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Teachings

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

Baptizing The Imagination

Listen to some very thought provoking talks from a recent conference on the importance of the imagination in the live of a believer and in the Kingdom of God.

Free Online “Soul Care” Class with Dr. Larry Crabb

Do you ever feel paralyzed when a friend or acquaintance shares a personal struggle with you?  Do you find yourself feeling unsure of how to respond to hurts and wounds that are exposed in your simple church community? I wanted to point out a free online course, Soul Care 101, for anyone desiring to invest some time in becoming a better listener, counselor, and friend to those in our lives who share struggles with us.  Dr. Larry Crabb says that “Soul Care” is something that every Christian needs to be able to give.  Personally, I see “soul care” as another… Read More »Free Online “Soul Care” Class with Dr. Larry Crabb

From Ordinary to Extroardinary: A note on the “Launch” (Audio)

A note on last Sunday’s official “launch” from First Alliance: I am very grateful to First Alliance Church for their encouraging words and support over the past year and a half and especially this past Sunday.  I only hope that ALL who are part of simple church felt encouraged and commissioned as Karla and I did.  My hope and prayer was that the focus of the “send off” was on Jesus and His call to all of us to go and make disciples.  I believe that for disciples and simple churches to multiply a bottom up, grassroots movement, must occur. … Read More »From Ordinary to Extroardinary: A note on the “Launch” (Audio)

Making The Call – Part 1

I recently shared some of my thoughts on calling others to faith in Christ at First Alliance Church in Lexington. As always my message (which you can listen to by clicking here) was primarily directed toward me.  What a tremendous relief it truly is to realize that our job is simply to proclaim the Good News and not to “save” people!  What an encouragement it is to truly realize that we can’t “loose” when we share our faith out of love!  Even if we are rejected for being a witness, we are blessed! 1 Peter 4:14 “If you are rejected… Read More »Making The Call – Part 1

What Is A Disciple And How Do We Make Them? (Part 2)

This past Sunday I took the opportunity when speaking at First Alliance Church and the Simple Church Fall Celebration to answer two crucial questions that any follower of Jesus would do well to answer. The questions, which I addressed previously here, are:  1)What is a Disciple? 2)How do we make disciples? You can listen to the message entitled The Dirty D Word: D#$%@!&*%@! in your browser by  CLICKING HERE You can download the message entitled The Dirty D Word: D#$%@!&*%@! in mp3 format by CLICKING HERE In the message I define a disciple as someone who loves Jesus, hears Jesus, and… Read More »What Is A Disciple And How Do We Make Them? (Part 2)

The Word of Christ

Colossians 3:16 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Does the word of Christ dwell richly in you?  This was the question I posed to those attending the Summer Celebration Gathering a few weeks ago.  For simple church to work, the bar for discipleship truly has to be raised.  We cannot simply lower the bar for having church gatherings.  Everyone has to be disciples and making disciples simultaneously.  I’ve thought about this… Read More »The Word of Christ

Mission Possible? (Audio)

This past Sunday I had the privileged to speak during both services at First Alliance (Lexington, KY).  The message I shared was in many ways a summary of the main truths that God has shown me so far in the simple church journey. Click the link below to download to your computer or listen online to the message.  The audio quality is not the best but hopefully it will be a blessing to you… Click to Download:  Mission Possible:  Six Truths That Will Make the Mission Possible Message Points: 1.  It’s Mission Not Missions 2. God Desires To Release the… Read More »Mission Possible? (Audio)

Meeting Ideas (Part 1)

I wanted to share some abbreviated notes from Frank Viola’s book Finding Organic Church.  Perhaps it may encourage you as we “learn how to meet” together in our simple churches.  Please note that, to my knowledge, the Frank Viola that wrote this book is not the same Frank Viola that played for the Mets and signed the ball above. Chapter 15:  Learning How To Meet : Meeting Content 1) Sing Together – without instruments, without a song leader or a music leader, learn lots of new songs together. 2) Share Together – Viola suggests the following “share together” exercises for… Read More »Meeting Ideas (Part 1)

Neil Cole: Short Audio Teachings

I would encourage you to take a listen to some of these short audio teachings from Neil Cole.  You can listen to them on your computer or download them to your ipod, etc.  I think you will especially find the entry on “Starting Awakening Chapels” (4:50) to be of interest in light of the journey we are on here. VISIT AUDIO PAGE AT CMA RESOURCES HERE