Yet Another Pentecostal Organization

[Jason B]

Originally Posted by Aquila

Bro... you're ignorant of your history. The greatest church growth in history took place in the first two centuries without any global organization or great wealth. They had regional houses, mostly based in homes, networked sharing the Gospel one on one. Missionaries, like Paul, had a trade and would travel to a region and set up shop, supporting themselves and sharing the Gospel person to person.

You'll see the Great Awakening spread revivals this way too. They were mostly opposed by the religious organizations and institutions of their day. Even John Wesley admitted he did more to further the Kingdom of God preaching from tree stumps and his father's tomb than behind the pulpit he eventually grew into.

And even today the greatest church growth around the world is taking place in China and India among loosely knit networks of house churches who most often don't own any property beyond a private home. A great example of this is the movement began by Ying Kai after the Holy Spirit convicted him not to start churches... but to reach and train disciples to reach and train disciples to start churches. Everyone within his house church network is discipled and trained with one vision... start a fellowship that trains others to start a fellowship who trains others to... and so on. The growth is UNBELIEVABLE. The inspiration of one man led of the Holy Ghost. He believes that if you're still sitting under him after about a year, something is wrong with your experience. He doesn't want to see his disciples sitting in rows listening to him for 40 years. He wants them equipped and empowered to reach their world by starting fellowships within their own homes to do the same.

Truth is... today we have the largest and most wealthy "organizations" and denominations ever. And yet church growth in Europe and America is abysmal. We're seeing massive growth in undeveloped regions among those who house church, their entire Christianity being missional and person to person... just like in the first two centuries. These movements aren't requesting a lot of money either. It's not a program in their faith. It's THE MISSION. Their reason for breathing.

Get back to basics... we are trying to save the world with a "corporate business model". And even this thread demonstrates that in this model all you'll see is division after division as everyone divides over the idolatry of their pet ideas.

Love this post

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by onefaith2

I read Aquila's post and he still earns to organization but nothing outside of the house service. I suggest you all study the concept of elders and bishops and the apostolic order. Catholics have abused the system in my opinion, but they got the concept right. It begin with Jesus and the apostles and stems down from that.

I'm not sure what you mean by the bolded.

I firmly believe that the church should periodically meet en masse and publically for evangelistic purposes. This can be in a church building, stadium, a union hall, a town square, a school gymnasium, you name it. They should have a speaker address the masses attending, much like we see in traditional services. However, these meetings are not the "bread and butter" of church gatherings according to the Bible.

The real "bread and butter" gatherings wherein body ministry takes place (ministry where each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation, where all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged) demands a smaller more intimate setting. How can all be permitted to prophesy or sing a song they desire with 500 in attendance? Most likely with any more than 12 men and their families (the number in the cell group Christ established) a gathering will loose the ability to truly disciple as Christ discipled and to have an open meeting wherein body ministry takes place as Paul described it in I Corinthians 14.

Every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:30 AM, our house churches gather in a large sanctuary where public worship, evangelism, and preaching (primarily from our senior pastor, but it's been rotated out to a couple regional elders a few times throughout this year) takes place. It's a traditional service as most would understand it. But that's the only time during the week we en masse like this. During the week we meet in house churches as often as the house church elders wish to meet. Our house churches meet in homes, parks, coffee shops, bars, and resturants. The vast majority of our Christian practice is in the setting of the house church. Some churches that are structured like this only meet en masse once a month. Our focus is discipleship and house churching. Our senior pastor has gone as far to say that if one isn't "plugged into a house church" they are not actually members of our church, because they haven't caught the vision of what we're doing and they are not being discipled biblically.

Here's a video from my church about my church:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLSkWrypu3Y

[Aquila]

Here's a little FUN. LOL

This is our senior pastor having a good time during a fund raiser with the congregation gathered in our Centerville sancturary: lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqm1f...eature=related

This is our senior pastor "break dancing" for a little fun during a gathering in our sancturary: lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83KdF...eature=related

Here's senior pastor getting the congregation to loosen up before worship.... lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPV8G...eature=related

Senior pastor sharing some teaching,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2CZo...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lt1q...eature=related

Here's a message of his delivered at Cedarville University:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD6uL...eature=related

Here's the testimoy of my house church elder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Z_C...eature=related

[Amanah]

thanks for linking those Utubes, I enjoyed watching the first one and will watch the others later on

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Aquila

My point is that this is a Kingdom... organizations are an invention of man and they hold absolutely no weight in God's sight. Organizations are the result of men worshiping their practice instead of practicing their worship. An organization will conform you into the image of itself, not Christ. Anything that identifies you outside of Christ alone is spiritually dangerous. God didn't call us to be good United Pentecostals or ALJC believers. God called us to be conformed into the very image and likeness of Christ and Christ alone.

One day these organizations will be buried in the dust of history...and the men who adore them will stand in judgment before the very one they were supposed to have adored.

Men form organizations to solidfy power, position, and wealth. To draw off disciples after themselves and thereby they also divide the body. Some are tyring to "fix" something by creating another broken system that someone else will try to "fix" with yet another broken system.

God has led me to just step out of the entire system to just speak and teach the Kingdom. I love it when I'm talking to a very "organizational/denominational" person in a coffee shop. Sometimes I'll tell them the truth about the Kingdom and they just stare at me. lol People are so conditioned to need a banner, a system, a position, a title, an association. There are no "organizations" in God's Kingdom. There is simply the Kingdom. Organizations are like mounds of human filth scattered across a narrow section of God's majestic country side.