Where did the early church meet? Houses or Church

[Scott Hutchinson]

Here is a interesting article.
http://www.christianquest.org/CQ-Files/Church.html

[Withdrawn]

Originally Posted by edjen01

not to be goofy....but does it matter where they met? we don't live in their world...their culture...we don't wear their clothes...eat the same type food...so why would we have a meeting like them?

Honestly? In part:

1. Renting/Owning/Mortgaging a building and auxiliary facilities requires vast amounts of money and does NOTHING to fulfil what Jesus Himself told us to do... preach the gospel, heal the sick, clothe the naked, feed the hungry... The building actually RESTRICTS our ability to do that because up to 60% - 80% of a typical congregation's financial resources (and that's a conservative estimate - many are much higher) are committed to just maintaining the machine.
2. Most "church buildings" are designed according to tradition that perpetuates the notion that it is a sacred place. Instead of it just being a room where people meet to fellowship and worship, it has some mystical aura attached to it. We even require different behavior when entering these "holy" places. I cringe when I hear people refer to a building as "the house of God" or refer to the meeting room as "the sanctuary." NOTHING could be further from the truth!
3. The layout of most "church buildings" actually is counter-productive and anti-biblical. With the platform where the "clergy" perform and the seating area where the "laity" very passively observe the performance, the layout absolutely prevents the "one another" ministry that we are to have with each other. The layout and the liturgy of most gatherings is such that the majority of the fellowship is reduced to passive observers instead of active ministers as we are all called to be.

Just a few thoughts in response to your question.

Be blessed!

[coadie]

41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

44And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.


41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Still looking for a house church where 3,000 souls were added.

the a church growth of 5,000.

[tbpew]

Originally Posted by coadie

41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

44And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.


41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Still looking for a house church where 3,000 souls were added.

the a church growth of 5,000.

And all 5000 ran into the temple signing and praising the songs about their new sect. The same sect that the chief priest and elders hated enough to give a death sentence to the founder. But then for some reason, the big bad Roman soldier came along and razed their temple.

Coadie, enjoy your building-centered delivery system and all the patterns it perpetuates. I am not in opposition to buildings, I am in opposition to returning to the former things, when that which is more perfect has been provided.

[coadie]

The dangers of the most famous house church is very clear, it is a pastor, children and sons and daughters in laws plus grand kids.

It is a powerfull set up to prevent the questioning of false doctrine.

It like most house churches doesn't do baptisms and grows by reason of children being born.

Mormon churches grow roughly equal to birth rates. Most people don't know this. Mormons have a few children per family and if you count growth of people not born into a Mormon Home, the number coming roughly equals the number leaving

The church at Westboro which he leads has 71 confirmed members, 60 of whom are related to Phelps through blood or marriage or both.[16]

Originally Posted by jaamez

Honestly? In part:

1. Renting/Owning/Mortgaging a building and auxiliary facilities requires vast amounts of money and does NOTHING to fulfil what Jesus Himself told us to do... preach the gospel, heal the sick, clothe the naked, feed the hungry... The building actually RESTRICTS our ability to do that because up to 60% - 80% of a typical congregation's financial resources (and that's a conservative estimate - many are much higher) are committed to just maintaining the machine.
2. Most "church buildings" are designed according to tradition that perpetuates the notion that it is a sacred place. Instead of it just being a room where people meet to fellowship and worship, it has some mystical aura attached to it. We even require different behavior when entering these "holy" places. I cringe when I hear people refer to a building as "the house of God" or refer to the meeting room as "the sanctuary." NOTHING could be further from the truth!
3. The layout of most "church buildings" actually is counter-productive and anti-biblical. With the platform where the "clergy" perform and the seating area where the "laity" very passively observe the performance, the layout absolutely prevents the "one another" ministry that we are to have with each other. The layout and the liturgy of most gatherings is such that the majority of the fellowship is reduced to passive observers instead of active ministers as we are all called to be.

Just a few thoughts in response to your question.

Be blessed!

Can you give us some real numbers?

The grocery bill for the singular gathering for home churches is something regular churches do not have,

I cringe when i hear people claim to cringe about a church being called the house of God.


It proves they had an ungodly attitude when they enterd the sanctuary.

[coadie]

Originally Posted by tbpew

And all 5000 ran into the temple signing and praising the songs about their new sect. The same sect that the chief priest and elders hated enough to give a death sentence to the founder. But then for some reason, the big bad Roman soldier came along and razed their temple.

Coadie, enjoy your building-centered delivery system and all the patterns it perpetuates. I am not in opposition to buildings, I am in opposition to returning to the former things, when that which is more perfect has been provided.

Fred Phelps remains independent. It really helps for folks that are loners and can't deal with acountability.

Some of use catch non believers that can't imagine walking into a house and smelling the litter box.
and houses aren't small buildings? Do small house preachers preach small sermons or sermonettes?

Actually we have smalll church or home church ministries happening weekily within our church organization. The 5 fold ministry is alive and well in real
churches.

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by coadie

Fred Phelps remains independent. It really helps for folks that are loners and can't deal with acountability.

Some of use catch non believers that can't imagine walking into a house and smelling the litter box.
and houses aren't small buildings? Do small house preachers preach small sermons or sermonettes?

Actually we have smalll church or home church ministries happening weekily within our church organization. The 5 fold ministry is alive and well in real
churches.

Wow...

Apparently that teaching includes instruction in condescension as well?

[Withdrawn]

Originally Posted by coadie

Can you give us some real numbers?

The grocery bill for the singular gathering for home churches is something regular churches do not have,

You're cracking me up! Or are you serious?

You seem to be confusing a house church with a family household. They're vastly different. Anyone can do simple research on what an organic house church really is and know that it is NOT just "ma, pa and the kids."

Also... who is Fred Phelps, and what does he have to do with this conversation? And, does one deviant (if that is, in fact, the case) nullify the entire premise? If so, then the institutionalized/organizational/political/structural church model that you seem to be married to has been nullified many times over by wealth and kingdom building charlatans such as Warren/Olsteen/Bakker/Swaggart, etc. You're trying to build a strawman and it's just not going to work.

I cringe when i hear people claim to cringe about a church being called the house of God.


It proves they had an ungodly attitude when they enterd the sanctuary.

You're not getting it. STUDY YOUR BIBLE! You'll find that I'm the house of God/temple/sanctuary! You're the house of God/temple/sanctuary! Our other brothers and sisters in Christ are the houses of God/temples/sanctuaries! There is NOTHING HOLY about a building or a room. To ascribe holiness or reverence to something physical is pagan in origin and goes against what Jesus and His first century disciples taught and practiced! Did you read any of the other posts in this thread (like the ones by WildernessWill) or did you just skim over them to get to the point where you could post what you think, rejecting anything that goes against your tradition because everyone else is wrong? There is clear Bible principle for the house church. There is NO scriptural precedent for erecting expensive, lavish structures that suck nearly every dime out of a congregation's operating budget (add to that the cost of the paid staff), leaving nearly nothing for supporting the work that Jesus Himself said was important (feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc.).

Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Acts 7.48.

I realize that you don't post here very often. But some rules of engagement here might be helpful. If you're going to say what you believe, you need to be ready to defend it with BIBLE - not with judgmental, ad hominem attacks that only show emotion with no substance. You'll be challenged and questioned, but if your view is sound doctrine, it will stand -- and you won't need to rely on emotion or judgmental comments to try to make your point. It just doesn't work.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Thess 5.21

Be blessed.

[JessicaJCraig]

so, just throwing this out there, but when everyone says house churches are biblical, you are saying having a building other than a home is unbiblical

[KWSS1976]

Back in the day everyone just pulled up a rock to sit on and listend to the word preched