Why go through the trouble of doing a house church if you can get the same thing at a local church. A meaningful house church would need to be able to capitalize on some of the things a house church could do that a local church could not do.
One of the things in my mind would be some serious push back on the currents of consumption, business, shallow relationships, and injustice. There would need to be enough energy generated during the house church meetings to bolster its members in their radical pursuits.
A house church has the potential for being more nimble than an institutional church. This would allow for a high level of intensity. Engaging the current crises of our times and our souls would require some intensive research, brainstorming, planning, practicing, and contemplation. The members would have to expect and be prepared for getting down to business. No time to waste. No time to tolerate defensiveness.
I could imagine a time where the house church members come together after a week of intensive research and contemplation and engage in some serious brainstorming, problem solving, planning, and support related to some action, like freeing a slave.
Social needs would be met some other time.
2 comments:
Do you think the institutional church began this way? That is, many churches were "birthed" out of a handful of believers meeting, growing, truly serving. Then someone has the idea of "hey, if we build a building we can better support our activities and grow"? then before they knew it, they had a monster on their hands to feed which included, in part, a social club.
I'm not "dissing" your idea of a house church -- I understand where you are at. But why go through the hassle of calling it a "church" and why not just BE the Church?
Point well taken, Wayne. Just the step of calling it a church may create something that, in itself, may make it less nimble.
Why call it something? Not sure, maybe I am needing a reason to skip over the institutional church while at the same time acknowledging that there may be some value in gathering together.
Why not just do it? In many ways, we are. Why not just keep doing it and not worry about what you call it. But, to a certain degree, don't people need to know what they are getting into?
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