Consumed by the Form and not the Life
Recently I posted a question that I entitled “Observation,” the answers returned have caused my wife and I to look at the issue of planting from a different perspective. Now for context let me say, we have been on staff at ministries before. And we are now on our third house church plant. Two lived, and one died so our planting record has been better than not.
In observation, I asked this question, “ I have been noticing something? I have looked around at a couple of other sites like this one. There seems to be a lot people, but very few established houses to meet at. Does this mean the house church movement is suffering from a lack of leaders, or is it something else?”
I would like to submit a possible answer that may be affecting future leaders. We are way too consumed by the form of “church” and not the life. Quite often we do not start new things like house projects, new jobs, or other things because we look at ourselves and see what we do not have. This is a direct result of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Due to eating this fruit, all of mankind is self-centered.
Because of this, we see everything that takes place in a brick-and-mortar church down the road and we become intimidated or overwhelmed by the thought of taking on such a task. But let me just say this, that is man’s vision, not God's. You are just called to assemble.
Assemble is as simple as sharing a meal on a constant basis. Don’t even worry about adding spiritual elements to it in the beginning, that will come in time. Fellowship and common unity (community) will grow as you assemble in the Lord's name.
Case in point, our current plant gathered for a year and a half around the very things I just said. Then at the right time, we all knew it was time to take the next step.
So if you keep looking at the “big picture,” and your not moving forward. Well, then my suggestion is to park it and take the first step. Small things are good things.
“Who dares to despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the LORD that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?” Zechariah 4:10
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Truer words were never spoken! Thank you, brother Robert. This post should be re-read often. I hope that many will discover it in the days ahead.
Some "house church" writers have even gone so far to say that unless you have an official church planter, then you should wait for one because they are absolutely indispensable. Sure, it would be nice to have a temporary leader to coach everyone about every matter but I would not say it is required.
For starters, where is this phrase "church planter" found in Scripture? And what are his or her duties? Yes, the Gospel seed is planted - no dispute about that part.
And amazingly, some would even question whether we are called to assemble.
So let us overcome evil with good. And demonstrate the love by which the Saviour declared that others would know that we belong to Him.
And let us acknowledge God's presence in our midst, whether many or few.
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One of my first pastors said, "God always puts the cookies on the lower shelf for His kids!" Nothing is truly complicated in the Kingdom, if it is then it is a sign that something is wrong.
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I very much appreciate the sentiment behind this post, and it kind of dovetails with my recent post on what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy. In that post I lament the busyness that many, if not most, Christians experience in Sunday worship. The form of worship dominates the day. Yet it is so easy to forget why we gathered in the first place. We are there to worship God and nothing else. It matters not if there is a big stain on the carpet in the church foyer, or if the organist put on too much makeup that day, Or even if we have our theology correct. What matters is that we assemble, whatever that means in this strange new world that we live in. You gotta wonder what the disciples would have thought about Zoom. :-)
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