I become more and more amazed at how circular the history of church culture in America seems. The protestant ethos that many claim is an important element of what it means to be 'American' grew from a desire to escape an all-encompassing church from a centralized authority and get back to "the real way God wanted it." Fast forward 500 years and the cycle continues to repeat itself with suburban America standing in for Rome and disillusioned evangelicals starting home churches, missions, and non-denominational organizations like The Simple Way.

Meanwhile the dwindling number of members of mainline protestant denominations that have for generations been teaching the importance of social justice, redemption, and community-building are left scratching their heads wondering why another new church has to get started when they've been around for hundreds of years.