Quote:
Originally Posted by GrowingPains
Aquila, no doubt the larger the church gathering, the more weighty the challenge, but you seem to believe we can't accomplish 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 through a larger church dynamic. Small group ministries, through the encouragement of large churches, have been quite successful at helping disciple thousands. While I share your burden for these special times of apostolic gathering, I don't think building a church center for corporate worship is necessarily the wrong thing -- nor, do I believe, one person speaking to the church at a designated time is less than what God wants. I don't see it as either-or. We can have both! Families should be more encouraged to bring church to their homes IMO. |
I don't buy it.
American churches spend upwards of 70% or more of their revenue on buildings in the form of mortgages, building funds, maintenance etc. That leaves 30% or less. The remaining is typically used to sustain the pastor with a small portion going for charity, missions, and evangelism. Jesus said where man's treasure is his heart will be also. American churches are in love with their buildings. These are like idol temples, adored, revered, held sacred. They are beasts that tame the church, lulls them to sleep, breeds a spectator mentality, violates the clear commands of the Lord as delivered by Paul regarding what a church meeting should be. The fastest growing network of churches in the world are in areas where the church is forced to use home based networks. The American church is spoiled. If we realized that if we let go of our precious buildings and properties and dedicated ourselves as the original church did 2000 years ago we could set American on fire with the Gospel. Cell groups are not conducive in most models. Typically cell groups are heavily regulated because pastors are paranoid and they become little more than fellowship. We're talking "churches without walls". When a home based church becomes too big for all to participate, when it becomes so big there are obviously more than 3 qualified elders with the gift of prophecy... it's time to pray and get a vision to divide to multiply... then you have two home based groups. When each become too large again divide, now you have four.... then eight... then 16.... then 32.... then 64. This is how Rome was turned upside down with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They didn't hunker down and dig in.... they expanded and multiplied. Even in areas and periods when the church didn't face persecution... this is how it was done.
I don't believe gathering in a larger body on occasion (perhaps once a month) is a sin... what I am saying is that the model we have isn't the model that turned the world upside down. We don't need to wait until we're persecuted to do it. We can do it and do it now. God is beckoning.. It's time to unleash the church.
You have to read the Words of Paul again. Paul plainly stated that those were the Lord's commands regarding church gathering and body ministry. Two, or at most three, were to deliver anointed teaching (prophecy). This was to be done in a way in so that if one sitting by had a revelation or an understanding they could be permitted to speak and share it. Try doing that in today's churches. In today's churches pastors "sermonize". If you study the "sermon" you will notice the homiletic behind the "sermon" is largely pattered and based on Aristotelian rhetoric. The Greek philosophers would gather their people together employ emotional pleas of
prepared rhetoric using illustrations, and allegories. In the Old Testament messages were delivered impromptu and addressed current issues. Peter didn't "preach a sermon" on Pentecost... Peter delivered a message from God. Peter's speaking was prepared with the notion of persuasion through the use of smooth words and men's wisdom. But rather it was instant, from the heart, and full of the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost. Elders should bring scripture to teach... however "sermonizing" should be discouraged.
Here's another issue to address... "preaching". Notice what the Bible says...
Acts 20:7
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Paul didn't stand up in front of the crowd and rant and sermonize, rave, sweat and spit at them. The word for "preached" here is "dialegomai". It means to "reason with", it's the root that we get our English word "dialogue" from. Paul didn't rant as a one man show until midnight. No! He "reasoned with" the people, speaking, teaching, they asked questions, shared their thoughts, Paul laid emphasis on truths, and all were edified. What we do in our living rooms when we have company over and talk about the Word of God until 1 AM is far closer to how Paul preached and shared the Gospel than the traditional Aristotelian sermon.
Return to the Bible. Return to the New Testament pattern. Return to the first model of the Church that saw the greatest expansion of Christianity in human history. Get the guts to abandon the buildings, the offices, the salaries, the titles, and all that man takes glory for... and embrace... simple church. It can flourish in peace time, and nothing can stop it during persecution. The institutional church will not see the power of this model until their buildings are taken away from them by a tyrannical government. If we act now... we can turn our communities and perhaps even our nation around. God shouldn't have to take these things from us using persecution to get us to reach our world!
I digress.