So You Want To Start A House Church - Page 5 of 7

Article # five: Building On Rock

So let’s say, for discussion purposes, you feel led of the Lord to start a house church.

First of all, it should be said you are allowed to start a house church. You do not need permission from anyone to do what the Lord bids you to do. To seek permission could insult your Father. It would be like the little girl given permission to go to a party asking the neighbors to endorse Daddy’s permission.

J E S U S : Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Mat. 7:24)

Paraphrase: If you do what I say you will be successful.

If you build your house church on Bible principles it will prosper. If you don’t it won’t. The group builds in the same manner the individual builds. (You may want to read again a previous article, Me, Us.) There are some musts applicable to the group determined to have healthy christianity.

First and foremost, Jesus must be the focus of the gathering. In His name do the people congregate. One might think this a simple matter but it’s not. Jesus has a way of being forgotten, ignored, slighted. We protest the world taking Christ out of christmas, and are oblivious to the folly and betrayal of removing Christ from christianity. There is an ugly thing within that resists Jesus, and acknowledging this enemy helps define the battle, the real battle, of life on earth. The Christ-versus-self and Christ-versus-man and Christ-versus-tradition clash will extend into any house church. He who wins this battle wins all.

The group cannot “change the subject.” How easy to slide from Christ-centeredness to something less. There are hundreds of subjects christians find fascinating – inner healing, televangelists, politics, Bible prophecies, evangelicalism, house churches, Pastor Whoever, controversial doctrines, ‘new’ teachings, upcoming and past conferences, and many etceteras. The group staying on track – Marys sitting at His feet, Marys giving due homage and appreciation – will be blessed for their tenacity. (Believe me, tenacity is what it takes to keep Jesus as lord of the group’s christianity.)

A second must: The group must agree to bow to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can never become merely emblematic. Since He is a person He should be treated as one. Since He is special, He is worthy of reverence. All should courteously attempt to discern what the Spirit is saying. “I think this” or “I think that” is the language of self. “I sense the Lord is saying such-and-such” and “I discern the Holy Spirit is telling us we should do it this way or at that time” is the speech of one subject to the Holy Spirit. The fact there will be mistakes discerning His will does not diminish the importance of trying to hear what He is saying. It’s the intentionality Jesus will bless.

A third must: The Bible must be embraced as authority. So few do. And to further complicate life, all assume they do, such the heart’s ability to deceive. Nonetheless the Bible must always take precedence over tradition. (This calls for a serious, conscious, determined effort.)

A desire to understand and obey the Bible is an indicator Christ is lord. Resistance indicates a resistance to Christ. The assembly built upon the sayings of Christ will stand. The collective fruit will be plentiful.

Caution: Be wary of the one, Bible in hand and finger pointing, on a mission to straighten everyone out. This ‘mission’ can be another deterrent, another way to “change the subject.” While it is healthy to be seekers of truth, it must be understood truth will never be fully realized. At best, a group of ten is ten attaining more truth than they had yesterday. I am not in full agreement on every subject with any acquaintance. And neither are you. In a group of ten not two could find complete agreement. Total biblical accuracy is an impossible goal for any group. More of Him must be the communal ambition. Again, More of Him must be the goal. Nothing less. Truth will be added as Jesus is glorified. Praise has a way of opening the eyes of understanding.

A review of above (what I consider to be) essentials:

Jesus is central.
The Holy Spirit is lord.
The Bible is authority.

A fourth element: Officialdom, an administrative system whereby an official officiates (pastor, elder, group leader) must be outlawed. Officialdom, the bedrock and grief of evangelicalism, must be forbidden because Jesus forbade it.

J E S U S : The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called “benefactors”. But not so among you. (Luke 22:25,26)

Clearly Jesus forbids some in His church to “exercise lordship over,” “exercise authority over,” others in His church. The more gifted are not to direct the less gifted. Feed, yes. Influence, certainly. Direct, no. His church is not to mimic the world. Christ rules His.

F r a n k A. V i o l a : Endemic to functionally oriented churches is the mutual responsibility and collegial interplay of the various members as they listen to the Lord together and affirm each other in their Spirit-endowed gifts. (Who Is Your Covering?)

The earliest assemblies governed themselves by consensus. Undoubtedly there were elders, mature men who had deeper insights than most; their place was to persuade (not coerce) the group to accept a certain direction or certain truths. That’s the way Jesus operated – He persuaded… or tried to. Paul’s letters were attempts to persuade the assemblies to behave responsibly. Peter, John and James reasoned with, did not dictate to, those under their influence.

We are accustomed to an official in the assembly supervising the group, and this custom is hard to abdicate. But you must if you hope to build a house church on the Word. You have to be willing to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” by soaking that mind in Bible perspective.

J E S U S : Who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. (Luke 22:27)

The pharisees are a religious prototype of those who sat “at the table.” They were officers, as is Pastor Whoever. Officers are not servants recognized by the towel around their waist, but enforcers identified by a uniform (a suit-and-tie within evangelicalism is often a uniform), expecting compliance. Christ’s words emphasize He has not appointed officers to govern His church. Bureaucracy needs to be outlawed in your assembly. Peter says it well:

P e t e r : All of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility. (1Peter 5:5)

To one another. Submissive, not obedient.

F r a n k A. V i o l a : Subjection is an attitude; obedience is an action. Subjection is absolute; obedience is relative. Subjection is unconditional; obedience is conditional. Subjection is an internal matter of the heart; obedience is an external matter of conduct. (Who Is Your Covering?)

Another review:

Christ is central.
The Holy Spirit is lord.
The Bible is authority.
The group self-governs by consensus.

Number five must: The house church must be supported, continually, by prayers of faith. The power of the group, its protection and its harvest, will be relative to collective prayer.

While everyone in attendance is a potential blessing, so is he and she a potential problem. Ten people in a group are ten ‘me’s, ten people far from finished, ten with various baggages. Some may be controllers or incessant talkers, some less than teachable. Maintaining peace and unity by advanced prayer is easier than fixing relationships gone sour or reversing bad situations.

While your house church will advance no further than the prayer supporting it, it will likewise go as far as the supporting prayer. In other words, prayer won’t go to waste. In other words, you can better the quality of your gathering by simply increasing prayer.

The marriage having both spouses focused on the Lord will be successful. But without vigilance of prayer intimacy could degrade into enmity; how often that happens. Likewise the house church; if not undergirded in continuous prayer it could lose focus. Losing focus is losing protection. (If focus on Christ cannot be regained it may as well fold.)

Again:

Christ is central.
The Holy Spirit is lord.
The Bible is authority.
The group self-governs by consensus.
Prayer, prayer, prayer.

One more must: There must be a heavy emphasis on praise and worship. You want to experience, during every gathering, the manifested Presence of God. You want tears to flow, repentance to come, quality decisions made, lives transformed. You want to witness the supernatural, the miraculous. You want pentecost. This will come with quality praise unto our precious redeemer.

Praise is not only relative to the passion of the moment, but to the dedication of one’s life. Lives of faithfulness are much more potent than lives of carelessness. How the group lives out their months and years will determine the collective purity and power of praise.

Pray for a gifted instrumentalist, perhaps more than one. Perhaps some in the group could meet separately to familiarize themselves with Christ-centered worship songs, old and new.

So once more:

Christ is central.
The Holy Spirit is lord.
The Bible is authority.
The group self-governs by consensus.
Prayer, prayer, prayer.
Praise and worship.

There. Six (what I consider to be) essentials to ensure a prosperous assemblage. These six should be emphasized at the first; it is easier to stay on a preferred path than trying to redirect to that path later.

Your agenda should be increase. You want this meeting to be better than the last, and the next purer yet. Continual increase is possible, for every individual, for every group.

I also have a few etceteras – not musts, just practical considerations. That’s the next article.

C h a l l e n g e : You are on your way to heaven. You will soon be there. Forever. This little time on earth is a privilege not to reoccur. Time on earth is a responsibility and an opportunity. Time here will determine the quality of your eternity there. So praise Jesus and the Father with all that is within in this brief moment of time on planet earth. Convey an attitude of gratitude. You are an example, an influence. Your passion will be effectual in the extension and maintenance of God’s kingdom.

P r a y e r : Help us, Father. Help us, Lord, to live for You through Jesus Christ. Make us desperate. May we honor You by laying down our toys. By renouncing distractions. By turning off the television. Help us get serious about that that matters. And anoint this article. In Jesus’ name. (And hopefully the reader says, “Amen!”)