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The editors of Leadership Journal, which is a sister publication of Christianity Today, have posted a new article:
Cutting the Cord: Are Megachurches Birthing the House Church Movement?
In recent months the conversation on Out of Ur has explored why increasing numbers of Christians are opting to pursue Christ apart from a local church. The discussion began with Kevin Miller’s review of George Barna’s new book, Revolution. And, similar themes were addressed by Dave Terpstra in his post on why the spiritually mature leave the church. Church leaders; however, are no longer the only ones interested in this issue. Time Magazine ran a story on March 6 titled “There's No Pulpit Like Home” discussing the changes occurring in American Christianity and the rise of house churches. Interestingly, the authors suggest it may be the megachurch advocacy of small groups that has fueled the house church trend:
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This post was written, not to discourage or encourage homechurching but, to comment on similar articles and their bearing on the future of church in America and possibly the world.
If history has taught us anything it surely should have taught us that the only sure way to happily serve God according to one's own conscience is to have the freedom to do so. The religion of the church and the power of the state must be separate.
But if you look back in history you will see examples of churches trying to rule over the state using the power of the state to enforce its own agenda. This happened in the Dark Ages and again in early America in the 1600's.
If you read the history of the church you will find that church attendence was dwindling so the bishops worked to get Sunday's off so the masses could attend church. This did not work as planned. The people enjoyed recreation rather than church with their free time. The bishops struggled with ideas to compel the faithful to attend church.
In America in the 1600's they imposed a fine for missing church. If you were a slave you were beaten or jailed. If you were a free man then you might be fined up to 1/2 your estate. A repeat offender could find himself a slave.
What I am saying is this... as the pastors lose their flock they may look to other means to boast church attendance and monetary support. One way would be for them to ask the civil authorities to impose mandatory church attendence if not working. They would seek to stop all recreational activities on Sunday such as ball games, theatre, shopping, etc. But when this fails to increase their numbers they will seek laws requiring people to attend church. They will claim that it is required to reduce crime.
Can this truly happen? Some would say not. But read Revelation 13 again about how the beast causes all to worship and Revelation 18 about how the whore rides the beast.
The whore riding the beast aptly describes an unfaithful church as a harlot who sits on the back of a government beast. The rider always holds the reigns which control a bit in the mouth of the animals head. This describes the control the false church will have over the heads of state. The bit in the mouth could very well describe a hook in the legislative power of this nation because it is, after all, the laws of our land which speak for America. It is through legislation that a nation speaks.
So, my point is that history often repeats. If the early church fathers were upset with decreasing numbers and decided to take action to reverse the tide, then why wouldn't the modern pastors take similar measures? The Bible seems to support this as well.
Just some of the fallout I see with the rise in home churches. As people leave the church the support diminishes. Attack a man's wallet and you have made an fierce enemy that nothing but greed can satiate.
quote: What I am saying is this... as the pastors lose their flock they may look to other means to boast church attendance and monetary support. One way would be for them to ask the civil authorities to impose mandatory church attendence if not working. They would seek to stop all recreational activities on Sunday such as ball games, theatre, shopping, etc. But when this fails to increase their numbers they will seek laws requiring people to attend church. They will claim that it is required to reduce crime.
That’s interesting; but it seems that the worldly beast has a god, money. I think the false church really doesn’t care who or what you worship as long as it isn’t the real God. Closing everything down on Sunday would hurt their pocket book too much.
I’ve read much about the cell churches in the past and their goal seems to be to branch out into the neighbor hood and reach the unchurched in a user friendly setting to keep tabs on the neighbor hood much like the Chinese cells of communism. I doubt the cells will completely do away with the denominations for the denominations are the top of the pyramid and will get smaller as the bottom rungs get larger. Just like pyramid money making schemes, these churches still get support from the small groups. They may actually get more money as the bottom cell groups expand into more and more small groups.
quote: So, my point is that history often repeats. If the early church fathers were upset with decreasing numbers and decided to take action to reverse the tide, then why wouldn't the modern pastors take similar measures? The Bible seems to support this as well.
Actually, the cell is the way the mega churches are dealing with loss of members; by splitting into smaller groups which attract more people than the big meeting does. Some may not even realize the cell is part of the mega and thus they haven’t lost people, just restructured and grown in a different venue.
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