Simply Church: A House Church Perspective

Guest post by Michael Tummillo: How are things at work?

 

Photo credit: Let Ideas Compete (Creative Commons)

I was managing a mobile home park in Texas - 185 homes located about 45 minutes south of downtown Dallas - the only mobile home park owned by a big property management company in North Dallas. Single, divorced, I had long before made up my mind that I was going to allow the Father to use whatever I had available, even if all I had was time. Even if all I had was a job. Like Moses, who gave God the staff in his hand, all I had to offer Him was my job. I had no computer, no phone, none of the tools of ministry I am now utilizing.

I had resided in the park for 8 years with my wife and children. After she divorced me, I stayed there and, when working at WalMart, suffered an accident (a ton of dog food was dropped on my foot) which caused me to remain at home while I healed. One day, the park manager's groundskeeper was caught digging in her purse. She fired him and asked me if I would like the job. In time, she was promoted and I was offered the park manger's position. While I was there, that mobile home park experienced incredible revival. Not only spiritually, but physically, residents planting trees, building nice decks, cleaning up and beautifying their lots. Even the bank that owned the property commented on what a wonderful "spirit" they could feel in the park when they inspected it. 

What made the difference? For starters, I was "prayer walking" at night before I'd ever heard of that. I anointed every post, mailbox and stop sign with oil and claimed that park for the Kingdom of God. I placed encouraging Gospel tracts on car windshields. As time went on, people either committed their lives to Christ, began attending church, with me or elsewhere, or they moved out. The profile of our resident population transformed as one resident was sentenced to prison and a practicing witch's house burned to the ground. In their place, retired ministers and devoted followers of Christ began moving in and our occupancy increased to nearly 100%. Bible studies popped-up. Neighbors started reaching out and getting to know each other. Flying kites, riding bikes, having cook-outs... the Spirit of Peace was downright tangible. 

Some things I did on a "natural" level included a newsletter I created (remember, no computer) as well as a logo for the park to unify us all as a community. I developed the habit of praying for daily divine appointments back then. As park manager, ministry opportunities took place daily right there in my office/residence as visitors would sit across from my desk and pour out their hearts - often quite tearfully - including repairmen and sales people. I always had Gospel music playing softly in the background. One man, a Mormon, told me he could feel the presence of God in my office. When I inquired as to whether he felt that same presence in his church, he stopped to think and finally whispered, "No, not like this." Not only did he become a resident a few days later, but he eventually left the Mormon church and joined a non-denominational church nearby.

This revival wasn't limited to that park. It wasn't long before property managers from our company's apartment complexes throughout Dallas began calling me with Bible questions (no email back then). On occasion, several made the long drive from Dallas just to have a Bible talk. 

Was there resistance? Absolutely, even from a few so-called "Christians." But God favored me greatly. One day, when I was at the headquarters in North Dallas, as I was speaking with the owner, an intimidating woman of great wealth, two detectives walked in and took her 22-year old daughter away in handcuffs for check forgery. After they left, my boss collapsed in her over-stuffed leather chair and tearfully asked , "Mike, what would YOU do?" Suddenly, she was morphed into a hurting, vulnerable mother in need of help. So, I did what was required of me - comforted and counseled her, and received great favor from that woman for the remainder of my 3 years managing that park.

Bear in mind, I had not yet attended Bible College (something that was later paid for, anonymously, on my behalf). I was not "officially" in ministry. I wasn't a church deacon, an elder... I was just a guy who loved Jesus and who understood that we ALL have a ministry. I didn't know it, but I was being trained for the ministry Father had planned for my future. 

What is He requiring of YOU where YOU spend the majority of YOUR time? You're surrounded by hurting people every single day. Start there. Remember, YOU are the church - it's the people, NOT the buildings and NOT the denominations. Our mission is to love one another.

Michael Tummillo is a Workplace Chaplain in Texas and founder of the international ministry, The Church @ Work (TCAW). A one-finger typist, Michael has had an online presence since 1999 and has reached millions with his email devotionals, and other Internet activities. His goal is not to push religion but to push people, giving his ministry away and encouraging followers of Jesus to share the love of God in the place they spend up to 70% of their lives: the workplace. You can contact Michael at miketummillo@me.com.

Guest post by Ed Waken (part 2) The truth, adventure and mystery of evangelism

 

I am privileged to have Ed Waken, an evangelist, write this outstanding post on evangelism. What could happen if we didn't view spreading the good news as a chore, a somewhat socially embarrassing spiritual duty to be performed, but instead an adventure with Jesus. You can read part 1 of this post here. Ed is a leader in a network of organic churches in Phoenix, AZ, and works closely with Neil Cole in CMA.

 

 

The Adventure

The church needs to rediscover what has been stolen from them.  We need to give back the cold, distanced and dutiful methodologies^[1] of evangelism for the more adventurous, risky and romantic renditions that only Jesus can create and place in our souls.  The church needs some fresh adventures in understanding how serious Jesus is at getting the message into the souls of people.  When we think about engaging people with the truth we should capture the understanding that Jesus is a customizer of methods, not a cookie cutter. 

Jesus will take a believer with all their experiences and fears and have them cross the paths of not-yet-believing people who are a perfect fit for the customized approach Jesus gives the believer, at the perfect time.  This requires trust and obedience but it is exactly what Jesus promised.  Jesus said He will give us the right words at the right time, every time (Luke 21:13-15).  This takes the level of our faith and evangelism to a whole new meaning of adventure. 

The Mystery

I can count fifteen people who shared Jesus with me in some form or fashion before Ralph shared the same truth with me and my life was transformed radically.  Who was more important in my choosing to follow Jesus, the fifteen or Ralph?  Was Ralph more gifted or skilled or persuasive than the others?  Did Ralph ‘close the deal‘ because he has an anointing?  I believe that all sixteen of those who told me about Jesus are equally vital to my process of turning to Jesus.  All salvation experiences are mysterious.  Some are dramatic, some are mundane, others cannot be marked by an event.  Salvation is always a supernatural event where the God of the universe enters the life of a human being permanently.  When the rich young ruler heard what was required by Jesus to gain eternal life, he became very sad.  Jesus’ disciples asked him if a rich man can’t be saved “...then who can be saved?”.  Jesus answered, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:18-27). 

Enjoy the freedom of not knowing what God is doing in a soul - enjoy the mystery.  Be assured, however, that God is doing something in the souls of those with whom you share His truth.  Trust in His God perfect and powerful ability to draw people to repentance in the way they need.  Obediently follow His lead, even when it doesn’t make sense because most mysteries do not make sense. 

The bottom line regarding evangelism is to enjoy it (weird huh?).  Jesus is an artist of the soul.  He created you specifically to engage the people He brings in your life with His truth.  Enjoy His adjusting the delivery of the message to fit the current need of the one listening to your words. 

If we learn to enjoy sharing the life of Jesus with others as He leads us, we will most assuredly share that life more often and with more passion.  The Scriptures teach that the more we sow, the more we will reap.  The power behind people coming to Jesus is not in any delivery, method or medium.  The power behind people coming to Jesus is always in message (Rom. 1:16) so give away the message often and with joy and enjoy watching God at work.

---

^[1] God can, has and will continue to use a more formal, methodological approach to giving out the Gospel.  It is not wrong to do so; however, it has robbed the fun of spiritual reproduction from the ordinary believer.  The giving out of the Word will never return without an effect on the one hearing the truth.  

 

New E-book: A Simple Guide to Hearing God

How do we hear God? Does He speak in an audible voice? How do we know it is Jesus speaking and not an over-active imagination? What might happen if we deliberately listen to God, believing He will speak to us?

About 18 months ago I had the idea of a multi-media e-book that would address this topic. (It's like a "vook" if you have come across the concept--a cross between a video and a book.) Over the past year or so, let loose with an iphone and with no expertise in videography, I interviewed friends who I know hear God clearly. I asked them the question, "How does God speak to you? How would you help someone who isn't sure God speaks to them?"

These interviews are included in the text of this e-book, along with many examples from my own experience. They all serve to amplify principles from Scripture. My hope and prayer is that both individuals and groups will be inspired and challenged to walk more closely with Jesus as a result of reading/viewing the e-book, but more than that, their Christian lives will become an adventure, on mission with God. 

The e-book is available via House2House at this link.

I'd love to hear of your experiences in hearing God, especially if the e-book helped you in this process. Leave a comment on this blog post.

Guest post from Ross Rohde: Why we don't judge

 Others should not encounter us like this!

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind (Rom. 14: 4-5).

Oh, come on Paul; give it to me straight, should we worship on Sunday or not? Can we eat meat sacrificed to an idol or not? Don’t hem and haw, just give me the rule and I’ll obey. But he doesn’t; why not?

Paul doesn’t give us hard and fast rules to live by because that’s not how Christianity works. That’s how Judaism worked, but not Christianity. Judaism had a covenant with God called the law (or the old covenant). It was a written code. One showed fidelity to God by following the laws, rules and biblical principles. It didn’t work well, and that was God’s point. We can’t please God in our own power. He gave mankind every opportunity to show Him we could please Him by trying real hard. What we showed Him was that we would cave in to our flesh. So, in his grace he gave us a new covenant that would work; one based on the power of the Spirit living in us.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.  But God found fault with the people and said:

   “The time is coming, declares the Lord,
   when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
   and with the house of Judah.
 It will not be like the covenant
   I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
   to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
   and I turned away from them,
  declares the Lord.
 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
   after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
   and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
   and they will be my people.
 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
   or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
   from the least of them to the greatest.
 For I will forgive their wickedness
   and will remember their sins no more.”

 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear (Heb. 9:7-13).

Here’s the secret of the new covenant we Christians (and those of Israel and Judah who became Christians) have with God. Our covenant isn’t a crude, one size fits all law, rule or principle. It is God’s direct instruction for our particular situation. It is based on our personality, character and our particular circumstance. But it is God’s individual law put directly into our heart and mind (see Heb. 8:10). And, it will never violate God’s written word. So, let’s live in that new, superior covenant. Let’s not judge God’s other servants. He may have given them other instructions. Let’s live in the freedom of our new covenant with God. Yet let’s reflect everything we think we hear from God through the beautiful lens of Scripture. That’s what it’s for.

• Why do you think we want to go back to laws, rules and principles?
• What is the difference between living according to “biblical principles” and living in the new covenant?
• What is the difference between living according to the law and “biblical principles?”
• Does Jesus’ instruction to not judge others (Matt. 7:1-2) make more sense now?

For other blogs on the new covenant and other aspects of the simple church life, read Ross's blog The Jesus Virus.  He will soon have a new book out: Viral Jesus: Recovering the Contagious Power of the Gospel. Watch this space for more information.

 

Spiritual battles demonstrate the reality of the spiritual realm

Like it or not, we have been born again into a world where spiritual battles rage. In a post on the reality of the spiritual realm, I asked if anyone had stories of how the spiritual realm had impacted their lives. This one by Frank was too good not to post:

"About 10 years ago, I was returning from a Christian businessmen's meeting with my wife. I was traveling along a country road which I knew very well. It was about 10pm and raining. The road was quite busy and I was behind a long line of cars doing about 50 to 60 mph.

Suddenly I heard the quietest whisper in my spirit.

"Pull back, pull back, pull back!"

Instantly, I was alert, and took my foot off the accelerator, and held it over the brake. The gap between my car and all the others widened as I scanned ahead, totally perplexed.

Suddenly a massive black monster heaved  out of the hedge and launched across the front of the car with a huge bang as I violently wrenched the wheel over and skidded to a halt. Glancing at my shocked but unhurt wife, and her smashed side window, I leapt out of the car in time to see a totally black cow behind the car lurch drunkenly to its feet and stagger away bellowing.

By this time cars were all over the place along with a herd of cows which had followed the leader through the now flattened hedge and fence.

I know that we had massive demonic opposition to the work we were doing as a Christian business. I know that Satan is a murderer. At the jab of the demonic goad, the cow had leapt through the barbed wire fence. I was driving a Renault Espace which has a very wedge shaped front. The cow's muddy impact marks were right beyond the centre line, and all over the screen. The shape of the car swept it off its feet and tossed it right over the screen. The damage was minimal because my speed had totally dropped at the warning of the Holy Spirit.

When I called the farmer the next day, he was at a total loss as to why it had happened. There was only one black cow in a herd of mixed white cattle. 

Thank God for the Holy Spirit.

Thank God that we can learn to hear his voice if we choose to."

A cholera epidemic averted!

"I've seen several cases of cholera today," the Red Cross worker said, "and two yesterday."

Our hearts sank.  We knew what that meant. We were at the beginning of a cholera epidemic. Several cases today meant a dozen tomorrow, and in a few days there would be hundreds.

We were in Mozambique. It was the year 2000, and there had been massive floods all over the country. Tony and I and two of our teenage kids were there because we are good friends with the Bakers. Rolland and Tony were at school together. When we heard about the flooding, we knew our medical training would be useful and so volunteered to help. 

We had just set up camp at this particular resettlement village with a team of young people in their late teens and twenties. Should we expose them to the risk of cholera?

"Come and see my Red Cross tent," the Red Cross worker said. "It's just over there" (as he waved his hand vaguely past our makeshift campsite.)

En route to his tent, we passed the village well. It was a hole in the ground filled with filthy, muddy water. We watehed as people dipped plastic bottles into this water and drank it without any kind of purification. Small wonder they had health issues! We continued walking. After about 40 minutes ("just over there" is obviously relative), we came to his army tent. He had an old army cot, a bucket filled with the same muddy water and two or three packets or oral rehydration fluid. Not a bandage; not an aspirin. Certainly nothing we could use to treat a cholera epidemic.

Back at our tent, we debated what to do. We didn't have enough of the right medicines with us to deal with the situation we were facing. As we chatted, we remembered a passage in the Bible where Moses and Aaron stop a plague following Korah's rebellion.

"And Moses said to Aaron, “Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the Lord. The Lord’s anger is blazing against them—the plague has already begun.”

 Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.

"Quick," we said to our team. "We have to pray around the camp to stop the plague." 

So the whole team went around the camp, crying out to God and praying that the plague would stop.

We didn't see a single case of cholera while we were there! Not only that, in the couple of days we were there, a church composed of entirely new believers began.

The spiritual realm is real!

The spiritual realm is real: a story

Is there a spiritual realm, an unseen dimension to what happens here on earth? Is spiritual warfare just our imagination? Does what we do spiritually make any difference to what happens here on earth? 

Understanding the reality of an unseen dimension that affects what goes on here on earth  jolts us out of religious complacency and a legalistic, religious Christianity.

For many years we were involved in a church plant in the East End of London in the UK. At that point in time, the area was not the gentrified place it has since become. It was a very run-down, neglected area of around 120,000 people, and 93% government housing. The unemployment rate, if I remember rightly, was about 17%. Within our church, (effectively a network of home groups) we had maybe 10 or 12 people who had been out of work for some considerable time with no prospect of employment.

As a fellowship we decided that this wasn't just a natural problem but it had a spiritual component to it. So in one particular gathering, we put all the people who were looking for a job in the center of the room, while the rest of us prayed for them. Someone suggested that we treat it like the battle of Jericho, so we actually marched round them 7 times, shouting praise to God the final time. Then we prayed for each person individually.

Were we crazy? It must have looked crazy to any outsider. But over the next few weeks, every one of those people found a job.

The spiritual realm is real! Understanding this helped set me free from legalism and a guilt-based religion.

More stories to come:

I'd love to hear some of your stories too.

An extraordinary story shows the importance of following the Spirit

In my last post, I asked for examples of following the Holy Spirit. Dan Hubbell, a spiritual father to many, shared this incredible story that demonstrates how following the Lord can sometimes be crucial. He says:

"On one of our missions to the Philippines, our hosts planned for us to minister in the southern part of the Islands where there is a large population of Muslims.  Just two weeks  before our departure from the US to the Philippines, I was warned by the Holy Spirit not to go.  I struggled with this word from the Lord because all plans had been made and tickets purchased by our mission team.  But I could not deny the clear warning from the Holy Spirit.  I emailed our hosts and told them what the Spirit had spoken.  Before they had time to receive my email, I got an email from the hosts saying that they felt led not to go to the southern part of the Philippines.  And when they receive my email message that I was not coming to the Philippines because of the warning from the Spirit, they expressed disappointment but understood my decision.  

A few days later, I received word from the Philippines that on the very day we would have landed in the southern islands, militant Muslims stormed the airport where we were to land and murdered some of the people there.  They also went on a rampage throughout the island killing Christian leaders and other believers.  The government declared Martial Law and sent troops to quell the violence. 

Had we not heard from and listened to the Holy Spirit, those who would have met us at the airport as well as our mission team, would have been there at the time of the attack and massacre.  Also, because of Martial Law, had we survived the Muslim attack at the airport, we would have been confined to our accommodations for the entire time. 

Needless to say, we were all thankful to the Lord for warning us and sparing our lives for further mission work."

 

Breaking free from guilt-based religion

"How did you break free  from religious Christianity?" I asked Tony early one morning last week.  

"There were two things," he said. "George Tarleton was the first. The second was the role of the Holy Spirit in my life."

It's interesting how often in the New Testament, living according to the law is contrasted with living by the Spirit.

For example, Romans 7:6 says:

But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:6

The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

Galatians 5:18:

But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

Can you imagine anything better than living at the time of Jesus, able to see him, speak with him, touch him?

Jesus told his disciples that it was better for them that he went away because if he did, he would send the Holy Spirit to them. (John 16:7) The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth; he brings glory to Jesus by telling us whatever he receives from Jesus. (John 16:13-15)  This Holy Spirit dwells in every true believer. (John 14:17; Acts 2:38-39)

So why is it that so many believers still live a life of rules and regulations?

I think it's sometimes because we don't trust the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We've never learned to listen to those inner promptings of the Spirit within us and  to act on them. If we dare to trust those inner whispers really are the Holy Spirit, and to respond to them, we will learn what it is to live life in the Spirit.

Under the new covenant, we can live a life of freedom from the law by following the Holy Spirit. 

What does it look life for you to live in the Spirit, to be directed by the Spirit?

Taking the leap to freedom from guilt-based religion

Many religious people live their lives by the Scriptures. So why is the fruit of their lives  sometimes legalism and guilt rather than life?  They feel like they continually fall short of God's standards for their lives. 

Jesus said to the religious people of his day, "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!  Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. (John 5:39-40)" Jesus is the source of life, not the Bible. But the Bible points us continually to Jesus.  We find him there.

Is our relationship with the Bible or with Jesus?

Does the written word bring life or death? Several people have commented on the last couple of posts that they found freedom from legalism and guilt-based religion through their study of the Scriptures.  If we truly believe what the Scriptures say we can take the leap to the freedom of living by the Spirit.

The Bible is very plain. The Old Covenant has ended.

Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in (Luke 16:16)."

The old covenant is obsolete (Heb 8:13). Until Jesus came, people's only hope of salvation was through keeping the letter of the law. Now we are under a new covenant. With our sins forgiven through Christ's death on the cross, we have a relationship with God and are not led any longer by written laws but by the Spirit.

He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life." (2 cor 3:6)

Under this New Covenant, the law is written on our hearts.(Heb 8:8-12)  Now it's natural for us to live a life pleasing to God.

In the context of the New Covenant, 2 cor 3:17  says this: 

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

 And Romans 7:6:

But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

So we have a choice: we can live by the law or we can live by the Spirit. I've made my choice. How about you?

How did you come to make that choice?