Rocket Science Part II

Recently, I was watching a television show on the orphans left behind after a country experienced severe war trauma. Children of all ages found themselves alone; dealing with the challenges of finding food, safety and a place to sleep at night. The need prompted the building of some large orphanages, staffed with those who would take care of basic needs such as; clean clothes, meals, a bed, some education, and a time and space to play with the other children. It was a great improvement over what many of these children had before the orphanage, certainly! But not ideal.

There was little affection provided to the children, and any individual interaction and encouragement on personal level, was just impossible with so many children to staff ratios. This resulted in the interaction being "corporate" rather than "individual" by the staff, and the children's personal, and emotional well-being was left to the children themselves to administer to each other.

Although their basic needs were met, the children were missing the best, and most basic of structures to provide what they needed to grow up in.

The small and intimate unit God created called a family.

A family that could not be replaced with a large, however good it was in meeting basic needs, institution; called an orphanage.

We are created to live and grow in families. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. There are good substitutes, but as the saying goes; "the good is the enemy of the best".

Families, are the best.

There is a lot of discussion of definitions these days about what defines church, and what does not. In recent blogs posts, I too, have been discussing aspects of simple, organic, fluid church from my perspective. I've also commented on where I see the movement at this point in time, and where I feel, we still need to go.

One of these areas that I believe still needs to change in our understanding, is seeing church as family (with all of its aspects,) instead of church as a gathering, a institution, a place we "go to", or "attend".

Church as family, is core to the discussion of what defines church. A family has certain characteristics that are shared, regardless of the culture or country it is experienced in. It can be large or small but the basics of a family stay the same. It is a universal structure, undisturbed throughout history in its form and function until recent years.

Now, you may be experiencing in your fellowship together, the sense of being "a family" with others already. That is great, and I'm preaching to the choir with you!

However, the majority of those who call themselves Christ followers do not experience this.

What is more often the case, (because we love to take words and water them down or change the meaning to suit our purposes), is that you are more likely having large group interactions. Interactions most likely on a superficial level, that function more as a organization, a school, a training center, a mass of people filling a building, a "congregation" instead of a family.

I've heard large churches of hundreds of people refer to themselves as "a family". I would agree in the broadest sense of the word (as the family of God), certainly. But I don't think any of us would really believe that a group of hundreds of people, could, and do, have the quality of relationships that would define a healthy relational family unit. That would be logistically impossible!

The phenomena of large churches creating weekly "small groups"," kinship groups", "cell groups", etc. in the last couple decades, as been a because we as humans are created for intimate, honest, consistent, committed relationships. The large group concept simply was not producing fruit and meeting the needs of people. This was obvious. The response was to add a small context to the large for that purpose. Again, good, but not the best.

Our relationships together are supposed to model after our relationship with The Father, and His Son (certainly words referring to familiar relationships of intimacy by their very definition!). Now THEY have a simple church - the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit!

God Himself, placed Jesus into a family to mature; "and the child (Jesus) continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom;and the grace of God was upon Him" Luke 2:40.

Jesus had his own simple church of relationships with the group of disciples around Him (men and women) that he treated like family members and when dying on the Cross, pointed the young John to his own mother for mutual care.

The book of Acts is full of simple churches that functioned as family both in the natural formation of a existing family; (Cornelius and Lydia), and the natural family with the addition of outside persons forming a whole familial unit of a spiritual family.

"Then he (Paul) left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all this household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized." Acts 18:7-8

We are not created to be birthed, grow, mature, receive discipline, accountability, intimacy, love and ultimately long term commitment in a university, a hospital, an organization, a business - and yet that is what we have turned "church" into. No wonder we have such little fruit and impact - at least in the areas where BIG IS IN! Our western preoccupation with big and thus "better" is a delusion, and I'll take on that issue in the next blog post.

Is no one paying attention to China, India, Africa, Iran and other places where the simple, small, home, neighbor to neighbor type of church is growing, producing disciples, and evangelizing whole regions?

Are we missing the correlation that they (the above mentioned) resemble Scripture more than our large corporate gatherings? In fact, our large corporate gatherings resemble more of the very institutions that rejected Jesus!

Do we simply ignore the fruit and impact of these small family expressions of faith that are "over there", and satisfy ourselves "over here" with fancy buildings, large staffs, programs that keep people busy and attendance numbers?

I had a conversation recently with someone I know who was updating me on a mutual friend who pastors a church. This person kept repeating to me; "They have 1500 people in their church!" I'd say; "Are they producing fruit worth 1500 people in the area?" .

However, each response of mine with a question of what those 1500 were impacting, was returned with; "they have 1500 people!" Clearly, the goal is the number of people. We are stuck in the western mindset that "quantity is more important than quality."

I read in my Bible and see that David counted his people as a response to Satan's influence.

"Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel." I Chronicles 21: 1

It then says after this was done, that "God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel", verse 7.

God rebuked Davids pride and it had terrible consequences. David, and ultimately the people themselves, who paid the price of the judgement, were punished for the pride of counting the people that God had given him to lead. What other reason would we have for promoting numbers over fruit, maturity, and ultimately - impact, if not pride?

Let me just go on record saying - numbers do not equate with impact. It certainly could! However, the very nature of the huge beast of numbers is like a lumbering giant; hard to move, fat and lazy through constant self feeding, self absorption and indifference to everyone.

Can pride trip up small groups? Absolutely! I'm not saying that large groups monopolize that sin. We all need to check our own hearts often and have the close, intimate, family type of relationships that can hold each other in accountability regularly!

I've seen many small simple churches simply a "shrunk down" version of a large fellowship with the same dynamics and results! I'm not making an argument necessarily for the size, as much as the essence of "church as family". That said, having a healthy family with more than a dozen or so people would offer great challenges in the every way. I don't think the historical track record for "large" is a good one. That said, I'm looking forward greatly to when Christ returns and makes us into one large family in a way that only He can do. In the meantime, we will function best as small family units (natural and spiritual) of fellowship.

I'm not one to trash anyone else in how they practice fellowship in the Body of Christ as a Christian. In fact, I work hard as someone who values bridge building with traditional and the simple church expressions. If your happy with where you experience God and the life in Christ with other Christians, then great! I'm not out to convince anyone to leave their "happy place" of fellowship. However, I do feel that there is much more to experience in living a 24/7 paradigm of Christian fellowship, in families of intimacy, accountability, commitment and real Christian love, as well as provide a natural interaction and inclusion with those who don't know Christ that the simple, organic and missional paradigm offers above all else.

I recently read a blog post from someone who is supported in full time ministry defending the practice of large amounts of people attending weekly services for an hour, regularly supporting the projects that the leadership determines warrants funding and volunteer service involvement, and ultimately calling that church.

I'd call that a school, a place to involve yourself in a project or mission for a season - not a church.

My friend John White is passionate about describing church as family. John encourages the basic familial unit of a husband and wife as a "church" and calls them CO2 (Church of Two), and from that basic unit, as in nature, new life results with the birth of children (natural and supernatural) and the church expands. In fact, he has invested his life into training and establishing such churches with the ministry he leads called LK10. If you'd like to read more about this you can at; http://storiesfromtherevolution.blogspot.com/2010/07/co2-hyatt-family-1.html

We need to see church, and our fellowship together, more as a family, and function as such. If we continue to see it as a "thing we do" or "a place we attend" we will function more like those orphanages where basic needs are met, but real family dynamics lacking.

This week I'm off to Brazil with my kids and two other young people to experience mission, relationship and ministry together. I got a letter this week from one of the "father's" of the simple church that one of the young people joining us is from. In it he says; "Take care of our boy!"

Now, that's the concern, love, support and commitment of a family man!

"But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, and makes his families like a flock. The upright see it and are glad; But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth. Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things. And consider the lovingkindness of the Lord" Psalm 107:41-43

It's Not Rocket Science

At this point in my life, my kids are almost grown up.
They are forging into their unique life paths, testing, experimenting and learning on their own the faithfulness of God in new ways as adults with adult issues.
I see the fruit of their dad and my labors on their behalf, to form a family, these past 24 years. And labor it was!
From learning how to live as a couple, birthing and raising children, struggling with our selfishness as we strove to die to ourselves. Laying down our own agendas for the sake of the health of our family. The trial of figuring out parenting while doing it (and making lots of mistakes you pray won't wreck them). Seeking God continually for wisdom, guidance, patience, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and asking Him continually for more than what we, as husband and wife, as parents, had to give each day. A complete labor of love, and not without cost and trials. It's a lot of work to have a family!

What formed, unfolding slowly, was a family of five. A family committed in love to each other, seeing the good, the bad and the often really ugly stuff in each other. A family who nurtured, equipped and built character in each member. A family that is outwardly focused in launching three young persons uniquely into their destinies and hopefully starting new families of their own! A family filling the hearts of the parents with gratitude and awe. If I've participated in anything of any value in my life, my family is it. No ministry can compare, no achievement more valuable. No fruit as sweet.

Sound like church to you? Probably not.


Do you instead, think of a large building, with all the latest technology, modern and awe inspiring, filled with hundreds of people every Sunday?
Or do you think of the charismatic, dynamic, thought provoking preaching platform that you take pride in when telling others of "where you go to church"?
Possibly your one that goes to church every Sunday simply out of guilt and worry about what everyone else will think if your not there with a smile on your face and your weekly check in; "Hi, how are you?", before moving to your regular seating position.
Maybe you meet in a cool "third place", where the coffee is good and the atmosphere trendy.
Or possibly, your one of the most recent 7% polled that claim they have church in their home.

If you do, I want to challenge you that your still seeing church as a place to go, some place to attend for a specific time, to give or receive something that makes you feel it was worthwhile. Now, that could be a business, a community event, a project of value, a job, college, a mission, but that's not what I believe Christ refers to as His Church, His Bride, His Body.

Whatever the venue for how you find fellowship, intimacy, accountability, maturity and ultimately fruit in your life as a Christian, do you think it is a good representation of the word "family"? You see, because I believe that family is exactly how God wants us to view our fellowship together. He even went to all the trouble to create the first one with Adam and Eve, and THEN even had the humility to set Jesus into the most humble and nondescript kind!

Why? Simply to raise children in the most healthy way? Or is it to give us the blueprint for forming strong, meaningful, intimate, lasting, and fruitful relationships for eternity?
Why would God continually use the word Father, to describe Himself in relationship to us, and Jesus as His Son, and our brother (as well as Saviour, Lord, King).

If God sees us as a family, joined as a living Body, relationally intimate and nurturing, why do we keep taking it to institutional, organizational and superficial levels of intimacy?

Maybe because most of us come from unhealthy, dysfunctional examples of family. We have not experienced an example of what healthy families look and act like. We may even be fearful or uncomfortable with those kind of relationships because we've learned "families are not safe, good places", and we protect ourselves now from further hurt and disappointment.

Whatever your reason, it does not change the fact that the ultimate way for us to experience God, Jesus and the life of The Body of Christ together, should be experienced in the context of families.

Families where the leaders (the parents) invest in each other with mutual support and encouragement. Without competition, power struggles, selfishness, or ambition obeying the scriptures in; "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

Families where everyone lives within the natural rhythms of life together. Sharing the normal, every day experiences that make up the essence of our lives, not just the super highs like a wedding, or the super lows as in illness or death, but everyday life issues. The good, the difficult, the joyous, the defeats, all shared together. Life, not snippets of life moments.

Families where forgiveness, understanding and long suffering flows. Restoration is valued. Commitment; a given.

Families where love and relationships to one another are forever! Not until you move to another state or "church". That is our western "here today, gone tomorrow" mentality of relationships, not family.

I think God, as The Father, set us in natural families to give us the model for His Divine Families. We mess up the model with all our imperfections and wounds, of course.

But the model still stands there for us to learn how to love, serve, relate, multiply, train and all the rest.

The scriptures are filled with good and poor examples of families - the basic unit of relationship for us to learn from, for a reason. They are not just bedtime stories we've read to our children, or areas of Scripture that we skim over.

We are living epistles to it ourselves.

To think of families as the basic model of "church" and the living out of our faith in Christ may be something you need to rethink and evaluate. You may think it's way too simple a concept and your brain may baulk at the idea. After all.....

..... as the saying goes...it's not rocket science.

God is Moving! Third Shifters; Are You?

God is moving, and it's not just in China, India, Iran and other places.
He's moving here too - in the United States.
Where, you ask?
The Scriptures tell us; "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. John 4:35

The fields are there. The harvest is there.
The problem lays with us, and our inability to recognize either one.

Or maybe we recognize it, but choose passivity.
Either way, we're missing out on one of the biggest blessings of our lives. To be used by His Hand. To see God change a life. To witness the supernatural reaching Love that floods a broken and bruised life and changes it forever.

Jesus encountered this dullness of perception, and apathy of involvement, in the folks around Him. People doing all sorts of "religious activity" but with little fruit or impact. People who should have, but did not see the activity of God. Or, they saw it and remained aloof from it.

In John 5, Jesus found it necessary to remind the Pharisee's, when they persecuted Him for healing on the Sabbath (not a condoned religious activity), in verse 17 with; "But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."
He's saving the lives of those who have not known Him, but have asked questions like; "Are you real God?" "Show me if you exist!" "Help me!" God replies; "Here I AM!" when "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

God is moving and Jesus has made it possible for us, you and me, to be the instruments of that moving.....if we're watching for it, if we are willing, and if we make ourselves available. The choice is ours.

I shared in the last blog post, about Third Shifters being those who ultimately make the biggest and most transformational impact of the Kingdom. Mainly because they make up the larger group of those who can cause impact.
First Shifters are few and trekking into new territories. Second Shifters are busy teaching and creating systems and building blocks.
It's the Third Shifters who are the heavy lifters, so to speak. They, by their shear mass, can reach into the lives of people and make a difference through those relationships and encounters.

Here is a recent unedited testimony a friend of mine sent me after he participated in a day of watching God move in our city. Read how God is moving through average, obedient people responding to His leading:

"We had about 120 people at the water baptisms tonight and the LORD gave us a spontaneous word of instruction that we were to go out and every person was to invite someone to the gathering for dinner. After the spontaneous outreach we had about 200 that we fed and loved on and led many to the Lord!!! Then we went down to the beach and had over 20 water baptisms (we had only 4 scheduled but the Holy Spirit poured out so dramatically that we had 16 spontaneous first time believers or rededications). Here are a couple of the stories. Wow!

There was Allah Mohammed Hussein. (Spelling) A 17 year old Iraqi Muslim who lost his sister a year ago. He called out to God for help and Jesus came and comforted Him when he was in Iraq. He Has been in the United States for only 6 days and was out running and stopped at the pavilion we were at. A brother invited him in and he couldn't believe how much love he experienced. He decided to surrender his life to Jesus so that He could be cleansed of his sins and start over with God. He was baptized in the lake with the others. Then there was Brenda. She was a native American. She had been part of an Alcoholics Anonymous program for the last 14 months. Just today she texted her friend and told her she really wanted to surrender her life to God. She was out walking by the pavilion where we were gathering and stopped to listen to the preaching. A sister approached her and she gave her life to Jesus and was baptized in the lake with the others. Then there was Amby. A latino young woman with a new baby. She talked with one of our Spanish speaking brothers and wanted to give her life to Jesus. A leader joined him and led her to the LORD. She started weeping as she was filled with the Holy Spirit. We had many hmong families who joined us for dinner and got prayer including a man named Tao whose arm was hurt and a couple people prayed with him and Jesus healed him. He got to experience the Holy Spirit in a significant way and a powerful witness was released to him."

Pretty exciting stuff isn't it?
God is moving!

This was in a park in St. Paul, Minnesota with a group of men and women who themselves are largely new Christians. They happen to be lead by a group of leaders who teach from the beginning of their walk with Christ, to hear and obey. They are taught that God wants to and will move to reach out and save the lives of people. They expect it - and listen to His instructions on how, who and when.

God is moving. Now. In the United States. In your city. In your neighborhood. He wants and waits to use YOU!


"Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Isaiah 6:7-9

Your commissioned and sent!

Third Shifters; Bringing Impact

Recently I received a publication from an organization that plants churches in Iran called Elam Ministries (www.elam.com or www.iran30.org). Here is something I want to share with you from that brochure:

"While it is safer to plant a church in the West, it may actually be simpler to plant one in Iran. Go to a church planters' conference in North America, and you will hear about budgets, programs, marketing campaigns, and the need for a good worship set. Attend a conference for Iranians, and you get a different picture. They'll talk about starting by sharing Christ with friends and family, gathering new believers for a weekly Bible teaching and fellowship, and then encouraging and praying with them to go and share with their friends and family."(Elam Ministries, Issue 2, 2010)

Let's look at the points they make:

1. Start with friends and family
2. Study the Bible together
3. Get together for fellowship
4. Empower, encourage and pray for each person to go out and share Christ in their "okios" (spheres of influence)

Simple, Organic and Missional. Every believer in Christ can do it.

This is the way the Kingdom has been extended since the book of Acts, and the rest of the New Testament, was written for our instruction and encouragement.

The Apostle Paul, Barnabas and others as "First Shifters", carved out through their missionary journeys "The Way". They pioneered new territories and laid foundations.

Then, those like Timothy, Titus, Apollos and others "Second Shifters" began to build on those foundations.

It was the "Third Shifters" however, that I believe created the impact and real expansion of Christianity and the Kingdom of God. The masses of normal, regular people living out their faith and commitment to Christ in every day life.

The names of most of these people we don't know. Although the Apostle Paul does from time to time in his letters, acknowledge some of them and their faithful work in the Kingdom.

It is these nameless, faceless, empowered, obedient Believers in Christ that God really works through in profound and powerful ways. This group of people multiplies itself over and over, causing transformation in neighborhoods, cities, regions and countries. This is the group of real impact.

Here is a testimony from an Iranian couple who have gone into a deeply Islamic city from the Elam article;

"We started with two people who were Christians, but had no Bible teaching. We met with them and began to disciple them. The Lord blessed us and now we have twenty faithful believers".

Another church planter who oversees over 20 house churches says:

" Our churches grow through our members. We started with one family in Tehran. We would visit them in their home for worship and fellowship. We taught them the Bible and encouraged them to share Jesus with their friends and family. They did, and the church grew." (Elam Ministries, Issue 2, 2010)

Felicity Dale, a friend of mine, recently posted an article called; 15 Reasons Why We Don't See Harvest (www.simplychurch.com/2010/06/12-reasons-why-we-dont-see-harvest). In it she offers some suggestions as to why we are not seeing a lot of harvest that I would encourage you to read and contemplate. Even better, join in the conversation!

In my opinion, we will not see the results that are seen in China, India, Iran and other places until the Third Shifters begin to faithfully, simply, organically and missionally walk out their faith in the natural rhythms, circumstances and oikos' of their lives.

"But you are a Chosen Race, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People For God's Own Possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light" 1Peter 2:9

Start proclaiming, and let's see the Book of Acts come alive in our own time and lives!

Second Shifters - The Communicators

You can go to almost any grocery store these days and find foods with an Organic label. The term has become in vogue and put on everything from produce to clothing. But be warned. Not everything that is labeled "organic" has met the qualifications for that identity.

In fact, the label Organic has been so misused and slapped on anything someone wants to call Organic in the last couple years, that new stringent requirements are being put into effect before a product can legally claim that title. That's good. It keeps the integrity of the label and then we all know that what we're buying is the real thing.

We are in a similar place with the Organic, Simple, Missional expression of Christian life and fellowship. Organic labels are being slapped on anything someone wants to call by that name. Any why not? It sounds green, cool and trendy - and that's important to some people. I wrote a little about some of this already in the April post called "The Human Hijacking of Organic".

This issue needs to be addressed over and over because the the repercussions could be the difference of this initiative of God being either being squelched, or ultimately nurtured.

In a recent Twitter post, a friend of mine asked; "Will the real Organic please stand up!". For some of us older folks, we remember a television show called; 'To Tell The Truth' that was popular and used this phrase in it's conclusion of the show. In the show, three people would claim the name and identity of the only one true individual with that name. The other two would fake it as best they could, looking, speaking and acting as much as possible as the real person of that identity. The judges job was to discern the real one.

With the influx of multiple definitions and explanations of the word Organic, it becomes even more important that we continue to stand for what is truly Organic and not let the term, and ultimately the expression of it, find itself far removed from its true essence.

So how do we know what is really Organic or just a transferred label?

Second Shifters, your task is to wade through all the pablum and find the real thing and communicate it well using your gifts and influence.
It won't be easy. But, I believe most Second Shifters are those with gifts of teaching, discernment and are Truth Seekers. God has put within you a desire to "know how something works" and how to apply it for use. God has given and equipped you with all you need to take the baton from the First Shifters and Explorers to transform the wilderness into settlements. Your those to lay foundations of what is to be built upon by the masses who will adopt Organic life and allow God to flourish in their individual oikos's (spheres of influence).

Just to reiterate what I say over and over in my blogging, I will continue to define Organic Church as: that which is initiated by God through a intimate and dependent relationship with Him and then expressed naturally and uniquely through that relationship to others. Be it through how you fellowship, with whom, and in what place, the primary feature is that it is the initiative of The Spirit of God for His unique and natural outflow of Himself through the life of a believer to those around him. It has far less to do with a form, a style, or something to be copied and eventually placed into a model.
Jesus is our perfect example of this, seeking the Father each day for instructions as to how and with whom, He was to interact with on that particular day. A lot of variety, a lot of unique interactions, a lot of fruit because it was born and initiated in the will of the Father. That's organic.

Okay, so maybe you disagree, or have found some other alternative definitions. That is to be expected. Who am I anyway? The challenge is for you Second Shifters, the Implementers, to take your role and position to communicate clearly, effectively and accurately just what is in essence; Organic.

As I said previously in my last blog post; communication at this point of implementation becomes far more important because the impact and scope is so much greater, than during the exploration phase. There is a lot at stake with this phase and Second Shifters have a huge responsibility. Portability is a necessity if there is to be any real change or impact. But, portability of the real thing. Not an impostor, an adaptation, or revised humanized religiously acceptable version.

In marriages, friendships, work relationships, parent/child interactions - basically any relational connection, communication is always a challenge.

Communication is both the delivery of what we're saying, AND the receiving of the message.

Some people think that good communication is just in the delivery. They spend all their time on putting as much information out there as they can, oblivious to how it is being received and possibly misconstrued. Both delivery and reception have equal validity in creating and sustaining good communication, and it's not an easy thing to accomplish. Our own ideas, past history, emotions, hurts and just the skill of picking the right words, all make it challenging. Really listening to someone else, without imposing your own thoughts or words to what their saying is extremely difficult and a skill that takes time and practice.
Those of us who are married know you can say one thing to a spouse and it can be received in an intirely different way! Or with a teenager who heard something completely different than what was said.

The First Shifters primarily explored the wilderness of doing/being church and mission differently. Second Shifters teach and communicate it for the adaptation. Third shifters are the majority and it is they who will bring real transformation and impact. If each one reaches their own oikos, their own spheres of influence and relational connections, widespread impact can occur. The scope of reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus, all of a sudden, takes on the proportions of places like China, and India, where God is moving powerfully through each Christian, not just the few.

With the next blog post I want to explore the Third Shifters...........

First and Second Shifters in the Organic Movement

In the early 1990's, I heard someone speak on the radio about the simple way church was done during the early formation of Christianity. They mentioned a series of tapes available from different teachers on the subject, that Jim Rutz had put into an album called, "Open Church: Lions In The Pews". I sent for the tapes, and listened to them many times over. I checked their claims with Scripture, prayed for discernment, and eventually passed them around to all my friends. I resonated with the messages and concepts on these tapes, and soon Tom and I were on the journey of discovery in Simple/Organic/Missional Church.

When I first began to talk to people years ago about this topic, it was challenging to find words and communicate accurately this new paradigm of thinking about church. I struggled to describe and "re frame" for people, this new (but old,) lifestyle of simple Christianity. I used words and descriptions like; "living church 24/7" , "being church", "living like a missionary in my neighborhood, work, coffee shop", "having simple church", "full time but not paid", "I don't go to church, I am the church", "church is relationships not buildings", "release of the laity","church in the home", "fluid church", etc.

I predominately encountered the "huh?" response. In Minnesota, we call it the "deer in the headlights" look. Most people didn't have a clue of what I was talking about! I know some thought I was in major error, if not apostate. Others, I just confused. Painfully, I had a few relationships distance themselves from me for it.
Those were some lonely and often very isolating times. You ask yourself, and God, a lot of questions and usually don't find the answers you want. Such is the life of faith.
However, the unmistakable Spiritual Fruit that we saw in our own lives, the lives of our children, the lives of those we were reaching out to, was a continual affirmation of our direction.

That was then, this is now.

Now, I believe, we are transitioning into different times.

The words I mentioned above, their concepts, and those practicing the life and journey of organic, simple, missional living are becoming more and more mainstream terms. We have great authors who are writing books, blogs and doing regional teaching/trainings to communicate the stories, definitions, and particular aspects of the paradigm.
More and more people are stepping out of traditional churches and exploring this Christianity of less church activity and more God intimacy. Mega churches, traditional churches, multi-site churches are beginning to seek out certain aspects of this movement that they want to incorporate into their expression of church. Major Christian publications are writing and discussing it. Just Google the words house church, simple church, missional, open church, organic church to see the multitude of links!

We've moved into the second shifter phase.

Second shifter is a great description for the natural progression of going from exploration to implementation. Where the ideas, concepts and ultimately a new paradigm of living, begins to take root into the culture as more and more people adopt its principles and concepts. (Thanks Trey)

In the exploration phase, those who function like "Lewis and Clark" discover and set the trails.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with American History; Lewis and Clark were explorers who opened up the western United States to settlement in 1804. They were called the Corps of Discovery. Their journey was short, but of huge significance. They are known to have opened up everything west of the Mississippi for settlement. In just a couple decades, the west was forever changed. They opened the way for the second shifter phase.

The implementers.

The implementers are those who take the information of the explorers and actually use it for settlement. They make it available and useful, giving definitions, application. Communicating these in such a way that allow for the settlement phase to take root.

Communication at this point of implementation becomes far more important because the impact and scope is so much greater, than during the exploration phase. Portability is a necessity. However, there is a lot at stake with this phase. Second shifters have a huge responsibility.

In my next blog post, I'll share some of my thoughts about that...........

SEE - Search, Evaluate and Execute in Organic Church

My husband and I are motorcycle riding instructors for the State of MN, certified by an organization called MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation). In the classroom portion of the motorcycle instruction curriculum, we teach a strategy for motorcycle riding which goes by the acronym SEE. The S is for search, E for evaluate, and the last E for execute.
We teach riders to "SEE" constantly while driving their motorcycle, and that it is a never ending process in riding a motorcycle.

Search and pay attention to all the details of things going on all around you. Use your eyes and ears to search and gain information. What do you see?

Evaluate. What are your options and the possible scenarios and courses of action you could take with what you've seen and heard? What will your response be to what you've seen? What are you going to do?

Execute an action based upon your evaluation. Commit and move.


The Bible tells us to have eyes and ears that hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. To each of us, individually and uniquely, through our relationship with Him, He is communicating with us. Have we learned to listened? Have we learned to hear His Voice above all others?

He is our teacher and instructor. He is committed to conform us into the likeness of Christ and accomplish the plans and purposes of God, in and through us. He has a strategy for accomplishing this in our lives.

A strategy birthed in Him and initiated by Him - that's organic.

It's not following a model or technique. Rather it is following the Biblical principles that teach us to listen, obey, mature, how to have authentic relationships, live in a lifestyle that incorporates Him into every interaction.

Similar to my husband and I instructing the individual motorcycle riders in our classes in affective riding, Gods strategy for accomplishing Organic Kingdom Life also involves our seeing/searching, evaluating, and executing. And like our SEE acronym in riding; it is a never ending process!

Here are some of His own words to us on the topic of see:

Ezekiel 40:4
The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the house of Israel everything you see.
Mark 8:18
Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember?
Isaiah 41:20
That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Jeremiah 23:18
"But who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?
Mark 8:1
And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?
Revelation 3:18
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Deuteronomy 1:33
I who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
Ezekiel 34:4
You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
Matthew 10:11
"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.
1 Corinthians 2:10
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

And to evaluate (understand):

1 Chronicles 28:19
"All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."
Psalm 119:125
I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.
Philemon 1:6
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

And to execute (act):

Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
2 Thessalonians 1:11
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
Philemon 1:6
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

Organic Kingdom life is a never ending process of seeing(searching), evaluating and executing alongside the Holy Spirit who is the faithful Guide. He will get you to where you need to be. No doubt about that! The choice is ours. Will we learn to let Him guide us and live a life of faith and adventure of not knowing where the road will take us on our journey to the finish line?

God give us faith and ears to hear!