Here is my ‘top 5’ wish list of what I would like to try in a home church.
1. Build a community around spiritual formation by making disciples (learners) rather than adopting a traditional church format and trying to make disciple-making fit into it. Decide what best accomplishes disciple-making, draw a line around that and call that ‘church’. (God commissioned us to make disciples and said He would build the church. We need to keep our job descriptions straight.)
2. Build experiential learning into the model. Instead of ‘Just-in-case’ learning of something we might use someday, do ‘just-in-time’ learning, what we need for the next step. As people are out there applying the Scriptures, organize the teaching in topics and frequency on what they need to know to do next. (In Spanish it says “The verb became flesh and dwelt among us”. It is interesting when we move from noun to verb, we may not need more teaching, which might give us an excuse to remain passive, rather we may need opportunities to reflect on what we have (not) been doing as a result of the teaching, or celebrate or risk etc. See 5 verbs of learning below and proximal zone of development.)
3. Mobilize the church with 5 simple tools for disciple-making. (While 5 tools are suggested here, they can be improved or substituted.)
a. 7 Signs from John: a simple investigative Bible study for those wanting to know more about what it means to be a Christ follower. (Target: evangelism that anyone can do)
b. DNA plan: Dynamic truth (weekly reading activity practiced in pairs), Nurturing relationships in the context of devotional life (accountability questions), Apostolic mission. (Target: 1 on 1 reproducing ministry)
c. Pray Luke 10:2 at 10:02 every day, asking for labourers for the harvest. Amazing what God does in us as we pray that regularly. (Target: Apostolic mission)
d. Home church meeting built around the 5 verbs of learning: Imagine, connect, risk, reflect, celebrate (Target: kingdom community)
e. 4/11 training (From Ephesians 4:11) where occasional times of equipping are organized to help build understanding in the ministry, use of gifts etc. (Target: equipping for the work of service.)
4. Use the Rule of the Power of Five to improve structures and remain flexible. We need to start somewhere, forming temporary structures that can be improved or substituted. The importance is giving agency to learners, room for them to experiment, fail, try again, learn and pass it on rather than creating perfect structures that do not mobilize.
5. Use technology to permit increased access of those at a distance, while not requiring everyone to be a geek. As people become learning agents and network into their spheres of influence, it is probable that some of those involved are at a distance. Technology can help them interact with the local community as they prepare to reproduce in a local context.
Anyone interested?
I presently have email feelers out to 4 individuals who are keen to share the discipleship journey and learn from others as well as scripture and church services, walking towards Jesus closer and closer. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’d love to use this wish list to facilitate whoever joins me, as well as myself, in our respective faith journeys. I found out through the Summer Discipleship Project, that sharing needed direction, else all that results is a retelling of the status quo. I’m not very good at facilitating; I, too, am lulled too much by the love experienced in community. I hope to find someone who would be a prayer minister with me as I take on what will be a discipleship journey in itself, as I learn to be a facilitator, a loving, nudging facilitator, not a leader in the common sense. I would love to invite this person to pray for the group, in addition to our prayers for each other as individuals. I can be tempted to direct too strongly, as well as to be lulled into simple sharing. I’m trying to practise risk agility. I guess I should make up a Rule of Five sheet for this type of leadership. I do know the number one rule is to model a purpose-directed journey of discipleship, and thanks be to Jesus, I have great weakness, as we all do. There is great room for growth, and praise the Lord, this gives me purpose and meaning.
Nancy
This is wonderful, Jim. I’ve been pondering how church is done, and feeling as if it is ineffective in reaching newcomers. This model sounds very Scripturally-based and doable. I don’t totally understand all the vocab in here, nor the concepts, having never been involved in something like this but I’m very intrigued.
Thanks Kristen,It is scary to wonder if we need new paradigms. But it is even scarier, especially as we think of our children, NOT to risk to improve something that our kids may better relate to down the road. I would rather fail and have them learn from my example that to keep telling them they have to be committed to structures that I myself question. Thanks for your comment.