Month: March 2004
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We’re Just Learning!
(If you are looking for House Church Basics, scroll down a couple of posts). I thought this put things into perspective. Andrew Jones suggests that we might be at least 5 years away from seeing a structure emerge that will really support a “movement” of house churches. In other words, we don’t really know what…
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What Is a Home Church?
This is the vision statement for Robert Fitts and Outreach Fellowship International. I thought it helped to more clearly define what “what is a home church.” What Is a Home Church? What We Affirm We affirm the church in all of its historical expressions, but we believe that a redefinition of church is necessary for…
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House Church Basics– Pt. 5: What About Leadership?
If we are going to transition from church-as-we-know-it (a box) to a dynamic Spirit-filled movement, we will also have to transition from leadership-as-we-know-it to something else. Alan Creech says the WHOLE thing has to be reinvented: I mean full-time, paid staff pastors who preach every Sunday and do pretty much all the ministry and stress…
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Meetingless Christianity
(If you are looking for the “House Church Basics” series, please scroll down to the next post.) George, at WaterCarriers, is questioning whether even meetings themselves are necessary to the Christian life. He asks, “Is it possible to be a believer following Christ daily and not have a regularly scheduled gathering time?” Before you shower…
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House Church Basics– Pt. 4: Community Life
The house church is a wonderful expression of family, friendship, and community life. In my humble opinion, true community life, vulnerable relationships, and family-type support is not just a good thing but, rather, an essential for the Christian life. There are over 50 “one another” verses in the New Testament because we live, grow, minister,…
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House Church Basics — Pt. 3: Missional Church
Keys to missional community: 1. Go get’em. 2. People of Peace. 3. Living Kingdom lives. One of the hallmarks of the house church movement is that it seeks to be what the church, in fact, is: missional. Jesus went everywhere proclaiming and demonstrating the reality, love, and power of the Kingdom (healing the brokenhearted, setting…
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Kingdom Living– Right Here
(If you are looking for House Church Basics Pt. 2: Participatory Church, scroll down to the next post). Good discussions over the weekend at both churches. We ended up talking quite a bit about what “Kingdom Living” means. Jesus lived for the Kingdom: healing, caring, giving, teaching, washing feet, living with upside-down values, and telling…
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House Church Basics — Part 2: Participatory Church
Participatory gatherings: wonderful, biblical, necessary. Do we really know how to do them? One of my greatest joys in house church is the participatory nature of the gatherings. For historical and biblical background on participatory gatherings I refer you to an excellent article by Brian Anderson. My own transition to participatory church came after many…