So here is the home church situation as far as I know it in Manitoba. First there is our group of 5. We are connected to another home group in Sprague. Sprague is a good hour drive from our home. Good people there. They are in the south east corner of Manitoba just a few kilometers from the U.S. border. There is a Mennonite house group in Steinbach. We went there three or four times about 3 or 4 years ago. Not quite what we were looking for. In Morden, there are apparently 5 home groups. (Mennonite). Do not know too much about them. There is a home group of two families in Anola. In Pinawa a new home group has just started. They are connected to 3 other autonomous cell groups in Winnipeg. Through the grapevine we have heard about a Ken Stade, who is interested in house churches.
What I'd like to do is make connection with all the above and see if we can connect and learn from each other. There are three fears that I have concerning this. First, those who are a part of a denomination tend to want everyone to come under their umbrella. For example the Mennonites in these home churches are proud of their Anabaptists roots. If they were really honest with their "roots" they would realize that the early Anabaptists did not want to be called by any name. Just brothers and sisters. The name Anabaptists was not a name they chose for themselves. It was quite derogatory. It meant "you re baptizer." Many lost their lives because of re baptizing. It was only later when gifted leaders (learned or charismatic) began boxing everything in and making rules and regulations for everyone. Of all the so called theologies I identify most closely with the Anabaptists. I just think we need to drop the name and call each other brothers and sisters.
The second fear is connecting with those groups who have merely transferred what they did on Sunday morning to the home. When they have a few more people they will think about renting the school with the hope of building someday.
The third fear is two-fold. First, the simple church will become denominationalized...... aided by me. I got a phone call about a year ago and the person on the other end was very gracious. But he said that there was a possibility that a national house church leader could be appointed. This is why, amongst other things, we have been slow to jump on to this wagon. It just seemed that this strategy would naturally lead to the 20,000 and first denomination. Do you remember when the Israelites wanted a king like all the nations around them. God called them a stiff-necked people. I think you get the analogy. The second has to do with my own heart. I tend to want to connect with only those who share our vision and way of doing things. But how is this possible? Will this not lead to spiritual pride and building my own kingdom? What can we learn from each other? As I begin, which is for me a scary thing, to contact some of these groups I pray that we will be able to network to offer each other support and encouragement. Please pray for me.
What I'd like to do is make connection with all the above and see if we can connect and learn from each other. There are three fears that I have concerning this. First, those who are a part of a denomination tend to want everyone to come under their umbrella. For example the Mennonites in these home churches are proud of their Anabaptists roots. If they were really honest with their "roots" they would realize that the early Anabaptists did not want to be called by any name. Just brothers and sisters. The name Anabaptists was not a name they chose for themselves. It was quite derogatory. It meant "you re baptizer." Many lost their lives because of re baptizing. It was only later when gifted leaders (learned or charismatic) began boxing everything in and making rules and regulations for everyone. Of all the so called theologies I identify most closely with the Anabaptists. I just think we need to drop the name and call each other brothers and sisters.
The second fear is connecting with those groups who have merely transferred what they did on Sunday morning to the home. When they have a few more people they will think about renting the school with the hope of building someday.
The third fear is two-fold. First, the simple church will become denominationalized...... aided by me. I got a phone call about a year ago and the person on the other end was very gracious. But he said that there was a possibility that a national house church leader could be appointed. This is why, amongst other things, we have been slow to jump on to this wagon. It just seemed that this strategy would naturally lead to the 20,000 and first denomination. Do you remember when the Israelites wanted a king like all the nations around them. God called them a stiff-necked people. I think you get the analogy. The second has to do with my own heart. I tend to want to connect with only those who share our vision and way of doing things. But how is this possible? Will this not lead to spiritual pride and building my own kingdom? What can we learn from each other? As I begin, which is for me a scary thing, to contact some of these groups I pray that we will be able to network to offer each other support and encouragement. Please pray for me.
posted by Frank at
8:09 AM
