The reality is, there is something much deeper at the core of the shift within the Body that is sometimes labeled “house church”. (also, the terms “simple church”, “organic church”, and probably a few others are ascribed to it as well…) It does go way beyond meeting in a house, and in fact, the point is you can meet virtually anywhere, but typically people end up meeting in homes, because, well, most of us already have them, and it’s kind of common sense really.

When it comes to the issue of meeting in larger building, whether they be sanctuaries or warehouses or what have you, the issue, like you said, is not a problem with too much square footage. One of the main concerns is the fact that most of the time, these places are not cheap. Even a smaller church building costs more to buy, and maintain, than a typical home (which we’re all paying for already anyway…) How much money are we spending on venues, that really only serve to give us a place to have a stage, with maybe a worship band, and listen to somebody preach?

Preaching, by the way, is another issue that comes into question. Since when we examine the NT, we don’t see anything that resembles the modern day once-a-week sermon, (in fact that developed much later) many are concluding that it isn’t as indispensable as most of us think it is. A smaller group setting also is much more conducive to the kind of meeting where everyone can participate, everyone can bring something to share for the edification of everyone else. (kind of like how blogging works…) In a typical church service, how many times have you seen someone stand up in the middle of a sermon, ask a question, and start a conversation amongst the congregation? I’ve never experienced that once in a traditional church, and yet that’s exactly what the Bible describes the earliest church gatherings being like…

There a lots of other questions and issues that tie into this, and I’ve only touched on a couple. I guess I just felt that maybe a different perspective on this discussion might be a good thing, as I too am really uncomfortable with how the term “house-church” comes across to most people. It really doesn’t come close to capturing the essence of what people who are engaged in this type of gathering are really striving for. Like it’s already been said, it’s simply about following Christ, and making it just about him, not our labels, not our sects, nor is it about our programs, our strategies, our man-made traditions and liturgies, but it is about Jesus, and that’s all we need…

My point was that we must resist at all costs anything that would denominate us or divide the Church into more sects. Methodists are a sect, Lutherans are a sect, Vineyardites are a sect, anyone saying they are a “House Church” are a sect, etc. (Sect meaning separate faction.) Creating a sect means that others can relegate you, and it gives certain people an unhealthy level of control over the royal priesthood without being challenged or having to work out issues with other apostles in the church.

Calling ourselves anything but the church or apostolic ministry thereof (i.e. Koine) is a grievous error. I don’t want a name other than Christ. I don’t want to be associated with any other mission other than His, and I want people to wrestle with my response to their question, “What is the name of your church….” Uhh… a church in . “What are you doing in Massachusetts?” I’m an apostle commissioned by Christ to preach the Gospel and call people to belief & obedience. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%201:5;&version=51

May God be gracious to us and forgive us for the many years of dividing his Bride into pieces…

From “The Normal Christian Church Life” by Watchman Nee:

“What is a New Testament church? It is not a building, a gospel hall, a preaching center, a
mission, a work, an organization, a system, a denomination, or a sect. People may apply
the term “church” to any of the above; nevertheless they are not churches. A New
Testament church is the meeting together for worship, prayer, fellowship, and mutual
edification, of all the people of God in a given locality, on the ground that they are
Christians in the same locality. The Church is the Body of Christ; a church is a miniature
Body of Christ. All the believers in a locality form the church in that locality, and in a
small way they ought to show forth what the Church should show forth. They are the
Body of Christ in that locality, so they have to learn how to come under the headship of
the Lord, and how to manifest oneness among all the members, guarding carefully
against schism and division.”

I think that as we begin to wrestle with self analysis, finding sections of our lives that can be easily assessed and categorized gives us peace. “Phew, glad I’ve got that part figured out, now let’s move on to …” View point also plays into it. If you’ve been burned by a ‘Mega church’ and want nothing to do with that label, you may instantly search for something to replace it.

Bottom line is this: Christian culture, in my opinion, is constantly searching for identity. If a Pastor, Leader, whoever says, “We are no ‘doing’ House Church,” people will cling to that identity because it gives them an easy explanation as to who they are. That way they don’t have to take the time to look inward and figure it out for themselves.