It’s hard for me to take much of Frank Viola. He has a harsh writing style to him and though I’m totally into reading about the issues he focuses on, I guess I just don’t get what field he’s playing in. I love the brother and read his Pagan Christianity TWICE before reviewing it (to help make up for everybody else preferring to review first and read later). So he’s written a little article that’s floating around the web called “Finding Organic Church.” Its basically written to answer the question he hears over and over again, “What if I want to experience this kind of body life but there are no organic churches in the area to be a part of and we can’t relocate?” Frank’s basic response is to do what Aquilla and Priscilla did; to do what John the Baptist did - prepare a foundation for someone else to come. To Frank, that means gathering people together and cultivating interest in organic church by starting reading groups, BBQs, etc. Then invite (or cultivate) a nearby itinerant church planter to teach the church how to be led by Jesus rather than by a person.

I see this all through Acts and the New Covenant, and it has some practical/psychosocial handles to it as well (how can someone regularly participating in the group authoritatively tell everyone not to lead?). I know that this will be a useful method for ministry in organic church planting, and I’m thankful for the work he’s done on it. Keeping it in check that it is ONLY a method and not the lynch pin to life, the universe, and everything. (Americans have this love affair with franchising. It’s in my blood too.) But it seems to miss the point that new churches are started not just by existing Christians getting together for a book club, but by new converts who are meeting in a dance club or a coffeehouse! If this “revolution” becomes just another sheep trade, I want out.

He states that he’s writing this article in part because he has seen too many house churches become unwilling to accept outside aid. I know what that can look like. Too many burnt Christians think that they must put “their church” in a “reverse quarantine,” the same way we choose to drink bottled water or organic foods. If the whole world is diseased, then the healthy hole up somewhere till the whole thing passes. The problem is they quickly become insular and infighting usually destroys the group within 6 months to 1 year. Frank’s hope is that there will be healthy, itinerant church planters that can visit churches throughout a region and keep feeding healthy nutrients of teaching, exhortation, and mission to these churches.

Contrary to popular simple church beliefs, not everyone can plant a church. (There’s nothing simple about it.) Sure, anyone can hold a bible study - but it takes someone who is called, gifted, trained, and sent as a church planter (an apostle) to help center a spiritual family on Jesus Christ and the Way. It takes intense training to instill healthy DNA into a church, then to support that spiritual family - many times it takes failing and falling hard on your knees. The difficult work of inviting communities of people to die to themselves is not a role many should covet, nor are many called to. But it is a good calling.

However God arranges your spiritual family, remember that he will also arrange for cross-pollination of your family and others in the extended family of God. Keep your doors open, not just for the teacher or church planter, but especially for the stranger, the poor, and the lost - they may have even more to help us discover just want kind of person this Jesus really is.

As for Frank, I am thankful for his ministry and I hope that he continues to participate in uncovering for all of us what it means to be the body of Christ. I’m less inclined than he to think that institution is a bad thing (its actually an inevitable thing, even a group of friends choosing a movie to watch is by definition an institution). I believe that for every insular, cynical, and paranoid house church out there, there are 10 vibrant, transforming, and multiplying churches with open hearts prepared to accept whatever God gives them. May we be part of that transforming revolution of love.

Last 5 posts by Mark

• God is Wholly - October 2nd, 2008
• The Great Moderation - September 30th, 2008

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 8:12 am and is filed under Christian Leadership, Early Christianity, Ecclesiology, Organic Church. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.