"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.

Thank God for House Church

I've spent the last decade feeling like a homeless orphan. Not in a biological sense (thankfully), but in a spiritual one. After seven churches in as many years, I began to wonder, "Is it me? Am I the one who is looking for something that doesn't exist and holding my brothers and sisters in Christ to unreasonable standards? Is my desire for unity, transparency, accountability, and vulnerability too much to ask for? Is doing Life-Together unrealistic? Did discipleship and the Holy Spirit's anointing end 2,000 years ago with Acts?"

House church has shown me the answer to all these questions is a resounding "NO!" Finally, I am surrounded by people who are like-minded and who will grow along side me, refusing to allow me to complacently sit in a pew week after week. Even though we won't agree about everything, I know we will stand strong together as we pursue God's Higher Way instead of our own. I am so tremendously blessed.

One of my favorite music videos of all time is by Blind Melon performing, "No Rain:"


I am the bee girl. House Church (deal with it, you guys) are the group of bees at the end. After years of feeling rejected, unappreciated, and like a misfit, I have found my home. And all I can say is,"Thank you, God!"

I wonder how many others are out there, trying to fit into a traditional church and feel like it isn't working. I grieve for these others and hope they can find their way to a house church before they become so disillusioned they give up hope. I don't want to say House Church is the Right Way, or the Only Way, but I have absolutely discovered it is the perfect fit for me.
-Erin

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But it's not sane, It's not sane
I just want some one to say to me
I'll always be there when you wake
Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made
- Blind Melon, "No Rain."

"Like a Splinter in Your Mind"

Morpheus: I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix.

Well, no, not quite the Matrix! But I do want to tell you about the splinter in my mind.

Let me tell my story and how I came to this place. I was actively involved with an unconventional independent church that operated with the plurality of elders but one that for the most part was still pastor centric. Not by the pastors doing. But because in large part, he had a flock of spiritually weak Christians, and yes I was one of them. Weakness that came about because of too much pew sitting and listening rather than flexing of spiritual muscles by being involved in the functioning of the body is my assessment.

It was the Fall of 2003. We had a new couple join our church and my wife and I had them and their children over for dinner. In getting to know them the subject came up about something called "house church". As he described this to me, it kind of sounded like a bible study but he was quick to clarify the difference. A bible study most likely is a function of an established church and done as an extension of that church. House church, on the other hand was not an add on program to a church service on a Sunday but instead "was" the church meeting! It sounded a little odd but my wife and I agreed to try this with this couple for two months and only every other week, Wednesdays. That way if the experiment didn't really work out then we both had an out. By the second meeting my heart was totally in and there was no turning back! I guess it may have been the intimacy that grabbed my heart first. Then it was church striped down to the bare essence and simplicity that made it so desirable. No fancy furniture. No ceremonial accouterments. Just friends and family members that loved each other, and trusted each other so as to allow total vulnerability to exist. And the leader of these meetings is always the Holy Spirit. No agendas or schedules. His plans trump ours. Let me tell you, He does an awesome job too!

And it's more than just some emotional experience. My walk with God deepened more in a couple months than the previous 25 years as a Christian. The impact to me spiritually is too significant to describe in the space I have here. Suffice it to say it brought me to a point of personal revival. I am not the same person I was then. As people close to me will attest.

So you go down this road and you wonder, "Is there anyone else on this road?" Well rest assured there is, by the millions! The more passionate I became about this "new wineskin" the more I saw God's hand prints all over it. This was not about rebels leaving church and running from authority. It was completely the opposite. We were simply following the leading of the Holy Spirit and running to the complete authority of Jesus over the church. And living out what He called us to be, "a priesthood of believers".

I'm in love with this experience more now, 7 years later, than the day we started down this path. I hope you enjoy this article about others being led toward this experience. When I read this, it was as if I, or someone from our house church, had written it. The church meeting described almost mirrors the way ours also tends to flow.

It's very fulfilling to be involved in a movement that God's doing. If your contemplating sticking your toes in to test the water then here is my advice, JUMP IN! The waters fine.

God bless.