SPC

1. SPC

2. DEFINING THE HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT • Meeting in homes is NOT the issue - many “house churches” meet together in school auditoriums/cafeterias, local civic halls, etc. • Worshiping in homes is authorized by the word of God and is historic to Christianity • The HCM is subtle in its methodology and change, using ambiguous language to cloud the true intentions of their goals • The HCM has grown out of a disdain of the organized church • The HCM plays upon the ignorance of young people • The HCM appeals to those who have a disregard for true, biblical preaching

3. WHERE ARE HOUSE CHURCHES FOUND? • House Churches are appearing in major cities where a large population of young people are found. They have begun appearing near colleges and universities. • The Church At Bowling Green (CABG) - meets in Bowling Green, KY near Western Kentucky University • Christians In Tampa - meets in Tampa Bay, FL near Florida College and • Ethos Church - meets in Nashville, TN near Lipscomb University

4. IDENTIFYING KEY PROPONENTS OF THE HCM • F. LaGard Smith • “Who Is My Brother?”; “Radical Restoration”; “Afterlife” • John Mark Hicks • “Come To The Table”; “Revisioning Baptism As God’s Transforming Work”; “A Gathered People” • Mike Root • “Spilt Grape Juice”

5. THE PLEA OF THE HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT • “I confess that I, myself, am apprehensive about all the unknown implications which practicing the memorial meal of the first century might hold in store for us...” (FLS, Radical Restoration, p. 144) • “In all honesty, I can’t say I look forward wistfully to such a time as that. I’m sure none of us does. (FLS, Radical Restoration, p. 273) • “Now, what is an assembly going to look like...I don’t know. I am not too sure. It may be very fluid for the next several months...the next several years.” (Scott Thornhill, about the beginnings of CABG)

6. THE PLEA OF THE HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT • F. LaGard Smith argues that the New Testament pattern for churches was to meet in homes, not in a church building that the church owned. • “Piecing together archeology and history, it appears that the primitive church typically met in a room (sufficiently large enough for 40-50 people) in the house of a wealthy member.” (FLS, Radical Restoration, p. 148) • The NT church worshiped in: • temple porch (Acts 5:12); upper room (Acts 20:8); a room in the temple (Acts 2:46); a house (Acts 28:30); a synagogue (Jms 2:2); a school (Acts 19:9)

7. THE PLEA OF THE HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT • The HCM desires to change the nature, work, and worship of the church: • Change the Lord’s Supper into a fellowship (common) meal • Removing full-time preachers • Worshiping in the home, a more “family” atmosphere • City-wide elderships, removing authority of elders from the local congregation • The HCM slanders anyone that is not on board with their program as: • Traditional, legalist, Pharisaical, formalistic, offering second-best, etc.

8. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HCM • Unbiblical View of Grace, Fellowship and Unity • “HCC is non-denominational and an effort to accommodate Christians of many backgrounds...Many house church theologians, however, are not nearly as dogmatic on this issue...” (House Church Central, www.hccentral.com) • “Whether you are a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, a skeptic giving this whole church thing a shot, or somewhere in between - you are welcome here.” (Ethos Church, www.ethoslove.com) • “Second, a good church is one that is safe to ask questions (Acts 2:37)...Asking questions is a great way to get answers and to feel a part of the group. As a by-product, diverse answers are OK too.” (Jason Schoenholz, Northside Church of Christ, Conway, AR, www.northsidecofc.com)

9. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HCM • Lack of Local Church Commitment • “Being more like Jesus does not mean being a super-involved church member, the Cranes say. If a believer spends two whole days of each week at church, surrounded by other believers, Karen asks, then when does that believer have time to interact with, much less impact, non-believers? If you go to church Sunday morning and Sunday night and you spend those times listening, then that means you have to set up another time during the week when you can have some interaction with other believers and really learn and grow. That’s a huge chunk of time.” (Amanda Phipher)

10. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HCM • Lack of Local Church Commitment • “We plan to meet Sunday afternoons around three or four. The reason we chose that time is because Sunday mornings you get up - I mean the alarm goes off - you are scurrying around the house trying to get breakfast cooked and kids dressed and everybody rushes out to church and Sunday mornings are just so hectic and the two assemblies just do not seem to fit our society at this point...So, we are just going to have a Sunday evening assembly. So that Sunday morning is just going to be built around having devotions in our families on a one to one basis.” (Scott Thornhill, explaining CABG)

11. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HCM • Lack of Local Church Commitment • “We believe church often gets way too complicated. It is easy to get bogged down doing lots of really good things, only to find that we are burned out, overcommitted, and resenting the things we once loved. For this reason, we are committed to keeping things really simple...We meet together on Sunday, gather in homes on Wednesdays, and serve our community during the week, so that we can spend the rest of our time being good spouses, parents, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.” (Ethos Church, www.ethoslove.com)

12. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HCM • The New Social Gospel • Greater Concern for Conforming to Society • Casual Approach to Worship • Concern for Social Activities • Appeals to Emotionalism

13. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HCM • “Why are so many young people so excited when they return home from a weekend retreat? I suggest it’s because they have experienced something very similar to ‘radical restoration.’ While I continue to be concerned about what I believe is too often a lack of biblical depth in study and song, and lament that parents are not playing the primary roles they ought to play - nevertheless, look what is happening dynamically at those retreats. There is spontaneity, informality, intimacy, and mutual participation of a type which our young people rarely witness in our more structured assemblies. Typically, there are not ‘buildings’ to speak of, and certainly there are no clocks around a campfire. Or pulpits and pews. Or printed orders of worship. Or set-piece prayers... (FLS, Radical Restoration, p. 235-236)

14. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HCM • “So what do I envision? I envision just a simple, Bible-based, informal, spontaneous, relaxed atmosphere where everyone can feel comfortable with one another, where we can all grow in our personal relationship with God...mutual participation, mutual edification, and not just a spectator audience.” (Scott Thornhill, explaining CABG) • The vision of the HCM is to have a nameless church, with no preaching, social meals and activities that take away from worship to God.

15. THE BREEDING GROUND FOR THE HCM • Dissatisfaction for the name “church of Christ” • Accepting the teachings of denominational preachers • Max Lucado, Rick Warren, Tim LaHaye • The desire for a more social gospel • The HCM is a perfect venue for doctrinal deception • Lack of balanced preaching • “More preaching on grace!” • Lack of involvement in a local congregation