God calls us to love our enemies. He expects us to forgive those who hurt us. It is certainly difficult to even comprehend love but is it natural? Is love a human tendency? Is it enough to model love? Can love be taught?
The bible talks about love and even gives examples, but what is the definition of Love?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Small Groups vs House Churches
I recently got a letter in the mail from a ministry that I respect and follow regularly. This was a monthly update that answers a longtime question "what kind of church do you go to?" Being that they are not a denominational ministry that was a fair question based on the success they have experienced in the last 5 years.
The ministry leader supports the idea of "big church" but said what works for him and his family is having a 'house church'. A house church is a group of believers who meet in someones house at least once a week for a bible study and other religious exercises as opposed to going to a church building and plugging into religious denomination or organization.
As I understand it, it is very organized and you can join "house church" non-profits for tax exempt purposes and to get ideas of how to function effectively. This sounds very appealing to me and it certainly has biblical roots since houses where the first places people met as Christianity was building it's foundation.
The people that I know who participate in house churches have been hurt by "big church" or that they have seen so much corruption in the 'church' that they would rather see their money used on feeding people than on paying salaries, rent, lights, carpet,...etc. (I am not saying all house groups Christians are like this, these are just the opinions of people who I know participate. And this Christian leader in the above paragraphs certainly advocated for house groups as an option.)
I like the idea of house churches. But maybe you can help me answer some questions about it. Like, why not just join a church and participate in a small group? Or What is wrong with having a church building? Or what happens if the house group gets too big for the house, do you by a bigger house? "Big Church" is messy because people are messy, relationships are complicated and not everyone is pleased all the time, Is that enough justification to disassociate with a large group of believers?
Whatcha think?
The ministry leader supports the idea of "big church" but said what works for him and his family is having a 'house church'. A house church is a group of believers who meet in someones house at least once a week for a bible study and other religious exercises as opposed to going to a church building and plugging into religious denomination or organization.
As I understand it, it is very organized and you can join "house church" non-profits for tax exempt purposes and to get ideas of how to function effectively. This sounds very appealing to me and it certainly has biblical roots since houses where the first places people met as Christianity was building it's foundation.
The people that I know who participate in house churches have been hurt by "big church" or that they have seen so much corruption in the 'church' that they would rather see their money used on feeding people than on paying salaries, rent, lights, carpet,...etc. (I am not saying all house groups Christians are like this, these are just the opinions of people who I know participate. And this Christian leader in the above paragraphs certainly advocated for house groups as an option.)
I like the idea of house churches. But maybe you can help me answer some questions about it. Like, why not just join a church and participate in a small group? Or What is wrong with having a church building? Or what happens if the house group gets too big for the house, do you by a bigger house? "Big Church" is messy because people are messy, relationships are complicated and not everyone is pleased all the time, Is that enough justification to disassociate with a large group of believers?
Whatcha think?
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