Thursday, June 30, 2011

READER REACTION: Michael Cooper

[About your book] I really loved it and recommended it to everyone in our organic home church. We've had to miss a few meetings due to two families vacations but we came together tonight and briefly discussed it. Three people didn't finish it yet and they have printed it out on paper to finish reading it instead of on the computer for when we next meet.

I must say that your perspective filled in a few gaps missing from all the other works I've read so far. No one can completely cover any subject about Yahweh so I enjoyed your explanations and insights tremendously.

Anyway, thank you for your service to God and the work you do. Whether we ever meet in person here on this side of Heaven or not until the other side, I'm glad to be serving with you I this.

Michael Cooper
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DOWNLOAD A FREE E-BOOK VERSION OF "THIS IS MY BODY: EKKLESIA AS GOD INTENDED"
HERE


**

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

READER REACTION: Paul Luttrell

I finished your book, and loved what you had to say. As I read, I could not help but think of all the people I know who would benefit greatly from your thoughts.

After receiving it from you Thursday night, I was 1/2 way finished by 5:30 the next morning.

Don't stop "bringing it" to us.

-Paul Luttrell

Monday, June 27, 2011

Reader Reaction from South Africa

Hi Keith

In South Africa I'm finding extremely limited amount of resources in regard to organic/simple church. Thank you so much for your ebook (This Is My Body:Ekklesia as God Intended). It has affirmed so much in my own heart and it is a great resource. What I enjoyed about it is the manner in which you condensed and affirmed much of what Frank Viola and Felicity Dale have said in this regard. I'm referring others to this book for this reason.

If I may add some thoughts out of my reading this morning from Matt.9:14-17. If organic/simple church is a new wine, it would explain why existing church structures cannot contain the fermentation of this new wine. The existing structures have already been stretched, possibly to their limit. They have the inability to contain this new wine due to their inflexibility. Because the structures are already in place, there would be no accommodation for this type of flexibility and unpredictability of organic church.

There will be those who would try to accommodate this idea - they would be a type of reformer where they would just move the furniture around in the same house. They would not have a revolutionary mindset where an entirely new house needs to be built.

I came across a saying a while ago; "Man's idea, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."

I hope you don't mind me sending you this via email. I'm one of your 'silent' followers on Twitter and regularly receive your blog post. You will not know how much your thoughts are valued.

Blessings,
Your name sake
Keith McLachlan
KwaZulu Natal, Africa

Sunday, June 26, 2011

UnInstitutional by Jon Zens (Guest Article)

We expect the proliferation of institutions and hierarchies in the human realm — business, government, the military, education. But there is no place for such things in the Lord’s ekklesia because it is not a human organization. It is a spiritual temple whose Builder and Maker is Christ.

Probably most of us have been part of some group in school, college, church or society that started out with excitement and verve, but after a period of time ended up in stagnancy and micro-management. The members found themselves maintaining the shell when in fact the original vibrancy was gone.

Bob Lupton makes some astute observations along these lines in his article, “The Cycle of Life.” However, there is one fatal flaw in the article: he assumes that when a group moves from its organic beginnings to its institutionalization that it somehow always remains organic. Not so. Becoming established as an institution is a retrogression that kills organic life. Listen carefully to what Bob says:

The Western church is in such a decline. Viewed against the backdrop of history, however, the current demise of denominations is predictable. In time, all institutions follow a similar pattern. They begin as fresh movements, new and exciting, abundant with vision and creativity. But in order to survive, a movement must development structural strength – mission statement, doctrinal distinctives, leadership structure, decision-making processes.

Vigorous change takes place during this organizational phase as a seedling becomes established, sinking its roots and spreading its branches. Staff are hired, budgets are created, policies are instituted, goals and objectives are set, property is purchased. As the organization matures it becomes a source of security for its employees. Health insurance, vacation pay, cost of living raises, retirement benefits are negotiated. Gradually the mission shifts from the founding visionaries to hired employees and with each subsequent ring of management the passion that originally inspired the movement becomes slightly diluted. Marketing, management, and funding consume increasing amounts of organizational energy. With its own sturdy root system, it now commands its fair share of sunlight and space on the forest floor.

By the time the organization enters the institutional phase of its development, it is fully vested in its own self-preservation. Instead of a movement spending itself on behalf of a noble cause, it has become a respectable institution consumed with preserving its own viability and legacy. It may still use the same stirring language of its past movement days, and it may still perform important work, but it spends the lion’s share of its energy on buildings, communication systems, internal politics and self-promotion to ensure its longevity. Good stewardship demands its preservation. It is the way of all institutions” (Bob Lupton, “Cycle of Life,” September, 2010, http://fcsministries.org/urban-perspectives/page/2/).


I think an overview of human history would justify the observation that people have a propensity to move from simple beginnings to bureaucratic mazes at the end of the day. This is certainly what occurred as history moved on from the early church to the post-apostolic church.

Take the Lord’s Supper, for example. What began as believers remembering the Lord in a simple meal morphed into a complicated liturgical “sacrament” which had to be officiated by a specially ordained religious person. Emil Brunner documented many such occasions where simplicity was overtaken by complexity in The Misunderstanding of the Church (1952).

James D.G. Dunn noted that “increasing institutionalism is the clearest mark of early Catholicism,” and that “such features were absent from first generation Christianity, though in the second generation the picture was beginning to change” (Unity & Diversity in the New Testament, Westminster Press, 1977, p. 351). Bob Lupton suggests that “in order to survive, a movement must development structural strength – mission statement, doctrinal distinctives, leadership structure, decision-making processes.” These are the crucial questions we must face: Must the communal life of Christ in believers be institutionalized in order to survive? Was the movement from early church simplicity to later church bureaucracy inevitable and good, or a terrible distortion and tragedy?

The truth is that in our practice we have tried to institutionalize the living Christ. That which is organic cannot thrive in an institutional environment. The DNA does not match. Of course, it must be said that there are people in many church-institutions who are expressions of the living Christ. But the living Christ is not a fit for institutional structures. It would be like hoping that an orchid would flourish in a barren desert, or that a cactus would do well in a rainforest.

If we believe that the simplicity of Christ is truth worth continuing, then we must resist our tendency toward institutionalism with every fiber of our being. If believers were satisfied with Jesus Christ alone, institutions wouldn’t have a chance of taking over.

Frederick Buechner pointed out that churches could learn a lot from support groups like AA. They do not own buildings and have virtually no overhead. “They make you wonder,” he went on to say, “if the best thing that could happen to many a church might not be to have its building burn down and to lose all its money. Then all that the people would have left would be God and each other” (cited in my A Church Building Every ½ Mile: What Makes American Christianity Tick? 2008, p.72).

Mary Pipher perceptively noted, “Too often [health] institutions are about the needs of the institution, not of the patients” (Another Country, 2000, p. 167). Jesus did not come to start another religious institution with every candle and pulpit in its proper place. By giving his life in crucifixion, taking his life back in resurrection, returning to Father by his ascension, and pouring out his Spirit on the day of Pentecost – he assured that his people would express his life in them as the Body of Christ on earth – organically, not as an institution.
– Jon Zens

**
Originally appeared on Jon Zens' personal blog. Republished here with permission.
Visit Jon's blog
HERE

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Steven G. Owen Responds to My Book

Keith, thank you for presenting how the New Testament church is supposed to function, in a way that the Lord originally ordained. Using the Old Testament references and tying them into the New Testament in showing how God always intended to build his church was great.

I have a great appreciation for what the Lord is doing in his church and your book is a great tool for those who want know more about the Body of Christ.

There is definitely a voice on the hill declaring the truth and you are one of them.

Thank you,
Steven G. Owen

Friday, June 24, 2011

CRAIGSLIT AD: CHURCH GOING OUT OF BUSINESS



GOING OUT OF BUSINESS
The Christian Church in America is (finally) going out of business.
EVERYTHING MUST GO!

The Christian Church needs to liquidate all worldly assets including:
*The pulpit
*The building
*The giant screen plasma televisions
*Even the pastor!

DETAILS:

WHEN: As soon as the Christian Church realizes that God doesn’t live in temples built by human hands. (Acts 17:24)

WHY: Because every believer is already the living temple of God and priests in His Kingdom. (1 Peter 2:5)

HOW: By the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

For more information, download a free e-book
HERE


“When the Greeks got the Gospel, they turned it into a philosophy; when the Romans got it, they turned it into a government; when the Europeans got it, they turned it into a culture; and when the Americans got it, they turned it into a business.”
– Richard Halverson

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Review: Crissy Brooks






Keith Giles’ latest gift, This is My Body: Ekklesia As God Intended is an invitation to be the family that the Church was meant to be. In a time when it is hip to be down on church and many of us are sure we can plant the next great congregation, Giles speaks softly, calling us back to the Scriptures and the One who first invited us to partake at the table together.

In the last decade we have been barraged with well-intentioned models and plans to get Church right. This book is not another model. It is an important reminder to the people of God of who we are to be as His people and how we are to act in the world. This book is a gift from a prophetic leader who has lived out the teachings of Jesus for decades and lucky for us, shares his discoveries here. Had this book been written by anyone else, I am sure I would not have picked it up. But I know Keith Giles. I have seen him make intentional choices to be The Body with and in his community. I have witnessed his Spirit inspired creativity and experienced his empowering influence.

When the temptation could have been strong to breakdown all that is wrong, Giles instead leads us with grace and gentleness through the Scriptures outlining the design of the Body of Christ. When it could have been so easy to be sarcastic, Giles instead points out what should have been obvious as if opening a door and letting light in. While there is plenty of material to bash church leadership, Giles instead invites us to imagine what leadership in the Body could be when we fully understand the Word and stop justifying our misguided traditions.

While Giles’s style is one of grace and invitation the book does not shy away from the controversies that have torn Christ’s Body a part in the past. With clear truth and studied evidence, Giles calls out the abuses and selfishness that have worked in our favor and harmed so many. He challenges the hierarchy and business we have come to accept as necessities and in the process holds up the good we should cling to.

This is My Body gives a clear call for us to “go out of business” and be the Family outlined in the New Testament. Perhaps the most beautiful part of this book is the invitation to live in the mystery of The Body of Christ. Giles fully challenges us without sending us running. He sheds light on such a beautiful Bride that I am drawn in more deeply and vow again to live in a mystery of family, love, submission, provision, grace and healing. This book gives me courage to hope that the Body of Christ really can transform our world.

-Crissy Brooks Executive Director & Co-Founder of Mika CDC
Crissy grew up in Costa Mesa and has come to love her city deeply. Her leadership development journey began in the Brooks’ home as the daughter of a police captain and PTA president. Her faith and leadership were further shaped by involvement in her Church. Her youth pastor, Mark Orphan is highly influential in her life and along with Laura Johnson and Lindsy Harris, they founded Mika in 2003. Through her studies at Azusa Pacific University, three years living in Caracas, Venezuela, and now engaging with immigrant neighbors, Crissy has developed a love for Latino culture. She lives in the Shalimar neighborhood with two amazing roommates and one crazy dog. They like to run together and connect over long drawn out breakfasts on Saturdays.

Crissy also writes a regular column for the Daily Pilot newspaper called "A View From the Mesa".

Frank Viola Reviews "This Is My Body"

"Skimmed it. Looks good."

- Frank Viola, author of “Pagan Christianity”








*
*
NOTE: For those of you who are comedicly-challenged, this is a joke. Also, the sky is blue, grass is green and money does not grow on trees.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

ADVICE ON STARTING A HOUSE CHURCH

I received an email from an old friend who is seeking advice on how to start a house church group among college students. He asked me, "What would Keith do?"

This is an intriguing question and I realized I haven't published a lot of my ideas on this anywhere so here's a bit of what I said to my friend.

Honestly, I lean towards a "less is more" approach and I'm usually reticent to give people step by step instructions. However, I'd basically suggest gathering those who are interested in this together and sharing a meal together (potluck), sharing communion together, and sharing from their actual lives what God has been teaching them in their daily walk with Christ.

Our house church follows this general pattern based on 1 Cor 14:26 - "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church."

So, our assumption is that everyone in our house church is already a follower of Jesus. Most of them, like me, have grown up in Church and have heard thousands of sermons and bible studies and can fill in the blanks on any discussion on the Scriptures. What we're not so great at is actually putting all of this into actual practice in our daily lives.

The purpose of our house church is to encourage and motivate everyone to live out their personal mission and calling according to their individual gifting. It's different for all of us. So, we don't tell them what it is, we help them to discover it and then we encourage one another every time we gather to continue living out that personal mission.

When we gather each week we all bring something to share - food and encouragement. During the share time I try to keep my mouth shut and allow people to talk. I also try to make sure that everyone is given equal time to speak and I try to keep us on target with encouraging one another in our walk with Christ. (This means re-directing complaints, gripes, politics, etc. to the end for prayer, or for another time).

In general, I'd suggest empowering people and not attempting to control or direct people.

For me, one of the most amazing things has been discovering that when Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth, and when Paul and Peter said that we were the Temple of the Holy Spirit and the priesthood of believers, they were all dead serious.

In our house church we have kids who open their Bibles and their mouths and speak such words of simple truth that only God could have revealed it to them. Sure, we have to safeguard the essentials of our faith, and there are times when I may have to speak up and correct a misconception theologically, but most of the time I'm the one who is learning from the Holy Spirit through everyone else in the room.

It can be very challenging for someone like me (and maybe you as well) with a gift to teach and a heart to preach to actually shut our mouths, invite the Holy Spirit and then just wait quietly in the uncomfortable silence for Him to speak. But, I'm telling you, if you can, and if you will, He actually does...and it's pretty amazing.

I've written a few things about my philosophy of house church at the links below. Take a look over at www.OCHouseChurch.com

Monday, June 20, 2011

Six Things You Need To Start A Traditional Church

Here are six things you need to start a traditional church in America today:

1) Money - Lots of it. One church-planter suggested it would take as much as $18,000 to get started.

Another pastor emptied his savings account and spent $50,000 of his own money to start his church and some have suggested it could be as high as $8 Million.

Of course, depending on the size of your church, and your paid stafff, your numbers may vary.

2) Trained Professional Pastor - At least one charismatic, credentialed teaching pastor and visionary is necessary if you want to start a church. Chances are if you're seriously thinking about planting a church this person is you. Go ahead and check that one off your list.

3) Worship Leader and Worship Band - They should be made up of talented, experienced and professional-level musicians and largely volunteers, except perhaps for the worship leader who may receive a minor stipend each month.

4) A Building - Whether you rent, lease or decide to purchase a building you cannot have a successful traditional church without a building large enough to grow into. Must have a nursery, children's Sunday School rooms, and youth area.

5) Volunteers - Lots of them. These will be the people who handle child-care, set-up, tear-down and clean-up, and ushering. You cannot have a successful traditional church without a small army of loyal and dedicated volunteers.

6) Marketing - A website is a given, but you might also invest in postcards, door-hangers, invitation cards, bumper stickers and outdoor signage to attract the unchurched, or those who are shopping for a new church. Let them know your'e there or you will die a quick, yet painful, death.

*Notice that nearly all of these things are focused on developing the Church itself. Almost none of it is directed at making disciples, developing the spiritual health of those alongside you, or loving people in the community.

Three Things You Need To Start A Typical House Church

1) People - At least one other person than yourself.

2) God - Be sure to invite the Holy Spirit every time you meet and then wait for Him to speak and lead you.

3) A Place to meet - It could be a living room, a park, a coffeehouse, or any place large enough for the people who gather.

*Notice that having trained leaders, volunteers, thousands of dollars and an army of volunteers is greatly reduced. Also notice that worship leaders, buildings and marketing are completely unnecessary.

Just thought I'd share this with everyone.

Blessings,
Keith

Friday, June 17, 2011

Charles Spurgeon on Organic Church

"I want you to notice this, that they were breaking bread from house to house, and ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart. They did not think that religion was meant only for Sundays, and for what men now-a-days call the House of God. Their own houses were houses of God, and their own meals were so mixed and mingled with the Lord's Supper that to this day the most cautious student of the Bible cannot tell when they stopped eating their common meals, and when they began eating the Supper of the Lord. They elevated their meals into diets for worship: they so consecrated everything with prayer and praise that all around them was holiness to the Lord. I wish our houses were, in this way, dedicated to the Lord, so that we worshipped God all day long, and made our homes temples for the living God."
-An excerpt from Charles H. Spurgeon's sermon entitled "Building the Church" concerning Acts 2 which he gave on April 5, 1874.


*Thanks to Neil Cole and CMA Resources for finding this one.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

LISTEN: Bruce Collins Radio Interview for "This Is My Body"



In case you missed it, here's the link to listen to my interview with Bruce Collins Radio Show in Boston last week.

Listen
HERE

**

Download My Book for Free!

"This Is My Body: Ekklesia as God Intended" is available now as a free ebook download for Nook, Kindle, iPad or other book reading device at the link below.

Download a free ebook (Nook, Kindle, iPad) or PDF copy
HERE

Read endorsements and reviews below.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Kent Williamson on "This Is My Body"



“This Is My Body is a much needed treatise about the state of the church in North America. My hope is that this book will become required reading in seminaries and bible colleges across the land. Unfortunately, it's more likely that it will be added to the bonfire by the hoity-toity elite who see their security being threatened.” – Kent Williamson, Director of “Rebellion of Thought”, Founder of Paladin Pictures, Inc.

Download a free ebook (Nook, Kindle, iPad) or PDF copy
HERE

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Alan Knox on "This Is My Body"



"Giles calls the church back from its preoccupation with business models and encourages believers to embrace spiritual relationships with one another and dependence on the Holy Spirit as we read about in Scripture." - Alan Knox, Doctoral Student, Biblical Theology.


Download a free ebook (Nook, Kindle, iPad) or PDF copy
HERE

Monday, June 13, 2011

Dr. Scott Bartchy on "This Is My Body"


"In this book Keith Giles presents us with the powerful example of his own life as he has dared to live out the prophetic insights he has discovered into the nature and mission of God's culture-challenging community. Read and gain courage to risk following his inspired and dynamic servant-leadership." - Dr Scott Bartchy, Professor of Christian Origins and the History of Relgion in the Department of History, UCLA


Download a free ebook (Nook, Kindle, iPad) or PDF copy
HERE

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Jon Zens on "This Is My Body"



“It has been such an encouragement to my heart in the past fifteen years to see one book after another critique the status quo, challenge assumed traditions, and present a fresh vision for a functioning Body of Christ on earth. The Bride of Christ is such a beautiful and multifaceted organism that the nuances and insights that each author brings to the table can never exhaust the riches Christ has deposited in his Ekklesia on earth. This Is My Body is another wonderful, refreshing addition to the collection of writings in our generation that will help believers practice Christ-centered assembly life.” – Jon Zens, author of “A Church Building Every ½ Mile” and editor of Searching Together Magazine.


Download a free ebook (Nook, Kindle, iPad) or PDF copy
HERE

Friday, June 10, 2011

THE PARABLE OF THE FOURTH TALENT

Then the Master turned to the man with the fourth talent and he said, "Show me what you have done, my servant."

The man with the fourth talent replied, "Master, I knew you were a savvy business man and that you require a substantial return on your investments, and so come and see the building I have purchased for many millions of dollars. See, I have placed photograhps of you throughout the facility and there are 46 inch flat panel plasma screens from which hundreds of people may watch me as I tell them to send me their money so that you can bless them. On Super Bowl Sunday we can even use this as an outreach to the community," he said. "Master, look here, we have recently installed a thirty thousand dollar sound system with a state-of-the-art mixing board and flipping sweet Bose speakers powered by a killer amplifier."

The Master looked at the man with the fourth talent and said, "You foolish man. Did you not realize that no one can build a house for me? In all the years you have served me did I ever, even once, ask that any of you build a temple for me to live in? All the Universe belongs to me, and Earth itself is my footstool."

The man with the fourth talent scratched his head, "Did I mention that the building seats 3,000 people and has a heated baptistry?"

The Master rebuked him and said, "This building was built with money that could have fed the poor, comforted the sick and provided shelter for the homeless. Take this building and rent it out to the local rescue mission so that my people can have a warm place to sleep and safe place for their children to live, for whatever you have done for the least of these you have done it unto me."

The man with the fourth talent replied, "Can we still have the Super Bowl Party in January?"

-kg

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

NEW MODERN CHURCH TRANSLATION

NEW: Modern Church Translation - Matthew 28:19

Announcing a brand new "Modern Church Translation" of the Bible!

Finally the words of Jesus have been re-translated for our modern Christian lives!

Here's an example of how this new translation modifies the old, stuffy text into a new, more comfortable version we can all enjoy.

New Living Translation Version:
"19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." - Matthew 28:19


Modern Church Translation:
"19 Therefore, stay put in your churches and pray that people will walk through your doors. In this way your pastor can preach to them so that they will become disciples. Baptize the rare convert that walks through your door in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Choose a method and ritual for your baptisms. Ensure that you criticize those whose method differs from yours. You may even choose to question the salvation of those that were not baptized by your preferred method." - Matthew 28:19

*Special thanks to my dear friend Mark Main for bringing this to my attention.

Monday, June 6, 2011

ARCHIVED RADIO INTERVIEW FOR DOWNLOAD

Hey, brother,

Thank you for your time last night. It was a strong hour and one that I think will bless the listeners. We had about 100 who heard it live last night, but statistically, we should have another 4,000 or so by this time next week.

One of our good friends, Sam Miller from Charlotte, North Carolina sent me a note and said the interview was "a gem". He downloaded two of your books before going to bed last night.

In Christ,
Derek

A View From the Bunker BlogTalk Radio Show
Archived Interview "This Is My Body"
HERE

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Soren Kierkegaard Quote

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand it, we are obliged to act accordingly.

Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. 'My God,' you will say, 'if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world'? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.

-Soren Kierkegaard, from Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard, edited by Charles Moore.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

GUEST ARTICLE: ALAN KNOX

NOTE: I've posted a slightly edited version of Alan's brilliant article here. For the complete article be sure to visit the direct link below.
-kg

**

AND THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES
by Alan Knox

Acts 2:42 is often called a summary verse concerning the early followers of Jesus Christ. Luke records:

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." - (Acts 2:42 ESV)

Luke says that the believers were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. This does not mean that they were “devoted” to listening to what the apostles were teaching. Instead, it means that these early Christians were continually persevering in living according to the message that the apostles taught, as well as continuing to fellowship (share life) break bread (eat together), and pray.

Think about it this way: If the phrase “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” conjures up an image of people sitting around listening to the apostles teach, then the translation is NOT communicating the image to you properly.

On the other hand, if you read that phrase and picture the early believers attempting to live their lives in accordance with the message that the apostles taught, then you’re understanding what Luke wrote.

We see that Luke helps us understand what he means in the following verses:

"And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." -(Acts 2:43-47 ESV)

This passage demonstrates how those early believers lived according to the gospel (the apostles’ teaching), and how they shared their lives and their meals with one another. On the day of Pentecost, God did not create individuals who loved to sit and listen to teaching. Instead, God created a new community who now lived new lives – lives that were not lived for themselves any longer. Instead, they lived their lives for God by sharing their lives with one another and with the world around them.

The world noticed...and the world found favor on this new community and new way of life.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT ALAN'S BLOG
HERE

Friday, June 3, 2011

VFTB RADIO INTERVIEW w/ Derek Gilbert

Listen to internet radio with PID Radio Network on Blog Talk Radio

Download All My Books For Free!

I've written a total of 5 books over the years and from the beginning it's been my policy to give them away for free.

No strings. No surveys to complete. No need to enter your email address. Just free books about the Church, the Gospel of the Kingdom, Missional Life and Discipleship.

My latest book, "This Is My Body:Ekklesia as God Intended" is also available as an e-book (Nook, Kindle, iPad, etc.) and also on PDF, but my other books are still available now as free PDF's too.

To download a free e-book or PDF version of "This Is My Body" the link is
HERE

For my other books, please visit my online bookstore where you can either buy a physical copy of all my books if you like, or simply download the PDF file for each of them at no charge.

To download a PDF of all my books go
HERE

About my other books:

*Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)
A devotional book for the next generation. This 205 page collection contains forty inspirational articles that address what it means to really follow Jesus, not just attend a service or agree to a set of beliefs. If you desire to know more about following Jesus and less about how to join a program or a religious organization, this is the book you've been waiting for.


*The Gospel: For Here or To Go?
(Foreword by Neil Cole, author of "Organic Church" and founder of CMA Resources)
The Gospel message is one we must embody with our whole life. It's not a bumper sticker slogan or a call to repeat a prayer of confession. Discover your mission field and learn what it means to be an ambassador of Christ to your world, every single day. The Gospel is a way of life. It's more than telling people that Jesus loves them, it's loving them because He has loved us.

NOTE: Also available in French language edition!

*[Subversive Interviews]
A collection of subversive conversations with Dallas Willard, Neil Cole, Frank Viola, Walter Kirn, Matt Redman, Jim Wallis, Todd Hunter, John Fischer, Dr. G.K. Beale and Dr. Scott Bartchy.

*The Top 10 Things Every Christian Should Know (But Probably Doesn't)
- (Now back in print!)
I've been a follower of Jesus for over thirty years now, and even as a licensed and ordained minister of the Gospel I only recently learned these 10 important concepts about what it means to be the sort of disciple that Jesus had in mind. This book will challenge you, inspire you, frustrate you and possibly even anger you to some degree. If so, then I have done my job to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. If nothing else, you will see Jesus, the Gospel and the act of being a disciple in a completely new way.

Thursday, June 2, 2011