Christian Living
Resistance is futile.
A Nazarene preacher admitted that, while he’s about to
teach on the Spiritual Gifts, he’s not so sure that he does NOT
believe in Speaking in Tongues, something he said his
denomination would frown upon.
A Lutheran minister admitted that he would prefer to allow the
Holy Spirit to move in his services, but he is, unfortunately,
bound by the liturgy.
A Church of Christ minister admonishes other pastors at a
multi-denominational conference that they would be surprised
to know how few of their members think exactly the way they’re
“supposed” to think and are NOT towing the party line. He
confesses that he believes such intermingling among the Body
of Christ is a good thing.
While attending a House Church meeting, an older couple
described the details of their recent church split. Apparently,
many in the congregation are bound to the church traditions
while others, like them, have joined with other denominations,
seeking more than what they’ve known in the past. This couple
chose Simple Church and others are asking them where they
went.
A Baptist preacher is terminated because he receives the fulness
of the Holy Spirit and starts doing things that are deemed as
"too Pentecostal" by his eldership team.
Ten times per month, I facilitating a Bible Study all over
the state of Texas. I call the study “Jesus Said" and I’ve been
offering this study for about 7 years. Attendees have ranged
from high school students to business people. Believers of
every mainline denomination have taken part and never once
has there been any argument over manmade doctrine. Why?
Because we’re focused upon the teachings of Christ. Those who
attend seem to love it and I often hear them confess how tired
they’ve become of "organized religion” as well as those who
consider these gatherings to be "church."
So, what’s going on?
SIMPLY PUT, IT’S SIMPLE CHURCH
Some call it Simple Church. Others refer to it as House
Church, Organic Church and other names. Essentially, Christians
are returning to Church-As-UN-Usual, preferring the style of
the First Century Saints to the theatre-style religion we’ve
been practicing for 1700 years. They’re meeting in houses,
conference rooms, class rooms, dormitories, Starbuck's,
wherever people will gather to listen. Two or more gathered
in His Name is all it takes. Our brethren in the Persecuted
Church (China, for instance, where 3,000 convert to
Christianity daily) have been waiting for us to wake-up.
We’re starting to stir.
Every eMail I receive from author/teacher Robert Fitts has the
following declaration of unity attached at the bottom and it’s
one that he has the audience repeat whenever I’ve seen him
teach:
“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. We are
the church /and we can do more together than we can do alone.”
He’s right! We all have the same Father.
That’s either true or it’s a lie.
Researcher and Sociologist, George Barna, released the
following findings about the “House Church Movement” in
his 2006 research report:
* In a typical WEEK, 9 percent of U.S. adults attend a House
Church, roughly 20 million people.
* In a typical MONTH, about 43 million U.S. adults attend a
House Church - NOT including cell groups (generally a bolt-on
program of a traditional church).
*All told, 70 million U.S. adults have at least EXPERIMENTED
with participation in a House Church.
* Focusing only on those who attend some form of church
(which is about 43 percent of us), 74 percent attend ONLY
a traditional church, 19 percent attend both a traditional AND
a House Church, and 5 percent are House Church adherents
ONLY.
Barna predicts that within 20 years, this House Churching
group - one that he refers to as "Revolutionaries" - will
comprise nearly 70% of U.S. Christians, leaving only 30-35
percent (primarily, aging Christians) in traditional church
settings.
NOTICE...he's predicting that this radical shift will happen
WITHIN the next twenty years! Though some may feel this
can not be possible, the question remains, "If Barna is right,
will YOU be ready?”
WHY ARE WE JUMPING SHIP?
Essentially, I contend that there are two main reasons why
so many Christians are moving to Simple Church:
1) Community: Time and again I hear about Christians who
complain that, outside the church building, very little “real”
relationship actually exists. Though your particular church
may be the exception, it is by no means the rule. In a House
Church group, a sense of family exists – and not merely
once a week. These people firmly understand that they ARE
The Church, 24/7, anywhere and everywhere they happen to
be. They actually do things together. Families DO things!
Though there are ALWAYS exceptions, for the most part,
they’re loving it! Some people prefer to be another face in
the crowd and choose to remain in traditional church settings.
Problem with “blending in” is, statistically, they’re running
out of places to blend. Besides Jesus’ example was never to
“blend in.”
2) Developing and Exercising Spiritual Gifts: Though
some prefer NOT to delve into Pentecostalism or Charismania,
the plain truth is, it’s the fastest-growing aspect of Christianity
today. Charismatic services can even be found in Catholic
and Lutheran churches. When Christians learn that the Holy
Spirit wants to work THROUGH them and that they actually
have resident within them EVERYTHING they will ever
need for any situation in which they are led by the Spirit,
they get excited. They actually WANT to speak in tongues.
They DESIRE to heal the sick. They can’t wait to cast out a
demon. Though some denominations are working overtime
to come up with reasons why they CAN’T do these things
any more, truth is, it’s too late. When healing takes place,
prayers are answered with regularity, spouses start speaking
in tongues and kids begin to utter prophetically, sitting in a
church service begins to rapidly lose its luster. For multitudes,
it already has.
The majority of those attending Simple Churches STILL have
one foot in the Institutional format. For those who might be
entertaining an “Us vs. Them” spirit, truth is, “us” IS “them.”
And "they" are us!
Now, the number that are doing BOTH is shrinking rapidly.
Still, George Barna’s research reveals that 91% of HC's are,
at present, still merely Bible Studies and 60% do the same
things every time they meet.
What does that tell us? Despite the fact that these people are -
like ALL Christians - "The Church" regardless of what they're
doing, some groups often establish nothing more than mini-
church, operating within a Living Room Liturgy, because they
know of nothing else. Their activity is based upon their programming;
all exposure to Christian ministry has been viewed through the
prism of denominationalism and ritualism, no matter how
“free” they might have thought they were.
We’re humans. It’s what we do. We DESIRE to serve a
God who does things. Sadly, most never experience Him
doing anything.
The good news? The chances are increasing that MANY
people will eventually experience the moving of the Holy
Spirit because (A) they ARE outside the boundaries of
traditional church and (B) it’s just a matter of time before
they are exposed to His power, simply because they ARE
seeking Him. Though a man once complained to me that
our January conference should have been billed as
“Charismatic,” truth is, we weren’t about to place God in a
box. We’ve just let Him out, after all. The odds of God’s
presence being experienced at other conferences, through a
new attendee to a home group, or through the ministry of
one of the many surfacing traveling Preachers that God is
raising up in this hour who are criss-crossing the planet as
we speak, are increasing.
The multi-splendored aspects of Christ WILL be released
and experienced.
Count on it!
CARE FOR A LITTLE WHINE?
Yes, there will be "whiners" in our midst regarding this issue
- Old Guarde types who see Simple Church as the latest new-fangled
fad. Oddly enough, every objection to Simple Church can be made
against Traditional Church as well. But let's not throw stones.
Some will actually accuse those who promote the Simple Church
concept as being AGAINST the local church. Certain people,
as you can imagine, see Simple Church as an attack against
the professional clergy as much as anything else. As with
any situation, there will always be those who just can't see the
big picture. There will always be the doubters, the nay-sayers
and the wait-and-seers.
In my opinion, it's time to think outside the edifice. People are tired of
church. God appears to be just as tired. The cloud is moving.
Imagine millions of Imitators of Christ, like heat-seeking missiles,
moving about actually LOOKING for Divine Appointments that will
allow them to share their faith and pray and BE THE CHURCH, any
time, anywhere...Sundays' included.
Satan must surely be scared spitless!
Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
A servant of God
www.YourTown4Jesus.com
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Interesting and informative article, Michael. Thanks for sharing!
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