Ekklesia: To the Roots of Biblical House Church Life

[From introduction]Ekklesia is the Greek word that is often translated "church." God, in His providence, has shown us some areas of church practice that we believe have been neglected by the church at large. We are persuaded that a return to the ways of the original apostles could bring a tremendous blessing to the Bridge of Christ. Those of us who participated in the writing of this book have enjoyed these blessings for years, and desire very much to see all who belong to Jesus feast at the banquet along with us.We advocate orthodox, historic, classic Christianity poured into the wineskin of New Testament church practice as established by the apostles and revealed on the pages of the Bible. Thus, what we advocate concerns orthopraxy (right behavior), rather than orthodoxy (right theology). Our goal is to be Christ honoring and thoroughly Biblical in every area concerning our church life. In the pages that follow, we argue strongly from Scripture for such things as living-room sized churches, the Lord's Supper as a full meal, church leaders as servants (rather than lords), government as consensus, the right and responsibility of the brothers to make decisions corporately, no clergy-laity distinction, and interactive (participatory) church meetings. As is evident from the above, our advocacy of a home-based, relational, family-styled church does not mean that we think careful attention to order and organization to be unimportant.Some believers will occasionally object: "All that really matters is that we love Jesus, right?" Loving Jesus is indeed the central issue. However, Jeus Himself insisted that those who do love Him will obey what He commandeded: "whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me" (John 14: 15-21). To listen to the voice of Christ, as Head of His church and Captain of our souls, is of utmost importance. ..