By coincidence (or maybe not), I'm reading two books right now about the church: one by a Presbyterian minister who converted to Catholicism, and one by an apostle of the current house church movement. They present two diametrically opposed views of what the church ought to look like.
From the Kirk to the Catholic Church was written by Henry Graham in 1911. It describes in agonizing detail his journey from the Presbyterian kirk (church) of his youth in Scotland to his calling as a Catholic priest. That's quite a jump, and it was violent in many ways; he had to disavow the stern Protestant biases he had grown up with, and interrupt a proud family tradition of producing Presbyterian ministers generation after generation.
He found himself enchanted by the beautiful aspects of Catholicism: its stately rituals, inspirational art and architecture, and the simple devotion of its adherents. But he was most attracted to the idea of the Catholic Church: One authority extending through all communities and all time, explaining the truth of the Bible and its applications for all believers. After all, hadn't Jesus prayed that His followers would be one? And hadn't he promised the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth? How would He do that, except through the teaching authority (the Magisterium) which He had ordained in the church?
By contrast, The House Church Book (previously printed as Houses That Changed the World) depicts an utterly decentralized church structure. Wolfgang Simson goes beyond deconstructing even the standard Protestant church model, and targets the modern cell church, because its leadership structure is typically hierarchical and encourages ladder-climbing. Instead, house churches should be small and autonomous, led by elders (not professional ordained ministers), under the loose oversight of apostles along with the other five-fold ministries.
This is radical stuff, and bound to make virtually everyone uncomfortable on some level.
Which way do I lean? You can guess. But I would point out that nothing I read in the book of Acts or the epistles suggests anything like a centralized church structure.
Hmmm...
From the Kirk to the Catholic Church was written by Henry Graham in 1911. It describes in agonizing detail his journey from the Presbyterian kirk (church) of his youth in Scotland to his calling as a Catholic priest. That's quite a jump, and it was violent in many ways; he had to disavow the stern Protestant biases he had grown up with, and interrupt a proud family tradition of producing Presbyterian ministers generation after generation.
He found himself enchanted by the beautiful aspects of Catholicism: its stately rituals, inspirational art and architecture, and the simple devotion of its adherents. But he was most attracted to the idea of the Catholic Church: One authority extending through all communities and all time, explaining the truth of the Bible and its applications for all believers. After all, hadn't Jesus prayed that His followers would be one? And hadn't he promised the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth? How would He do that, except through the teaching authority (the Magisterium) which He had ordained in the church?
By contrast, The House Church Book (previously printed as Houses That Changed the World) depicts an utterly decentralized church structure. Wolfgang Simson goes beyond deconstructing even the standard Protestant church model, and targets the modern cell church, because its leadership structure is typically hierarchical and encourages ladder-climbing. Instead, house churches should be small and autonomous, led by elders (not professional ordained ministers), under the loose oversight of apostles along with the other five-fold ministries.
This is radical stuff, and bound to make virtually everyone uncomfortable on some level.
Which way do I lean? You can guess. But I would point out that nothing I read in the book of Acts or the epistles suggests anything like a centralized church structure.
Hmmm...
I too had come to an end of sorts with what the Church had become and my place in it. After 4 years of smacking my car into trees(metaphorically speaking). I heard a voice. It said, learn to come up here and I will give you vision for my Church that will carry you into the age to come. "Without a heavenly vision my people get boooored"
ReplyDeleteGood stuff, Joe. I like that last quote! A lot of bored people in church, I think.
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