Category Archives: Church

Fellowship

March 4, 2021 By in Confession, Fellowship, Forgiveness Leave a comment

What is fellowship?

Koinonia is the Greek word most closely related to New Testament fellowship. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines it as “fellowship, association, community, communion or joint participation.” Koinonia embraces the idea of a close knit community where people are invested in one another.

Christian fellowship usually occurs in a small group where people can openly share their thoughts, insights and concerns with one another. Fellowship could be an “official” meeting at a set time and place or it could be two friends eating lunch together.

True fellowship, however, involves being willing to be transparent.

Transparency – oh, that can be hard.

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Justice and Redemption

January 12, 2018 By in Abusive Pastor, Jail, Justice, Repentance Leave a comment

Yesterday, I stood firm for justice on behalf of victims and their families in a criminal trial against an unrepentant youth pastor who molested children.

He was convicted and hauled away in restraints.

Today, I’ll go into the local jail to stand firm for redemption by encouraging and strengthening in the Lord a group of men who are repentant and not playing games …

Like using God and “church” to shield their guilt.

They are forgiven and finding freedom.

Those who think there is a contradiction between seeking justice and ministering redemption, understand neither …

Or my passion for both.

~ Jim Wright

See Related Stories:

Jury Convicts Manassas Megachurch Youth Leader of Sex Crimes, by Hannah Dellinger, Fauquier Times

Sexual Predation and Pedophilia at The Life Church in Manassas, Virginia, by Fulcrum Minisistries, Nathan’s Voice

Simple Organic Church and the Existential Fringe

January 1, 2016 By in Existentialism, Felicity Dale, Frank Viola, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church 7 Comments

Haven’t the repeated failures by the existential fringe of the “organic” church movement – with authors like Felicity Dale, Frank Viola, Milt Rodriguez, Jon Zens, Keith Giles and their buddies – made it abundantly clear?

Without the plenary authority of Scripture, simple participatory churches don’t succeed.

Snake Oil SalesmenThese fringe authors dismiss the plenary authority and discipline of Scripture – and in some cases even deny that the Bible is His written word – to peddle a Jesus of their own perception.

Their false Christ – who is little more than a projection of their own “deeper life” angst, post-modern sensibilities and trans-Biblical agendas – inevitably leads to dysfunctional, insular and anemic “communities”.

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Elders

September 5, 2015 By in Bible, Discernment, Elder, Spiritual Disciplines 1 Comment

I get it: A confused generation of young millennials raised to believe they’re the center of the universe keep trying to create a Christ of their own perception by shunning the plenary authority of His written word.

What I don’t get are those who should be old enough to know better, but don’t.

It’s time for those who do know better to start acting like grown ups once again in the Body of Christ.

~ Jim Wright

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Insane Church

August 14, 2015 By in Church, Culture, Great Commission 1 Comment

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

Seriously, can anyone defend “church” as a carefully produced weekly “service” that feeds the need for affirmation through a staged “sermon” which mimics secular “motivational” speakers and staged “worship” which mimics intense pop concerts?

Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations, not entertain the masses by catering to a culture which craves emotional affirmation and intensity – then calling it “God”.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8

Let us return to the Lord, and His ways, once again.

~ Jim Wright

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Going to Church or Being the Church?

August 2, 2015 By in Church, Community, Gifts, Institutional Church, Organic Church, Simple Church 1 Comment

When you “go to church” these days, it seems that staged teachings and “worship” performances by the “anointed” few during Sunday “services” have become substitutes for the diverse gifts and “one another” imperatives of the New Testament.

When you truly “are the church”, however, shared teachings, songs and diverse gifts arise among us – each and every one – by encouraging and strengthening “one another” in the Lord as functional communities which gather together.

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The Power of the Gospel

July 8, 2015 By in Confession, Discipleship, Forgiveness, Jail, Redemption, Repentance 1 Comment

I went to the jail yesterday with another brother to be with one of the churches we helped establish there.

When we arrived, that other brother, John, felt the Lord’s prompting to ask if anyone was struggling with anything and wanted some one-on-one help. A young man raised his hand and I met with him alone while John remained with the larger group of about twenty inmates.

God and ManAs we talked, that young man was able to openly confess and release to the Lord years of hurts and regrets that he had suffered. The pain he carried from the wrongs he experienced as a boy contributed to addictions and emotional enslavement, which had been destroying his life. As he began to expose and gave them to the Lord, Jesus met him in a very personal way.

Then, without prompting, he started talking about all the stupid sins he had committed in reaction to the wrongs he had suffered at the hands of others. He began crying and asked how he could be free from the guilt and weight of his own wrongs.

I find that’s often the case: When we forgive others for their wrongs, we often clearly see for the first time the significance of our own sins and then are brought to a place of genuine conviction.

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Sound Doctrine and Snake Oil Theology

June 26, 2015 By in Church, Discernment, Doctrine, Elder Leave a comment

My prayer for the Church in this age of itchy ears and false teachers …

Lord, raise up true elders – “grown ups” among us who serve your people in their local communities – to teach sound doctrine and confront those who redefine:

Snake Oil SalesmenFaith as doubt;

Grace as excuse;

Love as license;

True as relative;

Real as subjective;

Moral as optional;

Community as conformity;

Church as unassembly;

Diverse gifts as distractions; and

Mission as introspection.

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Robert R. Wright (1933 – 2015)

February 26, 2015 By in Discipleship, Fellowship, Missions, Organic Church 5 Comments

Last month, on January 6, 2015, my dad died peacefully in his sleep after a seven year struggle with dementia. His was a life well lived, in service to the King of Kings and His Kingdom.

This is a blog I first wrote a couple of years ago about my parents. I am re-posting it as my tribute to him and the legacy he leaves behind.

– – – – – – – – – – –

Roots

The last several years have been a wonderful journey of seeing folks come to the Lord and fellowships emerge in highly improbable places. In my own life, the roots for this go back to my dad and mom, Bob and Mary Jane Wright.

tree_rootsIn the 1970s and 80’s, the Lord used them as pioneers in what we’d now call simple “organic” church – before that term became popular (even though today, unfortunately, it can mean nearly anything).

Forty years ago, they helped birth a regional network of open, participatory fellowships in Maryland, where people could find and express the vibrant life of Christ in dynamic gatherings as everyone ministered one to another – rather than having directed, scripted meetings.

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Local Church Leadership

February 19, 2015 By in Elder, Gifts, Ministry, Organic Church, Simple Church 2 Comments

Last evening some elders from among our fellowships took time to share a meal at a local pizza joint and talk – just talk, with no agenda.

body-of-christOur conversation turned to how the traditional model for church leadership is to inspire folks to “come” and be part of our own gift, calling or motivation – but that we don’t see this in Apostle Paul’s life.

Rather, Paul’s main approach was to unleash Christ within existing communities where God sent him. As Paul would “go”, he was secure enough to then let Christ be expressed through the wonderful diversity of the many unique gifts, callings and motivations He chose to bestow among His people in each church.

Thus, it was never about Paul inspiring people to come gather around his own gift, calling or motivation. Likewise, there is no example in the entire New Testament of any single “pastor”, one-man ministry or other person serving as a primary focal point “over” any local church.

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The Miraculous

February 8, 2015 By in Fellowship, Prayer 4 Comments

Every once in a while we get to touch the hand of God. When we hold a loved one’s hand there is a connection that transcends more than the mere physical touch. Holding hands unites the emotions with the physical. Touching the hand of God unites creation with the Creator.

hand of godThis morning God reached His hand down to the Sunday fellowship group that meets in our home. After a short time of sharing we began to pray for each other. Some of the shared needs will require the totally miraculous to happen.

I believe that God is in the business of the miraculous. When we prayed this morning the supernatural presence of God filled the room. Almost everyone had a word, Scripture or a picture from the Lord to share with the person who was receiving the prayer. The sense that the Lord was standing right there in the midst of us was overwhelming.

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Stories of Redemption

January 21, 2015 By in Church Planting, Great Commission, Jail, Kingdom of God 2 Comments

Yesterday, after a seven month hiatus to care for my dad and deal with some of my own health issues, another local elder and I visited the jail to check on a church I previously had been helping.

taking-up-your-crossThe first thing I noticed was around twenty new men were now in that fellowship, with only two of the original brothers still around (the others, as is normal in a jail environment, had been released or transferred).

The church, I was thrilled to see, had not only survived but thrived during my absence – with them showing a wonderful continuity of life from when I last saw them.

As I then listened to them openly share their hopes and struggles in the Lord with each other, and watched them encourage one another to love and good works (Heb. 10), I cried silent tears of joy.

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I Love Church!

January 12, 2015 By in Institutional Church, Organic Church, Simple Church 2 Comments

Participatory church? I do that.

I sit and stand when the worship leader tells me to and sometimes even sing along, do the happy clap or raise my arms with my eyes closed when prompted;

pew

Yup, I love church!

I shake hands with the guy in the pew ahead of me when the associate pastor says to greet one another;

On occasion I say “amen” when the senior pastor asks us to say “amen” during his sermon;

I put money in the plate when its passed down my row by the ushers; and

I even bow my head when told to do so during the invitation for folks to raise their hands and receive Jesus.

So yes, I participate when I go to church, thank you very much!

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House2House: RIP

December 29, 2014 By in Abuse, Cult, Felicity Dale, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church 1 Comment

snake-oil-salesmanIt looks like House2House Ministries and Magazine have closed shop once again.

What an unfortunate, checkered history of organic/simple church failure after failure.

How many times will it take before Felicity Dale and gang finally figure out that you can’t start and sustain healthy local churches – simple, organic or otherwise – by promoting phony self-appointed “apostles”:

– Who ain’t livin’ what their sellin’, with private lives that don’t match up with their finely-honed public persona;

– Who have no consistent history of successfully forming, maintaining or being part of sustainable local churches that look anything like what they promote in their books, blogs and conferences;

– Who deny that the Great Commission has general relevance today;

– Who proclaim that scripture is not the written word of God and that those who affirm scripture are committing “treason against Christ”;

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The Gift

December 11, 2014 By in Compassion, Gifts, Love Leave a comment

Gifts are special. Gifts can sit on a shelf awaiting the appropriate time to be given, or they can be spontaneous. Gifts can come in small or large boxes. Sometimes the gift in the smallest box is far superior to the one in the larger container.

giftThe Lord knows how to give good gifts. If a son asks for bread, he will not give him a stone.

When the Lord selects our gift, He handcrafts it so it is exactly what we need. His gift is sometimes not what we would have picked, but He knows our true needs.

Sometimes the gift is an unexpected answer to prayers that may be decades old or it could just be a little reminder that the Lord is good and He loves us with an infallible love.

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My Stunning Prophetic Predictions for 2015

December 10, 2014 By in Fakes, Prophetic 5 Comments

Man of GodMy stunning predictions for 2014 proved to be the ONLY 100% accurate prophecies by anyone anywhere last year.

So, not wanting to let all the prophets of fame, name and gain dominate yet another year with their headline-chasing rubbish, I’ve decided to once again put myself on the line by publishing my stunning new prophetic predictions for 2015.

This way, the world can see once more who is the true prophet among us!

So (drum roll…) here is what’s gonna happen in 2015, raw and unvarnished:
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Organic and Simple Church Snares

November 24, 2014 By in Discernment, Fakes, House Church, Institutional Church, Organic Church, Simple Church Leave a comment

More and more people are legitimately desiring to move towards organic/simple church and away from the institutional church.

A Snare for the Unwary

A Snare for the Unwary

Unfortunately, there are major snares for those on that journey. Too often, they fall prey to books and blogs on organic/simple church by those who either reject the plenary authority of scripture or outright deny that the Bible is the written word of God.

Although such authors talk a good talk, they typically have no consistent history of actually finding, creating or sustaining in their own lives the kind of local “organic” or “simple” church they are selling to others.

Increasingly, it seems that those who live it seldom sell it, while those who sell it seldom live it.

This makes it very hard to move forward, because there’s a lot of crazy being peddled to the unwary out there in organic land.

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