Dis-Organized Church

A little over 5 years ago I had and idea… it seemed like it was a simple idea, but I am finding out that it actually is rather complicated.

My idea was to start a church for those who didn’t want to attend church… I knew there were a TON of people out there who believed in God… maybe even Jesus… who did not believe in organized church. So, I began a dis-organized church… and it sure has been dis-organized!

Our small home-based church has attracted lots of interesting people…

- A family who wanted to keep themselves out of the church and isolate themselves from the world around them because it wasn’t Biblically based enough – or at least what they believed to be Biblically based…

- Another family who had a home built in Montrose but could not sell their home in the cities… the home they built was bought by someone else who went into foreclosure…

- people who wanted to form a church that looked like the church they came from and could not understand why we weren’t giving sermons, holding worship services, doing Bible studies, etc…

- People looking for children’s programming to keep their kids occupied while the parents went off and did something else…

- People pressing me for my opinion on Evangelical ‘hot button’ issues – homosexuality, abortion, end times (lots of end times) to name a few…

- people who have watched so much televangelism that they believe that God will send them more money if they give money to the church… and would continue giving money to large television churches…

Maybe we just weren’t clear along the way… maybe we didn’t know how to reach people who I know are out there… who might want to be a part of a completely different kind of church.

Jacob’s Well is a church for those who

- believe in God, but not religion

- value spending time with their families and don’t need another activity to suck up their time

- would like to talk to others about God

- believe that helping out others is just what they are supposed to be doing

I’ll admit… I don’t know what this kind of group would look like… my attempts at forming this group are in a holding pattern. I would like your help… if you can give me ideas on how to start this kind of group, please let me know. I am open to any suggestions.

Peace,

Lisa

Pastor of a completely dis-organized church

How to be In Ministry without Money

A pastor friend of mine sent out a plea yesterday for more funding so that he can stay in ministry.

My mother-in-law used to tell me about her old church where the pastor would regularly request money from the congregation for his personal income.

I wanted to be in ministry without asking for money... but how can people do this? Any ideas?

We have been creative on jobs and financing in my family but with the way things are going in today's economy... how can we all live without the income?

Jesus didn't have anything... he relied on people he met to provide the resources for his ministry. Can you see pastors actually being able to do that today? Maybe in some parts of the world, but in the US... probably not.

I still am not convinced money needs to be at the root of a ministry... and I am open to alternatives.

Peace,
Lisa

The Abbey

Announcing…. The Abbey

I have been trying to come up with some sort of clever play on words (so that I won’t be infringing upon copyright)… I have tried many names out and keep coming up with simply “The Abbey”.

So what is “The Abbey”? It is a group of people who have dedicated themselves to the following:

To growing with each other closer to Christ in such a manner so that we might share Christ’s love with others.

In other words, this is a group of people who are interested in becoming closer to Christ and also sharing that closeness with those around them. People who are following Christ will take part in regular prayers, worship, meals with each other and study of the Bible. They will also take an active role in their community in order that Christ might use them in the community.

As a part of this new endeavor, I would like to begin a more active online community in which I will place weekly teachings/devotionals on this blog. My hope is that this can keep us connected with each other even when we are not actually getting together.

If God is willing… I would like to see The Abbey group start running in September… if you are interested in joining the Abbey or if you have questions, please email me at jacobswellprayer@aol.com.

Peace,

Lisa