Terry wrote: > My view of first century Christianity is preachers > in the streets preaching to the lost rather than > Clergy in air conditioned comfort preaching to the > choir.
I think we have the same heart here, but my view also includes the "laity" preaching to the congregation at "church" as well as preaching in the market place. Terry wrote: > It is Peter saying "Silver and gold have I none", > rather than Clergy with salary, and insurance and > car allowance and secretary. I hear you, but also understand that this happened at "church" when Peter and John were going into the "church." This did not happen on the street. (I'm substituting "church" for "temple" because the temple was "church" for them.) Terry wrote: > It is people meeting in homes and using what they > had to feed the poor rather than building a higher > steeple or buying bigger stained glass windows. I hear you, Terry. Before I had left institutional Christianity in 1987, I was called upon my pastor to answer why I was one of only five people out of more than 1,000 church members who voted against spending $85,000 to extend the balcony to seat 100 more people, and $12,000 to put a new steeple on the sanctuary. I told him that there was an usher in the church whose electricity and water had been turned off five days ago. Something doesn't seem right about our priorities. Terry wrote: > Think for a moment about how much good could be done > for the needy if the more than three hundred thousand > Pastors in this country preached for the Lord instead > of for a living, and used that money for good works. > If that sounds like a lot, throw in the money spent > on mortgages and flowers and janitors and song leaders > and choir robes and electricity. Christianity has > become big business. I have thought long and hard about that. When Frank Viola and I were teamed up in the 1980's and 1990's, I thought that we could shake the community by doing it the way that you are talking about. I learned, however, that the problem wasn't so much the structure, nor was it a clever shifting of resources from building programs to people. The problem was the heart of each Christian. In other words, you can change the wineskin, but if the wine isn't there, you don't really change anything. I setup an incredible resource network for helping the poor, hoping that the believers meeting in homes would pitch in and do what you are talking about. But I found that many Christians still wanted to have their comfortable home church meetings where they could complain about the churches with all the money not doing enough rather than sacrifice themselves to help the poor. I don't want to make it sound all bad. We did a lot of good things too. We fixed people's roofs, housed the homeless, helped people get jobs, led many people to the Lord and baptized many. However, we didn't really exceed in a significant way what institutional organizations were doing. In fact, in many ways, they continued to exceed our efforts because there were not enough of us getting involved and paying the price that needed to be paid. I'm all for the kind of Christianity that you are talking about, but home church by itself is not the answer. People need to become transformed in their heart and catch the vision of Christ. They have to be willing to expend themselves and suffer for the cause of Christ. They have to be willing to preach and teach other Christians that disagree with them, in the spirit of meekness. Getting comfortable in home church is fine, but it can be just as big a mistake as institutional Christianity if it is not done right. I know people in institutional Christianity who have much greater relationships than those in home church. Take Frank Viola, for example. We were friends for almost 20 years. We were at each other's weddings. We taught the Word of God together and shared in home church for 8 years. Yet, this last year he went through a divorce, and now will not return email or answer my phone calls. My pastor in the institutional church can be faulted for many things, including causing me to leave the denominational system and to meet in homes with other believers. Nevertheless, when I heard about his hard times, and about his wife leaving him, I called him. He not only returned my phone call, but came over to my office and visited with me one-on-one. Do you hear what I am saying? The home church pastor cast me away, knowing how I feel about divorce, but the institutional pastor did not. So we can talk in theory about how home church creates better relationships, and in theory this might sound great, but as the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. Jesus also spoke about the difficulty prophets have in their home town. In my experience, relationships are not necessarily better just because of the home church wineskin. The bottom line is still the Spirit of Christ living within us. The bottom line is still our being willing to die to self and give all for the cause of Christ. These things can happen no matter what church system you align yourself with. The Spirit of Jesus Christ transcends the religious boundaries that men construct. Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." 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