Monday, January 19, 2009

A Quest for the "Ancient Paths"


Jeremiah 6:16 says,


"Thus says the LORD,'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it;And you will find rest for your souls.'"

I think that anyone who gets it is his head/heart to start a new church is instinctively drawn by the promise of this passage. The "ancient paths, where the good way is..." - It seems almost nostalgic, but the prophet's statement is obviously serious.
Well, it's not so nostalgic for me right now. In fact, there has definitely been a graduation from theory to reality as far as "asking for the ancient paths". I have just begun working with a group to start a network of house churches, connected through discipling triads with a common mission to live incarnationally in the community. What could be so hard about it? But I suppose if it were easy, churches everywhere would still be doing it!

So, where does one find a Spirit-led and empowered, multiple servant-leader supported house church network, much less cultivate one from scratch? At times I have wondered if we have messed it up by running over Jesus' claim that HE would build His Church, while he gave us the job of making disciples and witnessing to His Kingdom.

Well we're giving it a try in Cambridge, Minnesota. This thing started out with a temporary name "Omega church", but at this point the name along with most of the details of how it will happen are back sitting at the feet of the Savior, where they should be.

I would invite you to follow along on the adventure, and if you have relevant experiences to share, please comment freely on what you have seen. We welcome your input.

Bob Roby