3 refreshing dynamics from the baby church here in frontier mission.

 Hi Friends,

Thanks for your prayers. These last couple of days I have been with the frontier church in a situation of less than 0.1% Christian. In fact that figure is a gross over optimistic simplification of this exact context. Preaching this Sunday and sharing with friends in small groups, I sense and see God's presence working in a very vital and strategic way amongst every individual and collectively as a church family.  His word is powerfully active here. This church is not impressive by human evaluation, but astoundingly beautiful in what God is doing. 

 I am reminded of the healthiness of elementary or "bare bones" church.  When we percolate church down to essential biblical and vital characteristics and lose the trappings of our cultural and schismatic preferences. Things are so much more dynamic here, everything is running at a faster rate, the ryhthm of His heart is easily heard. Here are some observations from this frontier context that I think larger more (program driven) established churches could reset to as first (ACTS 2:42-47) principles.

1. Church is family. In a culture where non Christian or even anti-Christian principles dominate, the distinction of being part of Christ's family changes everything. Clear association is a distinctive of trusting and maturing in Christ. We cannot have one foot in each world when both are worlds apart, In our Western culture, many fudge compromise because the church has I fear been sanitised and become less distinctive, less abrasive, less offensive, less clear, more synchronistic. When the believers here call each other "brother" or "sister" it means something. It means we will face the consequences together regardless of their reality. We will bear burdens together, regardless of what it costs us.  We will live in each other's pockets together, learn to be content together (Phil 4:11-13) in good and bad times. This is healthy church, not easy church. "Belonging" matters. When Church is a priceless treasure to us, our comittment to each other is costly. I wish it meant more in some Western churches.