Making Disciples Spontaneous Discussions and Learnings

“Hmnnn…teaching someone on how to make disciples of Jesus,” she blurted these words out while I’m wondering what she thinks about. “Are you ready to have your own funeral?” She puts exactly the words of Jesus, “Take up your cross and follow Me,” in a personal way.

Sure a person who wants to follow Christ must recognize his old self. After believing the work of Jesus on the cross for him, repenting of his sin, surely he is aware of the new life that God is offering through His Son. His old self must be condemned to death at once through baptism.

The Five[fold] Signs of Making Disciples

The early church has a way of discipling people. Let’s look at five visible facts or prerequisites.

1. Believing

Jesus says that ‘whoever believes in Me’ has life. The is the first prerequisite of following Christ. This includes trust on Jesus on believing what He did on the cross was for him and he ought to give his life also to the one who willingly gives Himself to him. Believe is in the statement, trust is in the person. This equates to FAITH.

2. Repenting

Repentance is a sign that a person admits his fault. “If we say we have no sin we make God a liar,” the Bible says. Repentance is a remorse of your sin. And I say this again and again that it is not something that you do to get saved, but something that you respond to what has done already in order to be saved. There’s a big difference on that, see my previous article down below entitled, “How To Make Disciples.” Repentance is a ‘godly sorrow’ not ‘worldly sorrow.’ It is His kindness that leads us to repentance rather than its something that we should do. No, salvation is done already 100% on the cross, nothing you can do to add what is finished already. Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished,” not “To be continued.” So here, we see repentance is necessary to follow Jesus.

3. Baptizing

This is where your own funeral will take place. It is a symbol of your own death to self just as Christ was buried with our sin and just as He rose up from the grave we also shall rise up from the water symbolizing our new man in Christ. There’s a lot of discussions going on on how to baptize. Well, as I first baptize Albert I began to think how in the world am I going to do it? Should I let him wear a white dress? Shall we sing some songs first? Shall I have a sermon on baptism in front of everybody in the beach? What in the world am I going to do. One thing struck me though, at that time he is taking with him Jomy to be baptize also. But should I be baptizing them both? I don’t feel it is right. But I wanted Albert to baptize his friend Jomy because he is the one who makes him a disciple, not me. Jomy doesn’t know me at all except in that first meeting. And so I have in my thinking, “What is the easiest, the fastest, the quickest way to baptize Albert that he can instantly do it right away after I baptize him for him to baptize Jomy right there and then?” We did it with no formula, sorry that I cannot even tell you how except for one thing, we uses the Name of the Trinity after thanking God in a very short prayer and dump him in! But as I go over on how the NT baptizes anyone, mine is still even complicated! Let’s start with John baptizing Jesus, did John pray some prayers? He just dump him in! The Antioch guy when he believed he was dump in by Stephen without a word while doing it. Paul has no mention on the how while he baptizes 4 people, as far as he remembers. Poor old guy can’t even remember who are the people he baptizes, guess he has some flue called ‘Baptisomia.’ However, Jesus said to baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost – but these words are titles, not names. Jesus is a Name. Well, please don’t get me wrong. But my point is, is how you baptize easy enough for others to follow? We must do it the fastest way or else we can make a doctrine out of it and fight over terms forever. And forever is such a long time!

Some even believes that baptism is not necessary at all, if it is only a symbol then what matters is the heart right? Well, carry on to that. Mostly also in my country are Roman Catholics in which they are baptize already when they are young, no need to re-baptize again. Well, carry on to that too.

One thing that we in a sort of ‘house church,’ ’simple church’ whatever church you wanna call it – hope these names be disappeared quickly as they arrive quickly -I wanna call it ‘Jesus Family’ as Biblical as that, well get to the point Molong, is that in doing baptism we still have a ‘holy day’ mindset. We still make schedules of it like “Baptism Sunday,” Have you recognize this or is it me alone? Molong? NT baptisms happen right away!

4. Receiving

Receiving what? The Holy Spirit on the sign of speaking in tongues. How I wish that one of these days as I continue making disciples suddenly the Holy Spirit will just drop from heaven to the person and he will speak in new tongues! Just as Peter when he preach the word the spirit came and they all speak in new tongues. Wow! Isn’t that amazing? I have been through some spirit movements like the preacher preach about ‘Speaking in Tongues’ and then have some altar calling and pray over and kind of like force something in it. Well I have done that several times though, but if it is done through what you can do you are not really satisfied with it. Do you know what I mean? I am firm to wait on the Lord, even if it takes forever, on the same happenings. Not to even try myself to do it co’z I have been through it and tired of it. Receiving the Holy Spirit happens right after or before the person’s decision to be baptize. I see it as, baptism is the person’s decision but baptism by the Holy Spirit is God’s. I feel sad that I was baptize by the spirit after one year of my conversion. But I was baptize the next day after I repent. But was glad through it all. Whew!

5. Accepting

After baptism, having a meal together is always the best thing to do to let the person feel that he is welcomed. And some affirmation words would be very helpful, I suggest you will say to the person, “Welcome to Jesus Family. We are His family. You have been a part of my family and we have been a part of you.” Then praying the Lord’s Supper should take place here. This maybe a time to shoot some words of comments to every household of God, why not make the Lord’s Supper prayer be the prayer for every meal we have? Instead of just praying for the food, thanking it and then done without recognizing the Lord’s body ‘do this as remembrance of Me,’ and ‘do this as often as you can,’ right? Thanking for the food seems too religious. Jesus didn’t pray always for the food. He just ate, but is He thankful? Of course, He is not just religious. Praying for the food is a tradition. But whenever we have meals together with Jesus Family we pray the Lord’s Prayer, that is remembering what Jesus has done on the cross for us and that by His body being broken, our lives also being broken, selfless to accept one another, empty to be used by Him.

Well, that’s all for tonight folks. Oh not tonight, but this morning, early morning! It’s 3:03 now! Bye.

Church Unleashed!

[I feel led to re-post this last years trip with Roger and Brooks Thoman. This was posted at wwwlk10.com site for quite awhile.]

“I will take a bath first,” I said.

“No, stay AT my side.” She says. “You can brush my teeth Papa.”
And I did.

She missed me so much that she wanted me to do everything for her. She’s my sweet little princess, Shirley—my 31-month old baby.

Sorry, I am not that good of a missionary yet. Leaving family for just a couple of days and then coming back home for a day and traveling again is not what I am used to. But I have to since the network is growing and needs someone to initiate things…

Thanks for Roger and Brooks Thoman, without them I could never do this on my own. They traveled wtogether as we visited several areas. I have been in a shipwreck you know, floating for 2 hours without a life jacket at 4 o’clock in the morning and all you see is a bright fire, not God’s Shekinah glory but just the ship burning! That was a couple of years ago but since then I have had fear of taking a boat overnight. Fortunately, God provided us the ability to fly.

It is my first visit to these places where we’ve been. When someone wants to join the network, that means they want more information about simple house churches, most of them have already seen them as a way to reach more people. All we did was to affirm what they have been believing either for months or years, or even days or hours. We trust that they heard God speaking through us.

It’s all about the Holy Spirit…

During one of our meetings a pastor friend from the Island joined us as we discussed the idea. We have done seminars with some of his leaders but somehow it’s not his time yet. His heart was moved after hearing the testimonies of the Cebu Network friends who have tasted the freedom of the Spirit. His comment was, “I am a traditional Baptist pastor. I love the stories very much and I am troubled. What should I do now?”

Without hesitation, Roger could have said the ’steps’ to do but instead he bluntly and with kindness replied: “Listen to the Holy Spirit.”

A human question such as, “What should I do” can draw so much attention to our flesh with all its human strength, “Here are some tips you should follow” or “Why don’t you give up your church now?”

This movement of house church, simple church, micro-church, organic church, call it whatever you want as long as it is simple enough to duplicate. He has been speaking to hundreds of like-minded people like us all over the world, and even in my country. We have to realize that we could never create another vision except what has been started 2,000 years ago. God may allow us to have our day dreams of what our church should look like, but for your next generation’s sake do not ask God to cooperate with your plans trying to build your little empires of denomination.

God is in the move, let’s join ourselves in Him!

Ilocos Sur Trip

“Tell me how, how to make disciples,” All day these words became our topic during our table conversations.

I could not say more about my trip to Vigan, Ilocos Sur, it was one of my favorite. Not only everyone is excited about my coming but also challenging that dropping at Clark airbase from Cebu I didn’t know anyone nor have been to the place before. It was 10 in the evening; it could take $10 to fetch a taxi just to get to the city. Well, from this time on I find a better way to minimize cost, I approach a white man with a beautiful Filipina wife who is renting a van and I get even to sit in the front seat with no cost at all. “Hmnn…I could do that then whenever I travel.” My cash is only $12 when I arrive at Clark, taking a taxi, bus fare and my dinner could have make me broke then. I find my way to have my dinner for $2 and a bus fare for $9 and that left me $1 to reach my place which is a 5-hour trip.

My host there which I met for the first time, Edwin, a 30 year old man married to his wife Norma who is 33, they have 3 wonderful kids, 2 boys and 1 girl, pick me up at 3 in the morning. From then on we talk ‘til the morning. A day later, I knew then that he didn’t have sleep that night, he is excited waiting for my coming.

House Church Talks

Edwin hosted some families and young people at his house for a house church meetings every week, along with that he has some Friday night prayer meetings. But my purpose in coming is not about telling him what to do and what not to do. I simply was coaching him by asking some questions that he can find answers through what he has been doing.
When the church does meet? For how long are we going to meet, until Jesus Christ comes?

Not only that most house churches are like having a little Sunday Morning Church Services in their homes but also they’re having endless meetings week-after-week ‘til forever, and forever is such a long time. Until we become family we will still continue to meet. Nothing wrong with meetings but until we stop calling them ‘meetings’ we will not become a family. A ‘meeting’ is not the church but the church meets. Nobody ask me as a member of my family, “When is your meeting?” But we certainly do meet during meals together, walking together, sit together, just doing things together. Have we called it a ‘meeting?’ Do we have to call it a ‘meeting?’ What kind of meetings? A ‘Sunday’ meeting? A ‘Wednesday’ meeting? A ‘Prayer’ meetings? A ‘Bible Study’ meetings? For how long again?

“Now we will not have any more prayer meetings,” as his wife Norma announced after hearing enough of my explanations one night of fellowship, “but we do pray.” Another night also while discussing a topic on ‘how to convert a Christian into a disciple of Jesus’ we ended up at 2 in the morning and then when I woke up the next day Edwin and his wife have a good talk in their Ilocano language which I could not understand and then they paused and said in English, ‘Good Morning’ to me and continued, “Indeed you’re coming is a blessing to us. Thank you.” Norma then continued, “After pondering on how to make disciples, God reminded of my friends who believe in me, trust in me and loyal to me. It is time to meet them with a meal and make them Jesus disciples.” Here is a part of Edwin’s email to me after days that I left:

“My wife started also making disciples to the young ladies. We are in the process of learning about making disciples and being a church. Thank you.”

Summit ‘09

[The thoughts here are based more on my personal experience and learning during the event and not as corporate one.]

On August 26-29, leaders of house church networks from different provinces in the Philippines met once again for the fourth time in Cagayan de Oro City. Compared to the past summit, this one rises as among the best. Here are some thoughts that we have shared for 3 days.

Around 20 of us representing different networks from different ministries and expertise. Some have focused on having simple church gatherings among Muslim communities especially the ladies among us are so compassionate on reaching the unreached people groups in the Philippines. The stories are so wonderful to hear but I am so sorry to keep my mouth shut as they are confidential. Simple church meetings work so easily yet powerfully because it is simple enough that you don’t have to name your church organization nor even call it a ‘church’ as we know it. But clearly enough to see that Jesus, Isa is in their midst.

A team is working together among high school and college students. Reaching them out through simple church movement. One particular guy, 28, has been working so closely with these young people that he is even registered at DepEd to train on how to play ‘communal’ soccer game. That is what anyone can play anywhere as long as their is a basketball court. Well, every community here has one! I dumped him some “Back to the Basics’ books and a box of book of John, the Gospel as they are free to be given away as requested HERE. They are so good to win friends and in the long run make them Jesus disciples.

Simple ‘house’ churches are in a sense a community based since their meetings is easy enough to communicate simple people in the community. Where there are two or three or more people gathered together with you as a follower of Jesus then the spirit of God works among everyone. Church is not where we meet basically, but it is where Jesus Spirit can move, reveal and express Himself to us, the church. Church is people, not buildings nor homes, and there is a Kingdom of God, so who are the ‘members’ of this Kingdom? The church, people! That is why if church is buildings then it is a counterfeit of the Kingdom. The word denomination comes from the word denominate, meaning to dominate. Church today became little tribes celebrating their own human founders. It should not be so among us who pledge our allegiance to only one King, and that is Jesus!

A Father in the Lord

Our corresponding emails today reminded me of him of how he is a father to me though we meet only for a week but the feeling that he left to me as a son remains forever. And what’s better is what I learned from those 7 days I am doing the same then. And the ‘not that good’ is why I just met this man that time. I wish I met him when I started my Christian walk.

I have been a Christian for 9 years and become a follower of Jesus for another 9 years. To have said that, becoming a Christian is easy – just go to any church you want out there and be faithful with its rules to maintain your Christian life. It’s easy, coming to church once or twice every week, either be a full-time worker or minister, part-time or even just a simple Christian on Sunday’s – a ‘Sunday-goer’ as we call it. I have no idea where did we got these themes. I wonder if Christianity is going to church Sunday-after-Sunday, week-after-week, month-after-month, year-after-year both now and forever, amen…makes you like Jesus. Does Jesus ever went to a ‘church building’ on holy days? We see Him more on the streets raising the dead!

On the other hand, following Jesus happens outside your four corners of the church. I once bump into a site about an atheist named Casper who was paid to work with a ‘resigned’ pastor of a church. Their ‘mission’ is to roam around 3 churches per week and the job of Casper is just to tell the pastor what he’d think about the church whom they visited. One time after the service he told the pastor, “Is this what your God tells you to do? I have read your Bible and I can’t find these liturgies in there.” To get rid of your religious routine you must get out of that religious edifices. Though getting out of the box is easier than getting the box out of your  brain, but it’s a good start. Following Jesus is all about ‘in everything you do….you do it for God’s glory. ‘Everything’ can’t be happening in your church eh? ‘Husbands loved your own wives..’ ‘Wives submit to your own husbands’ ‘Father do not provoke your children into anger’ ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord…,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ These commands can’t be happening inside the church building. They must be somewhere in your home and in marketplaces!

The Wanderer

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Originally Published as:
Romulos Molong Nacua, “Case Study (Philippines): The Wanderer – Unplanned House Church Planting,” in Rad Zdero (ed.), Nexus: The World House Church Movement Reader, (William Carey Library: Pasadena, CA, USA, 2007), pp.315-319. (Nexus available from www.missionbooks.org)
Case Study (Philippines): The Wanderer—Unplanned House Church Planting

Romulos ‘Molong’ Nacua

Molong Nacua is a house church planter in the Philippines. He also travels extensively training Christians in saturation house church planting as a strategy to reach his nation for Christ. He has ministered in the context of both traditional churches and the house church movement for many years. Email: chm_intl@yahoo.com.

Introduction

Over 90% of people in the Philippines are affiliated at least in name with some form of Christianity. Great strides by evangelicals have also been made in the 1980s and 1990s in terms of numerical growth and unity. However, the challenges the country faces include shallow discipleship at the grassroots, second-generation nominalism, and poverty. A strategy of house church planting can be a viable alternative to meet these challenges. In this article, I hope to give a brief but adequate account of my own story as a ‘wandering’ house church planter and how our regional apostolic team has helped give rise to 400 house churches in the Visayas region of the Philippines.

A Solid But Traditional Christian Background

I have been in the traditional church ever since I became a Christian. For over 10 years, I served the church with my whole heart. I had been literally joining Bible studies every night with my pastor, being a part of a worship team, and doing evangelism myself or with a group. I have also been a church stage decorator, a church painter, a church electrician, a church caretaker, a church round-the-clock security guard, and a church janitor. It was the best place I ever found on earth to offer my ability, talents, gifts, time, and energy. I did this all as a volunteer. And for all those years, I never missed a single Sunday church service. Yet, I remained deeply unsatisfied.

I got saved at a camp, and that very day I knew the Lord was calling me to pastor a church. At the same time, I was aware that it would be a process. It was not until nine years later that I finally started a traditional church in our house. For the first couple of months, I was involved with 21 Bible studies each week, 12 of which I led. I was also engaged in prayer meetings, youth night, Sunday night services, a twice weekly crusade that stretched out for six months, weekly discipleship training, overnight prayer meetings, and other special events.

However, it was all draining my strength. I began to feel bored and confused and finally asked God “Why?” I believed that when God called someone to pastor, he would tell them what kind of church it should be. And I began questioning myself too. I told God in my prayers, “Be it a traditional church or a cell church, as long as it comes from you, I will do it.” The house church concept, though, at that time never came to my mind. This was simply because, in my view, it was merely an immature way of doing church. The phrase ‘house church’ here in the Philippines is often seen as a ‘not yet’ full-grown church, a ‘baby church’, a ‘phase one’ church that someday may become a ‘real’ church once it has enough members to warrant a larger meeting place, like a hall or building.

Baptizing Arlene and Analyn

The day is the 16th of May, ‘09.

Arlene and Analyn are the younger sisters of Albert. He has been sharing his faith to them whenever he visited them at my house. [The sisters stayed with us].

Finally, we call it ’spirit-led’ or ’spontaneous’ meetings here, he and his classmate Jomy who he makes disciple of Jesus came one early morning and we had breakfast together. Topics are about anything including discussing ‘making disciples’ of how Jomy and Albert did it to Mark his classmates too. The sisters listen and interact and ask questions until they decided to follow Jesus. Immediately, we invited a neighbor, friends to come along and celebrate with us and to witness the event. We went to a nearby seanear us and baptize them.

Albert is the one baptizing them, my wife backs him up. At the back is Jomy celebrating. Me? the photographer

 

 

House-churching in the Philippines

Housechurching In the Phiippines by Molong Nacua Luke, Chapter 10 gives some very workable principles on church planting that fit in the Philippine culture.

There are three main values I see in each one of us that gives us the potential to saturate our country with God’s Word through Simple Church. Let us check them one by one and see how it fits in starting house churches mainly in the community.

Close Family Ties

If we define house church as an ‘extended’ family meeting together for mutual edification then our family gatherings fit perfectly. Filipino’s uphold family ties to the highest extent, we live close to each other even as individual adults. We love to gather just to have a meal together with the entire clan up to the 4th generation. And what’s more surprising is that we do not need to put it in our calendars. It becomes an instinct for us to gather and sit, talk, eat, pray [if you don't mind, or prophesy] and serve. Hmmm…it is S.T.E.P.S. on what to do in a house church meeting. We don’t even need to create a program to foster new ideas and stories. We are also good at doing surprises when we meet. We love to talk and…eat. We do not need to create a family, we are family.

Community Involvement

We call it ‘Bayanihan’ in our own dialect. It is a creation of alliances with neighbors and a helping attitude whenever one is in dire need. No one needs to teach us on how to create community, we already have one! Our celebrations such as fiestas, holidays and family reunions speak of how we are created for this idea of simple gatherings. Most Filipino’s have traditions, either Holy Friday or All Souls Day. It is a religious event yet most families gather around foods and laughter – it becomes an event that is full of surprises to bond relationships. We’re not doing it so much anymore for religious purposes but to have fun. Do you know that we Filipino’s are known for the number two happiest people in Asia? And who are number one? Me and my family

Social Involvement

We call it “Barkada” or a group of selected friends fits most of what a house church looks like. It is church to the fullest. We normally treat our barkada as our second family next to our own physical one, though sometimes others hope it to be their real family. The value behind this group is simple, “You feel like a family.” Added to the word barkada is the word ‘pakikisama’ which is extending support to our relatives or offering help even to our neighbors who are in need. And “Utang na loob,’ meaning a debt of gratitude – or the giving of special favors to the other person regardless of the moral outcome. In simple terms, “we might hate one another yet we still love one another.”

Based on this premise, a working house church model for us will look a little different than other house churches in other countries. Even in our country, house churches in different cities and towns with different people and personalities will still look different from one another. Put it this way, I could not do house church with the street people the way I do house church with the professional people. It just doesn’t work. I must be resilient and adaptable enough to cater to different people. Like Paul, able to become wherever, whatever and whoever he is with.

Starting a house church movement in a community is only one way of doing it. In this article, several people in my circle of influence have used this approach, and some prove it to be hard [mostly to those who keep asking endless questions about it without doing it], yet to most people it works. The principles and practices behind simple church can only be answered by asking the right questions, “Is it right?” No, “Does it work?” If you believe it is right, then it will work. Not the other way around.

Houses Of Peace

In Luke 10, Jesus asked us to be sensitive enough on how to recognize a ‘man of peace’ in a house. Look for the initial sign: food. “If the man of peace offers you food, eat,” He said. Something rings in your head, right? Yes, Filipinos were made for simple church gatherings! We know that wherever we go even just passing by someone who is eating they will gladly invite you to eat with him. We know it’s not real hospitality right, but we know also that if the person urges us twice or a third time we better accept his offer for he is serious in his asking.

At times I come to think that Jesus somehow has a Filipino appetite, He came ‘eating and drinking.’ Most Filipino’s love this endless eating. He never came to a house where there is no food. Think about in Matthew’s house, they have a party! In Zaccheus’ house, still there is party with his ‘barkada.’ At Simon the Pharisees’ house also. Looks like Jesus barkada always has someone celebrating a birthday! And have you recognized that whenever Jesus speaks of God’s Word He always likens it to a spiritual food? Huh! Yummy ha. [Matthew 4:4]