Man, this hits home for me (fellow PK, here). Lately I've been asking a lot of these questions, especially in my role serving as a worship pastor in regards to creating meetings of intimacy between God and His people. On top of that I'm a high school pastor and I'm truly concerned with what we're modeling for young generations. Something you touched on which is so often ignored, but I feel is critical is corporate prayer. I recently wrote on prayer and I think the Lord is stirring up a hunger for a deeper and more robust spirituality in the Church. Hoping to see more devotion to Christ in our fellowship and prayer. Following a Miracle Worker should be a miraculous experience. Thanks for these thoughts and encouragements, Tim.
P.S. My wife grew up in North Carolina with fond memories and stories. It always looks stunning in pictures (one day I'll get her to take me there). The outdoor setting is great! 👍
YES I believe we’ve drifted from how church gatherings should be conducted! My heart is grieved at what the "church" has become. I long for a house church environment where we experience fellowship similar to the church in Acts, like you mentioned. I did find something similar nearby, the Well House of Prayer in Toccoa GA. We are sharing in simple worship and meals, communion and enjoying the presence of the Lord together. I'm thankful for this for now, yet still praying about house church. I enjoy your writing and podcasts and your heart for the Lord! Bless you!
I just got a chance to listen to this. I think about this often and dream about what the church could look like. Sometimes I walk away from church feeling sad because I know that there is so much more (definitely not awe). Thankfully God continues to liven my faith despite this. I remember filling out one of those nation wide forms about how churches are functioning, and even as a teenager I responded to the question about where you get your ‘spiritual growth’ with ‘mostly self led’. I’d say this has generally been my experience. This approach has enabled me to continue to grow no matter what circumstance or season of life I am in though, which is a good thing. But the downside of this is, perhaps I could be a lot further along in my spiritual walk and more mature if I was given the opportunity?
You would find this interesting I think. I was chatting to a friend from my bible study yesterday (a group that consists of 6 local churches represented out of the 6 of us) and one of them said that in the kids ministry at her church, they give out lollies after things to encourage their involvement. They get lollies after singing songs! They get lollies after listening to a message! Her kids can’t have them due to allergies so now they get pencils with scriptures on them which is a little better. But we thought the whole concept was very strange!
I was thinking about this article as I attended church this morning. Although it was still far from the church I dream of, by God’s grace He was still there. Our pastor is a mature Christian and I appreciated his message of persevering through trials, and afterwards with a good coffee in hand, God gave me a word of personal encouragement to give to someone—a new Christian and friend that has been healed from many addictions and influences, but God wanted to pour out His grace on her again and remind her of the foundation in which she now lives from. We also sang the old hymn “It is well” which is powerful. I left with a sense that despite our weak attempts at ‘doing church’, that He is still able to work and draw people to Himself. Grace…
I wonder when Francis Chan shares that the church is here to take back the nation, who is not included in that statement? In the past 10+ years, there has been an exclusion of those who are not in the same mold as others. If you are not married, if you don't have kids, if you did not go to the Christian schools -- are you included in the church culture? If we are looking at utilizing church gatherings to bring others together -- what messages are exclusionary to only those who look like the majority? I once had a lead pastor tell me that I was part of the problem because I worked for a technology company. Because of me, I was part of the downfall of society.
Can you ellaborate on what you mean by this: "what messages are exclusionary to only those who look like the majority?" I'm not sure I understand. I will say that it makes me sad that a lead pastor would say something like that to you.
FINALLY got to listen this (got a little behind in reading my subscriptions), but have been looking forward to hearing your thoughts since you posted. I was not disappointed and amen to everything! That hunger and awe, and just, life (as in vitality and passion), I feel like is so missing and my heart aches to see it! I'm a young adult myself, and man, how I'd love to see a group like what you were talking about! There's so much more... and I really want to be a part of it. And of sharing it with our churches.
Thank you for sharing! My young adult daughter shared this with me...I'm 52:) and can relate as I was saved at 19,left theCatholic church, and got involved with an on fire young adult group that met in homes....we were essentially doing much of this and operating in the gifts, worshipping for hours, wanting nothing but Jesus ....but then for some reason, we were told we need to get grounded in a traditional church. We all scattered to find that and most fell away....fast forward,through a few churches and raising our kids in the Lord,covid happened and churches closed. We desired to fellowship and so a home church formed that now rotates homes. We believe in all of this...Acts 2 was our foundation. We believe in the gifts for today and making disciples, baptizing in water n in the Holy Spirit. We don't have it perfect but are hungry to find more individuals that have this passion. We live in Eastern PA on the border of NJ. Would love to meet more like minded disciples of Christ. Blessings!!!
Man, this hits home for me (fellow PK, here). Lately I've been asking a lot of these questions, especially in my role serving as a worship pastor in regards to creating meetings of intimacy between God and His people. On top of that I'm a high school pastor and I'm truly concerned with what we're modeling for young generations. Something you touched on which is so often ignored, but I feel is critical is corporate prayer. I recently wrote on prayer and I think the Lord is stirring up a hunger for a deeper and more robust spirituality in the Church. Hoping to see more devotion to Christ in our fellowship and prayer. Following a Miracle Worker should be a miraculous experience. Thanks for these thoughts and encouragements, Tim.
P.S. My wife grew up in North Carolina with fond memories and stories. It always looks stunning in pictures (one day I'll get her to take me there). The outdoor setting is great! 👍
YES I believe we’ve drifted from how church gatherings should be conducted! My heart is grieved at what the "church" has become. I long for a house church environment where we experience fellowship similar to the church in Acts, like you mentioned. I did find something similar nearby, the Well House of Prayer in Toccoa GA. We are sharing in simple worship and meals, communion and enjoying the presence of the Lord together. I'm thankful for this for now, yet still praying about house church. I enjoy your writing and podcasts and your heart for the Lord! Bless you!
Thank you, Rennie. These are good thoughts. I’m with you.
I just got a chance to listen to this. I think about this often and dream about what the church could look like. Sometimes I walk away from church feeling sad because I know that there is so much more (definitely not awe). Thankfully God continues to liven my faith despite this. I remember filling out one of those nation wide forms about how churches are functioning, and even as a teenager I responded to the question about where you get your ‘spiritual growth’ with ‘mostly self led’. I’d say this has generally been my experience. This approach has enabled me to continue to grow no matter what circumstance or season of life I am in though, which is a good thing. But the downside of this is, perhaps I could be a lot further along in my spiritual walk and more mature if I was given the opportunity?
You would find this interesting I think. I was chatting to a friend from my bible study yesterday (a group that consists of 6 local churches represented out of the 6 of us) and one of them said that in the kids ministry at her church, they give out lollies after things to encourage their involvement. They get lollies after singing songs! They get lollies after listening to a message! Her kids can’t have them due to allergies so now they get pencils with scriptures on them which is a little better. But we thought the whole concept was very strange!
And yes, that lollies thing is interesting. In a very weird way.
Isn’t interesting that you’re in a Bible study with six women yet none of you are in the same church? That’s like our culdesac.
I often leave sad. I feel like church—almost all I’ve attended—is not marked by awe at all. Why is this?
I was thinking about this article as I attended church this morning. Although it was still far from the church I dream of, by God’s grace He was still there. Our pastor is a mature Christian and I appreciated his message of persevering through trials, and afterwards with a good coffee in hand, God gave me a word of personal encouragement to give to someone—a new Christian and friend that has been healed from many addictions and influences, but God wanted to pour out His grace on her again and remind her of the foundation in which she now lives from. We also sang the old hymn “It is well” which is powerful. I left with a sense that despite our weak attempts at ‘doing church’, that He is still able to work and draw people to Himself. Grace…
I wonder when Francis Chan shares that the church is here to take back the nation, who is not included in that statement? In the past 10+ years, there has been an exclusion of those who are not in the same mold as others. If you are not married, if you don't have kids, if you did not go to the Christian schools -- are you included in the church culture? If we are looking at utilizing church gatherings to bring others together -- what messages are exclusionary to only those who look like the majority? I once had a lead pastor tell me that I was part of the problem because I worked for a technology company. Because of me, I was part of the downfall of society.
Can you ellaborate on what you mean by this: "what messages are exclusionary to only those who look like the majority?" I'm not sure I understand. I will say that it makes me sad that a lead pastor would say something like that to you.
FINALLY got to listen this (got a little behind in reading my subscriptions), but have been looking forward to hearing your thoughts since you posted. I was not disappointed and amen to everything! That hunger and awe, and just, life (as in vitality and passion), I feel like is so missing and my heart aches to see it! I'm a young adult myself, and man, how I'd love to see a group like what you were talking about! There's so much more... and I really want to be a part of it. And of sharing it with our churches.
Thank you for sharing! My young adult daughter shared this with me...I'm 52:) and can relate as I was saved at 19,left theCatholic church, and got involved with an on fire young adult group that met in homes....we were essentially doing much of this and operating in the gifts, worshipping for hours, wanting nothing but Jesus ....but then for some reason, we were told we need to get grounded in a traditional church. We all scattered to find that and most fell away....fast forward,through a few churches and raising our kids in the Lord,covid happened and churches closed. We desired to fellowship and so a home church formed that now rotates homes. We believe in all of this...Acts 2 was our foundation. We believe in the gifts for today and making disciples, baptizing in water n in the Holy Spirit. We don't have it perfect but are hungry to find more individuals that have this passion. We live in Eastern PA on the border of NJ. Would love to meet more like minded disciples of Christ. Blessings!!!