Searching Together

Jesus made the jarring statement that in the age to come marriage among humans would come to an end: “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” What circumstances could possibly bring about the cessation of a long history of marriage among men and women? The answer is that after the resurrection a marriage will take place between Jesus Christ and His Bride – the marriage supper of the Lamb. All of history has been moving … [Read more...]

Years ago we were in a gathering of saints where Christ blossomed in a totally unexpected way. His presence was for sure not connected to any human planning or human leadership. This group met in an old school building. That morning everything went wrong. People were standing outside on a cold, damp morning and waited for the janitor to show up with the key ― forty minutes late. Then, once inside, it was discovered that no one had a key to open the storage room that contained the chairs, … [Read more...]

Frank Viola has authored a new series of books called THE RETHINKING SERIES. Go here to read all about them including the Table of Contents for each volume in the series. … [Read more...]

Hi Jon! Have you done any writings on Sola Scriptura and how it relates to body life today? Although it seems like a good concept, I have seen it used to prevent the working of the Holy Spirit from being recognized. And it's clear we don't follow Sola Scriptura in either institutional churches (which say they are Sola Scriptura) or in organic groups. Is Sola Scriptura a good concept? Is it a godly principle or just man's logical thinking (Scripture is from God, God is good, Scripture is … [Read more...]

The way church is usually practiced renders the “laity” passive. Those sitting in the pews are used to a select sub-group – the pastor, an elder board, a deacon board – making key decisions for the church and then telling the membership what was decided. But what happens when believers gather in settings where traditional leadership categories are absent? How are decisions made in groups where everyone participates in body-life? In order to respond to these questions we must take a closer … [Read more...]

My good friend Frank Viola is doing an interesting new series called "Shocking Beliefs of ..." His purpose is to show that the great Christians of the past all had blind spots, and we shouldn't throw out their entire contribution just because some of their views were flawed. We all have flawed views in some areas and we are all growing in our knowledge and understanding. His first post in the series was on the shocking beliefs of C.S. Lewis. Recently, he wrote another post on the … [Read more...]

Jesus loves a free atmosphere where He can flow through His people with no hindrances. Amazing revelations happen in an open, Spirit-led gathering. This happened to us recently on a Sunday morning when we were eating together and remembering the Lord. Our sweet time together shifted gears suddenly. We each had sipped some wine from the pewter goblet. Dale picked it up, poured some wine out onto the table, and said with conviction, "His crucifixion was not neat, it was very messy." We were all … [Read more...]