Is house church the answer?
Well, Keith at “subversive1” has answered this question (the title of the post) in his post “House Church is Not the Answer.” So, I guess that makes for a short blog post here.
But, of course, I can’t leave it like that, can I? That would be too easy.
Obviously, in the New Testament, we read about believers meeting in houses in several cities, both in the book of Acts and in some of Paul’s letters. I’ve read several books (and I’ve written several blog posts) that discuss some of the benefits of gathering in homes. I’ve often gathered in homes with various brothers and sisters in Christ, and I’ve found it to be extremely helpful.
But, like Keith said, gathering in homes is not the answer. Here is part of his post:
But gathering in a home won’t cut it. Meeting in a circle and singing songs won’t accomplish anything. Having a great meeting about Jesus is not the same thing as having an actual meeting with Jesus.
House church is not the answer. Jesus is. And learning to gather beneath the shadow of His wings, and learning to hear His voice together, and actually encountering the Risen One in the fellowship of other submitted and surrendered believers is what every follower of Christ is made for.
Please read the rest of Keith’s post, and if you’re interested in my thoughts on this issue, you may want to read my post “Why I’m not a house church proponent.”
I have a few related questions for my readers: 1) Have you ever gathered with other believers in a home? 2) What benefits did you experience while gathering in a home? 3) What struggles / detriments / hindrances did you experience while gathering in a home?
Examples of Mutual Edification when the Church Gathers
Last week, I wrote several posts on the topic of “mutual edification.” The series (which wasn’t really planned as a series) began with a post called “A structure that emerges naturally based on the people involved” in which I commented on a passage from one of my favorite books. Then, I wrote “About edification, mutual edification, self- or solo-edification,” defining the various types of edification and examining why type Paul says should take place when we gather with other believers. In the next post, I discussed “The role of leaders and mutual edification.” Finally, I asked (and answered) the question, “What if mutual edification is not allowed?”
A Facebook friend (GeorgiaAna) shared my post on leaders and mutual edification with her Facebook friends (see the share and comments here.) In the comments that followed, GeorgiaAna made a great observation and a request:
I was also hoping you’d be inspired to give some examples. I know that examples can be turned into patterns to cut and measure by — but they’re helpful to some learners in getting the ideas cemented into a usable form. It’s all a struggle to maintain that balance that is authentic edification without manipulation, and too few speak about it.
Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about her request and the benefits and dangers of examples. I’ve decided to share some examples, but I want to start with a couple of caveats.
1) I can only share examples that I have taken part in, and I can only share them in a general way. Whenever we get together, different things happen, different things are said, different people speak, etc. I cannot tell you what will happen next Sunday when we gather together (or anytime this week we get together with brothers and sisters in Christ). So, remember, these are general examples.
2) Like GeorgiaAna stated, I am not sharing these examples to be turned into forms or methods for others to emulate step by step. Instead, I’m sharing these examples as ways that God has worked (and continues to work) through a group of believers in order for us to serve one another to build each other up and to mature as a group. God will probably work through other groups of believers in different ways because the believers are different.
So, with that stated, I’ll share a few ways that we mutually edify one another.
As a group, we have decided to study through a book of the Bible together. (However, between books we often do topical studies.) For example, we’re currently studying through Ephesians. We’ve also decided as a group that it works best for us for someone to facilitate each week’s study. That person changes from week to week, and that person is not responsible for doing all of the teaching. In fact, we know that we are all responsible for studying the passage and for teaching one another. During this time of teaching/discussion, many people will take part as we work through the passage. The “facilitator” helps us stay on track, but does not attempt to control the meetings. For example, last Sunday we had planned to work through 16 verses, but we spent half of our time on the first verse. And, we stayed there because so many people were being encouraged and challenged by what was being shared.
We also attempt to mutually edify one another in the way that we sing. Whenever we sing together, different people can request songs. Often, the person who requests that we sing a song together will explain why they want to sing that song. Also, often, after we sing, someone (or more than one person) will comment on the lyrics. In this way, singing becomes less about the music and entertainment, and much more about considering the lyrics and how they reflect our lives with Christ.
In praying, we also seek to build up each other. It’s hard to say exactly when we pray when we gather together. Sometimes we have an extended prayer time at the beginning of our gathering, sometimes at the end, and sometimes scattered through our time of being together. We always have an open time of sharing requests, praises, thanksgivings, etc., and open times of prayer, where many people can take part. I’ve noticed that people often minister to one another as a result of this prayer time after we have stopped praying.
One of the most important aspects of gathering together is eating together. We’ve decided to eat together at the end of our gathering. We don’t have a formal meal. Instead, each family brings food for their family. Others, who don’t bring food, run out to fast food restaurants to pick up some food. Then, others, share food that other families bring. Everyone who wants to stay is always welcomed (and invited) to stay and eat, even if they didn’t bring food. This time around the table is important in continuing conversations from the prayer, Bible study, etc. as well as further discussing and sharing what’s going on in each other’s lives.
Then, finally, there is so much time of just hanging out together. We’re not a stickler for starting or stopping at a certain time. And, as we start gathering together, we’ll often spend extended amounts of time just talking with one another. The same thing happens after we eat together. We’ll often continue talking with one another hours after we’ve finished eating.
These are a few of the examples of how we mutually edify one another when we gather together. (I’ve mostly described our scheduled weekly gatherings.) However, there’s another absolutely necessary element that I’ve talked about yet. What’s that? This Sunday gathering is not the only time that we see one another during the week. For most of us, we spend time together several other times during the week, and these times of gathering together are just as important in mutual edification as our Sunday gathering.
I’d love to hear other examples of how you seek to mutually edify one another when you gather with the church.
Scripture… As We Live It #233
This is the 233rd passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing: to ensure your economic and/or social well-being depending on your political slant. (Romans 13:6 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)
Replay: Moving from here to there with God
Four and a half years ago, I wrote a post called “You are here” as part of a synchroblog. The topics related to this synchroblog caused me to think about where I was in my life at that time and what God was doing in my life – as far as I could tell. Looking back, I was right about some things, and wrong about other things. Now, 4 1/2 years later, I’m not where I thought I would be, but I’m grateful to God for bringing me here. I looking forward to what he has in store for me in the next 4 1/2 years. I bet it’s not what I’m expecting.
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You are here
This post is part of a synchroblog organized by Glenn from “re-dreaming the dream” (see his post called “Your Turn: May Synchroblog“). In this synchroblog, participants are supposed to tell “a little about the latest chapter of your story”. Specifically, he suggests thinking about the following questions:
- How are you doing?
- What are you doing?
- What are you learning?
- What are you dreaming about?
When I started to think about the “latest chapter in my story”, I thought about one of those maps which have an arrow point to your current location along with the words, “You are here”. Of course, when I look at one of those maps, “Here” is rarely where I want to be. I always want to be “There”, wherever “There” may be. But, the map is still useful, especially in determining how to get from “Here” to “There”.
But, where is “Here” for me? Where is “There”? And, how do I get “There” from “Here”? These are very important questions, and I hope to answer a few of them in this post and in some future posts.
I could focus on many different aspects of my spiritual journey of understanding God, trusting God, relating to people, and understanding the world. Since I write primarily about the church, I think I will focus on one aspect of my understanding of the church that has changed and how that change has affected my life.
When I came to Southeastern to begin seminary just over five years ago, I was very happy with the institutional church system. I had grown up in that system; I had learned how to operate within that system; I had been a lay leader in the system; and I planned to be a professional leader within the institutional church system. There are many good things that happen in and through institutional churches, and this post is not meant as a rant against church systems.
However, as I made my way through seminary, and as I studied the church from the perspective of Scripture, I learned something very interesting: Scripture does not focus on church as a system, but on church as a people. Slowly, my thinking, my studies, and my actions have shifted away from support and defense of an institutional system and toward the strengthening of God’s people – the church.
This change has affected every aspect of my understanding of the church – the clergy/laity distinction, education, discipleship, meetings, discipline, teaching, fellowship, and on and on. While structures and organizations can work to help people relate to one another, they always must be checked and re-checked to make sure they are not hindering God’s people from obeying him and serving one another.
That’s where God has me now… at the moment… that is my, “You are here”. But, where is “There”? Where is God leading me? As I continue to study and as I continue to attempt to follow God in every aspect of my life, I realize that my understanding of how God loves and cares about people is very shallow… very limited. Because of that, my love and concern and service towards people is shallow and limited.
In the last several months I’ve written about social justice, caring for the least, etc. The gospel – the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and his completed work in healing the rift between us and God and other people caused by sin – calls us to both worship God and care for people. As our hearts are turned toward God, our hearts are also turned toward people.
My heart is turning, but its not there yet. I’m still very selfish and self-centered, though I see a direction in my life – a direction that I think God is moving me, because it parallels what we see about God in Scripture. Where and when I do find myself caring about other people, the scope of my concern is still limited primarily to those that I know personally. God cares for all people, especially those who are hurting, oppressed, needy, hungry, fatherless, widowed, and living in a foreign land. My heart is not there yet. But, again, I can sense that God is moving me in that direction.
Honestly, I don’t know exactly what “There” is going to look like. I don’t know exactly what God is going to use to move me from “Here” to “There”. But… I’m willing… honestly, my willingness is shaded with hesitancy because I realize that I will have to give up many things that are special to me – much like the institutional church was special to me. I’m willing… and I trust God to do this… but again, my trust is shaded with doubt – doubt that I will be obedient. All I can do is cry out with the father of the demon-possessed boy – “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief”.
I am “Here”… God wants me “There”… Lord, you will have to help me get from “Here” to “There”.
When we pretend that everyone is normal and fine
Swanny at “Allergic to BS” has written a great post called “The ‘F’ Word.” No, he’s not talking about THAT “F” word; he’s talking about the word “farce.”
What kind of “farce”? The farce of sitting together with a bunch of strangers (or relative strangers) for 1-2 hours each week and pretending that everything is fine.
In other words, he’s talking about not being real with one another… not sharing who we really are and what’s really going on in our lives.
At one point, Swanny writes:
Sometimes I would wonder, as I look down the row I was sitting in, who here has real problems. Out of the 10 people including me, we all just sit in passive brokenness. Somewhere among the 10, there is at least one person struggling with an abusive spouse, a child that has been molested, porn, schizophrenia, or having a hard time feeding their family. And of course, and including me, plenty who feel irreparably guilty either for something they have done or something done to them. You can hear the silent screams as the show goes on.
I’m so glad that God has placed people around me who share what’s going on in their lives. And I’m so grateful to be in a group of people who have allowed one another to share those struggles when we gather together.
(Make sure you read the rest of Swanny’s post… it’s very good.)
What if mutual edification is not allowed?
For the last few days, I’ve published several posts about the important of mutual edification when the church gathers together. I think this (i.e., mutual edification) had in mind when Paul wrote, “When you come together… let all things be done for edification.” (1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV)
This type of edification is not the work of one person or even a small group of people among the church. Instead, mutually edification is a work of the whole church helping one another grow in maturity in Jesus Christ. Neither solo-edification (one person building up others) nor self-edification (one person building up him or herself) is the same as mutual edification.
However – and let’s be honest – usually when believers gather together, they are not allowed to take part in the work of building up one another. Instead, a person (or group of people) in an official capacity decide who can or who cannot take part in the gathering of the church. In other words, in many (perhaps most) cases, most followers of Jesus Christ are not allowed to take part in mutual edification in most church gatherings, even if they wanted to.
So, what should these people do, assuming that they want to take part in mutual edification? Is it best to ignore the leaders’ plans and interrupt the service in order to take part? No, probably not. Is it best to remain passive and not work to build up the church? No, that’s not best either.
My suggestion is to begin with prayer, study, and examination of your own motives. Then, speak carefully and humbly with the positional officials, explaining your concerns.
But, remember this: mutual edification can and should take place any time we gather with other believers. If it cannot take place in one gather, then gather in another location or on another occasion. What do I mean? I mean invite a few close friends to your house or to a restaurant or to a coffee shop or to a park. Explain that you need to hear from them – you want to know what God is doing in their lives – you want to learn from what they’re going through. And, of course, you should seek to help them grow as well.
It is not your responsibility to convince everyone that you are correct. So, explain your position / concerns, but then live in the way that God is calling you to live. Begin to both teach and learn from your brothers and sisters in Christ whenever you are with them. Speak to them and listen to them. Sacrifice your own plans in order to join others in their life.
Are you getting together with one other brother or sister in Christ? Then build each other up. Are you gathering with just a few? Then edify one another. Are you having lunch with some other believers? Encourage each other.
Like Paul said, “Whenever you come together… let everything be done for edification.” If you can’t build up each other in one meeting, then get together at other times.
Pulling up a chair at the table of the Lord
There have been some really good blog posts lately about “the table of the Lord.” I want to highlight a few of them.
Kathleen at “Church in a Circle” writes about the table in her post “Tomorrow’s church – Part 5: Food and fellowship.” At one point, she writes, “The act of sharing food draws us together. It relaxes us, and creates an intimate space to talk and interact. It ‘greases the wheels’ of conversation and fellowship.” Then she connects this conversation and fellowship to the meal that we call “the Lord’s Supper.”
Jamie at “The Cost of Community” also writes about the table in his post “At The Table of Belonging.” He says, “The start of our time together is our shared meal- a potluck dinner where everyone (who is able) brings something to add to the table where we all partake. For me, this shared table is the center piece of our worship together.” I think he describes a great way of meeting together around the table.
Finally, David at “Reclaiming the Mission” writes about extending the table in his post “The Table in the Neighborhood.” He begins with this thought-provoking statement: “One important pathway to mission in the neighborhood is ‘the meal.’ This is what I have been learning these past many years.” The remainder of this post is how meals have allowed him to connect with his neighbors.
I’d encourage you to read each of these posts, and join in the discussion at each site.
Then, I wonder, how have you seen God use meals (and especially meals among believers – i.e., the table of the Lord)?
The role of leaders and mutual edification
When the church gathers together, Paul says that everything should be done for edification. And, previously, I’ve argued that the kind of edification that he’s talking about is “mutual edification.” I defined mutual edification as all (or many) working together to help all grow together in maturity in Jesus Christ.
Now, when we study most church gatherings today, we find something different. Instead of all (or many) working together to edify everyone, we typically find one, two, or at most a few leaders working to edify everyone. As I’ve mentioned before, this is a form of “solo-edification,” not mutual edification.
But, we know from Scripture that there were leaders among the earliest churches. So, what would be the role of these leaders when the church gathers if it was not to do the edifying?
In the New Testament, leaders were not chosen based on their spiritual gifts, and they were not place in positions of authority. Instead, leaders were recognized because they were exercising whatever gift God had given them, and because they were more mature (while still maturing) followers of Jesus Christ, and because they were good (living) examples for others to observe and imitated in life, faith, service, etc.
Thus, these leaders would certainly be edifying others when the church gathers together, using whatever gifts that God gives them as well as working through other opportunities that God provides (i.e., gifted teachers are not the only Christians responsible for teaching). However, this is not the extent of their leading. Why? Because while it is important for leaders to edify others, if all they do is edify other then they are several things missing from their role as leaders during the gathering of the church: 1) they are not allowing others to edify them (part of the “mutual” aspect of mutual edification), 2) they are only teaching others to be edified and not teaching them to edify, and 3) they are not providing examples of what it means to be edified by others.
So, while leaders should certain edify others, they should also allow themselves to be edified by others. This is important both for the continued growth and maturity of the leader(s) as children of God and followers of Jesus Christ. But, it’s also important for the continued growth and maturity of the whole church. Unidirectional edification (i.e., edification that is only done BY the leaders) is not as healthy for the church as mutual edification (i.e., edification that is done by the whole church).
There’s another way to think about this. Someone who feels he/she must be in control of a church gathering or who must be the one speaking, teaching, preaching, whatever, then that person is not actually leading in the way that leading in described in Scripture. This is true even if that person has be placed in some type of leadership position.
A leader among the church will both edify the church and will give plenty of opportunities for others to edify the church as well.
Happy Reformation Day?
So, while alot of my friends are enjoying Halloween today, others are celebrating “Reformation Day.” Two bloggers in particular have written about the historical and present significance of “Reformation Day.”
Arthur at “The Voice of One Crying Out in Suburbia” wrote a post called “Happy ‘What Could Have Been’ Day.” While he recognizes some of the positive changes that happened among believers during the “Reformation,” he also recognizes that the changes stopped short of what it could have been.
He writes:
Now I look back with regret at this time, regret over what might have been. In those days when the shackles of Rome were first cast off there was a very real chance to reform the church in practice as well as in doctrine. Instead institutional inertia won the day. The doctrine got better (at least some of it) but the practice stayed the same.
I think that’s a great way to look at any period of history, including church history. We can learn from both their victories and their failures. (Of course, during that same time period, some believers did “reform the church in practice as well as in doctrine”…)
Meanwhile, Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” writes about the historical Reformation Day and how it corresponds to a personal “Reformation Day” of his own in a post called “Keep Reforming.” After explaining his own personal reformation, Eric ends his post with this:
The Christian life should be one of consistent reformation. As we walk daily with Christ, we have the privileges of getting to know Him better, becoming more like Him, and helping others do the same. This was Paul’s goal. In this sense, reformation never ends.
Again, I think this is a great way to think about this day. Let’s keep reforming – personally and corporately – as we walk daily in Christ together.
About edification, mutual edification, and self- or solo-edification
“Edification” (or “building up”) is an English gloss of the Greek term οἰκοδομή (oikodome). This term can refer literally to the act of building or construction, but it can also be used in a figurative sense. Figuratively, “edification” refers to a process of growth from a less mature state to a more mature state. For the person who is “in Christ,” this figurative edification refers to spiritual growth, with the ultimate goal being a likeness to Jesus Christ. Other terms such as the παρακαλέω (parakaleo – “encourage”) word group can also be used to indicate this same type of growth toward maturity.
“Mutual edification” indicates that the work of building up is a mutual or corporate responsibility. This is the type of upbuilding that Paul refers to when he says (concerning gathering with other believers), “Let all things be done for edification.” (1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV) Solo edification (that is, edifying oneself or one person edifying others) is not the purpose of the church assembling. Instead, the purpose of the assembled church is that the entire congregation (or at least multiple people within the congregation) be involved in helping one another mature. The mutuality of this kind of edification is as important in the New Testament texts as the process of edification itself.
This conclusion does not negate the fact that self-edification or solo-edification is possible and even beneficial to the individual. Self-edification refers to the person building up him/herself. There are many activities that God uses to build up an individual, sometimes even working through the actions of that individual. For example, Paul says that speaking in tongues can be edifying to the one speaking in tongues, even if that person does not understand what she/he is saying. (1 Corinthians 14:4; 1 Corinthians 14:28)
Solo-edification refers to one person building up many others. This unidirectional type of service may seem like a form of mutual edification, but it is not. Mutual edification is multidirectional, recognizing that God communicates through all of his children, not just one or a few.
The authors of Scripture conclude that neither self-edification nor solo-edification is the purpose of the church gathering together. Thus, a distinction should be made between some act performed by one person that edifies himself or herself or others, and acts performed by many people that edify many people. Only acts performed by many people that edify many people are considered mutually edifying. And, these are the only acts that should be performed when gathered with other believers.
Thus, the “one another” aspect of edification should be considered carefully when the church gathers together. While we often consider the truthfulness of what is said, or the love with which something is done, we often do not consider the mutuality aspect of our gathering together. But, for the church – and especially for our growth and maturity – mutuality is an extremely important part of edification.