The Transformational Power of Stories

By now (assuming you have been following this blog for awhile), you know how powerful it is to hear the stories of others who are on a similar journey to you. Be it a video, or an audio recording, or good ol' fashioned text, few things have the transformational power of a story that connect with your heart and/or awakens you to new possibilities.

As Ivan Illich once said, the way you begin to change a culture is to "tell an alternative story."

That is what this blog is all about. Telling the "stories that must be told." And, we have devoted a quite a few of the 75 posts - to date - to tell you the stories of others who are experiencing and witnessing God in their midst.

Now it is your turn.

What story or stories have you been witness to that must be told?

Where have you seen God at work in your house church or in the process of practicing the two disciplines that make up "C02?" What has been the fruit that God has brought forth as you have begun to connect more intentionally with your own heart, the hearts of others, and with God?

Send us your story that must be told. Make a video of the story, or let us call you to record it over the phone, or simply write the story up. Let us know that you have a story that must be told and we'll help you get it on to this blog.

Drop me (Tim) an email at Lk10andC02@gmail.com and I'll be in touch with you to help you tell the story of what God is doing in your midst.

And the journey continues...

An Excellent Description of a Multi-Church Gathering

Chadd Schroeder recently wrote up an excellent description of a

multi-church gathering among house churches in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Here's an excerpt:

I think our shift to small house churches in the last few years has been important because it has helped many to envision themselves as a group who fleshes out Christ in their neighborhood. The focus on simplicity and smallness has allowed the groups to “do church” simply and focus much of their limited time and resources on family spiritual formation and connecting to God, on discipleship and on reflecting Christ to others in their own colonias. However, the regular practices of gathering monthly as a larger grouping of house churches—and of regularly gathering for retreats, special studies, and youth activities reminds the house churches that they are not alone—that there are other groups like them who are similarly trying to follow Jesus—that we are looking out for one another.

Check out the rest of the story at Chadd and Nancy Schroeder's blog.

A Conversation with Chadd Schroeder - Guadalajara, Mexico - Part 2

In this Part 2 of a conversation with Chadd Schroeder, he continues to share about the transition he and his wife Nancy underwent as they shifted from focusing on planting a Traditional Church in Guadalajara, Mexico to planting House Churches.

Chadd also tells several remarkable stories of people God raised up to be leaders of the Church in Mexico, in particular the story of a "couple of Peace" (Luke 10:6), Gerardo and Carola (pictured), whom God has used to impact hundreds of people throughout Mexico.

Chadd & Nancy Schroeder - Guadalajara, Mexico - Part 1

Chadd and Nancy Schroeder are missionaries in Guadalajara, Mexico. Along with their three daughters, they are involved in helping to plant simple churches and helping to identify and support & encourage men and women whom God has prepared for leadership in the Church in Mexico. In this Part 1 of a conversation, Chadd shares about the work he and Nancy have been involved with in Mexico and how they underwent a major shift from planting and leading a traditional, attractional model of church to helping identify and equip men and women of peace whom God had preveniently called to lead and oversee simple/house churches.

You can follow the Schroeder's and their story by visiting their blog at this link.

Here's the conversation...

12 Days of Christmas

I know Christmas is over but this is a story you need to hear.

Coach Bill received direction from the Lord about caring for a family in need over Christmas. Specifically, he was to use a "program" called "The 12 days of Christmas". He shared this with his sister, Kay, and then they shared with the whole house church.

The result? One family with three small children received a huge dose of God's love in a time of need.

The point? It's not that we should all plan on doing "The 12 days of Christmas" for someone next year. Rather, it is that "mission flows from listening". Imagine hundreds of house churches across your city allowing God to direct them to minister in unique and creative ways to people in need.

Watch this video to see the story unfold. (Make sure you turn up the sound.)

Rose Starr - Part 2: Doing C02 in the Context of Community

Doing SASHET = Listening to one another at a heart level
Doing "Virkler" = Listening to the God who speaks
Two disciplines simple enough for anyone to learn and teach to others.

In this second part of a conversation with Rose Starr of Denver, she shares how practicing C02 as a community has impacted the house church she and her family attend.

Kent Smith (2): Distributed Divine Energy

So, just what is a vibrant family of Jesus? I’d say: a communion of people whose lifestyles are so centered in God that each person is discovering and revealing God’s unique grace through their life. The result of all these grace-gifts working together is that the whole community is a beautiful embodiment of the life of Jesus in that place. Sure enough—the body of Christ, God with skin on.

Essential to this understanding is the unique and vital role every person in the community plays in forming vibrant families of Jesus. To borrow Paul’s language,

“From Christ the whole body is joined and held together . . . by means of the distributed divine energy of every single growing part of the body working to build up his body in love.” (Eph. 4:16)

I suspect many Christians have grown jaded, deeply doubtful that this can actually happen. But rather than give up on God’s dream wouldn’t a more realistic step be to reconsider the conditions under which such communities might form?

Here we are reminded again: if we think Jesus is God, we have to believe he is smart. I don’t suppose we’re going to find a better grasp on how this all works than what he actually did and showed his disciples to do. Luke 10 illustrates this beautifully.

In our next post, I’ll explore a bit of what those conditions are. But for now, what do you think? Is God’s dream a pipe dream? Is such a community even possible on earth? Have you ever seen the church actually functioning as a vibrant family of Jesus over time?


(JW: This is such an amazing concept! I've looked for a picture to help us visualize it but without success. If you've got a good one, send it to me and I'll add it to this post.)