Great Article. I agree that the Sunday Preaching ministry should not be the major focus of most churches. I recently wrote a similar article about the need for more relational ministry. I think a small group focus is going to bring the most growth. At least that is what I have seen in my experience. You can read my thoughts at
http://www.churchhopping.com/min...ional-ministry/
I hope links are ok to post.
Brad
I can't count how many times I have read your posts over the last year and said " I am going to use this one as the model for my (personal walk, family , etc...). Well this one is going to be emailed to the other men in my saturday morning group. It has started a fire under me and I think it will to someone else too. Thanks for your bold stand.
Jeff
Thanks...we are experiencing a bit of fire ourselves and I hope over the next year we will post more testimony of the work God is doing. I want to encourage some of our faith community people to post more here at 21st Century. A few have great stories.
Brad, I sure appreciate these thoughts here. I look forward to hearing more about the faith community you're in now. As you know from having read some on my blog, I'm right there with you on so much of this!
Your comments about realizing there wasn't really any significant way for you to get involved resonated quite a bit with me. That was something I had discovered, too, and that got me thinking about what the Body of Christ needed to be like. It's not much like what we see promoted as "church" these days.
Keep up the good work! (Oh, and if you get a chance, update your link to my blog to my new URL http://www.theologicalmusingsblog.com. Thanks!)
steve 
I read your post and appreciate what you are saying. I'm not sure about some of it though.
There must be literally thousands of small churches who could really put a trained evangelist like you to work in a heartbeat!
If I had someone in my church that answered to your description he or she would be heading up our Outreach Ministries right now!
I've seen a lot of house churches, and the end result of their approach didn't seem to me producing anymore mature, fully functioning disciples than the traditional has been doing either.
Honestly, I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure none of us see it right now.
“Is it possible that the traditional church structure isn’t condusive to people having a worldview which includes them initiating and building ministries at the home and street level for evangelism and discipleship.”
Great question and I think you have provided an insight into the answer when you say:
“…there is really nothing for me to do in the traditional church as a member other than to pray and tithe.”
And,
“I looked in the bulletin and could not find any meaningful way for me to expand the kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
It is not, nor should we be looking to the “organization” to plan, program and mobilize us for ministry. Why are we sitting their waiting for the pastor to tell us what to do? Instead, lets look around our town, see where God is working and go join him. Don’t look to the bulletin.
I totally agree with blind beggar. We need to see what God is doing and go and do that.
"...but the stories of lay people building ministries are really quite rare."
Great post Brad, and if I may comment as a lay person who is engaged in building ministries with little support from the mainstream I must say I really would like to hear more of those stories myself.
i have always believed that we are each and every one called to be witnesses and ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that discipleship is how we grow into Him. Thanks for putting it all together.
I will comment on any questions. Above. Thanks for all the encouragement.
1) I had some thoughts about some churches would copy other church techiques here: http://i12know.that1.name/2006/0...re-not-
copycats
2) Have you read Andy Stanley's "Building Community"? Even his church has 8,000 people, 90% of them are in missional small groups...
Bumble,
thanks for the book recommendation. There are a few great books out right now. Pipers new book on the commands of Christ. And Dallas Willard has a new book on the sayings of Jesus and Discipleship..Great time to be alive.
Brad, you might also want to add to your list stuff from Tim Keller, pastor of NYC Redeemer. He got some solid theology on the practical stuff we are wrestling with today.
Great time to be alive! Aslan is on the move!
Is the "church in the home" the only way? How else can it look beyond the typical church service? I think "the church in the home" is perhaps only one aspect of the "answer."
Thanks again for an insightful post. What you said regarding sermons and the lack of real opportunity to appl God's word in an intimate missional way is universal - even here where I come from in Malaysia.
"The home needs to be seen as the church and what we now thing of as church should really be used as the training center for disciple-makers. To do actually mobilize the masses of Christians, we have to change the story of what it means to do church. The home must become the church."
Here's something that needs restating - often.
The story forward is learning to really make it happen in terms of mission.
We need a lifestyel that is different enough in terms of how we work and play and learn and worship that we have time for mission.
It seems to me that Paul related the design of what should be the model for “the church.” Just because it is old does not make it obsolete - actually, it works rather well. Naturally, this model required the spiritual guidance of God and a purity of heart from its component members. Assuming Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus were written in 63 ad., this early church model mostly failed by the time John wrote to the seven churches in Revelations Chapters 1-3, less than 30 years. Assuming we are willing to apply what was needed in the first place, there is no reason why this model would not work today. IMO we are and it does.
The church does not have to be exciting - simply sincere. The music does not have to be up to date - simply meaningful. The teaching does not have to appeal to post modern minds - it must be authoritative, based on Biblical absolutes and delivered with an abundance of love. The Spirit must lead, but how can He if nobody knows who He is or if He is quenched? When the church does not establish moral standards no one else will. Parents have to be convinced of all this and reassert it in the home. If you do not want to home school you will lose many in the public one - that is a given - as your schools degrade morally, so will your children. You will not realize it until it is too late.
doc
Brad,
A few thoughts:
1. The concept of small groups has been popular in our churches for more than thirty years, but what is the result? Resounding failure. This means that either we're doing small groups wrong or small groups are not the answer.
2. The self-centered model of ministry that is so popular in today's evangelical ranks (you know, the whole idea of "my ministry") is also a resounding failure. Perhaps we need to stop putting so much emphasis on "my ministry" in favor of "our ministry." If churches worked as a whole to define their ministry in terms of both a macro and micro view, I suspect we would minister more effectively. However, the macro view requires healthy community and, frankly, genuine community in Evangelicalism is rare to extinct altogether.(Remember the emphasis on personal faith as opposed to corporate faith.)
We've got to fix our community in order for anything to improve. Unfortunately, few of us are willing to rethink how we work, play and live to make genuine community possible. The "American Faith" is not one that believes in community, but rather rugged individualism. But that's not the Biblical standard. Something's got to give, yet I suspect that few of us are willing to abandon the American Faith in favor of the biblical one.
Good article. Yeah a lot of these services are shows of a sort, or places where folks can fulfill their weekly church obligation.
I'm involved with home church activities, which kind of demands that attendees be a vital part of the "show." Small groups seem to be the answer, though it is nice to meet with larger and/or more varied groups from time to time.
My prayer is that Massachusetts will be filled with these powerful cell groups of home churches.
Yahweh has given instruction to His people on how to build Holy, healthy, lives, marriages, and communities...and that is to come together as a family on Shabbat (Sabbath) and set aside this day from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday and rest. Rest as a family, rejoice in the Lord, study his Word, eat, fellowship, and show that we belong to Him.
The Sabbath is the *sign* that we belong to him....the sign --- is the wedding ring of the Lord....this is what makes us His peculiar people.
The *church* doesn't look, sound, act any different from the world.
Christianity is never what Yeshua wanted....so it will always be dysfunctional. Yeshua wants His people to return to the ancient paths, the Torah ( His instructions given to us after salvation to walk and live in Holiness).
Until His people -- the assembly/congregation/called out ones.. return to His ways, His rules...all of their efforts will fail.
He has a plan...are we ready to listen and obey---SHEMA.
Shalom
DLE,
Realize I have been in small groups for 20 years just as you have (Vineyard Kinships as the main model) but what I am talking about is a departure from what I have formally experienced. The difference is what is doing church and being church and what does it mean to be missional. We are expereincing a very different life this year than all the 20 previous.
Brad, your response to DLE illustrates the point I just made on my blog tonight. There is a big difference between "small groups" which are a program as part of a larger organization and true communities of faith meeting in small groups (i.e., house churches).
While I agree with Dan's assessment of the failure of "small groups", I think that it's not very helpful to lump "house churches" into that category and write them off as a failure, too.
There are many more of us who are seeking to completely rethink the way we live life and experience Christian community than Dan seems to realize.
Yes, for people who are unwilling to give up their American lifestyle of individual success and personal pursuits, they will never find what it is they may even be looking for. But being in Christ, and by extension, in fellowship with other believers, is a radically different perspective. I believe it is that perspective that is driving many of us who have left the organized, institutional church in order to experience something that seems much closer to God's intent for the body of Christ.
Hope I haven't put any words in your mouth, Brad!
steve
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