Books for the Home Church Library

The books listed below are highly recommended for the house church library. Even though many are out of print, pre=owned copies are often available on Amazon, eBay, and other book sellers.

Please let us know of other books that you find useful.

In addition to the above books, we host The Vernard Eller Collection on this site. Dr. Ellelr wrote extensively on social and institutional church issuues from a Believeres’ Church/House Church perspective. Most of the collection can be viewed onlilne at no cost.

BOOKS ON HOME CHURCH
	The Church Comes Home by Robert & Julia Banks Robert and Julia banks first came to our attention through the rocommendation of Dr. Vernard Eller, who described Dr. Banks as “Mr. House Church.” In this compact volume, people new to the concept will find the answers to many of their questions about joining or starting a fellowship, children, multiplying, home church clusters, as well as a host of testimonies.
	The House Church Book by Del Birkey This splendid book is foundational to the house church, delving into its history and centered on the need for the/ three “R’s”–Revival, Reformation, and Revitalization . Dr. Birkey had a house church in his home for more than ten years, and travels a great deal in third-world countries where the house church tends to be the norm. Dr. Birkey had a house church in his home for more than ten years, and travels a great deal in third-world countries where the house church tends to be the norm.
	Ekklesia: To the Roots of Biblical House Church Life, Ed. by Steve Atkerson. As with any book assembled from many authors, Ekklesia is somewhat variable. It champions 1 Cor. 14 as a model for doing church, and that is where this book’s strength lies. The book makes a good attempt at reconciling equality within the HC membership while still providing for the designation of elders. This reader found the chapter titled Divine Order to be lamentable — there are more biblcal understandings of “women should be silent…” (See Berkey’s Book, above). Home Churchers will find it a practical resource, but it is unfortunate that the book lacks an index.
	The Fall of Patriarchy by Del Birkey. Why would anybody involved in house churh want a book on patriarchy? You’d have to read the subtitle to get the answer: Its Broken Legacy Judged by Jesus and the Apostolic House Church Communities. Like Del Birkey’s The House Church, this is a scholarly work that treats the subject of male dominance, and authority in general, in the context of the church. The book is thorough and biblical.
	Paul’s Idea of Community by Robert Banks, Revised ed. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994) What can be more important to a properly functioning house church than that it should have a sense of community? This careful study demonstrates that Paul’s thinking is rooted in Christ’s radical message, and shows how the apostle tried to shape the churches into the ideal that they would one day find in heaven.
	The House Church: A Missiological Model by Del Birkey. Lessons from house churches in the missionary field that can help in planting churches.
	Of Ministers and Men: A Call to Decentralize the Body of Christ by Don McIntosh Many institutional churches are organized into hierarchies, but what about the house church? We have various offices mentioned in the New Testament (e.g., elders, deacons, prophets) but their “job descriptions” are not provided. Mr. McIntosh has made a study of these roles in the context of the house church.
	House Church Meetings: A Legal Analysis by Sean J. Gallagher What protection do house churches have under the US Constitution and legal precedent. Local zoning, ordinances, and laws. What steps can be taken to minimize legal challenges. A white paper submittred by the author.
BOOKS ON BELIEVERS’ CHURCH
	The Politics ofJesus by John Howard Yoder. Of the many, brilliant books by Yoder, this is perhaps the most important and accessible. Christianity Today said that this “could be one of the most significant studies published among evangelicals in quite some time.”
	Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas A well written and challenging alternative view of the church in Western society–how to look critically at the culture and its invasion of the church. Subtitled A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture and Ministry for People Who Know that Something Is Wrong. Phil. 3:20..
	Plain and Simple by Sue Bender: A Woman’s Journey to the Amish Here is a book about the simple life, written from the perspective of an “outsider”–and that is what makes this book so delicious. We see a modern, secular artist drawn into the simple life through the beauty of Amish quilts. There are other books that deal better with the theology of the simple life, but Mrs. Bender communicates, probably better than any other modern author, its joys. You will be blessed by this book. (Of the books on this page, this one-time best seller is the one most likely to be found in an ordinary public library).
	A Believers’ Church Theology by Stanley A. Nelson Develops doctrines by studying the historical people and periods in church history from which those doctrines emerged. Edited by Herb Drake and Matthew Wysocki.