Tag: church

Book Review: The Church in the House a Return to Simplicity

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 17, 2015

The Church in the House a Return to Simplicity

By Robert Fitts (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Robert Fitts opens The Church in the House with a mission statement for a house church.

Once he has readers engaged in the subject, he then builds a biblical case for house churches, including a detailed discussion of what is and isn’t a church (or the church).

Using the metaphors of a wheel and a vine, he advocates the vine as an ideal picture of church growth—living, spreading out, putting down new roots, and so forth—versus a wheel image that portends centralized control and a rigid structure.

He concludes the book with practical information about starting a house church, how that looks, and what it entails. For those so inclined, the bibliography offers a suitable list of resources for future study.

This book serves as a great primer for those seeking to learn the rational of house churches. It also functions as an apt resource for those pursuing the vision of a house church.

For both groups, it is a short and easy read, packed full of useful information and insights.

[The Church in the House: a Return to Simplicity, by Robert Fitts. Published by Preparing the Way Publishers, 2001, ISBN: 978-1929451074, 120 pages.]

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Tags church, house church

Christian Living

Two Types of Church

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 29, 2015

Institutional Church or Organic Church

There are two types of church in the Bible, and there are two types of church today.

In the Old Testament, there is the temple. At the temple, the priests lead worship and guide the people, as instructed by God through Moses.

The Levites provide support to keep things functioning smoothly—at least that’s how God wants it to work.

Old Testament temple worship is institutional, with much structure and strict procedure.

Institutions mandate order, reward conformity, and maintain the status quo—whether it’s good or bad.

In the New Testament, the people who follow Jesus start meeting together.

They don’t have a building, so they just hang out in public places and meet in people’s homes. There are very few instructions for what they do, with little oversight in how they do it.

However, they do eat meals together, share their belongings, and encourage one another. They live in community; it is organic. New Testament church is organic.

Organic gatherings nurture spiritual growth, adapt to their environment, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit—regardless of what’s planned or expected. Organic is, at times, also messy.

Today we see a plethora of options for church; most are institutions, few are organic. Most churches follow the pattern of the Old Testament: they have a building, paid staff, and leader-led worship; structure and procedure are their guides.

Few churches are organic, truly following the pattern of the New Testament. Though I do encounter these types of organic spiritual experiences, they aren’t frequent or regular—and they seldom happen on Sunday morning.

My wife feels it’s important to go to a church on Sunday morning; I feel it’s important to hone my faith in organic community.

If only we could do both at the same time.

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Tags church, community, faith

Christian Living

Be Careful What We Sing at Church

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 22, 2015

Be Careful What We Sing at Church

The tempo was upbeat and the song was inviting. Though new to me, I picked it up quickly. On the third time through the chorus, I started really contemplating the words—and I stopped singing.

Really, I did—right in midsentence. The words were wrong.

Though it’s technically illegal for me to quote song lyrics (and I don’t want to out an accomplished songwriter), the gist was that when things go bad, God will immediately rescue us.

I don’t see that happen very often in the Bible. Usually, God waits. I don’t often experience instant resolutions in my own life, either. Usually, he says to be patient.

Yes, God provides, and he does answer my prayers, but he does it in his own way and in his own time. Seldom are the heavy things resolved immediately.

The song paints the expectation of instant gratification. Though appealing to modern society, it’s a bad way to understand God. The song should have said that when things go bad, we need to be patient; in the end, God will come through.

That’s good teaching.

My concern is for people who base their understanding of God from the songs we sing in church. If they believe he will always immediately rescue them, as the song says, will their faith suffer a crisis when their experience is different?

When God tarries, as he sometimes does, will they give up on God and walk away?

I hope not, but I fear so.

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Tags church, faith, good music, pray, theology, worship

Christian Living

Is Church When Two or Three Are Gathered?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 15, 2015
2 Comments on Is Church When Two or Three Are Gathered?

Meeting in Jesus’s Name

Jesus says that whenever a few people get together in his name, he will be there. Isn’t this what church is? Jesus shows up when we collectively meet and treat him as the main attraction; this is the church at its most basic and purest level.

Though we typically think of this as involving hundreds of people, Jesus says it only takes a few. And he says nothing about it being at 10 a.m. on a Sunday or requiring music and a message—just people.

So can church occur with a friend at a coffee shop? I say yes!

How about in a park, at a museum, or on a nature walk? Yes!

Can church happen during dinner at a friend’s house? Yes!

How about watching TV, playing a game, or just hanging out? Yes, yes, and yes!

Does any gathering that fosters community, constitute a church? As long as Jesus is the intention, the answer is yes.

Two or three gathered in his name. That’s what we did last Sunday at a friend’s house; it was church; and it was better than most any Sunday service.

Church can occur anytime a handful of people get together. All we need to do is make Jesus the focus. Shouldn’t we be doing that anyway?

[Matthew 18:19-20]

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Tags church, Jesus

Christian Living

I Love the Church, Really I Do

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 25, 2015

In this blog, I write a lot about the church. My comments are mostly critical.

This isn’t because I hate the church. It’s because I love the church. Really I do. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t bother to point out how church could be better.

The church often falls short of what it could be, short of what it should be. Our Father deserves more, Jesus desires better, and the Holy Spirit is poised to help us make it happen. It is, after all, God’s church, not ours.

We comprise the church that Jesus started—not our buildings, denominations, programs, or procedures.

People are the church. For many folks this requires a changed perspective.

Consider three short verbs: go, do, and be.

Most people talk about going to church. It’s something they accomplish each week. They go, spend an hour, and leave. They check off their “go to church” box for the week. Then they’re done.

Some people talk about doing church. They want to do church in a different way. I appreciate their vision; I applaud their zeal. They strive to put meaning and purpose back into the habit of attending church.

They are moving in the right direction, but they stop short.

A few people talk about being the church. They want to be the church to the world around them. To be the church, they form a community to worship God and serve others.

They function as the church. They are the church Jesus started. And they’re the church I love.

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Tags church, community

Christian Living

Do You Really Want Your Church To Grow?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 18, 2015

Most people who go to church say they want their church to grow. However, they usually have an unstated assumption: they want the new people to be just like them. Although understandable, this is also wrong.

Unfortunately, the only place to find more people like them is at another church. In essence, they want to grow their church at the expense of another.

This is a zero-sum game, where the overall church doesn’t get bigger but merely shuffles people between locations.

To truly grow our churches we need to find people who are not like us. But are we truly ready for what that entails? Consider what these folks might look like:

A homeless man staggers in. He hasn’t bathed in days. The odor is so intense no one can stand near him; his clothes are so dirty you don’t even want him to sit down. All his possessions are stuffed into an even dirtier backpack. And when he gets a whiff of the communion wine, he starts acting squirrely.
A young single mom marches in with four children in tow. They don’t look alike, and you learn each child has a different last name. The kids are okay, but none of them wear the “proper clothes” or know the “right way to behave” in church. Overall, they are a disruption.
Two guys saunter in. They’re holding hands and wearing wedding bands; they refer to each other as “my husband.”

How would your church react? Would you welcome these folks, extend the love of Jesus, and refuse to judge? Would your church see these visitors as an answer to prayer or a problem to deal with?

If your church did embrace them, you could grow by eight people. And once they knew your church was a safe place, they’d tell their friends, and you could grow even more.

Over time, your church would look less like you and more like them. Jesus would be thrilled, but what about you?

If this is what real church growth looks like, do you really want your church to grow?

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Tags church, church attendance

Christian Living

Are You Being Fed at Church?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 12, 2014

It’s Your Job to Spiritually Feed Yourself

Have you ever heard someone grumble about church by saying, “I’m just not being fed”? Perhaps you’ve even said it. I have. However, we’re not talking about physical food, but spiritual sustenance.

When we say this, we sound so righteous, but what we’re really doing is complaining that church doesn’t give us what we want. Where are you being fed?

We too often look at church through the eyes of the modern consumer, demanding church will meet our needs, to give us something in return for our investment of time and money.

When church fails to meet our expectations, our first impulse is to act like a shopper and take our business elsewhere.

However, the main purpose of church isn’t for us to receive what we want; it’s for us to give. We give God what he desires, and we give people what they need. Our goal at church should be to worship God and to serve others.

It’s countercultural today, but it’s what Jesus modeled for us two thousand years ago. Let’s follow his example today.

Yes, sometimes we are hurting, and sometimes we are in need. Then we should go to church to rest and to receive. But our normal, prevailing attitude at church—and everywhere else, for that matter—should be one of giving.

After all, it is better to give than receive. So don’t go to church to get something out of it but with the intent to give something to it: worship God and serve others.

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Tags church, God, worship

Christian Living

Does Your Church Need a Building?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 7, 2014

It’s the People, Not the Place that Matters

When visiting a church with family, the minister prayed, “God you know we need a new church building.”

I recoiled at his claim. They don’t need a new building; they merely want one. There’s a difference between needs and wants, something we must distinguish.

What this church need is to throw aside assumption. They need to look at their situation with a creative eye, not follow what other churches do and society expects.

They need to read the books When Not to Build and When not to Borrow. Seriously.

One of the things I like about this church is that they rent space on Sunday and aren’t shackled by an expensive building that sucks away mass amounts of money and is underused most of the week.

I don’t want to attend a church that will assume a million-dollar debt just to have a nice place to meet on Sunday.

Instead, what if they would commit the same fervor and funds to help those in need or send missionaries around the world? That would be a holistic cause, righteous stewardship of money.

I could go to a church that thought like that; I could support a church that acted like that.

If this church builds a new facility, I doubt I’ll ever go there again. I want to attend a church committed to making a difference in the world around it.

We already have too many churches housed in grand edifices or erecting self-serving monuments to their view of success.

This church doesn’t need a new building. What they need is a new perspective, God’s perspective.

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Tags church, money

Christian Living

Should You Wear Your Sunday Best to Church?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 10, 2014

Dressing Up for Church Versus Going Casual

Some people dress up for church to honor God by wearing their Sunday best. Others dress up to impress people. I, however, dress casually, sometimes to an extreme.

This isn’t because I’m lazy or rebellious. This is my way to honor God and advance his kingdom.

One Sunday morning many years ago, I stood at the church sanctuary entrance, wearing a blue pin-striped suit and a bold silk tie. My job was to pass out bulletins and seat people.

My goal was to make eye contact, give them my best smile, and say “Hi.” I took this job most seriously.

In walked a visitor. College-aged, he wore torn jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes. He carried a wide smile. We made eye contact. When he saw a friendly face, his smile brightened. He headed towards me.

Then he glanced down at what I was wearing, and his pace slowed. He looked left and then right. Seeing no one else dressed like him, he made an abrupt U-turn and left.

I should have followed him. I should have assured him his clothes didn’t matter. I should have invited him back and offered to sit with him. I didn’t. Instead, I felt duty-bound to remain at my post.

That was the last Sunday I dressed up for church. If my attire challenges conventions, I’d prefer offending those in my community, not those outside it.

May my clothes never again be an obstacle for a visitor feeling comfortable in church or a faith seeker encountering God.

I never again dressed up for church. And I do it to honor God.

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Tags church

Christian Living

Discussion Question: What is Church?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 3, 2014

A few weeks ago, the church service kicked off with a discussion question: “What is church?” We broke into small groups with those sitting around us. After exchanging introductions (why hadn’t we already done this?), we stared in silence.

As a visitor, I didn’t want to go first, but the silence invited me. “I’ve thought about this a lot,” I said as I marshaled my words. “I think church is about community.”

I paused, waiting for more of my deliberations to form into cogent words, but they didn’t. Others nodded and voiced their thoughts. Before I had a chance to add more, the discussion time ended prematurely.

The groups’ dialogue formed the introduction to the message. I anticipated what the speaker would add to the topic. Alas, his words were of little substance.

I left the service, warmed by the bits of community we shared, but with no additional clarity on the question.

A few years ago, I answered the question, What is Church? in a blog post. My answer then is what it is now:

“Church isn’t about message or music; those are often distractions or settling for less than the best.

True church is about community, where we are all priests, with each one giving and receiving, mutually edifying and encouraging one another on our faith journey.”

Please think about this as you attend church today. And it you don’t go to church, I encourage you to seek ways to do this anyway—and that will be your church, not as a substitute, but perhaps as a superior alternative.

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Tags church, community, small group