Church-going

Currently, I'm a part of two different churches.

The first, is Bethany Evangelical Free, an EFCA church of about 400 people methinks? In any case, I do quite enjoy it and have been going there for a few years now.

The second is a church I attend on Saturday nights, called Torch Life church, and.......*drumroll please*........it has no building. It is a house church. Each week we meet at a different person's house and have church there. I got connected with it through some friends who have been going to it (and one of these friends also happens to be the daughter of the pastors). I've been going there since August, since I wasn't getting a lot of community at Bethany.

You don't often hear about house churches in America. In other parts of the world, like China, the house church is pretty much the norm, but in the West, its not. Why? Well, my theory is that we like to be entertained. We like watching, we don't really like participating, and we REALLY don't like being one of the ministers in church. Now, I realize that is quite a large generalization, and some people don't participate in church because they have never even considered the possibility of such a notion......but really? Have we here in America become so accustomed to the "here I am, now entertain me" idea that we even apply it to church? Yet, that is what most people expect when they walk into the sanctuary on Sunday morning. We'll listen and sing with the music, listen to the sermon obediently, and maybe even help out with Sunday school....but edifying the congregation is not anywhere to be found on the to-do list.

That's one thing I really love about this house church. Everyone is allowed (and even encouraged and welcome) to share about what the Lord is speaking to them individually, or to the church, a picture or a prophecy the Lord has given them. And as we study the Bible, discussion, comments and questions are a regular occurrence. It almost feels like a Bible study that seeks the Lord together under the direction of a pastor. I love it.

A lack of building allows all the our tithes and the funds to go where we would like them to--not to pay for some expensive building and utilities, but to the Pastors and missionaries we want to support. Not having a facility also places the emphasis back on the church as a group of people, not a building you go to once a week where God supposedly resides. As our pastor Bruce likes to say "its not going TO church, its the Church, going." And that is exactly it. We are able to go. We are not tied down. Does it mean we can offer programs of all kinds, or huge events? Not exactly. But we are a church and we do seek the Lord, and we are still able to serve Him without a building, just as well as we could with a building. (Not to mention the fact that I feel like house church is a closer fit to the church model that we see in the book of Acts.) I think more Christians (and churches for that matter) should take a step back and ask themselves what their focus is, and whether a building is truly necessary for that focus and goal. I'm not saying its the right choice for everyone, but the point is that its a choice that shouldn't be forgotten.

*steps off soapbox*