Greetings from Tennessee!

We want to remind you to register for the National House Church Conference in Dallas, Tn this August. Early registration deadline in July 15th. Find more info at www.house2house.net.


Why in the world would a simple church network be sending out a picture of a building project? Let me explain!


Suzy & I have a log cabin in the woods. It is very peaceful and serene place. During our institutional years this place was used for cookouts, retreats, get-to-gathers, etc. As people continue to simplify their lives (not only their church) many are drawn to find places away from the rat race for a little R&R. Jesus even modeled this. He would go into the cities and villages and expend Himself in ministry and then withdraw into a lonely place (wilderness). Sometimes He went alone, sometimes He took his disciples, sometimes the multitude followed Him!

Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
John 6:15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
My conclusion? Jesus modeled both urban ministry and wilderness serenity. We have been opening our cabin up for small groups to use for retreats. We offer it, on a case by case basis, at no charge. Also, we are making it available to couples who need to get their spiritual batteries renewed, again, on a case by case basis, at no charge. Many house churches or families can't afford a cabin/retreat rental in resort areas. We feel God has blessed us with this facility and we need to be good stewards of what God has given us.
Luke 12:42-43 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes
Luke 12:48b From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
So what does all of this have to do with the construction picture? Much. We are constructing a dining hall with additional kitchen and bath facilities. This will make the improvements more compatable with mens retreats (my thing), womens retreats (suzy's thing), couples retreats (our thing), other retreats (your thing). This is not a church building project, but a labor of love. Several from our Network are rolling up their sleeves and helping make this a reality.
Now, we need you to use this place! If this sparks your interest drop me a email and I will send you more information.
Mickey & Suzy

Survived!

We made it back from the bike trip to N. Carolina. My son Chris & I did about 1300 miles over 4 days. We camped at Crosby (in the Smokies) Thurs. night. The ground was hard, the weather hot, and the mosquitoes hungry..... Friday we rode on to Denver, NC where we visited relatives and attended a Sat. morning graduation. Sat. afternoon we climbed on again and rode back to Edgar Evans State Park at Center Hill Lake. We had a great time camping there. I had bought a air matress which made the night much more comfortable! We camped next to 2 brothers, on Harleys, who were traveling from Illinois to the Smokies to ride the DragonsTail. Sun morning we fixed coffee for them and got to share with them that we were headed to Gallatin to visit a home church at the Duncans. I hoped that would spark a conversation, but it didn't really go very far. We loaded up and rode to Jason & Kristi Duncans home and enjoyed a great time of fellowship with them and their friends (free breakfast!) Later Jason joined us for a ride that wound up downtown. We fought the traffic to the CMA and ate at Joe's Crab Shack. We awarded Jason a skull scarf and made him a member of the "Mild Hogs"!

Later, Mickey

mountain bound!

Mickey here. Chris (my son) and I are heading out for a motorcycle trip to the mountains of North Carolina! My grey hair is accompanied by old tired bones that have decreasing tolerence for long trips! The temps are mid 90's and the thought of camping out in this heat brings a certain apprehension. But we press on. On the flip side, I count my blessings. The last bike trip to the mountains brought 50 degree temps and 4 days of rain! We will have the Harleys loaded to the hilt (much like Beverly Hillbillies with the rocking chair on top)! I hope to post some pics after our return.

rose the dog!

Just thought you might enjoy a cool pic of Rose the Dog! She likes hanging out in the air conditioning and harressing the cat! Gotta love them shades!

our relationship with God is not "static"

Suzy & I made a trip to Clarksville, Tn yesterday to visit with friends. We met the Duncans from Gallatin and Tim from Clarksville for a ihop pig out. Afterwards we went to the Fairgrounds park and just hung out.

It was very encouraging to hear our friends stories of the unique journeys God is taking them on. Our relationship with God is not "static". Each day brings new adventure, new direction, new understanding. Praise God for change. If we were politicians, we would have trouble with our constiquents accusing us of flip-flopping on issues. In the Kingdom of God, new light is constantly being shed on our journey. We must rethink, reevaluate, and redirect often to stay on track. It is this constant of change that keeps us focused on "hearing from God". While God is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" He also is the One who says "I will do a new thing" The first flows from His uncreated nature, the latter from His being the Creator.

Blessings!
mickey

sore bottom!!!

Suzy & I rode the Harley to Jackson, Tn and back today. My old tired bones don't fare as well as they once did. I am trying to get ready for a 4 day bike trip to North Carolinia and back in a couple of weeks. It will be a trip with my oldest son Chris. We will ride and camp together so that will make it a valuable and memorable trip.

We went to a cookout tonight. Several famlies/friends were there and the food and conversation were good. There was spontaneous expression with Christ at the center (testamonies, songs, etc.). I see this group moving closer to the organic sharing of life that we all need so much.

Tomorrow we will get to visit with friends from Clarksville and Gallatin who have also left traditional ministry positions to follow God's leadership. They, like so many others we have met, are a great encouragement to Suzy & I.

Farther up and Further in! Mickey

looking at house church....

Please be patient with me while I "build" my response to some issues often raised with simple church. Please remember that we have only recently transitioned from our institutional church to autonomous simple churches. Over the last year, we have only started to realize how "addicted" we were/are to our western church culture. We have developed a whole "system" of church that in no way resembles the church of scripture/history. We have generally replaced the voice of the Holy Spirit with programs, we have viewed Jesus as a welcomed guest rather than the true "master of ceremonies", we have replaced spiritual mothers and fathers with paid professionals, we have embraced performance of a few over participation by all, we have poured our resources into buildings while neglecting people. Please notice my use of "WE" which chiefly includes me. Yet we have marched on, (much like the story "The Emperors New Clothes") while no one challenges why we do what we do.

We have also developed a "meeting" mentality that does not reflect the Hebrew concept of eklesia (gathering). When growing up, my parents had a lot of friends that visited regularly. Sometimes they would cookout, play cards, sit on the porch and talk, etc. We, as children, were just "there". Yet, somehow, we picked up the values, characteristics, and mannerisms of our parents. Those gatherings were "life" rather than "meetings". Jesus, when explaining spiritual concepts, would pick up a child and sit it on His lap as a illustration of the truth He was communicating. The children were simply "there". They were not interrupting the meeting because there was not a meeting (in terms of our western thinking). They were all together sharing life and the things most important to them in a natural organic way.

We have grown up with the concept of "children's church", committees, boards, organizations, etc. The gravity to escape what WE have created is strong. BUT God is previently leading a return to basic, simple eklesia. The journey will be difficult at best because we will constantly judge "where we are" by the only frame of reference we have (which is what we have known). The true compass for the journey is the Holy Spirit's leadership. Fortunately, God is very patient with us "simple" humans and extends great grace to us during seasons of change. Not everyone steps out at the same time. If we all simply follow His voice and get on board when He calls, it will all work out perfectly! I have heard it said "One step ahead - a leader, two steps ahead - a pioneer, three steps ahead - a martar"!Keep in mind, I am very thankful for the institutional churchs' role in my life and would never want to minimize what God continues to do both in /thru the traditional model. He is responsible for building "HIS" church and He doesn't need my intellectual input! I can only speak to the journey He has called me to. Godspeed on YOUR journey!

clarification

suzy here

This journey we have taken for the past 15 months, has at times seemed slow as a snail, yet, at other times been a whirlwind of activity.There have been faces and names, that sometimes are hard to connect. Places and dates, that often get confused.
Throughout it all, The clear voice of the Holy Spirit, has been moving us, propelling us, to continue on the path that He has placed us.
Try explaining to your family and friends, this "crazy" journey, you've packed your bags for! Some are quite amiable, others ask hard questions. There are those who believe we have lost our way, and those who would like to be going with us, yet, can not do so at this time. Last, but not least, are those who believe it's alright to be a part of "simple church", if there is no other alternative. That may be exactly where we found ourselves, before we got on this "bus".
This much I know is true, that God has clearly spoken to us, and he is mindful of each and every step we will take. Who are we to question God's wisdom in choosing us?

Cabin in the Woods

We enjoyed a visit this past weekend by friends (the Callahans - DAWN associates) from Indiana. They spent 4 days at our log cabin in the woods. They are the 3rd set of visitors at the cabin in the last month. We have an increasing sense that many Christian (especially leaders) are stressed and need to get away to a peaceful and quite setting. It is our conviction that we are to make our cabin available cost free on a case by case basis to those God brings us into relationship with. I know this opens us up for abuse, but I believe the benefit outweighs the risk. We are stewards of the things God entrusts to us. So far, all of our visitors have brought us a tremendous blessing and I feel we have come out on the "large end of the stick"! Keep us in your prayers as we navigate this difficult issue.

Denver DAWN gathering - April 26-29

Simple Church restoration marches on. Suzy & I made a run to Denver, Co in late April for a gathering of DAWN Associates. It was refreshing to hear stories of how God was speaking to so many people with a consistent voice on issues relating to the simplification of church (and life). Here are a few personal takes on what we gleaned from that gathering;

*The shared value of not wanting to become a institution. The willingness to partner to accomplish God assigned tasks with the up front understanding that we are a starfish type "leader light" group of relationships with shared goals and values (and the willingness to get out of the way where and when necessary). I personally want to work myself out of a job by seeing healthy networked leaders saturate the landscape - planting churches)!

*The value of cross-pollination. Virtually everyone attending were connected to multiple networks (example - Kevin Sutter from N. California leads a house church network, works within YWAM as a church planting trainer, is a DAWN Associate (we are on a twice monthly conference call). The result being DAWN relationships are a compliment to and should not compete with existing associations / relationships. DAWN is viewed as tool to help relationally "link up" the diversity of what God is doing.

* The power of these gatherings to those who have been "ekbollowed". Mark & Khristi McCutcheon (who I have copied on this email) were blow away by hearing their own story repeated by others (just change the names...same story - Luke 10:2b). Regional gatherings will help facilitate a strengthening of network leaders who may feel alone, crazy, or isolated!

Colorado Springs and other tidbits

O.K. it has been awhile! In January Suzy & I went to Colorado Springs for a DAWN Associates meeting. We met many new friends mostly from the Colorado area. We learned the locals refer to their region by which side of the "slope" they are from (Rockies). We enjoyed a drive up to the Pikes Peak entrance and a tour of the Garden of the Gods.

The meeting itself was a encouragement. We were impressed with the diversity of ministries that God is putting together. While all share a simple church vision, the mechanics of how that is expressed remains unique from situation to situation.

We are supposed to go back to Denver in April for a larger gathering. The same weekend our friend Clay McLean is calling a solumn assembly in North Carolina. It will consist of Christian leaders coming together to pray, focus on repentance, and seek direction for the church. Suzy and I want to be BOTH places! We are praying nightly for insight on which way to go.

We came home to a total home renovation. We have been living out of boxes and sleeping on a futon! We are replacing all of our carpet and vinyl with tile and wood. We have renovated the kitchen and bath as well. We raised our children in this home and never really did any updates for 18 years. Now that the kids are gone we can risk renovations without fear of destruction!

We had a guys breakfast at the cabin this weekend. There were about a dozen men and way too much food. After breakfast we enjoyed a unplanned time of sharing and discussion that I believe was Spirit led. It was good to see old friends!

Colorado Bound

Suzy & I are heading out this weekend to Colorado Springs, Co. to meet with other DAWN Associates (Disciple A Whole Nation). This promises to be a time of prayer and direction as we seek clarity on this misson of simple (house) church expansion. God continues to put people in our paths to confirm His voice. About 1 year ago we made a transition from the institutional church format (The Vine Community Church) to a network of home churches (NetworkVine). We sold the campus and released the remaining congregation into several autonomus house churches. We felt somewhat alone and isolated at the beginning. We happened on the House2House website and connected with others to whom God was giving a similar vision. John White (DAWN, Denver House Church Project, etc) contacted us and assured us of our sanity! Since that time we have made many new friends and contacts that are on the same "bus". DAWN is basically a network of church planters who have hearts to see vibrant familys of believers within reach of everyone in the U.S. This seems best served thru the format of Simple (House) Church. The focus is less on location and more on content. A few common threads that seem to be forefront;

*restoring attentiveness to Holy Spirit leadership
*everyone contribtes in the gatherings (leaders facilitate)
*24/7 shared lives that extend well beyound "meetings"
*meals shared as "communion" of believers

Suzy and I are still finding our place in this work. I believe we are called to support and encourage those who are stepping out into this journey. I hope the trip to Colorado will result in increased clarity.