Simple Church Alliance Friends… We are hosting a worship gathering on Good Friday, March 29 at 6:30 PM at The Prayer Room on Broadway in Lexington (1218 South Broadway, Lexington, KY)! We’d love to have you join us! We will have coffee and some light refreshments. RSVP’s are appreciated. If you would like to share a song, testimony, or Easter related reading come prepared to do so! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions! See you on March 29th!
Is it possible that I could be unintentionally presenting God more as law than love, and if so, could I be a stumbling block to to others hearing and receiving the Good News?
“Am I willing to be misunderstood?” I saw the title of a recent substack article from my friend, singer songwriter, and poet Zach Winters and it mediately cut to my heart. I thought about you here at this site. What a question! I can so easily fail to step out in faith and ever say anything of substance because I am afraid that others will misunderstand me. I want to share things and ask questions here that I haven’t. I have been misunderstood before and it can be debilitating. I’ve attempted to share things on this very site that others… Read More »Am I Willing To Be Misunderstood?
In the last of my five part series, I want to share how my recent trip to visit simple church leaders and house church leaders in Kazakhstan and Italy highlighted the opportunities we have here for cross-cultural relational ministry. Cross Cultural Partnership for House Churches I previously mentioned the wedding we hosted in Italy. At this wedding, one Muslim man approached John wondering why they had done this. John explained that they are Christians, that the mother of the bride was a part of their community, and they were trying to help. The inquirer replied that he wanted to meet… Read More »Part 5: Cross Cultural Opportunities
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… Read More »Part 4: Intentional Discipleship
Over the last two posts, I have shared some of my experiences on my recent trip to meet Kazakhstani and Italian house and simple church leaders. Over the next few posts, I would like to some take-a-ways that I hope will continue to impact my life and those of us here at home. Church As a “Way of Life” On this trip, I was affirmed and encouraged by a key truth that I often repeat: being the Church is a way of life, not a meeting or a service. In my humble opinion, decentralization will be a common feature of… Read More »Part 3: Church As A Way Of Life
Come to Kentucky’s second oldest town this year to connect with and learn alongside simple/house/organic church practitioners from around the region at the 2023 Simple Church Retreat/Conference! Since 2012, we have sought to host an annual overnight opportunity for Christians asking similar questions to come together for a time of equipping and encouragement—questions like: What is a church really? What are the challenges we would need to overcome in order to be a part of a simple/house church? Am I even allowed to start a house church and if so how does that happen? What are the joys and victories… Read More »Simple Church Conference / Retreat – October 28-29
Recently I was blessed to be able to spend some time with several simple church leaders from the region. We discussed our recent experiences in outside-the-box types of ministry and considering our “why?” for staying the course. Most everyone present has persevered with simple church for a long period of time through the joys and challenges of cutting a new trail. As we shared our motivations for continuing along the simple/house/organic church path and God’s work in it, several themes emerged. Many voices echoed the values that led folks connected here to start thinking more simply about local church fellowship. Similarly, there was… Read More »Considering our “Why?”
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… Read More »Rethinking Multiplication
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… Read More »Remembering David Griffin