|
|
| There's No Place Like Home (church) |
Posted: 09/15/2007
There's No Place Like Home
from the August 21, 2007 eNews issue
There is no place like home, at least for some Christians. In recent years the number of home churches and small group fellowships in the United States has risen exponentially. Since the year 2000, it is estimated that more than 20 million Americans have begun exploring alternative forms of worship, including home churches. A survey conducted by the Barna group concluded that about 9% of adults in the United States today attend a house church – a decade ago that number was less than 1%.
Home churches were, of course, the way it all started. Christianity began with a group of a dozen men along a seaside in Galilee. Even later as Paul traveled and planted, it was the intimacy of home fellowships that provided the earliest forums for the Gospel. His sermons in the synagogues and on Mars Hill were but an invitation. The deeper teaching was taking place in small groups in homes and on hillsides. While the facilities and formalities of Sunday services have since become the norm for many, it was not always so. The church in the house of Philemon grew into the church of Colossae (Philemon 2). The church in the house of Nymphas became the church of Laodicea (Colossians 4:15). The churches in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, became the churches of both Ephesus and Rome (1 Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:5).
There are three key components to our Christian walk: study of the scriptures, prayer, and the fellowship of believers. Many Christians today have grown dissatisfied with organized religion. Some have even become so discouraged that they have quit attending church altogether. However the Bible is very clear when it emphasizes the importance of spending time with other believers, in Hebrews 10:25 it says: "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." It is critical that we spend time regularly with other believers in order to encourage each other.
In the era of the mega-church, where parishioners often number in the thousands or even tens of thousands, it is easy to see why many Christians feel lost. Such large congregations can be intimidating and impersonal. (Many of the more effective larger organizations also foster and nurture small groups - often called "cells" - during the week to respond to just such needs.) For many Christians who desire a more intimate fellowship, home churches seem to be the answer.
Even those believers who are actively involved in their local church can benefit from the intimacy and accountability of a home fellowship. If you are not presently in a small, weekly, Bible study group, we strongly encourage you to find one and give it a try. You may be in for a truly life-changing experience. If you can't find one, you might even consider starting one
Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com
Read and post feedback
Disclaimer: Worldview Weekend, Christian Worldview Network and its columnists do not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article posted on this site. We do however, encourage a healthy and friendly debate on the issues of our day. Whether you agree or disagree, we encourage you to post your feedback by using the feedback button.
1864 Views
Printer Friendly Version |
E-mail this article to a friend |
Return to home
|
Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/19/07 02:07:37 PM |
Age 43, WI |
Chuck, Thank you for writing yet another well-balanced article. I wholeheartedly agree with the concept and purpose behind the home churches. The organized churches who do not have small groups and home bible studies are missing out on significant elements of fellowship that Christ desires we experience. However, there may be a few areas of concern if not handled properly. A number of doctrinally aberrant groups have sprung up within the home church network due to individuals who split off from organized churches at odds with sound doctrine and/or to further their own personal agenda and goals. Also, people in any kind of home church leadership and teaching position without a good solid understanding of the Scriptures can do profound spiritual damage to the group. Having said that, this can be true of seminary-trained pastors as well in our churches! Let's encourage home churches and let's encourage and pray for sound biblical teaching in home churches! And let's continue to pray for organized churches who need to strenthen their fellowship.
Click here to reply to this post
|
Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/17/07 02:20:20 PM |
Age 53, NY |
Church should feature both the formal meeting on the Lord's day (In Acts they were meeting in the Temple) for worship and home meetings centered around the Apostles' doctrine, which we have: The Bible! Being sick of the formal meeting is just as much an expression of soulish affection as being dependent upon the formal meetings to "feel saved" or using this attendance to justify oneself. Worshipping God is an expression of the new life in Christ as is desiring the the less formal setting for the fellowship of believers. It is not an either/or proposition-those who argue either/or may be demonstrating a party spirit, which is motivatted by past hurts and soulish preferences, not the Spirit of God.
Jay the Janitor
Click here to reply to this post
|
- Re: Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/25/07 03:50:12 PM | | Age 45, PA |
Do both formal worship and house fellowship because the first century Jew did? They also live togather for 3 years should we also do that even though we were not commanded to? No, 1 Cor 14:26 say when you gather ALL are to give a song, teaching, insight etc, now if you can't do that in your huge gathering then what's the point? Besides when you gather and have a man at the head of the body, you have a man at the head of the body and not Christ (and you pay him to do it!). It's foolish to rest in any tradions and then to justify it without a direct command from the scriptures. Wake up, traditions are killing the body.
Click here to reply to this post
- Re: Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/19/07 04:35:49 PM | | Age 30, MN |
So the fact that God has set up the positions of a Pastor and Deacon should be ingnored? Where is the authority with these house churches that should be present. Another article in this newsletter talked about the false teachings and teachers that have arisen. I believe that this in fact is partly do to the amount of house churches that have sprung up. The house churches in my area are held at a different house each week. Whoever is hosting the meeting they are responsible for the study. I think this is foolish. Again God has ordained Pastor to teach the people
Hbr 13:7 ¶ Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of [their] conversation.
Hbr 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that [is] unprofitable for you.
Click here to reply to this post
- Re: Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/19/07 03:24:52 PM | | Age 57, TX |
Actually, there is no evidence that the early church met in the temple. To the contrary, the temple was the source of persecution for the early church. The early believers went to the temple to witness, not to worship or meet as the church. The only evidence in Scripture of where the early church met was in homes. In fact, Christianity was set apart from pagan religions by the fact that it did not have dedicated buildings, did not have professional clergy, did not have robes or other uniforms, and did not have an organizational structure. The early church, the church described in Scripture, was a family. Our current tradition of buying buildings and being patterned after pagan religions did not begin until the third century when Constantine forced the church into the pagan mold. The maturity of the believers has been stunted by this pagan structure. Fortunately, in these last days the Holy Spirit is leading the church out of these structures into a Spirit-led family relationship.
Click here to reply to this post
Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/17/07 08:20:13 AM |
Age 43, CANADA |
I agree with the content of the article. My wife and I have been involved with a small group for many years that meets in each others homes. We love the fellowship and friendships we have developed. It has strengthened our walk with our Lord. In a small group, it is much easier to share your burdens, joys and sorrows.
Click here to reply to this post
|
Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/17/07 05:04:39 AM |
Age 58, AUSTRALIA |
Thank you for your support for the idea of house churches. I have been actively involved in one in Sydney for almost twenty years and have found it to be a most wonderful way to fellowship. We study the scripture verse by verse and look to the Holy Spirit to teach us and in the period of time I have been involved we have not had any doctrine issues that have caused a problem. We avail ourselves of the many excellent teachers online and avoid the bad ones as much as possible. It is much easier in a small group for people to ask about things they dont understand and to say what they wish without feeling intimidated. It is also much easier to spot if someone is a bit down and in need of some support or encouragement or even correction. I thank God for the ministries that help us so much with good teaching online.
Click here to reply to this post
|
Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/15/07 05:40:44 PM |
Age 61, MO |
The article encourages: "Even those believers who are actively involved in their local church can benefit from the intimacy and accountability of a home fellowship. If you are not presently in a small, weekly, Bible study group, we strongly encourage you to find one and give it a try." I heartily agree. The ramifications of small gatherings in homes can be far reaching in terms of worshipping in Spirit and Truth. Children are apt to see a zeal of love of Christ that will be a very good example for them. These gatherings can break the rut that often comes from regular gatherings at the large church house, and the insincerity which oten accompanies that routine. These smaller gatherings tend to be stripped of the unnecessary fanfare associated with the large Sunday gatherings at the church house. Really getting to know fellow believers is best accomplished in their respective homes, and can be a very gratifying experience. George Cancilla
Click here to reply to this post
|
Re: There's No Place Like Home (church)
| Posted On: 09/15/07 07:39:35 AM |
Age 44, PA |
It's not the house that makes the church, it's the fellowship. If you don't face one another how can you love one another? If you stare at the back of someone's head, how do you benefit from their gifts? If you have an elevated clergy class, how do we see Jesus? If you fellowship at a house and bring Rome with you, it's no better than the ritual you left. The first century meetings would be foreign to 99% of all church people.No sermons,Bibles,clergy,creeds,denominations, unbelievers or seminaries; there was food, love, everyone participating,spiritual gifts, face to face interaction and no where to hide.....that's terrifying!!!!
Chuck you make it sound like these house churches morphed into what we have now and that's not true, Constantine gave us what we have now.
Click here to reply to this post
|
|
|
|
