Care to read over my shoulder again? I got this today and I just love emails like this one. Nothing excites me more than seeing Jesus bring this kind of freedom into someone’s heart.
God’s timing is awesome. I have listened to the audio version of the Jake Colsen book a couple of times now driving back and forth between work and home. I cannot even begin to describe how accurate that book is, at least for me. Especially the chapters dealing with “house church”. I am Jake Colsen!!
I had left the institutional approach for a better pattern of church. It was a rather rational decision. IC wasn’t working, so I must be getting something wrong. I needed to be more like the early church. But, I was missing the most important thing. I was focusing on an “it” rather than “Him”. Thanks for helping me sort this out.
I did an interview yesterday with a Canadian Christian TV show, and we found ourselves on this theme a lot as well. This is one of those places in my life, I never saw coming. I spent 20 years trying to find the perfect ‘it’ that would contain Jesus and his life. I never found it and was finlly won over to the idea that Jesus did lot leave us with a system to perpetuate the church, but with his Spirit who would let us live deeply in his life…
Is there any other way to really live?
I believe it is the only way to live Wayne.
I believe it is the only way to live Wayne.
I had a similar mind-blowing experience yesterday morning while reading Isaiah 55. I read the chapter to get the context of Is 55:10 which is commonly used to encourage the use of scripture in witnessing (My word will not return without accomplishing the purpose for which I sent it). I know I’ve done my part spewing out scripture like magic spells hoping they would accomplish His purpose. Well, this time when I read it I noticed it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God. Read the entire chapter and it reads like a love letter to us — and it is prophetic of Jesus. This has nothing to do with us witnessing. That is an abused application. This is God speaking here. And Who is the Word? Its a Him, not an it! You know who He is from John 1; and in John 17:4 Jesus, the Word, proclaims He has accomplished the purpose for which the Father sent Him. John 17:4 is the answer to Isaiah 55:10. It’s the completion of the prophesy and it’s all been done for us. Now that is truely mind-expanding.
I had a similar mind-blowing experience yesterday morning while reading Isaiah 55. I read the chapter to get the context of Is 55:10 which is commonly used to encourage the use of scripture in witnessing (My word will not return without accomplishing the purpose for which I sent it). I know I’ve done my part spewing out scripture like magic spells hoping they would accomplish His purpose. Well, this time when I read it I noticed it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God. Read the entire chapter and it reads like a love letter to us — and it is prophetic of Jesus. This has nothing to do with us witnessing. That is an abused application. This is God speaking here. And Who is the Word? Its a Him, not an it! You know who He is from John 1; and in John 17:4 Jesus, the Word, proclaims He has accomplished the purpose for which the Father sent Him. John 17:4 is the answer to Isaiah 55:10. It’s the completion of the prophesy and it’s all been done for us. Now that is truely mind-expanding.
Some good words there Wayne.
Although i left the IC a few years ago and don’t see myself going back there, i cannot become the thing i was trying to get away from – ie – i didn’t like the ‘Us and Them’ thing of IC, but i can easliy fall into that outside of the IC by referring to ‘Us and Them’ in the opposite way. The bottom line is that it’s all about Him – Jesus – more so than the form or structure. Having said that i still have got a lot out of some very good books by people like Frank Viola – eg Rethinking the Wineskin, Who is you covering and Pagan Christianity, but just don’t quite agree with him that the right structure will ‘fix’ everything.
Some good words there Wayne.
Although i left the IC a few years ago and don’t see myself going back there, i cannot become the thing i was trying to get away from – ie – i didn’t like the ‘Us and Them’ thing of IC, but i can easliy fall into that outside of the IC by referring to ‘Us and Them’ in the opposite way. The bottom line is that it’s all about Him – Jesus – more so than the form or structure. Having said that i still have got a lot out of some very good books by people like Frank Viola – eg Rethinking the Wineskin, Who is you covering and Pagan Christianity, but just don’t quite agree with him that the right structure will ‘fix’ everything.
Good comments dwellceller. If we start the Us/Them approach we’re just focusing again on what’s not real. Jesus is the focus whether one is inside what is a typical IC today in the US, or a small house church underground in China, or no “church” in the traditional form at all.
Good comments dwellceller. If we start the Us/Them approach we’re just focusing again on what’s not real. Jesus is the focus whether one is inside what is a typical IC today in the US, or a small house church underground in China, or no “church” in the traditional form at all.
Amen and Amen!
I spent the first couple of years of my journey out of the traditional church so focused on house church that I had become more religious than ever in the past.
In the past couple of years I have come to realize that no container, no matter how effective it is in preserving and pouring the water, has ever quenched someone’s thirst.
Amen and Amen!
I spent the first couple of years of my journey out of the traditional church so focused on house church that I had become more religious than ever in the past.
In the past couple of years I have come to realize that no container, no matter how effective it is in preserving and pouring the water, has ever quenched someone’s thirst.
For those who are wondering what Canadian Station, the show I am on is broadcast on The Miracle Channel (miraclechannel.ca) at 3:30 PM mountain time on Fridays and at 4 PM mountain time on Saturdays. It can be streamed live from their website. My interview won’t air until sometime in January. I’ll keep you posted as I know.
For those who are wondering what Canadian Station, the show I am on is broadcast on The Miracle Channel (miraclechannel.ca) at 3:30 PM mountain time on Fridays and at 4 PM mountain time on Saturdays. It can be streamed live from their website. My interview won’t air until sometime in January. I’ll keep you posted as I know.