LIVING STONES by Keith Giles

*DISCLAIMER- In the article below I am sharing insight on what the Scripture and Church History reveals about the way the first century Christians thought of Church.
This information reveals a contrast between the Church then and the Church now.
My hope to communicate the truth and to share my fascination with the genius of how God built our faith on the family from the very beginning. My desire is to encourage a restoration of this sense of family to the Church today. - kg


LIVING STONES by Keith Giles

The New Testament speaks a lot about the Church building. In context, however, the building is revealed to be the people of God, not a structure or a facility where believers gather to meet, and the process of building this Church is the work of God Himself.

Paul the Apostle refers to the Church as the “Body of Christ” which is made up of many parts. Each part of this Body of Christ is identified as an individual follower of Jesus with a diverse set of gifts and talents bestowed upon each by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building up and encouraging the entire Body. (see 1 Cor 12:12)

Peter the Apostle also refers to the Church as being made up of living stones as he says in 1 Peter 2:5 “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

The Church, then, as Paul and Peter describe it in their epistles, is made up only of people, not some structure built by human hands.

The early Christian Church, for the first 300 years of its history, never used property or land for a building where they could meet. Why is that? We do know from the book of Acts that the early church did receive property and land all the time. (Act 4:34-35) If they had wanted to use this land to build a large facility where people could meet, they certainly had the means and the material wealth to do so. At least we do know that they had the opportunity and the means, but apparently not the desire.

What we see instead, is that the early church consistently sold the property given to it and gave all of the money to the poor. Their focus was on drawing people to Jesus, not on drawing people to their facility, or to a place where they all could gather.

In 300 years of church history, beginning with the Biblical, New Testament Church itself, we never see the church using property, funds or resources for the building of their own empire. What they were interested in was continuing the compassionate ministry of Jesus, plain and simple. The Apostles were dedicated to building and advancing the Kingdom of God and in serving the least and the lost around them, not in building facilities and hoarding funds for themselves.

The only “building” ever referred to in Scripture, as it related to the Church, was used to refer to the people themselves. People, therefore, were more important than property or facilities. Land and property were quickly liquidated in order to care for people, first and foremost.

I believe that when the Disciples and the early Apostles set out to build the Church in those first, formative days, they took their cues from Jesus himself, and were guided by the Holy Spirit to pioneer a form of Church which had never been seen before.

If they had wanted to, Peter, James, John and the rest could easily have fallen back on the Jewish Temple system of worship, or they could have used the Tabernacle model as they built the Church of Jesus. To be honest, such a format would have made a lot of sense, being that they were all Jews themselves and most of them had grown up thinking of Church and worship in such a way.

My question is, “Why didn’t the Disciples, who were Jews, use the most familiar system of worship and gathering known to them?” or better yet ,”Why did they invent a form of worship which had never been known to anyone beforehand?”

I believe the answer is simple. The house church model was divinely inspired by God, and Jesus himself was the one who taught those first disciples how to go about planting such churches.

The Gospels reveal to us where the Disciples of Jesus came up with the concept of a church built upon people and centered in the home. It was Jesus himself, of course. As we see Jesus sending out the seventy-two in Luke 10:5-7 we notice that Jesus commanded them to go out two by two, but he commanded them not to go house to house. Instead, he specifically orders them to find a house where they are made welcome and to eat and drink whatever they are given and to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to that family and to heal the sick in that place.

Also, in Luke 9:3-5, when Jesus sends out the Twelve, we see a startling set of instructions. “Take nothing for the journey- no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.” Here Jesus plants the concept in their minds that The Gospel of the Kingdom takes root in a home, within a community, and from there the message spreads outward.

The testimony of Scripture, and of History, is that this simple, humble and familial concept of Church was wildly successful in evangelizing the known world.

DO MODELS MATTER?
I recently heard a wonderful analogy about the nature of the Church.

“The Church that we have on Earth very much depends on the kind of God we have in Heaven. It’s a reflection on who we believe He is. If we believe God to be a Professor, then Church would be very much like a classroom, like an auditorium where we listen to a lecture for an hour and then go about our lives. If we believe God is like a Judge, Church would be very much like a Police Station or a Court Room. If God is like a Doctor, our Church would be like a Hospital. If we believe God to be like a General, then our Church would look very much like an Army. But, if God would be a Father, then Church would look very much like a family.” – Wolfgang Simson

This resonates in the deepest parts of my soul. Do I believe God to be a Father? If so, why isn’t our Church more like a family and less like a hospital, a court room or a lecture hall?

I believe it is no mistake, no accident, no arbitrary choice of metaphors that the first Disciples used language like “Family of God”, or referred to one another as “Brother’s and Sisters in Christ” or ate together daily in their homes, or shared all things in common. This is what a family does. This is what the early church took literally, and the fruit of this philosophy is seen in the Acts of the Apostles and the history of the early Church itself. It transformed the world.


HERESY IN THE HOUSE CHURCH?
Many modern opponents to the house church movement will usually argue that the house church model is too open to heretical doctrine and abhorrent teaching. We need the traditional form of church, it is argued, in order to preserve the orthodox Christian faith.

The truth is, the early and original New Testament Church met in homes for over three hundred years and, lead by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, they helped to preserve the orthodox Christian faith, creeds and doctrines which were later set down to paper under the rule of Constantine. The Councils of Nicea, Trent, etc. did not create the orthodox doctrines we hold so dear today, they simply put in writing what was already held in common by the Universal Church and Body of Christ. The humble, and divinely inspired, House Church triumphantly preserved the core doctrines we now call Orthodox Christian Faith.

In contrast, over the centuries, it is plainly evident that all major heretical doctrines and abhorrent, cultic teaching have originated from the individual, charismatic leader who stands up before his followers, proclaims his particular version of the Truth and allows no one to oppose his teaching.

In the house church, which is a peer-lead group of Christians where everyone shares leadership and ministry responsibility, such a person would be shouted down, or at least humbly corrected by all other members of the group as each member opened the scriptures and engaged in open dialog with such a teacher.

In the traditional form of church, however, only a few leaders are ever allowed to speak to the crowd, and after these messages are spoken, everyone stands up, goes to their vehicle and drives home, without ever questioning, or challenging or engaging anyone else in dialog about what has just been taught.

Of those two forms, it is the traditional form which invites the most opportunity for error and heretical doctrine to be preached without challenge.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE EARLY CHURCH
If the early model of church, meeting in homes, breaking bread together, sharing all things in common, and living as a family, was able to “turn the world upside down” in just 300 years, given the intense persecution and opposition it faced, just imagine what a similar church could do today given modern technology, less hostility and a generation of people hungry for more of God?

Just imagine…

HOW BIG IS THE AMERICAN HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT?

The American house church movement is growing in North America. According to a recent Barna survey, which places the house church movement about halfway between the Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention (which is the second-largest denomination in the U.S.), the movement is no longer a “fringe” section of American Christianity.

Here are the results stated in five ways:
* In a typical week, 9 percent of U.S. adults attend a house church.

*In absolute numbers, that 9 percent equals roughly 20 million people.

*In a typical month, about 43 million U.S. adults attend a house 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 kind of church, 74 percent of them attend only a traditional church, 19 percent attend both a traditional and a house church, and 5 percent are hard-core “house church only” attendees.

The study counted only attendance at house churches, and did not factor in small groups ("cells", “Home Groups”, etc.) that are part of a traditional church.

Barna predicts that within 20 years, Revolutionaries (those who attend house church or simple churches) will comprise 65-70% of U.S. Christianity, leaving only 30 to 35% meeting in the traditional setting.

These are solid numbers. George Barna, the leading U.S. church pollster and perhaps the most widely quoted Christian leader in America, is the author of the figures quoted. They are based on a four-month scientific survey of 5,013 adults.

As with all Barna Research Group studies, this report employed industry-standard, professional safeguards to ensure tight results. In the case of this specific study, a sampling error of +/-1.8 percent was recorded.

FULL DETAILS ONLINE AT:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50802

IN THE PIPELINE

I've got more ideas and articles and interviews in the pipeline now than ever before. Is it something in the water? Is it all the free time I have now that I'm out of work? Not sure...but here's what I'm working on for future articles and [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] issues.

*DEREK WEBB- I just got off the phone with Derek after an hour long interview. Great stuff. Can't wait to write it all up and post it somewhere.

*DALLAS WILLARD "THE LOST INTERVIEW"- About a year ago I interviewed Dallas Willard for the second time and this was his final interview due to a self-imposed period of silence while he works on his next book. I've been sitting on this one too long and it's nearly complete. Watch for this one soon.

*LIVING STONES- a look at the house church movement historically, and scripturally. Honestly I've already written the first draft but I'm trying to go back and say the same things as graciously as possible because this subject always ends up starting an argument and I want to find a way to speak the truth, but in love.

*BOB SEARS- My friend Bob is a miracle. He's currently leading an insanely missional spiritual discussion group in Long Beach and recently he sent me a testimonial that blows my mind. I want to share it with you guys so that will end up here eventually.

*THE OOZE- This is kind of funny. I got an email from someone at TheOoze.com this week letting me know that my article "In Control" will be published online as part of their "Faith" section. Look for it in March of 2007. Yes. Next year! Wow.

*GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?- Currently this six-part series on mission and evangelism is running on both Ginkworld.net and also at Neil Cole's CMAResources websites. Those of you on the [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] will receive the final installments over the next 2 weeks and then I plan to add new material and publish it as a small booklet somewhere.

*BOOK PROJECTS- I'm on the last 2 chapters of "The Power Of Weakness". These are the 2 hardest ones to write. Please pray for me that I can finish these up soon. After this book is complete I also want to compile my previous articles and interviews in a series of books that will cover Spiritual Formation, Compassion Ministry, Missional Life, and also a compilation of my interviews with guys like Barna, Willard, Redman, Hughes, Hunter, Fischer, Webb and others.

and now...back to my writing!

Stay tuned for all of these articles and interviews and more very soon.

peas,
kg

A WORD FOR JOSH - A Mission House Church Update

“A WORD FOR JOSH” by Keith Giles

A MISSION HOUSE CHURCH UPDATE

A few weeks ago I had the honor of welcoming my friend John and his wife Lisa into our house church meeting. They were both in Orange County to play as part of the band “West Of Verona” during the weekend conference I was overseeing for Soul Survivor called “Momentum ‘06”.

John and Lisa are dear friends that my wife and I have known for many years. To see them again was a blessing, but to have them join us in our house church was an even greater one. So, when they arrived that Thursday evening, (all the way from Washington), they brought along the rest of the band, including the drummer’s wife, Angela.

As usual, we opened in prayer, filled our plates with food and sat around sharing together. I discovered that Josh, their bassist, was a huge fan of “The Lost Dogs” and we shared our love for this band over dinner, swapping stories about live shows, favorite songs and personal encounters with band members.

Afterwards we moved into the den and everyone sat around on the sofas while John and his band lead us in a time of worship. It was a bit of a divine appointment for them to be there on that specific evening because it was the first night we were missing our regular worship leader, Mike Yang, who had been sent overseas to serve in Iraq that same week.

After worship time, as usual, we asked if anyone had any words of encouragement to share with the group, or if God had given anyone a scripture or a word during the week to encourage us. One person read a scripture verse from 1 Peter about how God wants us to “cast our cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you”. I asked if anyone felt that this verse was encouraging to them and everyone in the band raised their hands. So, I asked if we could pray over them and encourage them and they said “sure”.

Several of us gathered around John and Lisa, and the others and began to pray over them. Eventually one of the women in our group, who name is Lo, began to have a prophetic word for the drummer and his wife about their marriage and about their ministry together. We prayed for them about this, and later learned that they are both involved in counseling others in the area of marriage and that they once nearly got divorced before reconciling and then responded to God’s call to minister to other couples.

As we continued to pray, a few other words of encouragement and prophetic blessing were spoken over my friends John and Lisa about writing songs and being parents to their children.

Soon I started to realize that everyone was receiving a special word from God, except for Josh, their bassist, whom I was standing behind. With my hand on his shoulder I silently prayed and asked if God would please provide a word of encouragement for Josh, since he had been left out up to this point. What I meant by praying this was that I wanted God to give a word through one of our more prophetically gifted members so that Josh could be blessed. I didn’t expect what happened next.

Almost as soon as I prayed this, a verse of scripture came to my mind where Jesus tells the disciples to allow the little children to come to him and then says that, unless we also come to him as little children, we cannot see the Kingdom of God. With one hand on Josh’s back and the other flipping pages in my Bible, I began searching for this passage until I found it.

As soon as there was a break in the prayer going on, I explained to everyone what had just happened as I was praying. I warned Josh ahead of time that I didn’t know if this was from me or from God, but that I had noticed everyone was receiving a word of encouragement except him and that this verse had come to my mind as I was asking God to give us something for him. With that disclaimer, I began to read the passage of scripture out loud. Immediately I was overcome with emotion. I could barely even speak the words of scripture out loud. I had to read very, very slowly and force each word and syllable out of my mouth because of the incredible sorrow I felt at reading these words.

Before I could finish the first verse the drummer’s wife, Angela, began to sob out loud. As I continued to read this verse, I could feel Josh sobbing also as my hand was on his shoulder. I continued to read the passage and Angela began to cry uncontrollably. I had no clue what was happening, or why Angela was sobbing, or for that matter why even I felt such sorrow as I was trying to read this simple passage of scripture.

When I was done reading everyone was silent, except for Angela’s sobbing and the sniffling of noses from Josh and myself and several others in the room who were also now in tears.

I prayed for Josh, honestly having no clue what specifically to pray for, but knowing in general that he needed some comfort from God at this time.

Afterwards I sat down next to Josh and said, “Well, you don’t have to share with any of us what that was all about if you don’t want to, but obviously something was going on there.” Josh nodded and then explained to all of us that his youngest son had died in his sleep a few years earlier. When he came in to wake up his son they found him dead. “His heart just stopped,” said Josh, “No one knew why.”

Josh began to tell us about how his heart had really been tightened up towards God because of this. He had two other sons who were older, but losing his youngest had been a devastating blow to his faith. He thanked me for sharing that scripture and thanked all of us for encouraging him in this way.

After Josh shared his story, another man in our house church, Bryan, began to share his own pain at losing custody of his only son several years earlier. Because Josh has been so open in sharing his pain, Bryan now felt free to share his anger at God, and at himself, for not doing everything in his power to fight for his son. Now our attention shifted to Bryan and several of us gathered around him to lay hands on him and pray for God’s healing in his heart about this incident.

At the end of the night, Josh and the other members of the band stayed late to talk about their first experience at a house church. They were each amazed that God had spoken to them through this group of strangers in such specific ways, for healing, encouragement and direction. Truth be told, no one was more amazed than I was. Especially that God had spoken something through me to bless this man Josh who I had never met before in my life.

Time and again God has surprised me with His presence in our house church. When we invite Him to come and to lead us, (and then when we actually get out of the way and allow Him to lead us), He is faithful to do so.

HUNGER AND THIRST by Keith Giles

HUNGER AND THIRST by Keith Giles
*NOTE: This is adapted from a sermon which is available as an mp3 download on my blog.

MATTHEW 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples, his followers, about life in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom reality, the place where God has His perfect will and reign, is the one true reality. We know that soon the full and total reign of God will come to this Earth and that Jesus Himself will sit on the throne and rule over every tribe and tongue and nation.

But Jesus is asking us, his followers, to begin living under the rules and the laws of this Kingdom today! We’re not to wait until this Kingdom fully comes, or else we’ll be left out of this Kingdom. We’re to live now, today, as if the King were here and the Kingdom had fully come.

This is why Jesus came; to announce that the Kingdom of God was “at hand”, that it was “near” and to call disciples who would be willing to live in that Kingdom Reality now.

Jesus uses here the terms “hunger and thirst” because they are powerful. He uses these terms because they are synonymous with the most powerful impulses in the natural realm. Literally these words mean “to suffer deep hunger” or “to suffer thirst” for the Kingdom (or for Righteousness).

Righteousness (or justification) means “to be made right with God”. Therefore, Jesus is saying that the only real happiness and satisfaction is found in being right with God.

Hunger and thirst are intense desires. Most of us have never really known true hunger or thirst. Seriously.
But the kind of hunger and thirst Jesus is speaking about here is continual. The mystery is that, even though he says we “will be filled” or satisfied in our desire for “being made right with God”, the Greek verbs here are present participles, which implies a continuous action. We are to be “continually” seeking desperately after the righteousness of God.

I want to look at a quote by a guy named Martyn Lloyd-Jones who said-
“ I do not know of a better test that anyone can apply to himself or herself in this whole matter of the Christian profession than a verse like this. If this verse is to you one of the most blessed statements of the whole of Scripture, you can be quite certain you are a Christian. If it is not, then you had better examine the foundations again.”

What he means by this is, if you are true disciple or follower of Jesus, you should have an intense desire to be made right with God. You should have an immediate sense of your sin and your need for God, and if so, then this verse will be a great joy to you because here Jesus is telling you that you will be filled, your hunger and your thirst will be satisfied.
But, if this verse means nothing to you, then maybe you’re hungry or thirsty for something else? Satisfaction is available, but only through Christ.

SO WHAT DO YOU HUNGER FOR?
Many of us have never experienced life-threatening hunger or thirst. We may have experienced hunger for a specific food, a craving for something we’ve not had in a while. In those moments, when we’re tired of eating certain things we begin to hunger after things we’ve not had in a while. We can all relate to this concept of hunger; that is why this is such a great illustration that Jesus uses here in the Sermon on the Mount.

We as humans hunger and thirst not only for food but for satisfaction in life. We search in all kinds of different areas to be filled, to be satisfied, but we always end up falling short.

Blaise Pascal said that we all have a “God-shaped void” in our lives. All men are hungry and thirsty; the problem is that we try to fill that emptiness, that hunger, with things other than the righteousness of God. Some of you hearing this message are empty; you have not been satisfied. You are trying to fill that “God-shaped void” in your life with all kinds of things, but you are left empty, unsatisfied.

WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR?
As a young man I developed a passion for jackets. Especially leather jackets. I can remember one Christmas telling my parents that if they only bought me one gift that year that it had to be a specific black suede leather jacket with fringe along the sleeves and along the back. When I opened the gift I was thrilled! I wore it constantly. I was satisfied. At least until I saw another jacket even cooler than the one I already had.

Over time I began to wise up and realize that, no matter how many leather jackets I owned, I would never be satisfied. As children we all remember wanting a certain toy desperately, and after we received it we forgot all about it only a few days later. Why? Because these things, these toys, these objects of our desire, are incapable of satisfying us. What we hunger for is something more elusive and beyond our touching.

We try to satisfy ourselves with money and power, education, sex, pornography, boyfriends and girlfriends, toys and earthly possessions that allow us fun and entertainment for a time, but yet all these things lead to a deeper sense of need, a deeper longing for satisfaction, because they do not fill that need.

C.S. Lewis states:
"We are half hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea, we are far too easily pleased."

Remember: When the prodigal son was hungry he went to feed upon husks, but when he was starving, he returned to his father.

DO YOU STARVE AFTER GOD?
(John 14:13-14).The Woman at the Well - Jesus answered and said unto her, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life

(John 6:26-27) Feeding the 5000 – Jesus answered them and said, most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.

In your life right now, what are you hungering and thirsting after? Where is your heart?

David, a man after God's own heart has said:
“Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You.” PSALM 63: 1

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR GOD, FOR THE LIVING GOD. WHEN CAN I GO AND MEET WITH GOD?” - PSALM 42:1-2

CONCLUDING POINTS:
Thomas Watson said, "He who has the greatest need for righteousness is the one that least wants it.”

Do you find yourself saying, "Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24). Or are you self-righteous, thinking everyone else is wrong and you are right?

If you are in any sense satisfied with yourself you need to question whether you really hunger after righteousness.

Does Anything External Satisfy You? Do things seem to be better in your life when you buy something new? A hungry man will never be satisfied with flowers, music, or an encouraging speech--he will still want food. A thirsty man will not be satisfied unless he is given a drink.

Man's need for Righteousness is not compared to one who needs to be awakened from a light sleep, but it’s compared to someone who needs to be raised from the dead! It is a life-or-death issue--not an optional activity to be squeezed into an already busy schedule.

Do you hunger and thirst for God like it’s about life and death? Do you “starve” for God?

IN MATTHEW 6:33 Jesus is urging us to stop worrying about the daily needs of our life, and to stop pursuing the things of this world (food, fashion, shelter, etc.), but to instead “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Jesus is urging his followers to understand:
YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU!

THIS WORLD IS PASSING AWAY!

STOP LIVING FOR THE EMPTY, TEMPORARY THINGS OF THIS WORLD!

THE KINGDOM OF ORANGE COUNTY IS PASSING AWAY!

THE KINGDOM OF FASHION ISLAND IS PASSING AWAY!

THE KINGDOM OF SOUTH COAST PLAZA IS PASSING AWAY!

THE KINGDOM OF ENTERTAINMENT AND PLEASURE AND MATERIALISM AND VANITY….ARE ALL PASSING AWAY VERY, VERY SOON!

SO, STOP LIVING FOR THOSE THINGS WHICH CANNOT SATISFY!

START HUNGERING AND THIRSTING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR “BEING MADE RIGHT WITH GOD”, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD….NOW, TODAY!

**MATTHEW 13:44 gives us a picture of what the Kingdom of God is like for those who really “see” it and “find it”.

“The Kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

WHATEVER IT TAKES, GET THE KINGDOM. WHATEVER IT COSTS, LIVE FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

The man in this parable is eager to sell all that he has in order to get the treasure he’s found. The Kingdom is the treasure, and “with joy” (it says) this man ran and quickly sold all that he had in order to exchange it for this great treasure.

Have you seen the Kingdom? Really? Do you hunger and thirst for God and for being made right with Him?

Are you eager to run and sell it all, give it all, whatever the price, in order to be part of that Kingdom?

If so, Jesus has good news for you, “Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled”.

“Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all those other things will be added to you as well.”

AMEN
kg

INTERVIEW: JIM WALLIS

“GOD IS NOT A REPUBLICAN….OR A DEMOCRAT”
An interview with Jim Wallis, author of ‘God’s Politics’

By Keith Giles
*NOTE: This interview was published in "THE NOISE" Magazine, June 2005

Jim Wallis has spent his life on the poor. To a culture obsessed with entertainment, amusement, self-gratification and the pursuit of wealth, Wallis has been a voice crying out in the wilderness. He’s spent the better part of his life urging the Bride of Christ to awaken from her deep slumber and hear the cries of the poor and the oppressed in her own backyard.

Starting out in the anti-war movement of the Sixties, Wallis discovered a more radical message than any of the other revolutionaries he’d ever read before; the message of Jesus Christ. “I was reading, in those days, Karl Marx, Ho Che Minh and Che Guevara, but I didn’t find answers there,” says Wallis. “Then I went back to the New Testament. During all that time I don’t think I ever quite got shed of Jesus, even though I’d left the church.” After years of being tear-gassed at rallies and chased by police, Wallis read The Sermon On The Mount and discovered a Jesus he had never met before. “I’d never heard a sermon (on this text) in my whole life growing up. It was the Magna-Carta, the Constitution, of the New Order of Jesus Christ. This was it. This was the way of life,” remarks Wallis.

Reading the words of Christ as an adult, Wallis found his view of Jesus, and of Christianity itself, transformed. “I was mesmerized by it. This was the most radical thing I’d ever read. More radical than Che and Marx put together because this was going to change everything. It was meant to change the personal, social, economic and the political. It turned the world upside down. It turned the values of the world on its head. This was a whole new order of things. This was a revolution if there ever was one,” says Wallis.

Early on, Wallis and a handful of seminary students started a magazine for matters of faith and social justice called “Sojourners”. More recently Wallis has published a book called “God’s Politics” which takes a hard look at the blurring of Christian values and political policy. Like many American Christians, Wallis is alarmed at what he sees.
One of the greatest challenges facing America, Wallis feels, is the confusion many Christians have reconciling their faith and their patriotism. Instead of standing silently by as our political leaders claim that “God is on our side”, Wallis is asking American’s another question; “Are we on God’s side?”

“God is not a Republican or a Democrat,” says Wallis. “God is not partisan. God is not ideologically committed to our Left or Right. God’s politics challenges all of our politics. It includes the people our politics regularly leave out; the poor and the vulnerable. I think God calls us to a consistency in our politics. There’s an independence to God’s politics in that, we’re not called to be ideologically predictable or loyally partisan. We’re called to uplift the poor, the vulnerable, the voiceless, the Creation itself, and we’re called to hunger to resolve our conflicts in a more peaceful way. That’s God’s politics.”

Wallis has been touring America promoting his book in bookstores and by speaking in Churches across the nation. He’s also appeared on every major political talk show known to mankind. He’s been on “Meet The Press”, “Hardball with Chris Matthews”, and most notably, “John Stewart’s Daily Show” where his message of a socially-conscious Gospel of Jesus was met with loud whoops of approval from the audience of Twenty-Somethings.

“After that show I got thousands of emails and most of them went like this; ‘I lost my faith because of Television Preachers or the Religious Right or embarrassing fund-raising or pedophile priests or cover-up Bishops or White House Theology, etc., and then they’ll say, ‘I didn’t know you could be a Christian and care about poverty or the environment’ and it’s just amazing to me,” says Wallis. “These kids have been outside the sound of our voices and all they hear is the Religious Right, and then, for the first time, they hear something different,” Wallis says. “At the end of most of the emails I received, the best part is where they tell me that, ‘Because of what I heard and saw on ‘The Daily Show’ I went out and got the book, and now I’m coming back to my faith.’”

“What you didn’t see on ‘The Daily Show’ was afterwards when John Stewart leaned over to me and said, ‘You know, I really like this. Can we stay in touch? Can we keep talking? I’d like to help somehow. I’m pretty secular, but I sure like this,’ Wallis reports.

Because of that single appearance on John Stewart’s faux-news show, Wallis has begun to attract a much younger audience to his bookstore talks and public appearances. “I had parents at my book table share with me how their son lost his faith. Then they got a letter from him saying that he saw this guy on ‘The Daily Show’ and went and bought his book and he wanted them to know that he was coming back to his faith now,” says Wallis. “There’s been a whole generational response to this book that, to me, is the best part of it. People hear me giving a voice to these things and they want to add their voice to it also. It’s not just about my voice,” says Wallis. “It’s about their voice too.”

“The first week I was signing books on the book tour I’d have these very young looking students at my table. I’d say, ‘What grade are you in school?’ and they’d say something like, ‘I’m in High School, I’m a Freshman’ and Mom and Dad aren’t even there. They had come with their friends,” Wallis says.

“I’m signing books for 15 year olds now. One night I had a 12 year old at my table, and then a few weeks ago I had an eleven year old. I had to stop and ask this one girl, ‘What did you get from tonight?’ to see what she had understood. She looked at me and said, ‘Well, I think we’re just going to have to change the world.’ I asked, ‘And who’s going to do that?’ and she said, ‘People like me.’ I saw her parents behind her with tears in their eyes,” says Wallis.

Everywhere Wallis speaks these days, he’s inundated by supporters of all ages who want to know how they can vote for a politics that embodies a consistent morality. “The answer is there is no party that is advancing God’s politics,” admits Wallis. “Neither party is doing this. Basically we need to create what I call ‘The Fourth Option’. It’s not being conservative on everything, or liberal on everything. The Fourth Option makes the link between personal ethics and social justice, between personal and social responsibility. It’s really like the Catholic Consistent Life Ethics. I think there are people in both parties who are drawn to this,” says Wallis. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of the people in this country supported this kind of agenda that my book puts forward, but they never have a chance to because both parties have interest groups who prevent this option from rising to the surface. So, the way you have to do it is, you have to build a movement based on this kind of option.”

Wallis is convinced that what is needed for our times is another social movement of the scale that was seen in the sixties under Martin Luther King, Jr. “Social movements are what change history and the best social movements are those that have a spiritual foundation,” he says. Going back even further than that, to Charles Finney and the nineteenth century Evangelicals, Wallis finds inspiration for a movement that could change American faith and politics. “Finney invented the altar call because he wanted to sign people up to the anti-slavery crusade. You had Evangelicals leading the battle against slavery, the battle for women’s suffrage, for child labor law reform. Back in the eighteenth century, in Britain, you had Charles Wesley and William Wilberforce, who was a convert of a Wesleyan revival, and he, for thirty years lead the battle against slavery and died three days after they won, it was amazing.”

We have many powerful examples of spiritual revivals that lead to social reform throughout history. “That’s what I believe in,” Wallis says. “That’s why I’m a nineteenth century Evangelical born in the wrong century. That’s what I think we need today.”

Wallis is quick to admit that a change of policy or politicians isn’t what our nation needs today. Instead, Wallis aims to see a change of heart that results in a changed people. “Martin Luther King, Jr. changed people’s hearts. He changed the way they thought about race. The laws changed because the people were being changed. Watching him and the others in the marches get beaten and clubbed on the streets of Birmingham, people said, ‘Look at that. That’s terrible. I don’t want my country to be like this.’ So their hearts got changed,” he says. “That’s why I want to go back to the nineteenth century. It was a conversion to Christ that got Wilberforce to fight the slave trade. He came to Christ, and then he became an Abolitionist.”

Is there a new revolution of heart and mind brewing on the horizon? Wallis is hopeful. “That’s what I’m feeling now at these book events for “God’s Politics”. A woman came up to me at a bookstore after one of my signings and said, ‘My father is a Southern Baptist Preacher and I decided I just didn’t want that kind of faith, so I left. But when I read your book I saw a different kind of faith was possible and so I want to come back.’ Thousands of people are rejecting the Religious Right. They’re saying, ‘If that’s faith, count me out’. But when they see that there’s another kind of faith that embraces the poor and the things that Jesus values, they want to come back to their faith.”

For Wallis, getting involved in the work of helping the poor isn’t just about writing a check from the safety of our pews, nor is it about rolling up our sleeves to slop soup at the local shelter, although he agrees these are all good things. Wallis contends that, when the Church really gets serious about social justice she will engage the culture and the political systems around her in order to effect real, positive, lasting change. “Checks are not enough, and neither is just engagement with the poor enough, unless we’re asking the questions of justice,” says Wallis. “I think history is moved by social movements that have a spiritual foundation. That’s what changes things. Now the Church is poised and ready to do something on domestic and global poverty. We’ve got to be the spiritual engine that changes the way our nation thinks. Will it be political? Of course. You find you need a civil rights law in 1964 and a voting rights act in 1965, but it was a black church that was the moral foundation of a civil rights movement and that lead the way. Now this movement to overcome poverty has become the next civil rights movement,” Wallis says.

Wallis is passionate about justice and poverty because it was the avoidance of these issues by his home church in Detroit that drove him away from his faith as a young man. “I left the church over these issues,” he says. “People do it every day. They want to believe. They’re hungry spiritually. They would like to hope in Christ, something compels them to faith, but when they look at the Church they just don’t see it. Somehow Jesus survives the failures of His Bride,” Wallis says. “We’ve lost our way in the twenty-first century, but many young people are becoming nineteen century evangelicals for the twenty-first century. This whole generation of young evangelicals may not name themselves as such, but that’s what they are. They’re the kind of Christians we had in the nineteen century,” says Wallis.

“The Church today is more American than Christian. The Kingdom of God is not the same as the American Empire. When we are more American than Christian we confuse the meaning of the Body of Christ with any nation state. This notion of the Church as a counter-cultural movement is Biblically obvious. There’s no doubt about that. We’re in the world to transform the world for the sake of this new order that has come in Jesus Christ. If Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom was so threatening, why is our vision of the Kingdom so safe?”

**
For more info on Jim Wallis go to http://www.sojo.net

THE MISSION: An outside testimony

A few weeks ago, my friends John and Lisa Wahrmund came down to visit us and to play (as the band "West Of Verona") during the MOMENTUM '06 conference.

In her own words, Lisa shares about their visit to our house church meeting on the night before the conference began. It's a sweet story and I haven't had the time to write out my version of what happened yet...so, go and read Lisa's blog entry about their visit to "The Mission":

HERE:

WEST OF VERONA AT THE MISSION

FREE DOWNLOAD: "HOUSES THAT CHANGE THE WORLD"

This is a great book on the basics of the House Church by a guy named "Wolfgang Simson" and you can download the ENTIRE BOOK for FREE!

Yes. Free.

It's in a .pdf format here:

HOUSES THAT CHANGE THE WORLD by Wolfgang Simson

I'm currently listening to a six-part series of cd messages from Wolfgang that I wish I could share with everyone too. Maybe I'll find a way to post those here also.....hmm....

Until then, enjoy the free book...and now you can't say I've never given you anything.

Peas,
Keith

EYES TO SEE, EARS TO HEAR?

I've updated the website with a load of new goodies to read and to listen to.

First: MOMENTUM 06 PODCASTS- Now linked off this site, at the lower left, are all of the sessions from MOMENTUM '06 Conference featuring excellent messages by DAVID RUIS ("Mustard Seed") and TODD HUNTER ("Emerging Evangelism") and several by MIKE PILAVACHI.

Go and listen!

Second: PDF Article Update- Nearly a year ago, I came across a document that set my life on its current course. It was a scholarly, historical examination of the early church entitled "EMBEZZLEMENT: THE CORPORATE SIN OF CHRISTIANITY" by a man named RAY MAYHEW. I've linked the pdf to the lower left also under "READ THIS!" (so you can't miss it).

READ THIS!- Mayhew: "Embezzlement" Paper

Essentially, the article looks at how the early church viewed the tithe as belonging to the poor. I challenge you to read this and to make comments here on this site.

It was because of this article that Wendy and I decided to launch our house church, "The Mission" because we wanted to be part of a church where 100% of the tithe could go to the poor, and not to pastoral staff, facilities, or video projectors, etc.

ENJOY!

**
kg

THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?

I've written a six-part series called "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?" based on the workshop I did at Soul Survivor's MOMENTUM '06 Conference last month.

The articles deal with our calling to be missionaries into our culture, various methods towards an evangelistic lifestyle, the difference between conversion and discipleship, etc.

Part one is online now at GINKWORLD (http://www.ginkworld.net) and the entire six-part series will run every two weeks. I invite you to go check it out and to leave any comments about the articles here or on the Ginkworld boards.

ALSO: If you'd like to read these articles before they publish online be sure to subscribe to the [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND], my free, weekly e-newsletter. I will send out one part every week (not every 2 weeks like on Ginkworld), so you faithful subscribers can read it before anyone else does.

TO SUBSCRIBE: Click on the link at the lower left "JOIN THE [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]" and add your email to the list. It's that easy!

**

VISION: I am currently looking for a new full-time job and as part of this process I've been thinking pretty hard about my personal calling, vision and mission. Here's what I think God is saying to me:

1) The Mission: Our house church which meets every Thursday night is a big priority for our family. This is where we feel called to serve and to fellowship. It's out of these conversations and experiences that we will draw strength and direction for future service and ministry.

2) Writing: I have felt, more and more, the calling to write. This is why I have this website. This is why I'm sending articles to six or seven different web-zines. This is why I'm sending out a weekly e-newsletter. I feel called to write. Honestly, I am not sure exactly what the fruit of all of this writing might be, but I know I have to be obedient to this calling.

3) Kid's Club: Wendy and I (and our two boys) are starting a neighborhood outreach to the kids on our street starting TOMORROW!! We have felt all along that God called us specifically to this exact house and to minister the Gospel to these specific families here. After our 5 week series on "Jesus" is done, we're praying that God would open doors of relationship and fellowship with each of the families here so that we might start a Sunday Morning house church group on our block.

4) Motel Ministry: For about 3 years now my family has been serving the families at the California Studio Inn in Santa Ana. Thousands of homeless families in Orange County have jobs and steady income but cannot afford an apartment or a house. Their only option is to live in their car or raise a family in a motel for $275 a week. We've built steady and meaningful friendships with several families in this motel and we're excited about inviting our "Mission" house church group to join us for future ministry there.

5) House Church Network: After meeting with Ken Eastburn (The Well OC) and Neil Cole (CMA Resources), and others locally I sense that God is calling me to do something in the OC area for other house church leaders/pastors. If nothing else I want to find a way to gather these guys and gals together and pray with them, get to know them, encourage them and share ideas. Maybe that's all it will be, or maybe it could turn into something more? We'll see...

6) Ministry To Prostitutes: Honestly, this is the biggest "outside my comfort zone" ministry I've ever known. If nothing else I feel called to help others launch an OC ministry or non-profit resource to help these girls who are trapped in a dead-end lifestyle. I need to connect with L.A. ministries such as The Dream Center and Children Of The Night to see what can be duplicated for an organization here in the OC.

7) Book Projects: I'm nearly finished with my first little booklet "The Power of Weakness", and I also want to compile some of my past articles and interviews into other books for sale online as self-published works and/or to pitch them to publishers I have a built-in relationship with such as Gospel Light/Regal Books and Relevant Books. Either way I will publish these books. I've also been looking into the concept of self-publishing PDF versions of my books for $10 each as a downloadable file here on the website. Either way, I want to make this "next step" with my writing and start publishing books.

So...as I look at the second half of 2006, these are the areas I feel God has called me to focus on and to step out in faith to follow Him.

Thanks for your prayers!

Peace,
Keith

WOW!!

I can't believe this, but ALLELON.org just published one of my articles!

"Less Is More" is online now
http://www.allelon.org/main.cfm

*These guys publish stuff by Dallas Willard, Brian McLaren, etc. and now they've published one of my articles too?! What the...?

I've also got a smattering of articles published at places like

Next-Wave magazine:
http://www.the-next-wave-ezine.info/issue90/

TITLE: "Jesus Is A Verb"
*(and soon "BBQ Waffles?" in the July issue)

at Ginkworld.net:
TITLE: "Poverty Light"
AND: "Poverty & Relationships"

theemerge.com:
TITLE: "Conversatio Morem!"

and seedstories.com
TITLE: "What's Wrong With This Picture?"
AND: "Light VS Heat"
etc..

THE PLAN:
My very intentional goal is to have revolving articles posted online in as many emerging/church-planting internet magazines as possible.

A brand-new six part series called "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?" will begin posting over at Ginkworld.net starting in the next few weeks. Subscribers to the [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] newsletter will get to read these in advance of the online publication, so if you don't want to wait, be sure to subscribe to the free e-newsletter at the link on the lower left.

THE BOOK(S):
Right now I'm working on my book, "The Power Of Weakness" (only 3 chapters to finish up!), and contemplating a collection of my previous articles into a much larger print version which would compile all of them into sections like "Compassion", "The Kingdom", "House Church", and "Spiritual Development". Volume 2 of this same collection would compile all of my interviews from the Relevant Magazine series called "Subversive" where I talked with Dallas Willard, Todd Hunter, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, and several others. Already have a groovy title for that one in the bag. Just need the time and the cash to get these printed up. Possibly considering a pdf book version of each of these to sell online here also.

More later...
kg

HOUSE CHURCH ARTICLE ROUND-UP

After several comments from various people about my house church experience, etc. I have compiled a list of articles found both on the [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] newsletters and also here on my website over the last four or five months.

Here's a list if you're feeling adventurous.

*FROM THE [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] ARCHIVES:

JOY (A report of what happens in our house church meetings)

BBQ WAFFLES? (If we want what they had, we have to do what they did)

WHAT IF? (What would happen if Church took place every single day?)

SUCCESS AND FAILURE (What dos "success" look like in the house church?)

STEP ONE

HOUSE (House church...not Biblical?)
http://subunderground.blogspot.com/2006/03/subversive-underground-house-by-keith.htm

MODELS (How important are models of doing/being church?)
http://subunderground.blogspot.com/2006/03/subversive-underground-models.html

FAILURE (God shows me my own hypocrisy in the middle of our house church meeting)
http://subunderground.blogspot.com/2006/05/subversive-underground-failure.html


**
(FROM THE MAIN WEBSITE ARCHIVES)

DOWN RIVER (Leaving "The River" to enter "The Mission)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/11/down-river-by-keith-giles.html

TERTULLIAN'S WINDOW (A quote from Tertullian about early church life)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/11/tertullians-window.html

THE MISSION: OUR VISION AND VALUES (Our Vision and Values Statement at The Mission)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/10/mission-our-vision-our-values.html

THE MISSION- DAY ZERO (After our first interest meeting)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2006/01/status-report-mission.html

STATUS REPORT: THE MISSION
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2006/01/status-report-mission.html

A WEDDING A WEEK? (The difference between a Wedding and Thanksgiving in terms of Community-Building)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/10/wedding-every-week-by-keith-giles.html

WHY THE HOUSE CHURCH? (A list of reasons why House Church makes sense)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-house-church.html

2 MORE REASONS WHY THE HOUSE CHURCH (nuff said)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/10/2-more-reasons-house-church.html

IN PRAISE OF THE LOCAL CHURCH (Keith eats crow!)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/12/in-praise-of-local-church-by-keith.html

APPLES AND ORANGES (The Goal of an Apple Tree is not to produce apples...)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/12/apples-and-oranges-by-keith-giles.html

LIVING STONES (A short note on how we, the people of God, are the Church)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2006/01/living-stones.html

TWO OR MORE (God teaches me another lesson in the house church)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2006/02/two-or-more.html

THE MISSION UPDATE- MARCH
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2006/03/mission-update-march.html

CONSTANTINIAN FALL-OUT (this one has some negative and frustrating emotion in it, but it is valid to the discussion)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2006/03/constantinian-fall-out.html

CLOSED DOORS, OPEN WINDOWS (My experience leaving the traditional church and entering full-time house church)
http://www.seedstories.com/articles/article.cfm?id=35

THE EARLY CHURCH AND US (Excerpts from an excellent article by Ray Mayhew that helped formulate my calling into house church)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2005/08/early-church-and-us-excerpts.html

LIGHT VS HEAT (Reformation, not Revolution)
http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2006/04/light-vs-heat.html

TOMMY (A surprising story of compassion and mission on house church night)
http://www.seedstories.com/articles/article.cfm?id=44


**

More on this later...
kg

CRY UNCLE!

Sorry I've been lax in posting here lately.

MOMENTUM 06 just wrapped late last night and in a few hours I'll hop on a borrowed RV with 7 others and head to Arizona for a six hour drive to launch our ROADSHOW with Mike Pilavachi.

Ugh.

I am so tired of this.

I miss my family. I miss "normal" (whatever that is).

Last night I realized that I have been enduring hardship for exactly a year (starting with last year's MOMENTUM conference where Wendy and I had just had a miscarriage a few days previous).

I'm ready for a season of not getting hit with a hammer. I want to pause this dull suffering and step into a stretch of time where He makes me lay down in green pastures and restores my soul.

When I was a kid my Dad and I would wrestle on the floor together. If he ever got me pinned in a way that I couldn't move or escape he would ask me to "Say Uncle" (meaning I give up the fight).

I feel like God and I are on the floor. We've been wrestling for a year now. I've been pinned and I'm trying to get up.

I say "Uncle".

I know a lot of what makes my situation more raw is the fact that I'm physically and emotionally exhausted right now. I just want to find a quiet place somewhere, preferably a soft, clean, King-sized placed with cotton sheets and my favorite pillow, and sleep for a week or so.

When you get exhausted and you endure the feeling for several days you begin to loose control of your emotions. Everything is either unbearably sad, or ridiculously funny, or entirely too difficult to even begin to attempt.

I'll be away from my family for another 2 days now. On the road with co-workers and friends. But under the stress of having to perform again, which is something I have learned to loathe (I mean "Performance").

If I could call a time-out about now, I would. If I could hit the pause button and retire to the sofa, I would.

But.....I can't...and that sucks.

CONVERSATIO MOREM (the PODCAST SERMON)

You've got the tattoo, you've ordered the t-shirt, now listen to the FREE PODCAST Sermon!

Here:

"CONVERSATIO MOREM" by Keith Giles PODCAST from Soul Survivor Church

HOUSE CHURCH IN WASHINGTON POST

GOING TO CHURCH BY STAYING AT HOME

Going to Church by Staying at Home
Clergy-Less Living Room Services Seen as a Growing Trend
By Michael Alison Chandler and Arianne Aryanpur
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, June 4, 2006; Page A12

After Sunday dinner at Joe Rodgers's Rockville home, guests adjourn to the living room for church.

In his makeshift chapel, wooden kitchen stools and a floral print couch act as pews, a portable keyboard substitutes for an organ and the host, an electronics technician by day, serves as pastor.
(MORE IN LINK ABOVE)

BRAIN DUMP

MINISTRY TO PROSTITUTES
So, last weekend I took a small group of people from Soul Survivor to the streets to minister to young prostitutes on Harbor blvd., but for some reason we only met one girl on Friday night and saw zero on Saturday morning. So, I guess we need to do some more research before we move ahead.

Two months ago there were around 8 to 10 girls out there on the same stretch of road, so it's a little confusing as to why things have changed in so short a time. Potentially it's because the issue is getting media attention now and this has caused Police to crack down more, chasing the girls somewhere else.

As I've researched this issue I've learned a lot about the problem of prostitution (more than I ever cared to know, trust me) and I can begin to see that the only way to really impact these girls and provide serious ministry to them involves setting up a complete ministry to them, not just a monthly service project.

For example, there are no ministries in Orange County (that I can find) set up to help these girls specifically. There's Teen Challenge with two women's homes about 50 to 70 miles away, but they are for girls with drug or alcohol dependency issues. They also only take interviews for potential residents to their program on Tuesdays at 9am, which is very inconvenient to a girl who is trapped in prostitution and wants out asap. Plus, Teen Challenge requires the girls be at least 18 and have a social security card and a driver's license, however many of these girls on the streets are under 18 and have no driver's license. Other girls are here illegally, some against their will, and have no social security card or license either.

It just seems ridiculous to me that we could find a girl who wants out of this oppressive lifestyle (prostitution) and if she's under 18, or never got a license, we have to say, "tough luck" and kick her back to the streets. That's not an option to me.

So, I'm learning that up the road in LA county there are a few ministries that do reach out specifically to prostitutes and under-age girls trapped in this lifestyle. One is The Dream Center and the other is Children Of The Night (which helps under age children of both sexes trapped in prostitution and living on the streets). I think I need to meet with these organizations and see what it would take to either set up OC versions of their ministries, or at least learn from them how to replicate what they do down here in Orange County.

This, of course, is bigger than any of us ever bargained for...and yet I do think that God really is calling us into this ministry. Especially since no one else here in Orange County is doing anything to reach out to these girls and offer real world solutions and assistance to them, in the name of Jesus.

Is that what I'm called to do? How much of a role do I take in setting this up? Am I only here to help someone else get it going?

I'm not sure yet.

HOUSE CHURCH UPDATE- "The Mission"
The last few weeks at house church have been so great. God has spoken to me in so many ways, and I am seeing Him work in our midst in amazing ways. I wish I could explain or describe all the nuances of what it's like to be in fellowship with other followers of Jesus, and AT THE SAME TIME to be in fellowship with the active presence of God in the form of The Holy Spirit, while He is moving and speaking and blessing and healing and ministering to each of us, through each of us. It's breath-taking. It's called "Koinonia" and it's real. I am so blessed by God that He has called us to this sort of community and faith in action and a life of faith that goes beyond "playing church".

Last night we had a smaller gathering as some of our brothers and sisters were on vacation or home sick or in meetings, etc. We enjoyed our evening meal together as usual, shared communion, worshipped in song and shared very openly and frankly together about our personal walk with Jesus. We sat there in my den and shared and prayed and talked and encouraged one another until 12am. No one wanted to leave. It was so, so sweet. I mean, there are seriously no words for me to express to you the intense love and mercy and "life of Jesus" that is present with us in those sorts of moments. It is something I have never experienced in my life before.

We spent a large portion of the evening encouraging one of our own dear sisters who has been dealing with bitterness and struggling with certain areas of her relationship with God, and also with the Church itself. I think it was one of the most earnest and open times of sharing we've ever done. At one point our sister said, "Thank you for not rushing over and trying to put me back in my little Christian box" (after she shared her struggles with us). It was great to talk openly with each other and share our own struggles and put to death the "performance" aspect of our faith, and to exchange that for honesty and real-world experience, peppered liberally with the Word of God, encouragement and prayer.

Sometimes all we need to do is shut up and listen. How often does that happen in most church meetings or gatherings?

Personally, I am liberated by the fact that our house church isn't built on me. I do not deliver the sermon or submit the Bible Study. We all come ready to share something equally. In fact, I think the group could easily go on and have a healthy, complete spiritual life without me. Because it's the Holy Spirit who leads this group, not me or anyone else. It's so refreshing to simply open my front door, invite people in to share a meal, pray for the Holy Spirit to have His way, and then actually allow Him to do just that. Imagine! What a concept.

THE MOVEMENT?
Earlier this week I met with a local house church network pastor who helped me to imagine how I might play a larger role in the OC house church movement. I've never thought of it before, honestly. But after meeting with this guy I started to pray about how God might want me to interact with other house church pastors here in Orange County. I started wondering about how I might encourage them, or learn from them, or help this guy (Ken Eastburn) as he tries to put together magazines or websites or area conferences/gatherings for other house church pastors and members.

I have to admit that as I meet more and more people who are doing this house church thing I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is genuinely up to something. I call the house church thing a movement because I keep meeting people just like me who came into this thing as the result of God's specific calling, feeling that they were the only ones doing so, only to realize (after they'd taken the step of faith) that there were hundreds of others just like them who had heard the same calling and resonded in the same way.

This guy Ken also shared with me how he's met with regional denominational representatives from around the country who report that their traditional church-planting efforts are failing. How existing churches are dieing slowly, buildings sit empty or are sold to others to cash out their debts. But in the house church movement things are exploding. People who would never darken one of those church doors are open to sharing a meal and talking about Jesus with their neighbors.

The sad thing is that most pastors of traditional churches reject this movement because it threatens their own job security, or it questions their method, or it insults their tradition, etc. and so most of us who have left to follow God's calling to plant house churches are feeling left alone, rejected and "banished". This makes me realize the very real need to encourage other house church pastors and planters. Also because I see an alarming trend among house churches for bitterness towards those brothers and sisters who have rejected them. I firmly believe that this movement needs to take the high road, to forgive and to bless those who curse us...even our own brothers and sisters in the traditional church.

What I wish the traditional church could see is that, all that they need to do is to bless this. Supporting a house church movement doesn't involve spending one single dollar. House churces cost zero to build, promote or maintain, yet they offer so much of what is missing in the traditional church today. Community, fellowship, ministry of the Holy Spirit, Discipleship, lifestyle evangelism, hospitality, service to others, etc. are all natural byproducts of the house church. Why would you want to cut off your church from its own fruit? Even more, ask yourself what happens when you cut off all the fruit from a plant? Doesn't it stop producing fruit?

All that the traditional church would need to do would be to bless these house churches, meet once or twice a month with the pastors of these house churches and pray for them, encourage them, resource them. It would only cost the church one lunch special a month and a cup of coffee to say "Yes" to what the Holy Spirit is doing across this Nation.

I guess we can only pray that some pastors will decide to do this as we go forward.

More later.

Peas,
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MUSTARD HEART

Last night my wife Wendy was making lunches for our two boys, Dylan and David.

As I walked through the kitchen and saw her putting mustard on one of the sandwiches I noticed that the top section of bread had a mustard trail in the shape of a heart. The bottom piece of bread was a smiley face.

In my pessimism I asked her why she would go to the trouble of doing this when it was obvious they would never even look at the inside of the sandwich or notice this.

She looked at me sheepishly and smiled. "I don' t know," she said.

"Do you ever put those hearts on my sandwiches?" I asked her.

She reached over, unwrapped my sandwich and showed me the inside of my baloney sandwich. The mustard-shaped heart was a silent testimony of her love for me.

We both stood there with tears in our eyes and smiled at each other.

I am so very loved.

Just Added: New Dallas Willard Podcast

Just Added: New Dallas Willard Podcast on The Kingdom As Reality (see link below at lower left).

Great stuff!

Enjoy.

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YOUR POOR....

In preparing slides and researching texts for the recent ENGAGE '06 conference last month, I came cross this verse and this image, which together speaks volumes about how far the Church has come in America in regards to caring for the poor, the immigrant and the oppressed.

NEW ENGAGE '06 PODCASTS NOW UP

Hey, be sure to check out both morning and evening sessions of ENGAGE '06 podcasts featuring DAVID RUIS at the links below (lower left), and while you're at it, be sure to listen to the amazing DALLAS WILLARD message from the recent ALLELON Conference, also linked below...also free.

ENJOY!

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