[Subversive Underground]
THIS IS HIS CHURCH
by Keith Giles
It was just about three years ago that a few friends gathered in our den to pray with us about our crazy idea to start a house church. Of those twelve people who came on that first night only two of them are still with us today. Our house church has since been populated by various people seeking a more intimate, first-century form of Church who have found us online or by word of mouth.
Today our group is about 27 people, much too large for an optimum house church according to all the books I've read on the subject.
Wolfgang Simson, in his book, "Houses That Change The World", outlines the 5 stages of organic growth that every house church goes through. He indentifies them as:
1) Conception: the spiritual seed of a new church is conceived. The persons are now pregnant with an invisible church.
2) Pre-natal: during this planning time the church of the future is being discussed and everything is made ready for its birth.
3) Delivery: the time of actually planting the church when it begins to function as an organic entity.
4) Viable growth phase: the church grows and matures by addition and finally reaches the time when the organic growth reaches its maximum point.
5) Multiplication: when the church multiplies itself, or if it fails to do so during the appropriate time-span, usually enters a spiritual menopause and starts to die.
Our house church, The Mission, is currently somewhere between phase 4 and phase 5. We are at a maximum point in our organic growth phase. We need to begin praying about when and how to plant another house church out of this one, or we will enter the spiritual menopause phase and die.
My dilemna right now is that I don't know if we're approaching this exit or if we've already passed it a few miles back. What do I do? How do I know? Where do we go from here?
Over the last few months I have been praying about this very thing. I have discussed it privately with several of our brothers and sisters who have been with us the longest. I have sought counsel from people like Frank Viola and I've gone back to read through my house church books to find wisdom and gain insight into what we should do next.
Honestly, I still have no idea what to do.
Earlier this week I woke up around 4am and went into our den to pray about this. As I poured my heart out to God He reminded me of a few basic things.
First, He reminded me that this house church is His Church, not mine. This is not the Keith Giles church. I am very happy to say this, actually. No one who comes to our house church comes here because of my preaching (since I do not preach) or because of my great teaching (because I rarely bring a specific lesson to the group) or because of my books (most of them have not read my books) or because of my blog (most of them don't even know the URL). They're all here because they are hungry for community, for a Spirit-lead Church, and for more of Jesus. Several times over the last 3 years our house church has gathered without me and I know that those are probably some of the best times they've ever had as a church family.
The other thing God reminded me of was that this house church has grown over the last 3 years (almost too well actually) simply because I have done my best to keep my hands off the wheel and allow God to lead His Church and to allow His Holy Spirit to grow His Church as He promised He would.
Sitting in my den this week, at 4am, in the dark, God reminded me of one other thing. He reminded me of the prayer I offered up almost 4 years ago in this same room on that very first evening when our house church was just an idea germinating in the womb of our hearts and minds. I remembered praying that God would do something so amazing in this place that no man would dare take any credit for it.
To this day I look at what God has done to grow this church--His Church--and I am astounded. I see people learning to love others, I see people stepping outside their comfort zones to serve and to share and to give and to forgive, and I am amazed at the way God speaks to us and heals us and changes us and draws us together as a family.
This is God's Church, not mine. He has brought us this far, not me. He will take us through our next phase of organic growth, as long as I can keep my hands folded in prayer, and off of the steering wheel.
Can I ask you a favor? Would you please, pray with me today that I can do this one, simple thing?
I need your prayers and our house church needs a pastor who will continue to allow God to have His way as we navigate these next critical steps in our growth and development.
Blessings,
Keith
**
CURIOUS ABOUT HOUSE CHURCH?
"House Church 101" - Oct 4th, 2008 at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, CA. This is a free class to explore the basics of house church and to provide resources for those who want to plant their own house church in Orange County.
Details:
OCHOUSECHURCH.COM
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
Showing posts with label Frank Viola. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Viola. Show all posts
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
MY SUBVERSIVE JESUS
[Subversive Underground]
"My Subversive Jesus"
by Keith Giles
This Sunday morning I was very challenged to read about how Jesus very directly and intentionally confronted the empty traditions of the Pharisees by what He said and did.
HEALING WITH MUD AND SPITTLE
In John chapter 9, Jesus sees a man born blind. His disciples ask if this blindness is due to sin from his parents or his own sin. Jesus responds by saying that it is not because of anyone's sin but so that God's power may be displayed in his life.
What Jesus does next is very subversive. He spits on the ground, makes a cake of mud and smears it on the man's eyes and tells him to wash his face in the pool of Siloam. When he does the man is healed.
If you're like me you've probably always wondered why Jesus healed this man in such an unusual way. We know he could have simply spoken to him and restored his blindness, yet for some strange reason he performs this miracle in a very weird and, frankly, disgusting way.
Want to know why? The answer reveals some of the intentionally subversive methods of Jesus. In the Mishnah, the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism, it says "To heal a blind man on the Sabbath it is prohibited to make mud with spittle and smear it on his eyes." (Shabbat 108:20)
When Jesus decided to heal this man, on the Sabbath, using this exact same method prohibited by the Mishnah, he was publicly opposing this section of the Rabbinic Law and making a statement about the foolishness of a rule which prohibits healing someone from blindness.
His actions are a deliberate attack on the established religious system of the day.
If you read the entire passage in John 9 you'll see that this healing prompted an investigative tribunal by the Pharisees to determine how this person was healed, by whom and why.
"They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." - John 9:13-16
Clearly the Pharisees were upset over this and did all they could to undermine the miracle and to condemn Jesus for his actions.
NEGLECTING TO WASH HANDS
In Luke chapter 11 we read of another direct encounter with the Pharisees where Jesus publicly opposed their teachings by his acts of subversion.
"When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you." - Luke 11:37-41
Again, the Mishnah clearly says, "One should be willing to walk four miles to water in order to wash your hands rather than to eat with unwashed hands" (Sotah, 4b) and "He who neglects hand washing is as he who is a murderer" (Challan, J, 58:3).
Jesus knew he was breaking this rabbinical law when he and his disciples ate without washing their hands. He didn't forget to wash his hands, he intentionally walked past the line of people who were engaged in the religious hand washing ceremony and went over to the table and started to eat.
Jesus pointed out how foolish it is to go through an outward ceremony of cleanliness when inside our hearts we are filthy. Jesus urged the Pharisees to give what they had to the poor rather than engage in outward displays of holiness.
WHY SO SUBVERSIVE?
Jesus could easily have healed on another day of the week, and he could have easily healed without the spittle and mud cakes, and he probably should have washed his hands before he ate, but these were opportunities to demonstrate how foolish these laws were and how much more God cares for people than he does for rules and laws.
MY TURN NOW
It made me wonder, what are the modern traditions that I need to oppose by my actions? How can I follow Jesus by standing against the ways of man and, at the same time, declare my allegiance to the things of the Kingdom?
Quite honestly I haven't yet worked this all out, but I do feel that there may be a short list of things that I could do and say in my every day life that could condemn the empty religious rules of men in favor of the values of the Kingdom of God.
Can you think of anything?
-kg
**
NOTE: Many thanks to Frank Viola for enlightening me on the Mishnah teachings in his excellent book, "Pagan Christianity".
**
GREAT CONVERSATIONS
Over at my main blog there are some pretty cool conversations going on. You should take a peek
HERE
**
ARTICLES TO SHARE
THE POVERTY OF WEALTH
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
"My Subversive Jesus"
by Keith Giles
This Sunday morning I was very challenged to read about how Jesus very directly and intentionally confronted the empty traditions of the Pharisees by what He said and did.
HEALING WITH MUD AND SPITTLE
In John chapter 9, Jesus sees a man born blind. His disciples ask if this blindness is due to sin from his parents or his own sin. Jesus responds by saying that it is not because of anyone's sin but so that God's power may be displayed in his life.
What Jesus does next is very subversive. He spits on the ground, makes a cake of mud and smears it on the man's eyes and tells him to wash his face in the pool of Siloam. When he does the man is healed.
If you're like me you've probably always wondered why Jesus healed this man in such an unusual way. We know he could have simply spoken to him and restored his blindness, yet for some strange reason he performs this miracle in a very weird and, frankly, disgusting way.
Want to know why? The answer reveals some of the intentionally subversive methods of Jesus. In the Mishnah, the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism, it says "To heal a blind man on the Sabbath it is prohibited to make mud with spittle and smear it on his eyes." (Shabbat 108:20)
When Jesus decided to heal this man, on the Sabbath, using this exact same method prohibited by the Mishnah, he was publicly opposing this section of the Rabbinic Law and making a statement about the foolishness of a rule which prohibits healing someone from blindness.
His actions are a deliberate attack on the established religious system of the day.
If you read the entire passage in John 9 you'll see that this healing prompted an investigative tribunal by the Pharisees to determine how this person was healed, by whom and why.
"They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." - John 9:13-16
Clearly the Pharisees were upset over this and did all they could to undermine the miracle and to condemn Jesus for his actions.
NEGLECTING TO WASH HANDS
In Luke chapter 11 we read of another direct encounter with the Pharisees where Jesus publicly opposed their teachings by his acts of subversion.
"When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you." - Luke 11:37-41
Again, the Mishnah clearly says, "One should be willing to walk four miles to water in order to wash your hands rather than to eat with unwashed hands" (Sotah, 4b) and "He who neglects hand washing is as he who is a murderer" (Challan, J, 58:3).
Jesus knew he was breaking this rabbinical law when he and his disciples ate without washing their hands. He didn't forget to wash his hands, he intentionally walked past the line of people who were engaged in the religious hand washing ceremony and went over to the table and started to eat.
Jesus pointed out how foolish it is to go through an outward ceremony of cleanliness when inside our hearts we are filthy. Jesus urged the Pharisees to give what they had to the poor rather than engage in outward displays of holiness.
WHY SO SUBVERSIVE?
Jesus could easily have healed on another day of the week, and he could have easily healed without the spittle and mud cakes, and he probably should have washed his hands before he ate, but these were opportunities to demonstrate how foolish these laws were and how much more God cares for people than he does for rules and laws.
MY TURN NOW
It made me wonder, what are the modern traditions that I need to oppose by my actions? How can I follow Jesus by standing against the ways of man and, at the same time, declare my allegiance to the things of the Kingdom?
Quite honestly I haven't yet worked this all out, but I do feel that there may be a short list of things that I could do and say in my every day life that could condemn the empty religious rules of men in favor of the values of the Kingdom of God.
Can you think of anything?
-kg
**
NOTE: Many thanks to Frank Viola for enlightening me on the Mishnah teachings in his excellent book, "Pagan Christianity".
**
GREAT CONVERSATIONS
Over at my main blog there are some pretty cool conversations going on. You should take a peek
HERE
**
ARTICLES TO SHARE
THE POVERTY OF WEALTH
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
THE RELUCTANT RADICAL
[SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND]
THE RELUCTANT RADICAL
by Keith Giles
I really don't try to act like a radical. If anything I am trying as hard as possible to remain normal. The problem is I'm having a very hard time defining what normal should look like.
Being a radical means that you can't ever really just come out and say exactly what you mean. I have to choose my words carefully. I have to lead people to the same discoveries I have made, like clues to the scene of a crime no one is investigating.
Being a radical means I can not be comfortable with things that seem to delight everyone else. I cannot tolerate certain points of view without fuming inside. I cannot engage most people in conversation without biting my tongue for fear they may discover that I am a raging radical beneath this skin.
Please, don't become a radical. There's still hope for the rest of you to remain normal. Stay as you are. Do not read the words of Jesus. Do not take them seriously. Do not attempt to live them out. It will change you beyond recognition. Soon you will know the pain of trying to love someone who will not ever love you back. You will experience the agony of serving someone who will only go on to destroy their life, in spite of all that you have poured into them.
Do not read "Jesus For President" or "Pagan Christianity" and do not watch "What Would Jesus Buy?" or go to Just4One.org, for goodness sake. These things will only make you sick of corporate America and our endless lust for consuming goods and services at the expense of the poorest people in the world who work as slaves to create the things we purchase.
Do not, under any circumstances, download the PDF article by Ray Mayhew called "Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of American Christianity" or you might also find yourself leaving your safe office as an associate pastor at a traditional church to start a house church in your home where you can give 100% of the offering to the poor. (But if you insist on reading this I will send it to you for free. Just email me at "elysiansky" at hotmail (dot) com).
Please, whatever you do, do not become a radical like me. It will cause you to be forever dissatisfied with this World. It will forever erase the fantasy world that most of us cling to for safety in the dark of night.
Once you become a radical you cannot simply exist. You cannot be a radical and still blend in with the culture ever again. Instead you will be driven to press forward, out of your comfort zone, compelled to put the commands of Jesus into action.
Being a radical means you can not ever rest until you have done everything in your power to awaken everyone else around you to the poverty, the sickness, the violence, the horror and the injustice of this fallen world. It means placing your foot into the footprints of the One who was called the Man of Sorrows, who was acquainted with suffering and who knew that the secret to changing our world was only found in death to self and seeking first the Kingdom of God.
Trust me, it is so much easier to belong to a predictable movement where comfort is the goal and the radio is tuned to safety.
Stay the way you are.
Do not become a radical.
You have been warned.
-kg
**
LORD, SAVE US FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS
This is one indie film worth seeking out.
"Lord Save Us From Your Followers" is not a slam against Christianity by non-believers, it's an honest look at Christianity in America that we need to take seriously.
This film hopes to reclaim the heart of the Gospel and to restore the concepts of relationship and love for people, as Jesus commanded us.
Secondly, the film hopes to inspire dialogue between political or ideological extremes, particularly Christian and non-Christian; Liberal and conservative.
WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE FILM
HERE
MAIN WEBSITE
HERE:
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
THE RELUCTANT RADICAL
by Keith Giles
I really don't try to act like a radical. If anything I am trying as hard as possible to remain normal. The problem is I'm having a very hard time defining what normal should look like.
Being a radical means that you can't ever really just come out and say exactly what you mean. I have to choose my words carefully. I have to lead people to the same discoveries I have made, like clues to the scene of a crime no one is investigating.
Being a radical means I can not be comfortable with things that seem to delight everyone else. I cannot tolerate certain points of view without fuming inside. I cannot engage most people in conversation without biting my tongue for fear they may discover that I am a raging radical beneath this skin.
Please, don't become a radical. There's still hope for the rest of you to remain normal. Stay as you are. Do not read the words of Jesus. Do not take them seriously. Do not attempt to live them out. It will change you beyond recognition. Soon you will know the pain of trying to love someone who will not ever love you back. You will experience the agony of serving someone who will only go on to destroy their life, in spite of all that you have poured into them.
Do not read "Jesus For President" or "Pagan Christianity" and do not watch "What Would Jesus Buy?" or go to Just4One.org, for goodness sake. These things will only make you sick of corporate America and our endless lust for consuming goods and services at the expense of the poorest people in the world who work as slaves to create the things we purchase.
Do not, under any circumstances, download the PDF article by Ray Mayhew called "Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of American Christianity" or you might also find yourself leaving your safe office as an associate pastor at a traditional church to start a house church in your home where you can give 100% of the offering to the poor. (But if you insist on reading this I will send it to you for free. Just email me at "elysiansky" at hotmail (dot) com).
Please, whatever you do, do not become a radical like me. It will cause you to be forever dissatisfied with this World. It will forever erase the fantasy world that most of us cling to for safety in the dark of night.
Once you become a radical you cannot simply exist. You cannot be a radical and still blend in with the culture ever again. Instead you will be driven to press forward, out of your comfort zone, compelled to put the commands of Jesus into action.
Being a radical means you can not ever rest until you have done everything in your power to awaken everyone else around you to the poverty, the sickness, the violence, the horror and the injustice of this fallen world. It means placing your foot into the footprints of the One who was called the Man of Sorrows, who was acquainted with suffering and who knew that the secret to changing our world was only found in death to self and seeking first the Kingdom of God.
Trust me, it is so much easier to belong to a predictable movement where comfort is the goal and the radio is tuned to safety.
Stay the way you are.
Do not become a radical.
You have been warned.
-kg
**
LORD, SAVE US FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS
This is one indie film worth seeking out.
"Lord Save Us From Your Followers" is not a slam against Christianity by non-believers, it's an honest look at Christianity in America that we need to take seriously.
This film hopes to reclaim the heart of the Gospel and to restore the concepts of relationship and love for people, as Jesus commanded us.
Secondly, the film hopes to inspire dialogue between political or ideological extremes, particularly Christian and non-Christian; Liberal and conservative.
WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE FILM
HERE
MAIN WEBSITE
HERE:
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
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