Personal Jesus

That is the headline of today’s article in The Arizona Republic, Valley & State section.   Chelsea Schneider has written a very positive, although too short, article on how “Micro churches offer informal, interactive worship”.  

In Phoenix, we do have house churches, home churches, organic churches, and simple churches.  This is the first time I have see the term “micro churches” used in the context of the simple church movement here in the US. 

Chelsea did a great job of introducing this movement, although its not a new one, to a new group of local residents by including this article in the Valley & State section on Sunday and not in the Religion section on Saturday.   

If you haven’t seen her article, its on the Republic’s website here.

And post a comment if you there is something you want to add.

 

Redirection of financial resources

This is the title of the latest newsletter from House2House.  In this edition of the newsletter, Tony Dale says  ”One of the great potential benefits of the simple church revolution is the redirection of financial resources. Hundreds of millions of dollars, once spent on buildings and pastoral staffs, can now be released for mission of all types (care of the poor, church planting both locally and globally, etc.). Unfortunately, this shift of resources isn’t happening yet on a large scale.  At least one reason is the lack of models – examples of simple churches who are handling financial resources well.”

Tony then revisits the model used by Jim Mellon and the Association of Home Churches in Killeen, TX.  

Jim summarizes their model:  ”Over the last 17 years we have been able to deploy approximately one million dollars away from building payments and salaries towards benevolence and missions. We have helped plant over 450 churches in India, influence our community, and save a life through benevolence giving.”

Tony has begun a discussion thread on the http://www.simplechurch.com website.  I encourage everyone involved or interested in home church to visit this website and join the discussion.    Especially, take a look at the attached TheBigBang1.doc that explains some of the ways their pooled resources have impacted their city. 

Here in Phoenix, I am very interested in how the various house churches, that don’t have buildings and don’t pay pastor salaries, spend their resources.  I know in our group, each family supports ministries or causes that are dear to that family.  We have occasionally pooled our resources toward a specific ministry or family need.  

Please shoot me an email with any information on how your house church handles its financial resources.   I will post the results in the future but I won’t indicate anything specific unless requested to.

The Elements of Easter

Here is a little video that reminds us that Easter is about more than egg hunts and bunnys.   Meditate on the elements of Easter.

Easter 2009

This is Good Friday, or the day Jesus was violently hung on a cross over 2000 years ago to suffer the pain and humiliation for our sins; your sins and my sins.  The crucifixion story is very familiar to all Christians and many non-Christians.  We have seen it played out on many stages and in the movies. We know how cruel and violent it was based on historical accounts of how the Romans practiced crucifixion.  But have you ever thought about why the Bible isn’t more descriptive of the actual act.   See the following verses.

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.  (Mat 27:35 ESV)

And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.  (Mar 15:24 ESV)

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  (Luk 23:33 ESV)

There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.  (Joh 19:18 ESV)

The Bible spares its readers the cruelty and violence of the actual act of crucifying;  nails hammered through the flesh of the hands and feet.   Movies such as “The Passion of Christ” give us an idea of what it was like.  Perhaps God wanted us to focus more on the redemptive purpose of Christ’s death on the cross than the actual cruelty of it.   Of course we need to remember what Jesus went through on the cross.   But the real message is more than that.  Its God’s redemptive plan to substitute His Son for our sins.  Can there be any truth more powerful that that?

With everyone planning family get-togethers on Sunday, our fellowship decided not to meet.  Sue and I plan to go someplace where we can watch the sun come up Sunday morning.   As the son comes up, we will be reminded of our risen Saviour who took our sins on himself on the cross on Good Friday, but rose again three days later to defeat death and who now sits at the right hand of the Holy Father.  Praise God!

We wish everyone a very happy Easter weekend.

The Cross Movie

Last weekend a very unique movie opened in theaters to very little fanfare.  

THE CROSS is the story of one man carrying a twelve-foot wooden cross on a pilgrimage around the world. 

Arthur Blessitt’s story began with a simple act of obedience…making a large cross to hang on the wall of “His Place,” a Jesus coffee house he had started in Hollywood, California. Then, in 1968, he began taking short trips with the cross along the Sunset Strip, giving out food to hungry hippies and telling them about Jesus. Soon, he began to feel Jesus calling him to carry the cross across America. He left Hollywood on Christmas Day 1969, beginning a journey that would see him walk across the entire country to New York and then on to Washington, D.C.

In 1988 he felt Jesus tell him to carry the cross in every nation.   In June of 2008, Arthur finally completed his mission with the faithful assistance of his wife, Denise, who has been with him in 291 of the nations and island groups he’s visited.

We saw the movie this weekend and I recommend it to every Christian. Arthur’s story moved me.  Praise God for the “million miracles” that sustained him during his travels so his story could be told.   I came away with the knowlege that if God calls you to a mission,  no matter how difficult it is, He will make sure you complete it.

Wheelchairs for Ukraine

I want to let you know about a project that Sonlight Home Church has taken on.

As you know we have been sending small teams from our church to Ukraine since 2005.  We have always worked with local churches in Bila Tserkov, Ukraine through two ministries, Arise! Ukraine headed by Paul Logan from Sioux Falls SD., and God’s Hidden Treasures headed by Nita Hansen from Thousand Oaks, CA. 

While Ukraine was a member of the Soviet Union the Communist  did not want the handicap out in public.  It was to them a sign of weakness.  Since the fall of Communism in 1997 Nita Hansen, God’s Hidden Treasures, has been providing thousands of wheelchairs and other aids for disabled people of Ukraine. Nita now faces a severe shortage of wheelchairs.

Paul Logan, Ariae! Ukraine and Hope Haven Ministries of Rock Valley, Iowa are prepared to send a container of 200 wheelchairs to Ukraine this summer to be received by God’s Hidden Treasures.

Amount needed to ship 200 wheelchairs in 40 ft container to Ukraine:  $25,000
Amount subsidized by Hope Haven                              $12,500
Amount to be raised thru Arise! Ukraine                    $12,500
200 wheelchairs @ $62.50 each,                                   $12,500

With a donation of $62.50 we can change a persons life forever.  Many will get out of their house for the first time in six or seven years.  Many can become productive citizens helping a young struggling  democracy  grow rather than being a burden to it.

Our goal is to have the $12,500.00 raised by the first of May.   If this has touched your heart, email Rich Kraemer of Sonlight Home Church at richardkraemer@naksoftware.com or mail your check to Paul Logan Ministries, Box 812, Sioux Falls, SD 57101.  Write “Wheelchairs” in the memo.

East Valley Prayer Reminder

Wednesday April 1, 2009  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
This event repeats every other week.
Meeting at Coffee Rush, Gilbert and Baseline

Every other Wednesday, get together with other house churches in the East Valley to pray. Call Larry at 602-524-9400 for more information and directions.

World Water Day

Wow! Today is World Water Day, and YouTube has chosen Charity:Water’s video on the C.A.R. as it’s top featured video! You can see it on the YouTube homepage, or see below. You can also check out the great article that Charity:Water did on their recent visit with ICDI in the Central African Republic by visiting their website, www.charitywater.org or here’s a direct link to just that story.  

House Church Leaders Meeting Saturday

This is just a friendly reminder of the meeting this Saturday morning, March 21, 9AM, at the Durango Grill, 3341 W. Durango, just west of I-17.   Call me at 602-524-9400 for directions if you need them.

John Rowden has arranged for one of his employees to be there to cook pancakes and bacon for those who come to the meeting hungry.   So, be sure to come hungry.    A suggested agenda would be to debrief on the park picnic and to talk about other ideas partnering with each other in the future.   

Now I’ll get on my soapbox for just a minute.  I listen to a lot of Christian music, mostly from K-Love Radio.  I really enjoy the uplifting lyrics in the songs.  I also like the contemporary style of today.  Many times a song will play that causes me to pause and take stock of how I’m living out my faith.

One song that has been getting a lot of airplay this week is one by Matthew West, “The Motions”.   In my online search for the lyrics Sunday, I found his website where he is challenging other Christians to make their New Years “Motions Resolution”.  In reading the lyrics, I was moved by the words, “What if had given everything? Instead of going through the motions”.  Personally, I find those words convicting.  

In light of the “light” house church attendance at the park, February 28, I wonder if many house church folks are just going through the motions of church and missing the opportunities that come along to reach out to their communities and city.  Maybe its being too busy or just not seeing the relevance of these things.   The folks that did come to the park were not just going through the motions.  Read the words below from his song.  Even better go to his website,  http://www.matthewwest.com/motions/ and hear the song.

This might hurt, its not safe, But I know that I’ve gotta make a change

I don’t care, if I break, at least I’ll be feeling something

Cause just ok, is not enough, help me fight the nothingness of life

I don’t wanna go through the motions

I don’t wanna go one more day

Without your all consuming passion inside of me

I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking

What if I had given everything?

Instead of going through the motions.

Encanto Park Event Praise

What a day Saturday!  It was a hot and sunny day.  But the bands played to the Glory of God, the food and drink was given away to everyone who came by, and the Gospel was preached!  In case you don’t know, God has three new souls in His eternal Kingdom after Saturday.  We are working to get them connected with a group in town.

The bands were great.  I had never heard any of them play before but now I know that they are really good, both musically, and in their love for the Lord.  If you know of anyone looking for a contemporary worship band, I think we can certainly recommend all four of them. (“Consider This”, “Everlasting”, “The Chris Munger Band”, and “Soul Provider”)  I’ll have the contact information on the resources page of the website shortly.

With three new souls in Glory as a result of this day, God made it a great success.  But I just want to mention some of the key people that used their gifts to make it happen.   Tony and Eileen Mladenoff and Howie Kolb organized the bands and reserved the park area.  Rich and Becky Kraemer and others in Sonlight Home Church in Surprise were there to support the event.   John and Debbie Rowden brought the grill and Sue and Larry (me) Johnson from East Valley Grace helped out with the cooking and serving.   Steve Moser and Jason and Courtney Schuldt provided the equipment and sound system operation for the bands.  Steve did a great job of preaching the Gospel between bands.  Nate spent time and prayed with many of the non-church visitors.   We know the seeds were planted in everyone who came by.  Its all good!   Praise God!

Lets have another meeting to go over the events of Saturday and to talk about the next one; probably in the fall.   I hope we can get more of the house churches involved so that this can be even bigger the next time.  We will meet at John Rowden’s Durango Grill, Saturday 3/21, at 9AM.   Of course, we will have donuts and coffee.   The address is 3341 W. Durango, just west of I-17.  If you need directions, please feel free to call me at 602-524-9400.