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THE HOME CHURCH
All the way through the New Testament, Paul speaks about churches that met in houses. (Philemon v 2, 1 Cor. 16:19, Rom 16:5, Col 4:15) The New Testament Church was one network of house churches - all united as one. These were not independent fellowships or denominations. They were one church - one body - under the guidance of the apostles and elders. No divisions, denominations or separations existed. The apostles, elders, prophets, pastors and teachers would teach and exhort believers in these homes during their travels.
They not only met in homes, but the apostles also held large open-air meetings, usually every day. These were very large public gatherings. In Jerusalem they would sometimes meet on Solomon's porch or the court of the gentiles on the temple grounds.
In the church's greatest period of explosive growth, the first two centuries, they had no buildings to meet in. Yet now-a-days we keep building larger edifices at great sacrifice, costing millions, and we see virtually no church growth. One church may grow very large, but at the expense of smaller churches loosing members, so the overall net growth is almost unnoticeable. All we have to show for our works is beautiful buildings - and the church building concept is not even in the New Testament.
God is in the process of reviving His church to return to the ways of the first century Christians in the book of Acts. There will be home churches located in different areas of the cities, meeting at different times in the week on a regular basis and there will also be huge citywide gatherings of believers. We may meet in some of these large church buildings, but, for the most part, I believe we will be using stadiums, convention centers and open outdoor areas. There have been many prophecies and visions about the coming moves of God that include sports stadiums across the country being filled with Christians celebrating the Lord.
If we do meet in one of the large church buildings, it will no longer be controlled by the one-man-Pastor system that exists today. This system is the outgrowth of the clergy-laity structure that developed in the dark ages, beginning with the roman emperor Constantine and patterned after the Old Testament Rabbinical priesthood. This one man structure has actually damaged the church because it puts one man at the top, whose word is law, and all others are told to "submit to his vision." This one-man-show mentality borders on idolatry, resulting in most of the Christians becoming spectators -- then these pastors wonder why they never have enough volunteers to administrate "their" church. All the members have gifts and callings from God, not just the pastor, and this system does not encourage others, looked upon as laity in this system, to utilize their own anointings, in fact it has the opposite effect, suppressing the other five fold ministry callings that don't line up with the one-man-pastor's doctrine. Also, pride and control almost always manifest themselves when power is concentrated in the hands of one person or one-family entities. Jesus said we have only one master and we are all brothers (Math 23.)
It will be the responsibility of the elders to facilitate the shepherding of the home churches, not necessarily pastors, and that does not mean they will lord-it-over them. These small churches will not be "submissive to" or controlled by denominations or non-denominational "churches," but will all be part of the church of Houston, or Atlanta, or whatever city they live in. Every member of the home church will play a role in the calling God places on their life and actively participate in the great commission as Jesus expects out of all of us. Each Christian will have opportunities to speak and participate in ministering opportunities. Mighty signs and wonders will be an every day occurrence as brothers and sisters experience the true saving power of God. There will in all likelihood be praise and worship, dancing, teaching, prophesying, prayer and manifestations of miracle healings and deliverance like the church has not seen for centuries. In most of these house meetings, The Lord's supper will probably be incorporated into a full meal. Most of the "tithes" (not a new covenant form of giving) or offerings will be gathered in these home churches, which will be utilized mostly in missions for the lost, poor and needy.
Brothers and sisters, we need to be in tune with the way God is moving in His church. It is nothing like the system we have been operating in for centuries, and we need to be open and adaptable to His direction. Yes, there will be many that will still be inflexible because of deeply ingrained religious mindsets, and many of the church buildings will still be "functioning," but not flowing in the Spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. Current pastors of congregations that are unyielding to God's moving may find their flocks shrinking over time.
Last modified: 03/16/10
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