The WayBack Machine: July
Some things just get better with age. “The Wayback Machine” posts occur at the end of every month and reference the best posts of that month in years past. My hope is to provide a good jumping on point for readers whTho have never been to Pursuing Glory.
2010
This is my first attempt at poetry here at the blog. I wrote this both as an introduction to who Jesus is for people who don’t know Him. I was also trying to find ways to explore the artistic side of my writing. I hope you enjoy it. ***If you’ve never encountered Jesus or don’t have a relationship with Him, this should be the post you read.***
My Daughter: The Newest Fiery Believer I Know
Earlier in the year Ariel accepted Christ and was baptized. There was an immediate turn in her heart and attitudes. It was fun to watch and these are my thoughts from shortly after the event.
False Prophets, Acts Chapter 2, and Our House Church
I wrote this post in December of 2009, but only got around to posting it July of last year. In my mind this post captures the best of where we were as an organic spiritual family in 2009 and 2010. If you’re wondering what sometimes happens when our house church gathers, this is the post for you.
Much of the church in the Western world is devoid of supernatural power. I wrote this post as I was reading through Visions Beyond the Veil by R.A. Baker. The book has some important insights into our anti-supernatural leanings as a Western Church and I shared some quotes as well as my own thoughts.
2009
This was my first post after coming back from my trip to Ethiopia. If you want a good picture into the heart of a guy who just returned from Africa, this is the post to read. It will be interesting to see what the Lord continues to do with us in Ethiopia in the next year.
2008
I wrote this post about an encounter I had with one of my 50,000 coaches, Dick Speight. Dick helped me see that I was off in my walk with the Lord because I was lacking time in the secret place. I wrote this post as I wrestled with the fact that I should know better than to let communion with the Lord slide.
This post was born out of a trip I took to meet with others who practice meeting as organic churches in Iowa. It centers around the idea that we are quick to believe others have imposed religion on us, but frequently something far more subtle is at work. If you’ve ever struggled with a “religious spirit” you’ll want to read this post.
2007
This blog is me wrestling with whether this blog will be a personal blog (which it started out as) or whether it will be a resource blog about house churches, apostolic Christianity, and revival. I think I’ve settled on it being both, mostly because I’m both and I think about these things a lot. But this gives you a good snapshot into some of my early thoughts on the subject.
“Tell a Little Story…Do a Little Miracle…”
This post represents some of our early thoughts about evangelism that we had as a house church. I still believe these are things we’re called both to see and do, and that stories and miracles have a much bigger part in the spread of the Gospel than most of the Western Church understands.
2006
On Being Me and Where I See Me in Movies
This was my very first post on my blog. I started this blog as a journey into self expression and finding God in the midst of the things I love. I write about some bloggers that were stunningly honest about their lives in their blogs and some movies where I saw myself in some of the characters. Social media has given me a few more outlets to do the every day life sort of posts, but I hope to never loose the honesty and simplicity this post captures.
One of the movies that I saw back then was Akeelah and the Bee. I’ll spare you the synopsis, but a turning point in the movie talked about how Akeelah has 50,000 coaches. I was struck by the fact that many of us neglect the 50,000 coaches God has given us in our lives. This is a phrase I keep coming back to over and over again.
How To Get the Most Out of Pursuing Glory
There are lots of ways to get more out of Pursuing Glory than just stopping back to check for new content every few days. Here are some of the main ways you can join the conversation, learn, and contribute to the conversation we’re having:
Subscribe by Email or RSS
If you’re not particularly technologically inclined, hit the “Email Subscription” button on the sidebar of the blog. If you’re more into computers or you’re daring, you could subscribe to this blog using a feed reader. This link is a great explanation of RSS and Feed Readers. Let’s face it. Life is busy and it’s easy to fall out of the loop. Either of these tricks will help you stay involved in what’s going on.
Comment
We learn more by talking and teaching than we do by listening and reading. So help us learn by sharing your life, your pursuit of Jesus, and what you’ve learned through your experience in the comment section. Click on “Leave a Comment” or “with 1 Comment” or “with [X number of] Comments” at the top of every post to see and leave comments.
Follow Me On Twitter
Twitter is where I post thoughts and quotes that will either become a full post here or is relevant to the topics we discuss here. I’m also planning at least one Twitter/Blog series where one set of unique material will show up in my twitter stream that will correspond with a blog series I’m running here. You can find me on Twitter @traviskolder.
Notes From The Margins
On a somewhat irregular basis I post a blog in my “Notes from the Margin” series. The point of the series is not just what I’m finding in Scripture and what I write, but also what you’re finding in Scripture and what you’re writing about it. If you have a blog, I’d love to see you take this series and do your own. You can check out the guidelines for Notes from the Margins and read examples of the series here and here.
Email Me
I love interacting with readers of the blog. Shoot me an email, say hi, show me the blog you’re writing or tell me about the work you’re doing, tell me what you’d like to see or what you’ve enjoyed so far.
The Wayback Machine: May
Some things just get better with age. “The Wayback Machine” posts occur at the end of every month and reference the best posts of that month in years past. My hope is to provide a good jumping on point for readers who have never been to Pursuing Glory.
2009
Discouragement hits believers and causes them to be confused about the things that are real and important. This post is me reminding myself (and my readers) about the realities that are important to fight for even when things are discouraging. If you want a window into my soul when I’m fighting to stay in the game this is a post you want to check out.
The Five Blogs I Won’t Unsubscribe
Pretty much this blog is exactly what the title describes. I’m an avid blog reader, so I thought I would share with my readers what blogs I most enjoy. Most of these blogs still exist in one form or another and for the most part I would still recommend, if I were to write this post again it would be much different. I also have unsubscribed from one of the blogs on this list, too. I guess we all make mistakes, huh?
2008
This post describes my journey to north-eastern Iowa to meet with other believers who were having more of a regional house church gathering. This was my first attempt at meeting other believers who God has called into a similar lifestyle as us. God also showed me some important insights into the nature of God’s Kingdom and transitioning into simple church realities.
2007
The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers
This was a post that recounts a conversation I had with E.J. about who the desert fathers were and why they are important today. More than anything, it’s a primer into why the devotional practices of silence, solitute, and prayer are essential for the church in this hour.
How To Get the Most Out of Pursuing Glory
There are lots of ways to get more out of Pursuing Glory than just stopping back to check for new content every few days. Here are some of the main ways you can join the conversation, learn, and contribute to the conversation we’re having:
Subscribe by Email or RSS
If you’re not particularly technologically inclined, hit the “Email Subscription” button on the sidebar of the blog. If you’re more into computers or you’re daring, you could subscribe to this blog using a feed reader. This link is a great explanation of RSS and Feed Readers. Let’s face it. Life is busy and it’s easy to fall out of the loop. Either of these tricks will help you stay involved in what’s going on.
Comment
We learn more by talking and teaching than we do by listening and reading. So help us learn by sharing your life, your pursuit of Jesus, and what you’ve learned through your experience in the comment section. Click on “Leave a Comment” or “with 1 Comment” or “with [X number of] Comments” at the top of every post to see and leave comments.
Follow Me On Twitter
Twitter is where I post thoughts and quotes that will either become a full post here or is relevant to the topics we discuss here. I’m also planning at least one Twitter/Blog series where one set of unique material will show up in my twitter stream that will correspond with a blog series I’m running here. You can find me on Twitter @traviskolder.
Notes From The Margins
On a somewhat irregular basis I post a blog in my “Notes from the Margin” series. The point of the series is not just what I’m finding in Scripture and what I write, but also what you’re finding in Scripture and what you’re writing about it. If you have a blog, I’d love to see you take this series and do your own. You can check out the guidelines for Notes from the Margins and read examples of the series here and here.
Email Me
I love interacting with readers of the blog. Shoot me an email, say hi, show me the blog you’re writing or tell me about the work you’re doing, tell me what you’d like to see or what you’ve enjoyed so far.
What Going To An Easter Service Taught Me About My House Church
Recently my wife and I made a trek up to Minneapolis to see her family. Long story short, we had a great time meeting relatives, hanging out with friends, and even meeting some new ones. Now, because we’ve been part of a house church for some time, if we’re out of town on a weekend we skip “going to a service” on Sunday morning out of some sense of guilt, unless of course we know people in the city that are meeting together at that time.
This being Easter Sunday, however, it felt more appropriate to actually go and gather with believers. So we visited my wife’s relatives’ church on Sunday morning and worshipped the Lord with them. What I wasn’t expecting was what I learned about my house church from being with them.
Now, before we go too much further, I have a confession to make. I hate Easter celebrations. Don’t get me wrong: I love the topic of the Lord’s resurrection. In my mind the Resurrection of Christ should be the premiere holiday of our faith. Everything hinges on the resurrection. I hate Easter celebrations because of what we make them. See, it seems to me that American Christians, still operating from a mindset born in a Christian subculture, have conflicting feelings about how Easter should be celebrated. Is it a our chance to worship Christ with abandon and celebrate the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? Or is it a time when all of our lost friends and relatives are looking to go to a church service and hear about the Resurrection. In my mind, most churches think that it’s both.
And because they try to do both of these things, they end up doing neither of them well. Worship is both celebratory but not too celebratory. Preaching and Teaching are focused on the resurrection, but it’s simplified to the point where unbelievers can understand it but most believers are not edified. In my mind we (all churches) try to do both and end up accomplishing neither. (Just a side note: I’ve never met anyone who’s story about coming to Christ starts or ends with an Easter service. I’m not saying they don’t exist. I’m just saying I haven’t heard one.) Having confessed that, I was expecting to experience that very phenomenon, but I wasn’t expecting to learn about my house church from what I experienced.
So, here’s what I learned:
- I don’t expect unbelievers to show up at our house church. Our house church is hard to find. It moves around. If you don’t know where it’s meeting or you don’t know someone who does, you won’t be able to find it. So as you might imagine, we don’t have many folks showing up to our meetings unannounced, especially lost people. No one comes to our house church because it’s a holiday or they haven’t “been to church” in a while.
- Not expecting unbelievers to show up has benefited us. That might be a bit of a shocking statement, but let me explain. I don’t ever worry any more about whether I’m talking about something too deep for an unbeliever in our midst. I don’t adjust my teaching style to be politically correct or to not offend someone. I share out of the Bible about the things that Jesus is giving me. If someone disagrees with something I’m talking about, a conversation happens. It’s messy and unpredictable but it has made us all stronger by having to wrestle with an undiluted* message. No teaching is designed to be attractive to outsiders.
- Not expecting unbelievers to show up has helped us serve and touch lost people better. So this seems counter-intuitive, but think about it. I know (more or less) who to expect at house church. The beauty of not expecting unbelievers is we totally notice when one shows up. This causes us to acknowledge their presence with us and serve them specifically, not knowing how long they will be with us. We take time to pray and prophesy over those that are new in our midst. Not doing that seems wrong somehow now. But we also continue to be ourselves and edify one another during our gatherings, without watering down what happens for the newcomers. The result is they get to see us do what we always do and they get the undiluted Christian life, without trying to impress someone. Hopefully it gets close to what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25.
- I expect to be involved in a spiritual gathering. Okay, so this is a totally unrelated to the idea of having unbelievers in a church gathering, but I learned this about myself—I expect to participate when I gather with a group of believers. I noticed this because I felt strangely useless in this meeting that I participated in on our trip and the reason why is it’s no longer okay for me to sit by idly when I gather with other believers in my church. It was strange, because I’m not used to feeling this way in larger gatherings. Would to God that we all felt this way.
So that’s what I learned. If you’re part of a house church and have had a chance to gather with believers in a more traditional context lately, have you learned anything about yourself? Leave a comment so we can help each other learn from God is doing in each other.
*Please note that whenever I use the word “diluted” or “undiluted” in this post, I’m using it to describe a situation where the desire to win the approval of unredeemed men causes harm to the message of Christ. Diluted gospels and undiluted gospels can occur in organic and istitutional churches . However, the whole point of this post is that my time in an organic church has aided our community in this regard.
Photo Credit: Michael leading the congregation in worship by James.Thompson
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