s of things happening all the time! Not in America, unfortunately. We're too busy sorting out who gets what title, to tithe or not to tithe, what to do with the children and where to put those indefatigable women.

It's been my experience that two or more gathered in His Name is all it takes. Yesterday, alone with Jesus and a 95-year old woman in her nursing home bedroom, we had church, as they say. It was glorious! We sang, we prayed, we got emotional, we talked about our God. We WERE The Church and we both knew it.

Author Frank Viola writes," when Jesus Christ is not the center of a house church, the only fuel that can drive it is a fascinating issue, a charismatic personality, or a nifty doctrine. But all of these fuels yield low mileage. And when they run dry, the group collapses. A fellowship of believers can only be held together in any beneficial way when a continual encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the dominating element. At bottom, if Christ is not the glue of a no

Many people involved in the House Church "movement" are growing weary of hearing people voice their concerns regarding the same four aspects of House Church: Church Government, Women, Tithing and Kids. Yawn! It seems to me that anyone being led by the Holy Spirit will hear from Him and will then know what to do in any or all of these areas. Problem is, it seems so few Christians really know God. Many don't spend time in prayer and most rarely read any of those Bibles we own (slightly more than half of those who attend a Christian church (54%) say that they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, and another 37% say that they are moderately committed (Barna Research, 2006).

Our gross affluence has spoiled us rotten.

The question we Imperialistic Americans must ask ourselves is this: "Will it play in Peoria?" In other words, will the things we believe in the good ol' USA carry any water in Sudan or Vietnam?

They should.

When a 17-year old Chinese girl is considered the "pastor" of 20,000 Chinese Christians, Americans cry "Foul!"

When an East Indian woman starts 50 churches all by herself, American Christian minds go "TILT!"

Years ago, when I read about people behind the Iron Curtain practicing "self baptism" so as not to endanger the lives of their beloved ministers, Americans wanted to see Biblical examples.

"Man looks at the outside; God looks at the heart," (1 Sam 16:7)

It seems to me - a man of average intellect - that if an individual started a House Church in "The Boonies, USA" with no pastor, prophets or apostles in sight and not a single qualified "elder" among them, the church they'd start would be the church they'd be stuck with. This group would be FORCED to listen to the Holy Spirit as they prayed together and sought the Lord as to why He had them gather in the first place.

If you have a problem with this "Boonies" example, try this one...let's say the crowd who heard the message was made up of starving people in Africa, husbandless women with dying babies, kids covered with flies. Do we teach them how to be "saved" according to one of our many manmade, denominational methods or do we give them the Good News of the Kingdom, explaining to them that there is a King, He has a Kingdom and the King wants them in that Kingdom so that He can take care of them just as Solomon cared for the subjects who served in HIS Kingdom? If you think it's far-fetched to think that God would tend to the needs of a bunch of homeless wanderers, bear in mind that God has provided manna in the morning, water from rocks, sandals that won't wear out and birds to eat on at least one other occasion that I can think of. Besides, the alternative is to explain to them that they are sinners going to Hell unless they accept Jesus into their sickly bodies so that, while they're starving to death over the next few days, they can at least know where they're going while they slowly suffer an agonizing death. According to the James Rutz book, "Megashift," the King IS doing miracles in third world and in developing countries all the time. People ARE trusting in this King named Jesus and He really IS taking care of those who submit themselves to His Kingdom. Sicknesses are being healed and dead are being raised by poor, illiterate, relatively uncivilized, uncultured, dirty, impoverished people of all ages.

Stick with me here: What if one of the starving widows embraced this Kingdom concept, was healed, experienced miracles, shared the Kingdom message and began starting House Churches in villages wherever she went? What if children heard the message and, because there is no Junior Holy Spirit, by His power, began doing miracles and starting house churches of their own? Anyone who's read about Wesley's Welsh revivals can see how God used the children...and not an elder or pastor in sight.

"Wait one blessed minute! Things are getting way out of hand now!"

Folks, I hear and read reports of these sorts of things happening all the time! Not in America, unfortunately. We're too busy sorting out who gets what title, to tithe or not to tithe, what to do with the children and where to put those indefatigable women.

It's been my experience that two or more gathered in His Name is all it takes. Yesterday, alone with Jesus and a 95-year old woman in her nursing home bedroom, we had church, as they say. It was glorious! We sang, we prayed, we got emotional, we talked about our God. We WERE The Church and we both knew it.

Author Frank Viola writes," when Jesus Christ is not the center of a house church, the only fuel that can drive it is a fascinating issue, a charismatic personality, or a nifty doctrine. But all of these fuels yield low mileage. And when they run dry, the group collapses. A fellowship of believers can only be held together in any beneficial way when a continual encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the dominating element. At bottom, if Christ is not the glue of a non

idered the "pastor" of 20,000 Chinese Christians, Americans cry "Foul!"

When an East Indian woman starts 50 churches all by herself, American Christian minds go "TILT!"

Years ago, when I read about people behind the Iron Curtain practicing "self baptism" so as not to endanger the lives of their beloved ministers, Americans wanted to see Biblical examples.

"Man looks at the outside; God looks at the heart," (1 Sam 16:7)

It seems to me - a man of average intellect - that if an individual started a House Church in "The Boonies, USA" with no pastor, prophets or apostles in sight and not a single qualified "elder" among them, the church they'd start would be the church they'd be stuck with. This group would be FORCED to listen to the Holy Spirit as they prayed together and sought the Lord as to why He had them gather in the first place.

If you have a problem with this "Boonies" example, try this one...let's say the crowd who heard the message was made up of starving people in Africa, husbandless women with dying babies, kids covered with flies. Do we teach them how to be "saved" according to one of our many manmade, denominational methods or do we give them the Good News of the Kingdom, explaining to them that there is a King, He has a Kingdom and the King wants them in that Kingdom so that He can take care of them just as Solomon cared for the subjects who served in HIS Kingdom? If you think it's far-fetched to think that God would tend to the needs of a bunch of homeless wanderers, bear in mind that God has provided manna in the morning, water from rocks, sandals that won't wear out and birds to eat on at least one other occasion that I can think of. Besides, the alternative is to explain to them that they are sinners going to Hell unless they accept Jesus into their sickly bodies so that, while they're starving to death over the next few days, they can at least know where they're going while they slowly suffer an agonizing death. According to the James Rutz book, "Megashift," the King IS doing miracles in third world and in developing countries all the time. People ARE trusting in this King named Jesus and He really IS taking care of those who submit themselves to His Kingdom. Sicknesses are being healed and dead are being raised by poor, illiterate, relatively uncivilized, uncultured, dirty, impoverished people of all ages.

Stick with me here: What if one of the starving widows embraced this Kingdom concept, was healed, experienced miracles, shared the Kingdom message and began starting House Churches in villages wherever she went? What if children heard the message and, because there is no Junior Holy Spirit, by His power, began doing miracles and starting house churches of their own? Anyone who's read about Wesley's Welsh revivals can see how God used the children...and not an elder or pastor in sight.

"Wait one blessed minute! Things are getting way out of hand now!"

Folks, I hear and read reports of these sorts of things happening all the time! Not in America, unfortunately. We're too busy sorting out who gets what title, to tithe or not to tithe, what to do with the children and where to put those indefatigable women.

It's been my experience that two or more gathered in His Name is all it takes. Yesterday, alone with Jesus and a 95-year old woman in her nursing home bedroom, we had church, as they say. It was glorious! We sang, we prayed, we got emotional, we talked about our God. We WERE The Church and we both knew it.

Author Frank Viola writes," when Jesus Christ is not the center of a house church, the only fuel that can drive it is a fascinating issue, a charismatic personality, or a nifty doctrine. But all of these fuels yield low mileage. And when they run dry, the group collapses. A fellowship of believers can only be held together in any beneficial way when a continual encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the dominating element. At bottom, if Christ is not the glue of a no

people in Africa, husbandless women with dying babies, kids covered with flies. Do we teach them how to be "saved" according to one of our many manmade, denominational methods or do we give them the Good News of the Kingdom, explaining to them that there is a King, He has a Kingdom and the King wants them in that Kingdom so that He can take care of them just as Solomon cared for the subjects who served in HIS Kingdom? If you think it's far-fetched to think that God would tend to the needs of a bunch of homeless wanderers, bear in mind that God has provided manna in the morning, water from rocks, sandals that won't wear out and birds to eat on at least one other occasion that I can think of. Besides, the alternative is to explain to them that they are sinners going to Hell unless they accept Jesus into their sickly bodies so that, while they're starving to death over the next few days, they can at least know where they're going while they slowly suffer an agonizing death. According to the James Rutz book, "Megashift," the King IS doing miracles in third world and in developing countries all the time. People ARE trusting in this King named Jesus and He really IS taking care of those who submit themselves to His Kingdom. Sicknesses are being healed and dead are being raised by poor, illiterate, relatively uncivilized, uncultured, dirty, impoverished people of all ages.

Stick with me here: What if one of the starving widows embraced this Kingdom concept, was healed, experienced miracles, shared the Kingdom message and began starting House Churches in villages wherever she went? What if children heard the message and, because there is no Junior Holy Spirit, by His power, began doing miracles and starting house churches of their own? Anyone who's read about Wesley's Welsh revivals can see how God used the children...and not an elder or pastor in sight.

"Wait one blessed minute! Things are getting way out of hand now!"

Folks, I hear and read reports of these sorts of things happening all the time! Not in America, unfortunately. We're too busy sorting out who gets what title, to tithe or not to tithe, what to do with the children and where to put those indefatigable women.

It's been my experience that two or more gathered in His Name is all it takes. Yesterday, alone with Jesus and a 95-year old woman in her nursing home bedroom, we had church, as they say. It was glorious! We sang, we prayed, we got emotional, we talked about our God. We WERE The Church and we both knew it.

Author Frank Viola writes," when Jesus Christ is not the center of a house church, the only fuel that can drive it is a fascinating issue, a charismatic personality, or a nifty doctrine. But all of these fuels yield low mileage. And when they run dry, the group collapses. A fellowship of believers can only be held together in any beneficial way when a continual encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the dominating element. At bottom, if Christ is not the glue of a no

James Rutz book, "Megashift," the King IS doing miracles in third world and in developing countries all the time. People ARE trusting in this King named Jesus and He really IS taking care of those who submit themselves to His Kingdom. Sicknesses are being healed and dead are being raised by poor, illiterate, relatively uncivilized, uncultured, dirty, impoverished people of all ages.

Stick with me here: What if one of the starving widows embraced this Kingdom concept, was healed, experienced miracles, shared the Kingdom message and began starting House Churches in villages wherever she went? What if children heard the message and, because there is no Junior Holy Spirit, by His power, began doing miracles and starting house churches of their own? Anyone who's read about Wesley's Welsh revivals can see how God used the children...and not an elder or pastor in sight.

"Wait one blessed minute! Things are getting way out of hand now!"

Folks, I hear and read reports of these sorts of things happening all the time! Not in America, unfortunately. We're too busy sorting out who gets what title, to tithe or not to tithe, what to do with the children and where to put those indefatigable women.

It's been my experience that two or more gathered in His Name is all it takes. Yesterday, alone with Jesus and a 95-year old woman in her nursing home bedroom, we had church, as they say. It was glorious! We sang, we prayed, we got emotional, we talked about our God. We WERE The Church and we both knew it.

Author Frank Viola writes," when Jesus Christ is not the center of a house church, the only fuel that can drive it is a fascinating issue, a charismatic personality, or a nifty doctrine. But all of these fuels yield low mileage. And when they run dry, the group collapses. A fellowship of believers can only be held together in any beneficial way when a continual encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the dominating element. At bottom, if Christ is not the glue of a no

s of things happening all the time! Not in America, unfortunately. We're too busy sorting out who gets what title, to tithe or not to tithe, what to do with the children and where to put those indefatigable women.

It's been my experience that two or more gathered in His Name is all it takes. Yesterday, alone with Jesus and a 95-year old woman in her nursing home bedroom, we had church, as they say. It was glorious! We sang, we prayed, we got emotional, we talked about our God. We WERE The Church and we both knew it.

Author Frank Viola writes," when Jesus Christ is not the center of a house church, the only fuel that can drive it is a fascinating issue, a charismatic personality, or a nifty doctrine. But all of these fuels yield low mileage. And when they run dry, the group collapses. A fellowship of believers can only be held together in any beneficial way when a continual encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the dominating element. At bottom, if Christ is not the glue of a non-institutional church, its meetings will become shallow, colorless, and eventually unsustainable. The Psalmist once uttered, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalms. 11:3)."

I contend that it's by God's grace that anybody who feels led to do so can step out and start BEING the Church. Any time, anywhere. As disciples are made and the ranks swell, when the King sees the need for teaching and training from outside, itinerant ministers - like the apostle Paul - they're available, too. I also contend that a minister who is the product of an institutional church is a poor candidate for House Church leadership. That's not unlike a Russian Hockey coach trying to coach in the NHL; he's certainly good at what he does but simply doesn't speak the language. No, the best people to learn from are those who came up through the ranks and have experienced what it's like NOT to be tainted by liturgies, doctrines, dogmas and traditions but, instead, know what a REAL House Church looks like and what such Kingdom Meetings involve. Whether it's from a guy like me or a book or a DVD or a conference, the resources are available for anyone who seeks them out. Too often, when someone from an Institutional Church background attempts to start a House Church, they ultimately wind up with a living room mini-church and find themselves stuck in virtually the same thing they came from, only smaller.

Is it wise to aspire to attract really high numbers of House Church attendees or save up enough offering money to build a facility? I don't think so as it smacks of the Institutional Church. Anybody who desires to TRULY follow the New Testament example will train, equip and release their people into planting MORE churches. I call it "Pre-Meditated Church Splitting." It's really NOT a Church "split" at all; it's actually Church multiplication. House churches have a shelf-life of 6 months to 4 years. If you think that's poor, show me a New Testament Church gathering that's still meeting to this day. They don't exist because Church multiplication was part of God's plan from the beginning, I believe. Rather than trying to endure as long as possible, why not strategize and train the Church how to church plant, making it Standard Operational Procedure to GO and help others start churches in THEIR homes RATHER than inviting them to leave THEIR comfort zone to enter YOURS?

That's what Jesus did, after all. He said He came as an example.

Here's another example: Imagine a new member of your House Church named Al meeting a buddy named Bob who seems interested in House Church. They agree that Al will come over on Saturday at 7PM. Al orders pizza and invites two experienced House Churchers from your group, including you, to come with him. Bob has a half dozen relatives and neighbors there when you arrive. They like what they hear and - Poof! A church is started with you, Al and the other two committing to make themselves available to train, equip and release THEM.

The new group will follow your example and so on and so on, just as is happening all over the world today.

It's really that simple.

---------------------------------------------------------

Don't miss the North Central Texas House Church Conference, Jan 27th, 10AM-6PM, the Doubletree Hotel near The Galleria. It's FREE! Seating limited to 150 and going FAST! Registrations are REQUIRED by 5PM Jan 20th! Simply hit REPLY and type "CONF" in your SUBJECT Bar. Please provide the full names of all who will be attendingw ith you including the ages of any children. For MORE details, go to www.YourTown4Jesus.org and hit the "House Church Information" tab at the FAR RIGHT.