by Tom Sparks
                                                                                                                 

Today I’d like to share some things with you, on the subject of Intentional Gatherings.

I love that word - “Intentional.”  It has a ring to it that bears witness with something very deep within my spirit.  It is a term that is moving among the body of those who have come out of the traditional Church, so it’s not unique with me, but it says something very important.  For me there is a “knowing” that it is a God thing, a “deep that calls to deep” formation within me.

Yet, for some of the many who have left the more traditional or institutionalized forms of the Church, the very notion of “Intentional Gathering” harkens back too closely to the institutional Church.  It still feels too religious.  Unless it is a free flying bird, with no structure, no bounds, and no solid definitions, it isn’t the true Church for them.  I don’t agree.  I respect their perspective, and in a great many cases I see the genuineness of their spirituality and depth of relationship with Jesus that fuels their concern, but I don’t agree with their conclusions on this matter.

When I look into the New Testament, and what Jesus is saying and doing with especially Paul, I see small, intentional, tightly welded communities of Intentional Gatherings.  A structure defined by the Spirit, not self willed religious leaders.  I don’t see legalistic, traditionalized, institutions of the development of some man’s significance, bounded by all kinds of legalistic rules, demands, and strait jacketed fears.  They didn’t gather in Intentional Gatherings because someone told them the devil would destroy their lives, marriages, or families, if they also enjoyed the fellowship of other gatherings, or if they missed a few weeks of gathering, or they didn’t tithe, etc., etc. 

In Paul’s theology there was clearly structure, and we need not fear such a concept.  Sure, structure can lead to deadly institutions, but it doesn’t have to.  I recently spoke with a very dear brother, who used to be on the staff of a very prominent Church in our city, and having left that he journeyed, for a season, into a “House Church,” and was once again burned by a controlling, hierarchically motivated “House Church Leader.”  For him, House Church was no better than fully institutionalized Church.  The answer was no identification of a regularly gathering welded covenant community, at any specific time or place.  It just needed to happen by the Spirit’s leading, with those whom the Spirit had brought into a weldedness of relationship completely apart from any structured time or place.  I respect his journey, but I disagree with his present conclusion.

When I look at the Church I see five very significant chapters in the first letter to the Corinthians, that form the very nature of Intentional Gathering; that reveal the obviousness of Paul’s developing a solid form that while not being rigid, still had clear elements of predictability that could be reproduced over and over again throughout the Roman empire, and indeed was…with each instance bearing a striking similarity of form and function.

1. 1 Corinthians 11 - A Meal Gathering.

The gathering of the Church had all the elements of “Family,” about it.  Fathers and mothers of the faith, gathered with sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters, in homes, to share a meal with, enjoy the fellowship of, and develop deep family ties and relationships.  Eating together, at a specific time, at a specific location, was very important to the first Church.  It is what was meant by “The breaking of bread together,” which we see referenced in the book of Acts over and over again - Acts 2:42,46; 20:7,11; 27:35.  The apostle Paul intentionally, at the obvious leading of the Spirit, developed this concept of the gathered Church.  Eating and Church went hand in hand together.

Acts 2:42  And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Acts 2:46  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

Acts 20:7  On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked (dialogued) with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.

Acts 20:11  And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.

Act 27:35  And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat.

2. 1 Corinthians 12 - A Spiritualized Gathering.

The gifts of the Spirit, manifesting through waaaay more than just a few professional clergy, were evident in and through the entire gathered body, and they were taught to release those gifts, value those gifts, and honor The Gift Giver in them.  The gathering was energized and given spiritual dynamics by these gifts of the Spirit, towards the knowing of Christ and the edification of the Church.

3. 1 Corinthians 13 - A Love Gathering.

Love was the welding force behind all they did.  It was their love for Jesus, and His love in and through them, that welded them together.  It built literal communities of love.  Rather than fear they would become some institutionalized religious synagogue, they knew, if they maintained their commitment to His dynamic love in their midst, that it would always be about Him, to Him, through Him, and In Him that they were gathering.  His love had so profoundly touched their lives that they wanted to be near people who had experienced and were experiencing similar touches.  It was their joy to express this love, in regular gatherings, identifiable gatherings, of love welded intentional relationships.  It fed the poor, healed the sick, cared for the widows and orphans, and comforted the downcast among them.

4. 1 Corinthians 14 - A Participatory Gathering.

It is sooo obvious they developed an intentional and regular gathering of believers, by just this passage.  This is more than just a “happenstance” sort of thing.  Paul’s entire emphasis in this chapter, manifests a regular, predictable, identifiable, gathering, at a specific place, where believers and unbelievers knew its location, and came together to jointly participate in the manifestation of the Spirit.  It is very obvious, in his wording, that this had a predictable time and place of meeting.  “All” the gathered body participated, as is seen by Paul’s many uses of the word “All” in this chapter.  There was no sitting in a cold pew, staring at the back of a head in front of you, and watching a few clergical professionals perform up front.  Everyone could contribute.  Everyone’s participation was anticipated, desired, and in fact - essential, if true edification of the body was to take place.

1Corinthians 14:5  Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

1Corinthians 14:23  If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?  24  But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all,

1Corinthians 14:26  What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

1Corinthians 14:31  For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,

5. 1 Corinthians 16 - A specifically located Gathering.

In verse 19 Paul references the Church that met regularly in Aquila and Prisca’s home.

1Corinthians 16:19  The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

It was a specifically identified local expression of the welded covenant community of intentionally gathering believers, that people could find, gather with, and know, if they were of a mind to in Ephesus (Acts 18:18,19),

Act 18:18  After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. 19  And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

And they greeted this Church in Corinth.  This same couple had previously lived in Corinth, and very likely had gathered the Church in their home there as well, which we see referenced to in Acts 18:1-3. 

Act 18:1  After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2  And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3  and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

So, Aquila and Priscilla’s home could regularly be counted upon to be a dwelling place of the Church local.  And, because Paul is writing to some clearly identifiable place in Corinth, we are undoubtedly on solid ground to say that what they had learned in Aquila and Priscilla, in terms of gathering in the home, they were still walking in.  Paul sent his letter to a house Church in Corinth and it was circulated among the other identifiable house Churches there.

All of Paul’s letters were sent “somewhere,” and that somewhere was a specific intentionally gathering fellowship of believers, in a place where he knew he could send his letter with the anticipation that those regularly gathering would have an opportunity to hear the things he had penned by the Spirit for their edification.

He raised up specific elders to oversee specific gatherings of believers in each city he visited, and where he knew the Church was regularly gathering.  The structure that elders and deacons provided, to intentional leadership, of a grace oriented nature, is clearly evident.  These elders knew where to find the believers they were to lead, guide, and care for.  Without some form of structure, they would have been hopelessly scattered about the region, with no clear place to meet and be built up by the teaching and oversight these leaders were to bring.

Please don’t hear me saying a given local fellowship of believers must always meet in the same home, or the same beach location, or the same location in a park, etc., every week, but it is evident that there was enough structure among them that they were clearly identifiable, scheduled, and findable.  People knew where they were, and they met regularly enough to manifest a predictable element of localized gathering.  At times they undoubtedly moved from house to house, or wooded glen to wooded glen, but they were known, and their gatherings were regular, and people knew where to find them.

In a day, where millions of believers are coming out of hierarchically defined institutions of religious practice, and into small and simple gatherings of believers, we need not cast off all form and identity, so as to avoid institutionalization, but we certainly do want to avoid institutionalization.

May God help us to sort through these issues.  It matters not “where” we gather.  We refer to it as “The House Church,” but not because it must be, or was, confined to homes, but certainly a home is a logical place of gathering, and was obviously the preferred place of gathering for the first believers, because the apostles taught them to eat together like a family, and where better to do that than in a home, where all the cooking apparatus would be?  As families gather in homes, so the family of God most regularly gathered in the home. 

We don’t need to be afraid of God’s development of a “House Church Movement.”  But, we do need to be concerned that man doesn’t take a hold of it, and make it become his movement, his thing, his definition of significance, control, and power over.  All previous moves of God have always devolved into man centered developments of human significance, and they have ALWAYS ended up ugly, and about everything but Jesus.  Certainly those who resist the identifiable intentional gathering approach, of “House Church,” are doing so with the pure motive of avoiding this sad development of man centeredness and religious traditions, but I don’t believe we need to throw the baby out with the bath water.  What we need to do is stick close to the pattern the apostles defined, the traditions they established, the foundations they laid in Christ.  If we do this we will see developed something that is all about Jesus, and led by Him personally.

These are great days to be alive, and Jesus is clearly gathering His Church back to Himself.  As God raises up leaders, writers, teachers and planters, to refound and reform His Church on Himself, we can move safely and joyfully towards Intentional Gatherings of welded covenant communities of believers.

 

This article is from Tom Sparks' website Knowing Him Together - www.khtmin.org/

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Church Structure, House to house community, Living Christianity, Reformation/ Revival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.