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Teachings

Posts linking to teachings from the simple church alliance or other encouraging sources.

How Zúme Training Works

We have been talking a lot about the Zúme Project and the free online discipleship and simple church training it provides.  Now that the project is officially launched over at www.zumeprject.com, you might be wondering how the training tool can best be used for you, your family, and friends.  We will have a lot more thoughts about this in the coming days so make sure to subscribe to this site in the right hand column if you have not done so.  For now, check out this short video that will give you a better sense of how you can use this tool in your area!  

Watch The Star of Bethlehem Online

Friends, Several years ago a friend involved in a simple church hosted a viewing of The Star of Bethlehem movie.  Since watching it, I find myself thinking about it and bringing it up in conversation most every Christmas.  I wanted to let everyone know that this movie is now available on YouTube and I’m linking below a version that can be watch in HD (You may need to adjust the settings to watch it in HD.  You can do that by clicking the gear). Perhaps you will not agree with everything suggested in this video/Bible study, but it is a fascinating theory and something that is well worth taking an hour to consider this Christmas.  The film seeks to examine, through computer models that track the stars and their movements and a close examination of Biblical texts,… Read More »Watch The Star of Bethlehem Online

A Simple Church Gathering Format

If there is one thing I am not a fan of, it is trying to come up with a formula for “church.”  Simple Church at its core is about following Jesus and allowing him to lead us as individuals and as a local church.  There is great opportunity to experience Christ this way in the context of simple church.  When you are simple in form and not tied to meeting times and agendas, you can experience a lot of freedom in what you do when you get together for “church.” That being said, I think that it could be a mistake for leaders to not have a loosely held plan to help those in your simple church community focus on Christ and do the things that we see the church doing in the New Testament.… Read More »A Simple Church Gathering Format

A Good Video Explaining Simple Church

There are a lot videos floating around that aid in explaining simple church and house church ideas.  We’ve gathered several here on this website. This particular video pulls from a few of my favorites.  I also like the presenters thought about how simple churches can multiply… be in two simple churches at the same time! I’m interested in your thoughts on this idea. In some ways I think that the first “community” someone would be involved in could be something like a “Life Transformation Group” or a smaller disciple-making relationship of two or three. Nonetheless, I think he does a good job of explaining visually the hope of discipleship and church multiplication.  What are you thoughts?

Message of the Month – A Simple Church On Every Street

Starting this month, I will highlight a message that I feel is important for believers to consider, especially those of us seeking to walk with Jesus outside the traditional, organizational structures. It’s always been a challenge for me to break-away from the school year calendar.  August continues to feel like the start of a new year for me.  Perhaps that is one of the reasons I am thinking a lot these days about refocusing on the vision God has for me, my family, and for the Simple Church Alliance.  For my first “message of the month,” I would like to share a message I gave a while back to a traditional church congregation highlighting the vision to which I believe God has called us… multiplying disciples and planting simple churches.  If you are new or… Read More »Message of the Month – A Simple Church On Every Street

A Video Message From Gavin – The Simple Church Vision

Below Gavin Duerson shares the vision of the Simple Church Alliance and challenges simple church leaders to consider how specifically God is asking them to live out the Great Commission.  We would love to hear from you about how you are led to answer the questions Gavin asks in the video!  Please email us at simplechurchalliance@gmail.com  

The Telephone Game and the Reliability of the Gospels

Are we crazy for believing the stories in the Bible? Are we to be pitied more than all men (as the Bible itself suggests we are if the stories are not true)?  Is it more reasonable to believe that, like in the telephone game, the story we have down on paper is nothing like what really happened in the beginning? In a recent conversation with a friend about the reliability of the Bible, the telephone game argument came up.  I really appreciated the honesty of my friend in sharing his doubts.  The truth is that he simply was articulating a doubt that I think haunts many believers.  In the telephone game a person whispers a message to a friend, it’s passed around the circle, and then the last person at the end shares the message… Read More »The Telephone Game and the Reliability of the Gospels