Smith is calling for… Meeting in Private Homes Spontaneous, Informal Worship Mutual Ministry

2. Smith is calling for… Meeting in Private Homes Spontaneous, Informal Worship Mutual Ministry

3. Radical Restoration means ... City-Wide Elderships Robert Banks says his home-church-based congregation refers “to either a group or cluster of independent house churches that meet together regularly and have some common objectives or to a local church (whether denominational or nondenominational) that is made up mostly of home churches...” – The Church Comes Home, page vii-viii

4. Radical Restoration means ... City-Wide Elderships “There is nothing to rule out the possibility that the role of elders in the early church might well have encompassed more than one level of involvement – even simultaneously. Perhaps there were elders shepherding the disciples in each house, depending upon their size and make-up. And perhaps elder oversight may have been exercised throughout a group of house churches which collectively comprised a larger, recognizable ‘congregation.’” “More thought-provoking for us, of course, is the third possibility – that elders in individual house churches might also have come together as a group of city-wide elders to discuss matters of importance to the entire community of believers…. nothing necessarily precludes ‘Jerusalem’s elders’ from being gathered from among elders in a multiplicity of house churches” – page 178

5. City-Wide Eldership!

6. Acts 14:23– “And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.” 1 Pet.5:2– “Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;” Acts 20:28– NKJV–“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

7. Radical Restoration means ... City-Wide Elderships “There is nothing to rule outthe possibility that the role of elders in the early church might well have encompassed more than one level of involvement – even simultaneously. Perhaps there were elders shepherding the disciples in each house, depending upon their size and make-up. And perhaps elder oversight may have been exercised throughout a group of house churches which collectively comprised a larger, recognizable ‘congregation.’” “More thought-provoking for us, of course, is the third possibility – that elders in individual house churches might also have come together as a group of city-wide elders to discuss matters of importance to the entire community of believers…. nothing necessarily precludes‘Jerusalem’s elders’ from being gathered from among elders in a multiplicity of house churches” – page 178

8. Is the silence of scripture prohibitive or permissive?? Deut.4:2–“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you.” Deut.29:29– “The secret things belong unto Jehovah our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” 2 Jn.9–“Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son.” Rev.22:18,19– “18 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.”

9. Radical Restoration means ... No Regular Contribution Smith challenges the use of 1 Cor.16:1,2 “as authority for the proposition that we are commanded to make a ‘contribution’ each Lord’s Day as a part of the divine plan” – page 7 “If we could ever get away from the unwarranted idea of ‘giving’ as a mandated ‘item of worship,’ and begin thinking of ‘giving’ as a way of meeting special needs whenever they arise, we would not need the same kind of ‘treasury’ to which we are accustomed” – page 245

10. God gave the local church work to do Teaching the lost – 1 Tim.3:15 Edifying the saved – Eph.4:16 Relieving needy saints – 1 Tim.5:16 Accomplishing this work requires money 1 Cor.16:1,2– ESV– “1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”

11. Radical Restoration means ... Expanded Roles for Women “One of the more interesting aspects of the house-church dynamic is the way in which, by comparison, the visibility aspect of larger assemblies tends to impact the crucial issue of gender roles. The more recognizable a leadership role, the more women are limited in their participation. With the reduction of ‘official ritual’ led by recognizable worship leaders (song leaders, for example), there may be a wider framework in which women might participate without ‘teaching or having authority’ over men. Particularly would this be true, I believe, during times of open discussion. As long as the principle of male spiritual leadership is duly maintained in both practice and spirit, dynamics might vary with each situation” – footnote, page 155

12. Radical Restoration means ... Expanded Roles for Women Steve Atkersonsays, “...women are to remain silent with respect to speaking in the church meeting” – page 94 He adds: “... if Paul had actually intended for women to be allowed to speak in church, he probably would have had to write extensively to convince his readers of such an abnormal practice. However, no such argument can be found in the NT. Instead, there is the command for silence; a command not based on the culture of Paul’s day, but upon the universal practice of all the churches, upon the tenor of the Hebrew Scriptures (the ‘Law,’ v 34), and upon the ‘Lord’s command’ (14:37)” – page 98

13. Radical Restoration means ... Expanded Roles for Women Jon Zensdeclares, “The silence position militates against the very thing we are all for – open meetings with mutual participation” – page 103 “To suggest that sisters cannot offer spoken prayers, directed to the Lord but heard by the whole church, is an extreme and unwarranted restriction” – page 105

14. Radical Restoration means ... Expanded Roles for Women Del Birkeywrites: “The texts of that revolutionary gospel regarding the role and ministry of women in the New Testament house churches can be summarized around nine theses: First, women, alongside men, were full-membered participants in the Christian communities.... Second, women, side by side with men, were partners in leadership and ministry in the early churches.... Third, women, along with men, led in public prayer.... Fourth, women, alongside men, prophesied in the church.... Fifth, women, with and in the presence of men, had authority in the church body.... Sixth, women, in particular, were encouraged to learn the Scriptures.... Seventh, women, even as men, had gifts for edifying the body.... Eighth, wives, as well as their husbands, were partners in mutual submission, arising out of their mutual love.... Ninth, women’s sexual roles were not dichotomized or considered at variance with men’s roles in Christ....” – pages 93-102

15. Radical Restoration means ... Expanded Roles for Women Birkey concludes, “... one cannot separate female subordination from female inferiority. Since women, in fact, are not inferior to males, then, in fact, they cannot be subordinate to men because of their sex” – page 102 John Mark Hickslaments, “Unfortunately, yet another hierarchy invaded the table. Only males are permitted to serve the table.... Some are excluded from serving the table because of their gender.... When women are excluded from serving at the table, they are excluded from service, not authority.... The exclusion of women from serving the table... is rooted in an inappropriate formalism that turns the assembly of the saints into an institutional hierarchy rather than a domestic (family) table” – page 172

20. Notice Paul’s instructions about this: 1 Cor.14:34,35– “34 let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law. 35 And if they would learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home: for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church.” 1 Tim.2:11,12– ESV– “11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”