This past Sunday we talked about being organic. It is easy to think about church organically, especially becaue of all the times that Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like…” and then used some kind of farming or other nature metaphor. So we believe that Jesus could easily just have said that the Kingdom of God is like a starfish.

Really, it’s not original. It’s a reference to the book The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations (Brafman and Beckstrom). Funny thing is, it’s not even a “church” book. But some perceptive Christian out there once baptized this book, and now just about anyone who leads organic type churches knows about the starfish thing. So that’s textbook organic church education that we had no choice but to cover eventually. But there’s no shame with that…it’s become one of the best recent metaphors for church, and it wasn’t even created for the church.

In the beginning of the book, the authors describe the characteristics of the starfish, especially in comparison to the spider.

With a spider, what you see is pretty much what you get. A body’s a body, a head’s a head, and a leg’s a leg. [And if you chop off the spider's head, it dies.] But starfish are very different. The starfish doesn’t have a head. Its central body isn’t even in charge. In fact, the major organs are replicated throughout each and every arm. If you cut the starfish in half, you’ll be in for a surprise: the animal won’t die, and pretty soon you’ll have two starfish to deal with.

Starfish have an incredible quality to them: If you cut an arm off, most of these animals grow a new arm. And with some varieties, such as the Linckia, …the animal can replicate itself from just a single piece of an arm. You can cut the Linckia into a bunch of pieces, and each one will regenerate into a whole new starfish. They can achieve this magical regeneration because in reality, a starfish is a neural network. Get this: for the starfish to move, one of the arms must convince the other arms that it’s a a good idea to do so. The arm starts moving, and then–in a process that no one fully understands–the other arms cooperate as well. The brain doesn’t “yea” or “nay” the decision. In truth, there isn’t even a brain to declare “yeah” or “nay.” The starfish doesn’t have a brain. There is no central command. Biologists are still scratching their heads over how this creature operates…(p.35)

So I think 1 Corinthians 3:1-23 is all about viewing church like a starfish instead of a spider

In this passage, Paul addresses a church in Corinth who struggled with many of the same basic dysfunctions that any church faces: gossip, division, favoritism, pride, disorderly worship, etc. This passage in particular is all about divisions over authority, church structure, and leadership recognition–Who’s in charge? Who’s doing church right? Who should they follow? They were essentially putting certain leaders on pedestals and centralizing the intelligence of the gospel in each of their preferred all-stars. In other words, they were making church into a spider where each leader figure was a “head” of the church.

We can’t fault the Corinthians…we do the same thing. How often do we rely heavily on head pastors for spiritual growth, make distinctions between the clergy and laity, reserve “church” to the weekly Sunday gathering at the church building, or depend on lots of money to do ministry? Every church does that! And it’s almost feels natural for us to do that.

But it’s not natural to the way Paul planted churches. And so it “naturally” causes problems. Among many other things, it creates division within the community of Christ, puts lots of pressure on mere humans, and paralyzes the legitimate spiritual gifts and contributions of everyday church members. So this was not cool for Paul, because it would prevent the churches from growing and spreading.

Because think of what happens when the pastor moves on or (heaven forbid) gets caught up in a scandal, or when there are popularity contests in ministry, or when a recession hits and the money runs out. Then what? Churches have a hard time bouncing back when the “head” gets chopped off because that was their central command.

So we talked about how Paul is making at least three main points to the church:

1. There is no hierarchy (3:5-7)

He answers his own question, “Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? We’re just servants!” There are no all-stars; no one is any better than anyone else, especially the apostles. There is no “head” except Christ! So everyone in the church must contribute something, while God does the real magic. It doesn’t mean that there is no structure or leadership…it’s just that it’s not that hierarchical kind that we want to make it out to be.

2. The purpose, not a person or place, is the center (3:8-9)

That purpose is the Gospel of Christ, which is like the DNA of the church, the central intelligence. So again, it’s God’s game plan, and everyone should be on board with that, not just some dude’s own game plan here or there.

3. YOU have it in you (3:16-17)

Probably the most important point. Paul asks the Corinthians, almost impatiently, “Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” Duh! This line is fascinating, especially if you understand the temple and it’s place in the story of Israel. The Israelites were always trying to make spiders out of starfish–centralizing God. They whined about not having a king, although God warned against it…but he still gave them one. If you read through 1 and 2 Kings, you see exactly how that turned out. And they also thought they couldn’t live without a temple for God, even though God said that he can take care of himself. But he still gave them one.

Nevertheless, the purpose of the temple was to have a centralized presence of God where Israel could worship. It was supposed to be the center of their lives. And if you read 1 Kings 8, you’d see how beautiful the temple was; everything was made of gold! Unfortunately, it didn’t last forever, because when Israel continually turned from God, they consequently were oppressed by other nations. And the temple was eventually destroyed.

So Paul makes this very interesting point…YOU have the “temple” inside of you. They very presence of God, what it means to be church, the gold…all of that–the center of everything. Each person in the church is as important or “central” as the next. So there were no all stars or professionals. This ministry thing wasn’t like rocket science or the Olympics or anything. Paul basically said, “Look man, all we’re doing is planting seeds and watering them!” How easy is that!? And since the regular Joes and Janes of the church have the temple in them, how much more central are they in doing those simple tasks in which God is ultimately responsible for making things grow?

And those three points make a world of difference when taken seriously. You see, because Paul and the apostles planted these ideas into their minds is exactly why the gospel spread so fast and that the entire Roman Empire (the biggest spider of all) crumbled under Christianity within a couple of centuries. It was like a simple virus that anyone could pass on. And it’s no wonder that when the Romans tried to stop the Christians by persecuting them and killing its leaders, that the church just continued to spread. “We don’t die,” they said. “WE MULTIPLY!” There was no “human” head to cut off, because the intelligence was spread throughout the whole body of Christ. The Head (Christ) was in each person!

So the main argument for us was that it is harder (but not impossible) for people to come to know Christ, especially fringy people, and for the church to grow when it becomes centralized like a spider, even though we are pulled so strongly toward that.

But Michael Frost asks a great question, “What would church be like if you no longer had a building, could no longer meet on Sundays, had no head pastor, and had no money?” What if it all got cut off? Then what?

What would happen would depend largely on how we view ourselves…as a spider, or as a starfish?

Original post: http://bchurch.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-kingdom-of-god-is-like

Our resources are basically thought of in three categories (based on our DNA)

Divine Truth – “Love the Lord your God…!” Spiritual Formation websites or books, Bible Study curriculum, worship music, and more.

Nurturing Relationships – “Love your neighbor…” Group Ice Breakers, party ideas, discussion questions…and more.

Apostolic Mission – “Go and make disciples of all nations” Social justice resources and projects, outreach projects…and more.

But where do our resources come from?  They come from you!  If you have an idea that you’d like to share with other communities of faith in the UGN (and subsequently through this public website, the world) – submit info on the form below.  (If the form does not load properly, click here.)

Take a moment to think -

If you are connected to the Underground, what resource do YOU have that has been particularly helpful in your life?…

…In the life of your faith community?

We’d like to know what it is, and we’ll post it on http://ugnchicago.com for others to use.  So go ahead and fill out the form below!

I found myself in the middle of a small controversy over a status update I had posted on Facebook the other day. The conversation quickly turned to a debate over wealth.

“Sometimes I am overwhelmed with passages like Luke 3:10-18 and think following Christ and U.S. culture are irreconcilable”

I have been mulling over many things these past few weeks and this discussion helped weave those many things together.

I have been wrestling, for the better part of a while now, with a God of miracles and healing vs. a God of suffering.

I think of Mother Theresa: As a nun she had taken a vow of poverty, and she lived in solidarity with the poor she was among. Before she would give away shoes to the needy she would claim. as her own the most inferior pair. Because of this practice her feet were in bad condition…malformed and misshaped. It has been said that her decision caused her no small amount of physical pain.

Mother Theressa’s reality is difficult for Americans to understand, if we are honest. I think, for some of us, it would be hard to imagine taking the very worst pair of shoes…every time…but, it would also be very hard for us to understand, if we had indeed been blessed with enough insight to have that kind of humility, why God hadn’t chosen to watch over our feet and keep them safe from harm. We would feel as though our great sacrifice had gone ignored and unappreciated.

“God’s permissive will is the testing

He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters” ~ Oswald Chambers

Before we go any farther I must state that I am a universalist. It is IMPORTANT that you realize I have NO ONE person in mind as I write this. If you disagree with me after reading (and many of you will) and you feel as though I am insinuating that the lifestyle you are choosing to live is in my opinion not the lifestyle of a true son or daughter of God than please choose to look on the bright side by keeping in mind that not only does my opinion not count for much, but as a universalist I am NOT condemning you to hell for not believing the way I do…all I want…all I EVER want is nice, civil conversation (please do not try and convince me of your rightful place in heaven…and/or mine in hell.)

In other parts of the world, where the Church is persecuted, becoming a Christian is no small decision. It is not something to be considered just because you fear the eternal flames of the afterlife or are intrigued by mansions and streets of gold. In some respects, by choosing to become a follower of Christ, in these parts of the world, you are making a decision to enter into a very real hell this side of eternity. In these places it is not uncommon, for those who are already Christians and have made the choice to suffer, to adopt a policy of making would be converts wait a minimum of two years to fully take on Christ. There hope is that these would be converts will take those two years to really consider the cost and be fully cognizant of the would be/could be ramifications should they choose to finalize their decision.

Where is American Christianity’s waiting period? Why don’t we have a cost to count? Could it be we got lucky by an act of chance so random as a birthright? Is it possible that there really is no hell to enter here? Might you be willing to consider, along with me, the idea that American Christianity has missed something intrinsically linked with salvation? Per chance has it for far too long held hands with the wrong side? Has American Christianity made friends in high places and become an institution of entitlement where comfort is the expected norm and the lack of it an abhorrent stench?

I argue that there is a hell to enter here and it is the hell of poverty. All of those who disagreed with my Facebook status (mentioned above) argued that wealth was indeed a blessing and insinuated, if not out right said, that I was harsh and ridiculous for even slightly insinuating that it might not be. I don’t necessarily disagree (the jury is still out) that being a wealthy person could be considered a blessing, but if wealth is a blessing, and here comes the harsh part, I’m convicted that living as a wealthy person (most are considered wealthy in America) and enjoying the benefits of your wealth (myself included)…even if you give some away…while others suffer…can in no way be seen as part of that blessing from God.

A friend of mine who has chosen to enter hell, Stephen Lamb, talks often about God’s economy being one where everyone has enough. I often think about how insulting the idea of this economy might be to us as Americans. At first blush it sounds like a nice idea. But if you dig deep enough into the statement it is nothing short of a slap in the face to how most American Christians choose to live. This isn’t talking about raising the poor to a western middle class standard of living but rather entering into their suffering and sharing all resources equally. God’s economy effects YOUR/MY life…YOUR/MY comfort!

I propose that in order to be considered a true son or daughter of God…a true walker in the ways of Jesus, we take a 2 year sabbatical from considering ourselves Christian just because we ascent to certain beliefs and we make this thing more than about acquiring a mansion on streets of gold or a getting out of hell free card. This Christianity needs to cost us something..it cost God everything! Upon his death Jesus entered into hell (Eph 4:8-10 & I Pet 3: 18) and upon making the choice to die to our flesh we need to as well.

As a minimum requirement, an act of solidarity or good faith, we should have to count the cost of leaving our secluded neighborhoods where our eyes never have to meet those of the homeless if we don’t want them to, and we should move into depressed neighborhoods. I’m not talking about quitting jobs…go to your nice job, make your six figures…but if we want to be called true sons and daughters of God lets quit hoarding!

Sure, God has a permissive will. He makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on both the evil and the good. You can be born or marry into the right family, you can have the right kind of brain, the most able of bodies, or even the best of looks…all of these things can help you earn a better living than those less fortunate and because of that you can call them blessings (although I’m not entirely convinced.) God will not smite you if instead of choosing His economy you choose to live in that of America’s. But what if how we live and what we do with our wealth while those around us suffer is a test? Do you have more than enough while others do without? I know I do and I can’t get rid of it fast enough.

Jesus, though he eased the suffering of many, never chose to ease his own suffering. He never really eased the suffering of his disciples either. In the gospels you don’t see healing parties break out among Jesus and the twelve. God’s blessings aren’t for us. Jesus learned obedience through that which He suffered. True disciples choose to suffer and while choosing to suffer they pour out the blessings of God onto others!

I pray over each and every one of you the blessing of struggling with your comfort!

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10 challenges to building relationships and sharing your faith in America today:

By seekingakingdom

Most people are…

1. transient – We live is such a mobile society that most people move on a regular basis. The people who live near you now likely won’t the next year or the year after. Therefore, it is difficult to build deep, long-term relationships. (This is perhaps more true for cities.)

2. busy – It is difficult to build relationships because they take time. And time is what most of us are lacking. We seem to be getting busier and busier with little time for God.

3. skeptical – A recent poll revealed that the three most common views of the church were judgment, hypocritical, and anti-gay. The American people are generally skeptical that the church can offer life to the fullest. Furthermore, post-modernism pushes against our claims of universal truth. Many are skeptical of their need for a savior and our belief that Jesus’ message applies to everyone.

4. autonomous – I read recently that America is the most individualistic country in the world. This radical individualism leads us to stay disconnected from our neighbors and co-workers and is producing a society the grows more and more fragmented. Many prefer to be left alone. (To prove this, read Bowling Alone by Robert Putman or check out a summary here.)

5. suspicious – It seems everyone is trying to make a buck. People are constantly working to make you do or buy something. So often times people question your motivation for starting a conversation or even giving a gift. It is important we consider our own motivations for sharing our faith. It should not be out of obligation, guilt, or to give our lives significance. Rather we should be motivated by love.

6. religiously private – Do you pray before you eating at the restaurant? If so, how does it make you feel? If not, why? There is an unspoken rule that public displays of religion (PDR) are prohibited. It is a private matter for one’s home or perhaps the church.

7. consumeristic – Commercials and advertisements are continually teaching us to be dissatisfied with what we have. We need newer cars, bigger houses, and basically more stuff… all the time. We expect to get what we want when we want it, and we’re disgruntled when things do not go our way. Consumerism has a far-reaching influence in American society, and the church is no exception. Check out this book to see more on how Christians live.

8. materialistic – Granted, we are more and more living in a postmodern world. But this modernistic idea that nothing exists outside of the physical still pervades society. Although I was raised in a postmodern era and taught from birth to believe in the supernatural, this idea that only what you see really exists still rests in the back of my mind. Regardless, all agree that materials are more important than the spiritual.

9. satisfied – Because we have jobs that pay the bills and buy the food, we subconsciously (or consciously) believe we did it ourselves without God’s help. If I have enough and am relatively happy, why do I need God?

10. hedonistic – We as a society are obsessed with pleasure. How many advertisements tell us to do what feels good? We are continually taught to gratify our desires, which leads to our excessively watching movies or TV, playing video games, surfing the internet, etc. No wonder Jesus’ command to “deny yourself” is so difficult for us and a challenge to the world.

Now, obviously these ten traits do not apply to everyone, and there’s some overlap between some of them.

What are your thoughts? Any that you disagree on? Any you would add? How these cultural traits affect your life?

“The imperatives are based on the indicatives and the order is not reversible”

In June 2009, Bryan Chapell, the President of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis and the author of Christ-Centered Preaching, gave a lecture at the Advance09 conference in Durham, North Carolina titled “Communicating the Gospel through Preaching.” Regarding preaching (which also applies to sharing and teaching the Bible), Chapell said, “The imperatives are based on the indicatives and the order is not reversible.”

What does this mean?: To those who have not heard this before, it might not be readily apparent. Very briefly, imperatives in the Bible express commands which Christians must do, while indicatives are the basis of the imperatives in the Bible. A closely related statement would be: “What you do is based on who you are and the order is not reversible.”

Some biblical imperatives: Just randomly, some common biblical imperatives are: love God [youversion](Dt 6:5)[/youversion], love your neighbor [youversion](Lev 19:18)[/youversion], fear God and keep his commandments [youversion](Ecc 12:13)[/youversion], preach the gospel [youversion](Mk 16:15)[/youversion], preach the word [youversion](2 Ti 4:2)[/youversion], make disciples [youversion] (Mt 28:19)[/youversion], deny yourself and take up your cross [youversion](Mt 16:24, Mk 8:34, Lk 9:23)[/youversion], feed my sheep [youversion](Jn 21:15-17)[/youversion], ask, seek, knock [youversion](Mt 7:7)[/youversion], the ten commandments [youversion](Ex 20:1-17)[/youversion], repent and believe [youversion](Mk 1:15)[/youversion], give thanks [youversion](1 Th 5:18)[/youversion], look after orphans and widows [youversion](Jas 1:27)[/youversion] , etc, etc.

Biblical imperatives are wonderful but … Incidentally, all of these biblical imperatives are wonderful. But they are not primary. These imperatives are always based on the indicatives, according to the flow, and pattern, and stories through out the Bible, although the indicatives are often not readily obvious. For example, when God gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments, God did not say, “Obey them or you’re dead!” Instead, God prefaced the 10 Commandments (imperatives) with an indicative, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” [youversion](Ex 20:2)[/youversion]. God did not say, “Obey the 10 commandments, and then I will deliver you from slavery in Egypt.” Rather, God said, “I delivered you from slavery (the indicative), therefore, obey the 10 commandments (the imperative).”

Imperatives are primary in all religions of the world except Christianity: As I thought about imperatives and indicatives, I realized that Christians often communicate imperatives rather than indicatives, while thinking that they are being quite faithful to the teachings of the Bible. But if we communicate imperatives rather than indicatives, then we’re really no different from any other religion in the world, which all communicate imperatives as the way to be righteous before God, for all religions in the world teach their adherents to be good, to be kind, to be selfless, to be loving and forgiving, to not take revenge, to be morally upright and not be a drunkard, liar, cheat, adulterer, murderer, etc. Only in Christianity is a man not righteous by what he does (or doesn’t do), for in the Bible man is saved and is righteous only by faith alone, by grace alone, by Scripture alone, by Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone (The Five Solas). [youversion]Titus 3:5[/youversion] says, “he saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy…” [youversion]Ephesians 2:8,9[/youversion] says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Our default is always toward imperatives: So how might we communicate imperatives when sharing the Bible? We might say or think, “If you don’t shape up, how can God ever bless you?” Or, “If you don’t repent, how can God forgive you?” Or, “Unless you obey God, God will punish you.” Whether we’re consciously aware of this or not, we have just communicated that God’s blessings for us is up to us and on what we do (imperatives), and not on God (indicative).

We might even think on the basis of imperatives. We think, “God did not bless me day today, because I did not pray and read the Bible this morning.” Or, “I better not give in to sin, so that God will bless my finals and give me an A.” Or, “I better pray more and purify my heart more, so that I can preach better.” Even if these thoughts seem to play out accordingly, we’re still thinking and reasoning in terms of imperatives, and not indicatives.

The difference between the gospel and religion: Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian church in New York, says it best in this way: Religion says, “If I obey, then I’ll be accepted by God.” But the gospel says, “You’re accepted by God, therefore I obey.” On the surface, both religion and the gospel look alike, because both believe in Jesus, both read the Bible, both want to obey the 10 commandments, both want to live by the “rules” of the Bible, both want to go to church and Christian fellowship, both want to serve the needy and the poor, etc. But in their hearts, their attitude is quite different. One does so in order to receive God’s blessing and approval (religion); while the other does the same thing because they know that they have already received God’s blessing and approval (gospel).

Conclusion: Religion, is what we do (or the imperatives we follow and live by), while the gospel is what God has already done for us in Christ (or the indicative). As Bill Hybels said, “The gospel is done, not do.”

If we regard what we do (imperatives) as primary, I will either become proud because I think I’m living up to it (and look down on those who are not), or I will despair because I’m failing to live up to it. So I will either become confident and not humble (because I think I’m doing well), or I will become humble and not confident (because I think I’m not doing well).

But when we base our Christian lives on the indicative, which is what God has done for us in Christ, then our entire lives will simply be an expression of what Jesus has done for me in spite of all my sins. When Jesus is our indicative, we can always be confident and humble at the same time, confident because it’s not up to me but up to Christ, and humble because Jesus loves me in spite of all my sins.

We do not love in order to be loved by God or others. But [youversion]1 John 4:19 [/youversion] says, “We love because he first loved us.”

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Dr. Ben Toh is a medical doctor in the city of Chicago.  He and his wife are leaders of West Loop Church, a faith community connected to the Underground Church Network.

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MEGA – Was Jesus’ church the crowds?  The amazing impact he had on teaching to hundreds, maybe thousands of hearts at the Sermon on the Mount, or numerous other occasions when anyone within ear shot heard whispers of God’s Kingdom.  They experienced his healings, heard his wisdom, and witnessed his death.

MACRO – Was Jesus’ church the 70 disciples he trained and commissioned  in pairs to proclaim and display the subversive Kingdom of God to villages and people groups all over the Empire?  Certainly he spent enough time with these disciples to share the vision of the Kingdom with them, and apparently they were ready to leave their wallets and responsibilities behind as they set out as the world’s first missionaries.  They trusted Jesus, and he trusted them.  Certainly they too were his church.

MESO – Were the 12 disciples the church of Jesus on earth?  These foolhardy friends were present with Jesus daily.  They not only experienced the MEGA and the MACRO, but they were given special attention – a director’s cut on Jesus’ confusing teachings, and the impartation of his Holy Spirit.  They became the catalyst for the Church worldwide as we read about it in Acts.  No doubt they saw themselves as Jesus’ church.

MICRO – But maybe Jesus’ church was “smaller still.”  Regularly we read about the companions of Jesus; Peter, James and John.  They found Jesus at his strongest (Mount of Transfiguration) and his weakest (Mount of Olives).  Surely they understood him better than any other people on the planet.  The Gospel of John accounts a very intimate portrait of Jesus Christ, very different from the other writers – could this be from John’s close friendship with his Lord?

MONO – At the end of the day, everyone mentioned above misunderstands Jesus Christ and his mission.  Ultimately, Jesus’ church was his personal (not private) relationship with the Triune God.

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Obviously the question is a misnomer.  All of these layers: MEGA, MACRO, MESO, MICRO, and MONO are layers in Jesus’ faith community.  Think of these as “layers of an onion.”

Consider the movements of Jesus Christ throughout the ages; each one promotes as special only a certain layer of the onion, many times to the exclusion or in reaction to the abuses of the other layers.  The Chinese house church movement, the Mega-Church movement in America, George Whitfield’s frontier revivals, the Anabaptists of 16th Century Europe, the “anamcharas” (soul friends) of 6th Century Ireland.

As we watch this particular organic network of faith emerge in Chicago, and truly all around the world – it will benefit each follower of Christ, each faith community, each network, to consider how a healthy onion is made up of healthy layers.  The Underground Church Network aims to grow a healthy onion!  But how?

This is the beginning of a blog series that will unpack the current reality and future plans of how one organic church network in Chicago is attempting to develop healthy layers of Christian community.  We’ll look at each layer – MONO, MICRO, MESO, MACRO, and MEGA.  Stay tuned!

Think for a moment about the disciples and other followers of Jesus Christ.  Although they listened to his teaching and changed their life radically to follow him, they weren’t completely ready to believe in Christ or consider him ‘Lord’ until after his resurrection; after they had followed Christ for three years!

But whether you are a seeker or a faithful follower of Christ, this very simple method of exploring God’s Word can be meaningful.  Recently, one of our brothers and co-workers in the Lord, Kerry Holton, wrote a fantastic series on how Discovery Bible Studies have blessed his relationship with God in incredible ways. Check out his 3-part reflections here: part 1, part 2, and part 3.

As we continue to plant churches and make disciples in Chicago, we see the core value of establishing each church with simple resources for a vibrant spiritual health.  Anyone can incorporate the values and practices of Discovery Bible Studies into (1) your personal prayers and devotions, (2) into your relationship with their spouse or with a spiritual friend, (3) with your house church, (4) and with your seeking friends.

As we’ve done in our previous article, we are posting PDFs of David Watson and City Team Ministries’ material into this post as a resource for you and your faith community. Please tell us the stories of success (and failure) of incorporating this resource into your group!

Process:

1. Present the idea of a Discovery Bible Study with your house church.
2. Your house church chooses from one of the Bible Study documents below.
3. Each week, read one selection of Scripture listed in the study (starting on or around page 15)
4. Rotate who facilitates the discussion each week to promote shared leadership and learning.
5. Follow up the following week with the “I will” statements you committed to the Lord the previous week.

Choose a Bible Study below to begin!

Godgrown – Discovery Bible Study Process*

2008 Discovering God v2.0

2008 Obedience Based Discipleship v1.5

2008 Discovering Leadership v2.2

2008 Discovering Church Planting v4.2

2009 DBS Prayer Scripture List

*adapted from City Team Ministries

David Watson, a internationally-known author and missiologist, has helped plant tens of thousands of house churches in India, and has helped create an indigenous church planting movement in that region.  He has released his very simple bible study method that he used to help spur people on toward more spiritually-formed lives.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing his documents on this site (they are free to download for yourself or for a house church or small group).

He calls them “Discovery Bible Studies” because there is little “from the front” lecturing or even teaching.  There is gentle guidance from a facilitator, who might even rotate around the group.  Generally a passage is selected, read aloud several times from different people.  Then another person retells the scripture in his/her own words, followed by a discussion from the whole group on what the text is saying.  Finally, there is a few moments of silence as each person in the group decides what God is asking them to do about the text – how to be obedient not just to the words of the text, but to God who is speaking to each heart in the group.  Each person says and/or writes down an “I will…” statement committing to do one thing within the next 48 hours of the group’s gathering (if it doesn’t happen within a short time of the commitment, many times it is sifted through life’s other demands.)  It has brought life and transformation to a group in Rogers Park – may it bring life to your group as well!

2008 Obedience Based Discipleship v1.5 (PDF)

(based on David Garrison’s Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World)

Ever thought about whether or not “organic churches” were in the Bible? While you might not find the actual coinage, the first century was spiraling with new converts and multiplying churches that were planting other churches…sounds pretty organic to me! Truly, the New Testament testifies to a church planting movement that occurred in the eariest days of Christianity!

Church planting movements can be traced to Jesus himself, who trained 12 disciples only long enough to give them the ‘keys of the kingdom’ before slipping away, letting the disciples spread the Good News.

Vision Driven – It was Jesus who filled his followers with a vision for the entire world’s salvation, and prepared them for what kind of community would naturally flow out of this salvation. What other characteristics did Jesus instil in his original organic church?

Prayer – Prayer saturated the lives of the earliest Christian communites. Jesus taught them to pray the Lord’s prayer, as well the power of prayer that can expunge demons, and resist temptation. Today, organic churches are known for prayer that changes lives.

Abundant Evangelism – Jesus’ direction to go into towns two-by-two and share the Good News was not forgotten. Though The Book of Acts follows the ministry of Peter and Paul, we hear of the gospel spreading without hinderance (Apollos comes from Alexandria with the gospel, but how did it get to this great city? Even remote islands like Crete were infiltrated with Christian leaders for Titus to entrust with the gospel. Organic church planting movements today exhibit this same vibrant evangelistic characteristic, spreading faster than its leaders can keep track of!

Scriptural Authority – Even Jesus fled to the Sciptures in times of crisis (his temptation in the desert). Following in his footsteps, the early church was wed to the holy Word of God, even speaking it as they fell in martyrdom (as was the case with Stephen). Today’s Church Planting Movements are thinking theologically and biblically about what it means to be a church today. They are even finding themselves more resilliant in times of crisis, because they focus on God’s Word.

Models for Multiplication – For so long we have neglected the only model for evangelism that is ordained by Christ himself! In Luke 10, Jesus teaches his followers how to spread the Gospel. Sending them out in pairs, they should enter a villiage and find a “person of peace”, leading to the conversion of a whole village. In the next chapter, we hear that Jesus now has 72 disciples. It looks like they followed Jesus’ instructions! (12/2 = 6 (pairs of disciples) x 12 (new converts) = 72 disciples)! Jesus then sends out the 72, and when we come back in Acts, Peter baptizes 3,000 believers! (72/2 = 36 pairs of disciples x 12 = 444) this made the total disciple-membership over 500. (500/2 = 250 pairs x 12 = 3,000!) Interesting…clearly the early church followed this model of discipleship and evangelism.

Preparation for Persectution – Both the early church and the organic churches of today know that persecution will be the lot in life for those who choose to follow Christ.

All in the Family – Unlike the individualistic conversions of Western believers, most Organic Church Movements are started through whole-family conversions! Biblical examples of this include Jesus’ family, Peter and Andrew, James and John with their faither Zebedee, and Cornelius’ family.

Divine Power in Evangelism and Ministry – Earliest churches cast out demons, healed the sick and even raised the dead! Many church planting movments are built around this same principle, and are even seeing God working his miracles in our world again!

Person of Peace – We’ve talked some already about how Jesus taught his disciples to look for the person of peace in a particular village or neighborhood. But did Paul follow Jesus’ example? He always seemed to have a companion with him in his travels, (going two by two with Timothy, Silas, etc). And Paul has a vision of a man in Macedonia calling him to come and share the gospel. When he gets there, he finds that this “person of peace” is actually a woman named Lydia.

Tonight is our second Think Tank and we’ll be dreaming up what this revolutionary group may become.  If you’d like to participate in future Think Tanks, check out our calendar, or contact us for details.

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But why have a gathering like this?

It is meant to be a supportive/ validating environment.

It is meant to be a learning environment.

It is meant to be an environment of accountability.

It is a spiritual/missional discipline.

Important Questions we Ask:

• Did people walk away feeling empowered to the task and lifestyle of organic church planting?
• Does each person walk away with new insights in ministry, missions, and theology?
• Did we all have a chance to share what is happening since our last time together, and challenged to participate in God’s mission in tangible ways?
• Do we as a group understand the spiritual importance of meeting together for personal development as a disciple?

Each monthly session will include: (1) some worship and appreciation of the Lord (2) sharing (3) learning (4) discussion (5) some consideration of “next steps” (6) some reflection time and (7) some prayer. 

Tonight we’ll be getting to know each other and discussing group expectations.

I hope that these Think Tanks will become a regular rhythm in our network’s life together.  I will usually post the evening’s agenda here as I’ve done this month. Click on the link below for more!

GreenhouseGatheringsOrientation