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Bobber
Registered Member
Date Joined Jun 2004
Total Posts : 199
| Posted 7/11/2004 10:06 AM (GMT -6) |   | Some time ago the interdenominational church I attend got into some challenges and well there were many which left my wife and I included....I prayed continually concerning how church is to be....conducted carried out etc....I came across some web sites about house churches....Christians carry them out various ways but does any one have any thoughts about this? Many good points are brought it...like if you look at the book of Acts all church was done in homes....think about it...no building programs costing thousands upon thousands of dollars....
no high paid saleries for those who pastor or are elders or overseerers for the most part work on secular jobs...close fellowship....no sitting in pews looking at the back of peoples heads....you're all around a circle....some of them have the Lord's supper each week as a real meal....just to think of all the money the body of Christ would have to really meet the needs of people directly....person to person rather then to see hundreds of thousnads of dollars into building some steeple of a church....I was quite impressed as well at the idea that Jesus always endeavoured to now get peoples minds off buildings...recall the women at the well of Samaria....not on this mountain, nor in some temple in another place, but in the hearts of men is where true worship is to be....But i think its true that people have resorted to the temple concept of looking to a building as being the house of God...they say they don't but if you took all the wraps off of really how they live out their lives they really do...Well we've been seeking and looking at beginning a house church in my city, up in Canada....yes there are many pros and cons of it to be sure....and ive read some of the cons but I see cons or negatives in the other system as well...Anyone have thoughts on this matter?  | | Back to Top | | |
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might-be-don
Registered Member
Date Joined Jun 2001
Total Posts : 830
| Posted 7/12/2004 3:05 AM (GMT -6) | | Hi Bobber,
Here's the thing about house churches ( mind you what I'm about to say is a generalization ) is that they have be known to quickly deteriorate into a microcosm of a large church. The same power issues that plague a big church eventually creep into the smaller community and the dominate personality ends up running the show. Those that have found a small community that works are few a far between.
I have lately, instead of looking to the past ( house churches ) for what church should be like today, been looking to the future of church life. I believe that in a small way communities like this discussion board are the church of the future. While our communication is not in real-time or face to face, to the extent that we are open and honest in our communication we form relationships and hold one another accountable.
I think it has been proven over and over on this site that the issue is never just about ideas, it's always about people also. We need to embrace that and always communicate with loving intent, prefering one another, and always giving another the benefit of the doubt.
This digital age provides fellowship opportunities that were never available in the past. As we move from considering these things as something less than ideal, somehow not good enough, and incorporate them into our thinking we will find a richness that goes beyond mere words on a page. The Spirit of God can give life to our words here much the same way the He communicates the Word of God written thousands of years ago.
I feel much like I've been to "church" everytime I visit with the folks here.
peace, don
"Life is a gift from God, but the years have weight in them."
Terry Scott Taylor | | Back to Top | | |
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Tigress
Registered Member
Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
| Posted 7/12/2004 11:20 AM (GMT -6) | | My church, Woodland Hills, strongly encourages the congregants to be active members of small groups, or what we call covenant groups. The church trains people to be leaders of these groups and has other people be shepherds of the groups. The leaders organize and facilitate group meetings, discussions, activities, etc. The shepherds are like overseers in that one shepherd might actively be praying for a few groups and sometimes counsels the leaders of each of them. They also might step in to help whenever there are any conflicts within a group.
This, to me, is much like a house church. My group meets at the homes of different members each Wednesday night. Usually we do a discussion on a book of the Bible, or a book that focuses on certain areas in Christianity like discipleship, etc. Every so often we'll do Communion together and some worship. We always end the meetings with prayer requests and prayer. We'll usually have a fun night once every month or so on a Wednesday night and we try to do a couple service activities per year. The weekly fellowship can bleed into other times in the week like getting together on the weekend to do fun things, too.
I don't think this can or should take the place of getting good, solid, Bible-based preaching and teaching though, like we get when we go to the regular large-gathering church services on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings at Woodland Hills. Obviously, no one person is going to stand up and preach with any real anointing or authority in our small house churches when we meet and I think it would be highly dangerous if we did so. So, I think both types of church meetings are necessary for proper instruction and growth in the Lord.
I should also add that every group does things differently too. One group might do worship every week, as well as Communion more often than once a month. Other groups might be more for doing service projects. But, all the people within a covenant group form a covenant that they agree to adhere to for a certain duration of time, hence the name "covenant group." Most covenants state that everything personal that's said within a discussion is to be kept in confidence. Most covenants will also state guidelines about respect and consideration for others within the group like not dominating discussions, or saying hurtful things and getting to the meetings on time. Many covenants state that the weekly group meeting is to be made a priority, especially since there are often waiting lists of people wanting to get into a group, so if you are in one, you shouldn't be taking it for granted by deciding you want to just stay home and watch TV instead of going to the meeting one night, when there are people out there who hunger for weekly fellowship with other fellow Christians who can't go because you've already filled that slot.
Finally, the church challenges us to go deep with each other, and not just be a surfacy, social club. We try to really be like Christ to each other, and listen to and be there for each other in times of need or personal crisis. We also try to hold each other accountable. In short, we practice Kingdom living - not always perfectly, but as best we can do.
Tigress 
"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."
-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" | | Back to Top | | |
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