The Big Box Church isn't even a church

     I refuse to use the term "Mega-Church" anymore as I think it's not even technically a church.  Many will take issue with me on this, but I have a biblical viewpoint that, so far no one I have talked to has been able to refute. For this reason, I prefer to call them "Big Box Spiritual Retailers" (BBSR)

    There is a BBSR just a mile from where I live. It's called Bayside and several thousand attend their "services" every weekend.   They boast on a large sign outside that reads "We are Open on Weekends" ( I cringe every time I go pas there and read it).  I have gone there to check it out a couple of times.  They have a very large theater style worship room with a large stage and several large video screens so those in the far back can see what is going on.  They have a very talented "praise band" with smoke and lasers that would rival any rock concert.  They have several "pastors" who lead very entertaining sermons that are well rehearsed and easy to follow with PowerPoint slides to keep your attention. They even do an offering collection at the end of service.   

   So why do I not think of them as a church?

   They lack two essential interlocking elements that a church needs to have:

1. Membership
2. Accountability

   Whenever I meet someone and they mention Bayside, they never say "I am a member at Bayside".  Instead, they always say "We GO to Bayside".   Membership isn't really an important issue for them. All that really matters is attendance (and of course giving).  Membership isn't really a concern because you are just a nameless face in the crowd.  BBSR's have thousands of attendees every Sunday and there is no way for them to know all of you.  Many will say, "Well we have small groups that we attend where we get to know people more intimately".  That may be true, but these small groups are:

1) Not required (optional)

2) Not lead by a pastor who cares for them

3) Tend to focus more on fellowship than on the Bible (let alone biblical truth). They function more as "wine and cheese" groups or as "book clubs".

   This leads to the second lacking essential of a church: Accountability.  Excommunication is not some "Adiaphora" (neither forbidden nor required) aspect of church teaching.  Jesus only uses the word for church two times.  Once with respect to Peter's confession about Christ, "On this I will build my CHURCH and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it".   The second is when Jesus instructs his disciples on how to handle a person who refuses to repent from a known sin, "If he doesn't listen, bring him before the CHURCH and it he still does not repent throw him out and treat him like a tax collector"

   Excommunication was used in the early church and throughout church history.  Paul does so in his letters to the Corinthians in which he tells them to expel a man having sex with his father's wife (stepmom) and then in a later letter tells them to let the man back into the church knowing he had repented.  Accountability is not a "nice to have" but a "must have" to be considered a CHURCH in Christ's own view.   No accountability, No church.

    To illustrate, imagine you went to your local hospital and had the following conversation with the person at the front desk

   YOU:         Hi, my doctor has told me I need to have my knee replaced soon or I won't be able walk on it.   Who can I talk to here to get it looked at and schedule an operation?

   WORKER:  Oh, I am so sorry!  We don't do that here!

   YOU:          What? You don't do knee surgeries?

   WORKER:  Oh, we don't do ANY surgeries here!

   YOU:           But you are a hospital!  Isn't that a requirement?   If you don't do surgeries, then should just call yourself is a "hotel for sick people"?

   So also, a church without accountability cannot call itself a church either. 

   Even if a BBSR did try to have accountability it would have little or no effect on the person.  They may be pushed out, but it would be highly unlikely to end with the person repenting (the main goal of excommunication).   This because the BBSR has no intimate connection.  They are just a nameless faceless person in the crowd.  

   Excommunication is not just something humans do either.  Even horses use it to correct members of their herd as well.  I watched a show on the "Horse Whisperer" on the Discovery Channel.  The man’s name is Buck Brannaman. The reporter was taken out to a wilderness to watch how wild horses behave in a herd.  While out there, the reporter noticed a young stallion standing all alone on a hill.  He asked, "What is with him? Why is he all alone out there?"   Buck said, "Oh he did something that the herd didn't like so they pushed him out".   The reporter responded, "What is going to happen to him? Can he survive?".  Buck said, "Watch and see what happens!".  A couple of hours later the reporter noticed the horse licking his lips with his tongue and the Buck said, "He is is retreating back into his baby brain.  He wants to nurse with his mother".   Later he was seen bobbing his head and stamping on the ground to which the Buck told the reporter, "He is saying to the group he is sorry and wants back in".  This was met with a loud NEIGH from herd, and he came running back into the herd. The same can happen with believers who stray and feel connected to their church. 

   Finally, I believe the BBSR to not be in Christ's vision for his church and is not biblically supported. While the Bible doesn’t provide any clear requirements such as “Thou shalt not have a church over 500 members”, God does imply His desires by what he does in leading His church.  After all, nothing happens to Christ’s church without his say so and knowledge of what is best for its growth and health.  

     When we read the Gospels and Acts, we see what Christ wants for his church. In the gospels, for example, when Jesus feeds the 5000 and the 4000, he has them sit down in groups of 50-100 people. He could feed them as one large group but he chooses not to do it this way.  He is showing his disciples how he wants his church organized.  He doesn't want one large behemoth group of people, but instead small groups that know each other.  Later I\in the book of Acts we see the makings of a BBSR as 3000 are added here and 5000 there.  Everything seems to be going well, but the cracks are starting to form. First, we have the "greek speaking widows" being ignored and not getting any help.  Next, we have the husband and wife using the church to gain attention and notoriety by lying about their offerings.  When the church gets too large, Jesus sends persecution to break them up and scatter them.  Then Jesus has Rome make Christianity illegal which forces them to stay hidden in SMALL underground neighborhood churches dotted all over the empire.  Jesus keeps it this way for not 4 years, or even 40 years, but almost 400 years!!.   That is how he wants his church to grow.  

   Big Box Spiritual Retailers do not fit God’s vision for his church. Instead it meets our desire to live our lives as we want without accountability. 

 

Toaster Ovens and Mission Statements

    I worked as a computer engineer for Intel for over 30 years. Intel was for much of that time the leader in microprocessor development with its x86 line of CPUs. Every year we were given a new small calendar that could be attached to our lanyard where our Intel badge was hanging. On the backside of the calendar were Intel's Mission Statement and Intel Values listed for us to read.

   The Mission Statement was the first thing I remembered when I joined Intel in 1990. I had worked for Data General on the East Coast for 3 years, and not once did I ever see or hear a mission statement discussed by CEOs or VPs. Maybe they thought it superfluous, but not Intel. Every quarterly business update meeting (BUM) started with reading the mission statement and values and how our work fed into it. It was part of our culture and probably a good reason why Intel is still around and Data General is not.

   Mission statements focus the group or company on what they are about. Many things can come along and distract a company from its core business and weaken it. I could go on here about how DEI infected the Intel mission and distracted it to the point where Intel is almost non-existent in the tech sector today, but I won't do that.

   Imagine if a VP of Intel woke up one day and said, "You know what the world needs from Intel? A really high-quality toaster oven!" Imagine him going to work and telling his chip architects to scrap what they are working on and to do research on what would make the best ever toaster oven. He envisions an entire TV ad campaign touting its features and even using the "Intel Inside" logo at the end. Should the CEO, when he hears about what he is doing, just let him keep working on it? What if he justified it was "Well toaster ovens are nice and just as necessary as computers, so who am I to say we shouldn't do this?"

   Of course not! He would call that VP into his office and show him the mission statement and tell him to either get his division back on course or he is fired. Even if the VP were to pitch it to the CEO as a "money maker" for the company, he would still be wrong in his misuse of

   The question I have for you now is, "Does God have a Mission Statement for us?"

   The answer is: ABSOLUTELY YES!

   It's right there in Genesis too. God wastes no time letting Adam and Eve know what it is. It's his first "command" he gives them, in Genesis 1:28:

"Be fruitful and multiply and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

 

   t's like a coach giving his team locker room instructions before the big game. He is telling us to go out there and take command of the earth and fill it. Unlike all his other created beings, he chooses to include us in the fulfillment of his plan. He could have just said, "Let there be humans," and there would be a world full of humans. Instead, he makes one, then turns him into two, and then says, "You take it from here!"

   So, when we go off on our own, we negate God's mission. Many times, you have heard it said when it comes to homosexuality:

"Doesn't it just matter that we find someone to love? Isn't that all God cares about?" Well, apparently not. We often go off mission like that VP and think we know better than God and take his creation to fulfill our own desires of what we think is best. It's no different than the Intel VP trying to explain to his CEO that all that matters is he can show a meager profit in making toaster ovens. Try as he might, he won't get very far with that line of reasoning.

   Here is a list of our "toaster ovens" that do not fulfill God's mission:

1. Abortion 
2. Contraception/Vasectomy 
3. Homosexuality 
4. Transgenderism 
5. Pre-marital Sex 
6. Prostitution/Porn 

   All of these in their own way detract from God's mission statement to Adam and Eve. Of course, items 1-4 are pretty obvious as to how and why, as they either end or prevent pregnancy or remove any possibility of conception. But what about 5-6? How do they thwart God's mission even though sex is still involved in 5 and 6? I include them because they:

1. Do not have conception as their primary purpose for sex
2. Decrease (or take away altogether) the desire to marry and have children.

   Pre-Marital Sex is listed even though you could say it's a subset of 1 and 2 since often those are involved. But even if they are not, the whole purpose of Pre-marital Sex is NOT to get pregnant. You will never find two teenagers involved in this saying "Gee! I hope we get pregnant! It would be so awesome to be a parent now!" Sex in this case is all about pleasure, and they FEAR a child being conceived. God's goal is the last thing on their minds, and all too often it results in #1 (abortion). We also know that repeated pre-marital sex with different male partners and failed relationships often leads women to disillusionment about finding a marriage partner.

   Prostitution/Porn are listed separately from Rape and Pre-marital sex because again, they make it all about pleasure rather than creating a new human life. Here BOTH sides of the issue are harmed. Women are harmed much like in the case of rape and may lose their desire to become mothers because they have turned their bodies into products to be sold and used. Men are likewise harmed because they miss out on the beauty of marriage and becoming fathers. They waste their best years on meaningless loveless sex and when (or if they do) wake up, it's often too late to change.

   When you see how God's restrictions on sex all in line with his Mission Statement are, it becomes clearer why. God is not being restrictive to be "mean" to us, but because such actions don't fulfill his desire to have a relationship with as many of us as possible. We must ask ourselves,

"Is my mission statement aligned with His?"

The Tree

One day a seed fell to the ground and was covered in dirt. As the seed laid cold and afraid in the dark earth it heard a voice say

“Come forth little friend!  I have big plans for you someday!”

And the seed burst open and a small root protruded and grabbed on to the rocky soil in which it laid. After a few days a small sapling appeared no bigger than your thumb growing out of the ground. 

It said to itself “Though I may not look like much now I believe God has made me to be used for great things!  Maybe I will be used to make a kings throne or as a door to his palace someday!”

Years past and the sapling grew into a young tree. It told the other trees the voice it heard and asked them what it could mean.  The other trees scoffed at him saying “You are only a scrub oak!  You are not like us mighty pines which grow tall and straight. You won’t be used for anything except to heat someone’s house someday or cook a meal!”

The tree began to believe the other trees.  What did he know? He wasn’t made like them, tall and sturdy.  The years went by and it tried as hard as it could to be tall and straight, but it was no use.  The winds that blew through the forest twisted the tree and bent his trunk in abnormal ways and even broke off one of his branches. The other trees stole its water and the light it needed to grow big and strong.  

Over the years It saw others around it cut down and used for a variety of uses.  Some were used to make into boats for fishing and others for carrying cargo far across the sea.  Still others were made into fine doors and furniture.

The tree lamented “It’s no use! I am not good for any purpose but to be used as firewood!  The wind has twisted my limbs and my trunk so much over the years that no one is ever going to find a good use for me!"

More years went by and the tree grew larger, but it kept on being passed up for other trees that seemed taller and straighter than it was.  It’s dream of being used for some grand use faded with each year. 

Eventually the forest on which this tree grew was gone and all that was left was him standing alone.  

   Then one day some men with axes came and looked at the tree and one said to the other “This tree will do!” 

The tree was glad and tried to straighten up its bent trunk as much as it could.  It rejoiced as it’s day of being used had finally come to pass.  The pain of the saws and axes were dulled by the joy of knowing his dream of being used filled his mind once again.  He wondered just what use these men had in mind.  Was it a royal palace door?  Was it a royal table?  Was it a king's throne?  Or was it just to be used to heat a person's home or cook their meal. 

As he was hauled to the city he listened carefully 

“Who is this wood for?”, asked the younger of the two

“The governor needs it!”, answered the other

The tree shivered with delight!  “Oh yes! A governor needs me!  An important person no doubt! I can’t wait to show him my beautiful grain that runs inside me. He will be amazed at how strong my wood is!”

Upon reaching the city the men went to work.  First, they removed his branches and then later cut one of his main branches saying, “Save this one for the cross beam!”   

He wondered “Cross beam?”    Was he to be made into a doorway for the governor?  Would he be greeting great Kings who would come to visit someday?

The men continued their work. They stripped him of his bark cut his round edges off and turned his wind twisted trunk into a size able timber.  As they finished, he wondered why they hadn’t taken the time to smooth his sides for they were still very rough to the touch.  The tree thought to himself “Don’t they want to sand off my sides better.  I would be a lot more useful and enjoyable if I wasn’t so rough?”

Then the men used some tools to cut a section out of his timber and the other branch that was to be the “cross beam”.  They put the two back together in a very odd shape of what looked like a large fence post with a beam attached near the top of it. 

“What kind of door is this?”, he asked. “Surely something Is not right here!  These men clearly don’t know what they are doing!”

“There!” the older man said, “That will do!” and they left the tree lying on the ground.  

The next day some soldiers came by and picked up the tree and carried it away.  They brought him to a man who was badly bruised, bleeding and wearing a crown of thorns. 

As the man grabbed the tree, now shaped into a cross, he said to the tree...

 “Hello there old friend!  I have need of you now for a great purpose” 

The tree recognized that voice.  It was the same voice he heard when he was born, long, long ago. The voice that told him he to become something of great use. The voice of his creator! 

The man picked up the cross and carried it as best as he could as crowds lined the streets yelling “Crucify him!”  

The tree wondered “How can this be? This man should be sitting on a royal throne!  Not nailed to a pathetic tree like me!”

When they nailed him to the cross and lifted him up the crowd jeered

“SAVE YOURSELF JESUS! IF YOU ARE INDEED GODS' SON!  COME DOWN FROM THE CROSS AND WE WILL BELIEVE YOU!”

“SON OF GOD?” thought the tree. Jesus, they called him and instead of yelling back at them the tree heard him talk to the people below and asked that their sin not be held against him.  The tree was confused.  

For several hours he hung on the tree and later even the sun refused to shine, and a great earthquake shook the earth. Finally, the man they called Jesus died yelling “IT IS FINISHED!”

A soldier looked up and said, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

“Son of God?” Asked the tree. Was I used by God to crucify his own Son?”  

The man was taken down, wrapped in a cloth and taken away for burial and many people walked away very sad for what they had done. 

The tree was sad too.  It’s dream of being used for a great purpose seemed to die with that man.  He felt horrible that he had been used for such a terrible injustice. He felt he would never be much or remembered by anyone.  After all, who would care to remember a crooked small tree used to kill the Son of God?

A few days later the whole city was a stir with amazement. People were taking about the man Jesus and that he was alive!

The tree was shivered with delight.  Still however he knew not of whether it was true or not. Soldiers talked of a gravestone rolling away on its own at sunrise and fainting and women coming and finding no body inside the wrapped cloth. 

Then it happened.  The tree was standing on the hill when the man Jesus came by on his way to Galilee and he stopped at the tree.  Putting his hand on its trunk he looked up and said “Well done my old friend! You will be remembered for eternity for what you did!” and he walked on.

The tree rejoiced with such joy!  His creator was not dead but was now alive again and he was commended for playing an important role in Gods great design. 

His dream had not been in vain for he had been used for the grandest purpose ever created by God: the saving of all mankind from their sins. 

And today people all around the world wear the symbol of that tree turned into a cross to remind them of this awesome day that all theirs were paid in full

A Life Well Missed

    Have you ever been to one of those off Broadway theater shows? I’ve heard they can be quite interesting. Often they’re put on by very small theater groups and the play is usually written by somebody in the troop. So you really don’t know what you’re gonna get when you go see one.

     Imagine going to one where you sit down in your seat waiting for the plate to start and as you sit there looking on your phone, the guy comes up on the stage, sweeping the stage with a brown and another guy comes on a stage who looks like he’s the sound guy cause he’s got a headphones sit on and they start talking About their lives. The guy sweeping the broom mentions that his grandfather died a few weeks earlier and his mom isn’t doing too well. They discussed this a great length for several minutes and then they park their ways. Later on a woman comes on the stage talking on her phone. She looks like she may be the director. She’s screaming at somebody for not doing their job. Because it’s on speakerphone, you can kind of hear what the other person is saying and this conversation goes on also for several minutes and ends with her walking off the stage, still angry at the person on the phone Later on somebody in the very back of the theater starts screaming at the person who is selling the tickets and telling them that they already paid for the tickets they shouldn’t have to pay a second time. That conversation goes on for several minutes as well and ends with a woman leaving in a huff. Just when things can’t get any weird or the woman next to you, strikes up a conversation with you and starts talking to you about her mammogram that she had done the day before it goes into a great detail about the experience with you. Several more types of conversations go on like this on stage and in the aisles and after a while the lights come on and they announce that the play is over. You think to yourself “What play? I didn’t see any play!”  but then all the people that had those strange conversations come back up on stage stand in a line and bow. All those different people talking to each other, all those interactions you saw WAS THE PLAY!. Some of it you remember most of you don’t because you’re on your phone and you have lost track of time.  While you were waiting for the play to begin and thought you could kill some time on social media, the play had already begun and you missed it!

     That is what life is like when you’re on your phone. You keep waiting for the play of life to begin and all the distractions that keep popping up all around you that irritate and annoy you are part of the play

     Someone once said that “life is what happens when you’re making other plans” but maybe we should update it to say “Life is what happens when you’re wasting it on social media”

     I hope this illustration helped you see it more clearly 

Making the old NEW again!

    When one looks at the Christian church and its growth over the last 2000 years, nothing really compares to the growth of the church in the 1st century. During this time it went from under a 1000 to almost 100,000.   When discussed as to why this happened, the answer most pastors will give you is “the persecution of the early Christian’s”.  I never truly accepted that answer.  Mainly because people don't generally join movements where people are being killed (especially by crucifixion).  However, persecution did do one thing that helped the church grow.  Persecution forced the church to keep itself hidden and distributed in small home-based churches and not gather in large public settings.  Since most Roman citizens lived in tightly woven apartments rather than in separate homes (only the rich could afford this luxury) these churches were embedded in very dense populated areas.  On top of this, these apartments were not like today's apartments with sound-proof walls and ceilings, but were separated by only a couple layers of brick and mortar .  This meant that what you did in your apartment was well known by those adjacent to you.  If you laughed, they all knew you laughed.  If you snored, they all knew you snored and of course, if you prayed and sang in worship they all knew you prayed and sang in worship.  

    This made the church to be everywhere all at the same time.  There was no way to avoid it.  Its lack of centralization was its strength and not its weakness.  Being distributed allowed more of its members to be involved and play a bigger role in its function.  How better to develop new pastors and missionaries than to raise them up leading small home churches and then sending them out into the larger world.  Timothy was one such home-church-pastor that had grown up under Paul.  It also provided a very close and non-threatening environment for people curious about the faith to find out about it.  There was no large mass group of people to try to fit into.  These were your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends and relatives. 

   But today, our churches are not in our neighborhoods anymore.  They are in large buildings, with large signs letting everyone know who passes by what they are about. You can avoid them as easily as you can find them.  In the last several decades our churches transformed from quaint churches of a few hundred members to becoming "worship centers" that resemble concert arenas that can hold thousands.  This is the direction many churches are going thinking THIS is the church of the future.  The two biggest problems with the mega-church are

1) Lack of deep connection between members (getting lost in the crowd)

2) Lack of ability to correct wayward members because of problem #1

Before we go on discussing #1, I do want to first address problem #2.  This issue is often overlooked (maybe on purpose) by those on the mega-church path.  Correcting wayward members is not just an important activity for the church, it is also MANDATED by Christ himself.  In Matt 18:15-17 Jesus goes into very clear detail as to how he wants the church to handle a follower who holds on to their sins and do not repent.  Jesus does not say it’s "do it if you feel like doing it" issue either.  Jesus gives his disciples a 1,2,3 step approach that expects us to put into action.  Yet this is impossible for large mega churches to do since they lack any intimate connection with their members and many don’t even have actual membership roles.  When churches fail to even attempt to address errant members can you really even call them a CHURCH?   It would be like going into a hospital to talk to a surgeon about needing a procedure done and they said "Oh we don't do surgeries here!"   Can you still call that place a hospital when it doesn’t perform one of the most important services a hospital does?  The same goes for God's church!  You can’t call yourself a church if you can’t (or won’t) follow through on Christs command. 

  Now I would like to address the issue of problem #1 above.

  Mega-churches try to deal with the intimacy issue by creating small "|life groups" which allows members to meet in small home environments.   These life-groups are highly promoted by the church but are not a requirement of being a member.  It's hard to tell exactly what percentage of mega-church members actually join these life-groups. But even so, is this really what Christ had in mind for his church?  Is the church just a music concert with a biblical message?  I don't think so.

   Is there another way?  A way that brings the church closer to what Christ had in mind and gives members a true spiritual connection with others?  A way that can help wayward members seek a desire for change and repentance.  

   I think there is!  What if the Life-Group WAS the church and not just an appendage that is optional.  Where offerings that are gathered go more to mission than to mortgages.  Where members truly feel heard and cared for.  Where worship is more than just watching a concert being put on.  Where ACTUAL prayers for people's needs are addressed and lifted up to God rather than someone reading off a list of first-names only and then saying "God take care of these people!"  Where fellowship isn't just grabbing a donut and coffee and then running out the door. Where members take care of the church activities rather than an ever growing large paid staff 

    Here is how I see it working

   On Wednesday night, the home-church leaders meet with the pastor at their main office (which could be just a small store front in a strip-mall) to hear his sermon and record it.  They would be able to ask questions about the sermon and even cultivate a bible-study discussion from it as well.  The pastor can also supply recorded music, contemporary music for those who want modern music and hymns for thos desire a more traditional style.  If there is communion that Sunday, the pastor can bless the sacrament and distribute what is needed to the home-chuch leaders to give out at their worship

   Then from Thursday to the following Tuesday each home-church would meet at a time that works best for their group.  They could conduct the service as they so choose as well, but would be required to have certain parts such as 

•    The Invocation
•    The Creed
•    The Lord's Prayer
•    The Sermon
•    "Prayers" 
•    The Benediction

All other parts would be left up to them.  If they want to sing, they can or if they just want to listen that can do that as well. Everyone is allowed to worship in a way that makes them happiest.

The home-church will also save countless money with removing the need for organs, hymnals, praise-bands, and expensive lighting and sound amplification systems.  

Q: How would you integrate new members? 

First, the pastor can still conduct a small church gathering at the church office building on Sunday morning where new prospects can come to check it out.  The church could also employ the use of AI in helping them find which home-church a new member prospect would best fit in.  With a simple, non-intrusive, survey we can find a list of "best-fit" churches within driving range for them to "try out".  At some point they would declare which home-church they want to join so they can be kept in the fold and not slip out the back door (a problem which many mega-churches suffer from).

Q: How would offerings be collected?

While cash would not be used, offerings could be collected via on-line internet services like VENMO, ZELLE or others.  Many churches are already using these modern approaches to gathering offerings already.   The church can supply back to its members a full disclosure of where their money is being used as well.  

Q: What about big services like Christmas or Easter?

The church could rent out space for 3-4 services per year that would allow the entire church to attend in person.  Leaders could spend time preparing for these services and also involving the members themselves.  This would be the most efficient use of offerings as these places would not require sizeable mortgages and maintenance.  These large group gatherings are needed to help members see how much God is really at work in their community.   

Q:  What if some home-churches are maxed out?

As groups grow, members would be asked to step up into leadership roles and split their home-churches so as to allow room for new members to join.  (Just as Peter selected 7 men to help with the Greek speaking widows).  It gives more members the opportunity to grow their leadership skills and also give others a chance to share their homes in God's kingdom.  Too often in today's church it is difficult to get people to become leaders because the step they are being asked to take seems bigger than they feel they are capable to handling.  The home-church doesn't get more intimate/safe for incubating new future leaders and even pastors. 

Q: What about Sunday School?  

Essentially you don’t need it anymore.  Sunday School didn’t come in to fashion until the 1950s.  The home -church environment provides a great place for children to be raised up in the nurture of the Lord.  In some cases they could even assist in the service itself (beyond just lighting candles).  Children would not only see their parents worshiping for also growing in their faith and becoming leaders. To me this is much better than sending them out of the worship room for juice , donuts and cartoon videos.  

Q: What if someone is sick or gone on vacation and can't lead?

Every home-church will have designated alternates in their group for such cases and phone apps like "WhatsApp" can be used to communicate changes to the groups as well.

Q: Are there any drawbacks to the Home-Church method?

The only drawback will be for pastors who are used to seeing throngs of worshippers physically in front of them hanging on their every word and telling them at the end of the service what a great job they did. Pastors will need to schedule home-church visits to meet and greet the members.  While this may take more time on his part, he will be enriched was well, as he will have a greater opportunity to meet more of his members (especially those who may be too shy to talk to him at a large church thinking he is too busy for them).  He can do this in a couple of ways as well.  He could choose to come and do the sermon in person for them and answer questions as they arise.   Another possibility is he comes into their group after the service is over to simply fellowship with them.

This type of church 

• Ensures offerings are used to expand the church rather than expanding banks and lending institutions
• Grows new leaders in the church in small group outlets.
• Home-groups are not a "optional" entity in the church... but BECOME the Church.
• People will be MORE engaged in the Church and cared for
• New members will be instantly connected with others and feel seen!
• Peoples needs will be personally addressed in prayers without fear of violating a “HIPPA” law. 
• Children will be raised in an environment where they don't see faith as just something you do in a large building on Sunday but in a home with other believers.  

Christians are the WORST!

      I think we have all at one time or another in our conversations with non-believers have come across a person asserting that they know of some people that are better than most Christians. Often the person makes this statement in an effort to end a discussion on the Christian faith rather than deepen it.  Its assertion is that you can be a good person without being a Christian and those professing to be in the faith fail to live it. In the past I would either have tried to argue that the people they know who are Christians that they are comparing to are not maybe a good representation of all of Christianity.

     But now I would take a different approach to the issue. I would probably say to that person

“You know? You’re probably right, because God doesn't call the righteous who think they don't need him but instead calls the sinners who want to change"

     When Jesus was having dinner with tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners he was confronted by the Pharisees.  Jesus said to them 

“It is not healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance “

      Take note here that Jesus doesn’t diminish the sins of the people that he’s dealing with. He doesn’t try to tell the Pharisees that "Their sins are no worse than your sins!" or “These people are really good people if you just get to know them”.  He also does not minimize their sins by saying "These people have no choice! They are just trying to survive!". No! Instead, he refers to them as sick people who need a doctor and Jesus is their doctor. 

     The "tax collectors and sinners" that Jesus is with know they’re sick and know their need of a doctor.  There is no hiding their sin anymore.  The Pharisees are sick too, but they have masked their sin with the opioid of self-righteousness which dulled their need for God's forgiveness.  A doctor can’t do anything for you if you won’t tell them what’s wrong with you. If you go to the doctor and he asked how you are doing, and you say “GREAT! I have never felt better!” then there’s really nothing the doctor can do for you. It’s only when we are honest with the doctor and tell them about the pain that we’re in that they can then apply medicine and bring healing to that part of our body.

      Today people use other opioids to convince themselves they don't need what Christ is offering them. These include drugs, alcohol, work, meditation, lies, sex, wokeness, wealth and even good deeds. Jesus, the doctor, waits patiently for them to admit their problem and say, “Lord have mercy on me a sinner !“ 

   But what do you say when the person points to how these Christians don't live up to their faith?  The answer is that we are never going to become perfect and our repentance is a lifelong action.  Members of Alcoholics Anonymous never say they are rid of their addiction but admit to each other in their meetings that they will always be an alcoholic.  Like them each week we announce to each other we are addicted to sin and are in need of God's forgiveness. We are never going to be freed of that addiction to sin this side of heaven.  Even the Apostle Paul writes in Romans about his own constant struggle with sin.

"For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing... What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ!"

     Reading this you would think Paul was a horrible person.  Paul acknowledges he struggles with sin every day.  Paul doesn't trust in his own righteousness but in the righteousness given to him by Jesus.  We must also follow Paul's example and confess to those around us that we are sinners too in need of forgiveness.

   So, the next time someone says to you, "I know some people who are better than most Christians!", don't be angry at them.  Instead, agree with them and say, "I agree! Christians are the worst, but God loves us anyway and forgives us!"