Authentic Christian Church

The Dangerous, Organic Church of the Christian Bible

Do the Bible and the Spirit have anything to say about how church should be organized and run?  If you will indulge a fool in a little nonsense, that’s the question I would like to pursue—with you. 

The fool in question, by the way, is me, and the nonsense in question is a book I am publishing in sections on this website (though you can get the whole chapters if you want) called Some Assembly Required: How To Make the Church a Biblically Safe and Dangerous Space.  If you know that Jesus intended more for His organic church than what you have seen, and if your heart aches to bring that perfect bride to light, then I invite you to be a regular reader, a judge, and a witness to the content of this book as it’s posted on the book blog.  

More recently, I have also added a series of reviews on Frank Viola's writings on organic church, including reviews of Reimagining Church and Finding Organic Church.  If you have been following Viola's writings, read my reviews and dialog with me on the Upward Blog.  

Is the idea of a perfect church nonsense?  Or does the perfect church function on the principles of nonsense that Paul talks about in I Corinthians, the nonsense of God that is wiser than all the wisdom of the world--including sociologically-driven church growth wisdom?  What sort of order does the God of spontaneous revelation ordain for His church?  How do difference and diversity fit into God’s plan to glorify Himself and perfect His people? 

I believe there are answers to these questions--and they are exciting--but putting them into practice requires all the patience and love and discernment that Christ can muster through us.  To answer these questions, theoretically or practically, we need the very real help of the Holy Spirit, and we need each other. 

So, I need you--if this is where your passion is (or where your questions are).  Help build this community of home church nuts by passing the word along.  If you “register,” I can let you know when a new section is posted and we can continue the discussion even further “off-blog.” 

I am not a church growth poster boy, but I have seen some of these ideas at work in the real world, and over the last ten years, I haven’t been able to get away from the truths that I finally wrote down in this book.  I have to speak the part that I have.  Pursuing church authentically and biblically is like planting a fig tree in the sea; on the one hand, it's impossible, but on the other hand, it's par for the course with God. 

Feel free to also use the gospel proclamation page on this site, for yourself or for others.  It is the shared kinship through the death and resurrection of Christ that makes us closer than family and richer than any king.