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Church according to Miriam-Webster's online dictionary:

1: a building for public and especially Christian worship

2: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body

3: a body or organization of religious believers: as a: the whole body of Christians b: denomination <the Presbyterian church> c: congregation

4: a public divine worship <goes to church every Sunday>

Webster defines church according to the way this word is used today. I was taught this same definition as a little boy when I would put my hands together and recite the rhyme: "Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the door and here are all the people."

Jesus, however, introduced the term "church" with a very different meaning in mind. He used a word "ekklesia" that simply described a group or assembly of people. This is the original definition of the word. He described "church" as those people who were following Him-people walking in allegiance to him. People. His followers. Nothing more than that.

Session 1—Victor John!s Story

My family was Christian and I met Christ myself when I made a commitment to him at age 16. The CPM movement we are involved in has seen over 1.5 million people baptized. They are in over 30,000 churches. The last six years we have begun reaching out to Muslims and have seen 15 imams reached and 1,000 Muslims baptized. We are having worship services in three mosques. We see a lot of miracles. We see healings and deliverances. I have also seen people raised from the dead. About half of those who come to Christ come because of a healing or miracle. The rest come because of the influence of a friend or relative. We are now reaching out to two new people groups in the north and one in the south of India. We have a lot going on but we have a lot of help. I spend 60% of my time in India and I am now spending 40% of my time helping churches in other countries—to-date about 40 countries. I am married and have three daughters. We are currently living in Sweden where my wife is from.

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest fields."

Jesus tells us the key to seeing many people saved through a great harvest of souls is to pray for more workers. The more prayer, the more workers; the more workers, the greater the harvest-It's a simple equation.

Many have used these words to challenge believers to get out of the pews and into the fields. And it must be so. What will it take to get the workers out into the fields? The word Jesus used to "send out" workers is the same Greek word used of "casting out" demons (ekballo). It is a violent term as if the Lord of the harvest must grab us by the collar and thrust us out into the fields. Unfortunately, that may be what it takes for most of us Christians.

Simple: Uncomplicated in nature, essence and expression

As simple churches, we are committed to a methodology for doing and being church that seeks to be uncomplicated in nature, essence and expression. We believe the church of Jesus Christ in all her ways share similar values, but not always similar outward expressions. And for us, those expressions are far too often barriers to those who most need to experience the presence of Jesus Christ. Simple churches come in all shapes, sizes, cultures and theological distinctives. But we do seem to share a common thread: A very simple methodology of what it means to follow Christ as a community of believers. We therefore endeavor to ask and be led by the right questions answers. Below are seven common questions and practices. They revolve around these verses found in Acts 2:41- 47:

Editors Note: God is doing some fresh things in His church around the world. He is speaking to many people in similar ways. Due to our varied gifting, levels of of maturity, and even personalities, not all of us will see and understand these things in the same way. Not even the handful of us who manage the site see all the articles presented here the same way. Our heart is simply to encourage those to whom God is speaking about simple churches. We want to let you know how God is speaking to others around the world. This article is an example of some of things that believers are thinking about and discussing in regards to the church. We found these statements by a German brother to parallel some of the things that God has been speaking to us. These thoughts are challenging, and there may be something here you don't agree with. We, however, believe it is helpful to prayefully consider such statements and to allow God to speak to us as He would want to.

May our goal be fully aligned with God's goal-to see Christ exalted and for all men to be drawn to Him.

Dear Nicolay,

I understand your concern that if you give up control of your meetings there will be chaos and disorder, but be assured that the headship of Christ does not mean confusion or disorder – that is not the nature of Christ.

One of Paul’s common themes is the theme of freedom – it is a word he uses 29 times in his writing. We, in Christ, are set free from sin, Satan, the law, and our fleshy nature. This freedom is the foundation of the communities of Christians. We are free to be the people of God together – to follow, love, obey, walk with, and serve our God together.

This is the beginning of a four part series by Alan Knox noting the dangerous emphasis we can place on a certain day, a certain place, a certain program, and a certain man.

Typically, I try to write about the church from a positive perspective. Instead of writing about what’s wrong with the modern church, I usually write describing the positive characteristics and activities of the church as we see it in Scripture. Now, many of my readers automatically recognized the negative side of what I write. However, I still try to write from the positive perspective. I write about what the church should be, not what it shouldn’t be.

In this series, though, I want to write about modern, traditional church. Now, right away, there are problems with the design of this series. You see, no church will exactly look like or do the things that I write about. But, I hope that each reader will consider their own church and their own practices in order to determine if some of these aspects of the “general” modern, traditional church may apply. I think that we can all find “dangerous” practices of each of our churches.

Editors Note: God is doing some fresh things in His church around the world. He is speaking to many people in similar ways. Due to our varied gifting, levels of of maturity, and even personalities, not all of us will see and understand these things in the same way. Not even the handful of us who manage the site see all the articles presented here the same way. Our heart is simply to encourage those to whom God is speaking about simple churches. We want to let you know how God is speaking to others around the world. This article is an example of some of things that believers are thinking about and discussing in regards to the church. We found these statements by a German brother to parallel some of the things that God has been speaking to us. These thoughts are challenging, and there may be something here you don't agree with. We, however, believe it is helpful to prayefully consider such statements and to allow God to speak to us as He would want to.

May our goal be fully aligned with God's goal-to see Christ exalted and for all men to be drawn to Him.

Editors Note:
Every day new visitors are coming to our site. In order to expose them to some of our best articles, and to create fresh discussion among those of us who have been active on the site a long time, we will from time to time repost an past article like this one. This article has been a favorite of many people. We invite you to read it for the first time or read it again. Take a moment to add your thoughts and commentary and let's learn together how we can honor and magnify Jesus and join Him in building His kingdom.

There's a great scene at the end of the film, "The Big Kahuna" where Danny DeVito's character counsels a young co-worker about his overt mode of evangelism.

He says, "It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep."