This is awesome! I can't wait for you to finish this book. I strongly feel the pull of the Holy Spirit in the same direction. I am frustrated with the local organized church is run and the focus. I could hardly get through this excerpt without leaping for joy! Please let me know when your book is completed. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing this chapter, Jacob!
I have been reading and inquiring a lot about “organic“ (house) churches (in different parts of the world) in the last years (and had single experiences in different places) but the shared insights gave me more practical clarity on what it means that the Lord builds His church.
I have a question directly related to the content of this chapter - are you familiar with large Disciple-Making Movements (DMM) in Africa/Asia?
I have been very impressed by their stated fruitfulness in terms of constantly multiplying disciples and house churches.
They talk a lot about prayer and following the Spirit and do not follow traditional church models but they insist quite a lot on following certain guidelines on how to “find a person of peace” or to disciple new people through “Discovery Bible Study” (if you are familiar with these).
They claim that certain proven unconventional ministry methods help to facilitate biblical multiplication of disciples (like in the book of Acts).
How do you perceive this tension between waiting on the Lord for specific guidance and applying specific unconventional ministry approaches/methods which seem very fruitful in different regions of the world (as they do in many DMMs)?
Hey Steven! So glad you found this chapter helpful.
I am somewhat familiar with DMM. One thing I remember reading 6 or 7 years ago from one of their founders was that they hadn’t seen it succeed in the West like it has in the places you mentioned, though I don’t know the reason for that.
As for your main question, I’m not opposed to using any particular method. I am opposed to *relying* on methods. Sharing our methods with one another is totally fine, but it can be misleading if we’re not careful. Often what happens (and I believe is the case with the origins of DMM and David Watson’s story) is that someone seeks the Lord diligently in prayer for direction/empowerment, and they receive it and bear fruit (just like I write about in this chapter). But then, they begin teaching the method that came out of their waiting on the Lord, which will always have its limitations, instead of teaching the TRUE method they used, which was actually simply to wait on the Lord.
To say it a little differently, what we should learn from David Watson’s story is that the one who waits on the Lord will be blessed and empowered for ministry, not that we all need to find persons of peace and implement Discovery Bible studies. That’s how God led David Watson. It may or may not be how he leads you.
We are certainly free to try their methods, but like any other method, I believe the Lord will actually frustrate our plans if they aren’t born out of rest and reliance on him. The DMM approach holds zero power in and of itself; God holds it all.
I hope this makes sense, but let me know your thoughts!
Thank you so much for your insightful response, Jake - it was really eye-opening for me!
This topic is very close to my heart since I’ve been trying to figure out the most biblical approach to church and disciple-making and reaching the lost for the last 7+ years.
I have read books about organic biblical church and read many different testimonies about it, and have talked to people who practice it in one way or another and I’ve always tried to find the “best”/most biblical approach.
Since last year, I have completed online trainings and have had live and online coaching with DMM practitioners (mainly from the West) - I’ve been really intrigued about the fruitful and biblical vision of these ministries and tried to implement their principles in my reality in Sofia, Bulgaria, where we live.
But in the last months, I’ve started to wonder if I’m not trusting in certain methods more than in the Spirit’s leading in my life - I’ve even thought at times that other Christian ministries which do not follow the DMM approach are somewhat deceived or miss out on so much.
After reading your article and your response, it really helped me understand that I should not insist on a single best method, but should wait on the Lord for specific guidance in every area of my life and ministry. This really frees me and encourages me to pursue how the Spirit is leading us in the future without any need of comparison with other ministries.
This understanding came really at a critical point in time for me.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights with the larger body of Christ!
I have another question - how do you and your network of house churches personally reach the lost and how do you facilitate multiplication in order to not become too comfortable in your inner circle of Christian groups?
P. S. I recently listened to your first book “No Longer I” and it was really precious for me as well. I love your clear, practical and passionate writing style and it helped me gain a lot of clarity about the message of the gospel. Actually, both topics (our identity in Christ and the biblical church/disciple-making) have been heavily on my heart for many years.
This is incredibly encouraging, Steven, thank you! I’m excited to see how God leads you, and I really hope you will keep me updated on what comes of your waiting on him.
As for your question, I’ll address it in some later chapters of the book I’m currently writing, so if you can wait a couple months, that will have a much more detailed response.
But basically, there’s not really any specific thing we do. Again, just organic, Spirit-led community. The multiplication part for us has just happened slowly but surely over time as God has grown us. It has usually been through relationships with friends, coworkers, that sort of thing, and then some other cool random connections, but all word of mouth.
I honestly think the fear of becoming too comfortable in your inner group is a bit of a myth. If you just raise a Spirit-led church, then it isn’t possible for everyone to remain comfortable in stagnancy forever; the Spirit will provoke desires for growth, and those desires already reside in every Christian.
As for reaching the lost, my views on this are a bit more nuanced/complex, so I won’t say too much until I can write my chapter on it. But the long short of it is that this, too, must be Spirit led, and we need to learn to wait on the Lord for his leading that respect.
This is awesome! I can't wait for you to finish this book. I strongly feel the pull of the Holy Spirit in the same direction. I am frustrated with the local organized church is run and the focus. I could hardly get through this excerpt without leaping for joy! Please let me know when your book is completed. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing, Sharon! You'll definitely know when the book is finished :) God bless you
Thank you so much for sharing this chapter, Jacob!
I have been reading and inquiring a lot about “organic“ (house) churches (in different parts of the world) in the last years (and had single experiences in different places) but the shared insights gave me more practical clarity on what it means that the Lord builds His church.
I have a question directly related to the content of this chapter - are you familiar with large Disciple-Making Movements (DMM) in Africa/Asia?
I have been very impressed by their stated fruitfulness in terms of constantly multiplying disciples and house churches.
They talk a lot about prayer and following the Spirit and do not follow traditional church models but they insist quite a lot on following certain guidelines on how to “find a person of peace” or to disciple new people through “Discovery Bible Study” (if you are familiar with these).
They claim that certain proven unconventional ministry methods help to facilitate biblical multiplication of disciples (like in the book of Acts).
How do you perceive this tension between waiting on the Lord for specific guidance and applying specific unconventional ministry approaches/methods which seem very fruitful in different regions of the world (as they do in many DMMs)?
Hey Steven! So glad you found this chapter helpful.
I am somewhat familiar with DMM. One thing I remember reading 6 or 7 years ago from one of their founders was that they hadn’t seen it succeed in the West like it has in the places you mentioned, though I don’t know the reason for that.
As for your main question, I’m not opposed to using any particular method. I am opposed to *relying* on methods. Sharing our methods with one another is totally fine, but it can be misleading if we’re not careful. Often what happens (and I believe is the case with the origins of DMM and David Watson’s story) is that someone seeks the Lord diligently in prayer for direction/empowerment, and they receive it and bear fruit (just like I write about in this chapter). But then, they begin teaching the method that came out of their waiting on the Lord, which will always have its limitations, instead of teaching the TRUE method they used, which was actually simply to wait on the Lord.
To say it a little differently, what we should learn from David Watson’s story is that the one who waits on the Lord will be blessed and empowered for ministry, not that we all need to find persons of peace and implement Discovery Bible studies. That’s how God led David Watson. It may or may not be how he leads you.
We are certainly free to try their methods, but like any other method, I believe the Lord will actually frustrate our plans if they aren’t born out of rest and reliance on him. The DMM approach holds zero power in and of itself; God holds it all.
I hope this makes sense, but let me know your thoughts!
Jake
Thank you so much for your insightful response, Jake - it was really eye-opening for me!
This topic is very close to my heart since I’ve been trying to figure out the most biblical approach to church and disciple-making and reaching the lost for the last 7+ years.
I have read books about organic biblical church and read many different testimonies about it, and have talked to people who practice it in one way or another and I’ve always tried to find the “best”/most biblical approach.
Since last year, I have completed online trainings and have had live and online coaching with DMM practitioners (mainly from the West) - I’ve been really intrigued about the fruitful and biblical vision of these ministries and tried to implement their principles in my reality in Sofia, Bulgaria, where we live.
But in the last months, I’ve started to wonder if I’m not trusting in certain methods more than in the Spirit’s leading in my life - I’ve even thought at times that other Christian ministries which do not follow the DMM approach are somewhat deceived or miss out on so much.
After reading your article and your response, it really helped me understand that I should not insist on a single best method, but should wait on the Lord for specific guidance in every area of my life and ministry. This really frees me and encourages me to pursue how the Spirit is leading us in the future without any need of comparison with other ministries.
This understanding came really at a critical point in time for me.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights with the larger body of Christ!
I have another question - how do you and your network of house churches personally reach the lost and how do you facilitate multiplication in order to not become too comfortable in your inner circle of Christian groups?
P. S. I recently listened to your first book “No Longer I” and it was really precious for me as well. I love your clear, practical and passionate writing style and it helped me gain a lot of clarity about the message of the gospel. Actually, both topics (our identity in Christ and the biblical church/disciple-making) have been heavily on my heart for many years.
This is incredibly encouraging, Steven, thank you! I’m excited to see how God leads you, and I really hope you will keep me updated on what comes of your waiting on him.
As for your question, I’ll address it in some later chapters of the book I’m currently writing, so if you can wait a couple months, that will have a much more detailed response.
But basically, there’s not really any specific thing we do. Again, just organic, Spirit-led community. The multiplication part for us has just happened slowly but surely over time as God has grown us. It has usually been through relationships with friends, coworkers, that sort of thing, and then some other cool random connections, but all word of mouth.
I honestly think the fear of becoming too comfortable in your inner group is a bit of a myth. If you just raise a Spirit-led church, then it isn’t possible for everyone to remain comfortable in stagnancy forever; the Spirit will provoke desires for growth, and those desires already reside in every Christian.
As for reaching the lost, my views on this are a bit more nuanced/complex, so I won’t say too much until I can write my chapter on it. But the long short of it is that this, too, must be Spirit led, and we need to learn to wait on the Lord for his leading that respect.
Hope this helps — God bless you!