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The focus needs to change from "our house" to "their house" Much of the present house church movement is still an attempt to contain and control the meetings in their own camp. The full gains that are available will not be realised until we can begin to let the movement flow into THEIR HOUSES.

We are excited to announce the publishing of a new book in Russian- Reimagining the Church by Frank Viola. The book will be available in April, but until then we would like to share with you some excerpts to give you a taste of the book.

It’s important for you to know that reimagining the church as a living organism isn’t a pipe dream. The church actually can express herself organically just as she did in the first century. That said, the following letters were written by various people who have experienced organic church life in recent years. These are their impressions:

Letter 1

I never planned on leaving the old way of doing church. I wasn’t looking for a new church and couldn’t even conceive of what an organic church would look like ...

What immediately comes to mind when you hear the word ‘church’?

If you are anything like me, a whole bag of things – some wonderful, some neutral and some unhealthy.

Unfortunately the unhealthy and negative connotations have some elements of truth to them.  For instance, how often have you talked with someone who is open to following Jesus, but who is not interested in being part of a church (usually driven by their previous experiences)?

For the first Christians, church meant a Jesus-centered community on a common mission. Built around the oikos – or extended household – these were flexible, vibrant communities of faith, where Jesus was followed and glorified in the everyday realities of life.  The key glue was Holy Spirit infused relationships with one another.  This meant that friends, neighbors, colleagues and family could easily be folded in, as they experienced for themselves the Kingdom of God in their local context.

The problem came with the institutionalization of the church.  Dynamic body-life was increasingly exchanged for (clerical) control, centralization and complacency.  Jim Palmer has produced a fantastic summary list of 10 Implied Messages of Institutional Church – quick to read, far longer to transform.

We are excited to announce the publishing of a new book in Russian - Reimagining the Church by Frank Viola. The book will be available in April, but until then we would like to share with you some excerpts to give you a taste of the book.

The Bible draws a careful distinction between Christ’s headship and His Lordship. Throughout the New Testament, the headship of Christ virtually always has in view the Lord’s relationship with His body (Eph. 1:22–23; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:19). The lordship of Christ virtually always has in view His relationship with His individual disciples (Matt. 7:21–22; 10:24–25; Luke 6:46).

What lordship is to the individual, headship is to the church. Headship and lordship are two dimensions of the same thing. Headship islordship worked out in the corporate lives of God’s people.

Life in Christ is all that he promised! Just don't stop short on your way there!

Sara and I heard it over and over again as we struggled up the trail to Hanging Lake outside Glenwood Spring, Colorado. The trail winds uphill 1,000 feet in about a little over a mile. It’s a tough climb with so little oxygen at 7,000 feet. But hikers who passed us going back down the hill kept encouraging us.

"Keep going."

"You’re getting close."

"It’s so worth it."

And it was!

Each word of encouragement lifted our spirits and lightened our steps as we traversed the rocky ground steadily climbing to the top of the cliff until we arrived at the waterfalls spilling into Hanging Lake and looked back out over the canyon we had scaled.

Learning to live relationally in an age where most of our perception of Christianity is based on religious thinking also takes even more encouragement. The writer of Hebrews says that ‘daily’ isn’t too often to help others break free from their own efforts and the distractions that so easily entangle them to discover just how awesome living daily in the Father’s love can be.

“Now it came to pass in those days that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.”
Luke 6:12-13

Jesus selected apostolic leaders from among his new-found disciples. Finding leaders is the greatest challenge leaders face. Yet, some leaders attract more leaders and others struggle to find or keep any leaders. Why? Certainly part of the answer lies in the gift of a leader, but there are also certain truths we can practice that will make us attractive to the emerging leaders in our sphere of influence.

The most gifted leaders I know practice these seven laws of leadership selection ...

The Kingdom of God is the rule of God. And it rests upon the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God produces the church . . . the community of the King.  The church, in turn, submits to the sway or rule of the Kingdom. As it does, the church expresses, represents, and advances God’s Kingdom on the earth.

Properly conceived, the church is the community of believers who possess Divine life. This community joyfully enthrones Jesus Christ, expresses His sovereign rule in the world, and as a result, enjoys the blessings of the future age here-and-now (Rom. 14:17; Heb. 6:5).

According to the New Testament, the church is not a building. Neither is it a denomination, a religious service, nor a non-denominational organization. The church is a living organism. It is simply this: A community of people who possess the life of God’s Kingdom and who express it together.

Your New Testament contains the epic saga of the early church. That saga centers on how God the Father has made Jesus of Nazareth both Lord and King of the universe. According to the Gospels, the master thought of Jesus was the Kingdom of God which is "at hand." The book of Acts continues this thought and tells the story of how the Kingdom made its introduction in Jerusalem and spread to Rome.

By Brian Anderson

The traditional Protestant worship service today strongly resembles a show business performance. In both we find ushers, programs, music, costumes, lighting, a chorus, a stage, a script, an audience, and a master of ceremonies. (Christian Smith, Going To The Root, Herald Press, p.88.) The congregation sits passively as the audience while the pastor performs. When the congregation is permitted to participate in the meeting, they are restricted to singing in unison, antiphonal readings, dropping money into the offering plate, and taking notes during the sermon. The ordained clergy are expected to perform all significant ministry. Meanwhile, ninety-nine percent of God's people attend worship services Sunday after Sunday for years on end, without ever contributing any true spiritual ministry to the body of gathered believers.

Whenever I read through the gospels I am amazed at how little Jesus said about the church. Only Matthew records him even using the word and then only twice. Why didn't he tell his followers more about how to organize a church, run its ministries and plan its services?

I think I know why. He didn't talk about it is because he was too involved living it. He became a friend to Zaccheus, James, John, Peter, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Nicodemus, a rejected woman at a well who remained nameless and countless others that came into his proximity. Look at the ways he engaged them, built relationships with them centered in the Father's love and served them with no thought for himself. That was the power of his kingdom and the secret to living in the joy of his family. "I no longer call you servants... I have called you friends," (John 15:15) and in that simple declaration Jesus identified for all time the nature of the relationship God has always desired with those he created-intimate friendship.