Novemb er 2004 Update

Is Anyone at Home?

I have been thinking a lot recently about a topic that usually raises lots of opinions and thought I would just make a few comments this month about the role of the house in the life of the church. While I am sure there are exceptions, I believe it is safe to say that most Christians today experience their fellowship primarily through their involvement in a local church in the form of meetings in a church building. As a result many of us communicate in terms of "going to church" or "attending the worship service." This type of mentality assumes the gathering of people in a church building to participate in a church service. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this type of experience, I believe it lacks a dynamic that was very evident in the new testament church and is still part of God's ultimate intention for His people.

I was reminded of this in a fresh way recently as I was reading the accounts in Luke where Jesus sends out the twelve and the seventy to minister. He tells the twelve to take nothing for their journey and then tells them "whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city" (Luke 9:4). Again in chapter 10 Jesus sends out the seventy and gives them similar instructions but elaborates on the use of the house as the central hub of ministry. He tells them "whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house" (Luke 10:5-7). I was struck by the fact that Jesus designated the house as the primary location for ministry to take place. While the disciples were to be proclaiming the kingdom of God, they were to be stationed in various homes throughout the cities where they ministered.

We see a well developed trend in the book of Acts. Saul persecuted the christians by going from house to house (Acts 8:1). The church gathered in Mary's house in Acts 12 as they fervently prayed for Peter during his imprisonment (Acts 12:12). Lydia, the first convert in Europe, opens her home to Paul and his co-workers and says, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay" (Acts 16:15). Then after Paul and Silas are miraculously freed from prison "they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed" (Acts 16:17). Angry Jews in Acts 17 stormed Jason's house figuring to find christians gathered there (Acts 17:5). After being rejected by the Jews in Corinth, Paul turned to the house of Titius Justus and began to teach the Gentiles (Acts 18:7). Paul himself affirms to the elders in Ephesus how he proclaimed the truth to them publicly and from house to house (Acts 20:20). Later in his own letters to the churches Paul refers to the church in Aquila and Prisca's house in Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:19) and then again to the church in their house in Rome (Romans 16:5). To those believers in Colossea he writes and tells them to greet Nympha and the church that is in her house (Col. 4:15). Finally, Paul greats Philemon and the church in his house which was most likely in Colossea (Philemon 1:2). It is interesting to note that the only meeting place of the church that Paul gives direct reference to in his letters is the home.

While it is not necessary to be dogmatic, it is safe to say that the early church found the house to be a very natural place to gather and share in the christian experience as a community of people. Such gatherings were spontaneous and regular and consisted of real spiritual life shared among believers who corporately recognized Jesus as their leader.

So where do we find ourselves today? My question to the church is, "Is anyone at home?" Are we willing to see our homes as the primary gathering place for believers? Are we conditioned to only gather in a sterile building where few actually connect and share intimate life together? Or is the church going to see the value in being at home, gathering as the Spirit directs and allowing Jesus to be the head as He builds us all together into a dwelling place in the Spirit (Eph. 2:22)? My prayer is that we be open in our hearts to new (really old) expressions that move us closer to the Lord's original intention for His people. May we walk fully in a manner that is worthy of our calling and not settle for anything less than His best for our lives.