Quote:
Originally Posted by old friend
Barring extremism, I'm quite comfortable with the notion that there is plenty of wickedness going on and being taught to the church today that God's presence in the midst of will not veil, nor is it intended to. That doesn't mean the group itself is wicked altogether.
You also might consider one thing in trying to find the safe zone in the middle of the road, away from extremes.
Jesus is/was/ will always be extreme, as is his teaching, and his way is/was/will always be right....and the rest ARE indeed wicked.
Therefore, it is noteworthy to consider that the Truth is often seen as extreme and followers extremists. The challenge is finding out just were that is at despite all the finger pointing. If you choose middle ground for safety from extremes, you've still missed it.
I'm not particularly dogmatic about where one worships. Plenty will be saved out of every house I'm sure, and too many left to wonder. I find the dilemma both sad and interesting. Sad at just how cold and cruel too many traditionalists are towards those seeking further Truth, and interesting, to observe those that come out from mass inundation adjust so readily to the NT model for the purpose it was intended for.
I think deviation from any NT model for the sake of culture or era is both dangerous and dysfunctional. Thank God he continues to work around where we go wrong, first things first. When we consider his messages to the churches in Revelations, we know, despite where we go wrong, his encouragement is for us to make those adjustments in the right direction, not balk under the guise of the relativity of time and space. (era and culture)
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Well, regarding home groups in particular, in reflection of the NT worship format...what does it matter where the group meets, or how large the group is? (or small)
When I referenced following principle, I mean, we are to assemble to worship God, but it doesn't matter if you gather in a traditional church building or in someone's back yard--what matters is that you gather with other believers and worship. If it matters
where, then that's in conflict with scripture, IMO.
It seems that both opponents and proponents of home churches are saying, "It matters
where you worship", and I find both of those groups to be scripturally inaccurate with their view.
Further, in the NT, there are examples of both large and small gatherings, so again, the size of the gathering is not important. It is the ministry, teaching and communion that takes place that is important. Obviously many churches do not focus on the right things, they focus on business rather than ministry, but again, that is the case for many, small and large.
My point is, the Church can meet the needs of many people, many different types of communities, and the principles provided in the NT can be applied in many different ways and
still be perfectly in line with scripture. Much the same as helping the poor doesn't have to only be comprised of working in a soup kitchen. (But of course, it can include that) You can give money, work with your own hands, give someone a place to stay, find someone a job, give away clothing or food, etc etc etc. The Bible doesn't tell us specifically how to help the poor (necessarily), it just says "help the poor." So any
sort of help is in line with the scripture.
I'm not objecting to home groups--I think it's a great concept, and the closeness between believers is something the church (especially large churches) can really miss out on, if they aren't careful. However, I do object to Christians condemning other Christians for the place they choose to worship, and how many people they choose to worship with.
Did you know there are some "mega-churches" that are essentially made up of smaller groups, and they simply get together once a week and all the groups worship together? I think that's pretty cool, actually.
By the way, I'm not disagreeing with you that many of the church traditions we have today are unbiblical, or in most cases
extrabiblical. (There is a difference.) However, calling the church "wicked" is the same as calling its constituents "wicked" because the church is the sum of its [human] parts. You can't separate the two.
JMO
Back to the topic of the thread, though...no one should be persecuted because of how or where they choose to worship God. Whether home group or member of a "mega-church."
Hybrid Mode
