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timf -> RE: House / Community churches - setting one up? (5/3/2008 11:47:42 AM)
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House / Community churches - setting one up?
House church can be a little like home schooling. Some people buy little desks, get a curriculum, and get a blackboard and "do school" right in their homes. When people "do church" in their homes it is tempting to cling to the familiar as well.
There is a lot you can learn from the Internet, but you have the same potential danger to cling to a system or procedure and turn it into a "mini church".
Much of the rigor mortis of the established church comes from wanting to prevent error. While often well intentioned, this is not Biblical. Correcting error is Biblical. The difference is when you try to control what people do, think, or say such that people end up being a type of "Christian robot".
"House church" is only a place. It is important to remember that the term most often refers to an approach to Christianity in ones life. This approach is less scripted so that we each need to live by faith and seek out each other in relationships where we can have real opportunities to minister to one another.
We once attended a small church and my wife and I were talking with an elderly lady. I asked how she was doing financially and she admitted that she was having trouble. We were able to provide some help, but I was struck how no one (not even her "close" friend, who was well off) knew her or her situation.
The Christian who dies to self can grow in Christ-likeness and love. This is the person who can make a house church function. The Christians who are yet carnal may "need" the comfort of a large church system that can carry them along in the delusion that they have fulfilled all the minimum requirements.
A house church needs to follow the Biblical outline of elders. If you cannot teach, you should find someone who can. Many look to an elder to tell them what to do and how to do it. In Hebrews the word "obey" used in "obey your leaders" is really "allow yourself to be persuaded". The elder has to be one who can instruct and guide (shepherd or pastor) those in the church to grow into the full measure of Christ.
As more and more organizational church systems get drawn into patterns of the world, those who cannot follow this course may find House church as the only alternative. It is really exciting to connect with other true believers at a deeper level and fellowship from the heart.
You may think that everyone else will be as excited as you are about what you are discovering. You may experience a lack of enthusiasm from others. You may have to learn to treasure the relationships you have with other Christians within their limits. A homeschooler knows that there are some (even family members) with whom conversation is limited in that area because of differing opinions.
Whenever you do something different, you are making a statement that what you do now you think is better. We wouldn't do it if we thought it was worse. Most of us try to be sensitive to the feelings of others and not be "in your face" with these differences. However, others can react in varying ways to our implicit statement of value. Most people prefer not to experience the discomfort of examining themselves or their life. They may excuse your choices as "right for you". However, some will get angry because they see in your choice a condemnation of theirs.
House church should be more than the location or method of gathering. It has to be about really living a Christian life in and through our relationships with other Christians. This is where organizational church systems fail and the key to House churches that work.
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