HOUSECHURCH

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 Chr...

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 stat...

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, V. ----- 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 Londo...

  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 r...

  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, Synagogu...

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,"No...

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 3...