In 2007, I delivered a message at the National H2H Conference in Dallas, TX. My good friends Tony and Felicity Dale host this conference each year.

The conference is not just for “house church” folks, but for all Christians who are interested in discovering what’s happening outside the organized church and in meeting people who are experimenting with alternative ways of gathering under Christ. (I’m not an advocate of house church myself.)

The message I delivered is entitled “The House Church Movement: Learning from the Past – Pioneering for the Future.” Before I delivered it, I asked all who were under the age of 36 to sit up front. You’ll understand why after you hear it.

If you’re someone who doesn’t know much about Christians who gather outside the institutional church, this message will give you a good idea of some of our history and the issues we face.

If you are outside the institutional church, I hope you will be both challenged and encouraged by it.

One of the points made: We are all subject to mistakes. (I’ve made so many myself I’ve lost count.) But we should learn from the mistakes of the past. Therefore, we don’t have to repeat the same ones over and over again. If we will make mistakes, let’s make new ones.

Click here to listen to the message.

The message I delivered at the 2008 Momentum Conference.

The message I delivered at the 2011 Momentum Conference.

Oh, for those of you who have told me that you love the jokes I’ve posted on this blog, the messages above both begin with a joke. And they happen to be my favorites.