(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 George with scriptures and exhortations, at least hear him out.
I’m not personally wanting a “meetingless Christianity,” but I think stretching our presumptions is always a good thing. The bigger question for me is… what must I do to make this about Jesus… really about Jesus… everything I do about living for and with Jesus… rather than about the church or “going to church.” If any meeting becomes a substitute for living the Jesus life…
And let’s face it (I’m kind of warming up here) how often do Christians feel like they have somehow done the Christian life thing because they have “gone to church” or “gone to their house church.” The meeting becomes 95% of what it means to live for Christ. “I went to church, did the religious thing, now I go live my life.” Compartmentalized. “I did my church thing so now I can go do the rest-of-my-life thing.” Or how many Christians are locked into Christian lives that revolve around the vision of others, the vision of “their church,” or the subtle “understanding” of what it means to live Christian lives according to how “we do it” in “our church.” In this way we become followers of church rather than followers of Christ.
No, I’m not personally jumping into a “meetingless Christianity” mode for many reasons… but I appreciate the challenge to get un-comparmentalized in my life.. seeking what the Father has for me above my comfortable routines or the plans of others… and maybe focusing even more on the adventure of finding the Father at work in, around, and through me everywhere I go and everywhere I am.
Comments
2 responses to “Meetingless Christianity”
Roger,
Now this is what I was taking about! The main thing I wanted us to see is that NOTHING is a substitute for Jesus! I am not against meetings. But I am against meeting for the sake of meeting. Does that make sense? What I mean is I see so many people that keep meeting when the best thing to do would be to shut it down and scatter the remains to be salt and light in their respective lives. We see alot of fellowships that hold together when it would be better to let it die and let God truly resurect (sp?)the dead remains. All fellowships have a season, but in the church today we see that most think that season is forever!It is not. It is quite natural and good that things die in order that the resurrection may come.
Thanks bro for the conversation and for your willingness to ask the tough questions.
Peace
Just found your site through house2house. Good stuff. Hi George… I met George through our blog about a wekk or so ago. I personally love meeting with our group. We are more like a family gathering than a church meeting and let me tell you we have had people who cannot handle that kind of meeting. I do not think that having meetings/gatherings prevents anyone from living real life in Jesus… anymore than family gatherings (blood relatives) prevents us from living real life. So often i think we try to make enemies of two really good things… like “being or doing” “meeting or real life” “evangelism or community” I am well aware that in the institutional church this was a problem simply because it was that; institutional and segregated… plus the fact that a really holy person would “go to church”….. and church was the place you talked about Jesus. I am also well aware of the fact that home churches can becaome a substitute for “real life” in Jesus.
I guess i am learning to become patient with people. There are couples that we meet with now who just love being church together. But they said if someone would have mentioned house church two years ago … they would have thought it was a cult. It is like finding freedom in Christ. I feel i am a lot freer than some people and yet there are those who are miles ahead of me in this area…. I am learning….. growing….