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24HourForums.com > The Top 10 Supported Forums > The Christian's Straight and Narrow Path > House Churches-Cell Churches |
| Moderated by: JustifiedByFaith, 1jester | Page:   1 2 3   |
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Saint Forum-Blogger© Pioneer100© Member  Polymath
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While still very devout, I gave up on organized churches decades ago. They didn't meet my needs, were an astounding waste of time, and alien in environment. I still pop up every Easter and Christmas Eve, but the rest of the time I just talk to Jesus personally every day. Sundays, I sleep in.
 A^2 + B^2 = C^2 |
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foxglovepress Forum-Blogger© Original500© Member  NON-PC!!
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Saint wrote: While still very devout, I gave up on organized churches decades ago. Saint, if I didn't see your name up there, I would have thought I'd said that! It's exactly how I feel. Something about church is very uncomfortable to me. I've never really felt at ease. I'm far too personal a person to open up in a room full of people. I don't care who they are. The church JBF talks about is full of wonderful people. But I choose to talk to Jesus at home, in the car, in the garden, in the shower, walking down the street, you name it. I don't feel I need people and fellowship to talk and feel him in my heart. That way when he ticks me off, I can tell him that too! I give him credit for everything! He gets my praise for all the good in my life, and hell for all the bad. May not be the right way...........but it seems to work for me. So far 
Justice for Mark.....Imprison Employers Who Hire ILLEGALS! |
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pmh1nic Pioneer100© Member 
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There is a loose structure within the Church of God denomination that allows a tremendous amount of freedom to the pastors and leadership within a local church while providing some means of financial, doctrinal and moral accountability for the leadership in the church. House churches or churches meeting in homes is mentioned in the New Testament but there is also the idea that within each geographic region (typically a city) there was leadership establish that oversaw the functioning of the house churches within that city and acted as a mechanism for accountability among the house churches. As has been mentioned earlier I strongly believe in having small group meetings as a compliment to the larger churches gatherings. Those meetings really strengthen the bond among individual believers while the larger church gathers provide a means of accountability and way to pool resources for greater outreach.
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member  Playing to a different drummer
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"We must have a new reformation. There must come a violent break with the irresponsible, amusement-mad paganized pseudo-religion which passes today for the faith of Christ and which is being spread all over the world by un-spiritual men employing un-scriptural methods to achieve their ends." A.W. Tozer
There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around. Dick Dale |
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pmh1nic Pioneer100© Member
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JBF And that was written how many years ago? How much more do we need it today. Revival and reformation are a constant necessity, individually and corporately. Without them we become cold and complacent.
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member Playing to a different drummer
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I agree pmh1nic. His body (The Church) is living and needs to remember who is the head. It's not the pastors or Popes but Christ Jesus Himself who is head. When we seek His will and allow His gifts to flow through the Spirit into us we grow in Him. When we manipulate the body and prepare man-made programs in the flesh we quench the spirit and we starve from lack of spiritual growth.
There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around. Dick Dale |
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member Playing to a different drummer
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It was simple in the 1st century and can be repeated today. "They devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 2:42 "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that jesus is the Christ." Acts 5:42 >Bible Study together >Fellowship together >Eating together >Communion together >Praying together
There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around. Dick Dale |
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member Playing to a different drummer
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A study of Constantine (Emperor of the Roman Empire) gives a time-line for when Church Buildings for Christians started. After the gospel was preached in the 1st century and the church spread it was meeting in homes not in temples or sacred buildings. In 324, Constantine ordered the construction of church buildings for Christians so they could be recognized like the Jews and pagan worship of the times. Constantine set up the "clergy" and re-created the alter design among other things elevating the men who were elders and bishops. The sermon was preached from the "bishops chair". The result of this system today is loss of intimacy, gifts, edification of the body and "open" participation as was in the house churches prior to Constantine.
There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around. Dick Dale |
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pmh1nic Pioneer100© Member
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jbf The verses you referenced only give a partial picture of the church during the first century. There were divisions, infighting, selfishness, greed, cultural bias,sexism, corruption, immorality, etc., etc., etc. In the first century church there was the good, the bad and the ugly just as it is today in our society. I'm not saying this to excuse or condone these failings but to counter the idea that the church today is very much different from the church in the first century. In both ages you had those that were laying down their lives literality and figuratively for the sake of the gospel and living a Christ centered life. The called to purity is a call that is required in each generation. In some respects we face a more difficult battle today because what was once reinforced at home, in churches, in the schools and even in the media is being trashed on many levels. The access to gross evil and perversion is no further away then a mouse click or flick of the remote away. In some respects we need a higher level of spiritual discipline to maintain a Christ centered life, which is one of the reasons that an intimate fellowship with other believers (what you can't get on a typical Sunday morning) is more important.
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member Playing to a different drummer
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pmh1nic That is a fair analysis.
There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around. Dick Dale |
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pmh1nic Pioneer100© Member
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jbf The enemy of our souls is very active and he has some new tools at his disposal. We need to preach the whole gospel, the one that includes the amazing grace and love given to us by God through His soon while at the same time give the warnings regarding judgement and accountability. If the enemy can't totally stop the preaching of the gospel he will try to pervert it by taking us to one extreme or the other. House churches are wonderful if you can maintain the balance and have some type of leadership accountability.
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member Playing to a different drummer
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pmh1nic wrote: "House churches are wonderful if you can maintain the balance and have some type of leadership accountability." This is where elders, deacons come in-Ephesian 4. We see for example in the church in Corinth at Chloe's household the saints bragging about who they were taught by as being...Paul, Apolos, Cephas and so on. Paul rebukes this as should any mature "overseer" of the church. I am afraid that one reason we don't see small home fellowships like in the 1st century is fear. It is difficult to let the Holy Spirit run His church without desire of control. We do not see instructions in the New Testament to build large sacred buildings for gatherings as was in the Old Testament. The church gets more real and transparent, more intimate and more able to minister to the needs of one another in the home setting. I see the church changing (See Barna report) back to it's original formation. Less institutional formation and becoming once again a family enjoying food, fellowship, prayer and doctrine without the stress of bills, programs and other distractions.
There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around. Dick Dale |
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shirohniichan Original500© Member  Obscurius per obscurum
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With the good are potential problems and shortcomings with small groups. Some of the potential problems are leadership issues (training, accountability, maintaining doctrinal orthodoxy, abuse of power) and limitations with respect to resources that affect the groups potential for outreach. Paul hit the nail on the head. The biggest problem with house churches is the tendency for dominant personalities to take over and make them into mini cults. Without accountability and theological training, heresies that were execrated repeatedly over the centuries pop up anew as if they were new revelations by the Spirit. It is hard enough to find good preachers of the word for a congregation of 300. Finding 10 for each congregation of 30 would be nigh impossible.
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member Playing to a different drummer
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Yes shirohniichan this can be a problem. But this is why there are the 5 fold ministry as told in Ephesians 4 of teachers, pastors, prophets, evangelists and apostles. Elders are to be "overseers" of the house churches. It's biblical. There is no mandate to construct buildings in the New Testament. This is why Stephen went down. He told those who focused on temples and such that "God doesn't dwell in temples made with hands." We are the body now and we are the temple. A body that has a Pastor as the head is forgeting that we no longer need Moses to mediate as did Israel back then. We now have "Jesus" who is our mediator and everyone in the body has gifts and are placed in the body just as He pleased to share and edify one another.
There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around. Dick Dale |
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david1080 Guardian1000© Member
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Aren't both cells and congregational churches needed? Kinda like go wherever is needed to spread the Word and strengthen our own relationships. The same holds true with the vast amount of "online churches" we are starting to see. While we are told in God's Word to come together, we have to face facts. 1) Online may be as close as many people will ever come to a brick and mortar church. 2) Many people come online looking for answers to their problems. If Christians aren't here to provide biblically based solutions then you can bet that the devil will have his folks here with plenty of answers, some that may even look pleasing to the eye but will lead to certain death. 3) Many people face problems they don't want anyone else to know about, even their family or church family. Online is a place where a person can come join in anonymously and find the answers they are needing. The main goal is to lead people to Christ whether it be in a cell group, a brick and mortor building, online or even in a bar. Once a person has experienced Jesus, the Holy Spirit can direct them into Church, wherever it is, when God's plan desires it.
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24HourForums.com > The Top 10 Supported Forums > The Christian's Straight and Narrow Path > House Churches-Cell Churches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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