment, but wherever that church is true to it’s mission it will be experimenting, pioneering, blazing new paths, seeking how to speak the reconciling Word of God to it’s own age….. It cannot do this if it is held captive to the structures of another day or is slave to it’s own structure.”

A church that is bubbling. Bubbling brings to mind many things but perhaps the thing that I think of most is “the joy of expectancy.” Having spoken with many people in former churches, there is often a sadness in the tone of their voices as they have admitted to me that church was better at the beginning. “We were smaller and it felt more like a family.” There was also a sense of expectancy. The programs had not yet become redundant. There was a looseness, a vibrancy. Because it was small, relationships became important and primary and programs secondary. But as the church grew larger a shift took place. Programs became more important. Relationships, secondary. The influence of the Wind disappeared and predictability replaced it. Domestication replaced wildness.

A church that is creative, inventive, adventurous, imaginative.

Creative: something out of nothing
New
Renewal

Inventive: new
Rearranging
Creative

Adventurous: risk
Daring
No maps
Journey
Wild
Wind-like

Imaginative: dreaming
Painting a picture

A church that embraces all the above.

Meet a church that is seeking to live outside the walls…… meet a church that is seeking to know it’s God……. A church that is focusing on relationships and learning to be family…… a church that is seeking to become mature and encouraging the mature to fly and leave the nest (present fellowship) and begin new fellowships or ministries. A church that stands in solidarity with the poor, the widow, the orphan….. a church that loves to get together to eat, fellowship, pray, discuss scripture, learn the cross life, argue with each other….. A church where it is safe to share our fears and sins…… A church that has no building……. A church that feels like home yet is on a journey, where community is as important as mission and mission as important as community…. A church that is daily learning to count the cost.

We are not that church but with God’s help and grace we seek to be all the above and more. This is our journey. zuzu@mts.net

2003-04-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Before I get to those ideas..... I got my guitar out and played Help by the Beatles and "Try a little kindness," by Glen Campbell and a few others. It reminded me of being at Redondo Beach California in 1974. I was hitch-hiking and had my guitar. I had long hair 1/4 waydown my back. I went to the beach there. Redondo have these walkways with shops, restaurants and even night clubs that extend over the water. I took out my guitar and began busking. well I was averaging 10-12 dollars an hour. Not bad for 1974. Today that would be close to $30. A guy came up to me and asked if I did any Gordon Lightfoot... I said yeah. How abot Sundown. "No but I know Home from the Forest. I sang it and he gave me 5 dollars for a 3 minute song. I even sang "surfin u.s.a. and two kids (9-10) come up to me and ask if i was one of the Beach Boys. Anyway I was thinking if I made 12 dollars an hour in 1974 busking.......mmmmmmm I need a job...

2003-04-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

I think that the key point in seeing solid house churches/missional communities lies in the willingness of the people to do what needs to be done. I know there is this debate about being or doing, but I believe they are both valid. We cannot pit two good things against each other. If people want to create communities that truly love one another it only makes sense that we will be available to each other.....that we will take time and be with each other. It really has to go beyond our meeting together. A re-ordering of our lives is needed. The same thing needs to be said about missional communities. What are we willing to do???? If all we are willing to do is talk about it, then it will be on that level we live. To create an alternative community that is missional will most definitely take a re-ordering of our lives.
Growth is something we all desire even if we say we don't want it (for quality's sake). We all start out this journey by convincing ourselves that what we are doing will grow. (numerically). There are so many people out there, we say, who are not going to church and who are struggling. But after being together for one year maybe two, we find that nobody is seeking us out. Those people who are struggling with church aren't beating our doors down. So we play the waiting game hoping that one Sunday three or four couples will knock on our door and want to journey with us. Though you may have a story like that, it is quite abnormal for that to happen. Then we convince ourselves that growth is not important. Numbers are the institutional church's game not ours. We are building quality. Five years later our numbers have decreased and we are convinced we are on the right path.
Well I'm going to say it, "I desire growth in our little fellowship." I want more and more people to become interested in the journey we have embarked on. I get discouraged when month after month goes by and no new person comes through the door. But I am also realizing that will not happen unless we are willing to live a life that is dedicated to mission. And that will take a re-ordering of our lives. It will be organic but also intentional, it will involve little in the way of programs but we certainly need training, we live in the everyday but need a huge vision, we need the Holy Spirit but we need also to rise up to walk in faith........ We need communities that are attractive and inviting but also leading to maturity.... to counting the cost of being a disciple. "let the foundation of our mission be community and let the foundation of our communities be none other the Jesus" What are we willing to do?

So...... my next blog will be about ideas and dreams.

2003-04-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

THE VICTOR by Jamie Owens-Collins
Off the Album "FIREWIND" Sparrow 1976

He swallowed into earth's dark room
death has triumphed, that's what they say
It tried to hold Him in the tomb
The Son of life rose on the first day
Look the gates of hell are fallen
crumbling from the inside out
He's bursting thru the walls with laughter
Listen to the angels shout

It is finished
He has done it
CHRIST CONQUERED DEATH
JESUS CHRIST HAS WON IT

His plan of battle fooled them all
They led Him out to prison to die
But as he entered Hades hall
He broke those hellish chains with a cry
Listen to the demons screaming
See Him bruise the serpents head
The prisoners of hell redeemed
All the power of is dead

It is finished
He has done it
LIFE CONQUERED DEATH
JESUS CHRIST HAS WON IT

2003-04-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

I guess I am turning a corner. I have been reading blogs now for about 8 months and most are simply repeats and rehashing of what I have read 6-7-8 months ago. So I am looking for bloggers who do want to share what is happening. So if you are reading this and know of any place where groups/small churches are sharing their journey, let me know about them. Also if you would like to network in creating a place where we can learn from each other then let me know. (zuzu@mts.net) I don’t suppose I’ll have an overabundance of answers to this but I have got to start somewhere.
Our group is older then the average group I am reading about. But we are not walking with canes yet. (After shovelling sand into a garage for 5 hours over the last two days, I may need one). Our group ranges in age from 47-53. This does not mean we know everything let alone anything. We all grew up in the traditional church and felt that it provided no answer to the deep questions that Jesus asks and what we felt church really is. So we are basically at the starting line with knowing how to do this.
We are extremely fluid in our structure. We began in Sept 2001. We began by meeting every Sunday. We always had/have a meal when we meet. In our first months we brought our group to a senior’s home, to my wife’s dad’s place. (Paul and Eleanore graciously drove two hours from Winnipeg to Winkler to be with us on this trip). We did a little service for him, in his home. Lynn’s mom passed away a year earlier. Her dad is very lonely and sick, but insists that he keep his house. We invited neighbor’s and friend’s for a barbecue and fireside in late Sept 2001. 25 adults showed up + their children. Great time. Since Kleefeld is 95% Christian in the evangelical sense, we were able to comfortably sing choruses, share, and chat. We took the kids to the park and played a hide-n-seek game called search. After Christmas we began meeting every Sunday with little going out. Since Christmas of this past year we have decided to meet every two weeks and use the alternate week to get together with Christian that don’t go to church, or are struggling, or are in need of a friend. This has so far produced a lot of contacts so far but very little interest in journeying with us. Wayne ( the other fellow in our group) and Lynn and I will begin discussing over the next few weeks what cost we are willing to pay as we begin new small groups.
Our meetings are never the same.This past Sunday we had a meal (ham and scalloped potatoes) watched a film starting at the last supper and going to the resurrection. Then we had communion and sharing followed by a discussion about the film. Since our center is not the meetings but Christ and loving one another, if we meet at a restaurant one week we don’t feel we need to meet the following day for a “church service”. Paul & Eleanore live in Winnipeg (45 minutes away). Wayne in St. Pierre (10 miles away). Jeffrey (16) and Amy (13) are our children. we have given them the freedom to be with us in our meetings, since they have more than enough "teaching" outlets in their lives right now. That’s it for now

A quote from George Barna:
"While poverty is growing and welfare is declining, the average church spends $6 on facilities for every $1 it spends on its ministry to the poor." states Barna
With over two thousand verses that speak about the poor, the widow, the needy, and no verses about “church buildings” do you think our priorities are a little mixed up?

2003-04-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Right now I am jobless. Got laid off last July. Worked in construction for a couple of months in the fall. On Saturday, a friend who works in construction asked if I would help him and his crew finish up a house they were building. (4800 square feet not including the basement. total square footage 6300). Well do you think he'd have me making deliveries. NOOOOO. I started by sweeping all the rooms up and down. Then we cleaned the basement. Then I had to saw some styrofoam... had to hold the skill saw in such an awkward postion that I pulled something in my arm. I couldn't turn my arm the least little bit sideways. Then i put rebar in the basement. then i cleaned out the garage. So far not so bad. Then at abot 3:00, i had to shovel sand into the garage.....for two and a half hours. I came home with every muscle in my body revolting against me. I sat like a zombie during supper. I sat and watched the hockey game and evrytime I got up it took every bit of my groaning and grunting to do it. This morning I feel better but can still feel the strain. i have to start thinking about work somewhere. Not sure construction is the answer though.

2003-04-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

I sometimes feel like a fish out of water. No i almost always feel like a fish out of water. I have never liked going to church. Never understood the purpose of it. At least not in the sense it is done in most Christian circles. I was told that I had a bad attitude. I have always enjoyed small intimate gatherings rather than large ones. I was told that small groups are cults or sects. I have always desired discipleship within a community of faith. No one else did. Unrealistic they said. Monologue preaching/teaching was never something I looked forward to. Most everyone else liked it. My passion/hobby/and interest was talking about Jesus and His kingdom ways. For other people it was an add on. I was a fanatic so they said. Now i am blogging and most of the people I interact with are 15-25 years younger than I am. Most of them think being postmodern is the answer. I only want to be a follower of Jesus. They like to quote and discuss and debate. I want to hear stories, network and work together. mmmmm. I wonder about myself. I was once described as an old hippy who doesn't fit in anywhere. Maybe he was right.

2003-04-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

I am taking a huge risk here. I am really starving for stories about what is happening in the home groups/mission groups that are developing in North America. Most of what is being shared is strictly on the level of the abstract. There are enough people reading other people’s materials, quoting other people, going to conferences, musing about how great this is all going to be, trying to give scriptural reasons for home groups, being philosophical about it, offering devotionals around it, asking questions….. yet no one is sharing what is actually happening in their groups.
There have been a few who are lamenting this. For example I read a comment by Jeremiah Smith on Jason Evans blog:

on another note, most people's blog entries on this subject do seem to be on a purely conceptual and abstract level.

it would help us a lot if those who are leading truly "missional" communities could share some real-life examples/stories of what it has meant for them to be "missional."
Listen to Jason’s new friend Jedd:

. Despite all of the conversations, reading, theorizing, and even writing on the subject, my own experience of community has been intermittent at best.

Listen to Todd hunter quoting Mark ????

let’s make some of the missional communities that actually live out the implications of the new way we are learning to understand the Gospel (i.e. Willard, Wright, etc.), THEN lets talk about it; or do both simultaneously. The bottom line: talk ALONE won’t get it done.

Stories have a power to encourage, motivate to give hope in the face of discouragement. After all isn’t that what the whole Bible is about; the stories of people who decided to follow God. What impressed me most from the Church of the Saviour was not their theorizing, but the stories of what they did. It excited me to believe that church could be ordered differently. The amazing thing about them is not so much what they have done, which is quite amazing, but how people continue to visit them knowing there is something quite different and exciting about them. And that difference has much more to do with the cross life than it does church success.

So my call here is to begin sharing what is happening amongst us even if we are taking baby steps. Stories of healing, reconciliation, ministry, new believers, struggles, ideas, new start ups, wisdom, and so on. Let’s ask some tough questions about this. At the same time we can continue to share new insights through what we’ve read, imagined, and thought about.

I have some ideas about this if anyone is interested and I would like to hear any ideas that you may have.

Please offer some feedback. zuzu@nts.net If you read this please pass it on to those on your mailing list. I’d certainly like some feedback.

2003-03-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

This is in response to Todd Hunter's rant...... Having said what I said on his blog comments, there are still many wonderful people in the Inst. church. It is the system that never allows for any meaningful change, any creativity, any move towards depth.....
No doubt some will reply that God is not a God of disorder, incoherence, or arbitrariness, but a God of order. Of course he is. Unfortunately the whole of the Old Testament shows us that God's order is not that which we conceive and desire. God's order is not organization and institution (cf. the difference between judges and kings). It is not the same in every time and place. It is not a matter of repetition and habit. On the contrary, it resides in the fact that it constantly posits something new, a new beginning. Our God is a God of beginnings. There is in him no redundancy or circularity. Thus, if his church wants to be faithful to his revelation, it will be completely mobile, fluid, renascent, bubbling, creative, inventive, adventurous, and imaginative. It will never be perennial, and can never be organized or institutionalized. If the gates of death are not going to prevail against it, this is not because it is a good, solid, well-organized fortress, but because it is alive; it is Life-that is, as mobile, changing, and surprising as life. If it becomes a powerful fortified organization, it is because death has prevailed." (Jacques Ellul Subversiveness of Christianity)

2003-03-27T09:28:00.000-08:00

testing 1....2....3
This is my site Wild Hope-Frank Doiron

2003-03-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

MORE BITS AND PIECES

FIRST BIT: Can you imagine being on that boat the night that Jesus walked on the water. Have you ever tried walking on water. Go ahead. Not only did Jesus walk on the water but he told Peter to give it a try. And Peter tried and for a little while he walked on the water until he saw the waves around him and lost his nerve and faith…. He began sinking. Remember when Jesus commanded the sea to be calm. Peter was in utter confusion as he looked at Jesus. He thought he knew Jesus quite well until that moment. He was undone and fell on his knees and said “Depart from me Lord for I am a sinner.” I wonder if sometimes I am so busy wanting God to work that I fail to realize who this person really is. Just a thought.

FIRST PIECE: Some traditions our family has: This one might come as a bit shocking but on Christmas Eve we pull out the mattresses and put them in front of the Christmas tree and we all sleep in the living room together. In our earlier days it was Jeff and Amy against me in the biggest pillow fight you ever saw. Then at about 11 everything calmed down and we went to sleep. A couple of years ago (as we were ready to go to sleep) I asked, “what do you remember about Christmas’ past ..that was good. In the morning we read the Christmas story and open presents……
Another tradition is on the weekend of December 1rst about 8 or 9 families go to a Christmas tree farm, cut down our trees. We head to the building on their site have hot chocolate while most of the kids go on a horse drawn sleigh ride. From there we order in pizza and go to someones house to eat and chat.
In March we have what the Big Boss-Little Boss tournament. In 1988 Lynn and I invited 8 other people to play Big Boss-Little Boss. We have had one every year since. We had it again last Sunday afternoon. 28 people (adult tournament) showed up. Up to two years ago we had it in our basement (32 people) but we rented out the rec center the last two years. Big Boss is a card game that practically anyone can learn. 6 to 96. It is amazing how the adults we invite look forward to coming. If you want to learn the game and come up here next march I’ll send you the rules.

SECOND BIT:
More great lines from songs.

“do you ever wonder just what God requires
You think He’s just an errand boy to satisfy your wondering desires”
(When You Gonna Wake Up.. Bob Dylan)
“We say Lord give us comfort, Lord give us peace
heal our nation can’t you see…
Yes my people I hear all you ask
I see how you pray, I see how you fast
But I also see children who wander in fear
Small swollen bodies starving in fear
(Isaiah 58 Terry and John Michael Talbot)

2003-03-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

BITS AND PIECES

FIRST BIT: I was talking to a friend the other day. I asked him, “Do you really like going to church?” he said, “No but I think it has been good for me.” Now that is an answer I don’t quite like. There are things in life that we may not like but is good for us. Like eating healthy, practicing piano that we might get better, disciplining the children, and so on…. but assembling (we are called to assemble) the believers together is for the purpose of edifying and being edified. It is supposed to fill us and be edifying. And most of all it is to be an all member participation. How in the world did the church assembling get to the way it is now….. I don’t know????? How did people come to enjoy routines and sameness in church services with only two or three people involved. No wonder Gordon Cosby has said “We are structured towards infancy”

FIRST PIECE: War has started. Do we really think that war will bring peace? Suppose they get rid of Sadam Hussein. Do we think that will stamp out terrorism. Will not in fact thousands more terrorist arise in his place. I wonder if Jesus and His followers would have enlisted today.

SECOND BIT: The greatest call that Jesus gives is to love: Love God, love neighbour, love your enemies, love one another. Now I am not very good at this call. I’d much rather do my own thing and hang out with those I like. But God is changing that in me. I really believe that is the cross life. Love is hard so instead of building small communities that love one another we develop programs to get involved in……… go figure.

SECOND PIECE: Great lines from songs

“ But that was so long ago that I can scarcely feel
The way I felt before
And if time could heal the wounds
I would tear the threads away that I might bleed some more….. “
( The last time I saw her face Gordon Lightfoot).

Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snow,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.
(The Rose Bette Midler)

A song about following Jesus:
“He bid me follow
My cross to carry
This child became a man
And back to child again.
(Down the city streets…. fjd )

2003-03-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

Finally it is starting to warm up here in S. Manitoba. +6 for tomorrow. WOW. It has been a cold cold winter.

Kevin Rains is reading a book by Norman Krauss called "Authentic Witness.” Here is a short quote of Kevin’s quote from the book.

“The church then, not as scattered individuals fulfilling vocations within the secular structures and not as one of the institutional powers, but as SMALL GROUPS OF AWARENESS caught up in the excitement of communion and communication are the units of incarnational witness.”

This is what I also believe. It was for good reasons that the first church met in homes and it wasn’t to wait for a time to wait for persecution to end (for many churches were not persecuted)so they rebuild the temple structure. It was to incarnate the truth in a loving fellowship. It was to learn to rub shoulders with each other. Day by day the church learned to love one another. It matters not how well the Corinthian church did this or even if the New Testament church even wanted to pursue loving one another. But this is our MANDATE according to the apostles. Unfortunately, the church today is organized around the institution of church with the church service as the rallying point. Our job seems to be to make sure the programs run smoothly. Before this becomes a sermon here are other quotes from men whose writings I have come to respect.

The central reality of Church is a group of people, core people, called to be in deepening personal belonging of friendship with Jesus of Nazareth and through him to others.(Gordon Cosby)

The' great need of our day will not be met by training more counsellors. It will not be met by leaders calling us to join the fight against moral pollution, in our society ... [We need] communities of people who care about outsiders and draw those outside into something they've never known but have always wanted. Communities of people whose passion for Christ is stronger than their grudges, their competition for recognition, and their jealous feelings... [Who] are so consumed with knowing Christ better that they hang in there through the messiness of community and never give up on themselves or others, because they know that Christ hasn't (Larry Crabb)

We strongly believe that the first call of the gospel isn’t to proclamation ( though we are committed to evangelism). Nor do we believe the first call of the gospel is to social action ( though we are committed to helping the poor). We believe the first call of the gospel is Christ is to incarnation. (Tom and Christine Sine).

" Never did Paul or Peter or Steven point to an empty tomb as evidence of the resurrection, the evidence was a Spirit-filled fellowship. If that closeness of sharing in a common life exhibited the Spirit of Jesus alive in those men, why not now."

“We will commit ourselves to an intensive love effort with a few people. We will be committed to smallness. Large numbers tend almost inevitably toward depersonalization and institutionalism, toward a lessening of commitment. So we resist the temptation of numbers and the power that comes through numbers. Gordon Cosby)

“Love one another, that the world may know that you are my disciples,” Jesus