House churches/Organic church, your opinion?

[Amanah]

Originally Posted by Jay

So in the loosest since of the word, Bros. J and K Godair are pastoring megachurches. Bro. Mangun and Bro. Haney pastor solid megachurches. I was just curious to see the term defined. Thank you

yes I suppose this is true, and those are preachers that I admire.

[Amanah]

here is a incomplete list of some megachurches

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...hes_in_the_USA

[Nitehawk013]

Herein is the really frustrating thing about this discussion. You will always have folks liek AB who apparently htink that it has to be an either/or situation. You either think church as to be traditional church or you are a rebel and want house church. I personally think it should be both. Furtehr, I think instead of demeaning one or the other, REAL Godly men would simply work together an duse whatever means were effective in whatever arae inorder to reach folks and grow the kingdom. INstead you have folks who just want to trash the opposite team and say they are wrong and shouldn't be fellowshipped.

As to buildings (going back about 3 pages.LOL) I believe if a church, home or traditonal, wants a dedicate dbuilding then why not try to do it the way God told the Israelites to build Hima house to dwell in? Tell the people God would like to dwell with them in a sanctuary and then leave it on them to give an offering WILLINGLY, not via some theocratic extortion or shake down, and then build with the offering they give. This is what happened in Exodus 25 with the Tabernacle. No tithe was invovled. No intimidation tactics or screaming that people just aren't giving enough. "You people really need to dig deep and sacrifice. Why should you buy that BIg Screen TV when you should be giving it all to the house of God"? Thats nonsense. If the peopel want a "church" building, then ask them and then lay it on them to give to pay for it.

Finally, why do we continue with the line thatthe church building is the house of God? WE are the body of Christ now. WE are the living Temples, the true dwelling place of God. The building is nothign special at all. Take us out of them and they are nothing special. There is nothign anointed or "holy" about a church building unless the children of God are in it.

[Dagwood]

Originally Posted by Nitehawk013

Herein is the really frustrating thing about this discussion. You will always have folks liek AB who apparently htink that it has to be an either/or situation. You either think church as to be traditional church or you are a rebel and want house church. I personally think it should be both. Furtehr, I think instead of demeaning one or the other, REAL Godly men would simply work together an duse whatever means were effective in whatever arae inorder to reach folks and grow the kingdom. INstead you have folks who just want to trash the opposite team and say they are wrong and shouldn't be fellowshipped.

As to buildings (going back about 3 pages.LOL) I believe if a church, home or traditonal, wants a dedicate dbuilding then why not try to do it the way God told the Israelites to build Hima house to dwell in? Tell the people God would like to dwell with them in a sanctuary and then leave it on them to give an offering WILLINGLY, not via some theocratic extortion or shake down, and then build with the offering they give. This is what happened in Exodus 25 with the Tabernacle. No tithe was invovled. No intimidation tactics or screaming that people just aren't giving enough. "You people really need to dig deep and sacrifice. Why should you buy that BIg Screen TV when you should be giving it all to the house of God"? Thats nonsense. If the peopel want a "church" building, then ask them and then lay it on them to give to pay for it.

Finally, why do we continue with the line thatthe church building is the house of God? WE are the body of Christ now. WE are the living Temples, the true dwelling place of God. The building is nothign special at all. Take us out of them and they are nothing special. There is nothign anointed or "holy" about a church building unless the children of God are in it.

[Aquila]

PLEASE REVIEW THE FOLLOWING POST (thanks):

Originally Posted by Aquila

The Bible (I Corinthians 14:26-38) illustrates that our meetings should have the following elements and guiding principles:

- Everyone being able to bring a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.
- Gift of tongues coupled with interpretation, two or at most three.
- Two or three anointed teachers speak and guide the meeting.
- If a saint attending has a revelation or something to share, whoever is speaking must stop and give them the floor so that all might be able to prophesy, learn, and be encouraged. Meetings are to be discussion based.
- Those who address the group must realize that their spirits are subject to the anointed teachers guiding the group.
- Women (or anyone for that matter) are not to use the time for socializing.
- Those who think they are spiritual Christians should acknowledge that this order is command from the Lord.

If our "form of church" will not allow for these kinds of meetings... we are failing to meet as the Apostle Paul admonished us to meet. It doesn't matter if it's in a house, a park, a coffee shop, a library, a book store, a bus stop, a town square, church building or wherever. The point is that the above elements should be present. They are to be elder guided and interactive meetings where anyone present can address the group by sharing a song, a hymn, a poem, a passage, a testimony, or whatever the Lord leads. If a meeting is too big to facilitate this, it fails to allow for the body ministry Paul admonishes us to have because it is a "command from the Lord" (I Corinthians 14:37).

For example, on any given Sunday when a given pastor is speaking... could I ask to speak and share a word that the Lord has placed on my heart? Could you in turn share what passage has been ministering to you and what the Lord put on your heart? If I had a question could I interrupt the pastor's sermon to seek an answer? Could the entire congregation do any of this? Or would the pastor be upset because he was interrupted and he didn't get to "preach a sermon"? Would there by too many people to allow for such an open and interactive meeting? Would we be relegated to being relatively passive spectators who hopefully learn something? If so... your church is most likely too big to abide by I Corinthians 14:26-38. I believe that home fellowship groups (or house churches) fulfill this calling of Scripture.

It's the BIBLICAL way to do church.

We've had house church (simple church) gatherings at coffee shops (Tim Horton's, Higher Grounds, and Boston Stoker's) in the Dayton Ohio, Tipp City area. Place and building don't matter. The fuction of our gatherings is what matters.

[Aquila]

Let's also not forget that nearly every great revival has begun in the private quarters of a private home, only to be rejected by the institutional church of it's day.

[ThePastorsCoach]

I just love you guys! ;-)

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by AtlantaBishop

I just love you guys! ;-)

Love you too AB!

[Aquila]

And I love this verse... it's in my signature:

"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." ~ Acts 28:30-31

Paul simply rented a residence and opened it up as a spiritual way station for fellow travelers on their journey into eternity.

Humility
Simplicity
Anointing

[Truthseeker]

Originally Posted by Aquila

And I love this verse... it's in my signature:

"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." ~ Acts 28:30-31

Paul simply rented a residence and opened it up as a spiritual way station for fellow travelers on their journey into eternity.

Humility
Simplicity
Anointing

He was an apostle, maybe by joining an assemble it woulf take away from elders of such?