Home Church - Pagan Christianity

I believe that was the first game Spnited covered...

 

I still have no idea what a "home church" is. And I live in the middle of Jeebus country. All the Jeebusites I know, and I know many, attend church outside the home. Home school, that I know. But home church?

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/03/AR2006060300225.html

"A growing number of Christians across Washington and around the country are moving to home churches -- both as a way to create personal connections in the age of the megachurch and as a return to the blueprint of the Christian church spelled out in the New Testament, which describes Jesus and the apostles teaching small groups in people's homes.

"The worshipers have different faith backgrounds, including evangelical, Episcopalian and Catholic. What they share is a dissatisfaction with traditional church services.

"Home churches are usually nondenominational and consist of a dozen or so friends or family members who often meet without an ordained pastor."

 

I have a friend who attends a church that has no name, though some refer to them as two-by-twos.
It is set up just like the early church was described in Acts, with no building, preachers traveling two by two from town to town, the preachers owning nothing but living off the church members, etc.
I also know a couple who attends a church but does a Friday night home group and they get more fired up about that than their Sunday morning service in a church building.
I always say it really doesn't matter how/where you worship. God hears you wherever you are.
Let me add, though, that just because some traditions came about after the apostles doesn't make them bad. Even borrowing from paganism doesn't make something bad. It's only when you do things contrary to the beliefs that you have a problem.
A date on the calendar is not contrary to a belief. Hiding eggs isn't either.

 

I've been researching more about the home church movement and the comments following this article are interesting. The article rips the book, which I think gives it some credibility. The traditional church seems very scared of this home church movement, rightfully so I guess.

I've had time to get through most of the book. While I don't agree with everything, it's overriding premise is that people are the "church", not the building, and that the traditional church is extremely passive. It's much more about Christian action reflecting Christ, rather than people just sitting in church pews. Very interesting read. It challenged me a bit. I think many on this board who may be down on the church right now but still have faith in God will find this book, Pagan Christianity?, refreshing.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BobBurney/2008/02/20/dancing_on_the_grave_of_the_church?page=full&comments=true

 

Not to denigrate your base of operations, wi, but I'm willing to bet a testicle that you are the only person in your town who can make that joke.

 

Dear old Mr. Chips, before retiring, publicly bemoaned the lack of Classical scholarship in Cowshitistan. You might be right.

 

Why do people want to turn the clock back all the time? Yes, many Christian traditions have pagan roots. So what?

Christianity has proven to be like the Borg, it assimilates what's good from other faiths and makes it their own, and that's a good thing. When Christians of any faith start getting rigid about what is and isn't Christianity is when the shit starts hitting the fan. Religion is not intended to be a prisoner of the time it was formed.

As far it home church being a threat to mainstream Christianity? I'll remember that next time I'm stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic thanks to Christmas shoppers.

 

A new survey reports that at nearly half of Americans have switched faiths or lost it altogether:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/02/25/religion.survey.ap/index.html

 

I have lost faith in that survey. I'm not sure I ever had it.