Church Style
Contemporary, Traditional, Something else?
What does your church do?
Comments
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I don't presently have a church. But I've spent a great deal of time in "all of the above" over the years. I believe the most spiritual and closest to the NT model is the house church, similar to the Wednesday night cottage prayer meeting.
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@Dave_L said:
I don't presently have a church. But I've spent a great deal of time in "all of the above" over the years. I believe the most spiritual and closest to the NT model is the house church, similar to the Wednesday night cottage prayer meeting.Was that the model intended to be kept, or the only model possible to that particular group of believers at that time?
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@davidtaylorjr said:
@Dave_L said:
I don't presently have a church. But I've spent a great deal of time in "all of the above" over the years. I believe the most spiritual and closest to the NT model is the house church, similar to the Wednesday night cottage prayer meeting.Was that the model intended to be kept, or the only model possible to that particular group of believers at that time?
I believe the house church with volunteer self employed elders was the norm in the NT. And it would follow that when an assembly outgrew the house, another autonomous congregation would develop down the road so to speak. And so on.
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Looking at Paul's letters, and Revelation, it seems there was one church in each city. "Paul... to the church of God sanctified in Christ Jesus that is in Corinth." etc.
The church in Ephesus rented the school of Tyrannus, so it seems they were also all in one place for their meetings.
Where do you find evidence that the NT churches were all made up of house churches?
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@Jan said:
Looking at Paul's letters, and Revelation, it seems there was one church in each city. "Paul... to the church of God sanctified in Christ Jesus that is in Corinth." etc.The church in Ephesus rented the school of Tyrannus, so it seems they were also all in one place for their meetings.
Where do you find evidence that the NT churches were all made up of house churches?
I was going to make the same point just handn't gotten around to it. But yes, I don't see evidence that all NT churches were house churches.
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@Jan said:
Looking at Paul's letters, and Revelation, it seems there was one church in each city. "Paul... to the church of God sanctified in Christ Jesus that is in Corinth." etc.The church in Ephesus rented the school of Tyrannus, so it seems they were also all in one place for their meetings.
Where do you find evidence that the NT churches were all made up of house churches?
The NT mentions house churches several times. And the persecution from the Jews would suggest the synagogues became hostile to Christians over time. Also the poverty of the Jerusalem church would suggest low overhead meeting places. This link might prove valuable. https://ntrf.org/index.php/2016/08/03/first-century-house-churches/
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@davidtaylorjr said:
@Jan said:
Looking at Paul's letters, and Revelation, it seems there was one church in each city. "Paul... to the church of God sanctified in Christ Jesus that is in Corinth." etc.The church in Ephesus rented the school of Tyrannus, so it seems they were also all in one place for their meetings.
Where do you find evidence that the NT churches were all made up of house churches?
I was going to make the same point just handn't gotten around to it. But yes, I don't see evidence that all NT churches were house churches.
David, see my reply to Jan who first asked the question about proof for house churches being the norm.
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@Dave_L said:
@Jan said:
Looking at Paul's letters, and Revelation, it seems there was one church in each city. "Paul... to the church of God sanctified in Christ Jesus that is in Corinth." etc.The church in Ephesus rented the school of Tyrannus, so it seems they were also all in one place for their meetings.
Where do you find evidence that the NT churches were all made up of house churches?
The NT mentions house churches several times. And the persecution from the Jews would suggest the synagogues became hostile to Christians over time. Also the poverty of the Jerusalem church would suggest low overhead meeting places. This link might prove valuable. https://ntrf.org/index.php/2016/08/03/first-century-house-churches/
You focus on the church in Jerusalem and Israel, but the NT church was not confined to those areas. I don't see evidence for your claims.
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@davidtaylorjr said:
@Dave_L said:
@Jan said:
Looking at Paul's letters, and Revelation, it seems there was one church in each city. "Paul... to the church of God sanctified in Christ Jesus that is in Corinth." etc.The church in Ephesus rented the school of Tyrannus, so it seems they were also all in one place for their meetings.
Where do you find evidence that the NT churches were all made up of house churches?
The NT mentions house churches several times. And the persecution from the Jews would suggest the synagogues became hostile to Christians over time. Also the poverty of the Jerusalem church would suggest low overhead meeting places. This link might prove valuable. https://ntrf.org/index.php/2016/08/03/first-century-house-churches/
You focus on the church in Jerusalem and Israel, but the NT church was not confined to those areas. I don't see evidence for your claims.
I can present many "house church passages" but I'm unaware of anything approaching what we call church today found in the NT.
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> @Dave_L said:
> I can present many "house church passages" but I'm unaware of anything approaching what we call church today found in the NT.
If by "house church passages" you mean church life going on in the homes instead of the church building, then I agree. However, that doesn't mean they were all independent congregations.
I'd love to see more church life going on in the homes. It recently struck me that the early church took communion in the homes. So we do that in the home group now as well. Discipling can really only happen in the homes, the same is true for prayer groups.
If you want to see this in today's church, my suggestion would be to look for brothers and sisters who think the same, and just start doing it (as part of the church, not independently). -
@Jan said:
> @Dave_L said:
> I can present many "house church passages" but I'm unaware of anything approaching what we call church today found in the NT.
If by "house church passages" you mean church life going on in the homes instead of the church building, then I agree. However, that doesn't mean they were all independent congregations.
I'd love to see more church life going on in the homes. It recently struck me that the early church took communion in the homes. So we do that in the home group now as well. Discipling can really only happen in the homes, the same is true for prayer groups.
If you want to see this in today's church, my suggestion would be to look for brothers and sisters who think the same, and just start doing it (as part of the church, not independently).Thanks for the reply. Interesting... I see all churches subject to the Apostles as we now are through their writings. But it wasn't till much later with the development of the monarchial bishops that we see much of what we see today.
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@Dave_L said:
Thanks for the reply. Interesting... I see all churches subject to the Apostles as we now are through their writings. But it wasn't till much later with the development of the monarchial bishops that we see much of what we see today.Correct. A bishop in the NT was more like a local elder. Today's role of bishop didn't exist back then. The role of a pastor in the NT was shepherding the congregation. The teaching was done by by a teacher. Today's pastor must do both, even if he has only one of the two required gifts.
We're far off from the model that we received from the apostles.
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@Jan said:
"Where do you find evidence that the NT churches were all made up of house churches"?
This is a good question and this thread begs to be revisited. Today in Israel, there is a sign standing near the ancient ruins of the synagogue that reads,"Domus Ecclesia" (Latin for "house church"). It's the site was an early Christian house church used by the apostles. It was here in her home that Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and others according to Matt 8:14-17.
The New Testament church was known as the "Body of Christ". It's not strange at this point to ask, what is a "House Church"? It can be defined as:
- A small group of believers who, as the body of Christ, organize themselves as an independent congregation and normally conduct the functions of church in a member’s home or in other informal places.
With "house-church," the word "house" indicates a quality of intimacy, informality, and openness associated with one’s own home. The word "church" reaffirms the connection to the body of Christ and connotes its mission and its relationship to the historical church. "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it" (1 Cor 12:27, NIV).
House churches have divided themselves into three kinds.
(1) There are basic independent groups which are fully organized as a church; church membership resides there and all the celebrations of the church are conducted there; they attempt to follow the NT model. These can be found in areas where there are high government restrictions, and the house church becomes the only means of survival.
(2) There are groups which call themselves house churches, but they really are not, for they exist primarily for fellowship and continue to maintain a direct relationship to a larger church.
(3) Finally, the last group are those which are satellites to a mother church. In this case the house church is used for nurture, fellowship, and outreach, but celebration usually occurs in the context of the larger body. These also do not qualify according to the Biblical model.
God can still work in small house churches. House Churches are in Israel today. Let me be clear at the outset, every aspect of church may not appear in house churches, the essentials are found there.
What about NT House Churches and why would a person choose a House Church today?
Truth found truth shared. CM
SOURCES:
Clarence T. Craig, Interpreters Bible, 12 vols. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952-1957), 10 (1953): 156.
