Ten Years of House Church
Ten Years of House Church – Where Do We Go From Here?
After ten years of personal involvement in the house church movement, I am about to commit house church heresy. And I just thought you might like to know in advance. This way, I know that you know that I know (Confused?). That should save you the perfunctory response telling me I’m a heretic. I know. I’m a heretic. Get over it. I have.
What kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy was an e-mail letter I received in mid- September from a friend who is also an internationally known leader in the house church movement. The gist of his letter was simple. After years of writing, speaking and successful house church ministry, offering his services basically for free, he was broke, deeply in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. My heart broke as I read his letter, and I wrote him back to assure him that I would spend that week (the Ember week of September) fasting and praying for him and for God’s resolution to his dilemma. This person’s predicament kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy for a number of reasons, (not the least of which is the fact that my wife and I can relate). But what it really did was to begin resonating a question in my own heart, “Why is the house church movement as it exists so dysfunctional and incapable of doing such basic things as regularly supporting and meeting the needs of its own leadership?” This led me to more questions, more unsettling answers, and finally the plunge from orthodoxy into “house church heresy”.
O.K., by now you should be asking (if you aren’t already), “What was the orthodoxy you left? And what is the new heresy you’re embracing?”. Good question “grasshopper”. And when you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to start your own house church (Ooopps. Old “Kung Fu” rerun again. Sorry, it happens). The old orthodoxy consisted of a handful of commonly accepted (but unwritten, except on blogs) “Maxims” which I have watched play out now for ten years. Here are some of them (as interpreted by me). Maxim # 1: No Organization. We don’t believe in organization or infrastructure. We will occasionally talk about organization or “building infrastructure”, but we don’t really mean it because that’s what evil denominations and institutional churches do, so we don’t do that. Maxim # 2: No Leaders. We don’t have acknowledged leaders because we don’t want those evil Nicolaitan/Clergy types oppressing us. We believe in “flat leadership” (you know, sort of like a “flat earth”), which is to be understood as “no leaders”. Besides, the word “leadership” isn’t in the New Testament (Note: NO English words appear in the New Testament, which was written in GREEK!). Maxim # 3: No Paid Leaders. If we don’t have leaders, then we particularly don’t have any paid leaders because that would mean we have “paid clergy” and we don’t want any clergy (see previous point). Maxim # 4: No Accountability. No one has the right to tell us what to do. We’re free range chickens. Independent believers. Just us and Jesus. My involvement in the issue of Universalism (two years spent writing a house church oriented book refuting it) came about as the result of a house church that promoted and taught Universalism and which regarded itself as unaccountable to anyone else (although mature outside leadership attempted to speak into their lives). The result was a collapsed house church, a broken family, scattered believers and untold ripple effects. Maxim # 5: No doctrine (or “dogma”). Right. That always works. See previous Maxim for proof. ‘Nuff said. Maxim # 6: No Money. Because we don’t have to support a building or a staff or any programs we are free to NOT give, except “as the Spirit leads” (and He doesn’t lead very often, so we’re safe to spend as we please). Maxim # 7: Reproduction is optional. Neil Cole recently tweeted, “One of the reasons I believe our conventional churches aren’t multiplying is because God doesn’t want to multiply them.” Very true. Unfortunately, I have slowly come to the conclusion that the same must be said of many (if not most) house churches today. Why would God want to reproduce them, much less multiply them? They simply aren’t doing anything worth reproducing. And you’ll never disciple the nations by raising up mules.
So, what’s my heresy? Right now many of you are saying that my real heresy is overstating my case (“everything is bad, nothing is good”). I’m well aware of this fact. I’m overstating things to make a point. So let’s move on. We in the house church movement are fond of saying, “Church as we have known it is preventing Church as God wants it”. Here’s my heresy in a nutshell, “House Church as we have known it is preventing house church as God wants it.” Here is what my friend said in response to my note encouraging him and sharing some of my own frustrations, “From my perspective, the house church movement itself needs to be evangelized by the Gospel of The Kingdom, and be ready to come into what I used to call ‘a minimum of organization for a maximum of organism’. Must house churchers ignore the first part and become anomistic, antinomistic and anarchic; they are under the government of nobody, not even God.” I agree. The house church movement as we have known it needs to radically change . . . or die. For my part, I have chosen to abandon the “old orthodoxy” and to both embrace and promote the “new heresy”.
Let me sum up my “new heresy” with some “New Maxims” to counter the old.New Maxim # 1: It’s time to organize. It is time for a new house church movement with recognizable organization for the purpose of long-term sustainability and maximum impact. To the “You’ll become another denomination”crowd I simply reply that I choose not to live in a place of fear over what could or might happen. Such fear causes practical paralysis, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap”. (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Get over it. I have. New Maxim # 2: Acknowledged Leadership. It is time to acknowledge and recognize a new generation of “leaders by gifting”. The old paradigm which we all reject is “leadership by position”, which often meant ungifted people placed in positions of authority because an organization needed someone to “fill the position”. In organic house church there are no “positions” or “offices” to fill. Leadership is by gifting, just as we read in Ephesians 4 (plus elders and deacons). We need to be able to recognize and acknowledge this new generation of gifted individuals and to encourage them to function in the equipping roles God has given them. We need to acknowledge their ministry and their leadership. New Maxim # 3: Supported Leaders. We need an organizational structure that enables the house church movement both to recognize gifted leaders AND to provide them with the financial support they need to devote themselves to ministering to the needs of the larger body. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Pay for nothing and, eventually, that’s what you will get.New Maxim # 4: Mutual Accountability. We need a house church organization that provides a place for accountability. Most new house churches need “training wheels” to get started. They’ll quickly shed those training wheels. But what happens if and when a house church later “falls off the bike” and needs help. Who do they call for help? And where are the mature 5-fold people who can travel and meet with that house church and walk them through their crisis, or look someone in the eye and say, “Your behavior is unacceptable”? New Maxim # 5: Doctrinal Standards. I really have no interest in or appetite for doctrinal arguments (Calvinism vs Arminianism; Pre-trib vs Post-trib vs preterism, etc.). Such arguments are a great way to polarize and kill your fellowship by turning it into “the first house church of we’re right and you’re wrong”). But that doesn’t mean doctrine doesn’t matter. It does. And we need a framework for upholding historic evangelical doctrine and countering such heresies as Universalism (and others) as they arise while equipping house churches for the theological task of the Church. New Maxim # 6: Radical Sacrificial Giving. God’s call upon believers to give radically and sacrificially for the work of the Kingdom needs to be reasserted and encouraged. So far as we are concerned such giving will go to four basic priorities: First, to fund the functioning of the organization (minimal). Second, to fund the full time ministry of those 5-fold leaders whom the house churches acknowledge and need to minister among them for the equipping of the body. Third, to fund the work of planting, establishing and multiplying of house churches. Fourth, to fund the work of “good deeds” and benevolence in meeting needs both within the network of house churches and reaching out to the needs of others in the larger community. New Maxim # 7: Reproduction As A Priority.The current house church movement has raised a generation of “spiritual mules” who will never reproduce. They will eventually die a quiet death and be buried next to the pet Gerbil in the back yard. It is time for us to trade in our mules for a rabbit hutch. It is time to make multiplication a priority, in our prayers, in our planning and in our practice. If we aren’t growing, then we’re dying. New Maxim # 8: Networking. I am convinced that there are three “steps to success” as house churches. They are 1) Establishing, 2) Multiplying and 3) Networking. We must accomplish all three if house church is to prosper long term and play a significant role in discipling the nations. Networking means, well, organization. There are more New Maxims I could give you, but I hope by now you’ve gotten the point. I’m a heretic.
After ten years of personal involvement in the house church movement, I am about to commit house church heresy. And I just thought you might like to know in advance. This way, I know that you know that I know (Confused?). That should save you the perfunctory response telling me I’m a heretic. I know. I’m a heretic. Get over it. I have.
What kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy was an e-mail letter I received in mid- September from a friend who is also an internationally known leader in the house church movement. The gist of his letter was simple. After years of writing, speaking and successful house church ministry, offering his services basically for free, he was broke, deeply in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. My heart broke as I read his letter, and I wrote him back to assure him that I would spend that week (the Ember week of September) fasting and praying for him and for God’s resolution to his dilemma. This person’s predicament kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy for a number of reasons, (not the least of which is the fact that my wife and I can relate). But what it really did was to begin resonating a question in my own heart, “Why is the house church movement as it exists so dysfunctional and incapable of doing such basic things as regularly supporting and meeting the needs of its own leadership?” This led me to more questions, more unsettling answers, and finally the plunge from orthodoxy into “house church heresy”.
O.K., by now you should be asking (if you aren’t already), “What was the orthodoxy you left? And what is the new heresy you’re embracing?”. Good question “grasshopper”. And when you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to start your own house church (Ooopps. Old “Kung Fu” rerun again. Sorry, it happens). The old orthodoxy consisted of a handful of commonly accepted (but unwritten, except on blogs) “Maxims” which I have watched play out now for ten years. Here are some of them (as interpreted by me). Maxim # 1: No Organization. We don’t believe in organization or infrastructure. We will occasionally talk about organization or “building infrastructure”, but we don’t really mean it because that’s what evil denominations and institutional churches do, so we don’t do that. Maxim # 2: No Leaders. We don’t have acknowledged leaders because we don’t want those evil Nicolaitan/Clergy types oppressing us. We believe in “flat leadership” (you know, sort of like a “flat earth”), which is to be understood as “no leaders”. Besides, the word “leadership” isn’t in the New Testament (Note: NO English words appear in the New Testament, which was written in GREEK!). Maxim # 3: No Paid Leaders. If we don’t have leaders, then we particularly don’t have any paid leaders because that would mean we have “paid clergy” and we don’t want any clergy (see previous point). Maxim # 4: No Accountability. No one has the right to tell us what to do. We’re free range chickens. Independent believers. Just us and Jesus. My involvement in the issue of Universalism (two years spent writing a house church oriented book refuting it) came about as the result of a house church that promoted and taught Universalism and which regarded itself as unaccountable to anyone else (although mature outside leadership attempted to speak into their lives). The result was a collapsed house church, a broken family, scattered believers and untold ripple effects. Maxim # 5: No doctrine (or “dogma”). Right. That always works. See previous Maxim for proof. ‘Nuff said. Maxim # 6: No Money. Because we don’t have to support a building or a staff or any programs we are free to NOT give, except “as the Spirit leads” (and He doesn’t lead very often, so we’re safe to spend as we please). Maxim # 7: Reproduction is optional. Neil Cole recently tweeted, “One of the reasons I believe our conventional churches aren’t multiplying is because God doesn’t want to multiply them.” Very true. Unfortunately, I have slowly come to the conclusion that the same must be said of many (if not most) house churches today. Why would God want to reproduce them, much less multiply them? They simply aren’t doing anything worth reproducing. And you’ll never disciple the nations by raising up mules.
So, what’s my heresy? Right now many of you are saying that my real heresy is overstating my case (“everything is bad, nothing is good”). I’m well aware of this fact. I’m overstating things to make a point. So let’s move on. We in the house church movement are fond of saying, “Church as we have known it is preventing Church as God wants it”. Here’s my heresy in a nutshell, “House Church as we have known it is preventing house church as God wants it.” Here is what my friend said in response to my note encouraging him and sharing some of my own frustrations, “From my perspective, the house church movement itself needs to be evangelized by the Gospel of The Kingdom, and be ready to come into what I used to call ‘a minimum of organization for a maximum of organism’. Must house churchers ignore the first part and become anomistic, antinomistic and anarchic; they are under the government of nobody, not even God.” I agree. The house church movement as we have known it needs to radically change . . . or die. For my part, I have chosen to abandon the “old orthodoxy” and to both embrace and promote the “new heresy”.
Let me sum up my “new heresy” with some “New Maxims” to counter the old.New Maxim # 1: It’s time to organize. It is time for a new house church movement with recognizable organization for the purpose of long-term sustainability and maximum impact. To the “You’ll become another denomination”crowd I simply reply that I choose not to live in a place of fear over what could or might happen. Such fear causes practical paralysis, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap”. (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Get over it. I have. New Maxim # 2: Acknowledged Leadership. It is time to acknowledge and recognize a new generation of “leaders by gifting”. The old paradigm which we all reject is “leadership by position”, which often meant ungifted people placed in positions of authority because an organization needed someone to “fill the position”. In organic house church there are no “positions” or “offices” to fill. Leadership is by gifting, just as we read in Ephesians 4 (plus elders and deacons). We need to be able to recognize and acknowledge this new generation of gifted individuals and to encourage them to function in the equipping roles God has given them. We need to acknowledge their ministry and their leadership. New Maxim # 3: Supported Leaders. We need an organizational structure that enables the house church movement both to recognize gifted leaders AND to provide them with the financial support they need to devote themselves to ministering to the needs of the larger body. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Pay for nothing and, eventually, that’s what you will get.New Maxim # 4: Mutual Accountability. We need a house church organization that provides a place for accountability. Most new house churches need “training wheels” to get started. They’ll quickly shed those training wheels. But what happens if and when a house church later “falls off the bike” and needs help. Who do they call for help? And where are the mature 5-fold people who can travel and meet with that house church and walk them through their crisis, or look someone in the eye and say, “Your behavior is unacceptable”? New Maxim # 5: Doctrinal Standards. I really have no interest in or appetite for doctrinal arguments (Calvinism vs Arminianism; Pre-trib vs Post-trib vs preterism, etc.). Such arguments are a great way to polarize and kill your fellowship by turning it into “the first house church of we’re right and you’re wrong”). But that doesn’t mean doctrine doesn’t matter. It does. And we need a framework for upholding historic evangelical doctrine and countering such heresies as Universalism (and others) as they arise while equipping house churches for the theological task of the Church. New Maxim # 6: Radical Sacrificial Giving. God’s call upon believers to give radically and sacrificially for the work of the Kingdom needs to be reasserted and encouraged. So far as we are concerned such giving will go to four basic priorities: First, to fund the functioning of the organization (minimal). Second, to fund the full time ministry of those 5-fold leaders whom the house churches acknowledge and need to minister among them for the equipping of the body. Third, to fund the work of planting, establishing and multiplying of house churches. Fourth, to fund the work of “good deeds” and benevolence in meeting needs both within the network of house churches and reaching out to the needs of others in the larger community. New Maxim # 7: Reproduction As A Priority.The current house church movement has raised a generation of “spiritual mules” who will never reproduce. They will eventually die a quiet death and be buried next to the pet Gerbil in the back yard. It is time for us to trade in our mules for a rabbit hutch. It is time to make multiplication a priority, in our prayers, in our planning and in our practice. If we aren’t growing, then we’re dying. New Maxim # 8: Networking. I am convinced that there are three “steps to success” as house churches. They are 1) Establishing, 2) Multiplying and 3) Networking. We must accomplish all three if house church is to prosper long term and play a significant role in discipling the nations. Networking means, well, organization. There are more New Maxims I could give you, but I hope by now you’ve gotten the point. I’m a heretic.
Ten Years of House Church
Ten Years of House Church – Where Do We Go From Here?
After ten years of personal involvement in the house church movement, I am about to commit house church heresy. And I just thought you might like to know in advance. This way, I know that you know that I know (Confused?). That should save you the perfunctory response telling me I’m a heretic. I know. I’m a heretic. Get over it. I have.
What kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy was an e-mail letter I received in mid- September from a friend who is also an internationally known leader in the house church movement. The gist of his letter was simple. After years of writing, speaking and successful house church ministry, offering his services basically for free, he was broke, deeply in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. My heart broke as I read his letter, and I wrote him back to assure him that I would spend that week (the Ember week of September) fasting and praying for him and for God’s resolution to his dilemma. This person’s predicament kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy for a number of reasons, (not the least of which is the fact that my wife and I can relate). But what it really did was to begin resonating a question in my own heart, “Why is the house church movement as it exists so dysfunctional and incapable of doing such basic things as regularly supporting and meeting the needs of its own leadership?” This led me to more questions, more unsettling answers, and finally the plunge from orthodoxy into “house church heresy”.
O.K., by now you should be asking (if you aren’t already), “What was the orthodoxy you left? And what is the new heresy you’re embracing?”. Good question “grasshopper”. And when you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to start your own house church (Ooopps. Old “Kung Fu” rerun again. Sorry, it happens). The old orthodoxy consisted of a handful of commonly accepted (but unwritten, except on blogs) “Maxims” which I have watched play out now for ten years. Here are some of them (as interpreted by me). Maxim # 1: No Organization. We don’t believe in organization or infrastructure. We will occasionally talk about organization or “building infrastructure”, but we don’t really mean it because that’s what evil denominations and institutional churches do, so we don’t do that. Maxim # 2: No Leaders. We don’t have acknowledged leaders because we don’t want those evil Nicolaitan/Clergy types oppressing us. We believe in “flat leadership” (you know, sort of like a “flat earth”), which is to be understood as “no leaders”. Besides, the word “leadership” isn’t in the New Testament (Note: NO English words appear in the New Testament, which was written in GREEK!). Maxim # 3: No Paid Leaders. If we don’t have leaders, then we particularly don’t have any paid leaders because that would mean we have “paid clergy” and we don’t want any clergy (see previous point). Maxim # 4: No Accountability. No one has the right to tell us what to do. We’re free range chickens. Independent believers. Just us and Jesus. My involvement in the issue of Universalism (two years spent writing a house church oriented book refuting it) came about as the result of a house church that promoted and taught Universalism and which regarded itself as unaccountable to anyone else (although mature outside leadership attempted to speak into their lives). The result was a collapsed house church, a broken family, scattered believers and untold ripple effects. Maxim # 5: No doctrine (or “dogma”). Right. That always works. See previous Maxim for proof. ‘Nuff said. Maxim # 6: No Money. Because we don’t have to support a building or a staff or any programs we are free to NOT give, except “as the Spirit leads” (and He doesn’t lead very often, so we’re safe to spend as we please). Maxim # 7: Reproduction is optional. Neil Cole recently tweeted, “One of the reasons I believe our conventional churches aren’t multiplying is because God doesn’t want to multiply them.” Very true. Unfortunately, I have slowly come to the conclusion that the same must be said of many (if not most) house churches today. Why would God want to reproduce them, much less multiply them? They simply aren’t doing anything worth reproducing. And you’ll never disciple the nations by raising up mules.
So, what’s my heresy? Right now many of you are saying that my real heresy is overstating my case (“everything is bad, nothing is good”). I’m well aware of this fact. I’m overstating things to make a point. So let’s move on. We in the house church movement are fond of saying, “Church as we have known it is preventing Church as God wants it”. Here’s my heresy in a nutshell, “House Church as we have known it is preventing house church as God wants it.” Here is what my friend said in response to my note encouraging him and sharing some of my own frustrations, “From my perspective, the house church movement itself needs to be evangelized by the Gospel of The Kingdom, and be ready to come into what I used to call ‘a minimum of organization for a maximum of organism’. Must house churchers ignore the first part and become anomistic, antinomistic and anarchic; they are under the government of nobody, not even God.” I agree. The house church movement as we have known it needs to radically change . . . or die. For my part, I have chosen to abandon the “old orthodoxy” and to both embrace and promote the “new heresy”.
Let me sum up my “new heresy” with some “New Maxims” to counter the old.New Maxim # 1: It’s time to organize. It is time for a new house church movement with recognizable organization for the purpose of long-term sustainability and maximum impact. To the “You’ll become another denomination”crowd I simply reply that I choose not to live in a place of fear over what could or might happen. Such fear causes practical paralysis, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap”. (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Get over it. I have. New Maxim # 2: Acknowledged Leadership. It is time to acknowledge and recognize a new generation of “leaders by gifting”. The old paradigm which we all reject is “leadership by position”, which often meant ungifted people placed in positions of authority because an organization needed someone to “fill the position”. In organic house church there are no “positions” or “offices” to fill. Leadership is by gifting, just as we read in Ephesians 4 (plus elders and deacons). We need to be able to recognize and acknowledge this new generation of gifted individuals and to encourage them to function in the equipping roles God has given them. We need to acknowledge their ministry and their leadership. New Maxim # 3: Supported Leaders. We need an organizational structure that enables the house church movement both to recognize gifted leaders AND to provide them with the financial support they need to devote themselves to ministering to the needs of the larger body. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Pay for nothing and, eventually, that’s what you will get.New Maxim # 4: Mutual Accountability. We need a house church organization that provides a place for accountability. Most new house churches need “training wheels” to get started. They’ll quickly shed those training wheels. But what happens if and when a house church later “falls off the bike” and needs help. Who do they call for help? And where are the mature 5-fold people who can travel and meet with that house church and walk them through their crisis, or look someone in the eye and say, “Your behavior is unacceptable”? New Maxim # 5: Doctrinal Standards. I really have no interest in or appetite for doctrinal arguments (Calvinism vs Arminianism; Pre-trib vs Post-trib vs preterism, etc.). Such arguments are a great way to polarize and kill your fellowship by turning it into “the first house church of we’re right and you’re wrong”). But that doesn’t mean doctrine doesn’t matter. It does. And we need a framework for upholding historic evangelical doctrine and countering heresies as Universalism (and others) as they arise while equipping house churches for the theological task of the Church. New Maxim # 6: Radical Sacrificial Giving. God’s call upon believers to give radically and sacrificially for the work of the Kingdom needs to be reass such
After ten years of personal involvement in the house church movement, I am about to commit house church heresy. And I just thought you might like to know in advance. This way, I know that you know that I know (Confused?). That should save you the perfunctory response telling me I’m a heretic. I know. I’m a heretic. Get over it. I have.
What kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy was an e-mail letter I received in mid- September from a friend who is also an internationally known leader in the house church movement. The gist of his letter was simple. After years of writing, speaking and successful house church ministry, offering his services basically for free, he was broke, deeply in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. My heart broke as I read his letter, and I wrote him back to assure him that I would spend that week (the Ember week of September) fasting and praying for him and for God’s resolution to his dilemma. This person’s predicament kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy for a number of reasons, (not the least of which is the fact that my wife and I can relate). But what it really did was to begin resonating a question in my own heart, “Why is the house church movement as it exists so dysfunctional and incapable of doing such basic things as regularly supporting and meeting the needs of its own leadership?” This led me to more questions, more unsettling answers, and finally the plunge from orthodoxy into “house church heresy”.
O.K., by now you should be asking (if you aren’t already), “What was the orthodoxy you left? And what is the new heresy you’re embracing?”. Good question “grasshopper”. And when you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to start your own house church (Ooopps. Old “Kung Fu” rerun again. Sorry, it happens). The old orthodoxy consisted of a handful of commonly accepted (but unwritten, except on blogs) “Maxims” which I have watched play out now for ten years. Here are some of them (as interpreted by me). Maxim # 1: No Organization. We don’t believe in organization or infrastructure. We will occasionally talk about organization or “building infrastructure”, but we don’t really mean it because that’s what evil denominations and institutional churches do, so we don’t do that. Maxim # 2: No Leaders. We don’t have acknowledged leaders because we don’t want those evil Nicolaitan/Clergy types oppressing us. We believe in “flat leadership” (you know, sort of like a “flat earth”), which is to be understood as “no leaders”. Besides, the word “leadership” isn’t in the New Testament (Note: NO English words appear in the New Testament, which was written in GREEK!). Maxim # 3: No Paid Leaders. If we don’t have leaders, then we particularly don’t have any paid leaders because that would mean we have “paid clergy” and we don’t want any clergy (see previous point). Maxim # 4: No Accountability. No one has the right to tell us what to do. We’re free range chickens. Independent believers. Just us and Jesus. My involvement in the issue of Universalism (two years spent writing a house church oriented book refuting it) came about as the result of a house church that promoted and taught Universalism and which regarded itself as unaccountable to anyone else (although mature outside leadership attempted to speak into their lives). The result was a collapsed house church, a broken family, scattered believers and untold ripple effects. Maxim # 5: No doctrine (or “dogma”). Right. That always works. See previous Maxim for proof. ‘Nuff said. Maxim # 6: No Money. Because we don’t have to support a building or a staff or any programs we are free to NOT give, except “as the Spirit leads” (and He doesn’t lead very often, so we’re safe to spend as we please). Maxim # 7: Reproduction is optional. Neil Cole recently tweeted, “One of the reasons I believe our conventional churches aren’t multiplying is because God doesn’t want to multiply them.” Very true. Unfortunately, I have slowly come to the conclusion that the same must be said of many (if not most) house churches today. Why would God want to reproduce them, much less multiply them? They simply aren’t doing anything worth reproducing. And you’ll never disciple the nations by raising up mules.
So, what’s my heresy? Right now many of you are saying that my real heresy is overstating my case (“everything is bad, nothing is good”). I’m well aware of this fact. I’m overstating things to make a point. So let’s move on. We in the house church movement are fond of saying, “Church as we have known it is preventing Church as God wants it”. Here’s my heresy in a nutshell, “House Church as we have known it is preventing house church as God wants it.” Here is what my friend said in response to my note encouraging him and sharing some of my own frustrations, “From my perspective, the house church movement itself needs to be evangelized by the Gospel of The Kingdom, and be ready to come into what I used to call ‘a minimum of organization for a maximum of organism’. Must house churchers ignore the first part and become anomistic, antinomistic and anarchic; they are under the government of nobody, not even God.” I agree. The house church movement as we have known it needs to radically change . . . or die. For my part, I have chosen to abandon the “old orthodoxy” and to both embrace and promote the “new heresy”.
Let me sum up my “new heresy” with some “New Maxims” to counter the old.New Maxim # 1: It’s time to organize. It is time for a new house church movement with recognizable organization for the purpose of long-term sustainability and maximum impact. To the “You’ll become another denomination”crowd I simply reply that I choose not to live in a place of fear over what could or might happen. Such fear causes practical paralysis, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap”. (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Get over it. I have. New Maxim # 2: Acknowledged Leadership. It is time to acknowledge and recognize a new generation of “leaders by gifting”. The old paradigm which we all reject is “leadership by position”, which often meant ungifted people placed in positions of authority because an organization needed someone to “fill the position”. In organic house church there are no “positions” or “offices” to fill. Leadership is by gifting, just as we read in Ephesians 4 (plus elders and deacons). We need to be able to recognize and acknowledge this new generation of gifted individuals and to encourage them to function in the equipping roles God has given them. We need to acknowledge their ministry and their leadership. New Maxim # 3: Supported Leaders. We need an organizational structure that enables the house church movement both to recognize gifted leaders AND to provide them with the financial support they need to devote themselves to ministering to the needs of the larger body. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Pay for nothing and, eventually, that’s what you will get.New Maxim # 4: Mutual Accountability. We need a house church organization that provides a place for accountability. Most new house churches need “training wheels” to get started. They’ll quickly shed those training wheels. But what happens if and when a house church later “falls off the bike” and needs help. Who do they call for help? And where are the mature 5-fold people who can travel and meet with that house church and walk them through their crisis, or look someone in the eye and say, “Your behavior is unacceptable”? New Maxim # 5: Doctrinal Standards. I really have no interest in or appetite for doctrinal arguments (Calvinism vs Arminianism; Pre-trib vs Post-trib vs preterism, etc.). Such arguments are a great way to polarize and kill your fellowship by turning it into “the first house church of we’re right and you’re wrong”). But that doesn’t mean doctrine doesn’t matter. It does. And we need a framework for upholding historic evangelical doctrine and countering heresies as Universalism (and others) as they arise while equipping house churches for the theological task of the Church. New Maxim # 6: Radical Sacrificial Giving. God’s call upon believers to give radically and sacrificially for the work of the Kingdom needs to be reass such
erted and encouraged. So far as we are concerned such giving will go to four basic priorities: First, to fund the functioning of the organization (minimal). Second, to fund the full time ministry of those 5-fold leaders whom the house churches acknowledge and need to minister among them for the equipping of the body. Third, to fund the work of planting, establishing and multiplying of house churches. Fourth, to fund the work of “good deeds” and benevolence in meeting needs both within the network of house churches and reaching out to the needs of others in the larger community. New Maxim # 7: Reproduction As A Priority.The current house church movement has raised a generation of “spiritual mules” who will never reproduce. They will eventually die a quiet death and be buried next to the pet Gerbil in the back yard. It is time for us to trade in our mules for a rabbit hutch. It is time to make multiplication a priority, in our prayers, in our planning and in our practice. If we aren’t growing, then we’re dying. New Maxim # 8: Networking. I am convinced that there are three “steps to success” as house churches. They are 1) Establishing, 2) Multiplying and 3) Networking. We must accomplish all three if house church is to prosper long term and play a significant role in discipling the nations. Networking means, well, organization. There are more New Maxims I could give you, but I hope by now you’ve gotten the point. I’m a heretic.
Ten Years of House Church
Ten Years of House Church – Where Do We Go From Here?
After ten years of personal involvement in the house church movement, I am about to commit house church heresy. And I just thought you might like to know in advance. This way, I know that you know that I know (Confused?). That should save you the perfunctory response telling me I’m a heretic. I know. I’m a heretic. Get over it. I have.
What kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy was an e-mail letter I received in mid- September from a friend who is also an internationally known leader in the house church movement. The gist of his letter was simple. After years of writing, speaking and successful house church ministry, offering his services basically for free, he was broke, deeply in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. My heart broke as I read his letter, and I wrote him back to assure him that I would spend that week (the Ember week of September) fasting and praying for him and for God’s resolution to his dilemma. This person’s predicament kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy for a number of reasons, (not the least of which is the fact that my wife and I can relate). But what it really did was to begin resonating a question in my own heart, “Why is the house church movement as it exists so dysfunctional and incapable of doing such basic things as regularly supporting and meeting the needs of its own leadership?” This led me to more questions, more unsettling answers, and finally the plunge from orthodoxy into “house church heresy”.
O.K., by now you should be asking (if you aren’t already), “What was the orthodoxy you left? And what is the new heresy you’re embracing?”. Good question “grasshopper”. And when you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to start your own house church (Ooopps. Old “Kung Fu” rerun again. Sorry, it happens). The old orthodoxy consisted of a handful of commonly accepted (but unwritten, except on blogs) “Maxims” which I have watched play out now for ten years. Here are some of them (as interpreted by me). Maxim # 1: No Organization. We don’t believe in organization or infrastructure. We will occasionally talk about organization or “building infrastructure”, but we don’t really mean it because that’s what evil denominations and institutional churches do, so we don’t do that. Maxim # 2: No Leaders. We don’t have acknowledged leaders because we don’t want those evil Nicolaitan/Clergy types oppressing us. We believe in “flat leadership” (you know, sort of like a “flat earth”), which is to be understood as “no leaders”. Besides, the word “leadership” isn’t in the New Testament (Note: NO English words appear in the New Testament, which was written in GREEK!). Maxim # 3: No Paid Leaders. If we don’t have leaders, then we particularly don’t have any paid leaders because that would mean we have “paid clergy” and we don’t want any clergy (see previous point). Maxim # 4: No Accountability. No one has the right to tell us what to do. We’re free range chickens. Independent believers. Just us and Jesus. My involvement in the issue of Universalism (two years spent writing a house church oriented book refuting it) came about as the result of a house church that promoted and taught Universalism and which regarded itself as unaccountable to anyone else (although mature outside leadership attempted to speak into their lives). The result was a collapsed house church, a broken family, scattered believers and untold ripple effects. Maxim # 5: No doctrine (or “dogma”). Right. That always works. See previous Maxim for proof. ‘Nuff said. Maxim # 6: No Money. Because we don’t have to support a building or a staff or any programs we are free to NOT give, except “as the Spirit leads” (and He doesn’t lead very often, so we’re safe to spend as we please). Maxim # 7: Reproduction is optional. Neil Cole recently tweeted, “One of the reasons I believe our conventional churches aren’t multiplying is because God doesn’t want to multiply them.” Very true. Unfortunately, I have slowly come to the conclusion that the same must be said of many (if not most) house churches today. Why would God want to reproduce them, much less multiply them? They simply aren’t doing anything worth reproducing. And you’ll never disciple the nations by raising up mules.
So, what’s my heresy? Right now many of you are saying that my real heresy is overstating my case (“everything is bad, nothing is good”). I’m well aware of this fact. I’m overstating things to make a point. So let’s move on. We in the house church movement are fond of saying, “Church as we have known it is preventing Church as God wants it”. Here’s my heresy in a nutshell, “House Church as we have known it is preventing house church as God wants it.” Here is what my friend said in response to my note encouraging him and sharing some of my own frustrations, “From my perspective, the house church movement itself needs to be evangelized by the Gospel of The Kingdom, and be ready to come into what I used to call ‘a minimum of organization for a maximum of organism’. Must house churchers ignore the first part and become anomistic, antinomistic and anarchic; they are under the government of nobody, not even God.” I agree. The house church movement as we have known it needs to radically change . . . or die. For my part, I have chosen to abandon the “old orthodoxy” and to both embrace and promote the “new heresy”.
Let me sum up my “new heresy” with some “New Maxims” to counter the old.New Maxim # 1: It’s time to organize. It is time for a new house church movement with recognizable organization for the purpose of long-term sustainability and maximum impact. To the “You’ll become another denomination”crowd I simply reply that I choose not to live in a place of fear over what could or might happen. Such fear causes practical paralysis, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap”. (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Get over it. I have. New Maxim # 2: Acknowledged Leadership. It is time to acknowledge and recognize a new generation of “leaders by gifting”. The old paradigm which we all reject is “leadership by position”, which often meant ungifted people placed in positions of authority because an organization needed someone to “fill the position”. In organic house church there are no “positions” or “offices” to fill. Leadership is by gifting, just as we read in Ephesians 4 (plus elders and deacons). We need to be able to recognize and acknowledge this new generation of gifted individuals and to encourage them to function in the equipping roles God has given them. We need to acknowledge their ministry and their leadership. New Maxim # 3: Supported Leaders. We need an organizational structure that enables the house church movement both to recognize gifted leaders AND to provide them with the financial support they need to devote themselves to ministering to the needs of the larger body. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Pay for nothing and, eventually, that’s what you will get.New Maxim # 4: Mutual Accountability. We need a house church organization that provides a place for accountability. Most new house churches need “training wheels” to get started. They’ll quickly shed those training wheels. But what happens if and when a house church later “falls off the bike” and needs help. Who do they call for help? And where are the mature 5-fold people who can travel and meet with that house church and walk them through their crisis, or look someone in the eye and say, “Your behavior is unacceptable”? New Maxim # 5: Doctrinal Standards. I really have no interest in or appetite for doctrinal arguments (Calvinism vs Arminianism; Pre-trib vs Post-trib vs preterism, etc.). Such arguments are a great way to polarize and kill your fellowship by turning it into “the first house church of we’re right and you’re wrong”). But that doesn’t mean doctrine doesn’t matter. It does. And we need a framework for upholding historic evangelical doctrine and countering such heresies as Universalism (and others) as they arise while equipping house churches for the theological task of the Church. New Maxim # 6: Radical Sacrificial Giving. God’s call upon believers to give radically and sacrificially for the work of the Kingdom needs to be reasserted and encouraged. So far as we are concerned such giving will go to four basic priorities: First, to fund the functioning of the organization (minimal). Second, to fund the full time ministry of those 5-fold leaders whom the house churches acknowledge and need to minister among them for the equipping of the body. Third, to fund the work of planting, establishing and multiplying of house churches. Fourth, to fund the work of “good deeds” and benevolence in meeting needs both within the network of house churches and reaching out to the needs of others in the larger community. New Maxim # 7: Reproduction As A Priority.The current house church movement has raised a generation of “spiritual mules” who will never reproduce. They will eventually die a quiet death and be buried next to the pet Gerbil in the back yard. It is time for us to trade in our mules for a rabbit hutch. It is time to make multiplication a priority, in our prayers, in our planning and in our practice. If we aren’t growing, then we’re dying. New Maxim # 8: Networking. I am convinced that there are three “steps to success” as house churches. They are 1) Establishing, 2) Multiplying and 3) Networking. We must accomplish all three if house church is to prosper long term and play a significant role in discipling the nations. Networking means, well, organization. There are more New Maxims I could give you, but I hope by now you’ve gotten the point. I’m a heretic.
After ten years of personal involvement in the house church movement, I am about to commit house church heresy. And I just thought you might like to know in advance. This way, I know that you know that I know (Confused?). That should save you the perfunctory response telling me I’m a heretic. I know. I’m a heretic. Get over it. I have.
What kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy was an e-mail letter I received in mid- September from a friend who is also an internationally known leader in the house church movement. The gist of his letter was simple. After years of writing, speaking and successful house church ministry, offering his services basically for free, he was broke, deeply in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. My heart broke as I read his letter, and I wrote him back to assure him that I would spend that week (the Ember week of September) fasting and praying for him and for God’s resolution to his dilemma. This person’s predicament kicked me over the edge from orthodoxy to heresy for a number of reasons, (not the least of which is the fact that my wife and I can relate). But what it really did was to begin resonating a question in my own heart, “Why is the house church movement as it exists so dysfunctional and incapable of doing such basic things as regularly supporting and meeting the needs of its own leadership?” This led me to more questions, more unsettling answers, and finally the plunge from orthodoxy into “house church heresy”.
O.K., by now you should be asking (if you aren’t already), “What was the orthodoxy you left? And what is the new heresy you’re embracing?”. Good question “grasshopper”. And when you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to start your own house church (Ooopps. Old “Kung Fu” rerun again. Sorry, it happens). The old orthodoxy consisted of a handful of commonly accepted (but unwritten, except on blogs) “Maxims” which I have watched play out now for ten years. Here are some of them (as interpreted by me). Maxim # 1: No Organization. We don’t believe in organization or infrastructure. We will occasionally talk about organization or “building infrastructure”, but we don’t really mean it because that’s what evil denominations and institutional churches do, so we don’t do that. Maxim # 2: No Leaders. We don’t have acknowledged leaders because we don’t want those evil Nicolaitan/Clergy types oppressing us. We believe in “flat leadership” (you know, sort of like a “flat earth”), which is to be understood as “no leaders”. Besides, the word “leadership” isn’t in the New Testament (Note: NO English words appear in the New Testament, which was written in GREEK!). Maxim # 3: No Paid Leaders. If we don’t have leaders, then we particularly don’t have any paid leaders because that would mean we have “paid clergy” and we don’t want any clergy (see previous point). Maxim # 4: No Accountability. No one has the right to tell us what to do. We’re free range chickens. Independent believers. Just us and Jesus. My involvement in the issue of Universalism (two years spent writing a house church oriented book refuting it) came about as the result of a house church that promoted and taught Universalism and which regarded itself as unaccountable to anyone else (although mature outside leadership attempted to speak into their lives). The result was a collapsed house church, a broken family, scattered believers and untold ripple effects. Maxim # 5: No doctrine (or “dogma”). Right. That always works. See previous Maxim for proof. ‘Nuff said. Maxim # 6: No Money. Because we don’t have to support a building or a staff or any programs we are free to NOT give, except “as the Spirit leads” (and He doesn’t lead very often, so we’re safe to spend as we please). Maxim # 7: Reproduction is optional. Neil Cole recently tweeted, “One of the reasons I believe our conventional churches aren’t multiplying is because God doesn’t want to multiply them.” Very true. Unfortunately, I have slowly come to the conclusion that the same must be said of many (if not most) house churches today. Why would God want to reproduce them, much less multiply them? They simply aren’t doing anything worth reproducing. And you’ll never disciple the nations by raising up mules.
So, what’s my heresy? Right now many of you are saying that my real heresy is overstating my case (“everything is bad, nothing is good”). I’m well aware of this fact. I’m overstating things to make a point. So let’s move on. We in the house church movement are fond of saying, “Church as we have known it is preventing Church as God wants it”. Here’s my heresy in a nutshell, “House Church as we have known it is preventing house church as God wants it.” Here is what my friend said in response to my note encouraging him and sharing some of my own frustrations, “From my perspective, the house church movement itself needs to be evangelized by the Gospel of The Kingdom, and be ready to come into what I used to call ‘a minimum of organization for a maximum of organism’. Must house churchers ignore the first part and become anomistic, antinomistic and anarchic; they are under the government of nobody, not even God.” I agree. The house church movement as we have known it needs to radically change . . . or die. For my part, I have chosen to abandon the “old orthodoxy” and to both embrace and promote the “new heresy”.
Let me sum up my “new heresy” with some “New Maxims” to counter the old.New Maxim # 1: It’s time to organize. It is time for a new house church movement with recognizable organization for the purpose of long-term sustainability and maximum impact. To the “You’ll become another denomination”crowd I simply reply that I choose not to live in a place of fear over what could or might happen. Such fear causes practical paralysis, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap”. (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Get over it. I have. New Maxim # 2: Acknowledged Leadership. It is time to acknowledge and recognize a new generation of “leaders by gifting”. The old paradigm which we all reject is “leadership by position”, which often meant ungifted people placed in positions of authority because an organization needed someone to “fill the position”. In organic house church there are no “positions” or “offices” to fill. Leadership is by gifting, just as we read in Ephesians 4 (plus elders and deacons). We need to be able to recognize and acknowledge this new generation of gifted individuals and to encourage them to function in the equipping roles God has given them. We need to acknowledge their ministry and their leadership. New Maxim # 3: Supported Leaders. We need an organizational structure that enables the house church movement both to recognize gifted leaders AND to provide them with the financial support they need to devote themselves to ministering to the needs of the larger body. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Pay for nothing and, eventually, that’s what you will get.New Maxim # 4: Mutual Accountability. We need a house church organization that provides a place for accountability. Most new house churches need “training wheels” to get started. They’ll quickly shed those training wheels. But what happens if and when a house church later “falls off the bike” and needs help. Who do they call for help? And where are the mature 5-fold people who can travel and meet with that house church and walk them through their crisis, or look someone in the eye and say, “Your behavior is unacceptable”? New Maxim # 5: Doctrinal Standards. I really have no interest in or appetite for doctrinal arguments (Calvinism vs Arminianism; Pre-trib vs Post-trib vs preterism, etc.). Such arguments are a great way to polarize and kill your fellowship by turning it into “the first house church of we’re right and you’re wrong”). But that doesn’t mean doctrine doesn’t matter. It does. And we need a framework for upholding historic evangelical doctrine and countering such heresies as Universalism (and others) as they arise while equipping house churches for the theological task of the Church. New Maxim # 6: Radical Sacrificial Giving. God’s call upon believers to give radically and sacrificially for the work of the Kingdom needs to be reasserted and encouraged. So far as we are concerned such giving will go to four basic priorities: First, to fund the functioning of the organization (minimal). Second, to fund the full time ministry of those 5-fold leaders whom the house churches acknowledge and need to minister among them for the equipping of the body. Third, to fund the work of planting, establishing and multiplying of house churches. Fourth, to fund the work of “good deeds” and benevolence in meeting needs both within the network of house churches and reaching out to the needs of others in the larger community. New Maxim # 7: Reproduction As A Priority.The current house church movement has raised a generation of “spiritual mules” who will never reproduce. They will eventually die a quiet death and be buried next to the pet Gerbil in the back yard. It is time for us to trade in our mules for a rabbit hutch. It is time to make multiplication a priority, in our prayers, in our planning and in our practice. If we aren’t growing, then we’re dying. New Maxim # 8: Networking. I am convinced that there are three “steps to success” as house churches. They are 1) Establishing, 2) Multiplying and 3) Networking. We must accomplish all three if house church is to prosper long term and play a significant role in discipling the nations. Networking means, well, organization. There are more New Maxims I could give you, but I hope by now you’ve gotten the point. I’m a heretic.