Blogworthy

Well since I haven't blogged in quite some time, I've been waiting for that juicy topic to blog about before I entered anything. I have a worthy topic.

The House Church. Since most of the people who read my blog either attend a house church or know someone who does or has an opinion about it I thought I would write about my experience and review it for public record.

I have to admit, coming into it, I was very skeptical. In my mind, how could this thing survive, let alone flourish, how could something so apparently disorganized and unstructured have any hope of survival past tomorrow let alone be a viable means of evangelism in the 21st century?

All the questions I had in my mind about the lack of central leadership, the lack of a "real" worship service, the lack of a central meeting place, the lack of a 21st century business office with a secretary, vacation bible school, a massive stewardship campaign for outrageously priced land and a 12 piece orchestra with overhead projection and power-point lessons would come to the forefront.

I've heard remarks on these services from different sources. Regular attendees who swear by it and visitors who are intrigued yet skeptical. The most adamant opponents of this style of church are usually hard liners who fail to examine anything with any sort of objectivity, and by that I mean actually attend it and see what it's about.

Here's what I liked: The intimacy. People often compare what they do to a cell in a larger church. But I've been around a while and been involved in cell groups a very long time and have never seen the intimacy of a group like this. I'm not even going to go into the Biblical hullabaloo about what I saw there. I just liked it. I was jealous of the close-knit community. I could see how that would be good for my own life and it left me longing for it. I dont know of any other group that is so generous with it's posessions, with their homes or with finances anywhere. As different as I felt I was from them, I still felt really welcome.

Here's what I didn't like: (This is the part where I am being vulnerably honest and I will be sensitive but you may not like it but I'm going to say it). On top of all the great things about the comradery, fellowship, and community (which were superior) I still felt like there was a lack of direction to the whole thing. All my leadership experience and training, all my Steven Covey books and Willow Creek Leadership Summits cried out. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND. I like the fact that they take time to really comb the scriptures for their Bible studies, but the discussion really had no focus. If you are going to have a 6-12 week discussion on holiness, morality and entertainment, you should be building toward a conclusion that should have been reached in the facilitator's mind already. Each of the discussions should be pointing toward that conclusion that tha facilitator came to through their study (preparation). Being in that moment I could see how I could get really frustrated. It wouldnt be because of people not agreeing with me or with people not understanding my point, but it would be the tendency of violence toward expired steeds that was so overboard that P.E.T.A would file a lawsuit.

Now this problem is a location-specific problem (in my mind) that isnt true to all models of the house church. I think that this is what they expected and what they like about their experience. They want to make sure that everyone participates in the discussion and that no question goes unanswered. It's sort of like George Bush's educational program "No Child Left Behind". It may slow down the growth of your more advanced students, but it ensures that the little ones of the group not get dusted in the raucous and cacophony of the intellectual elitists that run so many of these types of groups.

It speaks to their maturity and patience that they can handle it. I admit my immaturity was immediately exploited. I was ready to pull out my hair a few times. But it was MY problem. And the mercy that they showed to their new students was, again, unprecedented.

I learned a lot from this experience. I asked Tom how he handles it. I know that coming from the same place that I did and being his friend for so long he would be able to relate. I asked him, "Tom, how can you handle/stomach the fact that everyone in your group is so patient and nice? Do you ever wonder how you fit into a group like that?" He basically told me that at first it was a problem, but eventually it started rubbing off on him. I have to admit that he has a point. This group has matured Tom in ways he probably hasn't even noticed. Again, I was jealous.

I am no longer skeptical. I can see the great work that this church is doing. I can see how a group like this could distinguish itself from a cell group in a formal church organization. I saw the lives being touched. I saw the community. I saw the faith.

I have heard the arguments about how a greater body and greater numbers can produce greater conversions. I cant think of a more efficient way of doing it than the way the house church does it though. I defy the large church to multiply at the rate this church does. I defy them to do it with the financial stewardship of the house church. I saw from my experience how building programs, massive staffs, and huge spending accounts have helped the church grow, but I've also seen how cumbersome and divisive they can be.

What I liked about the house church is the lack of overhead. Everyone contributes, but the money they use is amazingly efficient. They contribute to missions, evangelism, and areas that will impact their communities at a much higher rate than any paid ministry could ever hope to accomplish.

They are like the independent contractors doing sales versus the corporate monsters that the church is trying to create. In that fact, they are really more capitalist because they have eliminated so much of the beurocracy and overhead and can use their profits for a much greater return. That as opposed to the current church's tendency to overspend with little or no return. A Million dollar budget for a 10% growth? that's absurd for a church of 500. Not good stewardship in the long run.