"I Have a Dream..."*

I have a dream that one day the church of Jesus Christ will rise up to her God-given calling and begin to live out the true meaning of her identity --which is, the very heartthrob of God Almighty --the fiancee of the King of all Kings.

I have a dream that Jesus Christ will one day be Head of His church again.  Not in pious rhetoric, but in reality.

I have a dream that groups of Christians everywhere will begin to flesh out the New Testament reality that the church is a living organism and not an institutional organization.

I have a dream that the clergy/laity divide will someday be an antique of church history, and the Lord Jesus Himself will replace the moss-laden system of human hierarchy that has usurped His authority among His people.

I have a dream that multitudes of God's people will no longer tolerate those man-made systems that have put them in religious bondage and under a pile of guilt, duty, condemnation, making them slaves to authoritarian systems and leaders.

I have a dream that the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ will be the focus, the mainstay, and the pursuit of every Christian and every church.  And that God's dear people will no longer be obsessed with spiritual and religious things to the point of division.  But that their obsession and pursuit would be a person-the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have a dream that countless churches will be transformed from high-powered business organizations into spiritual families - authentic Christ-centered communities - where the members know one another intimately, love one another unconditionally, bleed for one another deeply, and rejoice with one another unfailingly.

I have a dream today....

* "I Have a Dream" written by Frank Viola in Reimagining Church -- adapted from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech delivered in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963.

A Christian's Role

It's been awhile since I've visited this blog and looking at the statistics on this blog, it's been awhile since anyone has visited this blog.  However since my husband and I are both currently in the middle of reading some of Frank Viola's books -- Pagan Christianity and Reimagining Church -- the subject of house church is on our minds and hearts.  Because of this I'd like to share some of my own thoughts either directly or indirectly related to house-churching.  Since I host another blog for my women's ministry and first posted my thoughts there, my post below will continue onto the Kajiji Girls website.  So for those who haven't read the original post, I present it here:

"A topic that keeps tumbling around in my brain and popping up in conversation recently has been Service.  Everyone who truly follows Christ feels led to serve in some way.  Whether you serve in your community, your church or your home, service opportunities are always before you.  What’s interesting for me though is how we label service.  For instance, because my family attends a house church, it’s much harder to see service opportunities, at least, on the face of things.  There are no sign-up sheets asking for teachers, nursery workers, musicians, etc.  There are no special collections taken for the poor, the unemployed, the widow or the regular offering to contribute toward all the expenses associated with running a charitable organization or church building.  I’m sure many people who have tried house church eventually leave feeling like there’s nothing for them to do or nowhere to give of themselves or their money, and God has placed some kind of cause or service on their heart so they must go somewhere to fulfill that role.  The point is God has placed service on every one of his follower’s hearts, and we are commanded to fill that role.

House church eliminates titles. And coming from a traditional church background, this can actually be very hard to deal with when you don’t know any other way.  When you know your role, you know your place..."

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