Source: Cole-Slaw by Neil Cole

The second role defined in the New Testament as needing full time support is what Paul calls the “widow indeed” in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 (NASB). Paul delineates clearly what the qualifications are for this role and what the job description is. She is to be at least 60 years old, have no family to support her and to have been faithful in serving the Lord and His people. It appears as though she is to actually make a pledge to serve the Lord and not to be remarried, and for this reason younger women are exempt from this role. Her sole job description is to continually pray, night and day.

This is not just a case of charity. With God’s plan, not only is a woman without means granted stable provision, but perhaps even better, the church is blessed with constant prayer bombarding the throne of God! This has got to be a powerful partnership. Not only is this woman given financial support, but she is also granted a meaningful purpose for her remaining days. She is given a privilege of great significance rather than brushed aside.

Wow. I wonder what our churches would be like if we had apostles starting churches all the time in new areas and among new peoples, and the churches were supported by full-time prayer warriors—night and day! I can’t think of a better investment in kingdom resources. Church would actually be investing in spiritual endeavors of kingdom expansion and we would be investing in spiritual battle with full-time prayers and intercession.

In this cast-aside society where people are routinely brushed off as not valuable because of a lack of vocation or a handicap of sorts, this principle could make a huge difference. In God’s economy there are no useless Christians who are welfare cases. An elderly, arthritic woman who can barely rise to answer the door, is an extremely valued servant who is needed to breakdown walls of separation, destroy spiritual strongholds and set captives free! She has a calling on her life and is supported full time to serve in this way. I can see why Satan would want for us to get away from such a function. He’d much rather we pay a full-time staff person to keep our youth entertained and focused while the adults have fellowship and teaching. Could it be that the enemy is more threatened by this old woman than the highly educated professional pastor! Ouch.

Paul makes one thing clear in this passage that he also made a point of in 1 Cor. 9—the role is not to be a burden to the church if it can be helped (v. 16). We’ve grown accustomed to seeing the church as a burden to the pastor, but Paul saw things the other way around. I think our concerns are often misplaced because our values are far removed from the New Testament. I wonder how our churches would be if we were more concerned for the stress placed on the church than on getting as much from her as we can?

Editor’s Notes: I think this issue is especially pertinent to Western Christianity.  According to recent statistics from the Barna group, annual giving to faith-based organizations is expected to drop significantly in the next few years.  While some may attribute this solely to the economy, I think there’s a larger issue underneath — perhaps I will develop this in a later post.  Take some time to read through Neil’s thoughts and post your comments.  Who has the right to receive financial support from the Body?

Source: Cole-Slaw by Neil Cole

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul makes a case for his right to make his living from the gospel just as the other apostles do. He even cites the Lord as the source of the directive (v. 14) perhaps a reference to his commissioning of the twelve and the seventy to take no purse with them for a laborer is worthy of his wages (Matt. 10:9-10; Luke 10:4).

Paul and Barnabas, however, forgo their right for such payment and choose rather to work to support themselves. Paul worked as a tentmaker while starting the church in Corinth at least until others arrived to help in the support so as not to be a burden to the emerging church.

Apostolos, the Greek word translated “apostle” means one sent on a mission as a representative or a special envoy. They are the ones to lay a foundation for the expanding church in every region and among every tribe and nation.

Such a role is not limited to a single church in a given region, but is commissioned to church an entire region. They are not likely to manage an existing church, but lay the foundation for others to build upon…and then are likely to go do it again somewhere else.

This role is actually defined as having a “right” to make a living from the preaching of the good news (vv. 3-9). It is important to note, however, that this right can be laid aside and surrendered for the sake of the church as Paul and Barnabas chose to do. This right should never be demanded at the detriment of the church. Have we hurt the church by making her responsible to employ her leaders like a business? I believe the answer to this question is yes, in many ways. Besides draining her of resources, perhaps the worst detriment is how we have segregated the body into a professional class that does the ministry and a nonprofessional class that works hard to pay them.

This is a very critical question for the church to ask today. In order to approach this subject with cooler heads and calmer hearts, may I suggest we commit ourselves to addressing this from the New Testament rather than from our traditions, practical challenges and emotional bias. Can we read the New Testament as if we never read it before? Can we consider this question as if we did not have 2000 years of history weighing in on our perspective? Can we ask this question divorced from the concern of where our next paycheck will come from or worrying about career choices and educational investments? Probably not, but we should at least try.

It is my personal belief that much of our theology of church financing is dictated by two things. We are heavily influenced by the Old Testament principles of supporting a centralized religious government, and by our own need to support a new centralized religious institution. Frankly, I believe we draw much from the Old Testament for the very reason that we need to support a centralized religious institution and the New Testament is found lacking in that regard. Not that the New Testament is lacking in content about finances, in fact principles of financial stewardship is voluminous in the New Testament. Jesus spoke more about money than about heaven and hell, but the New Testament does away with the centralized religious institution. All of us are priests. All are servants empowered by the anointing of the Holy Spirit for the work of the ministry.

As I have studied the New Testament with this question in mind I have discovered that there are only two roles that are expected to make their living being supported by the church. If we could only pay two roles in the church today, which would we choose? Senior pastors and missionaries? Pastors and worship leaders? Denominational executives and pastors? Push comes to shove, I’d probably want to include a gifted secretary in the mix, but that’s more reflective of my own weakness than of any understanding of the Bible. I am confident that whatever two roles we would choose, they would not be the two mentioned in the New Testament.

In the next few blog posts I will examine this issue and share who is supported “full time” in the NT.

RawReligion.com Editor Comment: What is your take on this subject? What roles do you think should be supported by the Body of Christ?

Christians who are not clergy are often times instructed by the church to disobey Jesus when they are not allowed to baptize their disciples. The practice of baptism is not something Christ gave to the “clergy,” church organization or institutions, but to all disciples. One of the sayings in our own church-planting movement is: “The Bible doesn’t command us to be baptized but to be baptizers” (Matt. 28:19–20).

There is absolutely no biblical support for the idea that only the clergy in the local church can baptize. Though our traditions and experience may reinforce such standards, the Bible does not. In fact, it is my opinion that the Bible is slanted in the other direction. Those who are seen to be the leaders in the New Testament are often not the ones who are doing the baptizing but instead their disciples are. It specifically states that during Jesus’ baptizing he wasn’t actually the one doing the baptizing but his disciples were. Paul states that he is glad he only baptized a few in Corinth.

It is amazing how much damage the simple idea of baptizing another has caused through church history. People have been killed, cults have been initiated, denominations started and split, heretics burned at the stake, and parachurch organizations have been formed—all because we view baptism in a strange, unbiblical fashion. If we would only read the Bible and take it for what it says literally, rather than defend our “sacred” traditions, the church would be healthier.

We have created spiritual boundaries to manage spiritual practices, but these boundaries are not in the Bible. When false boundaries begin to take on a biblical sense of authority, they are quite insidious. We accept them as truth and even rise to defend them as though they come from the Bible, when they do not. Unfortunately, we are often willing to submit to these false divisions more than to Scripture itself. This is how the subversive strategy of the Enemy causes much damage. Because we have allowed artificial boundaries to separate Christian groups weird things happen.

For instance, one motto for a parachurch ministry has been: “To fulfill the Great Commission in this generation.” This seems honorable, except that they have rules in place that prevent them from ever fulfilling the Great Commission in any place. Right in the middle of the Great Commission is the command to baptize disciples, which they strictly forbid in order to maintain their parachurch status since (in their view) only churches can baptize.

I want to raise awareness of the weird, almost schizophrenic policies we have made in the church. Whether it is separating a spiritual family into voting “members” and silent “nonmembers” or telling Christians to fulfill the Great Commission by disobeying it, false and artificial divisions have caused some strange practices to be established.

I believe more people have lost their lives over the issue of baptism than any other spiritual practice. In many parts of the world where being a Christian is illegal it is not uncommon for someone to accept Jesus and go to church with very little repercussions but if they choose to be baptized they reap all manner of persecution. Even in history some of the great heroes of our faith (Luther, Calvin, Zwingly and others) would have people drowned (or executed in some other way) because they wanted to be baptized as adults. Even my own denomination (Grace Brethren, who have anabaptist roots) has had several splits over the issue of how baptism is to be done properly and to whom it is acceptable.

Even in Los Angeles today there is heat involved with being baptized. I have had Muslim converts get excited about following Jesus and obey everything but baptism because they fear being completely ostracized from their family. I have seen fear in the eyes of people who have surrendered to Christ from a Roman Catholic background when it is suggested that they be baptized as adults in obedience to their new faith because they fear their parents will disown them. Recently, I even had a young man in my church receive some mild abuse from his parents who are part of an independent Christian church because he wanted to be baptized. His parent’s pastor stepped in to the mix and said that the people doing such (our organic church) are “novices” and “heretical” and that the young man should only be baptized by those who have the spiritual covering of their church. What does that even mean? Where is that in the Bible?

Baptism is so important to some people that they have adopted the term to identify themselves and thus separate themselves by it…they are Baptists. Of course, now we have so many varieties of Baptists that we need other words to clarify which brand we mean.

Why would such a simple act be so volatile? Why are secular and religious people, denominations, institutions, pastors and historical figures so threatened by such a short action that is over in a matter of seconds?

Even as I write this many of us may be tempted to say, “Forget about it. This is just a symbolic act that is done one time, it isn’t worth all this hatred, division and spilled blood.” While that sounds calm and rational, it may very well be exactly what Satan wants. You see, I think there is a reason why the true enemy, the Devil, has done so much to keep baptism from being what Jesus always intended.

I am going to explore the significance of baptism and communion in my blog for a few days. I trust that these blog entries will receive more flack than previous entries, simply because it is a very sensitive topic. Why? Because baptism and communion are to be at the heart of each disciple loving Jesus—following Him in obedience, telling others about him and making more disciples. If Satan can disrupt all that from the very start, in the beginning of a disciples new life, he will be able to disrupt a great deal down the road. I hope to show what I mean by this as I write more.

I fully understand that many of my friends have differing opinions about this, so I will allow for great liberty. I have friends, that are unable to agree with me and remain in their current church roles or associations, so please feel free to disagree with me. All I ask is that you think with me about this subject.

I will endeavor to take my lead from the New Testament Scriptures. I want to be bold where they are bold, and silent where they are silent. I do not want to add artificial religious baggage to them, where it does not exist.

I may be labeled a heretic for some of what I believe on these subjects, but as I grow older I have come to appreciate the company that bears such a label. In fact, glancing down the long road of history, I would rather be on that side of the aisle than the other side which is busy labeling said heretics, for it is in this company that you will find some of the greatest men and women of faith. You would even find Jesus there.

It did not take long in church history before a special class of Christians developed that was professional. The idea that there should be a class of professional Christians has plagued Christianity for almost two thousand years, but is just not biblical.

The idea that special people are set apart and called to serve the Lord “full-time” is a cracked lens that distorts our view of everything and we have developed language that supports our view. Those who serve as professional pastors are “called.” everyone else is just working.

The distinction is not biblical. As I read and reread the New Testament without this lens, I find that all are called to follow. It is not the destination of the following that indicates the calling; the calling is the following. So if God calls you to serve as a pastor, your calling is fulfilled among a flock. If you are called to be a contractor, your calling is fulfilled at the contractor’s work site. Whatever your calling, you are to serve your Master well.

The problems with seeing some people as called into special roles are profound. Those who serve the church professionally are seen as more holy than those who do not. Expectations are placed on them that are not placed on other Christians. And as I said earlier, this lowers the bar for those who are not pursuing a ministry vocation, with the result that average Christians do not bear the responsibility of following God fully. They are simply the drones who work hard to finance the real workers who carry the weight of the kingdom. The lives of those who serve professionally are held to higher account. We have a whole list of traits that we must check off before someone is allowed to serve in such a high position.

I do not see this in the New Testament. Jesus calls all of us to surrender our whole life to follow him. This is not a call into a career but into a kingdom. All citizens of Christ’s kingdom are called to serve fully. No Christian is held to a higher level of accountability for his or her character than another. Jesus bled so that all of us could be holy and set apart, not just a few.

Now it is true that leaders are held to a stricter accountability, but that is true whether they are paid to lead or not. And regardless of accountability, each of us is called to a holy life. None is called to a more holy life than another.

When teaching about the organic church, a question I am asked more than any other is how we handle the threat of heresy. I understand this concern and want to address it in an intelligent and articulate manner because it is very important. The organic church movement is not going to last if we simply ignore the challenges it faces. But I also believe that the issues that are raised in response to our movement can find solutions that are not only satisfactory but even better alternatives to the way the church has addressed these issues in the past. If the organic church movement is not a move forward toward better health and wholeness, then it is not worth pursuing at all.

The common understanding is something like this: if we rely upon uneducated leaders and teachers, won’t we allow heresy to run rampant in our churches? Of course this is a risk, but I believe there are simple ways to lower the risk of such an infection. A healthy body with a strong immune system fights off infection better than a sick one. It is a natural function of the body inherent in its very makeup. I will suggest in this article that there is a better immune system for the body of Christ than the one we have been comfortable with for so long.

What is the true threat?

In reality, there is not a way to eliminate heresy 100% from the church. Jesus told us that there would always be false teachers (Matt. 24:4-5, 11). The enemy is a liar (John 8:44) and he works in clandestine ways to infiltrate our ranks (Jude 4, 10-13). If the liar can input something other than truth into our minds, then he can keep us from being all that the resurrected Christ intended for us. Unfortunately, I fear he has succeeded to do just that, ironically under the banner of avoiding false doctrine.

The best solution to heresy in the church is not to have better-trained leaders in “the pulpits”, but better-trained people in “the pews.” While many will say that the key to better-trained people are leaders who equip them, this unfortunately is most often not the reality. It is true that we need better leaders who empower and equip common Christians to know the truth, spread the Word and do the work of ministry (Eph 4:11 ff.), but that is very different than the sort of leaders who screen all beliefs and are the gatekeepers of God’s Word. As long as our leaders are considered the gatekeepers of truth we leave the majority of God’s people in the dark and they are susceptible to leaders who do the thinking for them-because that is what they have been trained to do. It is ironic that the very thing we think will prevent heresy actually feeds the problem.

There is no gatekeeper for God’s Word. While the apostle Paul was behind bars, held in place by a keeper of the gate, he said these words: “the Word of God is not imprisoned” (2 Tim. 2:9). I do not need to protect God’s Word, it protects me! People have been attacking God’s Word in every generation. Entire empires have launched full-scale war against God’s Word and fallen, yet the truth of God’s Word stands. The thought that God’s Word needs my help is truly foolish. Men have not kept God’s Word pure; it is God’s Word that has kept men pure. We are sadly lost if we ever lose sight of this fact. We need God’s Word more than it needs us.

The Word of God in the hands of His people is not a dangerous thing! Such an idea just reeks of Satan does it not? Why are we afraid of such a thing? Keeping the Word out of their hands is a very dangerous practice, which is something we need to repent of immediately! Good men and women throughout history have lost their lives for the right of others to have God’s Word freely. Let us not cheapen their sacrifice.

Are men capable of twisting the Word of God to suit their own purposes? Of course they are, and of course they will. Satan has done that from the very beginning (Gen. 3:3) and he will not stop until he is doing laps in the lake of fire. However, I do not put my trust in men; I put my trust in God and His Word. Do we actually think that the way to protect the church from human frailties is to make sure that they rely on other frail men to think for them? That is like trying to solve a problem with more of a problem? It is like trying to put out a fire with a bucket of kerosene.

Perhaps the church of the West has sacrificed the power we need because we have not trusted in the power and the purity of God’s written revelation. Instead, we have placed our trust in the ability of certain men to interpret, teach and systematize the Bible. There is no power inherent in men or in their systems. God’s Word stands alone and we must learn again to trust in it. We have sacrificed the power of God’s Word for the impotence of men’s teaching about God’s Word and wondered why the people of God are ineffective in influencing society. The sad irony is that all this is done out of a twisted respect for God’s Word.

Many feel that when we have leaders who are not seminary trained we are open to all sorts of bad teaching. The reality is that many heresies were born in seminary. Some would argue that the whole fundamentalist movement was born out of a reaction to the liberal and heretical teachings coming out of many of the seminaries, particularly in Germany during the early 20th century. We have been trained by our seminaries to think that we are incapable of holding off heresy without their help. Seminary as an institute for higher learning, however, is a relatively new phenomenon in church history and I would venture to guess that we have not had less heresy since its invention.

When is it best to teach biblical interpretation skills?

Do I teach Scriptural interpretive skills in our movement? Yes, I do, but it is not the first thing I do. First, I set the saints to reading the Scripture without any middleman. Once the sheep hear the Good Shepherd’s voice they will follow Him for life. There is a significant “imprinting” that needs to take place from the very beginning of a new life. In the natural world there is a bonding that occurs with a new born to its mother. All of the memory of the creature is forever shaped and influenced by the connection to the first creature they see. This is sometimes called “imprinting”. Like the baby ducks that will follow their mother, new disciples must connect with God’s voice early in their new life. Instead, most people in the church of America have imprinted upon the booming voice of their pastor preaching about God’s Word rather than God’s Word itself. As they mature they are told to read the Bible but rarely develop an appetite for it. I hear the common “mantra” of, “I try to read my Bible, but I never understand it. It makes so much more sense when I hear my pastor explain it.” These are sheep that know their pastor’s voice, but it is not Jesus’ voice.

People will ask me, “Then are not the disciples going to misunderstand Scripture?” Yes, of course they are. And so did I when I was a young disciple. Maybe we need to realize that we will spend the rest of our lives trying to understand an infinite book that has no end to its depth of understanding. Perhaps we should allow people the freedom to make a few mistakes, leave with a few questions, and learn as they grow. I remember my first Bible study that I ever taught-it was heresy! And I managed to utter a four-letter word in it as well. I am glad someone gave me a chance to do better the next time. I am still embarrassed by my first sermon. If you held me to every thing I believed in my first pastorate, I would be a stagnant and stunted disciple who is not learning. I now understand things better than I did at first and I am hopeful that in ten years I will see even more clearly.

I think that if you were a careful student of church history you would be surprised by some of the strange ideas that our historic heroes believed. God still blessed them, used them and uses them still, but they did not have a complete picture of all of God’s Word. Perhaps we are also a little blind to our own doctrinal faults and these errors will be more evident in the decades and centuries to come.

So why not let people who are new believers make mistakes early in their development, which is how we all grow? If we have to be perfect in our understanding from the very first day of our Christian life then none of us are worthy. No wonder so many are afraid of opening their Bibles, if they have to understand everything correctly all the time it is a rather intimidating venture to merely open it up and read.

An attitude that is humble and aware of its own inadequacy is a safer attitude to reinforce when it comes to Scripture interpretation than the one that is so confident that it knows all that is truth and puts every belief in its appropriate mental “box”. This latter attitude is more of a heresy than we realize. It is contrary to Scripture and produces a dull and unlearned church. A teacher who has many questions is far more desirable than one who has “all” the answers.

The Jehovah’s Witness who comes to my door with a clear explanation for all there is to know about their god does not impress me. It shows me that they have a very small god that I would not want to follow.

St. Jerome once said of the Scriptures, “They are shallow enough for a babe to come and wade in without fear of drowning and yet deep enough for theologians to plummet its depths without ever touching the bottom.”

I do teach basic Bible interpretation skills, but I wait until the disciples emerge as leaders and are preparing to teach others. When they are responsible for other’s learning, then I teach them basic interpretive skills. But here is the amazing thing: when I teach interpretive skills for the first time to a new leader it is usually a refresher course for them. Because they have been reading an abundance of Scripture from the beginning, and reading entire books of the Bible repetitively and as a whole (a habit as part of the Life Transformation Group System we employ), they have already picked up much of the rules of interpretation intuitively. I have found that the Holy Spirit is an outstanding teacher and that the best interpretive rules are really common sense. By the time I am showing these rules to emerging leaders they have already figured out much of it on their own.

What is real heresy anyway?

The church has also been trained to think that the greatest threat she faces is heresy. That is why this is one of the first and most frequent questions asked of the organic church movement. When speaking to a crowd about this, I will often take a spontaneous survey and consistently have the same results. I ask the audience to raise their hands if they know someone personally who has gone astray and actually began a cult. Usually two or three people will raise their hands. I then ask them to raise their hand if they know a Christian leader who has fallen into immorality and everyone in the room raises their hands. My point is, “Why are we so afraid of heresy?” It seems that there are other, more formidable problems in our body.

Another thing that I question is what people label as heresy. Often what is heresy for one segment of the kingdom is orthodox in another. Most claim that their doctrinal belief is closest to the historic and orthodox doctrines.

One thing that always angers me is to have a Christian leader attacking another Christian leader publicly using extreme examples to build his case, all because they disagree over a minor theological component. It is good to have a conviction regarding doctrine and even to have a lively discussion over your convictions, but to slanderously attack a brother is perhaps a greater sin than the faulty interpretation itself.

How do we screen people doctrinally?

This raises a question of whether or not we should screen people over doctrines. In our movement it is what we consider the DNA of Christ’s body that is the code that dictates life, health and fertility. The DNA is Divine Truth, Nurturing Relationships and Apostolic Mission. We want to see the DNA evident in every cell of the Body. It is what holds together our movement. That said, Divine Truth is crucial for health and unity in the church and in our own unique movement. So holding firmly to God’s Word is of the utmost importance. Currently our movement consists of church planting that is associated with over 15 denominations (from Reformed to Vineyard) and five parachurch ministries. Now the question is which beliefs are important and which are not as crucial. Is there a point when we exclude fellowship with certain people over doctrine?

One of the ways that we keep unity among our diverse movements is to run people through what we call the “bullet test”. We ask, “If someone held a gun to your head and said, ‘Renounce this doctrine or I will shoot’, if you say, ‘pull the trigger’ then it is a bullet doctrine. We must agree on bullet doctrines. We can hold to doctrines that are not bullet doctrines, and even teach them with conviction, but we don’t exclude or attack brothers and sisters over non-bullet doctrines. They are secondary doctrines that are enlightening but not worth dying over and certainly not worth killing over.

For us, the bullet doctrines have consistently been the following:

We believe in…

• One true God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• The deity and incarnate humanity of Jesus and his redemptive work evident in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and imminent return.
• Salvation is by grace through faith and not ever the results of our own works.
• The inspiration and power of God’s written Word in all of its revelation, without error in its original manuscripts.
• All believers are redeemed to be significant in the cause of God’s kingdom and granted the empowerment necessary to do so.

Of course, this is not meant to be a fixed and static screening process. It is only a beginning to a relationship that will grow over time built on much more than cognitive assent to a set of stated beliefs.

We understand that this is also not a fool-proof method of screening out heresy. There were over nine hundred people in 1978 in Guyana who took a “Kool-Aid test” over the wrong doctrines and gave their lives for false teaching. History is littered with people who have given their lives for a lie, so this is not considered a mistake-proof method by any means. This is just a starting point for those who have the Spirit of God and listen to His voice and join together over uncompromising truth.

How do you keep heresy from exploiting?

We have an excellent antibody system in the organic church movement. In fact, I believe it to be better, much better, than the solution in the traditional church system.

Heresy usually emerges because of three things:

1. A strong opinionated leader who wants the most followers he can rally.
2. A Biblically illiterate group of Christians who will follow him.
3. Scriptures are used out of context to construct a false doctrine.

With the Life Transformation Group (LTG) strategy [you can find out more about LTGs in the book Cultivating a Life for God or Search & Rescue] we have addressed all of these issues at the cellular level of church life. This is where the war against infection is won or lost in the body.

In an LTG, men or women meet with one or at the most two others. This is hardly an attractive following for a future cult figure. All those in an LTG are reading large volumes of Scripture (25+ chapters/week) and each in the group are reading the same book, in context, in entirety and repetitively. This is not a biblically illiterate following. And it is very hard to take the Scripture out of context because all three in the group who have the Holy Spirit in them are reading the same book in its whole context repetitively.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that the organic church movement is not just tolerating heresy or taking a step down in combating it. In reality, I am convinced that we have a better way of addressing the problems of heresy in the church without reverting to static controls or gatekeepers of God’s truth. Perhaps the very thing we have been threatened by most-releasing the Scriptures into the hands of common Christians-is indeed the very thing that will slow the threat of heresy.

Martin Luther once said, “The two goals of my life are to get the Scripture into the language of every man and to get a hymnal into their hands. Set them loose and the flame will spread on its’ own.” I say, “Let the flames rage”.

I read of a church in which two people were shot dead and many others were wounded by mad gang violence on the church property early Sunday morning. Later that morning, police cars were all over and yellow police tape was cutting across the crime scene as an open investigation was taking place. The coroner was taking away body bags, while a sign, hastily hung below the police tape, read, “Church Service Will Go On As Usual.”

Our first response might be admiration for such a thing. Nothing can keep God’s people from obedience; they will worship no matter what happens. But obedience to what? There is no command in the New Testament to attend church services as we know them on Sunday morning.

Is it wrong that this church met despite the ongoing investigation of murder on their campus? No, it isn’t wrong, just a bit extreme and portrays that we may have our priorities out of balance.

A pastor friend of mine does not understand the reason I think this is so extreme. He asked, “If a murder happened on the same block as the house where your organic church meets, would you cancel a get-together?”

I said, “No, but if the murder took place at the same house where we meet, and the police were still dusting for fingerprints and removing body bags–yes!”

I have heard pastors say that what we do on Sunday mornings is the most important thing we do all week. Such platitudes sound religious and pious, but I do not believe they are true. I think God is far more concerned with how you treat your family, your neighbors, and the strangers on the street than how well dressed, timely, and inspired you are on Sunday morning at church services.

Just the fact that we can get away with convincing people that Sunday services are the most important thing we do all week is testimony to how far removed we are from the Scriptures. The devil has succeeded in deluding us and removing us from truth. We leaders are taking people down a path that is not the truth with all of the conviction of our belief in the Bible and none of the substance of it.

I would imagine that many of you reading this post right now are shocked by my assertion that a Sunday church service is not a biblical mandate. You are probably searching for verses in your mind right now. You will not find any, and the ones you think you find do not carry the theological assumption you’ve been told that they do. I will address this a bit more in a later post.

All of this shows us how out of balance we are on the importance of a Sunday worship service. I’m not against gathering and worshiping. I am not saying it is bad or wrong or even wasted energy. I am against placing Biblical authority on a duty to something that is not instructed in the Bible.

Two people died that morning on the church grounds. Police were still actively investigating the crime scene, taking testimony, and searching for evidence when parishioners started arriving for the service. The coroner was trying to remove the bodies before the choir started singing! In any other context the police would have prevented anyone from entering the scene of the crime, but I am sure a church on Sunday morning is an intimidating force even to a police department.

In our quest to be part of a powerful move of God’s kingdom, we often are tempted to think the solution will come from a complex composite of things that produce the results we so desperately long for. We cry out to the heavens for a solution that will finally change the church forever. Many travel every year to new seminars and conferences, buying the latest books and binders full of new methods in our search for the answer. The primal scream of our hearts is a search for spiritual success that will ultimately change the world. To our query of the universe, Albert Einstein once commented, “When the solution is simple, God is answering.” In this article, we will describe the practical ways our team—Church Multiplication Associates—has used to multiply and network house churches that saturate neighborhoods and nations with the message of Jesus Christ.  Why Are Simple Things Better?

The Power of Simplicity

There is something special about the power of simplicity. Many of the most profound things in life are indeed simple. Simple, however, does not mean simplistic. We tend to overlook simple things thinking that anything of value and substance will be complex, require professional oversight and will be very expensive. A valuable lesson that we have integrated into all we do as a church multiplication movement is that “less is more.”

Simplicity is a step beyond complexity. It takes great skill and effort to make something simple. It is easy to create something that is complex. But, to design something that is simple and yet profound, however, is a creative challenge. It takes great skill to know what is absolutely essential and what can be discarded.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”(1) For most, discipleship has become so complicated that it is no longer an easy burden and a light load. But Jesus intends for the Christian life to be easy and light and to bring rest to our souls. Fulfillment of the Great Commission is meant to be restful, not stressful!

Simple Things Last, while Complex Things Breaks Down

When we approach disciple making—wanting to pass the baton on to succeeding generations—we must refine the process so that it is simple and transferable. Simplicity is the key to the fulfillment of the Great Commission in this generation. If the process is complex, it will breakdown early in the transference to the next generation of disciples. The more complex the process, the greater the giftedness needed to keep it going. The simpler the process, the more available it is to the broader Christian populace.

Perhaps the reason that we do not see multiplication of disciples more often is that we are trying to do too much too soon in the process. We fail to grasp the fact that discipleship—following Christ in simple obedience—is a life-long pursuit. We, unfortunately, attempt to teach our disciples so much in the first year that we unintentionally sabotage the rest of the years by intimidating them into thinking it is way too hard for common people to do. We tend to over estimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in three years.

Simple Things are “Sticky” and Transferable to Others

In the best selling book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell says any epidemic type of expansion requires a “stickiness factor.”(2) In other words, the pattern must stick with people in such a way that it is unforgettable and easily passed on to others. It is not enough that it is easy, but it also must capture the imagination and affection of those who will pass it on.

Paul passed on to Timothy truths that were so profound that he would not forget them. They gripped his life and never left him. At the same time, however, the things Paul passed on were simple enough that Timothy could in turn pass them on to others who could then pass them on to others.(3) The gospel itself is the most profound truth mankind has ever received, yet it is simple enough for a child to understand and pass on to others! It is not enough that people can pass it on, it is necessary that they will want to pass it on. The gospel is good news, and like a profound secret, it should be something that we all want to tell others.

What we need are systems that are practical and profound. They must be both simple and significant! A system that is significant enough to tap into the Christian’s internal motivation, yet simple enough that it can be easily passed on from disciple to disciple, such a system will strengthen the church and produce growth that is qualitative and quantitative.

Our team of house church planters uses the following criteria to evaluate the ways we function as a movement in order to see multiplication to the ends of the earth:

• Received personally. It has a profound implication. It must be internalized and must transform the soul of the follower.
• Repeated easily. It has a simple application. It must be able to be passed on after only a brief encounter.
• Reproduced strategically. It has universal communication. It must pass on globally by being translated into a variety of cultural contexts and languages.

Simple Things Keep the Focus on What is Important

Another reason why simple methods are better is that they do not take away the glory from Christ himself. There are many times, unfortunately, that methods can be so impressive that people cease to notice Christ. Yet, Christ chooses to put his glory in weak vessels so that all the glory is retained by him. If people are so impressed with our wineskins (i.e. systems and strategies) that they stop noticing the wine (i.e. the message and person of Christ), then there is a big problem. Simple strategies keep it focused on Christ, not the plans or the people dreaming up the plans.

Jesus spoke of wine and wineskins.(4) Wineskins are important because they carry the wine, but without the wine, the skins are useless. It is good to give some thought to ministry systems, but the systems should not be the main thing. In fact, if done right, they should hardly be noticed at all because the living water has captivated our attention and affection. Simple systems are more likely to allow for this.

Simple Things Can Reproduce Easily

One final reason why simple methods are important is that multiplication becomes much more feasible. Reproduction comes from a natural desire and ability inherent in all healthy living things. Similarly, reproduction of churches should not be hard. It should be natural and even pleasurable. The fact that reproduction is thought to be so hard and painful for churches is evidence of how far removed we are from being healthy and natural. Reproduction is the product of intimacy, and we are created to enjoy intimacy. Even among churches, reproduction is the product of intimacy—with Christ, his mission, his spiritual family, and the lost world.

All reproduction begins at the molecular level and develops from the micro to the macro, from the simple to the complex. It is the same in the kingdom of God. We each began life as a zygote. A zygote is a cell formed by the union of a male seed and a female egg. Life multiplies from there. The moment that conception occurs, all the DNA necessary for the formation, growth, and development of a mature person is intact. The DNA never changes—it just leads the multiplication process within every tiny cell into forming the complete body. The same can be said for the body of Christ.

(1) Matt 11:28-30 (NASB)
(2) Malcolm Gladwell (2002), The Tipping Point: How Little Things can Make a Big Difference, First Back Bay, pp. 24-25.
(3) 2 Tim 2:2
(4) Luke 5:36-39

The United States is a mission field in desperate need of the gospel. Somehow we have managed to lose sight of the prime directive given to us by Jesus to go and make disciples of all the nations. There is hope. We can still fulfill the great commission in this generation, but we will need to get back the power that spread the gospel across the globe in the first century. We will need to see multiplication of disciples occur among all those in the church. Cultivating a Life for God takes an in-depth look at a tool called Life Transformation Groups and explains how this tool can release the awesome power of multiplication in your Church.

Click here to download the gleanings for “Cultivating a Life for God”(PDF)
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GLEANINGS – What are They?
Several months ago, I decided to go through the time-intensive labor of typing out passages from books I read. The collection of quotes and comments came to be known as “gleanings.” If you want to read the gist of a book without flipping through all the pages, this format is for you. Consider it my version of “Cliff’s Notes.”