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discipleship

Baptisms in Harrison County, KY

Dillon Price and his family attended a simple church network gathering at Christmas through encouragement from the Roberts family, who have been part of simple church (and skate church) for many years. I have only spent a little time with Dillon, but he continues to remind me that it is truly God who is building His church—and that there can be great power in the simple encouragements we pass along. It’s beautiful to see their faith in action as they lead by example. I asked Dillon if he would mind me sharing this video, which he recently sent to me.  If you have a few minutes, you will be encouraged by watching it! Join me in praying for all that God is doing in Harrison County, KY! If the video above has issues, here is… Read More »Baptisms in Harrison County, KY

God’s Pace

This is the fourth post in a series reflecting on lessons learned from 15 years of experiencing simple church with my family.   Jeremiah 6:16 (ESV): “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” When I first began exploring simple church, the thought that excited me most was the possibility of rapid multiplication. I was (and still am) convinced that what our world needs is more churches. To me, the only way that even remotely seemed possible was by lowering the cost and the bar of what we have traditionally defined as “church.” A few weeks ago, at a simple church gathering, we… Read More »God’s Pace

My conversation over at Pastor to Pioneer

Recently, I joined Britton Smith and the podcast over at Pastor to Pioneer. In short, Pastor to Pinoneer a ministry to pastors of legacy churches who find themselves longing to transition to a pioneering ministry that focuses on relational discipleship over programs, and on simple and organic expressions of church rather than the more traditional approach. We chatted about being a college mascot and making goofy music, but eventually we got into the story of Simple Church Alliance—and even how the arrival of our special needs daughter, Wylie, has played a role in reshaping my understanding of why I’m as passionate about simple church as ever. Perhaps you would enjoy this conversation and story. You can check out Episode 90 of the Pastor to Pioneer Podcas, entitled “Loving Others, Not Spiritually Managing Others” here: YouTube:… Read More »My conversation over at Pastor to Pioneer

Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry

“By community, I don’t mean formal communities. I mean families, friends, parishes, twelve-step programs, prayer groups. Community is not an organization; community is a way of living: you gather  around you people with whom you want to proclaim the truth that we are the beloved sons and daughters of God.” – Henri Nouwen One unique aspect of our simple church is that we have two small children in our community with the rare genetic disorder—Trisomy 18. As we have learned to be parents to our daughter Wylie and witnessed God reveal Himself through her amazing life, we have continually been drawn to the writings of Henri Nouwen. Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest, theologian, and writer, spent the later part of his life in a community for those with disabilities. In the first few years after… Read More »Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry

Part 4: Intentional Discipleship

Today is part four of a series on my recent trip to meet Kazakhstani and Italian house and simple church leaders.  In my last post I shared how the trip re-emphasized to me the importance of seeing church primarily as a “way of life.” Today I reflect on how the importance of intentional discipleship as a characteristic of this way of life was highlighted during my travels. Intentional Discipleship I was really encouraged that many people we encountered emphasized discipleship.  Cru and other ministries are making relational investments in many people by focusing on intentional discipleship.  David reminded me and others (as he has done as long as I’ve known him): Jesus didn’t call us to start churches but to make disciples.  In Kazakhstan, this is happening because disciples are intentionally inviting others into their… Read More »Part 4: Intentional Discipleship

Part 2: Italy

This is part 2 of a multi-part series on my recent trip overseas to visit with ministry leaders and specifically house/simple church leaders in Kazakhstan and Italy.  You can read part 1 about Kazakhstan here.  In he next several days I will be sharing some take-a-ways from this experience.  But for today… Italy I was greeted in Italy by John (Juan Carlos) and Betsy.  I met them through a common friend Ed Magnum during the pandemic.  Over the past several years, we have had many conversations online about simple church and they have been excited to be a part of the Simple Church Alliance.  I was excited to meet them for the first time in-person.    John and Betsy and their two children moved to Osimo, Italy after a visit and their subsequent burden from the… Read More »Part 2: Italy

Overseas Trip: Part 1: Kazakhstan

It’s extremely difficult to put into words what I experienced recently on a trip to visit leaders in the church and specifically house churches in Kazakhstan and Italy. In many ways these destinations provided a polar opposite experience. Yet many of my take-a-ways from meeting the believers in each place were the same and may have direct lessons for us here in America. In the next few days, I’m going to share about these experiences. Today is part 1: Kazakhstan.  Tomorrow I’ll share about my time in Italy and then a few posts on my take-a-ways from the experience.  I hope you are encouraged from this series! Kazakhstan The purpose of my trip here was first and foremost to accompany my good friend David Toth.  David is a leader of a simple church in Ohio… Read More »Overseas Trip: Part 1: Kazakhstan

Rethinking Multiplication

At the beginning of our simple church journey, I was energized by the thought of rapid multiplication of churches. I read many Christian authors who describe the importance of simplifying our understanding of what constitutes a New Testament church so that multiplication can happen easily.  One of my favorite books to this day on simple church is The Rabbit and the Elephant.  This title was taken from the concept that simple things (rabbits) can reproduce easily and more quickly than Elephants. Many have sought out strategies and programs that will finally provide the secret sauce to replicate what God has done in terms of multiplying movements.  Multiplication gurus have been created.  Multiplication ministries and even businesses designed to consult toward multiplication in the church have formed with little to no effect.; however after 12 years… Read More »Rethinking Multiplication

Remembering David Griffin

This past week our simple church lost someone special.  David Griffin was our next door neighbor and a faithful pillar in our simple church family.  Loving and being loved by Dave has been one of the biggest blessings of hosting simple church on our street.  Simple/house church creates family and as we grieve the loss of Dave, I realize how true this is. I was honored to facilitate Dave’s Celebration of Life Service this past Saturday.  It was a true joy to hear others tell stories about Dave. His hilarious personality, love for others, and desire to always help people were common themes.  The stories of the jokes and laughs Dave and I shared could fill up pages. We experienced Dave’s love in so many wonderful ways.  He already is so greatly missed. I wanted… Read More »Remembering David Griffin

Keep it Simple Podcast #134 Bart Scarborough (Part 2) – Simple Church Conversations

Check out round two with Bart Scarborough as we dive deeper into our conversation about what it means to walk with Jesus… and not run.  How the spiritual disciplines impact living in His love and help us to avoid religiosity.  UPDATE: We look forward to being with many of you this weekend at the Simple Church retreat!  We are welcoming so many new folks it’s going to be exciting to see how the Lord encourages us all!  Please let us know how we can serve and encourage you where you are as you seek to walk with the Jesus and his family outside the walls of the the traditional church!  Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer on thriftbooks here.  Henri J.M. Nouwen In The Name of Jesus on thriftbooks here.  Check out the… Read More »Keep it Simple Podcast #134 Bart Scarborough (Part 2) – Simple Church Conversations