The Church of the Heart Podcast

The second of two parts taken from the Micro-Church Conference of several years ago. This segment answers some questions from the audience about church paradigms, transition and why people try house churches but sometimes go back to the more traditional structures.

I’ll be taking a stroll back in time in this episode. As I was rummaging around in some of the resources we have here at summithome.org, I remembered this introductory message that I presented at a gathering of aspiring house churchers in Sisters, Oregon. An unedited version of this presentation is also available among the audio resources link here at  the site. Mentioned in this podcast: da...

Dan remembers an email conversation he had a number of years ago with a fellow who was just starting out in the adventure or simple churching. This episode touches on a wide variety of topics related to being a simple church.  Some helpful resources are available at summithome.org.  

Taking a trip across the wide prairie in this episode. Dan reads a summary of the book, Western Theology , written and illustrated by Wes Seeliger, an Episcopal priest who passed away a number of years ago. The book is actually a satirical look at the church as seen in the context of the Old West. The author compares two kinds of Christians, the Pioneers and the Settlers. Dan, adopting the persona...

Today’s guest is Sinisa Hamp, a former pastor from Croatia presently studying in Calgary. This interview examines the landscape of the church in this predominantly Catholic country. The question that emerges from this conversation is whether there is a nascent house church movement in Croatia? Are the youth of the country beginning to seek a church of a different kind? Are Croatians open to...

The Summit Fellowships occasionally do something called The Jesus Circle. It’s a story-telling activity where we practice telling the story of Jesus as though we were sitting around the campfire remembering a friend or an event. In this episode Dan talks about how we do this when a fellowship gathers. A written description of the Jesus Circle is also available at the resources menu of the su...

"The number one self-medication in the US today for discomfort around emotions is religion."  So says Marc Schelske,  pastor and author of The Wisdom of Your  Heart — Discovering the God-Given Purpose and Power of Your Emotions.  In this interview, Marc explains the value of our emotions when we discover that God is able to use them to bring us to maturity and to understand His will. The con...

A follow-up to an earlier episode. Dan moves  to the other side of the mic and interviews Portland pastor and church planter, Cory Doiron of Suportland Church. Cory describes his journey to planting house churches in Portland, OR after being part of a growing church in Rapid City, SD. The discussion eventually centers on formation and growth in relational, and diverse community. Mentioned in this...

A bit of a role reversal in this episode as Dan is interviewed by local church planter, Cory Doiron. In this program, Cory and Dan talk about commitment and church covenants. In the conversation, Dan talks about The Summit Fellowships and some of the experiences that the churches in the network have had regarding membership and commitment. There is a related audio recording in the resource section...

An interview with John White, director of the Luke 10 community. In this discussion John talks about prayer strategies for church communities, “rhythms of attention” for church families and catalysts to help simple churches grow in transparency and depth. Also, in this episode are suggestions for getting prepared to live in simple church communities. Mentioned in this episode: Luke 10...

Don’t we wish we always got along and agreed about everything? Not gonna happen. It never fails that somebody has an opinion that isn’t shared by someone else and then the sparks fly. So, are you ready for that? After all, it’s not a question of ‘if’ a tough discussion happens, it’s ‘when.’  And when it does, you have to decide what you’ll do w...

An interview with Richard Jacobson, who is part of an “unchurched” community in Nashville, TN –no pastor, no building, no programs. So, how did our guest wind up outside of the traditional church and become the author of a book about it — Unchurching: Christianity without Churchianity . That’s what this podcast is about. Mentioned in this Episode:  Unchurching: Christ...

Dan does an interview with Calvin Tadema of one of Church of the Heart’s sponsoring ministries. Master’s Mind Ministry specializes in healing prayer and what Calvin calls, “mind renewal.” Prepare to hear about a dynamic prayer ministry that partners with the the Lord to bring about restoration to hurting and confused people. Mentioned in this episode: Master’s Mind Mi...

Dan shares the final episode of three “body life acronyms.” They are: LEGS: Locally Established Gathered Saints. ARMS: Authentically Related Missional Servants The final one is HAND, Homes Available for Neighborhood Discipleship. What can house churches do to make the neighborhoods in which they meet better? What can be done to keep small group churches from turning inward and closing...

The second of a two-part interview with Mark Hedinger of the Institute for International Christian Communication (Worldview). The discussion today centers on the planting of simple churches in Latino communities. Mentioned in this podcast: Relational Missionary Training: Theology, Theory & Practice IICC – Worldview

An interview with Mark Hedinger, the director of the Institute for International Christian Communication (IICC-Worldview). Mark and Dan explore the idea that each person in a Church of the Heart carries their own personal culture into the mix. The first of two parts. Mentioned in this episode : IICC – Worldview Creating Understanding: A Handbook for Christian Communication Across Cultural La...

An interview with Travis Kolder of the Cedar Rapids House Church Network . Travis tells the story of making the transition from a traditional church to house churches. He talks about the challenges of making room for ministering gifts in this new paradigm.   In this episode:  Travis’ Blog  Cedar Rapids House Church Network on Facebook Neil Cole (CMA and Life Transformation Groups)  

Second in the series, Body Life Acronyms. This podcast is about ARMS: Authentically Related Missional Servants. The importance of seeking to be real with one another and to serve together. Incidentally, engaging in servant activities together as a church is the way of going beyond community and becoming “ communitas .” Mentioned in this episode : John Alexander Various Summit Fellowshi...

An interview with Dan Beaty of Columbus, Ohio. Dan is an experienced “house churcher” who is now a part of a more traditionally structured church. He is one of the moderators of the House Church Discussion List Facebook page. Mentioned in this episode: House Church Discussion List (HCDL) Dr. George Patterson David Anderson

A discussion of the first of three “body acronyms.” LEGS stands for “locally established gathered saints,” that is groups of Jesus followers gathering together to demonstrate the love of Jesus. In the future: ARMS and HANDS.

An interview with Jonny and Sarah who envision living and working among a network of simple churches in the UK. They share some of the joys and challenges of moving a young family to a new country. Mentioned in this episode: Jonny and Sarah’s Blog . Contact the Griffiths . British House Church Movement . Tim Keller . Finding Common Ground: How to Communicate with those Outside the Christian...

This is the second of a two-part interview with Robbie Trice of the Light Church of Jacksonville. In this episode, Robbie shares some of the joys and challenges of being a part of the simple church journey. Mentioned in this episode: The Light Church of Jacksonville, FL. Finding Church by Wayne Jacobsen

 An interview with Robbie Trice of Jacksonville, Florida. Robbie is part of a small cluster of home fellowships called, The Light Church . This is the first of  two parts, tracing Robbie’s journey from the Jesus Movement to ministry in traditional churches an then to simple church. Mentioned in this episode: The Light Church of Jacksonville, FL. Finding Church by Wayne Jacobsen

Episode three in a discussion of the body life acronym, TIP. The first two programs talked about PATIENCE and TRUST. This episode talks about the third letter which stands for INTERDEPENDENCE, the key to demonstrating love in our fellowship.