Chapter 20
Challenge, Upside and Downside
This book has been about learning to discern the apostasy and deception of our present evil age. Discernment comes from developing your own relationship with the Lord, and keeping our eyes and hearts open to what is going on around us. We should not be surprised because it has been clearly prophesied that there would be a “falling away” in the last days. The institutional church will fall away because the Bible tells us it will. I have tried to point out that the form the modern American church takes is not really meeting the need of saints. This isn’t to say that all in it will be condemned. Revelation 2 and 3 make it very clear that no matter how bad the church’s condition, Jesus is still walking in the midst and is speaking to those who “have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” In spite of their condition, each one has overcomers. This is not to say that we should all “go down with the ship.” He may want you to stay, but God is also calling us to “meet him outside the camp”. (Hebrews 13:13)
You will be protected from the coming apostasy if you have a balanced relationship with Christ, His Word and other Christians. Look at it as a three legged stool. One leg is that you are in a “real time” relationship with God through Jesus Christ. You know Him and hear His voice. The second leg is that you know the Scripture – not just what it says, but how to let the Word minister life to you. You will not receive wild revelations that are completely new, but revelation that will be corroborated by many Scriptures. The secret is to learn to let the Lord speak to you through His Word. The third leg that will protect you from error is your relationship with other Christians who are also walking humbly in the light and experiencing Jesus afresh every day.
Many people have been so burned by the abuses in churches, they shun Christian fellowship. Let’s go back to theory for a moment and try to demystify a very complex subject. What is the church – a building, an organization, a 501c3 tax exempt organization you can give money to? No, the church is simply redeemed people -"a community of believers, building a common life of love, forgiveness, discipleship and accountability, building up each other in love, exercising gifts and worshipping together, expressing Christ to the world by their love and deeds." We shouldn't be hung up on size or location. There is the one church "universal" made up of all believers, and the church "local" made up of all believers and expressed in many different ways. The church is simply God's “called out” people. We belong to a holy nation, a heavenly kingdom and do not belong to this earth. We are God's temple and dwelling place on the earth. The church is wherever believers are gathered. It is not a meeting, a building or an organization of any kind. It is people indwelt by the Spirit of God, the expression of Jesus Christ on the earth - His Body.
God’s ultimate intention is not that you or I should be spiritual giants, but a part of his body, practically knit together with other Christians. Please reread Ephesians 2-5. This is not an organizational unity but an organic unity. Not all people who attend church are necessarily “Christians.” Many of them know the vocabulary but have never had a heart change. Others may have been “born again” but have never grown beyond being bottle-fed babies.
The church is not a meeting but the saints themselves. In its simplicity, the early church met in homes for the most part, worshipped the Lord and ministered to one another. This was not vicarious meeting, following an "order of worship" led by one man and a worship group. It was totally participatory. Saints were to:
• Provoke one another to good works
• Teach and admonish one another
• Bear one anothers’ burdens
• Confess sins to one another
• Encourage one another
• Build up one another
• Pray for one another
Except on special occasions, they didn't sit and listen to one man. They ministered to one another. The church was simply people drawn together by a common life and experience. The meetings were to lift up the Lord Jesus, singing to one another and making melody in their hearts to the Lord, sharing testimonies, experiences, requests, finances, ministering to one another, teaching from the Word. The church is “one anothering” - not one man doing and all the rest observing - not doing mere tasks such as setting up chairs, ushering, passing communion, or cleaning the church. It is every person involved with the other in a meeting that expresses the “body life” - not the life of the pastor, the revelation of the pastor, the eloquence of the pastor, the organizational ability of the pastor but the life in every member of the body.
It is next to impossible to have this kind of intimacy in a building with 400 chairs lined up in a row facing a performance in the front. Instead of community, the big church breeds alienation as people sit hurting or excited but with no outlet to share lest they disrupt the "service." Our mega churches entertain, but they do not allow us to minister to one another. And to those who would say people who attend small home groups will never attain personal maturity, I would say the opposite. For those who would sit year in and year out listening to more and more teaching - they will never mature until they break out of that mold and have a meaningful opportunity to minister to others. The large meeting will always be limiting.
We Need to Change Our Concept
Our concept of the church needs to change. Church is not going to a meeting once or twice a week. What we need is meaningful daily contact with one another – going from house to house. Attending another meeting is not the answer. The answer lies in living in community with other believers. This is easier said than done, especially in our huge suburban sprawl where the saints have to travel for miles through heavy traffic to just see one another. All we can do is fit a meeting here or there into our busy schedules. As long as you have to commute across town to get together, you will never experience the real Christian community the early church had living in small towns and going from house to house fellowshipping with one another.
Now, is this practical? No, not really. Can people afford to move within walking distance of one another? Probably not. They probably don’t even want to! We value our individual space, our eight foot fences, our own private time alone after a busy week working. There’s the lawn to mow, little league, soccer, dance, hunting and golf – not to mention the favorite TV programs. What is going to redirect our priorities? What is going to cause us to change our busy schedules to make time for others? Right now, only those with tremendous foresight will see that, as in the Days of Noah, God wants us to build an ark – a corporate haven of saints. Unfortunately, the only thing that will bring believers back into a simple walk with the Lord and one another is a good dose of Tribulation. When you can no longer afford to pay your bills, keep up your payments and are pressed from all sides, you will see Christians coming together out of necessity – four or five families in a single home, tents pitched next to a farm house, old motor homes and trailers parked together.
A time is coming that will make the Great Depression seem like the good old days. The debt load of Americans in 1929 was equal to 260% of the GDP. Today it is over 300%. Our mortgage debt is equal to our total earnings of about $9.6 trillion. Our business, personal and public debts are at all time highs and the “piper must be paid” eventually. Foreclosures and bankruptcies are at all time highs. Rather than bring the economy under control, the Fed continues to make cheap credit available, and debase the value of the currency. You may think I am being too much but we are headed for the greatest crash of all time. Our money supply has doubled since Bush came into office and this historic creation of more currency will only lead to debasement of the dollar which has already fallen 40% against other currencies such as the Euro. The harsh truth is that given the global economy, there is no reason why the educated person in China or India should make one tenth their counterpart in North America. Manufacturing is what made this country great and once gone, these jobs will not come back. The elites and the government have held the economy together so far, but the day of reckoning will be far worse when it eventually crumbles, and it will.
Meanwhile, there will be plenty of jobs for your sons and daughters as compulsory service is imposed on men and women from 18 to 34 years of age and America continues to wage its war on terrorism around the world, bringing democracy and capitalism to the poor and disenfranchised of the world – whether they want it or not! If you are counting on your riches and your savings to bail you out, you had better think again. If you lost your job tomorrow, how long would you last, even if you could become a WalMart greeter? As I said in a previous article, just like the return of Jesus, we don’t know the day or the hour the crash will come, but it will.
Prophecy is written to warn us, just as Joseph warned Pharoah of the seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. We are supposed to do something about it. Sure you can get out of debt and do some practical things, but there is something even more important to consider. This book has been very critical of the institutional church, but brothers and sisters let us not lose sight of the fact that the body of Christ on the earth still represents God’s own people!
“These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me,”These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb…” (Revelation 7:13-14)
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death…And the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:11, 17)
…And give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7)
I would encourage you to read all the references to the Tribulation. Brothers and sisters, dead or alive, we come through it! We come through as those whose robes are made white by the blood of the Lamb. We are purified by the fire and even though many are martyred we come out of it as His beautiful bride without spot or wrinkle! Remember the exhortation of Hebrews to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together but encouraging one another, and all the more, as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24) The body of Christ is the corporate expression of Jesus Christ on the earth.
Although I may be critical of the “organization” we know of as the institutional “church”, we must remember that there still are “born again” saints that make up the “organism” known as the Body of Christ that attend these institutions. Yes, we have false teachers, false gospels, even false Christs out there today, but in the middle of all that mess, are God’s children. If they don’t respond to the Lord today, they may when the going gets tough. We don’t know their hearts. Tribulation has a way of resetting our priorities. Don’t give up anyone, because God doesn’t give up on them. But neither should you wait for them. You have to listen to His still small voice and do what He tells you to do. If some of us start leading the way, at least there will be an alternative to the apostate system.
One More Time
It isn’t good enough to just criticize, and unfortunately, that is all most “Discernment Ministries” do. As many will point out, it is easy to criticize, but don’t you have any answers? So, what practically can you do?
First, pray that the Lord leads you to other Christians of like mind. I love it when people write to us. No one ever says, “wow, I see this for the first time!” No, 99 out of 100 say that what we have shared confirms what the Lord already showed them. God is working in His saints. He is speaking to them, and so much the more as we see the day approaching. You may be surprised by what you find once you start talking to other Christians. Second, consider moving close by these Christians so you can really support one another and be “built together”. Third, you may want to start a meeting, but please get off to a good start. Don’t start a “Bible study” or prayer meeting or a gossip session. Spend some time talking about what the Body of Christ is and why saints get together – saints indwelt by the Holy Spirit who have fresh experiences with Him and HAVE to come together to share.
When we talk about “body life”, we're talking about a meeting where everyone has an opportunity to participate as we discussed before. But in addition to participating in the meeting, there is an opportunity for each member to develop their gifts. An evangelist may gather people from various home meetings to go out and evangelize. Another group from various home churches may work with child evangelism, teenagers or whatever. There is room for teachers, prophets, etc. There is opportunity for EVERYONE to minister to the Lord and to one another. There is also room for any person to develop the ministry that the Lord has given him. We are not talking theory, but doing. The key is opportunity! There is opportunity for everyone to do. The church is God's family. It has mature people and immature people. When parents start to have children, the parents and the children learn by watching an example and by doing. Sure there are books on raising kids and role models. But life is doing. You never really learn until you have to do it yourself. The church is about opportunity, giving God the opportunity to raise people up and letting them learn by their mistakes.
Why Home Meetings Don’t Work!
When I started down this road again, I was reminded by “friends” who had experienced the “church life” with me in the old days, why what I am about to share won't work. The two biggest reasons these meetings don’t work are 1) Christians are dead and have no life to flow to others and 2) they interpret the meeting as the “end”, rather than deep and practical relationships that involve more than just seeing each other once a week.
It is important to get the other negatives out in the open because the first thing that happens when you start down an untraveled path is that all your "friends" give you a hundred and one reasons why you will fail and are wasting your time.
A lot of people don't like home meetings and they have some legitimate concerns. They don't always work out very well. What are the objections?
· Loss of control is one of the biggest objections. There are flockless shepherds wanting a pulpit and to take over. Some don't know when to be quiet and let others talk. Some are "know-it-alls." Others only know one subject and talk about it all the time.
· Some are concerned with quality and the fear that groups will get off track. There are all of the dangers the "early church" faced in terms of heresy. Leadership may not be strong and well-grounded. It takes maturity and sensitivity to the Lord to keep the small meeting open and on track.
· There may be a concern by some of a loss of income and position on the part of full-time pastors.
· There is the fear of exposure - of facing our own spiritual emptiness, inadequacy and immaturity.
· There is the fear of lack of structure, of leadership and of not knowing what to do.
· There is the fear that we will have to listen to someone less smart, less qualified and less dynamic than we are used to.
· There is the fear of making mistakes, of sharing in public, of not measuring up to others who are more eloquent and gifted.
· Small meetings are associated with alienation, isolation, and deviation from sound teaching.
· Home meetings may be purposeless and become an end in themselves.
· Some feel small meetings can't provide for all of the needs (e.g. children) of people.
These are all real concerns. Yet, as Christians, we have to learn how to crawl before we learn how to walk. If the meetings reflect our lack of maturity, then that is where we are at. It doesn't mean we should give up - just go back to the drawing boards. Now, let's go back over the list one at a time and talk about each point.
· Loss of control is a problem, but it can be tempered by mature leadership and persistence. It is certainly a risk worth taking considering the benefits. I used to look out over a congregation and see each person as a treasure box waiting to be opened to let forth the riches of Christ. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Every believer really does have something of value. Many have small experiences with Lord every day. We just have to learn how to release it. Meanwhile, the leaders need to protect the meeting from flockless shepherds and people who want a soap box. They need to keep it on track and learn to sense and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. The assumption that the meeting would spin into chaos without clerical control is denigrating to God and His people. It requires a little maturity, the Holy Spirit and some common sense.
· Concern for quality is a very real problem, especially in these "last days" when so many subtle and erroneous teachings are going around. This speaks to several things we will come back to later: the need for a sound doctrinal base, the need for leadership and authority, and the need to be a part of something larger than just a single small fellowship. But when we talk about quality, we get so accustomed to the polished sermons we hear from the professionals, we lose site of the little work of God being done in the life of a simple, not so eloquent Christian man, woman or child. They experience the Lord too and you have no idea how rich a meeting can be until all are released to share.
· Concern for loss of income and position if a pastor decides to take a church this way may be real. However, why can't the pastor focus on training leadership? Why can't people continue to give? Why can't more money be available for pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and the physical needs of people now that there is no building expense? We can have more people in the ministry and there is no reason why there will still not be plenty for everyone to do. There will be much more money available without the building.
· The fear of exposure is real. This shows how bankrupt our present system is. Why should we be afraid of exposure? We should be utterly transparent and unafraid with one another. How else can we bear one another's burdens? It is better to find out our true condition now rather than later. It is much better for the whole body to share burdens rather than one man. I remember well the times when I felt like people could see me for the phony I was, because I knew better than anyone that what I was sharing wasn’t real to me - just head knowledge. But that exposure forced me back to the Lord.
· The fear of lack of structure and leadership can be overcome by training and learning by doing. People can learn to follow the Spirit. Leaders should guide, protect and facilitate - not dominate. The biggest problem is not lack of leadership but the return to the one man show. The mature or gifted believer needs to learn to get out of the way and let the younger ones have an opportunity to function.
· The fear that someone less eloquent, qualified and dynamic comes from the fact that we are so accustomed to being the quiet audience entertained by the professional clergy. Of course, "Molly home maker" will not be as eloquent as Dr. "So and So" who can expound the Scriptures in three languages. But once the riches of Christ are released by the individual saints, you will never miss the Sunday morning message again. There is an interaction, a dynamic and a growth that takes place when everyone participates. I have often been blessed by some very simple brothers and sisters. It is also possible for various groups to come together now and then for special teaching and ministry by those gifted to do this.
· The fear of making mistakes is also there. However, we are family and the only way we learn is by doing...and most people have never done much before. Of course this is new. Of course it is exposing when our shallowness and lack of preparation are seen by others. We are afraid of our inadequacy and immaturity. But rather than giving up, back to the drawing boards but without condemnation and with positive encouragement from everyone.
· Special needs such as children's meetings can be more easily taken care of in the context of a home/neighborhood meeting. It is easier to reach their "unchurched" friends though child evangelism meetings in the homes. For older children, several groups can combine to do special works, ministry and evangelism.
· There is a fear that less formal meetings will lead to alienation and isolation. This can and does happen. A group should not exist completely isolated from the rest of the Body. We need to be networked with other groups and with other Christians. We need to be constantly growing, adding new people so that the group doesn’t become a “click” - so ingrown because we know one another so well. We need to maintain the relationships but be constantly expanding or we will stagnate. More on this later.
· The criticism that home meetings often seem to lack purpose and can become an end in themselves can be very true just as most churches become an "end" in themselves and forget why they are there. This brings us to the problem of vision - without a vision the people perish. We need to know who we are and why we are hear. Our vision must be bigger than the self perpetuation of any meeting. Much more on this later also.
I think this starts to answer some of the "down side" questions, but we have to go into a little more depth on some of the practical issues.
More on the Down Side
There are other practical concerns with home meetings.
• The singing is not going to be as exciting. In fact, without an instrument and some talent, it may be terrible. Our music may not be that great, but what are we there for: to perform, feel good or worship the Lord?
• Another big problem is the fact that it is inconvenient to have 20 or 30 people come through your home every week. The house has to be clean. You may feel you need to provide coffee and refreshments. Kids come tracking through with muddy feet. They make noise. The phone rings. People come late. They stay even later. You feel imposed upon and taken advantage of. I know because we have a meeting in our home every Sunday morning. We have to set up chairs and take them down. We have a white carpet and a muddy play ground. Kids love it. It is an imposition. You have to be there every week (for the most part) because you have no continuity if you keep changing it from place to place. It is work. You may meet from 10:30 to 12 but people stay until 2 or so because they want or may need to talk. We wish they would go home. But, wait! That's the real church! If we don't allow one another to impose, if we don't take time to really get to know one another, we are no better off than the cold institution where people come to perform or see a performance.
We have to see it from the Lord's point of view. This is His body. What a privilege to pour out our lives, our time and our possessions for one another. This is the real church! People are much more comfortable and relaxed in a home. They open up. Although it is good to start and end on time, we have to realize the meeting isn't the most important thing. It is when we really share in one another's lives.
Becoming an End in Itself
We have defined the church for so many years in terms of what's in it for me and my family. "If I don't get anything out of it, I'm outta here." The church is useful if it keeps me pumped up, takes care of my children and meets my "spiritual" needs. The first quantum change needs to be in our attitude. What can I contribute? Who can I help? What can I do to bring vision, fire and reality to a meeting? Not what's in it for me. That is one aspect.
The other problem is that we may get consumed with each other. We become introspective and concerned about our own problems. This is a dead end. It comes back to vision and purpose. We don't exist merely to exist. Church, Sunday School, building programs often become the "end". We lose sight of something bigger to live for. Home churches also become "ends in themselves". Some are in a quest for the optimal way to meet, the Scriptural justification for what they are doing. They are often so "process" oriented - so caught up in the joy of getting there, they don't have the slightest idea where they are going or why. That is why purpose, vision and being a part of something bigger is so important. Above all, we are "last days" Christians and God has a very special purpose for us. We need to be so connected the world will know us by our love for one another.
Our goal isn’t just to meet for the sake of meeting. Our goal is lift up the Lord Jesus and be a corporate expression the world will see. We need to be proactive, reaching out, involved with one another and with the unsaved.
We need to be a Part of Something Bigger
One way to avoid being a dead end is to be a part of something bigger. Home churches come together periodically for worship and praise or for special purposes. And this is not to say that we are cut off from our brothers and sisters wherever they meet. We should have our hands full warning Christians and heathen alike of the terrible Tribulation about to befall the world. We won't be the only ones hurting. A time of trouble is coming. Everyone will be dismayed and lost. There will be tremendous economic upheaval and unrest. There will be an increase in natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, famine and cultural and ethnic conflict.
We shouldn't have the answer. We should be the answer. Other people are going to have similar concerns and we can come together in a city or region. There will be other home meetings you can network with. There should be hundreds of thousands of loving little communities that can take people in and nurture them, help them grow and give them real purpose in a time of struggle.
While we keep our fellowships going, we should circulate, share with others, avoid isolation. As the number of home fellowships grows, the leaders should meet and coordinate with one another, share problems, visit one another's groups. All of the groups may meet together periodically until it is too risky to do so. There may be special works that can flow naturally together. Fellowships should look forward to dividing and starting new ones. A group of fellowships may decide to support someone to work full or part-time on a high school or college campus. They may want to support someone overseas or ministries that are working to warn and equip saints. All of these things will keep the fellowships open and reaching out.
However, the protection from abuse is that each house church (or perhaps a small group of house churches that grew out of one) should be autonomous, and not organizationally linked. There are so many counterfeits; some are trying to set up city wide elderships - one church, one city, one eldership - unified authority. We should be very careful. Beware of “would be” apostles and prophets who would enslave you.
The Need for a Vision
We need a vision of the church as God’s ultimate intention. We need to see the great eternal plan and purpose of God and for the last days church and how we fit in it. We see when we open to the Lord, fellowship with others or are enlightened by the Word. But beyond that, vision implies purpose. Why are we here? What is our role? What is the church here for? Often the church ends up being there for our convenience, to take care of us, meet our needs, meet the needs of our children. But “Church” is not something we go to or attend. “Church” is what we are, our life, our vocation. We should not go to church but be "church" with a purpose! For example:
· We are here as the “Church”, the Body of Christ, to glorify and worship Jesus Christ together. We are not here to talk about our problems. As we focus on our Lord most petty things, including our problems, melt away .
· We are here to build up one another, pray for one another. If we are more concerned about others than ourselves, if we pray for others daily and consider their growth our success, we will be less self-centered, and more of a Body knit in love. We are here to build up one another - not ourselves! If we take care of others, our personal growth will take care of itself. We should forget about being a “spiritual giant” and concentrated on being a connected “member” of the Body.
· If we see that there is a great deception coming, we will exhort one another and stand against the evil tide. Now that we have a "need to know", we will search the Scriptures and ask the Lord to lead us to the next steps. Even though there may be some rough times ahead, the Lord will lead us corporately. How do we handle our finances? How should we live considering the coming economic collapse? Where should we live in relationship to one another?
· If we really see ourselves as "last days" Christians, we will let this fact lift us up above our mundane problems in order to see the glory set before us.
· We will not become stagnant and content with the same people week after week, but add new people to the group, dividing when it gets too big.
· We will minister to the needs of others - those dear brothers falling into deception and the heathen wondering what on earth is happening. Never will there be such an opportunity to preach the gospel!
The biggest need in the body of Christ today is to have a vision of the true Church. I would encourage you to read Ephesians 1, 2 and 3 and ask God to open your eyes to see the Church, God’s ultimate intention: a corporate vessel, a corporate expression. I could talk about it for pages and pages, but if God doesn’t reveal this truth to you, all of my talking won’t matter. So it is up to you!
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Closing Comments
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