A Kingdom

A Kingdom, A People & A River
A New Paradigm For the Post Modern House Church Movement

Parousia Weekly Update Letter For The Week of October 17, 2005

"When a prophet is accepted and deified, his message is lost. The prophet is only useful so long as he is stoned as a public nuisance calling us to repentance, disturbing our comfortable routines, breaking our respectable idols, shattering our sacred conventions" (A. G. Gardiner as quoted by Arthur Wallis, "In The Day of Thy Power").

In This Issue:

Post Cards From The Edge of a Post Christi an Post Modern Culture
The School of The 5-Fold - Update
House Church Notes
“Oops, He’s Done It Again” (or George Barna & “Viva la Revolución!”)
Praise Report Regarding “The Move”

Dear Friends,

Long letter, short intro!

Blessings,
Maurice

Post Cards From The Edge of a Post Christi an Post Modern Culture

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else."-C.S. Lewis

More Post-Cards Next Week

The School of 5-Fold Ministry - Update

Yes! We had or first-of-six 5-Fold equipping evenings last Friday evening with 17 people there (we missed you!). We met in the home of Garold & Kitty Shipley in the Spokane Valley . It was a potluck and so there was lots of food. As the meal wound up we celebrated The Lord’s Supper together. I began the evening with some sharing about why we were there – to prepare for the coming “spiritual wildfire” of revival spreading through house churches by multiplying leadership, to discover (or confirm) our 5-Fold calling, to learn both how to minister together and how to avoid the polarizing problems which divine gifting and human egos can create (a la 1^st Corinthians 1:10-17). Tim, a new person, shared how God had been speaking to him during the day, and how the Lord had emphasized the importance of praise. We took this as our “cue” from the Lord that we needed to transition into praise & worship. Our worship time led us into a time of personal ministry with several specific prophetic words for individuals there. As this time wound down I handed out 3X5 cards along with small envelopes. I asked everyone to write down on the card what they felt to be their 5-Fold gift/calling (This led to a brief review of the Ephesians 4 gifts). Then I asked everyone to place the card into the envelope, seal the envelope and write their name on the outside (can you guess why?). I collected all of the envelopes and explained that this was an “experiment.” On the last evening of our 5-Fold school everyone will receive their un-opened envelope back. The “experiment” will be to see, after pray er, ministry and teaching together, if anything has changed. Has God shown you anything different than what you originally thought or believed about yourself and your calling. The challenge here, for many people, will be to remain “open” to something new God might want to reveal to them during this time. Next, I handed out a study outline of 1 Corinthians Chapter 4 (this outline is available to you in PDF format on our website at this link: www.parousianetwork.com/1_Corinthians_4.pdf). I explained that while the Corinthian house churches were the New Testament church most known for powerful spiritual manifestations and gifts, they were also the church with the worst divisions and total misunderstanding of the nature and role of spiritual leadership, including apostleship and (by extension) the 5-Fold ministry. I explained that this was why it was really very appropriate to begin our school of the 5-Fold ministry not in Ephesians 4 (which everyone would expect), but in 1^st Corinthians 4 where Paul directly addressed these misunderstandings, including the 1^st century manifestation in Corinth of what today is known as “Kingdom Now” or “Dominion” theology. I have entitled this lesson “Servants Versus Kings”. I encouraged everyone to take the outline home (yep, this is a school with homework, not because I planned it that way, but because we ran out of time!) and study it in preparation for next Friday. We ended the evening with more worship & praise and by dividing into two pray er groups for more personal pray er time. During this time we experienced some powerful manifestations of the Spirit, which I believe are down payments on more to come.

The River of God ’s Spirit is preparing to flow in great power & blessing. Are you prepared to “run with the horses” and to lead in this coming move of God? You are cordially invited to come and join us this coming Friday evening at 6:00 pm. Bring your favorite potluck dish, an open heart, a hunger for God and maybe even a friend. Details posted on our website at www.parousianetwork.com/school_of_5_fold_ministry.htm.

House Church Notes

Celebrating A Wedding . . .
“But today of all days it is brought home to me, it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.” –Bilbo Baggins, “The Fellowship of the Ring”

On Sunday, October 9 our house church family, specifically The Off-Broadway Family Outreach, had the joy of celebrating the wedding of Fred and Julia (we call her Julie) at Living Springs Ranch, and therein lies a house church story. Fred and Julie became involved in The Off-Broadway Family Outreach (our sister house church ministry in the West Central neighborhood) roughly 15 months ago. The occasion was a Monday evening when we were in the process of feeding a couple hundred people in Larry Whiston ’s front yard. Someone came running over, grabbed me (hot dog tongs, apron & all) and said, “Fred’s just shot his finger off!” That was the beginning of Fred’s journey into house church and the Kingdom of God . A drug dealer, user & trafficker, Fred had been examining an illegal gun when it misfired and took of the third digit of his little finger. I found him sitting in a chair in the yard across the street, blood everywhere. I pray ed for him there as the police & para-medics arrived. Fred & his girlfriend (Julie) became regulars at our ministry house, attracted by what they saw and felt, but still stuck in “the lifestyle” and misunderstood by those who didn’t realize the journey these two were on. In January of this year Fred was sentenced to prison for an old outstanding trafficking charge. I spoke at his sentencing hearing and, over the objections of the County Prosecutor , convinced the judge to release him to my custody for the afternoon. So we gathered in their apartment later that afternoon, held a “going to jail” party and then walked Fred to jail to turn himself in. Over the next 4½ months Fred began to change. He got clean from drugs, began reading his bible, corresponding with us and expressing a genuine desire to change. I worked with the Prosecutor’s office in Redmond (think Seattle ) to get another old warrant & charge dismissed. When the State mistakenly released him to King County , I drove to Seattle and brought him home. Larry Whiston , Jan Foland and I worked with Fred to make good & godly choices. One Monday evening he volunteered that he had made a new commitment to Christ. His and Julie’s good choices culminated with a decision to get married, which took place on October 9^th. I had the joy of performing the ceremony, surrounded by our Off Broadway family along with Julie’s family (people who had told Fred that they NEVER thought he would ever “get clean”!). Fred & Julie’s obedience has begun having “ripple effects” in the neighborhood as they have become a living testimony that there is hope for a better, drug-free life in Christ.

. . . And Observing A Funeral
“I shall look for his coming from the White Tower , but he shall not return.” Aragorn over the dying Borimir, “The Fellowship of the Ring”

On the previous Saturday, October 8^th, Larry Whiston , Fred, Jan Foland and myself were at the home of another of our Off Broadway family to build a new fence. Around 2:30 we heard a fire truck as it circled the block and came to rest at the house next door. Larry looked at me and said, “You know, they may need a pastor.” I agreed and literally followed the paramedics into the house. There I discovered a distraught wife being consoled by a paramedic. I introduced myself as a neighborhood pastor, took the wife to one side and motioned for the paramedic to join his colleagues in the kitchen where the husband was laying on the kitchen floor. As I talked and pray ed with the wife it quickly became apparent that the husband was dead. Other family members (her mom and son) soon arrived. I spoke with them briefly, gave them my card and told them to let me know if I could do anything more. A couple of days later the wife called and asked if I would be willing to do the memorial service. “Of course I would,” I responded. By the time of the funeral on Friday afternoon I had learned more. They had lost a son to leukemia a few years earlier. The husband had suffered with back problems & excruciating pain for several years and had been told by the doctor that he would soon be in a wheel chair. Drugs soon followed. At the service I shared how, whenever I see a person or family that has experienced such terrible pain, I cannot help but ask what great purposes God must have for them that would cause the enemy of our souls to fight against them so viciously. The family was deeply touched by the service. Please pray for me and for our ministry team as we seek wisdom on how to follow up on this family, how to “plant to the moment” by encouraging them to continue their journey with us via house church.

“Oops, He’s Done It Again” (or George Barna & “Viva la Revolución!”)

As we used to say back home, “The cat’s out of the bag”! On October 10^th researcher George Barna posted an article (or announcement) on his website (www.barna.org) entitled “A Faith Revolution Is Redefining ‘Church,’ According to New Study.”
The article is essentially a promotional announcement for Barna’s newest, and perhaps most challenging, book, “The Revoluion.” There has been considerable pre-publication publicity regarding this book, and pre-publication reviews (such as Andrew Jones at www.tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com) are encouraging. The “buzz” has been generated by Barna’s announcement that after 20 years of statistically documenting the changing environment of our church and non-church culture, Barna has come to two basic conclusion: First, that the leadership of the existing traditional church paradigm isn’t listening, and secondly, that it is time for him to turn the focus of his attention and research to that portion of the church which IS listening, namely, “the emerging church.”

Now, mind you, I have not read the book yet. It should be hitting bookshelves later this month. But I have read Barna’s article (and would encourage you to do the same). What I want to do here is to give you a “heads up” on what I think this book could mean for you and me and the house church movement as a whole. I want to use Barna’s announcement as a springboard for several observations.

Maurice’s Observation # 1: Prepare for “The flavor de jour” – the phenomenon of “the emerging church,” more specifically house church, is about to become the “flavor de jour” of discussion in the larger church world in a way we have not experienced before. The phenomenon of “us too” is about to set in. “Everyone” is about to “do house church.” Every “small group ministry” is about to become (or be re-labeled) a “house church ministry.” Books will soon be written by people whose thinking process goes something like this, “I own a house, I go to church, ergo, I should write a book about house church.” In the very near future I fully expect to hear about or see a “40 Days to a Purpose driven house church” curriculum being offered by someone. Mega churches will soon be calling their small groups “house churches.” Count on it. Now, am I engaging in “sour grapes” here? No. I want to see thousands of multiplying house churches popping up and spreading like wildfire. MORE, LORD! But the glare of publicity and popularity will inevitably place immense pressure on this NASCENT house church movement and force issues to the surface which many in the movement have been reluctant to confront. And this leads me to my second observation.

Maurice’s Observation # 2: “He Who Defines The Terms Wins The Argument” – every first year debate and/or philosophy student knows the truth of this statement. It has been true throughout church history. This conflict (or confusion) over terms can be quickly found in the Barna article I have referred to. To be fair, I love the fact that he refers to people in “the emerging church” movement as “revolutionaries.” “Viva la Revolución!” And I love such statements as “. . . the Revolutionary faith movement is growing rapidly . . . . These are people who are less interested in attending church than in being the church.” YES! Preach it Brother George! But it is followed by some statements which bother me: “A common misconception about revolutionaries . . . is that they are disengaging from God when they leave a local church. We found that while some people leave the local church and fall away from God altogether, there is a much larger segment of Americans who are currently leaving churches precisely because they want more of God in their life but cannot get what they need from a local church.” Do you see any problem in this statement? O.K., consider this. Emerging church “revolutionaries” are not leaving the local church. They are becoming a genuine (some would say more authentic) expression and manifestation of the “local church.” In other words, house churches ARE local churches in every sense of the word! How important is this? Well, Barna uses the phrase “local church” some 25 times in his article! In other words, house churches and other “revolutionary” forms of the “emerging church” are distinguished from “local churches” some 25 times! This is a “false” definition, because (to repeat myself) emerging church expressions such as house church ARE local churches in every sense of the word! Fortunately, in the paragraph just quoted above the article goes on to say, “They have decided to get serious about their faith by piecing together a more robust faith experience. Instead of going to church, they have chosen to be the Church, in a way that harkens back to the Church detailed in the Book of Acts.” Again, AMEN! But the issue of definitions remains.

The great theological creeds and statements of faith (such as the Nicene Creed or Athanasian Creed) were built around defining terms (was Christ “homo-ousias [“same nature”] or homoi –ousias [“like nature”] with God the Father). Now try this one on for size: What constitutes the nature of “ekklesia”? And what constitutes an “ekklesia en tw oikia humon” (a church in your house). Is “any small group of believers meeting anywhere” an ekklesia? What about the need for elders & deacons? What about the need, role and functioning of 5-Fold gifts? And what is your operating definition of both “church” and “house church”? Why is this important? Well, if you can’t define it, how do you know whether or not you are doing it? Otherwise our “understanding” of house church will be up there with Supreme Court Justice John Paul Steven’s understanding of pornography, “I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it” (Oh, really? And when was the last time the good Justice caught a couple episodes of “Sex In The City”?). The emerging church movement, and more specifically the house church movement, is about to be thrust front and center into a huge national church debate on the very nature of church paradigms, and in this unfolding debate, “He who defines the terms wins the argument.” And, naturally, this leads to my next observation!

Maurice’s Observation # 3: Prepare For “Paradigms In Collision” – The old and the new paradigms of God’s activity are about to collide “big time.” For example. The 20^th century was the century of “the para-church” organization. The very phrase “para-Church” was created by the traditional, institutional, congregational, denominational church paradigm to describe organized activity which occurred outside of its walls, programs or control. “We’re the local church. You’re para-church.” I listened to this debate first hand when my wife and I were on Campus Crusade Staff during the late 1970s. These old definitions and distinctions will no longer work. The emerging church movement, specifically the house church movement is about to re-ignite this debate as these old and new paradigms begin to collide in the arena of ideas and debate. And I use the term “collide” intentionally, because this is happening and will happen. After all, if the old paradigm is working so well, why would God be raising up a new one? If you can’t answer that question, then you probably don’t belong in the house church movement, not yet at least. And that leads me to my last observation.

Maurice’s Observation # 4: Prepare for “Apostolic Migration” – Where are you on Wolfgang Simson ’s “5 Steps of Apostolic Migration?” The unfolding “Revolution” that Barna speaks of is going to force many people to examine their paradigm and to consider a massive paradigm shift that Wolfgang calls an “Apostolic Migration”. If you don’t know where you are in this process, I would suggest you make it a personal priority to “find yourself.” You can view and read about this on our website at www.parousianetwork.com/Wolfgangs_Five_Steps.htm. “Viva la Revolución!”

Praise Report Regarding “The Move”

Our thanks to all of you who have pray ed with us and for us regarding our need to move by November 1. Through a series of miraculous circumstances and contacts, we have been offered a home in the Spokane Valley rent free for a year! God has answered your pray ers for us and we are thankful and excited about this new step. Please keep us in your pray ers over the next couple of weeks as we make this transition.