The Background
This past September through some rather interesting (and to us, at least, clearly Divinely orchestrated) events, David & I hooked up with another couple here in Snyder, Jack & Kim, and started a house church following something called an Organic/Simple Church model. (For more on this, see the links on my Facebook profile or go to www.simplechurch.com or www.house2house.com.)
Initially, we met in the apartment across from the office here at Cedar Row (our apartment complex). But after Christmas, we decided to gather at Jack & Kim’s–a much roomier and comfortable place to meet.
We also decided, since two other couples had joined with us and none of us really knew–experientially or even theoretically–much about what it means to “do” church (i.e. meet together) organically, we’d each get a copy of Frank Viola’s, Reimagining Church, read one chapter of it each week, then come together on Thursday evenings for an hour to discuss it.
We’ve met twice, so far. And it’s been great!
Our Sunday Mornings
So what do David & I do on Sunday mornings now that we are no longer a part of what we refer to as a traditional or “Big” church? Glad you asked.
While we don’t follow a formula or even do things the same from one week to the next, after breakfast, we pray together, sing/worship, read from a number of devotionals that are neatly stacked knee-deep under our coffee table, read the Bible–The Amplified, The Message, or NIV usually–and in some way spend time with the Lord as a couple. It’s a very special time for us…and God always shows up! What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning!
Cultivating Community
This morning, after a bit of prayer time and a wonderful discussion of Bob Gass’s devotional for today, we began reading the next chapter of Reimagining Church, entitled Reimagining the Lord’s Supper. As often occurs, that led to David thinking about something he had recently read in another book, Rick Warren’s, The Purpose-Driven Life. So, we pulled that out and proceeded to read all of chapter 19, Cultivating Community.
If you don’t have this book, we highly recommend it–even though we’re not in total agreement with some of his theology. It’s still an excellent book.
If you already have the book, then by all means, read chapter 19…again!
Here are a few highlights we noted this morning:
- Community requires commitment. Only the Holy Spirit can create real fellowship between believers, but He cultivates it with the choices and commitments we make.
- Cultivating community takes honesty. He had a lot of good things to say in this section, and one of my favorites is this: “Many church fellowships and small groups remain superficial because they are afraid of conflict. Whenever an issue pops up that might cause tension or discomfort, it is immediately glossed over in order to preserve a false sense of peace. Everyone knows about the problem, but no one talks about it openly. This creates a sick environment of secrets where gossip thrives. Paul’s solution was straightforward: ‘No more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.’”
- Cultivating community takes confidentiality. Only in the safe environment of warm acceptance and trusted confidentiality will people open up and share their deepest hurts, needs, and mistakes.
- Cultivating community takes frequency. The Bible tells us, “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another.” We are to develop the habit of meeting together. A habit is something you do with frequency, not occasionally. You have to spend time with people–a lot of time–to build deep relationships. This is why fellowship is so shallow in many churches; we don’t spend enough time together, and the time we do spend is usually listening to one person speak.
He ended the chapter with the following–something David & I hope our house church group will do:
“If you are a member of a small group or class, I urge you to make a group covenant that includes the nine characteristics of biblical fellowship:
- We will share our true feelings (authenticity).
- We will encourage each other (mutuality).
- We will support each other (sympathy).
- We will forgive each other (mercy).
- We will speak the truth in love (honesty).
- We will admit our weaknesses (humility).
- We will respect our differences (courtesy).
- We will make the group a priority (frequency & commitment).
“When you look at the list of characteristics, it is obvious why genuine fellowship is so rare. It means giving up our self-centeredness and independence in order to become interdependent. But the benefits of sharing life together far outweigh the costs…”
And we couldn’t agree more. We look forward to seeing how all of this is cultivated in our community as the Lord takes us on this journey, one step at a time.
