When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
In Luke 18:8b, Jesus asks the above question. The question sounds rhetorical, but there is no clear implied answer. It is sandwiched between two parables concerning prayer but does not seem to be about prayer. And to complicate the short half-verse even more, it begins with a strong adversative which is usually translated “Nevertheless.” There seems to be little agreement about what the verse is doing there, and commentaries tend to skip over it.
It seems to be asking whether the vibrant faith of First Century believers may have faded. Is it the passage of time caused Jesus to wonder? Is it the onset of science and enlightenment thinking? These surely must be candidates. But consider the remarkable contrast between the First Century house churches and that building down the street with a steeple, a stage, electronic amplification, a mortgage, and a paid staff. Is it possible that this is what Jesus had in mind? Did God sanction each of the incremental changes that created those buildings over the last two millennia?
The house church movement is an attempt to recapture the intimacy of early Christianity where the gathered people of Matthew 18:20 were assured of the living Christ attending their meetings. It is not a movement to tear down institutional Christianity, but one that seeks to rediscover the ancient paths that constituted all of the churches of the New Testament era.
About House Church
- Why the House Church?
- One Plants, Another Waters, Then…? by James Rohrer
- A House Church vs. Modern Church Parable by John Lepera
House Church vs. the Institution
- Authority in the Church
- Hijacking the Church
- Separation of Church and State
- The Living Room
- House Church and the Will of God
Practical House Church Topics
Why the House Church?
Here are just a few of the reasons:
- Size. “Church growth” expert Lyle Schaller write that the “glue” that is necessary to unite worshipers cannot be achieved as a church grows beyond a limit of about 40 people.1
- Historical. The house church is the biblical church. All of the churches in the New Testament era were small assemblies that met in homes. While setting up institutional forms of “church” may or may not provide a way to honor God, the movement toward the institution and the human authority that tends to accompany hierarchical institutional structure are not theologically neutral.
- Growth. The most explosive growth of Christianity in our own time has taken place in the likes of the People’s Republic of China where its only expression has been the illegal, underground house church (more recently the PRC has installed a government-licensed “Three Self” church in an effort to control a movement that decades of political repression has failed to contain). Historian Del Birkey’s studies have led him to conclude that the house church is our best hope for the renewal in our times.2 The underground house church thrives wherever Christianity is persecuted.
- Resisting the Culture. Our culture desperately wants to change our doctrines so that it might make over Christianity to conform to its notion of “civil religion” and “political correctness.” The house church has always been counter cultural for this reason, just as Jesus said that his disciples should be in the Sermon on the Mount. That sermon outlines how the powerless disciple can be salt and light in a dark world (Mt. 5:13-14), how to withstand evildoers (Mt. 5:39) by showing God’s love to the world through suffering at the hands of persecution from bullies (Mt. 5:39), foreclosing landlords (Mt. 5:40), and occupying Roman authorities (Mt. 5:41). It speaks of giving and lending to the most hopeless credit risks (Mt. 5:42). It speaks of a praying community (“Our Father, who art in heaven …” Mt. 6:9) that fasts (Mt. 6:16), gives of itself (Mt. 6: 21), and depends completely on God (Mt. 25ff). It speaks of the non-judgment of individuals (Mt. 7:1), just as it speaks of the need to judge those who would be authorities in spiritual matters (Mt. 7:15ff).
- Mission. There are several mission opportunities in our communities that are especially suited for the house church. An invitation offered to a work-place acquaintance to a home is much less threatening than one to a church, just as one example. Another is the unique value of the house church as a ministry to “the damaged” and the possibility of learning the joy of giving by elevating that practice to a personal level.
Of course there are objections to the independent house church that the reader will need to consider carefully:
- Authority. House church advocates reject any human authority other than the very real and present rule of Christ, who was inaugurated the king of his church at the first Pentecost (Acts 2). The house church assembles to know the will of its king through the Holy Spirit and to be obedient to that will. Many in the professional clergy, however, understand their role as a “priestly” one in which they are to be intermediaries between the Lord and His flock, being thus trusted through the ordination process with a certain degree of authority. While they seek the benefits of the vibrant Christianity that manifests itself in small groups, and work hard to make small groups a part of the ministry of their churches, many harbor a concern that the groups might become a threat to their own relevance and livelihood.
- Heresy. Others argue that house churches, due to their lack of seminary trained clergy, might follow the examples of Jonestown and Waco. In this they have a point, as the New Testament is full of epistles that attempt to correct a legion of heresies in various churches–and all of the New Testament churches were, in fact, house churches. When a member begins to assume authority over his or her Christian brothers and sisters, it is time to re-evaluate whether it might be time to find the exit door. It is hoped that these pages can help house churches avoid this pitfall, taking over the seminary’s role to the extent possible in a mere web site.
It is the hope of House Church Central that this site can help nurture the growth of the movement and also mitigate the concerns of house church naysayers.