What do you think has the highest priority in the Church? Learning and obeying the will of God? Or being entertained with music and preaching?
Let’s say that a group of Christians, whether large or small, needs to make a decision. The House Church’s gathered people have direct access to the Lord, who, we are assured, is sitting among them (Mt. 18:20). In a institutional church, decisions would be made by the lead pastor, rector, priest, bishop, or other clergy in the authority. Which decision is the one honored in heaven?
I put before you two images.
- The first one is Jesus present at a house church meeting.
- The second Is a church executive consulting reports and weighing the options.
Which of these it’s more likely to decide in a manner that would be honored in heaven?
The early Church faced exactly this problem in Acts 15. The question was whether gentiles should be admitted into the church. They couldn’t ask Jesus directly, because Jesus had already been crucifiedd, resurrectedl and ascended. They could have asked their leader, but would that be Peter? James seems to have been leading at the time. But by having representatives of the house churches come together into one asembly, they were able to make the decision that blesses all of us would-be gentiles and to say in Acts 15: 28, that It seemed OK to the Holy Spirit and to us.
Of course it’s not that easy. When the gathered people meet in this way, it’s essential that they put aside their own personal issues, agendas, in other and other distractions and focus on getting a decision from the Holy Spirit. And on the other side institutional churches that maintain a board of believers to help make decisions might be able to function within the will of God.