Tag: house church

Posted on

Why House Churches?

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a variety of discussions about house/organic/simple church.  I’ve referenced and even shared with others my original article on “Why House Churches?”  I thought I’d repost it here…

 

 

why house churches?

 

Jesus modeled for His followers a God-honoring life 24/7.  To often we compartmentalize our lives into boxes—a “work” box, a “family” box, an “emotional” box, an “intellectual” box, a “spiritual” box, etc.  Jesus loved and lived as a whole person and encouraged His followers to do the same. . .

Jesus said, “ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  Matthew 22:37-39

The early followers of Jesus lived out their lives loving God and loving people.  They did it in the “everydayness” of their lives.  They saw it in Jesus and began living it too.  They didn’t stop living to follow Jesus.  They brought Jesus into their living.  So at a pragmatic level, they used the things that were already present in their life to follow Him.

The followers of Jesus were spiritual families—also called “churches.” These churches were the collection of followers of Jesus who lived in community with each other.  They didn’t go out and find a building to become a church.  The group was already “living as the church” together.  They used the everyday stuff of life—their houses—to provide a place to gather the people.

We desire the same—to live in community with each other and to bring Jesus into our living.  We long to love God and love people in the “everydayness” of our lives.  We gather into our spiritual families in our houses—because it is something God gave us and we ought to use for His purposes. We are not about “houses.” We are about being the Church together.

Maybe you want to go a little deeper than this.  The next section examines what the Bible records about the early followers of Jesus and what they called –“the church that meets in your house.” We are shortening that phrase and calling them “house churches.”

 

 

the Bible & house churches

Introduction

This biblical tour will give an introductory sentence or two, then a statement directly from the Bible (in the NIV– New International Version).  These statements speak volumes about how the initial followers of Jesus lived in the first century.  The challenge is on the table as to how we will live nearly 20 centuries later.

Let’s look. . .

 

The early followers of Jesus gathered in a house together right after Jesus went up to be with his Father.  They were living out “church life” even before having the Holy Spirit

When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:13-14

 

They received the Holy Spirit in a house

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4

 

Eating together—it doesn’t get much more ordinary than eating—but eating together in homes was an important part of their lives together.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, Acts 2:46

The good news of Jesus was talked about in their homes . . .daily.

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Acts 5:42

 

Saul (who later becomes Paul and writes half of the New Testament) sought to wreck the church.  He went to homes—to those following Jesus in the “everydayness.” He didn’t burn books or a building. Instead, he dragged off people . . . because people are what the church is about.

But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. Acts 8:3

 

Peter’s miraculous release from prison was being prayed for by a gathering of his spiritual family in a house.  Read the whole story in Acts 12 . . .it is amazing.

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Acts 12:12

 

After Lydia embraced Jesus, Paul and company stayed at her house.  Then days later, after Paul and Silas were released from jail, they went to her house for a “spiritual family” meeting.

“If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. Acts 16:14

After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left. Acts 16:40

 

Paul focused on telling the truth about Jesus in the synagogue, but when he was opposed and abused, he went to an everyday place—the house next door.

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Acts 18:7

 

Again, Paul focused on telling the truth about Jesus and His teachings.  Paul told it everywhere: public spaces and private ones.

You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. Acts 20:20

 

In the personal greeting section of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he sends a special greeting . . . to a house church.

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house.  Romans 16:3-5

 

Now that house church of Aquila and Pricilla’s sends a special greeting . . . to the church in Corinth.

The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 1 Corinthians 16:19

 

Another special greeting to a house church—

Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. Colossians 4:15

 

This letter to Philemon was also addressed to the house church . . . because  it asks Philemon to do some difficult things and Paul wants them all to know.  Read the whole letter to figure it out.

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home: Philemon 1:1-2

 

Conclusion

That’s the end of this Biblical tour.  The conclusions are pretty obvious.  Hopefully this was helpful for your understanding . . . now you have to do something about it.  What will you do?

 

© 2002 Mike Jentes and thequest

Originally posted at  http://thequestcolumbus.com/origins.html

The content of this article may be linked to, copied, and distributed for the purpose of discipling the nations if credit is given to the author & the website address is cited.  Written publication of any/all the content of this article requires the written permission from the author.

 

Posted on

Keith Giles’ Book Review of Letters to the House Church Movement by Rad Zdero

I am drowning in books. Literally, I have over 25 books stacked next to my bed. Three new books came in the mail this week. I am overwhelmed with books. Which is why when Rad Zdero’s book, “Letters to the House Church Movement” first dropped into my mailbox I wasn’t eager to crack it open on the spot and devour it in one sitting. You see, I’m drowning in books.However, once I did start reading Rad’s book I quickly placed all those other books into stand-by mode. Why? Because this book is so practical, and so fascinating, that I had to keep reading to learn more about what God is doing through house churches in his neck of the woods, which incidentally is Toronto, Canada.The format of the book, as you might have guessed from the title, is a series of letters (always from Zdero’s side of the conversation) to different people and addressing different situations in various house churches within Zdero’s circle of influence. Much like the epistles of Paul or John or Peter in the New Testament, we get to hear how Zdero responds to conflict in the house church, how he deals with church discipline, what he believes about women in the house church, and much, much more.

Zdero has been involved in the house church movement since 1985. That is roughly when I officially entered the ministry and was licensed and ordained as a Southern Baptist minister of the Gospel. But I’ve only been involved in the house church movement for about five years now. So, Zdero’s level of experience is much broader than mine, and so I can understand why some of the ways he deals with things is different from the way I might deal with the same issue. Plus, he’s Canadian. We can’t forget that.

But on a more serious note, one of the things I have always loved about the house church movement from the very beginning was the level of freedom and the variety of expression exhibited across the board. I remember reading Robert and Julia Banks’ “The Church Comes Home” and marveling at how no two house church groups seemed to approach anything the same way. Whether it was communion or baptism or bible teaching or children’s involvement, or whatever, the variety was overwhelming and refreshing to me. And this is what I try to keep in mind as I read Zdero’s book. In some chapters, as when he comments about women in the church for example, I find that I agree with him exactly. When he encourages one couple to break off fellowship with another couple because they disagree on doctrine, I find myself disagreeing sincerely. When he writes to house church members and draws the line in the sand and asks them to commit to certain things or disband their church, I find myself unsure of how I feel about that. But, in all of these things, I have grace and respect for Zdero. One, because he’s my brother in Christ, and two, because as I’ve said many times before, we should not base our fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ on an agreement of doctrine as much as we base it on our common love for Christ and our commitment to love and serve Him.

Frankly, I found myself inserting my own style of leadership into Zdero’s letters at every turn. I found that I could hardly focus on what he was saying to his audience without pausing to ask myself what I might say in the same situation, or how I might respond differently if I were writing a letter to these same people.

I think, on a basic level, Zdero and I are two different kinds of leaders. Whereas he might be more of an Apostolic leader whose calling is to plant many churches and to (as he says in his book), “help spawn the house church movement”, I am more like a guy who heard God call him to plant a specific church where 100 percent of the offering could go to help the poor in our community. There’s nothing wrong with either calling, of course. But understanding our different roles in the Church is helpful (at least to me) in understanding why Zdero and I are different leaders.

Before you get the idea that I disagree with Zdero on some critical level, let me affirm that most of what he counsels people to do in this book is agreeable to me. I do think that it’s important for Churches to develop real community, to be involved in mission outside the four walls, and to practice loving church discipline whenever necessary. We might disagree on “how” to do those things, but we do agree on doing them as best as we can.

Again, Zdero and I agree on many, many more things than we disagree on. I want to make that abundantly clear. This book would make a wonderful contribution to anyone who was curious about how to handle difficulty in a house church setting, how to respond to critics of the house church, and even how to lovingly correct people who are overzealous for all things “house church”.

To be fair, I am probably the most permissive and passive leader I have ever met. Almost no one I know takes such a hands-off approach to leadership as I do. And I don’t say that to brag. Maybe I’m too footloose when it comes to these issues? I’m not saying I’ve got it all figured out. But, if you read Zdero’s book you should know that not everything he does is typical of all house church practitioners. The reality is more on the side of variety, as I mentioned earlier.

Much like, “The Church Comes Home” by Robert and Julia Banks, Zdero’s book does provide a nice snapshot of house church life and addresses many typical challenges faced by those who are involved in this movement. What might be missing from Zdero’s book is that variety of experience or perspective found in their book. Due, of course, to the fact that Zdero’s book is from his viewpoint only (but then again, my books and articles reflect my bias as well). So, there’s not much you can do about this fact except to listen to what he has to say and weigh it against your own understanding of the Scriptures and decide for yourself what you think.

Either way, Zdero’s book is an enlightening and challenging collection of thoughts from someone who has invested a large portion of his life to the nurturing of others as they follow Christ into deeper community. I highly recommend this book.

-kg

___

© 2012 Keith Giles

Posted with permission
Originally posted on his blog HERE

He tweets @KeithGiles

subversive1 blog Check out Keith’s insightful blog:

Books by Keith Giles:

This Is My Body Subversive Interviews The Gospel: For Here or To Go?
This Is My
Body by
Keith Giles		 Subversive
Interviews
by Keith Giles		 The Gospel:
For Here or
To Go by
Keith Giles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Starfish Files – House Church Magazine

Starfist FilesEditor Rad Zdero has invested a lot in a spunky magazine called The Starfish Files. It’s been published for several years with this philosophy behind it:

Starfish line the shores of the world’s beaches. Chop off an arm, and a new one grows to take its place. Tear a starfish in half, and you’ll soon have two starfish on your hands. A torn-off limb can even become a brand new starfish. And what’s more, they populate by releasing hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions, of eggs in just a few hours. Just like the house church movement through the ages. An estimated 300,000 new house hurches have started between 1998 and 2006. And this doesn’t include China’s 80 to 100 million house church believers or Latin America’s 1 million Basic Christian Communities in 2007. It’s also taking root in Canada. Enter the Starfish Files. The magazine’s goal is to inspire, inform, and interconnect the house churches across Canada and beyond.

You can check out the following issues on the CMA Resources website as a free download:

Winter 2011 Edition

Summer 2011 Edition

Fall 2011 Edition

We look forward to the Winter 2012 edition soon Rad!

UPDATE:  That Winter 2012 edition is OUT!