House Church Talk - public meetings

[Robert L. Moseley]

Hey there guys I have been following your posts concerning "public meetings"
and just thought that I would chime in with my personal experience in public
meetings.  I used to meet with a group of men at a local "Big Boys"
restaurant.  When I joined the group they had been meeting for some 10+
years and were primarily made up of Baptist folk who were maining engaging
in Bible study.  No formal church type meeting as we did eat breakfast
together as we met.  But as is generally the case after I joined them they
began to disband and within a few months they larger part of them were gone
and there was just 4 of us left.  From 15 of so down to 5 very quickly.  The
five of us continued to meet until two of the group who were staunch
Calvinists decided that the rest of us were too much not Calvinists and they
left and went their way.  I eventually moved from Pasadena, TX to Canyon
Lake and that left two of them...they would come to Canyon Lake on occasions
and I met with them when I visited Pasadena.  Our friendship continued until
our oldest member died and that ended the fellowship.

When we met we took up a large table and would usually meet for some 2 hours
or so.  We did attract a bit of attention and on occasions we did take up
space that was needed to accomodate the Saturday morning breakfast crowd.
If there was any directed evangelism I was not aware of it...we had no
leadership and when the group began to disintegrate it just happened and
noone did anything about it.

Thanks for letting me ramble about this life in the public arena house
church.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bruce Woodford" <bwood4d at hotmail.com>
To: <House Church Talk  at housechurch.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2004 9:33 PM
Subject: Re: House Church Talk -  public meetings


> Hi Folks,
>
> I've been following this discussion the last few days and have a few
> comments and questions:
>
> First of all, Dan, if your questions about increasing visibility of house
> churches is to get other BELIEVERS to see house churches as  viable,
> profitable and scriptural places to gather for edification, I'm all for
it.
> If we can invite other believers into our homes for hospitality,
> encouragement, fellowship etc, what opportunities we have for interactive,
> participatory, one anothering ministry which many will not even think of
as
> "church"!!
>
> However, if house churches seek to have public church meetings in order to
> evangelize the unconverted, I really wonder if we understand the
scrioptural
> purposes of church meetings at all!
>
> I have known house church gatherings which are primarily focused on
reaching
> the unconverted and winning them to Christ.  But in the process the
meetings
> get very program oriented and  spontaneous, participatory, one-anothering
> ministry suffers and breaking of bread in remembrance of the Lord Jesus is
> rare or non-existent!
>
> Please don't assume that I am against evangelism! I'm not! But I believe
> that Gospel outreach is to be done in places where unbelievers gather or
are
> found of their own accord.  (Fishermen go fishing where they know the fish
> are found. They do not invite fish to jump into "aquariums"!  Farmers sow
> their seed on prepared soil in the fields. They do not gather soil into
the
> granary and expect a plentiful harvest!)  Are not believers sent OUT INTO
> THE WORLD with the Gospel as SHEEP AMONG WOLVES?
>
> However, edification of believers, is always most effective when SAINTS
> gather together around their Lord to minister to one another.(Shepherds
most
> effectively care for sheep IN FLOCKS, when wolves are kept OUT OF THE
FOLD!)
>
> So, from my study of the the scriptures, I'm convinced that EVANGELISM is
> best accomplished in PUBLIC  places by believers SCATTERING  into many
> places to do their FISHING. However, EDIFICATION of believers is best
> accomplished when SHEPHERDING is done by GATHERING sheep into PRIVATE
> gatherings (homes).
>
> Are not evangelists compared in scripture to fishermen, and sowers of
seed?
> Are not elders among the Lord's people compared to shepherds caring for
> sheep?
>
> Has anyone else noticed that both evangelism and edification of the saints
> suffer whenever we attempt to "catch fish in a pasture" or "tend sheep on
a
> fishing boat"??   Were fishing and shepherding (evangelizing the lost and
> edifying the saints) ever intended by God to be simultaneous pursuits in
the
> same gathering??
>
> I'd be interested to hear others perspectives on these things.
>
> Your brother in Christ,
> Bruce
>
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