regarding the assembly
the body of Christ is not an institution or a tradition of men
 

 


 


This page is dedicated to those who are seeking a genuine walk with the LORD and meaningful fellowship with the body of Christ.   There is absolutely no desire to cast aspersions on believers in the "institutional" church nor to flaunt our decision to walk with   the LORD outside it. We're not attempting to direct believers "out" because that would be counter productive,  seeing that Christ alone is the Head of the church and the true head of every believer.

 

House Church· Simple Church· Organic Church· Home Church·
Open Fellowship· House to House· Biblical Church -
Whatever you call it, it's not to be institutionalized 

It's not the building-----it's the body.

House Church Sites and Links - Scroll down Articles for gatherings, House Church, etc.

The traditional worship setting is both the inspiration for faith and fellowship, and the barrier to it. Due only to Word and Sacrament -- God’s ideas -- is there any faith to be shared or truth to articulate. However, the very setting in which this is received instills the fear of expressing it informally."

... Paul G. Johnson (1931- ), Buried Alive [1968]  
[not necessarily an endorsement of all of Dr. Johnson's beliefs!]


A site for the dissemination of information, encouragement, and exhortation.

Continuing Daily
For the local areas, information is posted regarding upcoming opportunities for fellowship and meetings for the purpose of building the body of Christ. 
 

Biblical Church
house-church.org
presented by the Chigwell Christian Fellowship
with Beresford Job
Listen for yourself.  The Traditions Series in the list of "tape studies" will literally change your life. Once you hear these talks,
you will never again see "the church" the same.  Your thinking will be transformed and your life truly will be changed.


Christian Unplugged --  church_movie 
this site also has some great articles... the emphasis of this site is exposing
the fallacy of the meet-my-wants-driven-churches-institutions

 

Bible Studies     

Poems, Hymns & Quotes   

Quiet Time & Bible Study Helps

Neat Inspirational Stories & More



 

A church without walls
is not at all the same as
The Church Without A Name...
The Church without a Name
[Many pages from Veterans of Truth]

     Recommended Reading

 Ekklesia book by Steve Atkerson
  The Advantage of the House Church Model
▫ 
Houses That Change the World - Wolfgang Simson
▫  House Church Blog
 

Articles
by Philip Lancaster
Setting the Church Free
The Family Based Church
A Call to Rebuild God's Temple
The Meeting of the Church

 


Resources
▫  House 2 House - Tony Dale
(Get a cupp'a, you'll be here all day.)
Jesus is the Head of the Church - Jesus as Head  
New Testament Restoration Foundation.
NTRF Articles
(Get another cupp'a, you'll be here longer!)

Frequently Asked Questions
The Homechurch Homepage has some very very good answers to basic questions that people ask. Many ask questions about "house-church" or "home-churching"
and how it looks & operates.
 

 

New Testament Ekklesia

The Church Alive


Unleashing The Church
http://daveblackonline.com
/unleashing.htm
Dave Black Online
 

Break Bread Ministries
A New Testament
House Church Ministry

WELCOME to House2House!
Pursuing the rapid advancement of the kingdom of God by saturating and transforming communities
around the world with radical, home-based, church planting movements.

Biblical Church
house-church.org
presented by
the Chigwell Christian Fellowship
with Beresford Job

House Church Network
homechurch.org
servanthood.org  housechurch.org
lords-supper.org 
lords-day.org  eldership.org


Early Christians Today
join us as we seek to return to historic & apostolic Christianity.
 

The New Reformation Review
Dedicated to the Advancement of
House Church Christianity 

The Advantages of the House Church Model Church Traditions
- Beresford Job 

Our Church.com
How to Gather as Christians

The Network
of Open Church Ministries
openchurch.com

The Home Church Homepage
homechurch-homepage.org

Home Church Discussion List
home-church.org/

simplechurch.com
www.housechurchblog.com
 

In Search of the Church
housechurch.us

The Early Church
The door to the simple, loving,
in-house church...

Not enough?
Here are more resources for you!  There'll be duplications to sites we recommend!


The Body of Christ
a site dedicated to the building up
of the body of Christ.
 

Sites  Unseen
"The best Jesus-infused sites
you never knew about
"

 

From others who've traveled the Road to a "biblical" church.
In Search of the Family Church
Anonymous

There is Hope and the Truth
will set you free!
His Empty Grave

 

More Reading... Articles, etc.

 

"REVOLUTION" - An Extract.
-From George Barna's book.

As we journey together, I want to show you what our research has
uncovered regarding a growing sub-nation of people, already well
over 20 million strong, who are what we call Revolutionaries.

What "established systems" are they seeking to "overthow or
repudiate" and "thoroughly replace," in Webster's words?

They have no use for churches that play religious games, whether
those games are worship services that drone on without the
presence of God or ministry programs that bear no spiritual fruit. 
Revolutionaries eschew ministries that compromise or soft sell our
sinful nature to expand organizational turf.  They refuse to follow
people in ministry in leadership positions who cast a personal
vision rather than God's, or who seek popularity rather than the
proclamation of truth in their public statements, or who are more
concerned about their own legacy than that of Jesus Christ. They
refuse to donate one more dollar to man-made monuments that
mark their own achievements and guarantee their place in history.
They are unimpressed by accredited degrees and endowed chairs
in Christian colleges and seminaries that produce young people
incapable of defending the Bible or unwilling to devote their life to
serving others.  And Revolutionaries are embarrassed by language
that promises Christian love and holiness but turns out to be all
sizzle and no substance.

In fact, many Revolutionaries have been active in good churches
that have biblical preaching, people coming to Christ and being
baptized, a full roster of interesting classes and programs, and a
congregation packed with nice people. There is nothing overtly
wrong with anything taking place at such churches.  But
Revolutionaries innately realize that it is just not enough to go with
the flow. The experience provided through their church, although
better than average, still seems flat.  They are seeking a faith
experience that is more robust and awe-inspiring, a spiritual
journey that prioritizes transformation at every turn, something
worthy of the Creator whom their faith reflects...

Revolutionaries zealously pursue an intimate relationship with God,
which Jesus Christ promised we could have through Him...

In this book I will describe what The Barna Group has learned about
this under-the-radar but seminal renaissance of faith that will
remake the religious contours of this country over the coming quarter-century.

[Barna goes on to predict the complete re-shaping of the way
people experience "church" in America]:

Whereas "Christian community" has generally been limited to the
relationships facilitated within a congregation, the Revolution is
bursting open the walls of the  worldwide Church to birth a truly
international network of relationships...

The U.S. will see a reduction in the number of churches, as
presently configured (i.e. congregational-formatted ministries). 
Church service attendance will drop...  Donations to churches will
drop...  Churches' already limited political and cultural influence
will diminish even further at the same time that Christians will
exert greater influence through more disparate mechanisms. 
Fewer church programs will be sustained in favor of more
communal experiences among Christians...

To some, this will sound like the Great Fall of the Church.  To
Revolutionaries, it will be the Great Reawakening of the Church. 
New scenarios do not mean mayhem and dissipation.  In this
case, they represent a new day in which the Church can truly be
the Church--different than what we know today, but more
responsive to and reflective of God.
-------------------------------------------------
'Roger' [from the Denver House church Gathering] adds:

When I consider how widely read Barna is by traditional church
leaders, I predict this book (due out in October) will rock some worlds.

The New Revolutionaries:
I have so much to write, having returned from the House Church
conference in Denver, and so little time right now.  One highlight
was Thom Black, from the Barna Research Group, who shared
some incredible facts about what is happening in the church of
America.  I will quote from Wolfgang Simson (who was at the
conference) who summarized this information in his Friday Fax:

"Revolution", George Barna's new book, will be published in
September. Barna leads a church research institute, and is
currently the most-quoted person in the  Christian church in the
USA because of his statistical work. To summarize the book's
most important conclusions:

    * The number of Christians attending local church in the USA is
declining rapidly. Today, 70% of Christians attend traditional
churches, but this will sink to 30-35% in 20 years;
    * The number of followers of Jesus who do not attend a local
church will grow from 30% to 70% in the next 20 years;
    * Alternative fellowship forms (house church/simple church,
post-modern churches etc.), currently home for 5% of USA
Christians, will grow to make up 30-35%; another 30-35% will live
out their faith in the fields of media, arts and culture; the remaining
5% of Christians attending non-traditional forms of church will have
a family-based spiritual life;
    * Conclusion: a minority group presently not even noticed by
many will become the mainstream of North American Christianity
in only two decades.

We received a pre-manuscript of this book and it will rock the
church world. Barna describes this growing group of Christians
that no longer attend traditional churches as "revolutionaries."  He
goes on to describe them in a very positive light.....
-----------------------------------------
George Barna's website-
www.barna.org
-----------------------------------------
 

To subscribe, send a "subscribe" email to- 
prophetic@revivalschool.com
OR send *ANY* email to- 
anzac-subscribe@welovegod.org

To send material for consideration for publication, send to-
prophetic@revivalschool.com

VISIT OUR SITES ON THE NET:
REVIVAL SUPERSITE - http://www.revivalschool.com
PROPHETIC SUPERSITE -
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~revival/index2.html

MODERATOR:
Andrew Strom, PO Box 9852, Kansas City, MO 64134, USA.

 

 


There are, I should say, four elements in a redemptive community. It is personal, with things happening between people as well as to and in them individually; it is compassionate, always eager to help, observant but non judgmental toward others, breathing out hope and concern; it is creative, with imagination about each one in the group and its work as a whole, watching for authentic new vision coming from any of them; and it is expectant, always seeking to offer to God open and believing hearts and minds through which He can work out His will, either in the sometimes startling miracles He gives or in steady purpose through long stretches where there is no special "opening". It may fairly be said that unless one enmeshes himself in this "redemptive fellowship" of the church, he lessens his chances of steady growth and effectiveness, in his Christian life and experience.

.. Samuel M. Shoemaker (1893-1963)
The Experiment of Faith [1957]


 


Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,  And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,  And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.  But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.   Matthew 23.1-12


I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

Edgar Guest

 

 

The task to which we are called is not the sacrifice of any principle in which we firmly believe. It is rather to return to Christ not a figure of the imagination, but the Christ of the Scriptures and to listen to His voice in obedience, to discover afresh what is the Truth. All unpretentious Bible study, every effort to disseminate a true scriptural theology, and every earnest prayer is part of the task of promoting that unity which is truly Christian. We must not envisage Christian Unity as consisting of far-off and doubtful schemes, but as something very nigh which affects us all. If we are really to seek for Christian Unity, we must be prepared to pay the cost. For it must be based upon love, and love is always costly. It will never be attained until there is "far more humility, far more thought, far more self-sacrifice, and far more prayer, than there is at present." (Streeter) If we are right in the conclusion that such disunion as has been sinful in the history of the Church has been due to pride, self-assertion, and contempt for God's Word and commandment, then it follows that the way to the unity which God wills through humility, love of the brethren, and obedience to the Divine Revelation. When Christians pray to be shown where they have been wrong, proud, complaisant, or censorious, and to be put right; when they meet for common counsel and study of the Word, in the spirit of obedience and prepared to subject their individual opinions to the guidance of the Spirit; where the strong are willing to foster and strengthen the weak; and where all are seeking the common good rather than their own sectional interests: then the pathway to unity will become plain, and God will grant His blessing.

... G. T. Manley, Christian Unity [1945]

And then there are more Articles around the net

Some time ago, I read an article that was so moving, so instructive to me and was so descriptive of what I was seeing in and of the Institution of Church---or the institutional church: IC.  I lost the letter and the link and just came across the posting again.  Here is the article, Church Exit by Trish Woelk.   I call it the "Church Ornament" article.  Perhaps you (as I was) are/were deceived into thinking that the more you *did* and the more you *served* demonstrated a better walk, a more spiritual life---and now you know or are coming to know the truth and it is this: It's not what you do, it's who you are in JESUS---and the ornaments are not who you are and don't make you anything at all!
 


NOTE!  The following articles used to be on the Patriarch's website.  This is apparently no longer the same... I will attempt to locate these very good articles and post them here.  For the time being, I will leave these titles---however, they are *dead* links.
The Family Based Church; A Call to Rebuild God's Temple;
Setting the Church Free; The Meeting of the Church



Here's a letter we received from a brother in Christ... gives you an idea of fellowship. He gave me permission to share it.

Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD while I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
(There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved - Acts 4:12)
His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts perish.
How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea and all that is in them;
(For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. - Col 1:16)
Who keeps faith forever; (If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. - 2Ti 2:13)

Who executes justice for the oppressed;
(You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. - Act 10:38)
Who gives food to the hungry.
(Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children. - Mat 14:19-21)
The LORD sets the prisoners free.
(But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, "Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." Act 5:19-20)
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
(He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." - John 9:25)
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down;
(But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!" And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. - Act 3:6-7)
The LORD loves the righteous;
The LORD protects the strangers;
("Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'" Mat 25:34-36) He supports the fatherless and the widow, (Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. - Jam 1:27)
But He thwarts the way of the wicked.
The LORD will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD! -
Psalm 146

I just couldn't wait to share this. God just really drove the point home to me tonight. Everything He said He would do, Jesus did and is doing!   Abide in Him!   I love you all,  SeanK

 

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