Not too long ago I read an article about how God did not intend for us to have churches bigger than a house church and or leading pastors. The writer made some good points about the draw backs of big churches and lead pastors. What I want to do with this post is state why we need churches that are larger than house churches as well as having house churches.
As far as lead pastors are concerned I want to share only one scripture to show that we need them and agree that the same goals can be met in a house church but it still requires a lead person.
1 Corinthians 12: 27-31 You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, organizers, those who pray in tongues.
But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called "important" parts.
But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
Lead pastors are just one small part of the church and they are needed just as the rest of the church is needed in order to do the work God has called the body to do. Their role is to train the church for service and give direction for the church.
To explain why we need to be a part of a church either as a house church or a bigger organization I will share what I witnessed the other night at a memorial for a young child who had died.
Because of the relationships, which is the key to both a house church and a bigger church, that the father and mother had with other people there was an out-pouring of love and compassion to the parents. True this can and does happen in house churches but usually on a much smaller scale.
God set for us an example through Israel and the Temple of what good leadership is. The human leadership was flawed but what came from the Mercy Seat located in the Holy of Holies was perfect. Today with the help of the Holy Spirit we can have human leaders who are guided by Him and not their own strength.
I do not believe that God is disappointed that we have mega churches or that a house church may have only five or six members. What disappoints him is the attitude we have toward one or the other. God created humans to need leaders and He shows us through the Bible what a godly leader looks like.
The young couple could have faced losing their baby son alone and because they have God's Holy Spirit would have found healing but because of the relationships they had with others in the body the healing is on a faster track. Because of these relationships they were also able to be a witness to the body and others in how they handled the tragic events.
Finally, Although we can be Christians completely secluded from others God does not intend for us to be lone ranger Followers of Christ. Part of our human nature is that we are drawn to leaders and groups. House churches and larger churches allow us the relationships we need to grow. Neither is better or worse than the other and God accepts them both as tools in sharing the gospel.
As far as lead pastors are concerned I want to share only one scripture to show that we need them and agree that the same goals can be met in a house church but it still requires a lead person.
1 Corinthians 12: 27-31 You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, organizers, those who pray in tongues.
But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called "important" parts.
But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
Lead pastors are just one small part of the church and they are needed just as the rest of the church is needed in order to do the work God has called the body to do. Their role is to train the church for service and give direction for the church.
To explain why we need to be a part of a church either as a house church or a bigger organization I will share what I witnessed the other night at a memorial for a young child who had died.
Because of the relationships, which is the key to both a house church and a bigger church, that the father and mother had with other people there was an out-pouring of love and compassion to the parents. True this can and does happen in house churches but usually on a much smaller scale.
God set for us an example through Israel and the Temple of what good leadership is. The human leadership was flawed but what came from the Mercy Seat located in the Holy of Holies was perfect. Today with the help of the Holy Spirit we can have human leaders who are guided by Him and not their own strength.
I do not believe that God is disappointed that we have mega churches or that a house church may have only five or six members. What disappoints him is the attitude we have toward one or the other. God created humans to need leaders and He shows us through the Bible what a godly leader looks like.
The young couple could have faced losing their baby son alone and because they have God's Holy Spirit would have found healing but because of the relationships they had with others in the body the healing is on a faster track. Because of these relationships they were also able to be a witness to the body and others in how they handled the tragic events.
Finally, Although we can be Christians completely secluded from others God does not intend for us to be lone ranger Followers of Christ. Part of our human nature is that we are drawn to leaders and groups. House churches and larger churches allow us the relationships we need to grow. Neither is better or worse than the other and God accepts them both as tools in sharing the gospel.
