Michael Cadrette's Blog (18)

Some thoughts about Dietrich Bonhoeffer…..

Title: Bonhoeffer – pastor, martyr, prophet, spy – Eric…

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Had a great time wrapping up the book. I have a special interest in the explanation of the Lord's Supper, the nature of the actual meeting itself, and the question and answer sections in the clerical objections section. He makes a good point about trying to do something one doesn't really understand. The absence of pastoral control, the seeming lack of structure, and the inability to trust the Holy Spirit with his church are only some of the things that are radically new to…

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Well, I have really enjoyed listening to the gottalife radio podcasts lately. I have heard Niel Cole, John Zens, Frank Viola, and others address some of the questions that I have had in my mind for quite some time. If you are thinking through the house church/organic church concepts and you are currently a pastor in a traditional setting, you will find this resource easy to listen to and very thought provoking. Downloading the podcasts and listening to them is a simple enough process and would… Continue

I am starting my review of Frank Viola's book with some quotes that caught my attention for various reasons. I have added the comments of friends as I have processed the book with them. Remember the reason I have this blog is to help my IC colleagues process the information. Bring your thinking caps and your sense of humor........

1. .....it's the present practices of the church that I'm seeking to reimagine, not the church itself. ....I would never claim that there is one…

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Well, have some time to open up the next book on my reading list. This one is by Frank Viola. In between my other necessary reading and time demands, I have this book on my list in order to help me decide whether developing a house church network will be the next way we plant some new churches. We shall see. I will keep you "posted" as I process the material and interact with the options around me for new house church projects.

This edition is published by Harper One - a division of Harper Collins. After all my academic training, this is the first full book by Bonhoeffer I have ever read, and it came at the recommendation of one of the House Church websites, I forget which one. This particular edition begins with a short biography of his life, and I found that very helpful. The book itself reads very quickly and is very though provoking in spots. It lends itself to recommending to other men who have busy lives and… Continue

There is a grave danger to fame. Everyone knows who you are, but no one really knows you. p. 49



Church growth used to be about adding souls to the church through the preaching of the gospel. Because we have foolishly come to equate church with the Sunday worship service, church growth has been reduced to increasing the attendance on Sunday mornings. Now we find ourselves competing with other churches for parishoners who are looking for the best service they can find. p.… Continue

Well, I enjoyed reading the book. Once again its a good thing I go to the same movies Neil does. The theatrical connections make reading the book easy to do. It surprised me actually. I opened it on one night and finished it on the next. The book breaks down into five sections, what's wrong with the church because it has been too institutionalized with arrogant expert bible teachers who lead from the top down, keep people at dependent levels of immaturity and see pastoral ministry on the same… Continue

1. In reference to the Jesus movement and other home group movements....."They had not realized the megapower of the microchurch - p. 14



2. Simply changing the structure or location of the church, however, ....is not an end in itself. God... wants a body of people dependent on Him...........p. 34



3. God works wherever His people seek Him with all their hearts. p. 58



4. People may leave the traditional church, but it sometimes takes a long time for the tradition… Continue

4. The next two chapters describe the importance of being able to hear God's voice, the discipline of prayer, and the image of the church as a family. Simply reproducible describes the actual format of a simple church meeting as taken from Acts 2:42. A discussion, not a sermon or teaching, on a text,food, fellowship and prayer are the key elements described as well as the importance of following the Spirit's leading. This can often be discovered by asking participants what God is saying to them… Continue

This book is the next installment int he journey of evaluating the organic church/house church idea, with the research leading to informing my network about the idea, and to the end of deciding if the Lord is leading us to use this model for the next wave of church planting in my world. What follows are some impressions and thougths about the book.



1. I liked the size of the book. The physical dimensions made it easy to carry around, which meant I read it quicker, because it was… Continue

1. He describes how he tried to plant a church in light of conventional wisdom on page 196, using the steps in the Church Planter's Toolkit. It was a very expensive failure - and that is what we used 16 years ago to plant and we are still around - but it was and remains a lot of work. - "We learned that planting churches is not about how much money or people you spend on the project." I am not sure my network is convinced of that just yet. Or it could simply be that it takes all kinds of… Continue

1. The section from p.99 on about 2 or 3 reflects the methodology of his book Cultivating a Life for God - which I have found very helpful in getting men in particular to meet together in smaller venues.



2. The church's pattern for making disciples is explained in a way that is easy to remember - DNA - divine truth, nurturing relationships, and apostolic mission. p. 115ff.



3. The discussion about the structure of the church is an interesting one. One of the conclusions… Continue

Well, it has been awhile, and I have been busy reading some of the resources throughout the summer and have carved out some time to reflect on them. The first is Organic Church. I will list my thoughts in no particular order. Neil Cole must spend a lot of time at the movies:). He references several in this book, ( and several in Organic Leadership which I am about 2/3rds of the way through) so if you are a movie goer you will enjoy how he connects snippets of movies with the points he is… Continue

I just ordered a series of the books you have recommended - getting ready for my time off - and I am looking forward to some down time, think time, fishing time and most of all Sharon (my wife) time. Last couple of weeks listening to Wolfgang's presentations when he was in Spokane 2005 - listened several times again, to absorb them. Greatly challenged about the financial/work side of things. New concepts to consider there. Will be off the grid for a few weeks and will be back to interact some… Continue

Here is my first contribution to viralbloggers.com. This was a fun experience and I learned that much more about the HC mindset in the process. And for those wondering if being a viral blogger is a good idea - I think it is.



As the pastor of an institutional church I was looking forward to reviewing Neil Carter’s book Christ in Y’All – Following Jesus into Community. I have been investigating the house church mindset and culture for about 3 months now, and have come to expect a… Continue

Just to remind myself why I am doing this in the first place.....I originally started this to help facilitate a discussion forum for a small group of IC pastors. Turns out many others have joined in and I am grateful.



My discussion with a friend who leads a missions ministry was describing to me once again at our recent district conference about how in the last two years in three African countries we work in over 400 churches (house churches) have been started - one group called back… Continue

Well the first impression I had of Frank Viola and the book Pagan Christianity was quite interesting. I found the book confrontational in nature, vitriolic in spots - for which Frank even apologizes and says it could be much worse but he has toned it down. OK. His survey of church history was nothing new, but his assessment of historical figures from Luther to Billy Graham never getting it right was quite enlightening. Then there were the comments about pastors who really are nowhere mentioned… Continue