Church growth experts tell us how to make our churches bigger, busier, and more competitive. Walt Hoffman suggests that such gains come at the cost of simplicity and intimacy, as churchgoers have no time to sit at Jesus's feet and listen. Noted author Richard J. Foster put it this way: "To be spent in the cause of Christ is a very different reality from the frenzied activity of the modern church." What a far cry from what Christ intended for his people. Church should be meaningful, nurturing . . . and, yes, even fun!
It began in Southern California back in the 1970s, when Walt Hoffman, the busy CEO of an electrical construction company, introduced a troubled young man, Floyd, to Christ. A couple of years later, Floyd asked Walt to teach a small Bible study meeting on Monday nights. Walt loved Scripture, so he agreed. What happened still astonishes Walt, Floyd, and the other attendees. Their numbers multiplied. Many committed their lives to Christ. The participants gave themselves to a methodical, expository study of the Word of God. Verse by verse, what it said is what they did. Later, they recognized that their fellowship had become a church. They called it Monday Night, and its influence is still felt today in all parts of the world.
... And Church Happened is a true story of the joy of simple church life. This particular church can't be copied, and it may never be repeated. Yet there is something to be learned for us today. Examine the biblical pattern for unsophisticated church life, and know that it can happen again.
