HOUSECHURCH

Digital church

2011-12-20T12:21:00.001+05:30

Many of today's internet churches are descendants of brick-and-mortar conventional churches, offering members the same menu at an alternative venue without challenging them to become a game changer. It is every believer's responsibility to find and provide connectivity to the lost. There are atheists, evolutionists, Muslims, Wiccans, and just plain silly people whom we must answer with love, information, and a pinch of humour.

If you do not have your own site or discipling skills then you can always navigate them to the right site such as whoisjesus-really.com; www.godlife.com/look-to-jesus/new-life-from-the-holy-spirit; www.godlife.com/new-believers-guide/how-do-i-share. There are a whole of other sites which can be accessed just by typing "how to share your faith" to bring a lost person to faith and begin his journey with Jesus. Disciple making can no longer be relegated to church's backyard. All activities and programs of the church and committed Christians must be planned and directed to take Christ to the lost. For this, Web evangelists, internet ministers, teachers, mentors and disciple must be given culture specific training so that seekers can directly interact in real time. Proper equipping is important to avoid misuse and negative impact. So far the internet has been used for enriching the rich; it is time to use this very important tool for reaching the unreached.

Re: Sermonizers

2007-04-14T06:44:00.000+05:30

Dear B,

I thought you had called it quits but am glad to know that you believe in having the last word. I am sorry but I never called you a bad guy. I will bless anyone who is helping to fulfill the Great Commission.

My only dispute is the methodology. The Western model has failed to produce even 1% Christianity in many places in the last 2000 years and so we need to look at the reasons for the failure and not perpetuate any system regardless. Imposing a cognitive, analytical, print culture on a largely non-literate oral culture is destined for failure. Jesus was master story teller and he taught nothing without parables (Math. 13:34). Trying to upstage Him is a road to disaster as the last few centuries have proved beyond doubt.

I never said that the Jewish pulpit was seven feet wide. All I said that it was wide enough to accommodate the scrolls. However, pulpit was never part of the structure of the first century NT church. Your statement that Jesus became a sinner because he went to the illegal synagogue or spoke from the pulpit or when he associated with the publicans or the sinners. This is not circular thinking or lateral thinking nor logical thinking. It is just crazy. It shows how far an intellectual will go to protect his turf.

We do not have to go to Islam to find the divide and rule and eventually burn them at the stake and even conduct genocide in the name of religion. Throughout the centuries, the pulpit/pew divide has done more damage to Christendom than any other heresy. Sadly it continues to do the same.

No doubt your sending Western Academia to the underdeveloped, underprivileged, non-literate people is being done with the best intentions. But good intentions are assumptions, not based on any evidence and therefore not necessarily the right paradigm. Constantine changed the NT church with the best of intentions, but the result was an apostate church.

Paul went to Athens and studies heathen literature to tell the pagan intellectuals that the God that he was talking about was already in their literature. They thought that he had come to tell them about a foreign God. Our people go to the West to study Western theology which has failed even in their own country, instead of studying the Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist literature. It is amazing how much one true God and Jesus exists in their books who can be used as bridge, about which most Indian theologians are ignorant. Instead Jesus continues to suffer the stigma of a foreign God. A Western trained Indian or Chinese or an African theologian is as misfit in his own culture as a cat among the pigeons as he is trained to exploit them. He would run with his tails between his legs if he was confronted with a person of another faith.

Western systematic theology was designed to produce generations of bookish debaters who imagined that high quality lectures and reading will save the world. Just the opposite has happened. The traditional American churches are experiencing a free fall into oblivion and the European churches have nose dived into post-Christian decadence. Why export and dump a product on the unsuspecting third world when it is not working in your own culture. They do not need to hear great sermons from the West but stories from their own culture as to how a simple housewife in a remote village, suffered incarceration in a jail for her faith and is now transforming entire communities. Something that local people can relate to and replicate. Ability to replicate is the essence of the Bride. Sadly, theologians are trained to giddy academic heights to stop all debate. It is awe inspiring to debate with people holding high theological degrees.

Jesus' method was life driven, spontaneous, dialogical and practical which instantly transformed lives of the sinners. The aim of education is not just acquiring vast knowledge but resonating with the will of God, which is to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus chose illiterate Peter and sent a strong signal to the future church, the kind of leadership He would like to recruit, who would change the world.

I have never met Rick warren nor have read his book, the Purpose Driven Church". Recently his team was here and trained 27,000 people in many cities of India. I am glad that he is kicking the butts of those sitting in the pews of the ivory towers and making them goal oriented and purpose driven. I do not know of any other enterprise other than the church, which is so goalless and purposeless. It certainly does not know that it must have an operational strategy for reaching the last Gentile on earth. Because of the shoddy performance of the church, millions of people are languishing in hell. The church exists to transform the meanest rascals, scoundrels and ignoramuses into saints. Unfortunately the ministers insist on sermonizing to death (literally) those fruitless and barren Christians who are already in the pews, which does not necessarily mean that they are saved, because we shall not be known by our knowledge nor by our righteousness, which is like filthy rags, but by our fruitfulness.

Dear B. I can sense the edifice that you have built upon the foundations of academic excellence crumbling. Instead of protecting the turf and being possessed by a territorial spirit, why not consider looking outside the box and make a new beginning, just as I did. My humble suggestion is that you start your own house church and share the excitement, challenge, her fruitfulness and the ripple effect resulting in spontaneous multiplication of disciples and churches. All you need to do is to fulfill the qualities of head and heart mentioned for elders in Titus 1:5-9 to acquire sound doctrine, resulting in a fruitful house church. It also requires megashift from sermons to reasoning, persuasion and dialogue (Acts 17:2,3; 18:4). Return to the simplicity of the first century church module does not mean returning to icons, candles and oracles but to the original edifice established on the foundations laid by apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20), which was the most successful model ever.

Small church does not necessarily mean cultic church with heresies. Wherever two or three gather in His name, it is an authentic church with all the authority, knowledge, wisdom and power because He is present. What is more that He blessed this little church and said, "Fear not little flock, for it has pleased the Father to give you the kingdom" Luke 12:32. Remember mega churches perpetrate mega heresies.

We need to plant modules which merge with the local culture and resonate with the will of God. For this the local fivefold ministry gifted equippers are Biblically the most competent persons mandated by the Lord Himself. (Eph. 4:11-13)

Shalom,

----- Original Message -----

From: brain

To:

Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:43 PM

Subject: Re: Sermonizers

I am simply trying to follow my savior, to draw closer to Him each day. I accuse not and try to spread His Gospel in love. The Materials I am sharing are sites with much information and materials for the discipleship of the saints. Edibles, search programs, Encyclopedias, dictionaries, outlines, Sunday School Programs and Outlines, videos, tapes, movies. Also materials on CD and DVD. You have never seen any of them...how can you call them pollution. You judge me saying I belong to the apostate church, was saved at a heretical pulpit, am a polluter of the true church, product of the traditional church, and therefore have zero tolerance for dissent; promoter of sermonizers, seems I am an all round bad guy.

I am told in Paul's Epistles to avoid vain disputations, and to simply say nay and yea yea.

Any understanding I have of the New Testament you have attempted to undermine and you complain when I want to withdraw from this destructive dialogue. Because I do not agree I am in the way and therefore Anathema.

In North America the Emerging/Emergent Church is propagated by Rick Warren and the other gurus of post-modernism. In many churches where this doctrine has spread members of long standing have been asked to leave, for their opposition to this movement. No dialogue, no understanding. Calvary Chapel has issued several statements and teaching on the matter, as it has split their Movement. I am in contact throughout the world with other Christians and see the damage and harm that this is doing to the cause of Christ. The Emergent Church has much in common with the methods of Islam, divide and conquer, no beheadings but it seems to be only a matter of time. I believe they are the path to Rome and the Apostate Church of the False Prophet and the Antichrist and eventually the Evangelical remnant will be martyred by them. Read Revelation it is full of the world Church.

He has taken paraphrased versions of the Bible which butcher the meaning and spirit of the word and supplanted the proper versions which are true to the original autographs. People will use these diminished versions as the standard thus devaluing and undermining the word of God.

A return to the Primitive Church means throwing out all substantive teaching and replacing it with candles, darkness, stations, icons, statues, contemplative prayer. You don't seem to get it.

This is a promotion of form over substance, experience over the word. (not elite academia)

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. If this is traditional then I plead guilty and also plead the blood. It is the only plea I have. I am not a Denominationalist I am simply a Christian....that is why I had an initial attraction to the House Church Movement. That seems to have evaporated.

The Church is the Body of Christ, hidden in all denominations and Movements....it is not a thing made by Man, but nurtured by Christ through the Holy Spirit. No one has the inside track on truth, We ALL see through a glass darkly. The one barrier to Truth is to believe you already possess 100% of it. I have quoted these truisms several times.

The other reason I have for withdrawing is that you use circular reasoning and proof texts to rationalize your dogma. When I pointed out that Christ spoke and taught from a pulpit in the Synagogue you said the synagogue was illegal and that the pulpit was 7 feet wide. If this negates the historical example I gave you then Christ sinned because he tolerated and accepted an illegal building to teach in...this negates His teaching and indeed it can be argued that He sinned. He DID NOT SIN. You said that the pulpit was 7 feet wide and up to 7 teachers were called upon to teach. Should we then widen our pulpits to comply to NT standards and have (7) more pastors/evangelists/teachers? He taught from a pulpit.(incontrovertible) He was the only one mentioned in the text at that time and location.   I don't care if it was 700 feet wide...it was that wide to accommodate the scroll of the Pentateuch and two members stood on each side of the scroll to roll it to the pertinent text.   God says to hide His word in your heart, to put on the Full amour of God and to study to show yourself approved. God gave His word that we might read it, study it, learn it, digest it and live it. If you consider my efforts to help others to do this, as pollution, then you may take it up with God. He was the one to give me the vision and the opportunity to do this. If you are against this then who am I to listen to..God's word and that which He puts and confirms in my heart or You.

You may try to undermine, scar and deconstruct "the church" but God says that no weapon formed will prosper against it. Numbers and popularity are not God's way...He always works through a remnant.

Results oriented are of the world not of God. I never promoted or supported Televangelists...I have much against many of them. God works more with one on one than He does with these men but I simply used examples of the manifold way that God is disseminating His word in the World.

Every conceivable method is going forth. From the Internet to books, from tapes to telephone from radio to computer programs. I support any of the methods God uses and judge the methods of men by how the align with the word of God. Newness of itself is not rightness and there have been many movements, in the past, that have slipped into heresy and cultism. I take the Bible seriously, and have a childlike faith, I belong to the Berea's in North America (to search the word daily) Study the term Berea.

I do not know what "works" or is practical in India and I have said repeatedly I would not presume to tell you how to go about your business. It seems that you hold no similar reserve but would presume to tell me how to believe, and to practice my time honored faith, which you describe as a pollution. Then you are surprised when I do not want to discuss further any subject or to fellowship with you.

There is no fellowship no discussion, you put forward extreme and undermining positions that I do not care to go further with, as they destroy, deconstruct, seek to supplant faith. I have no accusation against you, it just seems to me you seek to pull down and replace with a system that is not biblical and makes immature and disciples weak in the word.   I can simply wish and pray that God give you a double portion of His grace, that His truth shine upon you and that He enlighten you to all His ways and reveal any error that might be in you. I also pray the same for me, that He create in Me a clean heart, and that I can stand before Him with a holy life (his holiness)

My only motivation left in my life is to stand before Him one day and hear "Well done good and faithful servant". Final note. If we were making some progress towards understanding or acceptance, or the love of Christ was shining through our communication then I would continue. We are making no progress on the understanding or acceptance and the Love of Christ seems to be sparse. God forgive us.   We seem to be at an impasse and have retreated into entrenched positions. All that remains is to beg your leave and to agree to disagree. This I believe is the third time I have written this.

I send you the Love that is Christ Jesus, and pray that His peace be upon you and your flock and take your leave praying that the Lord will one day enlighten us all with His wonderful Truth in Perfect understanding. That will not be until His Kingdom come, and in the mean time I hope that we can pray for each other in the spirit according to His will. I graciously decline the book you offered, would it not be a form of sermonizing...your sermonizing or indoctrination. I have over 2000 volumes at home and a further 4000 on disk and hard disk.   I have a very busy schedule for study and reading. It would simply gather dust. Since I cannot be of service in any manner I will close our relationship and communication and ask you to not answer this email and continue our vain disputations. I cannot say it has been a pleasure, for it would not be the truth, I have been grieved in my spirit, and to continue to allow this would be wrong.

In God's Great Love,

Brian WE. Brown

Re: Peace be upon you

2007-04-13T17:41:00.000+05:30

Dear Robert,

Sorry for the delay in writing.

Thank you for the sentiments expressed.

We are delighted to hear that you have benefited from the website. When you have time pl look at my Blogger.

We spent quite a bit of time in Highgate in north London when I was training as a surgeon during the sixties.

I am glad the Lord is using you.

I am marking this letter to other Brits who are in the house church business and might be of some help to you. I do not seem to have email add of Dr. Geoff. Hogg.

Shalom,

----- Original Message -----

From: robert.simpson@barclays.com

To: greettheekklesia@gmail.com

Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 4:59 PM

Subject: Peace be upon you

My name is Robert Simpson may God BLESS you and your household and keeps you in the current times. Have been reading your website and have been impacted by the LIVING WORD that the Spirit of God has authorised you to write. I lived in London and currently fellowship at a local church, recently I have received many invitations to fellowship with other brothers and sisters in London as a result of this word you have been inspired to write. I am lead to support your ministry from London how can we do this? also will it be alright to tell other ministers of this website in London? Aim still learning so much about the Holy Spirit and knowing the voice of God. Please pray for my wife and child as well as myself, that we will walk continually on the road called straight in obedience to Gods law.

Love in Jesus name (the fear of god is pure enduring forever)

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Re: Sermonizers

2007-04-12T10:13:00.000+05:30

Dear B,

You seem to have reached the end of the tether. Sad but true because you are a product of the traditional church and used to one way traffic with zero tolerance for dissent. This is not even democratic. In a house church situation we would discuss this threadbare until we came to a consensus, even if it means agreeing to disagree. I also come from a traditional background, born a Presbyterian, baptized in a Disciples of Christ church, (Baptist), worshipped with Anglicans during my medical schooldays, fellowshipped with Mennonites and later with Methodists in UK, returned to my father's liturgical Lutheran church, had close fellowship with Pentecostals while CEO of the Christian Medical college in Punjab. But now I am only a Christian, which to me means "chosen and ordained to go and bring forth abundant fruit that remains" John 15:8,16.

We seem to have different understanding of the "emergent Church". While you seem to be referring to the "apostate church" started by the first real Pope, Emperor Constantine in 310. He sent his mother to the Holy Land to bring the holy grail. She never found it but did bring trinkets, icons, hair, teeth of saints and of course allegedly a piece of original cross. These adorned the altars in the church buildings and were even worshipped. This church continues to exist in various forms.

The "emerging church" that I am referring to is the house church movement based on the original New Testament model that is sweeping the world resulting in 180,000 conversions every day, which includes, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, communists, animists and a whole lot of others, including the five million Americans who are now meeting in homes. All this is being accomplished by grassroots level workers " looking unto Jesus" and not by academic egg heads, who are infact opposing it because they see a great threat to their own hegemony and control on religion. Not even by the commercial celebrity evangelists who appear on the TV. I just checked on such a channel and the response rate from the non-Christians is almost a big zip. The radio of course is doing well because it does not involve image building.

The wind (Spirit) blows where it listed and no one knows where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit, who are going out barefoot with good news and who is there to question their competence, certainly not the non-performers. (John 3:8; Rom. 10:9-15)

I make no apology for admitting that Christianity is modeling, relational and experiential and not academia (1 Cor. 11:1; John 13:34,35; 1 Thes. 1:5). Pl do not misunderstand me. I am not against preaching (dialegomai) . I am simply against it being a monologue. Jesus was on the street every day dialoguing, hassling and brawling, especially with the religious machine and spiritual empire builders. This he continued in the in the formal synagogue and even the temple situation. That is all I am pleading for. Just open up the system (1 Cor. 14: 31, 32)

Not only the Catholic church but the traditional protestant church has collected layers and layers of syncretism throughout the centuries and murdered those who dared to dissent. The modern church needs to be evaluated on the basis of NT model as the bench mark. Wherever we have gone off the track we need to do course correction even if it is painful. I have been a cancer surgeon most of my professional life and used to radical surgery even if it was physically and emotionally traumatic, just to save life. Jesus was brutal to the religious leaders for setting up traditions above God. God mandated a house church from the beginning when he told the Jews to teach their children and grand-children while they are sitting, walking or just mucking around. (Deut. 6:1-9). Gamaliel cautioned the Sanhedrin and Jesus Himself rebuked Paul for kicking against the pricks (Acts 9:5). The need of the day is to reinvent the original NT church by getting rid of all the excess baggage acquired through the centuries.

Whether you know it not and whether you like it or not, there is a battle raging between the emerging church and the conventional church and the emerging church is winning hands down. As a surgeon I am not known for my great knowledge but for my skills. Your intentions in sending the academic materials is not suspect but good intentions are not good enough. The stakes are high and my humble suggestion is that you please refrain from polluting the strongly performing church in the third world countries with academic virus and instead send them cutting edge materials which will hone their soul winning skills.

Since you will not be continuing this discussion, and I do not want all this wonderful discussion to go off like water from the duck's back, I will be happy to send you my book " Greet the Ekklesia: The Church in Your House", if you will be kind enough to send me your postal address.

Shalom,

----- Original Message -----

From:

To:

Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 12:11 AM

Subject: Re: Sermonizers

You seem to have put blinders on....If the Synagogue was illegal then Jesus did something illegal by teaching in one, and accepting the system. That constitutes sin. The Emergent church embraces medieval practises such as darkness, candles, stations of the cross, idols, icons, uses paraphrased and inaccurate versions of the Bible and embraces ALL theology stating that no one theology has shown itself to be exclusively true. It is the bridge to Rome, Christian Mysticism and is a sign of the time we live in when many shall not endure sound doctrine and shall turn away from the truth.

I have shown that the normal use of the words "preach and teach" show that expounding on the word is not only normal but encouraged. We are exhorted in Matt 28:19 to go into all the world and Preach (Matheteuo G3100 to make oneself a pulpit). You even said that Wm Carey achieved nothing from the pulpit....His sermon "The Christian responsibility to preach the Gospel to the heathen", is the Magna Carta of the Missionary movement. After that sermon the Mission Board was established (as a result of the sermon)and it was the start of the Foreign Missions, of many other churches. There is none so blind as those who will not see. You give derogatory examples of the "bog Irish" running to get seats at the bar. A cute anecdote, but Ireland did not appear in the top 20 on the United nations list of heaviest consumption of alcohol. It is a cartoon of the Irish developed by superior English Empire builders.

The Ireland I am familiar with is of Evangelical meetings, sabbath keeping, teetotallers,much like the depiction in Chariots of Fire (that was of Scotland of course, but a parallel to my life) What I have found out about the emergent church is that it deconstructs the Christian Church and undermines all that has gone before, I stand in the gap against it. To say that what happened between the first century and the present was wrong and a heresy is error. Did God forget us, did the Holy Spirit sleep for 1800 years. If the pulpit is heresy then my parents and I are lost as we were brought to the Lord by the Preaching of a missionary to Southern Ireland called Curry Brennan. All the teaching and preaching as I have said five times now, was in vain. The fruit of it is anathema.

You use circular reasoning and cherry pick your proof texts. When given proper documented examples you rationalize them and undermine the parts that you do not like.

Like it or not The Evangelical Church has grown from 12% 40 years ago to over 25% of Americans today. The Evangelical Church is at its zenith in the USA at present. South and central America have had revivals of enormous consequences, so much so that the Catholic Church has declared war and said that if the Evangelicals/Pentecostals don't stop there will be dire consequences. Africa has had the biggest gain in the history of Christianity and throughout the world there have been gigantic gains...all as a result of missionary efforts, Preaching, TV evangelism, Videos, tape ministries, books, audio, tracts, Computer and the Internet. The Iron Curtain countries are open to the gospel and Muslim and communist countries cannot stop gospel videos, programs, audio and texts from entering, as then can be spread by mail, Internet and carried by people in very small packages. Native missionaries and grass roots movements have brought great results, but they are only a small part of the picture. As we speak I am uploading gospel videos, audio, text and programs to 58 countries many of whom are Muslim and Communist.

You have not convinced me that the pulpit is heresy, in fact you have strengthened my conviction of the need for the preached word of God. You seem to hold to "another gospel" where mysticism and experience hold sway. It makes you and your flock open to every wind of doctrine. You embrace a system of faddish philosophy, that uses Medieval showmanship to emphasize the "experience of Christianity"; embracing all in love, and denouncing only that which is not new, and has been the method used by God from time immemorial. This calls into question, my salvation, my church, its methods and the Plan of Salvation as executed by the Holy Spirit these past six thousand years. You look down upon higher learning and the methods that bring them to being. Truth remains truth, it is explicit and comes from God...it is the reward of those who diligently seek Him. Those who have erred and went into error have used the teaching and thinking of men to undermine the revealed truth of God as given to us in the Bible. This fad will pass soon enough, but at what cost? It scars, undermines, reconstructs and deconstructs the Gospel, the Bible and the Church. The end of the pathway ends up at the Vatican, it is a bridge to Rome. My chief concern is what heresy and cults will be spawned by this post-modern post-evangelical supermarket that only sells candy and popcorn, and has shamans and mysticism in the aisles and a section for candles and feel good philosophies. I have sent my email to Rad Zdero telling him of my decision to leave the House Church and seek elsewhere. You have codified and crystallized their beliefs and methods, and I thank you for your service in this matter.

This is my last communication with you....it serves little point to continue to debate when the rules of the debate change, historical evidence is overlooked and rationalized. Rick Warren has taught you well.

Goodbye....please do not continue this discussion with more emails....I have grown weary of them.

I will not answer them, I will only be available to the House Church Movemant as a resource for materials.

sincerely,

Brian W. Brown

Re: Sermonizers

2007-04-10T20:28:00.000+05:30

Dear B,

My first journey back in mid-sixties to Ireland was a memorable one. I went by train from London to Hollyhead which reached there about 2 AM. To my utter dismay all the Irish men started running to the waiting ferry. Being an Indian and running to get a seat in the train was quite normal thing for me. So I thought may be there are not enough seats so I also ran only to find that most of the seats empty and I could comfortably stretch out. The Irish men had been to running desperately to get a seat by the bear bar.

I am glad you are studying the emergent church. By the way it is the original model.

The wide Bema or what you call pulpit in the Synagogue was used for spreading out the scrolls. Not one but several elders, sometimes as many as seven, not necessarily scholars were called to encourage. People were free to ask questions as it happened with Paul in every synagogue. However, Synagogue was an illegal structure never mandated by God. It also discriminated against women where they were herded behind the curtains to avoid eye contact with men. Jesus wrecked that system by making a bent up woman to stand, right up front. In fact every time he went to the synagogue or the temple, He specialized in reinterpreting the scriptures, deforming their traditions and decentralized the stranglehold of the rulers of the synagogues and the temple. The last time he went to the temple, he took a whip with him and caused a havoc. Can you give me one good reason why Jesus should reject all the brilliant scholars at the temple and go the lakeside to choose illiterate fishermen and tax collectors as His disciples? That is because He was looking for world changers and not pulpit performers. What William Carey said on the pulpit did not change any thing. What he did outside the box changed every thing. He was a practitioner and not just a scholar. Scholars do not change anything, especially pulpit scholars because they are preaching to the converted. What use is a doctor to the healthy?

The modern day pulpit is the gift of the pagan Greco/Roman temples. The heathen priest or priestess when possessed by the evil spirits would climb up wearing diaphanous white gowns to proclaim oracles from the top of the pulpitum. The devotees would lap up these words as the very prokerusso or proclamations of the deity. Not very different from what we have today. Martin Luther shifted the pulpit from the back of the Catholic church to the Center and raised its height to emphasize his "Sola Scriptura". He called the church the "Mundhouse" or the "house of speech" instead of house of prayer for all nations. What a caricature.

The reformation that Martin Luther brought about was only a theological reformation, "Salvation by grace through faith and not through church structure" which was greatly resented by the Catholic church. What the Lord is doing today is a structural reformation. All the extrabiblical structures like the Sunday worship, the buildings, the pastor, tithing, the seminaries and the theological platitudes dished down from the pulpits are being junked out of the window and instead a refreshing wind is blowing where everyone and I repeat, everyone, whoever is led by the Spirit can freely profess and practice.

The beauty of the NT church is that non-Christians can also participate as they feel free to come to the intimate environment of a friend's house and be prayed for. He will not go any where near a denominational church and even if he did go and ask some questions, then a couple of bouncers will promptly show him the way out. But the truth is that His house is house of prayer for "all nations" which includes, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and other hurting people and not just for rotting pew potatoes who are programmed to do nothing, the rest of the week. In contrast, the VIP in the interactive house church is not the clergy but the seeker who by the time the meeting is over will "fall down and say truly God is among you". This is the reason why "the NT church grew in faith and in numbers daily." The modern church does not have reproductive DNA and is condemned to stagnation while the chemistry of the NT church is programmed for healthy growth and multiplication. The Bride must reproduce herself until "the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea". (MK 11:17; 1Cor. 14:23-25; Acts 2:47; 16:5; Hab. 2:14).

The problem with a formally theologically trained person is that he has to unlearn so many things before he can loose his arrogance and become an effective Christian just like Paul had to. "Lest anyone should boast".

Thank you for comparing me with rebellious Korah and yourself as Moses, the law giver. I have been called worse things.

Shalom,

Subject: Sermonizers

> Dear Victor,

Appealing to my Irish chauvinism will not accomplish much, yes I was once a hard drinking two fisted man, fond of the bottle and the battle. You see I back-slid from the faith I once had but God had not finished with me and he brought me back to His kingdom kicking and screaming, a chastised prodigal. I now humbly thank Him and praise His Holy name for the mercy and grace He showed to me, for I was worthy of death.

I have started a study on "the Emerging/emergent church" and the House Church seems to embrace some of the characteristics of this movement. Form over substance, experience over the word. I do not accuse you of this it is simply and impression. The Postmodern/ post-Evangelical movement seeks to reinterpret scripture, the role of the church, and the form of the Gospel. It seeks to Deform Christianity. It seeks to decentralize the church, forming the people in a circle rather than in a church with a pulpit, and embraces all theology since it has not been emphatically decided which version is correct. Systematic Theology is thrown out and the New testament in baby language is the norm. Difficult parts of the Bible such as homosexuality, icons and divorce, abortion and the role of women in the church are not taught or even considered. An anaemic watered down pseudo-gospel is the dish of the day. Paul says "Woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel"...and again" woe unto
them who preach another gospel".

I have done a mini-study on preaching/teaching, pastors/bishops/elders and deacons. I will not do an extensive layout of my findings but give you some so that you may conduct a similar investigation.

Nicolaitans....No uniform belief in the foundational meaning of the term but a few are put forward.
1. Nicolas of Antioch named in Acts 6:5 (deacons) headed a group who shared wives and did very sinful things. Nicolas himself did not participate in these things they simply used his name for the group.
2. According to Dr Lightfoot...Nicolah is the word for Let us eat...referring to the practise of eating meat offered to idols, which is idolatry and an abomination to God.
3. A later and less widely held view is Nicolaitan Nico - to rule Laitan - (over) laity acceptable and fits in some measure to the scripture. The application is used to describe what happened in the Early Church after Constantine when the Clergy took the role of rulers over their congregations and the Papacy became prevalent. Later types were the confessional, the Inquisition and Excommunication.

Pulpit/Dais....In every synagogue there was a stand or Pulpit. It was on a platform four or five feet above the main floor. At on end (towards Jerusalem) was a chest with the Books of the Law in it and the Platform was in the middle of the building. The building was higher than the surrounding buildings and sometimes open to the air. The leader of the Synagogue was elected by the congregation and he would ask learned men to address the people and expound on the Law. The Primary function of the Synagogue was teaching. The House of prayer was The Temple. Worship was a secondary function in the synagogue. Jesus was asked to teach in the synagogue by various leaders and he would mount the platform and teach from the pulpit.

Matt 8:54; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:15; 4:16-22; John 18:20. The Apostles also addressed the synagogue from the pulpit Acts 8:5,15; 14:1,17:10-11; 17:17;18:19. Reference Manners and Customs of the Bible James Freeman /Logos International

Preach: Outline of the terms used.
kerusso       (G2784) to preach or proclaim
euaggelizo   (G2097) to preach the gospel
diaggello      (G1229) to herald thoroughly
laleo            (G2980) preach, say, utter
kataggello    (          ) declare, shew, teach
prokerusso   (G2605) herald
dialegomai    (G1256) say thouroughly. discuss, argue, reason speak.

Teach:
didasko      (G1321) teach
matheteuo (G3100) become a pulpit Matt 28:19
kataggello   (G2605) to proclaim
kataykheho (G2596) to indoctrinate (catechize)
didaktikos   (G1317) to instruct (apt to teach)

As you can see the wright of the meaning is clear. Dialegomai is used only once in Acts and I have researched the word and commentators say it is like a lawyer making a closing remark or summary...he argues his case. This is the meaning of it in plain and normal use and is hardly a peg to hang such a heavy hat of doctrine to anathematize the pulpit and preaching when Christ taught in the Synagogues as did the Apostles (from a pulpit)

William Carey you said was a translator...His sermon "Christians obligation to Evangelize the Heathen" is the "Magna Carta" of the Missionary Movement. He is not well known for his sermons but two of his sermons are famous. He started 102 schools in India some of which still exist, he translated the Bible into 40 Indian dialects and languages, He taught, lobbied and preached against immolation of wives and the legislature outlawed it on his real work. Was His pulpit a Heresy, was Christs, was Paul's?

I leave you with two scriptures one single and the other a group.

Jude 1:11 Beware of the Gainsaying of Kore (Korah) Kore as you know spoke against Moses in the wilderness. The gainsaying was rebellion against the magistrates and order in Israel. Jude uses it to warn against gainsaying against (rebellion) against the ministers of the Gospel. Touch not mine anointed God declares.

Scripture found while studying this subject.
2Ti 4:2; 1Ti 3:2; 1 Cor 4:17 ; Acts 5:42 ; 1 Ti 4:11 ; 1 Ti 6:2 ; 2 Ti 2:24 ; 1 Cor 15:11 ; Heb 5:12 ; Heb 8:11
Matt 10;7,27 ; Matt 11:1 ; Mark 16:15 ; Luke 4:18 ; Acts 10:42 ; Acts 15:21; Rom 1:15 ; Rom 10:15;
1 Cor 9:16
Acts 4:31 ; Acts 8:4 ; Acts 13:5 ; Acts 13:49 ; Acts 15:35,36 ; Acts 18:11 ; Rom 10:17 ; Gal 6:6 ; Col 3:16; 2 Cor 9:5 ; 1 Thess 4:1 ; 1 Thess 5:14 ; 6:2 ; Tit 1:9.

One thing I must agree with you is that Billy Graham has gone off the rails...he embraces Rome and uses methods that are bewildering. I simply referred to his mega organization as a counterpoint to the work of the Holy Spirit in Converting. Bonnke in Africa sometimes speaks to 2 million or more at a time. Many are existing Christians...before he went to the area there were few and now there are millions. Many workers are needed and resources to water and fertilize the seed he has sown as it is in shallow earth indeed.
God the Holy Spirit works in manifold and wondrous manners to spread the gospel and bring multitudes to God's saving Grace. There is no one method that is paramount..that was my point and we cannot teach or stand against any method He might use unless we are absolutely certain that it is not of the Holy Spirit.
How do we know it is not of the Spirit....it will not agree with the word of God. I may not agree with all your teaching and the position you hold Victor but I stand with you til death to support what you are doing. I am sure it is of the Spirit and as I do not know all of God's ways I will not condemn it in any form. You are in alignment with the Word on the core beliefs and I stand and support you on that. On the peripheral points I am not in agreement and some of them grieve me but we will have to agree to disagree. We do indeed see through a glass darkly....but I praise God and eagerly await the day when we will see Him for what He is and then He shall set all things in order. We serve a wonderful saviour, Glory be His wonderful name.

I pray for you organization,, your 1st generation Christians (whom I am not against) your leaders your safety, your growth in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and that He will keep you until that great day when we shall see Him. God Bless and keep you.

In God's great Love.

B
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Re: Re:

2007-04-08T17:36:00.000+05:30

Dear B,

You cannot give up halfway. That would not be Irish. I worked for sometime in a hospital in the East end of London which was heavily populated by the Cockney and the Irishmen. We were part of the oppressed minority who were looked down by the Oxbridge trained doctors because we did not speak the Queen's English. I am an Indian, who often had to interpret between the white men who did not understand each other. I got to admire the hardworking, hard drinking and hard living Irishmen. At that point I was only a Christian, not a regenerated one.

We are just now having problems with Billy Graham Association (BGA). Billy spoke at two consecutive Christmas's all over India on the TV. The Christians were asked to invite non-Christians to their homes to listen to Billy and get converted. Thousands, if not millions, of people listened to Billy and liked it. Now we asked BGA for a follow up so all these people can be discipled. Astonishingly the BGA said,"Nothing doing, as this will result in house churches, because the non-Christians will not go to a denominational church, which will upset the local pastors." Now according to some of us, all the harvest will be lost. But as far as BGA is concerned they have filed a report that seven million souls have been saved.

As far as Reinhardt Bonke is concerned I will not say much as I do not know much about Africa, but I am told that first of all, most of the people who are attending these mega shows are already Christians and this kind of emotional mass evangelism is resulting in a church that is a mile long and only an inch deep.

I have a very healthy respect for Anabaptists, many of whom were first generation Christians. They did not just talk, thousands went out as missionaries to distant lands to save souls and in the process gave their lives for their beliefs. I was a little sad that you looked down on the first generation Christians. My understanding is that all Christians are first generation Christians or at least regenerated Christians. There are no second or n'th generation X'tions. There are no fathers and grandfathers, only new born or born again Christians. The Heavenly Father has only sons and daughters and no grandchildren. It is the first generation Christians who are changing the world.

My problems is that the modern day pulpiteer insists on hogging all the time saying "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thes. 5:19). Unfortunately his understanding is that the guy standing on the pulpit is the only one led by the Spirit while others are just dumb spectators. This is the Nicolaitan church where Nicolas (dominating the Laos or conquering the laity) divided the church between "speaking brother" and the "listening brothers" by putting a pulpit as a great divide. Jesus hates this kind of structure and equates it with idolatry (Rev. 2:6,14,15). Jesus does not need pulpit performers but fishers of men.

The Biblical position is that when we gather together, everyone and I repeat, everyone, has the privilege to share a doctrine (teach), a revelation or a dream or a vision, prophecy or whatever, in the assembly I.e. who ever is led by the Spirit, which means men, women and children because we are family of God and in the family everyone has a right to speak (1 Cor. 14:26; 30,31; Eph. 2:19). This is where most of the quenching of the Spirit takes place in the traditional church because a monologuer takes over and presumes that the Spirit is speaking only through him. Nothing could be far from truth. This is why the Lord himself has given fivefold ministry equippers to his church so that the church does not have a lopsided development. (Eph. 4:11)

Dear Brian, this is not a debate and I am not trying to win a debate. I call this cross pollination where I am learning something and presumably you are also doing the same. After all, iron sharpens iron. Sorry for the sarcasm but sometimes it is a necessary tool for destabilizing strongly held paradigms. Anyway no offence is meant as we are all colaborers in the Kingdom business.

Shalom,

----- Original Message -----

From:

To:

Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 8:39 PM

Subject: Re:

Dear Victor,

Your venom and spleen are not wasted on me, of note was your false blessing that I should have a great time with my oodles of sermons. Dripping sarcasm and disregard for what has gone before is evident. I know your situation is different in India and I apologize for my ignorance and supposition to tell you how to manage.  A few examples before I go. Rhienhard Bonnke an evangelist in East Africa who regularly preaches to audiences of over a million. Over 6 million Converts since 1997.

Billy Graham 40 years of Preaching the word...an Estimated 20 millions lives changed for Christ. There are many others with similar numbers. The falling away in "the Church" is not a fault of structure or organization but a sign of the times.   2Thess 2:3 tells us what will, and has started to happen.

Wm Carey was a translator in the main part, but also preached ,which by use of the pulpit makes him a heretic, and all the others I mentioned from Iraenus to Augustine to Luther to Billy Graham.

I wonder what that makes the hundreds of millions of converts who listened to the heretical pulpit sermons. I wonder if this is the mind and spirit of Christ that inspires such thoughts and listens and quotes the Pope. I come from a long list of Non-Conformists, Anabaptist many of whom were martyred by Rome and Elizabeth I. The tradition they handed down I carry with me although I have never heard their pulpits called heresies. Our dialogue has come to an end. we have only achieved animosity and strife, and sarcasm and muted anger are spawned.. We will not change each others minds its seems.   I will not say further as it will be deemed to be a sermon, I wish to end on a note of unity forgiveness and peace. You have won, you are right and I am wrong, forgive and anger I have engendered in you, and forgive my presumption to intervene with advice or doctrinal points of view.

As I stated before the great barrier to the truth is the presumption that you already possess 100% of it.

I obviously do not possess all of it. (No sarcasm intended)

A point of interest...I contacted 4 Church groups in Asia upon the request of Rad. Three have contacted me for materials and Movies, Encyclopedias, Bible Programs, Commentaries, complete works of Wesley, Bunyan, Pink etc, maps, charts and audio teaching have been sent. It seems they also are in need of these aids. They have begged for more and I will assist in any and all ways I can.

I keep my offer open to you and beg any offence I have given be forgiven and withdraw all comments you find objectionable. I will not email you again so you will be spared my "sermons", and if you want to contact me again do it through Rad, as the spirit we are producing in these emails is not one of brotherhood or the Spirit of Love.

We will have to agree to disagree and leave the rest to God.

May God shine His face upon you and bless you as you do His Perfect Will.

In the bonds of Calvary,

B.

I will continue to pray for you and your House Church in Northern India that God will bless and protect it and bring glory to Himself through it. I ask that you do the same for me.

Re:

2007-04-06T18:45:00.000+05:30

Dear Brian,

I am beginning to enjoy your sermons, especially your passion for sound doctrine and teachers.

I have no problem with teachers or with sound doctrines.
My problem is the delivery method. Sermons amount to monologue.

The example you quote about Paul giving an all night sermon is an interesting point. Actually the disciples got together to have a meal on Saturday night and had it at least three times, early in the evening after breaking Sabbath, a second one after the commotion of the fall of Eutichus and probably a third one when Paul left early in the morning by ship. First day of the week is not Sunday morning for giving sermons.

The Greek word used for preaching is dialegomai which means to discuss, dialogue, dispute, argue, reason etc. It has nothing to do with what we call sermon today.

Jesus is accused of giving a sermon on the mount which does not last a couple of minutes to repeat. Peter gave a three minute "sermon" and 3000 were converted. A modern day scholar gives 3000 sermons and can't get 3 people converted. The only time Paul gave an intellectual "sermon" was to intellectuals of Athens and no takers. He kicked himself all the way back to Corinth and was he glad to see his illiterate, nonscholarly worthless but true Christians.

Actually the word Sermon is not even biblical. Having a meal was an integral part of the NT church but definitely not the sermon (Acts 2:42, 46; Luke 10: 7; 1 Cor 11:20). I believe the pulpit to be greatest heresy the church has invented as it is no where to be found in the Scriptures. The sooner we throw it out of the window the faster the dialogical interactive church will grow.

As I mentioned to you earlier that sound in doctrine to us means, the ability to convert those who contradict: such as Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, the lost sheep of New Israel (the church)

and many others who are not of faith as yet. The person who is sound in doctrine will go and preach the gospel where the gospel has not been preached, just as Paul did. Mere academic knowledge which does not fulfill the Great Commission is of little value.

Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, not to make us scholars or theologians. There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than ninety nine Christians making a joyful noise on Sundays. Anyway Jesus is not in the church on Sundays as he is out among the publicans and sinners. He will not waste his time on bench warmers who have planned obsolescence in the church cemetery without ever winning a soul. We shall not be known for our academic knowledge or the ability to give great sermons but for our fruitfulness.[john.15:16,Matt.7:16,20]

I have great regard for Wm Carey. He is not known for his sermons but for the translation of the Bibles in 34 Indian languages and a few other important things. However in the last 200 years since Carey, we have less than 1% Christianity in north India and in some parts zero point zero zero.. Something is drastically wrong with the way we do church and it is not working even in your country of adoption. If we are to believe George Barna that now nearly five million Americans have quit the traditional church and meeting in homes. In the next 20 years I wonder who will be listening to your sermons. Better change horses while there is still time. In Germany and London I saw some old diehard, codgers sitting in huge cavernous Cathedrals.

My reading of the church history is summed up by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) who in a press conference made a statement that he has archives of 25 million people who were murdered by the established church. He further said that this probably represents only one third of what actually happened. Most of the martyrs were house church leaders but were dubbed as heretics and killed. Throughout history the true Christianity survived not in the corridors of established church but in the homes of martyrs.

I agree that the church should be prophetic but with the clear understanding that the speakers are subject to questions by others even in the middle of their sermons just as Jesus was interrupted by Martha when he was holding forth in their home. (1 Cor. 14:29-32)

Have a great time with oodles of great sermons.

Shalom,

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 6:53 PM

> Dear Victor,
>
> I studied Early Church History in Belfast and at Waterloo U in Canada and have oodles of manuscripts, books, ebooks, tapes, MP3s and audio on their methods and own "sermons" ,teaching series and letters of the early church fathers. I have over 3000 "sermons" from the first 3 centuries of Christianity.
> I can learn from these fathers and the subsequent teachers who followed them right down to our age.
> Paul taught until midnight (to believers) and one youth fell down and was killed, Paul healed him with the intervention of the Holy Spirit. One of the Gifts of the Spirit is Teaching, another Prophecy to expound on the word and the other simply means to Speak forth. To deny these offices is to quench the spirit.
>
> I will not presume to tell you how to manage the house churches in India, if you will presume to not accuse me of "promoting sermonizers" this is a pejorative term for the teachers I hold dearly. These would also include my university professors and manifold teachers of the word throughout the years. 1 Peter 2:2
> says we are to desire the sincere milk of the word as babes in Christ. What happens when we grow up?...we eat adult food and our parents teach us, as they have more experience and wisdom. This is the example Paul is using. Meat is not synonymous with higher learning it is synonymous with the deep and mature things of God(sound doctrine). Watchman Lee wrote glorious books expounding the deep and meaty sections of the word of God. He was a simple man from China who had been taught by a missionary and then studied alone.
>
> My objection is not all to do with how you organize your church in India, but your outlawing of the great Evangelizers, reformers, teachers, preachers, expounders and fathers of the church and reducing them to "sermonizers." From Iranaeus to Chuck Missler your reject the sound doctrine and teaching of myriads of men of God. Yet you promote the book of Rad Zdero (who is sermonizing in his book) and accept the teaching of Hollywood movies into your midst. Don't get me wrong..they are useful and have their place, it is just the total rejection of the others that baffles and troubles my spirit. If it is true for you it should be true for the other churches in the world and that dog won't hunt in North America, to use a southern expression. Carey who is the father of the Mission field in India is no longer welcome.
>
> Paul uses a technique called "reducum in absurdum" To reduce to the absurd or to take any argument or position to its logical conclusion or end and show its flaws and then he builds up teaching and right doctrine from that position. If the methods used for the house church, teaching illiterates and pagans by experiential methods alone, and outlawing the "sermonizers" from the church, rejecting a plethora of christian resources...would this work for the church as a whole especially in North America and Europe.
> I am not illiterate or a first generation christian and I have grown by leaps and bounds listening to the teaching CDs and audio of Vernon McGee, Chuck Missler, David Legge, Willie Mullan, and many others.
> How can I join and remain in a movement which holds diametrically opposed positions to those that have been my experience and have been the guiding light and lamp unto my feet. I read the Bible also and prayerfully meditate upon it, but the great leaps and break though I've experienced were when a light was put on a difficult passage and it was explained and became a blessing to me. Glory to God. I am the sum total of all that I have learned and 95% is from such teachers. If they are "sermonizers" the I am "sermonized". I am baffled at to why the Holy Spirit would use one method for almost 2000 years and then say no....I was wrong....let us use another method and throw out all I have taught over the past 19 centuries.
>
> I realize that there is much error in the "Higher churches" Catholic and several of the Protestant denominations. There seems to be a falling away from the tenets of our Biblical heritage. Every wind of doctrine is coming into the church and much of it exaggerates the experience over the word. That is my chief concern that as we said at sea .....if you have not set a course, and don't know your heading then any direction will do.
>
> I will leave you with a gem that one of these "sermonizers" (Chuck Missler) left me from one of his teaching audios. In Genesis 5 there are the first 10 generations of Man listed. If you take their names and translate them from the normal meaning of their names a wonderful sentence is produced.
>
> ADAM....................Man
> SETH.....................(is) Appointed
> ENOSH..................Mortal
> KINNON.................Sorrow (but)
> MAHALEL..............The Blessed God
> JARED...................Shall Come Down
> ENOCH..................Teaching
> METHUSALA..........His Death Shall Bring
> LAMECH................(the) Despairing
> NOAH....................Comfort or Rest
>
> In the first 10 generations named and listed in Genesis 5 is the plan of salvation. Hidden until just recently.
>
> Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching His death shall bring (the) despairing Comfort or rest. This is the MEAT of the word as well as many deep teachings in Hebrews, Romans, Revelation and in every book of the Bible.
> I am not against you in any way...I am careful not to go against any move of the holy Spirit...so I reserve the right to be wrong. My faith, experience and learning have brought me to the position that these teachers and the other resources I spoke of (commentaries, dictionaries, etc etc) are a wonderful and indispensable part of the armour and armoury of God in addition to the Word of God. I will pray much for you and your flock, and support and help it and you in any way I can, even tho' we are not in agreement on this one item I'm sure we are in agreement on the other 99% of doctrine. A final note...the above example you are not free to use or copy as it is written and discovered by a sermonizer. :-)......;-)
> Just thought I'd end on a lighter note.
>
> In the bonds of Calvary
>
> Brian Brown
>
> Brian W. Brown
>
> PS. I understand that native missionaries are much more effective that foreign ones and the methods you have developed are marvellous and to be lauded and supported. It is not what you do that grieves me but what you omit. Your services need not be disrupted and those who merit it should have the oppertunity to go to Bible College and failing that the resources to progress in their private studies.
>
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Jesus' 5 Major paradigm shifts from OT to NT

2007-01-23T13:01:00.001+05:30

1. Buildings: Jesus shifted the holy temple from a stone building to human heart (1 Cor. 3:16). For 300 years the NT church functioned in the homes of the people without any specifically constructed sacred buildings and grew exponentially until Constantine built the first cathedral in Rome.

Our Response: Build more buildings. Brick an mortar has done more harm to church growth and multiplication than anything else. Every dollar spent on building sends someone to hell. Every 4 seconds someone dies in India without hearing the gospel and goes to hell.

Remember: God does not live in buildings made with human hands. (Acts 7:48,49)

2. Priesthood: The OT consisted of priesthood of hereditary Levites. Anyone could become a prophet but never a priest. Jesus changed all that so that in His church there is priesthood of all believers. Every believer is a royal priests. (Rev. 5:9,10; 1 Peter 2:9)

Our response: Even though in the church of Jesus Christ there may be no clergy and layman, but in the modern church this sinful caste system exists. Professional priesthood was started again by Constantine in AD 322.

3. Sunday Worship: The Jews celebrated Sabbath on Saturdays. Jesus changed the system to any day, any time, anywhere (Rom. 14:5). Sunday worship was started by royal edict from Constantine (AD 321) and has no Biblical basis.

Our response: Try and give biblical muscle to this unbiblical concept. In fact most of the time the house churches met everyday. (Heb. 3:13; Acts 2:47)

4. Teaching method: Jews were the only people of the Book. Jewish madrasas produced brilliant intellectuals.

Jesus changed the system and taught profound truths through simple stories and parables from everyday life situations. (Math. 13:13,34,35)

Our response: Divide print communicators from oral communicators and denigrate them as illiterate. Train in seminaries and produce brainy intellectuals who think in concepts, principals and analysis which are difficult to retain and reproduce. Sermons are given to impress others which does not multiply believers. Stories are easily retained and reproducible and touch both head and heart. They multiply more story tellers who can reach the ends of the earth. (1Cor. 1:26-31)

5. Jews and Gentiles: The Jews treated Gentiles as "goshe" (untouchables) and despised. Jesus changed everything. In His church there are Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, print communicators and oral communicators, all have equal status.

Our response: Caste based churches, clergy/laymen and gender divide.

Starfish Alliance

2007-01-08T11:13:00.000+05:30

Starfish a unique sea fish which after being divided into pieces has the capacity to regenerate to the extent that every piece can become another starfish. It typifies and house church. The more it divides the more it multiplies.

The starfish Alliance is a loose alliance of like minded people who are committed to Finishing the Task (FTT) of the Great Commission of discipling all nations. It is a movement rather than an organization.