I’m not sure that house/organic/simple churches are the complete answer for reviving or “greening” the American Church. Historically, I can think of several movements in which small groups or house churches played a very positive role. For example, while the early Church met in people’s houses (see 1 Cor 1:11, Col 4:15, and Philemon 1:2), larger “church” buildings began to appear in the late second and third centuries (although the Romans tended to burn them down during pogroms, which is why we only have a few examples). Some of these were quite large (we know that they were Christian rather than just Roman by the baptismal tanks). Why? Perhaps we were copying the Romans in outward piety, or perhaps people just love to get together. And, of course, all the house churches of a city appeared to cooperate together, whether they used a “Council of Elders” or whether they submit themselves to someone that they elected Bishop, from very early days in the Church.
There are other examples, but none as clear as in the 1500s, late 1600s and early 1700s. In the 1500s Anabaptist groups were forced into a house-church model (persecuted by both Reformed and Roman Catholic churches) and grew. In the late 1600s and 1700s the Pietist movements in Germany and Scandinavia used small Bible study groups to teach and pray, and the Moravian revival in the 1700s was birthed by “choirs,” groups gathered for prayer and accountability (although the Moravians always had a dedicated “church” building). The Methodist revival in the British Isles (1700s) discipled its converts through small “bands” and “classes,” and the Methodist circuit riders of the 1700s and 1800s conducted what were essentially house churches on the American frontier (there were no church buildings, so Willie invited his neighbors in for preaching and prayer). The Plymouth Brethren, the Catholic Apostolic Church, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches all had their start in small groups that challenged the existing church order. All of these promoted discipleship and accountability in a “body” or family kind of structure.
On the other hand, none of these movements lasted as “house-church,” or simple/organic church structured movements. Most of these home church movements were essentially reabsorbed into the institutional church, whether one already established, or one that was founded as the culmination of one of these movements. The early Church gets legit and so goes Byzantine. Anabaptists are usually organized under bishops and meet in a central “church.” The Pietists were absorbed into the extant Lutheran churches, and the Methodists created their own hierarchy and church buildings. So, we see a pattern of the life of the church renewed as people become hungry enough to meet outside of the liturgical assembly, but a new generation or new circumstances calls the group to a greater order and spawns institutions. I cannot think of a single movement that did not either become completely reabsorbed into an existing groups or result in a new church institution.
I would also point out that the movements that were the longest lived (since the Reformation) are those groups that successfully combined a both/and approach. The Pietists, Moravians, and Methodists all had small groups which supplemented the liturgical service (what some call “temple” churches today), and all these movements exist today. Most of these, like many Pentecostal groups, have stopped small house groups in favor of “going to church” for prayer, Bible study, etc., and I might argue that the lapse of small group gatherings in these now institutional churches has drained the spiritual life from them, but their long history of spiritual life and growth was historically enabled by having both small groups and the larger liturgical gatherings.
The movements that I have mentioned, as well as the revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries, have been the most powerful in “greening” the Western churches over the last 500 years. They are also movements that had very clear authority structures and who obeyed certain central tenants, taught by the leaders of those movements. Wesley is probably the best example of long-term fruit and a clear hierarchical structure. This is another reason why I think that “organic” churches – those who not only espouse small-group meetings, but a flat hierarchy or authority structure – can be helpful for the spiritual life of the Body of Christ, but they are not the complete answer. Without a theological center and clear lines of authority, such movements seem to inevitably become about something else than a disciplined and joyous relationship with God and each other. Whether that other is social action, or the experience of worship, or spiritual enlightenment, or whatever, the spiritual greening, the family dynamic, appears to wither.
This is one reason why Jack Hayford’s model in the early days of Church on the Way has appealed to me. The life of the assembly was in the small groups that met under the leadership of an elder each week, but the teaching, the sense of purpose, and the direction of the assembly-at-large was given by Pastor Jack in the “liturgical” service. I’ve seen this model work in more than one place, if the elders who lead the group are able to teach the Bible (or at least to teach a prepared lesson), and are able to pray with power for the needs of the people (worship can vary). And I suspect that liturgy (rather than more freedom) is also desperately needed in all forms of Evangelical, Emerging, Charismatic, etc. churches (another discussion). Personally, I think a Rabbi model might work well for us. Rabbis are well-trained, but they don’t expect, necessarily, to make their living leading a synagogue. They sacrifice themselves to work outside of their office as Rabbi to make a living, even while being thoroughly enmeshed in the lives of their people. I know hundreds of pastors who work part- or full-time to feed their families while leading small assemblies. Since rabbis are father figures, as well, I wonder if this model might work well for Millennials who have such a hunger for father figures.
What I have tried to set out here are historical reasons why I am all in favor of small groups as the focus of the life of the Body, and even small “churches” (the average American church is still under 100 people), but also why it is not all that clear to me that “simple” or organic churches are the answer. Of course, thousands of established congregations already have a “flat” authority structure (the congregation votes on everything), so perhaps this model can work on a smaller scale. Yet, I would venture that it is not the issue of “organic” versus “institutional” churches (I have seen organic churches go very wrong) that is the key, but the method or model of leadership that is the real issue. Do leaders feed the congregation, or feed off of it for their emotional, mental, and physical needs? Are leaders humble, transparent, and strong enough in faith to survive emotional attacks and the stress of working to heal wounded people? I suspect that character issues are the greater issues, and, of course, there is the fact that Americans reserve the right to get in a snit any old time they feel like it. In all this, I’m thinking out loud, rather than stating what is my absolute position. I look forward to your responses.
This is great. About time someone challenges all of the crazy things Kenny Burchard posts around here! 🙂 ha ha ha… JK.
I would really like to read a response from Kenny though… I am being pulled two different ways here and you both write such great and thoughtful stuff!!!!!
Luke – You’ll appreciate my project for SVS then. But you’ll have to attend that to read it.
THE DESTINY OF THE CHURCH
What is the destiny of the Church here on earth ? In clear why has GOD put the Church here on earth ? To anwser this question at the Church level, it is first of all usefull to answer the same question at the level of the individual Born Again Christian. Surely many Born Again Christians have put themselves this question : why has GOD put me here on earth ?
To start, let us recall that we the elect, were chosen by GOD and created by GOD before the very creation of the world. Ephesians 1:4 clearly states that GOD the FATHER chose us in GOD the LORD JESUS CHRIST before the foundation of the world. Yes you individual Born Again Christian, you were created and chosen in GOD the SON JESUS CHRIST by GOD the FATHER even before the creation of the world. Folks, this is quite deep. While the children of Satan were created by GOD only with the creation of the world (and sown in the world by Satan), we were created and elected before the creation of the world. So we are not of the same age as Satan’s children and Satan’s children can just not match us in any way. This is surely why GOD has established us as gods over Satan’s children, making us the only light to them and the only salt to them. What we bind here on earth concerning them is bound in Heaven and what we loose here on earth concerning them is loosed in Heaven as revealed in Matthew 16 :19. Yes GOD has established us as gods over Satan’s children as revealed in Exodus 7 :1 when GOD says ; I have made thee a god to Pharaoh.
Now John 17:16 says that you Born Again Christian are not of this world, while John 8 :23 says that Satan’s children are of this world. This is quite normal because we existed in GOD, chosen by GOD even before the creation of this world while Satan’s children were created by GOD only with this world and then handed over to Satan so that Satan could sow them in this world (2 Corinthians 9 :10 says that GOD is HE that ministereth seed to the sower and Satan is also a sower like us).
If you, Born Again are not of this world, why then has GOD put you in this world ? The answer is revealed by 1 Corinthians 15 : 36-38. GOD put you Born Again Christian in this world so that you should die (yes die with CHRIST JESUS because a seed put into the earth must start by going rotten and dying), then resurrect (yes resurrect with CHRIST JESUS) and then receive from GOD a new Body which will bear a lot of fruits for GOD. Yes, as long as you were not yet sent into the world by GOD, it was not possible for you to produce fruits for GOD. So you came here on earth to die, then resurrect and receive a new Body which could bear a lot of fruits for GOD. This is why GOD sent you individual Born Again, here on earth. Ephesians 2 :10 says that you were created in JESUS CHRIST unto good works, which GOD has before ordained. But as long as you were not yet come into this world, you were just unable to fulfill these good works because it was necessary for you to start by dying in CHRIST JESUS, resurrect in CHRIST JESUS and then receive a new Body able to bear fruits for GOD that is able to fulfill all the good works which GOD has before ordained. This is why you are here on earth and this is a striking difference between we human Christians and Angels. Angels don’t need to do like GOD that is to die and resurrect before ministering unto GOD but we human Chistians, created at the image of GOD, we need to die and resurrect before being able to yield fruits unto GOD. And this earth is the only place chosen by GOD for this dying and resurrection process.
Now that we have discovered in the Bible why is the individual Born Again Christian sent to this world by GOD, let us tackle the reason why GOD has put his Church in this world.
What is the destiny of the Church here on earth ?
To answer to this let us remember that CHRIST JESUS is the HEAD and the Church is the Body. Since the HEAD has already accomplished all the past and all the future, it is wise to just look at what the HEAD has achieved and you will get a clear understanding of the destiny and mission of the Church on earth. The Body must follow exactly the HEAD because John 5 :19 reveals that what things soever the HEAD doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. So what has done the LORD JESUS CHRIST who is our HEAD ? He died at Golgotha, went rotten in the grave and spent two days in the grave and early in the morning of the third day, HE resurrected. This is exactly what the Church is following. The Church was sown in year 30 at the Pentecost. But we were sown as a dead seed into the world as explained by 1 Corinthians 15 : 36-38 already shared above. So we the Church, we are died, gone rotten and we are stinking in the grave since year 30, giving a savour of death unto death to them that perish (Satan’s children) and giving a savour of life unto life to them that are saved. But we must follow the HEAD as revealed in John 5 :19 meaning that in year 2030, early in the morning, there must be a global resurrection of the Church all over the world. This means that in year 2030, Daniel 2 :44 will be accomplished. GOD will resurrect his Kingdom which is the Church and the Church will break in pieces all the four global satanic empires on earth and then the Church will become a mountain filling the whole earth meaning that the Church will become a unique global Kingdom filling the whole earth.
Yes this will happen in year 2030 because Daniel 2 :44 says that it will happen « in the days of these kings » and not during the rapture or the great tribulation or the millenial reign of the LORD JESUS on earth. It will happen when the four global satanic empires are still standing on earth and having their evil kings ruling over them. Please Daniel 2 :44 is clear. It is not saying that GOD will come down HIMSELF on earth to do the job but it is saying that GOD will set up here on earth a Kingdom which will do the job. So neither the tribulation period nor the millenial reign are concerned here. Read again Daniel 2 :44 in thy Bible (King James) please and read this verse calmly. Who says that the Church is the only Kingdom of GOD working here on earth ? The answer is found in Revelation 1:6 and Hebrews 12 :28. These verses establish without doubt that GOD has only one precise Kingdom acting here on earth on his behalf : the Church.
And the Kingdom set by GOD as stated in Daniel 2 :44 is acting here on earth and not in Heaven. Exodus 19 :6 says this ; And ye shall be unto ME a Kingdom of Priests, and an holy Nation. So there is no doubt that it is the Church which is destroying all the four global satanic empires and it is this resurrected Church which is becoming a unique global Kingdom filling the earth and ruling the earth. Daniel 2 :45 says clearly that this Stone which brakes in pieces the four satanic kingdoms all over the earth is cut out of the Mountain without hands. Which Mountain is that ? Psalm 2 :6 says that this Mountain is the Holy Hill of Zion and Psalm 2 :6 reveals that GOD the FATHER has set up his KING over this Holy Hill and even a child knows that this KING set up over Mount Zion is GOD the SON the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Ephesians 2 :6 reveals that each Born Again Christian is sit in heavenly places in CHRIST JESUS, meaning that the whole Church is sit in heavenly places in CHRIST JESUS who is established KING over Mount Zion. This is why Nebucadnezzar saw in his dream, the Church cut out of Mount Zion without hands. Without hand means that this action is supernaturally monitored by GOD HIMSELF.
Now why do we say that the Church is dead in the grave from year 30 to year 2030 ? Bible readers know that for GOD, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3 :8). Since the HEAD which is the FATHER spent two days in the grave, the Body which is the Church and which is the Son must also spend two prophetic days that is two thousand years in the grave.
The next question which comes now is to know what will the Church do after destroying the four satanic global empires in year 2030 and after becoming a unique Kingdom filling the whole earth. To answer to this let us go back again to the HEAD. After resurrecting early in the morning on the third day, the HEAD revealed HIMSELF as a Glorious resurrected CHRIST to his disciples during fourty days. The Body will do the same thing meaning that as from year 2030, the Church will rule the entire earth for fourty thousand years, thus answering to the earnest expectation of the creation which waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of GOD (Romans 8 :19). And what will happen after the reign of the Church on earth as a unique global Kingdom during fourty thousand years ? Even a child knows that the answer is the rapture. The HEAD was raptured after fourty days and so the Body will also be raptured after fourty thousand years of reign on earth, which reign must start in year 2030. Is that the end of the destiny of the Church on earth? Not yet and so, let us continue.
Matthew 25 :1-13 reveals that only a portion of Christians, the five wise virgins will be raptured after the fourty thousand years reign of the Church all over the earth. Another portion of Christians, the five foolish virgins will be left behind. A Christian is a virgin daughter of Zion (2 Kings 19:21). How do we know that a great portion of Christians will be left behind during the « first » rapture as mentioned in Matthew 25 :1-13 ( we put « first » because as you know, Enoch and Elijah were raptured before this rapture we are talking about here )? To answer to this let us go back to our Bible. Our Bible says this in Ecclesiastes 3 :15 ; That which has been is now ; and that which is to be has already been ; and GOD requireth that which is past.
In the past, GOD used king Solomon to reveal to us the fourty thousand years reign of the Church here on earth. The fourty years glorious reign of Solomon announce the fourty thousand years glorious reign of the Church on earth. Bible readers know that GOD also says that HE counts a day for a year as mentioned in Ezekiel 4 :5. Here we can use what mathematicians call transitivity. A day can be counted for a year and a day is also a thousand years in the prophetic realm. This means that a natural year can prohetically announce a thousand years. That is why Solomon reigned for fourty years, announcing fourty thousand reign of the Church on earth. 1 Chronicles 17 :11-14 shows that Solomon represents and announces the Church ; he builds the Temple of GOD (and Christians know that GOD’s Temple is CHRIST’s Body which is the Church), the mercy of GOD will never be taken away from him and this is exactly the case for each Born Again which is elected by GOD before the creation of the world, he is the son of GOD as is any Born Again Christian. So how did end the reign of Solomon after fourty years ? At the end of his reign, Solomon turned away from GOD, married many heathen women, dived into idolatry. This is exactly how will end the fourty thousand years reign of the Church on earth. This marvelleous and very brilliant fourthy thousand years reign of the Church on earth will end in inter marriages with pagan seed of Satan and idolatry. This is why the rapture which will occur after fourty thousand years of Church’s reign will be a bitter surprise for a great majority of Christians ; the foolish virgins. When you are reigning and ruling on earth, you tend to enjoy and when you are living in permanent enjoyment, you easiliy forget to watch and pray (keeping oil in thy lamp) though you are a Born Again Christian. This is what the LORD JESUS CHRIST announced in Luke 18 :8 when HE said ; Nevertheless when the SON of Man cometh, shall HE find faith on earth ?
So when the wise virgins are raptured after fourty thousand years of Church’s reign on earth, GOD will punish the rebellious Solomon, the five foolish virgins, by splitting the left behind Church into two kingdoms ; on one hand the kingdom of Judah representing all the gentiles who were sinful Christians and are left behind and on the other hand the kingdom of Joseph representing all Jews who also were sinful Christians and are left behind. Just read 1 King 11 :11-13 to understand this. From these two kingdoms will spring forth millions who will repent with sackloth ; these are the two witnesses revealed in the Book of Revelation.
Many of the Christians left behind, made of both Jews and Gentiles (the two witnesses revealed in Revelation 11 :3-4) will repent before GOD with sackloth and get back to CHRIST JESUS. This tribulation Church made of backsliding Christians who have sincerely repented with sackloth will be empowered by GOD to damage all the rebellious civilizations awakened by Satan throughout the earth, with catastrophic judgments, signs and wonders as revealed in Revelation 11: 5-6. This damage will be accomplished on a global scale upon all rebellious nations by the tribulation Church, and this during three years and half, starting from the rapture of the wise virgins. After the three years and half, the dragon which is Satan will be given power over the tribulation Church and he will kill all those tribulation Saints and lay their bodies openly under the sun, refusing them grave. During three days and half their bodies will be let under the sun while the antichrist and Satan will be ruling the earth. Do you here realize how demonic are the rebellious nations of the earth ? They will enjoy having under their noses for three days and half, millions of stinking bodies of tribulation Saints. After these three days and half, all the tribulation Saints will be resurrected and raptured by GOD as revealed in Revelation 11 :11-12. This is the « second » rapture occuring three years and half after the « first rapture ». Finally, after antichrist and Satan have ruled the earth for three years and half starting from the killing of the tribulation Saints, an Angel of GOD will come down from Heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. He will bind Satan an shut him up in the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Revelation 20 :1-3). And then the LORD JESUS CHRIST will come from Heaven and settle on earth with all the Church including the wise virgins wich are raptured just before the opening of the tribulation period and the tribulation Church which is raptured at the middle of the tribulation period. And from there on, the LORD JESUS CHRIST and the whole Church will reign on earth for a thousand years. Folks, do you realize how important it is to reign over the earth ? During this millenial reign of GOD and the Church on earth, there will still be billions of Satan’s children on earth, waiting eagerly for the liberation of their father the dragon. These children of Satan will see all the good deeds of GOD on earth and even enjoy all the good living conditions set on earth by GOD during the millenial reign but this will not prevent them from longing after the liberation of their father Satan. They will just not repent. Folks, understand this and learn a lesson. It is not because you do a lot of good to Satan’s seed that it will repent and seek GOD. So allthrough the millenial reign of GOD and the Church on earth, Satan’s children will secretly conspire permanently in their lodges of darkness, waiting for their father the dragon to be loosed. Folks, understand that even if you tremendously improve economic, political and living conditions for all the rebelious nations of the earth, this will not lead them to any repentence before GOD. They will instead long permamently after their sole objective; crowning Satan their father as king over the earth. So do not dream that when we apply justice and do good alltrough the earth, Satan’s seed will be grateful for that and turn back to JESUS CHRIST. Faith in JESUS does not spring from the earth, it comes from Heaven only. When the thousand years of millenial reign are expired, Satan being loosed out of the bottomless pit will immediately gather all his billions of children around the planet and they will together compass the Church and the city of Jerusalem (Revelation 20 :7-8). At this juncture, GOD will just send fire from Heaven to devour Satan and his billions of children (Revelation 20 :9). Here will end the mission of the Church on this current earth.
Such is the destiny of the Church here on this current earth which will flee away and disapear as mentioned in Revelation 20 :11.
Shalom to all the nations of the earth.
Reverend Apostle JOSEPH TOUBI.
josetoubi@yahoo.com