Hey all, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!
Below is an excerpt from a letter answering why we we are doing what we do here locally, and this portion talks mostly about where we came from and some of the challenges (the “…” as where things are left out). Hopefully it is encouraging to you to know that many of us share a common experience as we’ve made the transition from Traditional Church to Simple Church. Happy Holidays!!!!
Scott LinklaterLas Vegas, NV
 
….Simply put: it is what God is
doing and we are participating in it. The
shift towards this type of ministry lifestyle is undeniably happening globally,
as evident by research and testimony. ……
 
The negative implications of
living out this life have been many, ranging from financial loss to relational
destruction to professional embarrassment to spiritual desert lands, and on. A person who shifts from a traditional
life to a life should expect that same difficulties and trials to varying
degrees. The positive
implications are many as well, ranging from a release from religiosity to
authentic faith to more time with family to significant more time and resource
for outreach, etc…
 
A major difficulty of this new
lifestyle is that there are very few quantifiable milestones of success. In our former traditional church
lifestyles, there were many regular measuring sticks for whether we were
achieving our goals and we were able to “define a victory” so to speak (i.e.
weekly attendance, financial stability, raised hands, etc…). There is much security in these
measuring sticks, but to a degree they became our “decision stones” and we
would consult these measuring sticks as to what we should and should not do. The local pastor, after consulting
these “decision stones”, would then pass on the decision to the congregates who
would then fall into line with the corporate vision. The fruit from this process is
undeniable and to discount the positive outcomes of this is ignorant. But, God very rarely leaves
well-enough alone, especially when we begin misusing and misinterpreting those
structures (remember, He is not afraid of destroying even that which He
created).
 
To the pastor that goes through
this shift, it ranges from very difficult to impossible to function normally
and/or make sense of what is happening. In
fact, because of the removal of these constant measuring sticks and personal
praise, the most insecure of us will go down rabbit trails, start businesses,
write books, and seriously question their faith and calling altogether, all in
attempt to regain a sense of purpose. But,
this time in the desert is necessary and God-designed to break the prior
paradigms and destroy thought patterns, so that new things may grow up in their
places.
 
For the “attendees” that goes
through this shift, it is very confusing at best, and offensive at worst. Formally, the pastor was the figure
head of their faith and gave direction as to vision and helped them relate to
God, both personally and by creating a weekly meeting in which the attendee
engaged and encountered God. In
this new shift, the pastor appears to shirk his former responsibility and
appears to give little to no direction or leadership, and does not provide the
Pope-like example to follow. This
is difficult to process for the attendee because their paradigm of faith and
church was centralized on this meeting and this definition of a pastor – with
out the meeting or this Pastor as they know it, where does that leave their
faith?
 
This presents a quandary. Does the attendee go back to their
former traditional church life? But,
whenever that person re-engages a traditional church, it just doesn’t seem
right or authentic. There remains
a gap in how this new lifestyle could actually be church, leaving them
wondering if they are disobeying God or even if they are Christians anymore. In fact, they wonder if they are
failing God and the people around them. The
irony is that at this point of humility and doubt they are probably as close to
God as they have ever been, seeking God from a humble place, without the pride
and hindrance of knowing all the answers.
 
The other major hurdle is the
shift of responsibility for a one’s own faith. The responsibility for a persons faith
shifts to them and them alone – not the former pastor, not the church, not the
dynamic worship. They are
responsible for reading their Bible, and worship, and outreach, and church
multiplication – if they don’t take responsibility for it then it won’t happen. Ironically, for a person who did not
grow up in church, this seems completely natural, and the thought of some
outside person telling what to think, what to do, and how to do it seems very
odd and controlling. To those coming from inside the established church, this control is exactly what we want and what we are used to…in fact, it is what we paid for…because lets face
it: it is easier to pay someone else to be Jesus than to
actually live out the tenants of our faith with passion, purpose, and
responsibility.
 
After a time of shifting, we
are left feeling like we are in a desert place and very little makes sense –
it’s all very confusing. “Great,
now what do we do? You brought us out here to die.” Read the account of Moses and the
Israelites at the Red Sea and I think you’ll see similar feelings.
 
Your dreams are either gone, or
very, very difficult to define, sort of like looking through a fog. In fact, because we’ve been so
accustomed to explaining our vision and life to others with an underlying
pride, its frustrating and embarrassing because now it’s vague at best and
really doesn’t make sense (and peoples eyes glaze over because they don’t understand). Quiet persecution and critical
whispers from outside don’t make this transition any easier. You could see “clearly” in your old
life, but now what do we tell other people? How do you answer there criticisms?
What do we tell ourselves about our own lives? What is my life about?
 
In our prior lives, we had
vision, direction, and we could measure our success. In this new lifestyle, the only
measuring stick of success comes in the quiet times with God. This quiet time was previously created
by someone else, through worship experiences and devotional plans. We no longer have the luxury of these
walls and direction,… we must hear God for ourselves and then follow through on
what we hear.
 
So, now we’re left looking at a
giant blank canvas, one that previously had a beautiful picture of what we were
to do, what to say, how to act, what success looked like (and we’d ask God to
bless our picture)….and now the picture is now gone, it’s been erased. We’re left with a Bible and no vision
– and that’s it. This is where God would want to lead
us – back to the beginning, stripping away all our pre-conceived ideas of what
God wants, and leaving us with no vision, no direction, nothing really, except
quietly waiting for God – it’s our only option, we have no where else to go.
 
Now, it is up to us to sit
quietly enough to hear Him speak, and let God be the initiator of any vision
and let Him paint the new picture. It’s
not the responsibility of anybody, including yourself, to build a vision for
your life – it is up to God to build that vision. This may be the single most difficult
thing that we who are shifting from the traditional church could ever endeavor
to do because we no longer have safety nets, no one to blame, no one to claim
as our king other than Jesus. There is nothing between our ears and the voice of the Holy Spirit and no one to dictate our response.
 
For us to be able to hear, our
lives have been deconstructed. I can attest that once there is an acceptance of
the “stripping away” by God that there is a tremendous freedom and weight
lifted. Embrace the white space –
embrace the lack of vision and allow it to be an opportunity that is divinely
created. As for outside criticisms, …. I encourage you to be secure enough to
answer those questions with a humble “I don’t know the answer to that
question,” and deny the internal pressure to say anything more. Sometimes knowing all the answers doesn’t allow God any space to move and create in our lives…..and sometimes not
knowing opens up the door for God to bring the answer.
(…the letter then continues on talking about some specifics of Las Vegas, hearing God, and then acting on what we here locally…the whole thing is posted at: http://cells-twelves.blogspot.com/)

This article is used with permission from Scott and was originally posted at the link above.