Skip to content

Blog

Simple Church Alliance Blog

A Joyful Feast as an Act of War?- A liturgy for feasting with friends

This liturgy was shared by my wife Karla at our dinner table this past weekend and also with our church family in our home Sunday morning.  It’s found in a book series entitled Every Moment Holy and also available for download on their website www.everymomentholy.com.  The series focuses on liturgies for every day life.  A reading such as the one below can be a great exercise for a simple church community to share together.  In this “liturgy for feasting with friends,” a picture of what simple church gatherings can be is painted in the opening sentence–a picture that I think is worth imagining.  McKelvey suggests that “feasting and all enjoyments gratefully taken are, at their heart, acts of war.” It is certainly true that when we gather we are building one another up and encouraging… Read More »A Joyful Feast as an Act of War?- A liturgy for feasting with friends

Thankful

On Thanksgiving day we headed to Berea to spend Thanksgiving with our family.  It was Wylie’s first Thanksgiving at her grandmothers.  Jesus often explained that forgiveness of our sin was a greater miracle than those involving earthly matters. In light of seeing my car yesterday and the taking the pictures above, It made me think of just how incredible his forgiveness truly is.  His earthly intervention on behalf of Karla, Neva, and Wylie this Thanksgiving was no small matter!  Here is how Karla put it: Raise your hand if you love trees! Well, I do. My attention has been drawn to them even more after reading Matthew Sleeth’s book Reforesting Faith. In it, he states that of all living things mentioned in the Bible, people are first and trees are second. Every major event is… Read More »Thankful

Keep It Simple Podcast #125 – A Long Overdue Update

Hello Friends! Tom and I are rebooting the podcast and will be giving YouTube a try in addition to Apple Podcasts and Stitcher (hopefully Spotify soon as well). We started this podcast many years ago as an excuse for Tom and I to get together and discuss issues that we were encountering through simple church. Surprisingly, several of you have followed along and shared with us how this has encouraged you in your journey. We even have made some friends a long the way because of these discussions! I do look forward to this new season of the podcast and discussing several topics that are on my heart as well as any topics or questions you may have! – Gavin YouTube Description: Tom and Gavin are back after a long delay to reboot the podcast… Read More »Keep It Simple Podcast #125 – A Long Overdue Update

A Community That Pleases God or Trusts God?

I have not posted on this site lately.  I suppose this is due to a lot of soul searching about the direction for “simple church.” Haven’t we all been re-thinking all sorts of things during this past year? Add to the mix all that I’m learning about the nature of God from my daughter Wylie, and I feel like He is doing some foundational things in my heart. Having time to assess these matters and ministry eleven years into this journey with Simple Church Alliance, has been healthy and is still unfolding. More on that in the days to come.  For now, I’ll say that much of what is addressed in the message I’ve recently re-discoverd from John Lynch and his Trufaced series captures a big piece of what God is teaching me.  Below is… Read More »A Community That Pleases God or Trusts God?

Network Christmas Gathering December 12th

Friends and family, December 12, 11AM – 1:30pm we will host a Network Christmas Gathering for all friends, family, of simple church!  We’d love to see longtime friends reunite as well if possible! We will enjoy Christmas music, fellowship, a meal, and encouragement. We will plan to meet at First Southern Bank in Lexington. RSVP required by DEC 6th in case we need to change venues. This will be a Potluck meal. Meat, drinks, and utensils will be provided. You can let us know what you would bring upon RSVP. Spread the word and please feel free to invite friends and family. If you are interested in participating in a baby dedication prayer please let us know as well. Thanks! RSVP by emailing gavinduersonATgmail.com First Southern National Bank:  3060 Harrodsburg Road, Lexington, KY. 40503

Invitation to Rest (by Karla Duerson)

It started like the sunrise–warm, gentle, faithful, quiet and full of beauty. You know how God works: He strings along a message like a strand of pearls–unmistakable and full of grace and glory. I think it began with rereading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry in which John Mark Cromer encourages the reader to slow to the pace of Jesus. He poses a question, “What has happened to the personal quiet time?” He wonders if the QT was abandoned as a legalistic relic of the late 1990s. “Let’s bring it back.” He concludes. I felt a nudge in my heart like the brightening horizon. I confided in my sister that I needed to bring back the quiet time. I knew it would be a helpful way to start the day. I heard God’s invitation. I was… Read More »Invitation to Rest (by Karla Duerson)

Retreat Wrap-up

On September 25th and 26th, we resumed our annual Simple Church Retreat. Having missed this yearly time of fellowship, gathering with other simple church leaders again at the Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road was so refreshing. We spent the weekend reading and reflecting on a great little book by Henry Nouwen entitled In the Name of Jesus. Almost prophetically, Nouwen describes the kind of leader the church will need in the 21st century–lessons he learned once moving as a priest to a home for adults with disabilities. Kaleb Phillips, a dear friend and fellow simple church leader in Nicholasville, recommended the book. We have both been struck by how a person in a very different part of the Christian community could so deeply and profoundly expound on many aspects of leadership in the Kingdom that… Read More »Retreat Wrap-up

Simple Church Retreat (Sept. 25-26) Registration Deadline Friday!

“In total there are currently (mid 2021) at least 22.6 million house churches worldwide with a total of around 300 million members. They are, considering all internal and contextual factors, by far the most viral, adaptable and multipliable segment of Christ‐followers globally. If their number continues to grow at a very realistic rate of 20% per year, they will reach a membership of more than 4 billion people within the next 30 years – while most traditional church systems are in overall decline.” – Wolfgang Simson You Are Invited! Karla and I would like to invite you to join us and others from simple church communities across the region this September 25-26, at the Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road.  My prayer is that this time will serve to refresh and encourage you as we seek clarity about what Jesus is… Read More »Simple Church Retreat (Sept. 25-26) Registration Deadline Friday!

2021 Simple Church Retreat (September 25-26)

Karla and I would like to invite you to join us and others from simple church communities across the region this September 25-26, at the Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road.  My prayer is that this time will serve to refresh and encourage you as we seek clarity about what Jesus is up to in our day.  In the spirit of simple church, there will not be long presentations to sit through, but rather conversations to explore and relationships to discover and develop with others whose pursuit of Christ has led them (or may be leading them) outside the religious institutions that can typically define God’s family. This spot can feel like a lonely place, but you are not alone! We would love to have you join us!  Details and Registration HERE.  (Registration Deadline Sept. 3) The Destination… Read More »2021 Simple Church Retreat (September 25-26)

Live Not By Lies – Book Discussion (Part 2) – July 25

Simple Church Alliance will host a book discussion on Live Not By Lies – A Manual For Christian Dissidents (Second Half of Book) by Rob Dreher (author of The Benedict Option) Sunday, July 25th, 2021 // 6PM-7:30PM 3060 Harrodsburg Road (First Southern Nat’l Bank, 2nd Floor) A light dinner will be provided and we do ask that you RSVP for this discussion by emailing us here. Part 2 – Resisting Soft Totalitarianism This month’s discussion we will focus on the second half of the book Live Not By Lies.  We will examine the ways Christians in the past have survived totalitarian oppression and consider Rob’s application for Christians in the future as “soft totalitarianism” becomes more prevalent in the United States.  How can Christians act now to prepare ourselves for a future where totalitarianism could impact… Read More »Live Not By Lies – Book Discussion (Part 2) – July 25