Skip to content

5 Encouraging Things So Far…

This was going out to the “prayer list” at First Alliance Church. Thought I’d share it here too! ————— Hello First Alliance!  God is continuing to grow and lead us in the formation of the “new church.”   Let us thank Him together for what He has done! Name. We have settled on a name: “Simple Church Alliance.”  We feel this name most clearly explains what we are:  an alliance of simple churches.  Plus, the use of “alliance” identifies us with the C&MA! Depth. God is really bringing a spirit of transparency into the groups.   As a result, real needs are being addressed. Connecting. We are beginning to see individuals and families who are not connected to the body of Christ start to identify with some of the simple churches. Partners. The C&MA Ohio Valley District… Read More »5 Encouraging Things So Far…

What is Organic Church?

Authors Neil Cole and Frank Viola  have both been involved in organic/house/simple church for some time and while they share many core beliefs about “organic church,” they do see it a bit differently.  Recently they took time to sit down together and address the question: “What is organic church?”  I’d be interested in your thoughts on what they have shared.  Feel free to share in the comment section below after reading.  Enjoy! CLICK TO READ ARTICLE

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 the first six months (it could vary in time depending on the number in your group.) Exercise 1: Life Story.  Each person share their life story including their testimony of how they came to faith… Read More »Meeting Ideas (Part 1)

Men and Simple Church

I would like to make a short observation based on my experiences thus far…Men are excited about Simple Church. I have long felt that the modern church has a tendency to be primarily attractive to women for a host of reasons ( I will not get into these reasons here for the sake of time.  However, I do believe that the book Wild at Heart addresses this point quite well).  Dr. Albert Mohler, whose blog I enjoy reading regularly, once commented that “the Church at large is bereft of men who will lead: take initiative, seek out problems, and do their best to fix them.”  But why is this?  Certainly, sin and Satan deserve some credit. I also believe that us church folk rarely ask men to lead in real tangible ways.  Sure we have… Read More »Men and Simple Church

What Are Missional Communities?

A short great explanation of what missional community is all about.  As we are in the beginning stages of this new work, I have a growing sense that a missional mindset (see core values blog post) must be present from the beginning.  I continue to pray that each person individually and each simple church collectively would have a “focus on the harvest.” [vimeo http://vimeo.com/18406971]

1.19.11 Update

Well the ball is rolling! It has been a great blessing to hear from many of you about Sunday. I know that God is doing some great things in our group and I can’t wait for everyone to be as encouraged as I have been from all the stories from the different simple churches. This Sunday morning during the network gathering (10:45 at FAC), we’ll have ample time for this. God is definitely doing some cool stuff in our midst! I also was greatly encouraged, as I know many of you were, by my good friend Brian’s visit with us Sunday morning. I think he previewed many great topics for us that we will certainly need to continue to wrestle with in the coming days… childrens’ ministry, open meetings, missions, authority…just to name a few.… Read More »1.19.11 Update

Core Values

Here are the “core values” that were identified in the simple church network vision class.  Over the course of the next several weeks, we will work together fleshing out these values during morning gatherings at FAC (10:45 in Dinning Room).  Together we will examine how these Biblical values impact church authority, giving, ministry to children, worship, missions, communion, and numerous other practical concerns in a simple church network.  I’ve ordered everyone one of the chairs above so that we can strengthen our core muscles while we strengthen our core values. Community: The church is a local community of believers who are “called out” to be the physical representation of Christ to the world.  It’s not a building or a service. Mission: The purpose of the church is to 1) love god and 2) love people… Read More »Core Values

Letter to First Alliance Members

Hello First Alliance! Thank you for allowing me to brief you on the “church plant.”  By God’s grace and leading, and the blessing and encouragement of Steve Elliot and the entire FAC staff, a team from our church is planting a network of simple churches.  In a simple church network, the “front door” of the church is the home or other places where people live.  A simple church gathering involves eating, worship, teaching, prayer, missions, and accountability to one another. Larger gatherings for all the simple churches (what we call Celebration Gatherings) still occur, but are not the primary emphasis of the network. In keeping with the Lord’s leading, we are ready for the network’s “soft launch.”  It is a soft launch because everyone will continue to be members of FAC until the umbilical cord… Read More »Letter to First Alliance Members

What is Simple Church?

This would be a great place to start if you have come to this blog in an attempt to figure out what in the world is going on at First Alliance with regards to the formation of a “simple church network.”

So What Are We Going To Do When We Meet?

As we approach what I am calling the “soft launch” of a simple church network (Jan 16), questions concerning what exactly we are going to do when we meet seem to keep surfacing. Perhaps you are wondering this as well? It’s amazing how tempting it can be to try and answer this question for everyone. So far on this journey, I’ve become increasingly aware of how much we (including myself) like to have our spiritual lives dictated to us.  Just come to ____.  Just read _____.  Just do _____.  Just pray like ____.  Just worship God like _____. We like to tell people what God wants us to do and by in large we like to be told what God wants us to do. I’m no different.  It helps me have a sense of “checking… Read More »So What Are We Going To Do When We Meet?