One little error

On today's episode of my radio program, "Simple Church Minute", I quoted Ross Rohde's blog, www.thejesusvirus.org from his post of May 30, 2011 (editing a couple of sentences out to fit the time allotment).  Actually, its the first time that I actually got to hear the program over the air to see how it sounded.  It occurred to me that, unlike the programs that I had written, I should have a link to his post.  Given the fact that this quote is from about sixteen months ago, I can't figure out how to link to it on his site.  This goes only to show that I'm still learning how to use this medium.   I will attempt to have this corrected shortly.
Addendum: the link is http://thejesusvirus.org/2011/05/30/

The purpose of this blog

            The original purpose of this blog is more than just rambling about what is on my mind, although I occasionally do that.  I became a believer in Jesus in the summer of 1968, the week after the Democratic Party’s convention in Chicago, and concurrent protest over the Vietnam War and rioting.  During the summer of 2008, I had a business that eventually turned into using every free moment of my time on Saturdays and Sundays, which didn’t work well with being involved with a fellowship of other believers.  I tried to find a church that met on weekdays, and in the course of doing so, ran into books such as Barna & Viola’s Pagan Christianity and Simson’s Houses That Change the World.  While that scholarship changed the way I approached following Jesus, I was aware that many of my fellow believers don’t read such serious readings, and that this flavor of what God is doing gets nearly zero attention in the Christian media (for obvious reasons—there’s minimal money and human power in it).  To that effect, over time, I wrote a group of two minute commentaries, with the audience in mind as youth oriented Christian radio.  At the time, I didn’t have the money to put them on a local station, and, as of now, still do not.  In December, 2010, I posted the transcripts of these on this site, appearing with the title Simple Church Minute, numbered 1 through 100.  During May through December 2011, I have posted five and one minute versions of the same subjects, which appear with numbers in the 1000’s for one minute versions, and 2000’s for five minute versions at the beginning of the titles. 

      I have posted footnotes from where this information comes from. The research is important so one can see that the idea behind these statements isn’t just to be different, or controversial.  It is to show that what Jesus taught the disciples, who as apostles taught the early church is different than what centuries of traditions have morphed the meanings of the words of the Bible.  Over the Middle Ages and later, our previous brothers and sisters may not have been able to know better, but today there is no excuse to misunderstand the scriptures, just because it threatens what some persons (sometimes not necessarily believers) feel comfortable with.
        Lastly, one reason I do not have as many five minute transcripts posted is that, over time, I have run across various writings of others who, from their journey with Jesus, have been able to write about certain issues far better than I could, so, if or when I ever get the commentaries on radio, I will read these writings (sometimes edited for time) in certain time spots, with their permission.  The following writings fit the context of the five minute series:

Author              blog (or writing)                    date                                title

George Barna    georgebarna.com                  5/8/2011    Measuring the fruit of wholeness

Felicity Dale     simplychurch.com                7/1/2011      The financial transition from…

Felicity Dale                                                   7/5/2011      Stories of financial transition…

Keith Giles       subversive1.blogspot.com     6/7/2011      Sympathy for the Pharisee?

Keith Giles                                                      6/21/2011    Now Open: The New Temple ...

Keith Giles                                                     5/28/2011    Pitfalls of Organic Church 3

Keith Giles                                                     5/30/2011    Pitfalls of Organic Church 5

Keith Giles                                                     6/22/2011   Confessions of a Selfish Mind

Keith Giles                                                     7/19/2011    We ARE the Church

Keith Giles                                                     7/21/2011     Salvation is a Process, Not a …

Keith Giles                                                     7/29/2011    When Should We Meet Toget...

Keith Giles                                                     8/2/2011      Our Idea vs. God’s Idea

Keith Giles                                                     8/29/2011   The Gospel: For Here or To Go

Milt Rodriguez miltrodriguez.wordpress.com 5/13/2011  River Crossers

Ross Rohde      thejesusvirus.org                    5/30/2011    I Don’t Want to Die

Ross Rohde                                                      6/30/2011   Don’t Forsake Fellowship

Jon Zens          searching together.org                               The New Testament is Plural, Not Si...        

                         Prelude to Jon’s book, The Pastor Has No Clothes
                         This writing also appears on frankviola.com, 1/22/11, as a guest writing

Also, about eight of the five minute talks are based on Steven S. Lyzenga’s dissertation, “Assessing the State of Simple Churches in the USA Regarding Releasing Resources Toward Finishing the Great Commission”.  Go to any of the five minute commentaries numbered in the 2150’s, and in the footnotes is a link to that work.

             Lastly, the list above might make you think that I may be overly enamored with Keith Giles’ work.  The reason for so many is that his writings happen to fit the five minute format I was working with, and his experience brings life to the subjects touched in those writings.

Simple Church Minute 1--sermons (revised)

         As I commented a few days ago, I have realized that, if I got these radio commentaries broadcast, and someone was to go to this website to see the transcript, having multiple posts on the same day make them difficult to find.  Therefore, I am reposting these writings, beginning with the 2 minute versions, in a more convenient manner.  I am also adding footnotes, and placing all of my phone number, as I now, as most people in this society, have a number not shared by others.

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My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute. Why are there sermons in church? It’s only been in the last few years I’ve even thought of this question. I’ve just assumed that there is scriptural reason for it. Matthew 5 is called the Sermon on the Mount. But, if you look at it, scripture doesn’t call it a sermon. It covers way too many different topics in the couple of minutes it would take to read it aloud. Also, was it really a teaching to believers, or a series of statements so radical as to turn off those who were only chasing the next big thing, and to allow the Spirit to speak to the heart of those who would follow in spirit and truth. John chapter 6 verses 66 to 68 indicate Jesus wasn’t at all concerned about having a large number of fair weather friends. Acts 17, where Paul speaks with those at Mars Hill, it is clear that Paul was doing dialogue, not monologue. From Acts chapter 20 verse 7 and other places, where we do see someone doing something that appears to us as preaching, the Bible uses the word “spoke”, and these occurrences are infrequent. Some say Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 2 connects preaching with speaking to the church, but that context is not clear. The church we see in the New Testament shows itself as using speeches such as what Paul gave while visiting Troas as an exception, not the rule. Why? We don’t get nearly as much out of one-way communication as we do multi-way, where one can ask a question if something is unclear, or where a variety of people with various skills and experiences can paint a fuller picture of a subject. Romans chapters 12 and 15, First Corinthians 14 and Colossians 3 show that worship involved every member, included teaching, exhortation, prophecy, singing, and admonishment, was conversational and impromptu.

For more on organic church*, see www.simplechurch.com/ , or locally at www.hrscn.org . You can phone me at 757-735-3639 or email me at simplechurchminute@gmail.com .  You can see a transcript of what I just said on my blog, tevyebird.blogspot.com, on the post of March 11,2012.

-----------------------

On the recording, at this time, it says, “house churches.” While that phrasing is OK, to say “organic church” is better. I comment on that in blip 94.

Footnote:  Frank Viola and George Barna, Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices, 2002, Present Testimony Ministry, and later Barna Books/Tyndale House, chapter 4.

It's Been a Little Over Six Months

            It’s been a little over six months since I started this blog.  A couple of days ago, I was thinking that it was odd that I had not received one comment positive or negative about what I have written, so, in poking around, think that I have figured out that comments were not operating on this site.  Hopefully, I have that corrected. Since it cannot be seen from the outside, the counter said that I had 186 hits over that period of time.

            When looking at any blog, you see what has been written last.  Therefore, I wish to point out that, over in the archives, I have 100 posts in December, 2010.  These are scripts for 100 two minute commentaries written for Christian radio, with the 15 to 29 demographic in mind.  Most cover the major ideas in George Barna and Frank Viola’s Pagan Christianity and Wolfgang Simson’s Houses That Change the World.  I have them recorded on MP3, but have yet to have them aired due to my not having the cash.  In the proceeding months, I have a few of the ideas of these commentaries either shortened to one minute, or expanded to five minutes, due to my research indicating, that for local stations, they need to go back to one or up to five.  The reason for doing this is that, as far as I can see, most believers in my geographical area are unaware that the that these ideas exist, and that many believers I know, unlike myself, are not persons who will wade through a book of serious theological writing, even if written in simple English, and, unfortunately, many believers who are collecting a paycheck in some way connected to their faith are extremely unlikely to promote a thought that threatens that paycheck, even if it makes more sense than whatever their explanation of the same point is. 

            Therefore, if you haven’t read the two books I mentioned above, I would encourage reading what I wrote in December, 2010.  They don’t need to be read in order; each is a stand alone thought, unless the title has Part 1 or Part 2 as part of it.

Simple Church Minute 50--pastors

50—pastors

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute.

            The word “pastors”, in the plural, appears only one time in our English Bibles. It stands undefined.  The word in the Koine Greek is poimen, which appears 18 times in the New Testament.  The other 17 times, it is translated shepherd, and pastor is the Latin word for shepherd.  In those 17 occurrances, it either means a sheepherder, or it is referring to Jesus, usually Jesus referring to himself.  We need to remember that the societies in the days of the Bible were agrarian, and the people experientially understood a lot about sheep and shepherds. Shepherd wasn’t a religious term, it was a farming term.   This one other time, in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11, it cannot be either of those.  It appears in the sentence defining what some parts of Jesus’ people call the fivefold ministries—prophet, apostle, evangelist, pastor and teacher.  Australian historian Robert Banks, in his book Paul’s Idea of Community, points out that in other places in the New Testament, the other four ministries are, at some point, connected to a person, but pastor is not.  Further, Banks says that there is the possibility that pastor or shepherd may have been a modifying word for teacher, that is, teachers who guide and protect.  An elder would have been understood as an older, experienced person, and in the early church, an older, experienced believer.  In Second John 1 verse 1, the apostle refers to himself as an elder.  Even if separate, a pastor would have the character of an elder and leader.  None of these positions were formal appointments, but functions that came from experience, gifting, character, and obedience to the Holy Spirit.

            We actually do not have historical evidence of the word pastor used as the term for a single person head of a congregation until after the Reformation.  The Reformers realized that the word priest implied the exact opposite of what Jesus did on the cross.  The Bible shows us only one titular office:  head of the church, which is Jesus.

            You can email me at simplechurchminute@gmail.com.  For more info on organic church*, visit www.simplechurch.com or (local website).

On the recording, at this time, it says, “house churches.”  While that phrasing is OK, to say “organic church” is better.  I comment on that in blip 94.

Simple Church Minute 1--sermons

1—sermons

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute.

            Why are there sermons in church?  It’s only been in the last few years I’ve even thought of this question.  I’ve just assumed that there is scriptural reason for it.  Matthew 5 is called the Sermon on the Mount.  But, if you look at it, scripture doesn’t call it a sermon.  It covers way too many different topics in the couple of minutes it would take to read it aloud.  Also, was it really a teaching to believers, or a series of statements so radical as to turn off those who were only chasing the next big thing, and to allow the Spirit to speak to the heart of those who would follow in spirit and truth.  John chapter 6 verses 66 to 68 indicate Jesus wasn’t at all concerned about having a large number of fair weather friends.  Acts 17, where Paul speaks with those at Mars Hill, it is clear that Paul was doing dialogue, not monologue.  From Acts chapter 20 verse 7 and other places, where we do see someone doing something that appears to us as preaching, the Bible uses the word “spoke”, and these occurrences are infrequent.  Some say Second Timothy  chapter 4 verse 2 connects preaching with speaking to the church, but that context is not clear.

            The church we see in the New Testament shows itself as using speeches such as what Paul gave while visiting Troas as an exception, not the rule.  Why?  We don’t get nearly as much out of one-way communication as we do multi-way, where one can ask a question if something is unclear, or where a variety of people with various skills and experiences can paint a fuller picture of a subject.  Romans chapters 12 and 15, First Corinthians 14 and Colossians 3 show that worship involved every member, included teaching, exhortation, prophecy, singing, and admonishment, was conversational and impromptu.

            For more on organic church*, see http://www.simplechurch.com/ , or locally at (local website).  You can email me at simplechurchminute@gmail.com .

On the recording, at this time, it says, “house churches.”  While that phrasing is OK, to say “organic church” is better.  I comment on that in blip 94.

Simple Church Minute: An Introduction

           About a year ago, I was in a job in which there was almost nothing to do except press a button when a person authorized to enter the building came to the door.  At the time, I had just finished reading Barna & Viola's Pagan Christianity and Wolfgang Simson's Houses That Change the World.  Now, I tend to be the type of person to read certain types of works on theology, but I realize that most of my fellow believers in Jesus are not.  The persons who are tend to be leaders, but these works overtly challange their paychecks.  I'm in no way accusing the average pastor of doing it for the money, but if one has already committed one's life in a direction, and someone threatens one's family's livelihood, one tends to react in a protective mode, particularly if it comes through a human voice, as opposed to directly into one's spirit by the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit does things that way, but also oftentimes does not.  Be that as it may, my idea was to boil the major points of those works into a group of 2 minute presentations appropriate for radio broadcast.  I wrote the 2 minute scripts and recorded them, but I didn't have the money, modest as it was, to broadcast the programs.  One thing this excercise did was give me plenty of time to think through the points these books present on the correct orthopraxy of housechurch/simplechurch.  As such, I am posting the scripts to these programs on my blog, with certain portions appropriate to my geographical area deleted.
          Just for reference, a very few of these scripts are based on something other than the two books above.  One comes from an idea of Milt Rodriguez of therebuilders.org, one from a man names Glen Davis, who, last I knew, was a campus pastor at Stanford U., and a couple were based on experiences in my life.  All these will have "Simple Church Minute" in the title.