What a Normal Church Looks Like

This is a story about a city. There is only one church in this city. In this particular town, there are anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 people who are all part of the same church. Any Christian in this city is part of this one church. There is no believer in this city who belongs to a different church. This is an entire network of Christian people.

The fellowship they have with one another is completely overlapping. Every person does not know or fellowship with every other person, there are too many people for that to happen. But everyone knows and fellowships with someone, who knows and fellowships with someone else. The entire church meets and gathers in homes, in parks, in various restaurants for lunches and coffee, and often you can find them at the nearby lake for weekend camping. This vast network of people are gathering together and sharing life together in many different ways.

Seven days a week, during any evening, you can visit a number of homes in this town and find Christians gathered together. Because there are so many active participants, there are meetings and gatherings every single night. And anyone is welcomed to go to any one of them. These people are worshipping Jesus in these meetings. They are sharing, praying, teaching, operating in their gifts, and intensely supporting one another’s personal lives.

Besides the daily gatherings, about once a month, the entire church gathers together outside at the city park for a giant picnic. This scene is incredible. There are people scattered everywhere throughout the city park. The park is completely full of people. There are, what looks to be, 2 acres of table cloths and blankets spread all over the ground. Everyone brings their own food. After a while, everyone begins to move into groups of 10 to 20 people to visit and pray for one another. This all day meeting in the city park starts around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. By 6 p.m. that evening, it is still going strong.

At 6 p.m., around dusk at the park, there are still 10 or 12 Christians gathered around and talking while on the tail gate of a pick-up truck. There are also 8 or 9 ladies sitting in lawn chairs together nearby. There are still children running and playing. For the last couple of hours, there has been a children’s game of ball over at one end of the park with about 15 adults standing around visiting while the kids play.When this monthly, city wide church meeting in the park is over, everyone goes back to their homes to resume their weekly activities of work, family time, and church life all during the week.

There is nothing to identify this vast network of Christians, other than the relationships they have. There is no name for this massive group. There is no sign posted anywhere. There is no building. There is no leader. But many people lead.

Most of the people who want to travel to this city to visit and participate in the church activities, usually know at least one of the Christian families who live there. But even if you didn’t know any of them, it is really pretty easy to find them all.You decide to take a road trip just to see what it’s all about. As you drive into town, you realize you don’t know where to go in order to find these Christians. Where do they meet? What time do they meet? They don’t have a yellow page ad. What will you do? It’s Friday evening when you drive into town.

You stop at a local gas station and ask the clerk, “Excuse me, do you know where I would find any of the church in this town?” The lady behind the cash register replies, “Oh yea, I think a lot of them have been getting together down at the lake on Friday evenings. You could probably find them there.”

Just the fact that the gas station clerk knows where “the Christians usually are” is a testimony. These people are visible, they gather in large numbers, and they are clearly identified by the whole town.

You drive out to the lake. You see a bon fire down by the water. You get out of your car and discover about 20 people singing to the Lord under the stars. You join in singing. A brother stands up by the fire and shares a brief testimony with the group. A sister shares a prophecy. Others chime in and share brief encouragements and teachings. They begin to pray for one another. It is a glorious occasion. You’ve never seen anything like it. They are so free, so real, so spontaneous, and so encouraging.

As the time naturally gravitates to visiting with one another, several of them introduce themselves to you. They find out that you are new to the town and that you drove out in order to plug in and meet the other people in the church. They make you aware of several other gatherings that are going on the next day. Some of them ask you to join them for an unplanned, late night supper in one of their homes. You spend the late evening sharing and talking with your new friends.

The next morning is Saturday morning. You’ve been made aware of a variety of get-togethers you can choose to attend. There are about 8 people going to play a round of golf. There are a few gathering for breakfast at a local restaurant. There is a prayer meeting available in someone’s home. Some of the families are going back to the lake to hang out and do some boat riding and water skiing. You don’t really want to miss anything, but you have to choose. “Ok, I’ll go to the breakfast. Then, I’ll catch the last part of the prayer meeting.”

After the prayer meeting that morning, you grab some lunch with a couple of brothers and then take a nap. You are made aware of a small gathering of Christians who are planning to meet in a home later that night to worship the Lord. You attend the worship time. Afterwards, you catch up with a group who decide to do some late night street witnessing.Just about everyone you meet invites you into their home to stay for as long as you want. They feed you. They pray for you. They are sincerely interested in you, interested in your family, and interested in your life with Jesus.

You realize this all could go on for days. You are well aware that if you were to live in this town, there would be no way anyone could attend every gathering.

In the last couple of days, you’ve gotten to know a couple of the other Christians pretty well. You ask them a question saying, “What are your backgrounds?” You communicate to them how you are aware that this entire city has joined together as one church, but you would really like to know what denomination they all come from.

They reply, “Brother, in our attempt to take the New Testament seriously, we’ve purposed in our hearts to repent from divisions and denominations. There is only one church in this city, just like in the New Testament. We don’t fellowship just with those who believe exactly like we do on every issue. Many of us have different convictions and beliefs on many things found in scripture, but our personal doctrines are always open-ended and kept open for discussion. We are devoted to one another. We are devoted to Christ. However, we are not devoted to our own personal beliefs and opinions that are not central to faith in Christ.”

“But who is really in charge of this whole thing?” you ask. They reply, “Jesus is in charge. You would be amazed at how well He runs the church, if people will just let Him. The church belongs to Him. He designed it, He grows it, and He keeps it – if we do it the way He laid out for us in the New Testament. Here in this city, when men started taking their hands off the church, all the gifts began coming forth. People who would never open their homes before, started opening their homes! People who would never speak before, started speaking! People’s walls started coming down. People started to get honest with one another. People started functioning! It’s amazing how it all came together. I have to warn you though, you can’t be afraid. You have to learn to trust the Lord. If you get afraid and say that “it won’t work”, or from fear you revert to the old traditions of men to organize it, it will kill what the Lord wants to do. You have to let go of your personal feelings of needing to “know for sure” that you’ll have leadership in place. You have to let go of “knowing for sure” what your group identity is or “who you all are” as a group. Our identity is simply that we are Christians in the city we live in. You have to let go of concerns about where you are going to tithe to. There are plenty of needs to give your money to, such as the poor, evangelism in our city, and to foreign missions. Trust the Lord my friend, and trust the New Testament example. God gave it to us for a reason.”

You realize that the example of the church in this particular city should be true for every city in the world. No walls, no one aligning themselves with a certain affiliation, but everyone belonging to the same group. And although the Lord leads each individual to be closely knit with just a few, everyone feels they are a part of one large family in this town, and they practice it.

But how did they get to this place? How did it happen? How did they ever accomplish such an amazing feat?

It started with a few brave souls. Before they all came together as one church, those who were on staff at one particular church in the town contacted the other pastors and leaders at all the other churches in the town. Through much effort, the leadership from every denomination finally got together and had one big meeting in that town. The pastor responsible for putting the meeting together stood up and said:

“Gentlemen, we at First Methodist have called this meeting in order to share a revelation we have had. From our honest assessment of the New Testament, we find no scriptural basis to support our role of leadership at First Methodist. As men in charge of the flock, we do not deny that we do have gifts. Namely, we have gifts of leadership, teaching and shepherding. But these gifts are to be employed as any other member of the congregation should employ their gifts. We should not recognize a separation of clergy and laity or staff and non-staff.

Elders in the New Testament were given to a city, not a group within the city. Those who were appointed as elders in the early church were already elders according to the lives they lived, the spiritual qualities they possessed as men, and the spiritual authority they had that comes from God. Not because of any formal training or institutional authority. Just because a leader or pastor has a personal identity as such, does not make it so. Just because a man believes himself to be a leader, does not make him a leader. These gifts are spiritual and are from God alone.

Those of us who do have gifts of leadership, gifts of teaching, prophecy, evangelism, shepherding, or apostolic functions, should use those gifts as though we were just one of the flock and in the context of just being a regular brother.

Furthermore, it has been revealed to us through the scriptures and the Holy Spirit that the management functions and administration of the church at First Methodist concerning things such as budgeting issues, buildings, the programs, marketing, and the business office functions are all in place and are a result of the traditions of men and of our Western culture. We’ve discovered that these things actually hinder and stifle the natural and organic functions of the people. Because we have assumed so many roles as staff members, the congregation depends on us in ways they should not. Not only has this hindered them from fully expressing themselves in their gifts and functions, but it has hindered the general edification of the church. Therefore since the church is to in essence, run itself, there is no need for our staff positions. We are taking our hands off the church in order to let it grow.

Up to this point, we’ve never trusted the Lord in the church to grow the church. We’ve perceived the members as incapable, not trained, and not possessing enough spiritual maturity to adequately be a functioning church. We firmly believe that people are to learn and grow by doing, and if you hinder them from doing and take the responsibility away from them to function, then they will simply not function and never learn. God’s design and intention is for every member to have a platform and an environment to express their gifts, no matter what they may be. We have repented of our arrogance and our control. We have fully realized that we were performing as we had been trained, and we have been acting as in the example which was passed down to us by others in leadership.

Although we have been sincere in our efforts, we were not using the New Testament as our model, but rather men’s traditions and the culture of the day as our standard. God forgive us.As of today, we are resigning. We have most boldly chosen to no longer accept a salary, but we have instead decided to get regular jobs. We will still continue to function in our various gifts, but we will be re-learning how to function properly and without having to “run everything”.

Our meeting formats will also change at First Methodist in order to encourage every member to participate and bring what they have spiritually to every meeting of the church. This is consistent with 1 Corinthians 14. We still may stand up and teach on occasion, but we will encourage the others to teach as well.

Also, from the example in the scriptures, we are taking our sign down in front of the building. Also our name, First Methodist, has been our identity. Our identity is changing to come in line with the New Testament. We therefore will no longer refer to ourselves as First Methodist, but we will be “the church in Cypress Texas,” of which we all are part of the same group. In fact, we’re selling the building we’ve met in because we have no need of it. The building has been an icon and representation in our hearts of establishment, stability and growth. It has also been a perverted method of attracting members. We will be meeting in more natural everyday life settings and in our living rooms.
We realize that for you to follow us in the New Testament example in these things, that many of you will have serious concerns as church leaders. We understand that you will have concerns for your jobs. Perhaps the hardest challenge for you men will be the choice of getting regular jobs. This has been the hardest choice for us. I can honestly attest to you that you will not be able to fully see the true nature of the church, nor will you fully be able to understand the things I am telling you today – unless you are willing to get a regular job. The heart has a way of causing you to not understand the truth as long as your livelihood is on the line.

Another difficult question you may be asking is concerning the whole idea of how we are to meet the needs of our current modern culture with such a radical church model. How will people in our society be able to relate to such a church? How will new people be able to come and participate? Do we not have to have the traditions we have in place in order to meet the needs of our modern society?? My answer to you men is this. Why would God establish his plain example in the scriptures of the church and how it should function, only to change it for every culture? Why would he lay out the structure of the church, which is built on the foundation of the apostles, only for every culture in time to shape it and reform it? Because of this type of thinking, we now see things like homosexuality being endorsed by the church, etc. God even condemned the Israelites for taking on the cultures and practices of the people and nations around them. I tell you men : the Church should be affecting our modern world culture, not our culture affecting the Church.The pattern in the New Testament is God’s design. It’s what works for the church. It is timeless. If we change it or alter it, we pervert it. If we pervert it to better fit our culture or lifestyles, we diminish its power and effectiveness. What God laid out for us in the New Testament is perfect. We cannot have such arrogance to say the Biblical example is no longer relevant or that it should be compromised in some way.

Men, we wonder why the experience of the early Christians is so different from ours. We wonder why when we read our Bibles it seems so different than what we practice and experience today, yet we have chosen to meet, to function, to gather, and to lead in ways that are completely different from the blueprint the New Testament provides us with. Why would it be a mystery to us that the people in Bible times had a different experience than us?

Over time, and through much talking and prayer, others in church leadership in that city listened to the brothers at the former Methodist fellowship. A trend was set in the town. By example, the shepherds led the flock. Truly, a revolution took place in that city. All over town people began to talk about the new freedom they were gaining in Christ, and the whole thing had a snow ball effect. As people started forsaking the dead traditions of men, more people followed suit as well.

Of course, not every church leader or fellowship agreed. But over time, the majority did. Those who practiced denominationalism and division soon became the minority in the city.

Taken from:
http://homechurchhelp.com/what-a-normal-church-looks-like

“But who is really in charge of this whole thing?” you ask. They reply, “Jesus is in charge. You would be amazed at how well He runs the church, if people will just let Him. The church belongs to Him. He designed it, He grows it, and He keeps it – if we do it the way He laid out for us in the New Testament.

Oh, Lord, please bring this to pass all over. Tear down the walls and lift Jesus High!

This has been my hearts cry since the day of my Salvation and still is. But we are so stuck in tradition people are comfortable and afraid. Lord, get us out of the box. Come and rule and reign over Your Church Lord.

Amen and Amen!

Thanks for the post allaboard. I am VERY encouraged today by what I have just read.

WOW, all that I can say is I came in here this morning expecting to hear the normal arguing about things that don't really matter much and I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!

This is a wonderful thing, and it's also been a source of much confusion throughout my walk with God. For years I have been reading the NT with much confusion, even to the point where I thought that I am strange. When I read the Acts and the Epistles and notice how the early church functioned it would cause me great confusion because it clashed with reality. It's amazing to me that God put this in my heart and I never let it go and I'm starting to see it made manifest. To Him be the glory!

Thank you VERY, VERY, VERY much for posting this!

Peace my brothers and sisters and may God's grace be with you!

Thank you for this. My wife and I were greatly blessed!

:-)

allaboard, was that a description of a true account that occurred in Cypress TX or is it a ficitional story of what the author believes would be ideal? I was trying to figure that out but couldn't.

In this STORY, an ideal for the church is presented. I too am taken with it as it is more true to what I see and understand scripture describing than anything I have been associated with. Just because it is a story is no reason to lose hope of the vision it depicts.

Ravenhill in his long interview with David Mainse speaks to what may very well be His greatest prophetic uttering and it was concerning the house church movement. Hope everyone caught that in the interview. Anyway the story is just a story but it should not in any way impede the vision of what God is showing and calling men to. As for the I. C., I will leave it to others to defend it. I left it because I could no longer handle what men had put their hands all over. I know this will be a great bone of contention for many, but do take notice that this movement does not seem to be losing momentum. Do we honestly think this is but a fad? The model for it looks right according to scripture. Not that we argue over the temple versus the house or the house versus the synagogue but more so what it means for the saints and the work God has set out for them. So I will be the bad guy and ask the question which has been asked before. What if the current model of the I.C. is all wrong? Does it glorify God? Does it better equip the saint? Does it elevate the priesthood which is but a joke in most churches? Does it create an atmosphere for the sharing of gifts? Does it form a tighter unity? Does it lend itself to mentoring and shared responsibilities?

The writer says, "Over time those who practiced denominationalism and division soon became the minority of the city."

O how I wish this were true!

Thanks for the clarification lylewise. you wrote:

Ravenhill in his long interview with David Mainse speaks to what may very well be His greatest prophetic uttering and it was concerning the house church movement. Hope everyone caught that in the interview.

So I will be the bad guy and ask the question which has been asked before. What if the current model of the I.C. is all wrong? Does it glorify God? Does it better equip the saint? Does it elevate the priesthood which is but a joke in most churches? Does it create an atmosphere for the sharing of gifts? Does it form a tighter unity? Does it lend itself to mentoring and shared responsibilities?

Good points. On the other hand, what if the current house church movement lacks in the anointed apostlolic preaching of the Word of God, and instead allows only 10-15 minute teachings or testimonies from anyone who feels led? Not to say that that is not biblical but what about longer anointed messages, as also seen in the NT? What if the HC dismisses the larger gatherings that are also evident in the New Testament?

My point is why can't we have both large and small gatherings of fellowship with singing, teaching and preaching, etc., whether in a building, a park, an alley, a home or whatever?

I'm at a point right now where I see valid arguments from both sides for certain ways of doing things, and still prayerfully considering the details.

The closest model I see to the both/and idea is the "cell" church model. The down side I see with it is that the cells are not considered independent churches and typically don't have participatory meetings.

As long as men are empowered in their ministry, I see no problem with either model. I do not however see the priesthood in its fullness rising up in the larger model. We also cannot be blind to the traditions that have been brought into the church. So many things have been brought in and have become so comfortable and accepted that they are even above questioning and most definitely above reproach. We would be fooling ourselves to say, "Where has tradition infiltrated the church"? From Cain on, religion without a heart has been a giant problem. It is no different today. For clarification I do not have the discernment or maturity to call Ravenhill a prophet. What this aging saint says is interesting to say the least, given the growth of the H.C. movement. We must also look at this movement today and ask ourselves,"Is this not radical and worthy of much discussion seeing that it is such a departure from what has been considered the norm for so long? I am but a bystander, but one cannot look at the state of things and not ponder this long and hard. I am sure there will be some corruption even in this movement, but I have faith Christ is calling out His bride and cleaning her up. Praise God.

lylewise, I hear your heart and sympathize in many respects.

Oracio,

If a brother in the Church in Cypress has a message from the Lord and wants to give it, he is free to. He can call for a special gathering and everyone happily obliges. It doesn't matter if he takes 1 hour or 5 hours. There is freedom for anything like this. If you can make the gathering great, if not, someone will tell you about it.

Utopia, Mr.Darcey, WWF, Santa, and a key sent in the mail to a new car you have ust won yet never signed up for. Honestly, we have read the dream and find the premise desirable but the picture is faulty. Some may be blessed with good fellowships, but we are talking about real people and real people carry with them much that they hold onto. The very things that need to be pried from our hearts, hands, and minds. I would not dare send this to one challenged by persecution. Now I see what others see of those of us in America. This is the Americanized Christian dream. Someone posted a prayer request for a woman persecuted by her own husband and son. I read and thought to myself ,"this woman is being tested and refined by God". She may lose her very life but what joy to undergo such trial and be found true to our Lord. Then I think what a tragedy to live a comfortable life never undergoing the refiners hand. For I know that those He loves are being refined. Those who will lose their lives for Him will receive it back glorified and with eternity in His presence.

I think highly of the house church movement and it is most likely is a mighty move of God, but I know, even in that fellowship, everyone must contend with and overcome their flesh as they abide in Him daily. I know I desire this picture as much as any of my other brothers and sisters in Christ, but if I cannot adjust my sights to what is real as I look around me, and even in my own life, I will sideline myself for what will never come. I must roll up my sleeves never fearing getting dirty. I will continue to have faith and trust in Him and what He has decribed for those who follow Him in this life, and Utopia is most certainly not it.

lylwise, I think you hit the nail on the head in your last post regarding the OP. I thought much of the same when I read it but could not put it into words as you did so well.

For a few years I was very fond of the house church movement and sought to be part of it and promote it and I still think highly of much of what I see in it. Not too long ago I was sort of disillusioned regarding it. One reason for that is because it seemed no other Christians in my area wanted any part of it. I thought, "If house churches are the biggest thing God is currently really up to, why are there hardly any in this huge city of Long Beach(I only found one and they meet only on Wednesdays)? And why is it so hard for believers to receive this new thing? What if there are none in a given city? Are we to be loners hoping and praying that one will start in our area, or try to start one ourselves(which I tried but failed)?"

Another reason for my disillusionment had to do with the lives of many involved in the movement. I saw that many, including the leaders of it, were no different than many in the traditional churches. I did not see a sold out commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. I did not see a high level of self-denial, of taking up the cross, of hungering and thirsting after righteousness, of a heart and passion for the lost and getting the gospel out. I did not see anointed prophetic preaching of God's Word. I am not saying that there are no believers from the HC that have counted the cost of discipleship. I am just saying that from what I saw the vast majority are just as lukewarm as others in the traditional churches. And I am not saying that I a have arrived either because I know I have many shortcomings in the area of self-denial.

All that to say this, I realized what matters most.

This is no utopia. Lylwise says lots of true things and has a good grip on reality. You have to work at being united in the spirit and not breaking fellowship with brothers you disagree with.

On a recent men's retreat, there were very contentious discussions and once these were resolved there was sweet fellowship. But, it is also healthy to have vigorous debates as long as the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace is kept. But, definitely there are problems. Wherever there are people there are problems.

The difference is that they are just committed to doing all they can to give the Lord His rightful place in their midst and not try to takeover and make Jesus sit in the pew like everyone else. At times, flesh rises up, but because all the brothers have a voice, and have not surrendered their voice to 1 man or a few men, flesh does not get very far. This is a key point. They do not "lord" over each other.

If you think about it, it really is ridiculous to lord over others that have the Holy Spirit and hear God.

I have read almost the entirety of the book from which allaboard took the original post. What I am reading is impacting me in a very strong way. I was so blessed because recently I began to consider many of the points brought out in the book. I find the author of the book very well balanced and the book is written with what seems to be a very humble and honest spirit about it. There are some books on these topics that come across like the author has been so hurt and is so angry at traditional church that he has to find another way to do things. I do not sense that attitude in this book. I am being blessed and challenged.

I have always contended that the physical structure or system is not as important as the spirit of the work. I think I still maintain that stance, but I am seeing that the structure is much more important that I have realized it to be in the past. My heart yearns for something like this. I want to see the church in my city walking in unity, humility, and the power of the Holy Spirit. I long to see the church impacting the community in such a way that it turns things on their heads. I also realize how I have fallen so short in my own life of the standard of being the body of Christ.

I am blessed. I am challenged. Thank you allaboard for the post. I am also heartened. I do not think this a utopian panacea. I see it as a reality that we need to begin to live out in our own lives.

I do not think it very important whether or not we own buildings. There is always a need for some specific ministry that we cannot do in our modern culture without a building. Rescue missions, children's ministries to reach the unchurched children, etc. are all examples I can think of. But I do think it is vital that the church in the city becomes just that.

Thanks again for the post.

Lord have mercy if we all think that this is the ideal church, the church that Jesus would build if we only let Him. Do you not see how men centred this entire little fable is? Who wouldn't want to become a Christian to be a part of this lovely group? Boating and water skiing? Isn't that wonderful! We can have it all and the Lord on top of it....It screams "Have your best life now!" out of every paragraph (except for the part in italics). This scenario will not happen here on earth as we walk on enemy territory and we are called to fight, we are called to suffer, we are called to sacrifice. We are to surrender all that we are and all that we have, yes to lay down our very lives for Jesus and let Him live His life in us. Jesus is gloryfied when all is against us and we still praise His holy name, not when we have it all. Where the main draw is having a good time and wonderful friends rather than the Lord in His glory and humble obedience to Him, I don't call it a church at all, it's not true Christianity.