Our Common Journey: May 2009

Organic Church in small town Texas
Wed, 4-22-09

This Wednesday I was unable to attend the group due to a phone conference I was committed to that started at 7:30 PM. I asked Betsy to share about our group for Wed. Her impressions are what follow.

On Wednesday, April 22, our meeting was scheduled for 6:30 pm at our house. I put in a roast at 1 pm to cook, and then made a salad ahead of time. Marcia called at 5 pm to ask what was on the menu. I laughed, and told her just to bring what she wanted, but then relented and told her what I was making. She said something about muffins and banana bread, and then we chatted some more and hung up.

At 6:31 pm, I left the house for a very quick trip to the grocery store. The last time Jim had been to meeting, he was drinking a Dr Pepper again, and I had determined to have some DP on hand for him the next time. We generally don’t have sodas on hand, so this was a big step for me. Anyway, I remembered late that day that I still didn’t have any DP in the house. When I returned to the house at 6:36 pm, I said, “Oh, good Mary’s here!” and I noticed that Marcia and Paul’s van was in the driveway, blocking my way to the garage. I just drove into the carport and went in the house the other way. Marcia giggled as I said she was blocking my way, “Jackie directed me to that place.” And Jackie added, “You just shouldn’t have left so late.” I agreed good-naturedly and set the sodas on the counter.

We sat in the living room for a few minutes, and then I looked at Marcia and said, “Is Jan coming?” “She said she might be able to make it if Julie could drive her, but she had another teleconference tonight at 7:30.” So then we decided to go ahead and have our meal.

I walked into the kitchen, opened the oven, started to get the roast out, and promptly dropped it! Gravy went all over the cabinets and floor. Oh, well. No harm was done. I simply got a bunch of paper towels and wiped it up. There was still plenty of gravy left for us, and the roast was delicious! We enjoyed eating together, and just sat around the table, the 5 of us.

As we talked, it became apparent that tonight was Mary’s night to share. It was beautiful listening to her share her heart about her family, and learning more about her than before. At the end we just naturally started praying for her granddaughter that she was so burdened for, as well as some others in our circle of influence that we felt burdened about.

Jackie shared a chapter out of a book by John Fischer, True Believers Don’t Ask Questions, which we all enjoyed, as it had to do with separating things in life into sacred and secular. It talks about Phil Keaggy and how “invisible” he has become to unbelievers since he began recording with “Christian” record labels.

When we looked up, we all suddenly checked our watches and were completely astounded to find that it was nearly 10 pm! We so enjoyed the time we shared and prayed. I felt truly blessed as I hugged and said good-bye to all.

Organic Church in small town Texas
Sunday, 4-26-09

We met today in the home of the Koellns. Everyone began arriving around 1 PM with pot luck dishes in hand. Today we had a large group, but some of the regulars were not there. Betsy was not feeling well, so she and Jackie were unable to attend. Marcia’s parents, Marc and Colleen, came along with both of Marcia’s adult sons, their wives and young daughters. So, we had four generations of the same family with us today. Jim and I were there along with Mary. Marcia’s teenage daughter, Jamie, was with friends at another function. Also, Mike and Karen and their kids were not with us today.

We started by praying over the wonderful meal. Tim prayed this time. As we ate, we discussed many different issues of the day. Earlier that day, I had snagged a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ” off the status from my friend David Flower’s facebook page. Thought it would be a good point of discussion. Also, that morning, I had visited another site on the internet, http://www.organicchurchtoday.com and had seen a daily devotional on Ps 33:20-22. We discussed the verse and how we put our hope in the Lord. How we are to trust Him wholly. Marc brought up Prov 3:5-6 and how the two passages go hand in hand.

Mary shared some about a picture God had given her. She was feeling last week that everything was out of control. She saw herself standing amongst all kinds of things whirling around her head and shoulders. But, when she looked down, she saw she was standing on a rock. As we all stand on the rock that is Jesus, we know we are on solid ground.

Greg and Dana’s little girl was fussy, nap time, so they left shortly after dinner. Others also had things to attend to that day, so the group broke up a little earlier than usual.

We will meet again on Wed. at the Robinetts.

The brothers Koelln, Greg and Tim with Tim's daughter Lucy.

Marcia and Paul

Amy and Mary

Sharing our meal

Good food and good fellowship

Organic Church

Much has been written in the past several years about something called “Organic Church”. Basically organic is defined as “Resembling a living organism in organization or development; interconnected” (bartleby.com). Church comes from the Greek word, Ekklesia, meaning a gathering. Therefore, Organic Church could be defined as a gathering of the body (living organism) of Christ that is interconnected.

A brother, and new friend of mine, David Flowers, has been posting notes on Facebook and on his blog http://ddflowers.wordpress.com/.com about a group that meets in the Houston area. It has been a great encouragement to me and others as well to get a small glimpse of what this type of gathering looks like and how when we gather we place Christ at the center of all things. He has encouraged me to share the life in our group as well.

So let me begin at the beginning. More than two years ago, God began to stir in my heart. And friends, when God begins to stir, you can almost be guaranteed there is a move of some type coming. That move for me came in the form of leaving the traditional church setting to begin gathering with several other believers in a more “organic” fashion. (Seems that God also was moving in the hearts of several friends from the same traditional church.) Before we knew what was happening, we were meeting together in homes, searching together for life as part of the body of Christ where He takes preeminence in all things (Col 1:15-20).

The group has changed over the last year, some have come for a short while and then gone. Some have joined us after our beginnings. We anticipate the group will always be a dynamic, living group. Our hearts' desire is to live in community with one another. To begin to fulfill the 58 one another commands in the New Testament and that our love for one another will spill out into our communities and draw others to Christ. Our focus in neither inward, nor outward – but on our living Lord Jesus.

So for the next several weeks, I will attempt to give you a glimpse into our group.

Let me begin with the Passover Wednesday (4-8-09).

We gathered at the home of the Robinetts about 6:30 PM. Our group that night consisted of Betsy and Jackie, Paul and Marcia, Mary, myself and Julie, my adult daughter. We put out all the food we had prepared in the kitchen. Right now when we meet, we always do pot luck so that no one person is over burdened. After everyone filled their plates in the kitchen, we went into the dining room to eat. We enjoyed good food and great conversation. Some of the conversation is sharing our everyday lives with each other. Usually there is abundant laughter as we tell stories of current or past events in each of our lives. Much of the conversation is about Jesus, who He is and what He has done.

Just about sundown, Betsy lit two candles she had placed in the center of the table and the prayed over the unleavened bread she had prepared earlier that day. We then shared the bread by passing it around and each tearing off a piece. Jackie then poured grape juice into small glasses and we passed them around. As we ate and drank, we talked of Jesus and His work on the cross.

That day was also Betsy’s birthday. Marcia has prepared a chocolate cake with cinnamon, at Betsy’s request, for her birthday. We shared cake and wished Betsy a happy birthday. It was so natural to share a meal, share the elements of the communion table and then share in a birthday celebration. The family feeling is like none other. We are indeed bonded together as brothers and sisters in Christ as a family.

Julie and I had to leave right at eight o’clock as I had an obligation to be on a conference call. We said our goodbyes and headed home.

We decided not to meet on Easter Sunday. Many in the group had relatives in for the weekend and needed to spend time with them.

Wednesday, April 15.

We met again in the home of the Robinetts. We began with our usual pot luck meal. I had been in town for another meeting and did not have time to prepare food, so Chicken Express it was. Betsy had a plethora or organic produce from her food co-op, so she chopped and stir fried veggies. They were marvelous. Again we gathered around the dining room table and shared stories. This week is was Betsy and Jackie, Paul and Marcia and I.

After eating, we moved into the living room. As we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and let Jesus direct our meetings, we desire to fulfill 1 Cor. 14:26 and let each member of the body function in their giftedness for the edification of the body. I brought a printout of an article Milt Rodriguez had posted on his blog - http://miltrodriguez.wordpress.com entitled “The Holistic Church”. We read the article and discussed it. Marcia then had a question about the passage in John 2:12-22, where she had been reading earlier that day. We discussed that passage and then compared it to the other time Jesus cleared the Temple in Matt. 21:12-13.

We ended our evening around 8:30 PM as Marcia had to travel to Lubbock the next day and needed to get to bed at a decent hour.

Sunday, April 19.

Sundays always take on a little different flavor than do Wednesdays. We meet in the home of the Koellns around 1 PM. We also do a pot luck and usually eat on paper plates. There are several others who join us on Sundays, Marcia’s mother and her adult sons and their wives and small children and another family from the small town where we meet. Marcia and Paul’s teenage daughter usually has a friend or two that comes and eats with us. Marcia really has a heart for the lonely and disconnected in her neighborhood. She is always inviting someone to come and join us. It is good to see who God brings each week.

This week we had Shepherd’s pie, pasta, green beans, potato salad, sloppy joes and grilled meat. Something about sitting around a table sharing life giving, good food that opens people up to talking about themselves and their lives. The conversation is always good.

As we ate, I posed a question to the group. “Why is it that house churches are OK in China, Africa, and other countries, but not in America?” Mike asked me what type of negative comments I had heard about meeting in homes. One comment was about small groups falling into heresy. Jamie, one of the teenagers asked what heresy is. That sparked a good discussion on that topic. After that discussion, the kids, ages 10 to 17, decided to gather in another room of the house.

That left the adults to continue pondering my original question. Mike’s answer hit the nail right on the head. He basically said that the aversion to meeting in homes is fear driven. That if we meet in small groups, we can’t hide and we might actually be in a position to share deep hurts, feelings, hopes, desires and people would see all our foibles and then maybe not like us so much anymore. Betsy also brought up the cultural differences. She has a unique viewpoint because she grew up a missionary kid in Mexico.

One of the other members then asked us to pray for a young couple who is struggling in their marriage. We spent the next 30 – 45 minutes praying for this couple. It was powerful.

We ended with singing a song and thanking God for all He has done for us.

We will meet again on Wednesday at the Robinetts.