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"you are the light of the world"
a little about me
- adam hanauer
- louisville, ky, United States
- i am a 30 year old currently living in ky. i have been married to an amazing woman for 6 years and we have 2 beautiful children. i believe jesus is the hope of the world.
cluster map
8 comments:
Adam,
Just wondering whose blog you linked me to. I'd be interested to know the context that brought this out. I certainly appreciate the positives the author has highlighted from being a member of "simply church"...more later.
Here is the link to Tales from the Truckin' Trail http://holmark.wordpress.com/
George
it seems one more speaks up. i am not sure where you are in this whole continuum - but the guy is correct. and i don't miss church either.
I don't know Steve Sr. personally, or his son for that matter, but have been reading their blogs for sometime. I believe their backgrounds are much like mine, being raised in the traditional CoC, and I believe Steve Sr. was a minister of some sort. His son's blog is harvestboston.net. He and his wife have moved to Boston with the express purpose of bringing the good news to that area. I am attempting to touch base with them via phone (over the computer) to chate about their experiences and what brought them to this point.
Adam,
I would have to affirm the post.
It is awesome that so many are entering into the discipline of simplicity. I think it important to emphasize that house church or simple church is not the destination. A more pure relationship with God through Christ where he is Lord of all things is the Holy pursuit.
God has always asked his people to "gather together"...in the OT there were set times...in the NT we are told the believers gathered together on the first day of the week for fellowship and the breaking of bread. We know they sang, they prayed, they had a lesson, they gave of their means...what we have (rightly or wrongly) tagged the "five acts of worship." They also went out from their assemblies and told the story of Jesus...impacting the 1st century in a way that the Romans could never have imagined from what they saw as a little "cult" in an unimportant part of the world. As a member of a large congregation whose elders have purposely kept our worship services simple, I am thankful. Our building is being used during the week to bring the community in for a variety of events...a large benevolence program, school supplies available, exercise classes, luncheons where members can bring a non-Christian friend, reading to children whose parents either don't or can't read to them (and we are planning for more activities in the future), and we also go into the community for activities...such as tutoring in the low rent housing areas. In Scotland the morning worship has traditionally been for believers...to gather together, to share their faith and struggles...and they bring visitors to the evening service. We need that time together with people of like faith, so we can go out and reach the world for Jesus.
md - thanks for the thoughts. I think it is fantastic that your church is "looking outward" and opening up the building for others. I think you may have misunderstood the post though. No one is advocating that Christians should stop meeting together. That is not what this is about. Maybe a better way to look at it, is the attempt of some to remove any obstacle that might become a barrier to being/becoming the church (or called out people of God.) I am afraid all too often the "local church" - because of it's need to protect itelf - has become such a barrier. We have created an environment of consumerism in the church that allows one to be a Christian without being a disciple. A lot of the same systems and structures that govern our world - seem to be at work in the institution of church. This is what I don't miss.
Last evening I shared a meal with my in-laws - last night the church gathered. Tomorrow morning I will have coffee with good Christian friends - tomorrow morning the church will gather. I think we have confused the "five acts of worship" with church. Just my opinion. I could go on longer, but not even sure you will be back to read.
Again - thanks for the thoughtful comments for consideration. You are always welcome here. (although I am curious to how you found my site) Email me sometime.
No...5 acts of worship are not "church"...believers who have been baptized for remission of sins have been added to the church by God...and there are multitudes of them throughout the world. (About 45 years ago a young man went to Ethiopia to work with deaf people...and he found thousands of people worshipping and believing like he had throughout his life. When he asked them who the missionary was who taught them, they replied, "We go all the way back to the Ethiopian eunuch...you do know about him, don't you?") In the Western world we are bound by governmental laws that we would not have in some parts of the world...and it sometimes hinders what we do or the way we do things. I believe the scriptures teach anywhere Christians gather together, Christ/God is is the midst...but I also believe the first day of the week worship is different from other times, because we meet together to remember the death, burial, resurrection of Christ by partaking of what we commonly call the Lord's Supper. I like your statement that we (too often!) allow people to be Christians without being disciples. I found your blog by following some links from other sites...not sure how.
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