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Keep It Simple Podcast #125 – A Long Overdue Update

Hello Friends! Tom and I are rebooting the podcast and will be giving YouTube a try in addition to Apple Podcasts and Stitcher (hopefully Spotify soon as well). We started this podcast many years ago as an excuse for Tom and I to get together and discuss issues that we were encountering through simple church. Surprisingly, several of you have followed along and shared with us how this has encouraged you in your journey. We even have made some friends a long the way because of these discussions! I do look forward to this new season of the podcast and… Read More »Keep It Simple Podcast #125 – A Long Overdue Update

Network Christmas Gathering December 12th

Friends and family, December 12, 11AM – 1:30pm we will host a Network Christmas Gathering for all friends, family, of simple church!  We’d love to see longtime friends reunite as well if possible! We will enjoy Christmas music, fellowship, a meal, and encouragement. We will plan to meet at First Southern Bank in Lexington. RSVP required by DEC 6th in case we need to change venues. This will be a Potluck meal. Meat, drinks, and utensils will be provided. You can let us know what you would bring upon RSVP. Spread the word and please feel free to invite friends… Read More »Network Christmas Gathering December 12th

Invitation to Rest (by Karla Duerson)

It started like the sunrise–warm, gentle, faithful, quiet and full of beauty. You know how God works: He strings along a message like a strand of pearls–unmistakable and full of grace and glory. I think it began with rereading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry in which John Mark Cromer encourages the reader to slow to the pace of Jesus. He poses a question, “What has happened to the personal quiet time?” He wonders if the QT was abandoned as a legalistic relic of the late 1990s. “Let’s bring it back.” He concludes. I felt a nudge in my heart like… Read More »Invitation to Rest (by Karla Duerson)

Retreat Wrap-up

On September 25th and 26th, we resumed our annual Simple Church Retreat. Having missed this yearly time of fellowship, gathering with other simple church leaders again at the Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road was so refreshing. We spent the weekend reading and reflecting on a great little book by Henry Nouwen entitled In the Name of Jesus. Almost prophetically, Nouwen describes the kind of leader the church will need in the 21st century–lessons he learned once moving as a priest to a home for adults with disabilities. Kaleb Phillips, a dear friend and fellow simple church leader in Nicholasville, recommended… Read More »Retreat Wrap-up

Simple Church Retreat (Sept. 25-26) Registration Deadline Friday!

“In total there are currently (mid 2021) at least 22.6 million house churches worldwide with a total of around 300 million members. They are, considering all internal and contextual factors, by far the most viral, adaptable and multipliable segment of Christ‐followers globally. If their number continues to grow at a very realistic rate of 20% per year, they will reach a membership of more than 4 billion people within the next 30 years – while most traditional church systems are in overall decline.” – Wolfgang Simson You Are Invited! Karla and I would like to invite you to join us and others from simple… Read More »Simple Church Retreat (Sept. 25-26) Registration Deadline Friday!

2021 Simple Church Retreat (September 25-26)

Karla and I would like to invite you to join us and others from simple church communities across the region this September 25-26, at the Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road.  My prayer is that this time will serve to refresh and encourage you as we seek clarity about what Jesus is up to in our day.  In the spirit of simple church, there will not be long presentations to sit through, but rather conversations to explore and relationships to discover and develop with others whose pursuit of Christ has led them (or may be leading them) outside the religious institutions that… Read More »2021 Simple Church Retreat (September 25-26)

Spring Network Gathering – April 10

UPDATE: We are good Saturday… Rain or Shine!  If rain, we will be in the large “tabernacle” on there grounds with plenty of space to spread out to your comfort level.  Plus putt putt will be indoors too!   Simple Church Friends, The Saturday after Easter (April 10th) we will host a Spring Network Gathering at Adventure Serve in Wilmore, KY!  We will be outside in their amphitheater and enjoy music, prayer, and and time of encouragement.  Also, Adventure Serve was the recipient of a portable Putt-Putt golf course and since it’s Masters Tournament weekend, I thought we’d have a golf… Read More »Spring Network Gathering – April 10

Simple Church Introduction Workshop

Saturday, March 27 / 9-11AM / 3060 Harrodsburg Road, Lexington, KY (First Southern National Bank 2nd Floor) / Free Breakfast provided. Covid-19 is teaching us many lessons about the modern faith community experience. Many sense that our experience of “church” will need to change if we are to learn from the realities that Covid-19 has exposed. Join us as we re-consider the New Testament church, discuss possible lessons we can learn going forward and how Jesus and his church can be experienced in simpler ways that can meet the challenges of a post Covid-19 world! During this workshop you will:… Read More »Simple Church Introduction Workshop

House2House is Back

Many years ago, when I first began researching simple/house church, House2House.com provide a wealth of knowledge and encouragement.  Over the past ten years, the site went through some changes and eventually disappeared.  Now it is back and fully updated and provides a ton of great resources for anyone interested in exploring simple/organic/house church. Tony and Felicity Dale, the founders of House2House, have been a tremendous encouragement to us and we have really benefited from their leadership along with Neil Cole who is also featured in the Video Training Series they have included on their site.  Both the Dales and Neil… Read More »House2House is Back

Simple Church Illustrated (Video)

In my last article, I shared my thoughts on the Great Commandment and why the new commandment Jesus left with his followers prior to going to the cross is a better foundation for the Church.  Today I would like to share with you a short video that explains simple church visually in light of this new commandment foundation.  Hopefully this visual can be a tool you can replicate on a napkin or piece of paper when sharing the idea of simple church with friends and family. Click To Watch If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe like and comment on… Read More »Simple Church Illustrated (Video)