House Church

Back in 1970 Karen and I were surprised by the Lord when we found ourselves removed from the southern Baptist Church we found after moving here from Illinois. We wanted to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings in homes and that approach so shocked and irritated the Pastor and Deacons that I was faced with charges of heresy and rebellion.

This was one of the most painful and discouraging moments of our lives. Both of us had been reared in Baptist churches so being put out of one was like going through a forced divorce. But God was there and He showed us a new and more exciting way of doing Christian fellowship.

After receiving that "left foot of fellowship" at Dent Baptist we stumbled into the arms and living room of a defrocked Presbyterian Pastor and family. Bob's radical antics with the Holy Spirit irritated his bosses to the point that they gave him the same treatment we received with Baptists. We felt right at home and joined in the activities with gusto.

Our spiritual growth and biblical insights during the three years we ministered exclusively through house churches were wonderful. I was working hard as an Associate Dean of Students at U. C. And at night we ministered to housholds of young men and women who were refugees from sex, drugs and rock and roll to say nothing of rebellion.

We saw God do some miraculous and wonderfully loving works and we experienced first hand what a First Century Church looked like. But the ministry was overwhelmingly difficult because so many of our "flock" were deeply troubled and we were over our heads. As a result I decided to get a doctorate in Counseling.

Now many people are writing about the "new" interest in house churches. Time Magazine has a big article that you can check out. I like the article and the attention. However, it is not a new phenomenon. Check it out.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1167737-1,00.html