Many people involved in the House Church “movement” are growing tired of hearing people voice their concerns regarding the same four aspects of House Church: Church Governance, Women, Tithes, and Kids. Yawn! It seems to me that anyone who is led by the Holy Spirit will hear from Him and then know what to do in any or all of these areas. The problem is that very few Christians seem to really know God. Many spend no time in prayer and hardly ever read any of those Bibles we own (just over half of those who attend a Christian church (54%) say they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, and another 37% says they are moderately engaged (Barna Research, 2006).
Our raw wealth has spoiled us.
The question we American imperialists must ask ourselves is this: “Will he play in Peoria?” In other words, will the things we believe in in good America bring water to Sudan or Vietnam?
They should.
When a 17-year-old Chinese girl is considered the “shepherd” of 20,000 Chinese Christians, Americans cry “Foul!”
When an East Indian woman starts 50 churches alone, American Christian minds say “BOW!”
Years ago, when I read about people behind the Iron Curtain practicing “self-baptism” so as not to endanger the lives of their beloved ministers, Americans wanted to see biblical examples.
“Man looks out; God looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16, 7)
It seems to me, a man of average intellect, that if an individual starts a house church in “The Boonies, USA.” With no pastor, prophets, or apostles in sight and without a single qualified “elder” among them, the church they’d start would be the church they’d be stuck with. This group would be FORCED to listen to the Holy Spirit as they prayed together and sought the Lord to know why He had brought them together in the first place.
If you have a problem with this “Boonies” example, try this… let’s say the crowd that heard the message was starving people in Africa, husbandless women with dying babies, children covered in flies. Do we teach them how to be “saved” according to one of our many man-made denominational methods or do we give them the Good News of the Kingdom, explaining that there is a King, He has a Kingdom and the King wants them? in that Kingdom so that He can care for them as Solomon cared for the subjects who served in HIS Kingdom? If you think it’s far fetched to think that God would cater to the needs of a group of homeless wanderers, consider that God has provided manna in the morning, water from the rocks, sandals that don’t wear out, and birds to eat. on at least one other occasion that comes to mind. Furthermore, the alternative is to explain to them that they are sinners going to hell unless they accept Jesus into their sickly bodies so that, as they starve for the next few days, they can at least know where they are going. as they slowly die an agonizing death. According to James Rutz’s book, “Megashift”, the King IS working miracles in the third world and developing countries all the time. People ARE trusting in this King called Jesus and He really IS looking out for those who submit to His Kingdom. Diseases are being cured and the dead are being raised by poor, illiterate, relatively uncivilized, uneducated, dirty, impoverished people of all ages.
Stay with me here: What if one of the starving widows embraced this Kingdom concept, was healed, experienced miracles, shared the Kingdom message, and started starting house churches in villages wherever she went? What if children heard the message and, because there is no Lesser Holy Spirit, by the power of it, began to perform miracles and start their own house churches? Anyone who has read about Wesley’s Welsh revivals can see how God used children…and not an elder or pastor in sight.
“Wait a bloody minute! Things are getting out of hand now!”
Folks, I hear and read reports of this type of thing happening all the time! Not in America, unfortunately. We are too busy deciding who gets what title, whether or not to title it, what to do with the children, and where to put those indefatigable women.
It has been my experience that two or more gathered in His Name is all that is needed. Yesterday, alone with Jesus and a 95-year-old lady in her nursing home bedroom, we had church, as they say. It was glorious! We sing, we pray, we get emotional, we talk about our God. We were the Church and we both knew it.
Author Frank Viola writes, “When Jesus Christ is not the center of a house church, the only fuel that can propel it forward is a fascinating topic, a charismatic personality, or a witty doctrine. But all of these fuels go a long way. And when they run out the group collapses. A community of believers can only beneficially hold together when a continual encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the dominant element. Ultimately, if Christ is not the glue of a non-institutional church, its meetings they will become shallow, colorless, and ultimately unsustainable.The psalmist once said, “If the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).
I hold that it is by the grace of God that anyone who feels led to do so can go out and start BEing the Church. In any moment, in any place. As disciples are made and the ranks swell, when the King sees the need to teach and train from the outside, itinerant ministers, like the apostle Paul, are also available. I also hold that a minister who is the product of an institutional church is a poor candidate for house church leadership. That’s not unlike a Russian hockey coach trying to coach in the NHL; he’s certainly good at what he does, but he just doesn’t speak the language. No, the best people to learn from are those who have risen through the ranks and have experienced what it is like to NOT be tainted by liturgies, doctrines, dogmas, and traditions, but instead know what a TRUE house church looks like and what it is like to that kingdom. The meetings imply. Whether it’s from a guy like me, a book, a DVD, or a lecture, the resources are available to anyone who searches for them. Too often, when someone with an Institutional Church background tries to start a House Church, they eventually end up with a mini-church in their living room and find themselves stuck with pretty much the same thing they came from, only smaller.
Is it wise to aim to attract a large number of house church attendees or to save enough to offer money to build a facility? I don’t think so because it smells like an Institutional Church. Anyone who TRULY wants to follow the example of the New Testament will train, equip and free their people to plant MORE churches. I call it “Willful Division of the Church.” It really is NOT a “split” Church at all; in reality it is the multiplication of the Church. House churches have a shelf life of 6 months to 4 years. If you think that’s poor, show me a New Testament Church meeting that is still meeting to this day. They don’t exist because the multiplication of the Church was part of God’s plan from the beginning, I believe. Instead of trying to hold out as long as possible, why not strategize and train the church on how to plant churches, making it standard operating procedure to GO and help others start churches in THEIR homes INSTEAD of inviting them to get out of YOUR comfort zone to enter YOURS?
That is what Jesus did, after all. He said that he came as an example.
Here’s another example: Imagine a new member of your House Church named Al meets a friend named Bob who seems interested in House Church. They agree that Al will come over on Saturday at 7 pm Al orders pizza and invites two experienced House Churchers from his group, including you, to join him. Bob has half a dozen relatives and neighbors there when you arrive. They like what they hear and – poof! A church is started with you, Al and the other two pledging to be available to train, equip and release them.
The new group will follow suit and so on, just as it is happening all over the world today.
It really is that simple.
————————————————– ——-
Don’t miss the North Central Texas Conference of House Churches on January 27 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Doubletree Hotel near The Galleria. It’s free! Seats limited to 150 and FAST! Registrations are REQUIRED before 5:00 pm on January 20th! Just hit REPLY and type “CONF” in your SUBJECT bar. Please provide the full names of everyone who will be attending with you, including the ages of the children. For MORE details, go to [http://www.YourTown4Jesus.org] and hit the “House Church Info” tab on the FAR RIGHT.