Top Ten Reasons for using SASHET in your church (# 7)

* Top Ten Reasons for starting simple church by using SASHET to "check in" with each other...

#7. SASHET helps create a true sense of family (even with seminary students!). In the LK10 Community we talk about a very simple equation that explains a great deal about house church. Church = family. While this is easy to say, it is often difficult to implement because our experience of church has been anything but family. (Hard to experience "family" in a gathering of a thousand people!) We've experienced...

Church = meeting

Church = performance

Church = organization

Church = business

But, in the New Testament, church was none of these things. Church was always seen as an extended spiritual family. In Roger Gehring's very important book, House Church and Mission, we read “... this concept of church as the ‘household of God’ (1 Tim. 3:15) incorporates two aspects: (a) the house or family is the fundamental unit of the church, and (b) the church is a social structure patterned after the household.” P. 7

So, if we understand how healthy families function, it will go a long way towards understanding how healthy NT churches function. And, healthy families are groups of people who are able to connect with one another on a heart level. SASHET is a powerful tool for creating that sense of family. In the video below, Hobby Chapin, church planter in Brighton, CO tells how he used SASHET to help a group of seminary students experience that "true sense of family".

*Physical training teaches us about spiritual training. In 1 Tim. 4:7-8, Paul writes, "Train yourself for spiritual fitness (or godliness)". The word for "train" is gymnazo from which we get gymnastics. As you watch this video, think about James 1:2-4. "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_WOD110720_CFSC_WtPushUp_final.wmv

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*National House Church Conference.September 2-4 in Jacksonville, FL.http://www.cvent.com/events/momentum-basics-and-beyond/event-summary-35d9eb8b489245b383c00068e2ebd074.aspx

Caring for a dying patient

In the Luke Ten Community, we have a deep conviction that mission and ministry of all kinds flow from our listening to God. This is based on God's prevenience. That is, that He is always at work before we come on the scene. Our job is not to "make something happen" but to see how He wants us to join Him in what He is doing.

In this video, Robbie James, who is both a church planter and a hospital chaplain in Brighton (CO), shares an experience of God's guidance as he cared for a dying patient.

John

Church Flows from Listening

My approach to this blog is that I don't post anything unless God gives me something. (Think John 5:19) And, recently He hasn't given me much to post. But, my sense is that this is about to change.

See below for an interview with Robbie James who is a church planter in Brighton, CO and who is part of the Denver Leadership Team. This is another great story of a church (and churches) that is learning to listen to Jesus as the Head of the church. I especially love that they are developing what they call "a culture of honor". You will also get a sense of the spontaneous church multiplication that is occurring north of Denver.

John

10:2b Story (Part Three)

Great comment from Carolyn Spence (Clovis, NM) in response to Mike Deaton's interview in yesterday's post:

OK, agreed! We need the opportunity to see it practised. My mother (89 years young) cried to experience the very tiny taste of our gathering in Clovis with MRT members from Albuquerque and Colorado saying, "now I see what you mean"... If you are going to spread a virus, personal physical contact works best... Carolyn

Today, we have an interview with JoEtta Deaton. She tells a similar story. To paraphrase: "By visiting some of the house churches in Brighton (CO), I experienced a whole different paradigm of church. What I saw was church that flowed out of listening to Jesus. This was transformational and I want to begin to try this out when we go back to Virginia".

(JW: This is the third of seven LK10 Practices. Church = a spiritual family focused on listening to Jesus.)

Now, listen to JoEtta tell the story in her own words below. Share with us your response to what she has to say.

John

A 10:2b Story (Part One)

The DNA of our Luke Ten Community focuses on seven key practices. (To see all seven, go here: http://lk10.com/media/lk10_visionpaper_2_0.pdf )

The fourth practice is in obedience to Jesus' command in Luke 10, verse 2, part b. We sometimes call this the "10:2b Prayer". This was Jesus' solution to a specific problem. Namely, "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few". To Jesus the answer was obvious - ask the Harvest Master for more laborers.

So, what does a "10:2b answer" look like? In this three part series, you will see three examples of harvest laborers sent out by the Harvest Master.

First, in the video below (the first of three parts), you will see Hobby Chapin who was a "10:2b answer" here in Denver over a year ago. Hobby has become a good friend and a very effective church planter in Brighton (north of Denver). Tomorrow, you will see what happened as Hobby prayed the 10:2b Prayer.

John