Today, folks go to a “church” for a “sermon” by the one, week after week, during a scripted “service” designed to lead them into God’s presence – stage to audience …

In violation of Scripture.

Instead, the New Testament commands that we gather for ministry by one another to mutually build up each other through the diverse gifts God distributes among us as we dynamically express His presence already in us – one to another.

Big difference!

So are you finally done with unbiblical spectator mono-churches and their Sunday shows?

Then fall on your face before God (I mean this literally!), humble yourself before Him, and ask that He begin relationally knitting you together with others willing to gather and start learning …

To be the multi-gifted, multi-part, multi-functional Body of Christ once again.

God created each of us with different motivations, abilities and ways of perceiving to match our different spiritual gifts.

Unfortunately, though, we all tend to view others as being motivated and perceiving reality just like us.

When we finally begin realizing that’s not the case, we hopefully can start learning to affirm the varied, different motivations, abilities and ways of perceiving that God gives others.

This is part of what it means to prefer one another above ourselves.

When people in the Old Testament tried to build their own human edifice to reach God …

He didn’t tear it down, but just made it irrelevant.

As with the Tower of Babel, so it is with what we call “Church” today …

With its unbiblical, man-centered human traditions like million dollar special buildings designed for spectator seating under a monopolizing “Senior Pastor” and his weekly performance by the special few on a raised stage each Sunday morning – all under the guise of “worship” (so called) to attract ever bigger audiences and induce a big collection to keep funding it over and over again, week after week.

Maybe it hasn’t collapsed yet under its own weight …

But God sure seems to be actively exposing it these days as not really of Him and making it increasingly irrelevant.

Those who know the times see the need to get with God’s agenda instead …

And start gathering as the relational, participatory, multi-gifted Body of Christ once again – with ministry by one another to one another for the mutual building up of each other – just like God actually commands and ordains in the New Testament.

The New Testament never says to gather for a church “service,” where the few do all the ministry for everyone else.

Nope, not, nada …

Just ain’t there.

Instead, it repeatedly commands that our gatherings be about serving one another …

Through ministry by each other – out of the many gifts and abilities God distributes among us – for the mutual building up of all.

So when was the last time your “church” allowed that to happen on Sunday morning?

For the vast majority of Christians, never.

Maybe it’s time to finally get serious about gathering like God commands in His Word …

And leave those contrary, self-serving, post-Biblical traditions of men – and their monopolistic “services” that are all about their own “ministries” – behind.

After all, as Paul explicitly states, the reason God gives us leaders in the church is not so they can do the work of ministry by putting on Sunday morning “services” for us.

Rather, their role is to equip God’s people so we – each and every one – can do the work of ministry by building up each other through ministry one to another (Eph. 4:11-16) …

Even on Sunday mornings!

In the New Testament, elders emerged within a local assembly based on proven character …

As they served God’s people through relationships, plurality, example, persuasion and earned respect.

Today, we instead hire a “Senior Pastor” from the outside based on external institutional credentials …

To rule over an organization called a “church” through appointment, position, hierarchy, titles, command and control.

Big difference.

I’ve been part of simple participatory churches going back over fifty years …

And also helped start and sustain more than a few along the way.

In fact, the very first one I personally helped get going was fifty years ago this month in college …

And it became a beacon for evangelism, discipleship and fellowship on campus.

Over all these years, I’ve seen how the biggest threat to such groups – especially when first starting …

Are those who come seeking a platform for their grievances, ambitions or pet doctrines.

If you let them, they will make your gatherings incessently revolve around them or their issues – whether intentional or not.

If you think God

Can’t move

In our gatherings

Unless you direct them –

Including who does what

And when and how –

Then it really doesn’t matter

If you meet in a “sanctuary”

Or in a living room

Or with twelve

Or twelve hundred

Because it’s still

All about you …

And your distorted view

Of leadership.

——————-

Consider this:

Christ doesn’t call some to be “pastors and teachers” to direct our gatherings and control all ministry.

Rather, their job – along with all other church leaders – is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ” so in Him “the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love.” Eph. 12:11-12 & 16 (NET)

If you have a control freak who rules over you and won’t change, rather than equipping leaders who serve among you, it doesn’t matter whether you meet in someone’s house or in a traditional building …

It’s not really a church and it’s time to leave.

I often hear the argument that it’s ok for church to be about ministry by one person, because the Apostles taught before large gatherings at Solomon’s Portico outside the temple in Jerusalem.

The gatherings in Jerusalem at Solomon’s Portico after the day of Pentecost, however, only lasted for a short while. We also see no counterpart to them anywhere else in the unfolding history of the early church as revealed in Scripture.

Solomon’s Portico was unique and temporary because it served an important initial purpose in the life of the nascent church. That’s where the Apostles first laid the foundations of the church through their teachings. In Acts 2, it says that in conjunction with Solomon’s Portico, the people would then meet house to house to continue in the Apostles teachings.

We continue in the Apostles teachings today when we likewise gather house to house, but we don’t need to go to a large meeting at Solomon’s Portico because we now have those teachings available in the New Testament.

So Solomon’s Portico was descriptive rather than prescriptive. Otherwise, we would see it repeated in other towns and cities where the believers met from house to house in the New Testament, but we don’t.

I’m not against believers in a town or city coming together for a large gathering if that serves a specific, unique purpose. But I absolutely reject the contention that Solomon’s Portico serves as a justification for “church” as we’ve come to know it – where the few routinely do church for the many, who are herded into large buildings to sit as spectators below them.

We now have the Apostles teachings and are to continue in them as we meet house to house. But we don’t have Solomon’s Portico because we don’t have the original need for it anymore.

Nonetheless, we still need one another as we gather for participatory ministry to each other for the mutual building up of all. And that is the core purpose of the church and our gatherings even to this day.

Why are “pastors and teachers” all for being the “church” …

Until it gets Biblical?

You know, like gathering for participatory ministry by “one another” to mutually build up each other as the New Testament commands …

Rather than gathering for mono-ministry by “the one” from a podium above us?

For example, I’ve never met an evangelist who thinks only evangelists can exclusively share the gospel …

Or that they have some divine right to make our gatherings always revolve around them.

So why do “pastors and teachers” think only they can exclusively minister and teach …

And our gatherings must always revolve around them doing so?

Unfortunately for them, the New Testament says otherwise.

So yes, some have particular gifts when it comes to teaching and pastoring, but not exclusively so …

Even though they may have heightened leadership abilities in those areas.

Nonetheless, the New Testament says we all can teach and minister to each other as God directs …

As we participate together in building up one another through the diverse gifts God distributes among us.

So let’s affirm those that have a particular gift …

But don’t give them a monopoly on that gift or our gatherings – including “pastors and teachers.”

———————-

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom …” Col. 3:16

“I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.” Rom. 15:14

“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” 1 Cor. 14:26

Authentic church as commanded in the New Testament is simple and participatory …

But never easy.

In contrast, sitting in a “sanctuary” and enjoying a finely-scripted show and a carefully-crafted message – rooted in the “senior pastor’s” own vision and motivations – is easy.

Sitting in a living room and conforming to some “apostolic worker’s” own perceptions of Christ and His church – rooted in his own personality, sensibilities, likes, dislikes, and theological proclivities – also is easy.

But whether in a traditional “church” building or a gathering in someone’s home …

Is that what Christ wants?

Authentic church as commanded in the New Testament is simple and participatory …

But rare these days.

As Scripture repeatedly commands, we’re to gather for the primary purpose of mutually building up one another through ministry to each other using the diverse gifts God distributes between us …

With elders (plural) who emerge among us to watch over and humbly serve beside us.

Instead, however, “church” has become a building with spectator seating and a “senior pastor” who’s hired to monopolize our gatherings from a podium above us.

As for me, I think I’ll stick with the simplicity of church as the Bible actually defines it …

Rather than the self-serving, hierarchical, post-Biblical traditions of men. 

How about you?

I often hear from people frustrated because they can’t find or start a sustainable house church where they live.

As I talk with folks from around the country, here’s one of the main reasons (not the only reason, but certainly a big reason) I’ve seen for why house churches fail:

In one critical regard, they become just like the unbiblical institutional mono-churches they sought to leave.

A mono-church centers around one particularly gifted person’s vision and abilities, or focuses on one particular ministry or mission.

They are common these days, but can’t be found in the New Testament.

Over the last fifty years – going all the way back to my college days in the mid-1970s – God’s often used me to help simple, participatory churches emerge.

Yet I can’t think of a single one of them that didn’t first start with discipleship.

Looking back, I guess that makes sense given that Jesus said He would build His church …

But we are to build disciples.

In contrast, I’ve seen many try to start a “church” first, but in my experience real discipleship seldom follows and things quickly begin falling apart. 

This has been a source of great frustration for many. 

Sitting among rows upon rows of spectator seating week after week …

Have nothing to do with church as the New Testament commands it.

So how do we help folks get out of this trap?

We need to boldly share our stories of relational participatory church as actually commanded in the New Testament, and what we’ve learned along theway …

To encourage others that they can indeed begin to be the church once again.

Otherwise, most people have no idea that it’s possible to leave spectator “church” behind …

And start gathering in living rooms and other places were life naturally happens, to minister one to another for the mutual building up of each other.

But how can you expect that to happen …

Unless we openly tell of our own journeys and experiences?