2004--Measuring the Fruit of Wholeness

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute.  Today, I'm reading an exerpt from the blog of pollster George Barna, dated May 8, 2011, on "measuring the fruit of wholeness."

(see www.georgebarna.com, posted under Leadership, with the quote being all of the blog except the last paragraph)

You can find out more info on simple/organic church at www.hrscn.org.  You can reach me via my blog, tevyebird.blogspot.com or at (phone).
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This may come across as not being specifically pertinent to the subject of simple/organic church, but the underlying point is--in an institutional church situation the type of caring described, above, is impossible for everyone, as some people will not allow others to know them that well, and the institutional situation inhibits such familiarities' growth, in my opinion.

Simple Church Minute 89--Simson's Thesis #15

89—WS#15   

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute

            We have been looking at a writing by German writer Wolfgang Simson titled, 15 Theses towards a Re-Incarnation of Church.  Today is Thesis #15, The Church comes home.  On this idea, Simson writes, “Where is the easiest place for a person to be spiritual?  Is it, perhaps, hiding behind a big pulpit, dressed up in holy robes, preaching holy words to a faceless crowd, and then disappearing into an office?  And what is the most difficult—and therefore most meaningful—place to be spiritual?  At home, in the presence of their spouse and children, where everything they do and say is automatically put through the spiritual litmus test against reality, where hypocrisy can be effectively weeded out and authenticity can grow.  Much of Christianity has fled the family, often as a place of its own spiritual defeat, and then has organized artificial performances in sacred buildings for from the atmosphere of real life.  As God is in the business of recapturing the homes, the church turns back to its roots—back to where it came from.  It literally comes home, completing the circle of church history at the end of world history.” Unquote

            This is such an obvious thing—that the Holy Spirit works powerfully in everyday situations, and tends to check out when we attempt to cram man made ritual down his throat, to paraphrase an accusation of unbelievers towards the institutional church.  Jesus’ life was a counterpoint to the dead formality and ritual that the religious leaders of the Old Covenant defended.  We must stop asking God to bless what we are doing, and start blessing what God is doing.

            You can find out more of Simson’s writing at www.simsonwolfgang.de. You can email me at simplechurchminute@gmail.com. You can find out more about simple worship at http://www.simplechurch.com/ or locally at (local website).