I’ve just written a new book that tells the story of “Bethany” and what it means to the Lord and to us. It’s told through the eyes of Lazarus . . . one of the precious people who lived in the humble village of Bethany.
It’s called God’s Favorite Place on Earth.
Hi Frank. I read your article on The Ooze about leaving the institutional church and I really enjoyed it. I agree with all that you said and can identify with your reasons. Some people don’t seem to get what you’re saying. For instance, a few people condemned you for being bored with church, saying that boredom isn’t a good reason to leave a church. A few others said that you basically bailed out of the church instead of trying to fix it, and that you don’t love the church, or else if you did you would remain in it and try to reform it. I’d like to hear your response. Thanks.
Good questions.
First, when I said I was bored with the institutional church, to my mind, that betrays the lack of life that I found there. Note that I was a part of many institutional churches representing many denominations and movements. All very diverse, yet having a very similar structure and order of worship (as all institutional churches do).
Over the last 21 years since I’ve been out, I’ve visited a number of institutional churches now and then and have even spoken in them. And this has only strengthened my resolve, not weakened it.
The bottom line is that Jesus Christ is anything but boring! He’s the most exciting, incredible, amazing Person that a mortal can know. And knowing Him in an organic expression of the church . . . where a face-to-face community is pursuing Him, loving Him, encountering Him, knowing Him, and expressing Him together is anything but boring. Continue Reading…
It takes quite a bit for an article or book to impress me. Last week, I read an article by Milt Rodriguez and was quite impressed. So much so that I’m going to publish it here. Among the hundreds of articles that I’ve read this year on blogs, magazines, e-zines, websites, etc., this one stands out.
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Lions Set Free
by Milt Rodriguez
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not be entangled with the yoke of slavery again.” Galatians 5:1
A friend of mine recently told me about a conservation group in Zimbabwe that is taking captive lions and rehabilitating them back into the wild. Continue Reading…
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. Continue Reading…
I’ve never told the story of why I left the institutional church in print before.
See also Why I Left the Institutional Church: Part II – Answering Common Questions
If you receive our update Newsletter, you know that a good friend of mine is in the hospital receiving chemotherapy for Leukemia. Her name is Marietta Welter. She is a precious sister and a dear friend. Gary, her husband, and his daughters have been staying in my home to sleep at nights since the hospital is only 15-minutes away.
Yesterday morning, Gary told me that God’s people have been graciously sending cards and gifts. They have been greatly touched by all of them.
An observation he made that I found quite interesting is that over 90% of the people who contributed money to help defray the enormous financial burden they are under came from people who gather outside the institutional church. One such person Fed Ex’d them $1,000 overnight. Continue Reading…
Nothing seems to be fixed in the Christian life. For every spiritual principle, there are those odd exceptions that simply refuse to fit into our paradigms. This is true when it comes to a revelation of Jesus Christ.
By revelation, I’m not speaking of a physical vision or an audible voice. I’m speaking of that inward “knowing” of the Lord where we catch a glimpse of Him that’s so overmastering that it wipes everything else off the table. In Paul’s words, God called him by His grace to “reveal His Son in me” (Gal. 1:15-16).
In my experience, and in my observation over the last thirty years of following the Lord, I’ve discovered that as a general rule a revelation of Jesus Christ will eventually lead to a revelation of His church as well as a revelation of God’s grand mission (or Eternal Purpose).
By that I mean, knowing the Lord will necessarily lead to hungering for, desiring, and seeing the reality of His Body in practice as well as the Divine purpose for which the Body exists. The reason? Christ and the church are inseparably united. And experiencing the Head will naturally give one a spiritual instinct for the experience of the Body and the mission that God has given it. Continue Reading…
