The Parousia Update Letter For the Week of January 16, 2010

 And The River Flowed . . . Underground (An Alternative To The “Crash” Of Organic Church)

 The recent article by Mark Galli in Christianity Today Online entitled “Long Live Organic Church” continues to ripple through the organic church community. If you haven’t read it yet, you can access and read the article at  http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/januaryweb-only/11-41.0.html. In addition you can read Neil Cole’s response at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/januaryweb-only/12-21.0.html. Frank Viola also offered a well thought out response which you can read at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/januaryweb-only/12.31.0.html. I also wrote a newsletter in response to the Galli article, but I chose not to send it out to this list. It is posted in our website newsletter archives. After some serious prayer and reflection I have come to a renewed perspective regarding house church, organic church and what God is doing in our day. And I thought I would share some of that with you in this letter. 

Organic House Church And The River 

I have a confession to make. I love Garth Brooks. I know, I know. He isn’t exactly Isaac Watts or Charles Wesley, but I really like some of his music (Which reminds me of the Tim Burton film, “Mars Attacks” where the aliens are finally defeated when someone discovers that their heads will explode when they hear country music. I know EXACTLY how they felt!!). And one of my favorite Garth Brooks songs is entitled “The River”. In a way that only a musical story teller like Garth Brooks can do, it describes life’s journey as a choice to “ride the river” with all of its untamed wildness and uncertainty. Yep, welcome to organic Church and life on “the River of God”. (O.K., you can hear a clean audio version of “The River” at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6931417793347126181#. Enjoy - while resisting the urge to wave your butane lighter in the air. What’s with that, anyway?). 

Some of the greatest rivers on earth never see the light of day. They move silently, powerfully and unseen, often beneath hostile landscape, giving no visible evidence of the tremendous wealth and power that flows quietly under the surface. Just one minor example can be found right here in eastern Washington where the Spokane aquifer flows silently beneath the landscape from northern Idaho. Where it briefly manifests it takes the form of the Spokane River, but the invisible river itself is an underground flow of much greater proportions than ever meets the eye. Billions of gallons of life-giving water flow silently beneath our feet. Yet life as we know it here would be vastly different without it. 

Spiritual reality often mirrors the physical world, and the greatest organic flow of the River of God’s Spirit often moves unobserved to the untrained eye. For example, most western Christians are only vaguely aware (if at all) that the greatest organic church growth movement in the history of the Church since Pentecost began in the 1950s in China. From the time that China banished western missionaries (in 1954) until recently, the 2 million protestant believers in China 40 years ago have swelled to an estimated 200 million today. With little or no outward trappings or Western promotion the River of God’s Spirit has flowed silently and in great power to produce the greatest organic Church expansion in the history of the Church.  And that is merely one of many examples of the power and blessing of God’s underground river around the world. 

And then there’s the West. The Church in America and the West (i.e., Western Europe) doesn’t seem to know how to do anything without a program, a corporate charter, a tax exemption, a board of directors, a publishing contract and a television program. For this reason alone it should come as no surprise that Western Christianity equates “organic church” with some kind of a program, a book, a conference, or a church growth workshop. And programs nearly always have a predictable life cycle which typically ends in “collapse” (how many used copies of “The Purpose Driven Church” do you have lying around?).  And there’s the rub. Programs collapse, rivers don’t. At the end of the day the question must be asked, “Is organic Church another program or is it something more - such as a manifestation of the River of God’s Spirit in our day?”. Answer that question and you will quickly clarify both the potential and the future of the organic church movement. 

A Radical Suggestion 

We discussed this situation at our most recent Friday night gathering. After much fruitful discussion some asked, “Do we have to call it (organic house church) a movement?”  Hmmmm. Good question grasshopper. Our conclusion for the evening? Let’s simply gather, focus on BEING the Church, listen to what God is telling us to do, and then do that. Could the future of organic house church really be that simple?! 

O.K., I want to make a “radical” suggestion (which will probably go unheeded, but what’s new!?). It’s time for organic house church to go “underground”. The “roots” of  organic house church are to be found, not in the pages of Christianity Today, but in the River of God’s Spirit which flows most powerfully when it flows quietly and unseen. I have taught for several years now that the River of God’s Spirit is going to flow in tremendous power and blessing - what you and I traditionally refer to as “revival” - and that organic house churches are the new “channels” through which that River will flow. Not only do I believe this to be true, but I believe we stand today on the very eve of that outpouring. In light of this I believe it’s time to become an underground house church “movement” (for lack of a better vocabulary) which finds its purpose and is content in being the channel and the vessel of what God intends to do. Let’s stop trying to be a movement. Let’s stop promoting house church as the latest and greatest evangelistic tool or church growth tool or church planting tool, or etc, etc. Organic house church is NOT a technique for evangelism, church growth or anything else for that matter. It is the pursuit of God and His Kingdom in the company of friends and fellow pilgrims. It is the making of disciples through personal modeling and mentoring. It is believers in right relationship to the River of God’s Spirit, meeting in homes and other alternative venues in their pursuit of God. 

So, whoever we’re trying to impress, let’s stop. The staff at Christianity Today, as well informed and well intentioned as they may be, don’t “get it”, even when we ‘splain it to them. “Nutin’ but luv”, but it’s time to move on. Instead, let’s focus on becoming the channel He can use and which He has told us He wants. He wants a holy church, so let’s focus on seeking after holiness and the fear of God. He wants a broken and contrite church, so let’s focus on seeking a Spirit of genuine repentance and brokenness before the throne of grace. He wants an “intimate” church, so let’s focus on pursuing genuine intimacy with Him and listening for His still small voice in all things, great and small. He wants an obedient Church which seeks to obey Him by serving others, rather than  being served. So, let’s find creative ways to serve “the least of these”. He wants mature 5-fold leaders who have learned how to listen to God’s voice and can move house-to-house, equipping and building up God’s people and carrying the fire of holiness & fear, repentance and intimacy with them wherever they go. We need an underground house church “movement” that is as deep and strong as the River from which it gains its strength and power. Let others pursue and play with their programs and agendas. They will eventually experience the “crash” which comes to all such activities which have run through their “life cycles”.  But let’s set our course to seek to become the kind of channel God can use. Whether or not we are willing to become useable channels is up to us. What He does with that channel by way of spiritual renewal and widespread impact is up to Him. It has always been that way, even when we fooled ourselves into thinking otherwise. And remember the words of the Psalmist: 

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” (Psalm 46:4-5) 

No collapse here. Only that power and strength and purpose and blessing which flows from God alone.

 And The River Flows On . . .

 Feed Spokane Update 

I want to thank those of you who have expressed interest in beginning ministries and outreaches to those in need. I am blessed and encouraged by your statements that our work with Feed Spokane has encouraged you to move forward. By all means, let me know if we can help or encourage you further. I also thought that you might enjoy the following story. 

I was recently contacted by a restaurateur whose chain of family restaurants participates in Feed Spokane. He sent me a copy of a book written by the President of Worldvision (“The Hole In Our Gospel” by Richard Sterns). It is his personal story of leaving a VERY lucrative corporate position and accepting an invitation to become the President of Worldvision. It seems that Life Center Church (a Foursquare mega-church in Spokane) had bought some 5,000 copies of the book and had distributed them to the congregation to read and discuss. Pastor Joe Wittwer also preached on the book in the morning services for several weeks. My friend sent me a copy and invited me to come hear the author, which I did and thoroughly enjoyed. I was so impressed and encouraged that I contacted Life Center and asked if they had any extra copies. They called me back just before Christmas and said that they had 60 returned copies which they would gladly make available to me and to Feed Spokane. Last week I picked up and distributed 30 copies to members of our meal site coalition - people who lead significant outreaches throughout our city. I plan to pick up 30 more copies this week and already have requests for most of them. 

I would appreciate your on-going prayers for this project. It is not my goal to “evangelize”. My goal is simply to encourage, to challenge and to expand the vision of people who are already doing good work, and to offer those who are interested an opportunity to discover and drink from the River. Amazing things happen to people who drink from living waters. My role is to simply provide them with a cup. How do you touch a city for the Kingdom of God? One cup at a time.