House Church Talk - Questions concerning leadership

[Scott Dowlen]

Hi, Glenn.  I can't say I've got any more experience in this than you. You
have been warned ;-)

The thing to make clear to every member of your group is that you are each
filled with the Spirit, gifted to minister to each other in unique ways.
Each member is gifted to lead in _some_ area, and they will be given
revelation about God's will, His word, and needs that the group can meet by
uniting in action.

No person should be seen as a 'little Christ', IMO, but each member should
see himself/herself as a member of the larger body of Christ.  When you get
together each person, at the leading of the Spirit will bring songs,
teaching, revelation, etc. If one of the more visible 'conversation
starters' is missing, the group should still be able to function and
minister to each other.  It should never consistently be the job of one
person to set the agenda and start the discussion. And certainly not to
control the flow of discussion.   One thing our group has seen is a deep
spiritual knowledge and tender spirit in one of our teenage guys. He has
felt 100% comfortable sharing scripture, opinions, and experiences with a
group of adults that one might think would intimidate a 14-year old.

If the weight of responsibility keeps falling back on one or two people, the
other folks may need to be encouraged to use the gifts God has given them.
When they hold back, they cheat the whole body out of a blessing. Even
differences can be loved and appreciated, and if it stirs up a desire to dig
deep in the word to find Truth, all the better.  Also, I am starting to see
that the IC tradition of 'hymns first, prayer next, then a lesson, then
another hymn' has nothing to do with one-anothering.  If these things
happen, they can flow out of the hearts of people gifted to lead songs and
pray and teach, and they don't have to always be scripted.

Also, there are meetings for different purposes, all valid and part of God's
plan for us:
1) fellowship and one-anothering meetings
2) teaching/study meetings
3) just being together to live life, raise kids, do chores, and get by from
day to day
4) larger meetings with other groups, to celebrate the truth of the larger
body of Christ at work in your area

There may be more. But don't dismiss meeting #3 just because it isn't the
same as meeting #2. And you never know when the Spirit might move to convert
a #3 into a #2, and you've got to be willing to let Him lead in unexpected
ways.

I'm writing as if I know all this first hand.  Most of it I've learned by
listening in on this group (thanks, everyone!!). Some of it I see coming for
the group that meets here in Midland.  It's as much a hope for the future as
it is the beginnings of a real experience.

Let's keep this up - I am really excited to hear what God is showing you
about these things!


Scott


> -----Original Message-----
> From: House Church Talk -bounces at housechurch.org
> [mailto:House Church Talk -bounces at housechurch.org]On Behalf Of Glenn Frank
> Sent: Sunday, 09 May, 2004 1:02 PM
> To: House Church Talk
> Subject: Re: House Church Talk -  Questions concerning leadership
>
>
> Hi Scott and Dan,
>
> I am interested to hear more about your thoughts on
> leadership in a 'house
> church' setting. My family has just recently (in the past few months)
> started gathering with some other believers in a home church form and
> stopped attending a institutional church. Everyone in the
> group is new to
> this idea of a home church gathering. We all came out of the same
> institutional church because we saw that all the traditional
> man-made things
> in the IC were not needed and the real fellowship and
> ministry could take
> place in a house church setting.
>
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