Seeing the church for whom Jesus laid down His life Exhortations to Those Who "Home Church" (Part One)
by Matthew Chapman
In the past
five or six years there has been a noticeable increase of Christians who
have chosen to "home church" rather than continue along with the traditional
religious system. Many have opted for "home church" because they were
deeply disappointed or hurt by the institutional authorities in relation
to a particular emphasis that was being made, abuses or moral failures
by the leadership, or perhaps a matter of doctrinal truth. Some have pursued
"home church" because they seek more meaningful relationships with other
believers and have grown weary of the standard shallow conversations that
take place before and after "services" as well as "fellowshipping with
the back of someone's head" while sitting passively in a pew. Some do
it because they enjoy the informality of meeting in a home, and the spontaneity
of focus and activity it allows for. While others now find themselves
"home churching" because they are seeking to more closely follow the "biblical
pattern" with "like-minded brethren."
Quite a number of others have stepped out of the traditional institutional
setting because they recognized the fallacy of dividing and segregating
the family based upon age and marital status for religious purposes. Many
within this particular group of people came to this realization when they
saw how their children were being negatively influenced in the peer-dominated
contexts of Sunday School, youth groups, Vacation Bible School,
and the like. Even though these programs are sanctioned as normal aspects
of "going to church," they woke up to the fact that they foster the very
same types of compromising situations with the very same types of pressures
and influences (though perhaps not quite as bad) that they had
sought to shelter their children from in the first place by taking them
out of government or private schools and home schooling them instead.
This is a very general sampling or reasons why many Christians have begun
to "home church." I suppose the specific reasons are as many and as varied
as those who have chosen to go this direction are.
My decision to opt out of the traditional religious system came as the
result of a "crisis of conscience" I had while still a single young man.
Shortly after coming to the Lord in 1979 when I was 19 years old, a dear
Southern Baptist pastor rightly instilled in me the absolute Lordship
of Jesus and the authority of the scriptures. But perhaps he taught me
these things too well. I embraced them at face value, and yet at the same
time I had very few religious presuppositions about why traditional church
practices were the way they are. So before too long, I began to innocently
question a few of the standard practices and traditions that I couldn't
find anywhere in the Bible. Needless to say, I soon learned what the term
"sacred cows" meant. I was told, "Don't rock the boat, brother. This is
just the way it is. Stay focused on Jesus." Since I respected the people
who were admonishing me like this, and they had been in the Lord much
longer than me, I took their advice, let my questions go (for the time
being), and dropped my pursuit to reconcile these inconsistencies. I very
much wanted to "stay focused on Jesus" even though it felt a little funny
to attempt to do so while doing things in His Name that were not only
nowhere to be found in the scriptures but were to be upheld nonetheless,
and without question or challenge at that. But being a young believer,
other things soon captured my attention and I didn't think much about
these matters anymore.
I soon moved to Waco, Texas in order to attend Baylor University and complete
my undergraduate studies. During those years and for several years after
I graduated, I was involved in itinerant preaching, evangelism, street
witnessing, and was a staff intern at a local denominational expression
("church"). It was in this context of seeking the Lord that
He began speaking to my heart, and by His orchestration I finally reached
my "crisis of conscience." At the Lord's initiation,
I had begin to honestly face the differences between what the church looked
like in the New Testament and what the church looks like today. In time,
I had to acknowledge and confess before Him that there is no scriptural
basis whatsoever for relating to a government-approved
tax-exempt non-profit religious organization with a name, bank account,
property, facilities, exclusive membership, and scheduled "services,"
as being "a church." In addition, I had to squarely face and embrace that
there is just as much scriptural authority for the Easter Bunny, the Tooth
Fairy, and Santa Claus-none-as there is for
denominations, Sunday School, youth groups, pews, stained-glass windows,
the modern-day role of the pastor, and so many other trappings men have
come up with and added to life in the Lord. And yet over time these things
have tragically become the traditionally accepted norms of church life,
and most people are comfortable continuing within their confines. More
importantly, I had to fully face that this system, made up of countless
institutions and organizations, both denominational and "non-denominational,"
and this basic way of "doing church," though expressed in a
variety of ways, could never lead to the corporate and individual maturity
described in Ephesians 4:1-16.
In
the months prior to this event, a handful of folks, myself included, had
been seeking the Lord about what the church really is, and He began showing
us His ways for building what truly is His church, as confirmed in the
scriptures. I knew He was calling me (and these other saints and more
besides) to begin walking in and cooperating with His way, but it was
a way I/we had never walked in before. I had genuinely been born of the
Spirit of God, and I loved Him and wanted to serve Him in every way possible,
yet in ignorance I had immediately stepped into continuing along with
an overall religious legacy and system that was now making its way through
my generation, and now the Lord was calling me out and on.
I saw the truth, but then the real test came-the divine "fork in the road":
was I going to be faithful to the Lord to act
upon what He was showing me? By His grace, I was. In 1985, I quietly walked
out of the religious organization I had been attending with a resolve
to never "go to church" again but rather to
discover the reality in Christ of daily living AS the
church with His people in whatever locale I lived in. Just to
make it clear, I walked away from participating in the institutional religious
system but I was not rejecting my brethren who were choosing to continue
on along with it. For some 16 years now (as the time of this writing in
2001), I have been on this journey, and have experienced more of the Lord
and genuine church life than I ever thought possible-along with the joy,
pain, victories, mistakes, anticipations, disappointments, warm receptions,
and societal castigation, inherent in the process-and yet there is so
much more to be [re]discovered and lived out by His grace and Spirit.
As
I have the ongoing privilege of meeting many Christians around the United
States and other places who have ventured out into these waters, I have
been repeatedly asked a number of similar questions and have seen (and
lived through myself) a number of the common challenges and pitfalls.
I would like to use the opportunity of this article to share about several
matters surrounding "home church" that are relevant for saints wherever
they may be in this process, and especially for those just starting out.
I know how alone you can feel when you have stepped out in faith to pursue
this, and yet you know of few others, if any, who are doing this who can
offer some substantive advice and help. So may I offer you some exhortations
as "food for thought" for you to consider? I think those of you reading
this who do not "home church" will find looking into these matters to
be beneficial and though provoking too.
There
are about fifty things I would like to say first, but I can only begin
with one of them, so I will pick one of the matters that is most crucial
when beginning because if you lack it, you
will be building "upon the sand" from the very
outset. At first you may not see how it relates to "home church," but
by the end you will hopefully see that it has everything to do with the
life of the church in your locality.
Seeing
the church whom Jesus laid down His life for
If
you are venturing out into the waters of opening your home for other believers
in your area to gather together around the Lord Jesus and thus "establish
a home church," it is important that you see
what you are doing in light of reality in the kingdom of God. Is the Lord
calling you "to establish a home church"? I
ask this because we sheep so many times lose perspective, go stray, get
lost, fall into a pit, and find ourselves stuck with no idea how to get
out of the predicament we have created. Then, as the Great Shepherd somehow
begins leading us out of our mess, we immediately think
we understand why He has led us to take certain
steps and thus we then assume to know more
than we really do (this is a very dangerous thing for people who have
been asleep to the kingdom of God to do!). Before long, we run on ahead
of the Lord and shortly thereafter find ourselves in another pit again,
wondering how we got there.
I state this general truth to now specifically apply it to those of you
who are assuming the Lord wants you "to establish a
home church." You are probably rightly hearing
the Lord leading for you to open up your home and invite other saints
in your locale to get together and share your meals and fellowship around
the Lord, and do so on a more ongoing daily basis. But have you assumed
beyond His leading that this must therefore mean that He wants you "to
establish a home church"? Let's look at some
matters regarding the church, and we will come back to this question.
First
of all, what is the church? I know this may seem to be an awfully basic
question, but it needs to be asked because we have awfully strayed away
from the truth of its answer, as evidenced by how our present evangelical/religious
landscape bears little, if any, resemblance to the testimony of the church
in the New Testament scriptures. Simply put, the church is the
people of God in a given locality who have been genuinely
born of the Spirit of God. The church is not a building or a meeting,
but the people.
Now
for most Christians it is not too much of stretch to believe this. "Amen.
That's right, brother! The church is the people, not a building or a meeting."
And yet what is the practice of most of the very same people who claim
to agree with this? What do they live out before the Lord and the world
as a testimony of what is in their heart? If you were to drive them by
a building with a steeple on it and ask them what it is, they would say,
"A church." If you saw them dressed up in their nice clothes and driving
somewhere on a Sunday morning and you asked them what they were doing,
they would say, "Going to church." If Sunday School were over and you
caught them walking down one of the hallways of their "church" [religious
facility] toward the "sanctuary" [auditorium] and asked them what it is
now time for, they would say, "Church."
If
I were to then state that, scripturally, there is only one church in a
city and the Lord is calling us to live in this reality, most people's
first response would be to begin wondering if there is a convention center
or meeting hall big enough to hold all the Christians in town. They might
then consider how impossible it would be to get all these folks to come
be at the same "service" at the same time. If indeed "a tree is known
by its fruit," and "from the abundance of the heart a man speaks"
(Matt. 12:33-37, 15:18; Rom. 10:10), then all of these types of
everyday occurrences that are carried out by countless Christians throughout
much of the world betray this pervasive deep-seated deception that the
church is a building and/or a "service" to be passively attended-a notion
that is contrary to the truth in God. We all have the most amazing ability
to live in a way that completely contradicts what we purport to believe.
The
scriptures clearly teach that there is only one church
in any given city/town and it is composed of the people
who have been genuinely born of the Spirit of God who live there. Except
for the references where all the people of
God, generally speaking, regardless of location and time, are cumulatively
and universally referred to as "the church"
(Heb. 12:22-23, Col. 1:18, Eph. 1:22-23, 5:22-32, et al.), the only other
way the term "the church" is used is in references
like this that refer to the saints in a specific locality. There was the
church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the
church in Antioch (Acts 13:1, 14:26-27), the
church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 1:1), the
church in Thessalonica (1 Thes. 1:1, 2 Thes. 1:1), the
church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the
church in Pergamum, the church
in Thyatira, the church in Sardis, the
church in Philadelphia, and the
church in Laodicea (Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). In all of these
and the many other examples in the scriptures, the people
of God in a specific given locale, some of which were very
large cities, were together referred to as
the (definite article) church
(singular-only one) in that place.
The
references in the scriptures where the term "the churches" (plural)
is used-the Bible being consistent with its own definition and examples-is
when the people of God in a number of localities are being referred to
at the same time. Paul wrote to "the churches of Galatia" (Gal.
1:2), referring to the church in Derbe,
the church in Lystra, and the
church in Iconium, and perhaps the church
in a few other cities or towns which were all located in the common region
of Galatia. Paul and Silas traveled through the
regions of Syria and Cilicia "strengthening the
churches" (Acts 15:41). Paul exhorted the
church in Corinth regarding a number of matters, emphasizing that this
was how he also directed "all the churches of God"
in all the cities where he labored (1 Cor. 7:17, 11:16). The Lord
Jesus used the term "the churches" when referring to His people
in each and every particular locale at any given time in history (Rev.
2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). There are many more examples that could
be cited, but you get the picture. However, there is not one single reference
in the scriptures to there being churches within
a given city or town.
Interestingly,
even though in God's eyes there is only one church ("the
church") in any particular locality and thus, geographically
speaking, there are many in any given region and throughout the
world ("the churches"), the scriptures also make it unmistakably
clear that there is only one body of Christ.
When Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was giving the components
that make up "the unity of the Spirit" which we are to be "diligent
to preserve in the bond of peace," what was the very first
thing he listed? The spiritual reality that "there IS
one body" of Christ (Eph. 4:1-6).
Amazingly, as far as "the unity of the Spirit" is concerned,
there being "one body" is placed on equal footing with there
being "one Spirit. one Lord. and one God and Father of all,"
etc.
There
is only one body of Christ-not several, not
many, but just one. Geographically, there are
many churches-one in each locality-but there is only one body of Christ.
And the term "the body of Christ" is never used
to refer to merely "the church" in one particular
locale. The only places in the scriptures where "the body" is
equated to "the church" are in the type of contexts like the
ones I mentioned earlier where it is referring cumulatively/universally
to all the people of God, regardless of location
and time period (Col. 1:18, Eph. 1:22-23, 5:22-32, et al.). Thus it is
a fallacy to say, as I have heard many Christians communicate to one another,
things like, "Well our body does this, but
I've noticed that your body does that." Tragically,
they were usually referring to separate and different religious organizations
or groups within the same city! Is the Lord Jesus some cell that has divided
Himself into numerous autonomous bodies? No way!
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
So,
to sum all of this up, there is just one body
of Christ-period-while, geographically, there are many churches throughout
the world, and yet in any given city/town there is only one
church. And please take note that the scriptures never
ever refer to a church as if there
is such a thing as a self-contained entity
that is autonomous and separate from the rest of the body of Christ. The
references are always to "the" church. First Corinthians 12:13
says, "For by ONE SPIRIT we were ALL
baptized into ONE BODY, whether Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free, and we were ALL made to drink of ONE
SPIRIT." This lets us know that all
who are in Christ in a locality have a genuine interconnected oneness
with one another in the Spirit of God, as well as with all of the saints
everywhere and throughout all time (John 10:16, 17:20-23; 1 Cor. 3:21-23,
6:17; Heb. 12:1, 22-24)! The notion that it is somehow normal for Christians
within the same city or town to maintain deliberate separation and autonomy
from one another has no validity according to the scriptures and reality
in the kingdom of God.
So how does this all fit together? The best analogy I can come up with
that captures an unseen reality that has real, practical on-earth application
is the air. Ultimately, there is only "one body of air" (atmosphere) in
this world. And yet there is "the air" (definite
article, singular noun) in each locality. We could talk about "the
air" in Houston, Texas -and all of those who are breathing
in Houston are partakers of and participants in "the
air" there. The same is true of "the air" in
Dallas, and "the air" in Austin, and "the
air" in San Antonio, and "the
air" in Amarillo. Since all of these cities/towns are located in the same
state, I could refer to them as "the airs"
of Texas. But then there is also "the air"
in Deer Lodge, Montana, and all of those who are breathing in Deer Lodge
are partakers of and participants in "the air"
there. There is "the air" in Guangzhou, China,
and "the air" in Kiryat Arba, Israel, "the
air" in Kathmandu, Nepal, and "the
air" in Bromley, Kent, England. Even though "the
air" in each of the places I have mentioned may have different characteristics
(clear, hazy, fresh, stale, smoggy, dusty, dry, humid, "thin" due to altitude
and elevation, etc.), it is nevertheless "the
air" the people in each of these cities have to live in, breathe, and
deal with. And yet again, ultimately, all "the
airs" are related and connected to one another as one body of air (atmosphere)
in this world.
In the very same way, as we have seen, the scriptures make clear that
"there is one body" of Christ. Yet in practical terms of time
and space for those of us who are still running our race on the earth
and preparing ourselves for the Bridegroom, there is only
one church in any given city/town. Because the church is
the people of God in that locality, factors
like who they are and the time and circumstances in which they live give
uniqueness to their expression of sharing the Lord's life together. For
example, the church in Corinth and what they
were dealing with was quite different from the
church in Thessalonica and how they were walking, and both of these were
different from the church in Smyrna and what
they were going through. Yet these churches in their respective localities
were all part of the one body of Christ and partakers of the same Holy
Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), and they were all growing in sanctification and
expressing the fragrance of Christ.
But going back to our "air" analogy, let me bring in one more facet of
this truth about the church. Even though there is "one air" in each city
or town, it would nevertheless still be appropriate to refer to, for example,
"the air" at Matthew's house or "the
air" in Samuel Lamb's house in Guangzhou, China. It is
not that Samuel or I have all of the air in our localities compressed
into our respective homes, but rather that some of "the
air" is gathered there. You would never say "a
air" is gathered there, or that we had "established a
home air"! It is simply "the air" at Matthew's
house or "the air" in Samuel's house, but "the
air" in our respective homes is in no way viewed as being
divorced or autonomous from all "the air" in
the place where we live.
In like manner, just as there was the church
in Colosse, a good-sized city in the first century, it was nevertheless
appropriate for Paul, when writing to Philemon, who lived in Colosse,
to also greet "the church [the people of God
who gathered] in your house" (Philem. 1-3). In the same way,
when Paul wrote to the church in Rome, a huge
city, he also greeted Aquila and Prisca and "the
church that is in their house" (Rom. 16:5). Paul asked the Colossians
to greet the church in Laodicea for him, and
particularly a woman named Nympha who lived there as well as "the
church that is in her house" (Col. 4:15, Rev. 3:14). All
of these scriptural references concerning the nature of the church are
as clear and consistent as the analogy of the air. There is respect for
the oneness of the church-locally, regionally,
and universally-and yet, even in big cities, an acknowledgment of the
homes where some of the church in that locality
happened to gather together.
Someone might say, "Well isn't that basically how it is today with all
the different churches is a city?" No, not even close. Please note that
these distinctions, like "the church in Philemon's house," implied
no division based upon doctrinal differences or loyalty to a certain leader
or group. It was simply a geographical reference to the home where some
of the church in Colosse happened to [regularly]
gather together around the Lord Jesus. But judging by the religious practices
of today, you would think that if you came upon Philemon's house back
then, you would see a pointed object attached to his roof and a sign out
with a front that said something like: "The Church of the Slave Owners.
Philemon, Pastor. Services: Sunday, 10:45am and 7pm; Wednesday, 7:30pm.
Come hear our special guest preacher this Sunday, Onesimus, giving a sermon
entitled, 'Finding Jesus-A runaway slave's perspective.' Everyone welcome!"
And then if you went to the other side of Colosse, you would see a sign
in front of a house over there signifying another
church that said, "First Prayer Church of Colosse-A member of the Southern
TAPCAM Convention (The Apostle Paul's
Churches of Asia Minor).
'We labor earnestly for you in our prayers' Epaphras, Pastor
on sabbatical" (re: Col. 1:7-8, 4:12-13).
Can anyone even begin to twist the scriptures in order to make them say
such things that would reflect our present Christianized religious system's
ways of doing things? Of course not! Yet, tragically, these very types
of willful ongoing practices by so many Christians today bear witness
against them that they are not living in and cooperating with the will
of God where church life is concerned. Paul said all of these kinds of
things are "fleshly" and are a disgraceful testimony [supposedly
of the Lord!] to the world (1 Cor. 1:10-13, 3:1-9, 11:17-22; and especially
John 17:20-21). Oh saints, let's not add to this shameful legacy, but
rather let's take advantage of the opportunity before us to walk in the
Lord's way!
Okay, so the church is the people of God in
a given locality, and there is only one church
in any given city/town, and this is all in the context of there ultimately
being only one body of Christ. What does this
mean for us living in a day where we can look in the Yellow Pages of a
local phone book, and find dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands,
of so-called "churches" listed as being located in that one town/city?
What does this mean for those of you who think the Lord is wanting you
"to establish a home church"? Even if we become
fully convinced of what the scriptures clearly teach about the church,
how do we apply this to everyday life when everybody, and I mean most
everybody, views church life in the
Lord with the flawed traditional religious system perspective I described
at the beginning of this section? How can we live in the truth of there
being only one church in a city/town when there is rampant division and
Christians are generally asleep to reality in the kingdom of God?
The answer? We must walk according to the Spirit, and not according to
the flesh (Rom. 8:1-8, Gal. 5:16, 25). We must "see" and "enter"
and "seek first" the kingdom of God, and "abide"
in Him and all that is true in Him (John 3:3-5, 14:17, 15:1-8; Matt. 6:33,
2 Pet. 1:1-11). And we must do so not just in concept and doctrine, but
in the Holy Spirit and in deed and truth. We must view and walk in the
truth that is in God by faith (remember, "faith" = "substance"
and "evidence" of "things not seen," Heb. 11:1).
We must believe it, live it, and even speak according to it, regardless
of what we see with our eyes on the earth or what anyone else thinks or
says.
Even if you are the only one who sees and believes this where you live,
and everyone else thinks you're crazy or is suspicious of you, you be
faithful to humbly live in and walk according to what is true in Christ,
not what is true in the world's economies and the carnal thoughts of men.
You bear the testimony of Jesus, and "purify your souls for a sincere,
unhypocritical love for all the brethren in your locality,
fervently loving [them] from the heart" (1 Pet. 1:22). "Fervently
loving" those who do not see this doesn't mean you join with them
in anything that is of darkness and sin, it simply means that you see
and value them as the Lord Jesus, who shed His blood for them, does, and
you relate to them according to what is true in Him-that they are fellow
members of the same one body of Christ you are as well as fellow partakers
of the same Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Extend your heart and hand to
them to join with you around the Lord Jesus and yet lovingly refuse to
join with them in anything beyond this that is not of the Lord (1 John
1:5-7).
But let's get even more practical. If you are to have any hope of recovering
genuine ongoing church life in Jesus, you must
let go of your affiliations with, loyalties to, and spread of, division.
It must begin in your heart and be realized in your actions and words.
You must embrace all who are born of the Spirit of God as "the
church" in your locale and ignore all of the man-made
fences of division that many of the Lord's own people hold to and propagate.
"Well, yes, I hear what you are saying, brother, but you don't understand.
These so-called Christians over here do this and those over there do that-how
can I embrace them as part of the church in
the place where I live?" Let me answer this question with a question:
Have you ever read the New Testament? Aside from the first century believers'
overall good testimony in Christ, here is a sampling of things that the
church in various cities at that time had to deal with: fornication, adultery,
biting and devouring one another with words, tolerating "Jezebel," leaving
the first love of Jesus, lukewarmness, forms of the prosperity teaching,
legalism, drunkenness, partiality based upon social/economic class, holding
to the teaching of the Nicolaitans, etc. Yet even with such ugly baggage
in the lives of His people who were [hopefully] in the process of being
dealt with and purified by the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the apostles
still referred to them as "the church." Now
if they could do that, can't we? My point is not to make a loophole for
sin or to in any way imply that we should ever "participate in the
unfruitful deeds of darkness," but rather to say that even if brethren
in our locality are walking in ways that are not pleasing to the Lord,
we can still recognize them as part of the
church in the place where we live, even if there is unfortunately
no practical expression of this reality that can be lived out due to their
choices. And this notwithstanding the fact that the Lord would also have
them to recognize us, with all of our
weaknesses and unresolved besetting sins, in the very same
way too (2 Cor. 5:14-21).
You must also let go of all the labels and be content to simply refer
to yourself as a "Christian," a "believer," a "follower of Jesus," or
a simple "generic" term like that. If, on the other hand, you continue
to call yourself a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Mennonite,
Reformed, Evangelical Free, etc., or insist upon describing yourself in
terms of a theological distinction such as a charismatic, a reconstructionist,
a Calvinist, an Arminian, a Protestant, an evangelical, a pre- post- or
a-millennialist, etc., then you are still harboring and propagating division
in the body of Christ. Sure, various issues will arise from time to time
that need to be looked at so that we can seek the Lord together and discuss
it and become like-minded with Jesus (as in Acts 15; more on this in Part
Two of this article), but to be loyal to a named division is "fleshly,"
immature, and inconsistent with life in the Spirit (1 Cor. 1:10-13,
2:6-16, 3:1-7; Gal. 5:19-21, Rom. 16:17-18, Titus 3:10).
Earlier I mentioned how Paul, in describing "the unity of the Spirit,"
first noted that "there is one body" of Christ (Eph. 4:1-4).
Look closely at this passage again. It is "the unity of the
Spirit" we are to "preserve.in the bond of peace."
First, this tells us that we (two or more)
can only experience this with one another when we are
abiding in the Spirit, together. That is where
this unity is located-in the Spirit-because it is of Him. Consequently,
we cannot experience it when one or both of us are walking according to
the flesh, as is so clearly exemplified in the religious landscape of
today. Just as forgiveness of sin is an unseen spiritual reality that
begins in our hearts and over time affects every area of our life, so
also is the reality of there being "one body" of Christ. You
have to see it with the eyes of faith and believe it, and then begin living
according to it by the grace and Spirit of God. But then you must go the
added step of learning to walk in and abide in it ("preserve"
it) together with others.
Secondly, how can we "preserve" something that is not already
in existence? We are not trying to create a reality that doesn't already
exist, we are [hopefully] learning to let go to the Spirit of God and
walk in a present reality in Christ that exists in the kingdom of God
! If we are genuinely born of the Spirit then we are members of one another
in the same one body of Christ and can drink from the same Spirit of God
together. And if this is true, then the more
we can learn to abide in the Spirit together-not
just in meetings but in everyday life-and be "leavened" with
the kingdom of God, the more we will become like Jesus and bear "the family
resemblance" and the fragrance of Christ (Matt. 13:33, 1 Cor. 12:13).
How
many times have we been out of town or in the grocery store or somewhere
and we see or meet someone, and immediately we can tell they are a Christian
because of the life of Jesus that radiates from them. We see the glow
on their countenance or whatever, and they can tell the same thing about
us, and then one of you says "Hi," and you begin talking. After a little
bit, one of you then mentions the Lord, and the other one says "I knew
you were a Christian!" and you both begin to laugh. You then begin sharing
the Lord with one another, perhaps it is even one of those "divine appointments"
the Lord has set up where one of you shares something that significantly
impacts the other's life and walk with Him.
The fellowship is sweet and is going so well until, inevitably, you ask
them, "Hey, where do you go to church?" They answer and you think to yourself,
"Oh my, they're one of those?! Well I guess
this person is a little better off than the rest of those poor deceived
souls over there." But then they ask you where
you go to church. You answer and they politely shake their head and say,
"Oh, I see. Hmmm, well, good," as their countenance somewhat falls. In
the end, what began as a simple joining together around the Head of the
body, the Lord Jesus, and a "drinking" of the one life-giving
Spirit of God (1 Cor. 12:13), ended up going stale and dying because you
left fellowship in the Spirit and took up your religious system distinctions
and divisions with one another.
Now
many of you may be thinking, "I thought this guy was going to talk to
us about how to 'home church.'" I am! And I had to say all I have said
thus far to create a clear context in order to be able to say some very
important things. First, there is nothing inherently
holy about your house. The same lumberyard that the building materials
came from to build the religious auditorium with a steeple on top down
the street is likely the same lumber yard that provided the materials
to build your house and the local bar and movie theater as well! Then
why meet in homes? Because doing so best cooperates with what
genuine church life is, as the scriptures confirm. Remember
that the church is the people of God in a locale.
The church is who we (plural) are. And who
we are is people who live daily lives and gather together around the Lord
all the time, whether two or three or all the saints in our immediate
neighborhood or area, at various times and in various contexts, both day
and night. So home settings are quite natural and conducive to the Spirit
and the ways of the Lord in His church.
This
brings me to my second point. If you have now assumed-even if in ignorance
and in great sincerity-to "establish a home
church" and have taken up the "home church" label (which is why I keep
putting this term in quotation marks), you have made yet another
distinction about "what kind
of Christian you are" and are still continuing to harbor and propagate
division among the Lord's people. Labeling yourself as a "home church
Christian" is no different than labeling yourself a liberal Methodist,
a five-point-Calvinist Presbyterian, a premillennial fundamental Baptist,
a charismatic, a "King James only Christian," or any of the rest.
".have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?" (James 2:5)
If
we are called to "seek first THE kingdom of God,"
then this ought to clue us in to the fact that human movements,
organizations, schisms, sects, denominations, and the like, are not
part of the equation because they are not "the kingdom"-the
whole domain-of God. The wonderful opportunity here is for you to discover
and experience genuine church life together as the Lord intended and to
participate in something that is not of this world but is of the kingdom
of God, and to do so on an ongoing basis. The glorious opportunity here
is that by virtue of the new birth we can, together, eat and drink of
the Lord, the Source of Life, anytime we want! Who would want to join
up with another one of man's movements (and, yes, tragically there are
a number of "home church movements" out there) when you can freely have
this in Him?
Thirdly, unless you have a revelation of the truth I am speaking of and
the resulting change of heart that accompanies it, any "home church" you
establish will be little more than a re-creation of the monster in the
comfort of your own living room. The religious system is something that
dwells in the hearts of men, whether you are attending a religious facility
or meeting in your house. Any of us who would hope to rediscover church
life as the Lord intended it to be will have to be thoroughly purged and
broken of institutional schismatic religion and learn to instead find
our life in actively following the Lamb together wherever He goes, which
will cost us everything (Rev. 14:4-5). Isn't
this what we really want?
But, on the other hand, if you and some of the folks you know have established
and become "a home church," you need to understand
that "the cancer is already in the lymph nodes"-death is already at work
in your midst, and it is only a matter of time until it dies and becomes
devoid of the Lord's life and testimony. Instead of cooperating with the
truth that is in Jesus, even if you were sincere in doing so, like the
sheep mentioned earlier you have just run ahead of the Lord and assumed
to create an autonomous entity in your own image and likeness. It is little
more than a re-creation of the institutional wineskin with a homey twist.
If, however, you begin with living in the substance of what is true in
God by faith, there is potential for rediscovering true church life and
possibly, in time, even becoming a "lampstand" in the city where
you live that shines forth the testimony of Jesus (Eph. 2:19-22, Rev.
1:20-2:1). You can be spared some unnecessary "trips around the mountain"
by going ahead and joining with the truth that is in Jesus now.
Some of you who are really getting what I am saying may now be wondering,
"If this is true, then how can we ever begin gathering together around
the Lord with other believers in our homes and not be guilty of creating
another division too?" The answer is that it depends upon what is in your
hearts. Remember, the motives and intents of your heart are on open display
before the Lord, and the seed you plant together by doing whatever it
is you choose to do will only produce "after its kind" (Heb.
4:12-13, Matt. 12:33-35). The testimony of church life in Jesus has to
begin somewhere in your locality, if there is to be one, and He is glad
to use foolish and weak people like you and me if we are resolved to believe
and walk according to what is true in Him and not in the Christianized
religious system way while leaning on our own understanding. He began
with 120 disciples in hiding in Jerusalem, a Gentile Roman centurion and
his family and servants in Caesarea, and some Jewish women praying by
the river in Philippi (Acts 1:12-14, 10:1 ff., 16:1-15). Our gathering
together in His Name-even if it is just a few of you
or only two or three families, and yet your doing so is with the heart
of embracing of all the Christians in your locale-serves as an intercessory
seed that has the potential (other factors and helps are also needed)
for germinating and growing over time into a valid expression of church
life as the Lord intended.
Why does it have to be this way? Because in doing so, you are allowing
the Lord to strip you down to a place of truly beginning with the
Person of Jesus alone as your foundation and starting place
(1 Cor. 3:10-17, Eph. 2:19-22). Remember, "Unless the Lord
builds THE house" -not "a"
house, but "the house,"
and remember you are [hopefully] seeking to see "the
church" living and daily expressing the glory of the Head in a healthy
way in your locality as opposed to starting "a
home church" for yourselves-then "they labor in vain who build it"
(Ps. 127:1, see also Heb. 3:1-13). Such a life together manifests
that you all have nothing but Him as your foundation-no institutional
guarantees of continuance, no fixed structures to win man's approval,
no pre-packaged "order of service" that rejects His Headship and leading
in/among the members of His body and their active submission to and participation
in Him, no "fences" of division to distinguish and separate you from other
Christians and give you an identity apart from Him (which, in our day
and time, will cost you your reputation and be a stimulus for others to
be suspicious of you), etc. You only have Him and you
learn to walk through life together feeling this desperate need for Him
all the time.
Is He really enough? Does "the government
really rest on His shoulders" (Is. 9:6-7)? Is
the Lord Jesus really capable of functioning adequately "as Head over
all things to the church" (Eph.
1:15-23)? You get to find out! It is one thing to say a conceptual "yes"
in answer to these questions, but it is an entirely different matter to
willfully choose to live and walk together with other saints in such a
way that, unless He comes through, you are absolutely sunk. But as you
wait upon Him together in faith and see Him faithfully come through time
and time again with whatever is needed, and discover that He really can
do a fine job Himself of being the Head of His body without all of our
Babylonian additives, then you get to taste of the real goods of the kingdom
of God and be actively preparing yourselves for the eternal marriage to
the Bridegroom by real interactive betrothal-stage relating to Him now
in this life (2 Cor. 11:2-3, Eph. 1:13-14, Rev. 21:1-7).
This
brings us to a place of asking a much-needed question whose answer is
foundationally relevant to what we are talking about here: Who is the
church for? Is it for us or for the Lord Jesus?
Look deeply into your heart and see what your
answer to this question really is, because however you answer will make
a world of difference in how you relate to the church. The truthful answer
to this question will reveal who is at the center of what you are doing,
and whom you perceive as corresponding to whom.
Obviously, the church is for the Lord and we are to correspond to Him
in all things (Eph. 5:22-27, Titus 2:11-15, et al.). Sure, we are transformed,
given what we need, and very built up and blessed in the process, but
even in all these things the center of it all is Jesus. But is this the
testimony your life bears out with respect to how you relate to the church
in your locality? If the church is indeed for Him, to please Him and bless
Him and correspond to Him in all respects, they of necessity we must do
things His way and stop all of our demanding
that He fit with our predetermined man-made religious structures and systematic
ways of doing what we insist is "church life." You may be thinking, "Wait
a minute. I don't demand that of the Lord." Well, if you are continuing
to relate to, participate in, and speak of something as His church that
He does not recognize as such, then in essence you are, whether you are
doing it in a religious building or your home.
What
about "biblical elders"?
Many
Christians who are beginning their journey of trying to discover church
life in Jesus, endeavor to start "their home church" according
to "the biblical pattern." This typically translates into a focus on establishing
an authority structure and the need for elders. Now what could possibly
be wrong with something that sounds as good and honorable and biblical
as this? Clearly this exhibits a desire to be true to the Lord, do what
is right, and hold to the scriptures, doesn't it? Well, yes, perhaps so,
but the underlying assumptions of this notion are usually amiss. Aside
from matters we have already covered surrounding the fallacy of seeking
to establish "a home church," there is most
often a perverted idea of elders as well as a "pattern mentality" that
must be also overcome. We'll take these one at a time.
First, let's look at the matter of elders. My point here is not to do
an exhaustive study, but rather to give you some things to consider as
you walk forward on your journey in God. One of the most common pitfalls
I have observed folks fall into when starting out
is acting on a compulsion that they must have
some type of authority structure set up-and this is typically focused
on elders-in order to be "a" bona-fide church.
The reasons typically given for this is that they must have them in order
to "fulfill the biblical pattern," the need for authority and protection,
and, if they were completely honest, perhaps a desire for respectability
in the eyes of other Christians and the world. Having elders gives more
of an "official" look to what you have, and thus earns you a little respect,
as opposed to looking like a "po-dunk" (Southern term for something that
is backwards, "small-time," and pitiful) bunch of people who have no idea
what they are doing (which you probably are!). Well first of all, go ahead
and embrace your weakness and be of good courage! The Lord has called
and chosen the "foolish, weak, base, and despised," through
whom to demonstrate His wisdom, power, and strength. Do you qualify? Or
do you view yourself as "wise, mighty, noble, and strong," or
at least want to appear so to others (1 Cor. 1:26-31, 2 Cor. 12:9-10)?
The humble learners are the ones who qualify for the grace we so desperately
need to walk in His ways!
But let's say, for a moment, you are going to be obedient to the Lord
and follow "the biblical pattern" for elders. What is "the biblical pattern"
for elders? Aside from the qualities Paul told Timothy and Titus to look
for in the life and walk of the individual men who could be considered
(1 Tim. 3:1-13, Titus 1:1-9), how do the scriptures present elders and
how do you go about getting them? First of all, elders were always selected
at a time subsequent to the inception of the
church in a city. In other words, the elderless church in each city or
town began its life and a history together in the Lord for a good while
before elders were ever recognized. Folks need
time to gel together in the life of Jesus and to gain maturity and consistency
making a place for Him in their midst.
Secondly, the scriptures make it unmistakably clear that men who were
appointed elders were elders for "the church" in an entire
city (Titus 1:5, Phil. 1:1; Acts 14:19-23, 15:4, 20:17,
et al.). These older, qualified, and more mature brothers in the Lord
looked out for and served all the saints in
the locality where they lived. I'm not saying that these men may not have
more actively shepherded those saints who were in closer proximity to
their daily lives, but, even so, the church in the city was their God-given
scope of service and concern. There are no scriptural grounds whatsoever
for their being elders of "a" group or "a" home church or "a" institutional
religious organization.
And thirdly, elders were never ever nominated and then chosen by democratic
means or a majority vote. They were chosen or "appointed"
by one or more extra-local workers-typically an apostle and/or those who
were traveling workers with him-under the leadership of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 14:20-23, Titus 1:5).
Well, here is our "biblical pattern" for elders. So now the question needs
to be asked, is the Holy Spirit really leading for you
to elect "biblical elders" for your
home church, or are you really acting on a compulsion of
religious-system-residue that still lurks in your understanding of church
life? I state this strongly because you need to see that your quest to
elect or self-declare "biblical elders" for " your home church"
at its inception is not only completely unscriptural, but once again is
going to thwart you from learning to cooperate with what is true in Jesus
regarding His way of church life.
But what about elders? Is there a valid place for them? Of course there
is! And the church in every city desperately needs these older brothers
who have true maturity in the Lord and His ways in His church. But such
men are a rare commodity in our day and time because of all the rampant
division, religious system traditions, and Christians who are asleep to
reality in the kingdom of God. Once again, it goes back to how you see
the church, and who the church is for, and what substance of the saints'
life together in the Lord is being expressed in the place where you live.
It is my observation that we Christians in this day and time do not do
very well with labels-not just where "elders" are concerned, but also
in terms of "apostle," "prophet," "shepherd", etc.-and we would do well
to lay them down until our understanding of them has been redeemed. Most
Christians today cannot conceive of men with these labels attached to
them without thinking in terms of an authority structure that typically
goes something like this: Jesus gets the honorary position at the top,
but then come the real heavyweights, the elders and those who "occupy
an office" in the church (i.e., apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors, and teachers). All of these labeled men are arranged
into some sort of top-to-bottom flow chart of authority with the more
important guys closer to the top with Jesus and the lesser important guys
being more toward the bottom. And then lastly, always lastly, at the very
bottom, come the Lord's precious sheep. Thus the only way most
Christians can think of these men is in terms of "lording over them,"
and this is the very thing the Lord Jesus said they were not
to do (Matt. 20:25-28, Luke 22:24-27, 1 Pet. 5:1-4,
John 21:15-17, et al.)! Likewise, men, even good/godly men, who, for example,
are elected elders in "a" church, typically know of little else to do
but to come together and decide things for everybody else and "hand down"
their decisions.
The reality in the kingdom of God is that "the head of every
man is Christ," and every man
is to be actively following the leadings of the Head (1 Cor. 11:3). Now
an entire article, even a book, could be written just on how this reality
is lived out among the saints-when differing levels of maturity, unsanctified
perspectives and conduct, and truly gifted brothers are all part of the
mix-but this is not my point here. My point is that, presently, we do
not handle having labels very well and most Christians-yes, even good
"fundamental evangelicals" who think they are beyond this sort of thing-still
think in Roman Catholic terms of there being a clergy class of men (and,
God forbid, women!) between the Lord and everyone else in the church,
but instead of calling them priests, cardinals, and popes, we call them
elders, pastors, apostles, etc. We are going to have to get our understanding
of church life redeemed to a place where we can see these men and recognize
them for what they are without any element of "lording" involved,
and this is going to take some time because the religious system's clergy-laity
caste system has been so deeply ingrained in us.
I knew of a family once who took in a child who had been physically abused.
This child needed to be disciplined just like the rest of the children
in that family, but because of the anger-driven beatings this child had
previously endured, spanking, as an effective tool for discipline (Prov.
13:24, 22:15), had been ruined because in his mind it was inseparably
tied to the abuse he had known from before. So, for a season,
the parents poured out their love on this child, and whenever he disobeyed,
they corrected him verbally and disciplined him in ways other than spanking.
In the meantime, this child observed how all the other children in the
family received spankings when they disobeyed, yet it wasn't done in anger
or hostility, and his siblings were very secure in their parents and in
their love. But the time finally came when the parents could tell that
this child's understanding of spanking had been redeemed and his perspective
of parents lovingly applying "the rod of correction" was completely separate
from the abuse he had previously known. It was then, at that time, the
parents were able to pick up using spanking as he needed it and it was
all a part of normal, healthy, everyday family life.
Well, just like this child equated spanking and abuse in his mind, so
most Christians today have elders and authoritative lording as virtually
inseparable in their thinking. Some of you who are beginning
to gather together in Jesus' Name in your homes may need to lay aside
these labels for a while until your minds are redeemed and the Holy Spirit
specifically leads you to take them up again. In the meantime, are you
an older brother among your siblings in the Lord? Then serve your younger
siblings in the Lord, as the Father would have you do, and be a good example
to them. Are you a shepherd? Then tend to the lambs the Lord has laid
on your heart, and help them get what they need at any given time. We
can all do our work in the church in our locality regardless of whether
or not we are properly labeled. Serve the church where you live, with
what you have, and in love. If you are an elder brother, the younger ones
will recognize it and esteem your maturity without you ever having to
assert your label. The Lord willing, in time, perhaps you can pick up
your use of the labels in a healthy way.
Dealing
with the "pattern mentality"
Earlier,
I mentioned that there is also "a pattern mentality that must be overcome"
in the lives of many Christians today. The notion that we can delineate
a pattern from the scriptures, and then all take our places on the "stage"
of life, and then church life will automatically happen
when someone yells, "Action!" is not at all true. Such attempts are a
legal approach using the letter of the scriptures that can never produce
life (John 5:39 , 2 Cor. 3:1-8). You can go to the scriptures and extract
all sorts of things-things that are really there, as well as things you
wrongly assume are there because you are reading with the bias of religious
system tradition-and stitch them together with the thread of what you
think is obedience to God to do them, and you still end up with death.
Since we're talking about "home church" here, let's consider a typical
brother who is "laying a foundation for church life" in/among the saints
meeting in his living room.
"Okay folks, were going to have scriptural church life, so we're going
to do a Bible study in Acts and see what the scriptural pattern is and
then do it. Okay, first we see that they 'were all together in one
place' (Acts 2:1). Is everybody here? Okay, good. Next we see that
they had the Holy Spirit (2:2-4). Everyone in whom the Holy Spirit indwells,
raise your hand. Oh amen, great, we're doing well."
"Now then, we read that all those who were saved were then baptized
(2:41). Since you all raised your hand and said the Holy Spirit lives
in you, then I assume you are all saved, but have all of you been baptized?
Okay, you two haven't? Great, we'll get some brothers to go get the spare
watering trough from behind the barn and bring it over here and fill it
up with water and I'll baptize you in a little while."
"Now what's next? 'They were continually devoting themselves
to the apostles' teaching' (2:42). Hmmm. A lot of people don't believe
there are apostles anymore-I mean, I guess, uh, why should we need them
anymore since we have the Bible, right? Well anyway, if you folks will
'continually' come to these meetings in my home, I promise to continually
preach to you, okay? That's the main point: that you get lots of good
solid teaching."
"The same verse says they also continually gave themselves to 'fellowship,
the breaking of bread, and prayer.' So you people be sure to get
together as much as you can to fellowship, all right? As for 'the
breaking of bread,' I think this means we must have the Lord's supper
every time we meet, so, Brother Billy, will you keep us stocked up with
bread and wine? Thanks. But since it later says they were 'breaking
bread from house to house' and 'taking their meals together
with sincerity of heart' (2:46), I think we also need to look for
more opportunities to eat together. So from now on, you folks plan on
potluck dinners every time we get together."
"And then there was prayer. Oh how we need to be a people of prayer!
Let's make sure we begin and end every meeting with prayer-fervent prayer."
"What's next? 'Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe' (2:43).
Okay, you people, you need to feel pretty awestruck by the level of biblical
church life we are getting going here. Next, we see there were 'many
signs and wonders taking place.' Hmmm. I'm not sure why but those
sorts of things don't happen much anymore, but maybe we'll do a study
on their historical validity sometime later."
"Now, moving along because of time, we find that the saints of the
early church 'were together and had all things in common' and
sold their property and possessions in order to have money to share with
anyone who might have a need (2:45). Now I know this sounds a bit socialistic,
but the main point is that they took care of the needs of the saints,
so let's do that too. Let's be mindful of one another and help one another
out."
"Next we see they were 'continuing day by day with one mind in the
temple' (2:46). Folks, we need to be like-minded, so I've prepared
a statement of faith for everyone to sign or at least agree to so we can
all know for sure that we are all 'on the same page' theologically. If
there are any disagreements, please make a note of it on the bottom of
the page, and we will debate it later. This verse also tells us we need
to meet together every day-is here at 7:30pm okay with everyone? Good."
"Then it says they were also 'praising God' (2:47), so
we need to sing a decent number of songs to the Lord when we meet. The
Lord is worthy of praise, you know. Next we read, 'They had favor
with all the people.' Oh how we need integrity in the church today.
Make sure you are polite, hard working, and gracious all the time-we need
to have a good testimony before the world."
"Lastly, the Lord was daily adding those who were being saved. We
must have an evangelism program and train all of you to be active soul
winners. Don't you care about the lost? You should, so be sure to tell
them about the Lord."
"Okay, now that we have thoroughly established the biblical pattern for
how to have church life like they did in the Book of Acts, let's do it!"
Now how much real, genuine church life do you think our fictitious group
will have in the days and weeks (or minutes?!) following this teaching?
Tragically, this kind of thing is not as fictitious as you would think-it
happens all the time. Scriptural truth was delineated from the Bible,
told to a group of His people, and everyone expected this would do the
trick and make it happen. But little changes, and death and heaviness
sets in. Why? Because Life does not ever come
from a pattern! Life comes from a Person-the Lord Jesus! HE is
"the way, and the truth and the life" (John
14:6). Life begins with Him and emanates from Him,
and we are partakers of His life. As we gather together
in His Name around Him then, from
there, He will lead us and guide
us by the scriptures in what to do and how to establish proper order and
structures for containing and expressing His life. As we eat and drink
of Him together, we will no doubt find ourselves
doing and putting on many of these things we can observe from the testimony
of the scriptures ("the pattern"), as well as possessing the
quality and purity and fragrance of Christ so evident in the early Christians.
The Holy Spirit will no doubt quicken things to us from these very scriptures
in Acts that He would have us to begin to do, like looking for opportunities
to share our meals together in daily life or to be given more to prayer.
But these things will come into being as issues of life by
the Spirit of God as a result of being with Him and interacting with our
Head, not as a result of reconstructing a pattern, taking our places,
and acting on someone's cue. The Lord always begins with
life. "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men"
(John 1:4). It is the life of Jesus that allows us to see where
to walk.
This
brings us to what we will be looking at in Part
Two of this article, and that is how are we to live daily life. What
are we supposed to do when we're together or having a saints' meeting?
What are we to "have an eye for" when fellowshipping together? The answer
is found in the Lord's Name, Immanuel, and our learning to often make
a place for Him "among us" (Matt. 1:23, 18:20; 1 Cor. 14:24-25,
Rev. 2:1, 21:3).
Kindling Publications
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