Simple Church--One Stream of Several

I thought that I would actually write about simple church this week! Actually, I am writing about simple church as part of a larger picture that I know many of you also see and which I wrote about in my very first post back in February.

What triggered my return to musing about simple church? Several things. First, I recently read a book that addresses with wonderful clarity and creativity issues such as intimacy with God, what the real church looks like, etc. The book is called The Shack, and Eugene Peterson suggests that this book may become the Pilgrim's Progress of our generation. And although I have a few reservations about some of the theology (on page 136 the author has God saying that cancer is "good" for some people--something I don't buy for a moment but understand why he says it in the context), I do recommend that you read it and wrestle with it (it will definitely stretch you!). You can order pre-release copies at the author's website www.theshackbook. com.
The second thing that triggered my musings is that I started a simple church (designed ultimately to train and release several simple church leaders). As we have started to grow together as a group and have started hearing one another's stories, it has become obvious that God has brought us together around more than just meeting in a home or doing church in a simpler, more participatory format. Again, the same themes that I have been discerning for quite some time are arising again: intimacy, simplicity, supernatural ministry, ministry in the marketplace, a fresh wave of emphasis upon inner healing and deliverance, etc. Hmmm, I think God might be saying something right now...!
The third thing that triggered my musing was a picture that the Lord gave to me during my time with Him this morning. I saw a river delta with many streams flowing out of one large river that was coming out of some mountains far away. The delta ended in a dead lake, like the Dead Sea. People were moving out from the dead lake upstream on the various streams to green areas where the water was good and there was life, not death. Many of them stopped along the way and camped not too far along the streams, far from the source which was much higher up. It seemed that many of the people camped once the conditions improved enough for them to survive. This did not seem to be what was intended for them, though, and some people pressed on farther and higher to where the water was purer and "wilder" and the air cleaner, where everything got better and better. As I looked at main river, I could see that as far as my vision extended upstream whatever I saw became "more and better." I also saw that some who camped along one of the streams actually built tall, white edifices. I am thinking that perhaps they have built these edifices to heal the people who are on the journey before they continue on upstream. But I fear that some of them have built these edifices because they did not see what was farther up -- they could not see that their stream was only one part of a much larger picture.

Now here's my interpretation of what I saw. I think that this picture represents what God is doing in the church, and simple church, the return to intimacy, the restoration of the supernatural, the restoration of marketplace ministry, etc. each represent only parts of what God is up to right now. And although some people may indeed be called to camp along the way in order to heal folks on the journey to farther in and higher up, God's desire is for most to continue on upstream where the smaller streams merge into His larger purposes. I also believe there are also some of us, hopefully many of us, who are called to keep on climbing higher without stopping and from that perspective to encourage and admonish others to continue on the journey and not settle for just one small stream when a River is flowing farther along. Just a thought!

Before I saw the picture this morning, the Lord said to me, "I am challenging all of my children to ask me to close the gap between my Word and your experience. Let the tension between Word and experience call you to faith, to ruthless inquiry. Remember, child, that I told you more than once that everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and that includes your theology and paradigms. But don't ever be afraid, beloved son, because you will know in ‘your knower’ that it is I! The best is yet far ahead of you, but you are right on track." So what do you think? Is there more than one stream? Are we all supposed to be careful not to settle along the lower places? I wonder...

Stay lost in His love,

Tom, the least of Abba's children

p.s. Let me know what you think of The Shack!