Wednesday, January 5, 2011

House "Church"

For many years I have always silently questioned the idea of a "church" - as in the building. So many "churches" seem to have such politics associated with them. On top of that, I have seen more "churches" hurt people than I care to remember. It has always been a source of question for me as to why we modern day Believers do not follow the New Testament pattern of Believers meeting in each others homes each week. First thing is first, we ARE the church. The church is not a building, it is a body of Believers that is represented all over the world.

So I began to study the New Testament (NT). What did a NT "church" look like? Well it seems like is was a group of Believers who met in homes and the gathering was centered around the Lord's supper (Acts 2:42, 20:7, 1 Cor 11:18-20, 11:33), which was more like a full fellowship meal. In the center of this feast there was to be one cup and one loaf (1 Cor 10:16-17), both symbolizing and creating unity. The mood of the meal was to be joyful, because of focus of the Lord's supper is the excitement of His second coming. It is the rehearsal dinner for the future wedding banquet of the Lamb. (Rev 19:6-9)

The meetings seems to be interactive and spontaneous, per 1 Cor 14, rather than performances by professionals. Every one of the brothers is to be free to contribute to the meetings. Open participation is to be the norm, not the exception. The over arching directive for anything said in the meeting is that is must edify the church, the Believers (1 Cor 14:26).

A NT "church" was more of a family than a business. Meeting in homes helps foster community, accountability and intimacy among the members of the body. Further, "churches" are to be family friendly and so the children should not be segregated but rather integrated.

Generous giving to support the missionaries and those in need. Without the overhead of such expenses as the construction and upkeep of a sanctuary for each congregation, more money is free to be directed where it is needed most. The NT "church" seems to be diverse, spontaneous, largely lay-led, simple, easy to reproduce, intimate, personal and inexpensive. Instead of one person doing alot, its alot of people doing a little. "Church" today seems to be institutional versus the NT "church" which was relational.

There are many oppositions to a house church. Some people claim that its too risky for dis-order. The Bible gives very clear instruction on how to conduct a house meeting and if followed it brings great order. Better to have life with the risk of a little disorder, than to have perfect order with no life! Some people will say that the worship is not as good at a home church as in a regular church building. To them I would say, worship is not about us its about Him and worship is not the music, but our life. Worship is what you do all week long! Then there are those who welcome the house church idea, but for the wrong reasons. They have been hurt by those in the "church" and hold such bitterness and hatred towards them. These people do need healing, but that will not be found in a house church. They need to seek out help and guidance in overcoming those feelings and being able to mature in Christ. Then becoming involved with a house church would be very beneficial to them. Anyone who starts a house church for those very same reasons, is in serious danger.

Believers meet in homes weekly for about three hundred years after the Messiah's death and resurrection. Only then did we change the NT way of remembering the Lord together each week. My husband and I feel called right now to being a home church. We have no idea who will come, if anyone will come but we are convinced that if it's His will then it will come to pass. God will bring the right people across our paths. He knows who they are. I am excited to see what the Lord will do! If you are local and are interested in participating in this house church, please contact me. We would love to have you join us! For those of you (probably almost all my readers and friends) who attend a church building, please do think that I am condemning you or judging you in any way. We are all members of one body and no one is better than anyone else. There have been wonderful things accomplished through some church buildings and I have been drawn into His presence with some wonderful "worship" music at many of these places. These buildings are ministries, I just dont believe they replace the NT way of meeting in homes weekly to fellowship together and foster intimacy and growth in the Lord.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. It really means alot to me. Being at home all day I often wonder how can the Lord use me? Besides the obvious that I am raising my children for the Lord and being a helpmeet to me husband. I feel that the Lord has opened up this opportunity for me to blog to be able to share with others outside my home. I am blessed to be able to do this and I am honored. I will continue to post as the Lord lays things on my heart. May you and I continue to seek our Heavenly Father in all that we do!

1 comment:

  1. I just wanted to clarify some things. A good friend of mine shared some views which I took into consideration and wanted to be sure I was clear in my post. I am in no way "bashing" the church building and some of the wonderful programs that they do offer. I merely was stating for our family they are not a replacement for the weekly sharing of a meal with other like minded Believers in our home to share and discuss Scriptures. Also, since I made it clear that the church are the Believers, I would be hypocritical to call my meeting in my home a "house church". It is merely the meeting together as is found in the New Testament. I hope that clears some things up. Please understand that I wrote this post out of love and am in no way judging other families for their choices in meeting together with other Believers. Pride is a grave sin, may I not be guilty of it on this particular matter. I love you all as brothers and sisters in the Lord!

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