This teaching is not meant to be critical, but rather ‘matter of fact’ in it’s tone. I realize there are many ways of ‘doing’ house church and the intention of this article is to teach from the Word, thus highlighting shortcomings in our lives we already know exist, that we all may learn or see things from a different perspective.

Identifying a problem

One would think that house churches would be clearly defined by leadership, purpose, and empowering disciples to be all they can be in Christ, but in fact, there are a large number of them without any of these qualities. They know they want them, but they don’t know how to get there.

Many people meeting in house churches know more about what they don’t want than what they do want. As a result, no one steps forward to be identified as ‘leader’, the group has no clearly defined purpose, and stagnation and a lack of fulfillment is found in the hearts and minds of those involved.

The inability to acknowledge and accept Bible based leadership in a house church comes in part from the hurt many people find themselves still living in. Others come to house churches looking for relationships that are lasting and true, relationships lacking in many of the ‘mega-churches’. These folks shy away from leadership because they know the steep pyramid structure focused on the pastor at the top is what left them looking for true relationships in the first place.

There are also house churches purposely keeping to1 house because of not wanting to look like a denomination. They think anyone with more than 1 house church is a denomination, accusing genuine apostles and pastors of building their own kingdoms. This point of view has no understanding of the concept that a single house church might grow as it disciples people and need to start another church, yet desire to remain in close relationship with the original group.

When people like those mentioned above start meeting as a house church, the results often include leadership that is unwilling to be identified by Biblical titles. Pastor, apostle, and elder are replaced by ‘coach’ or maybe ‘facilitator’, thinking they are doing the people a favor. (I’m not talking about calling someone by the title ‘apostle’ or ‘pastor’, I’m talking about acknowledging that the gift of apostle or pastor is in their midst).

A typical meeting may resemble a small classroom in which this ‘coach’ pulls information out of people, calling on people seated around the room for what they think about a topic. Directing the flow of conversation with a subtle gentleness, there is no empowerment of the people to move in their own gifts. This style of leadership is just a smaller version of the pyramid and often a religious spirit lives on in these groups. The people sit in their chairs, waiting to be called upon, while talking about what a house church should be like.

A sign of a lack of proper Biblical leadership is groups in stagnation. These have no heart to reach out to see people born again and discipled because they are very needy in their own emotions and therefore centered on their own hurts and lives. Thus focused on ‘self’, there is no moving forward into healing as life moves from one crisis to another.

But the most dangerous way of thinking in house churches is that "nobody but Jesus is in charge". Why is this the most dangerous? Because while sounding scriptural, it is not.

I’m not talking about getting together for prayer with no set agenda...that’s fine. I’m not talking about having a Bible study left open to the topic of the day. But what I am talking about is having a church in one’s house where week after week, meeting after meeting, no one is in charge. Everyone sits around asking each other, "Do you have anything?"

While inviting Jesus to come in and take charge in the opening prayer, they neglect the fact that Jesus does so through various gifts he gave to us.

Consider the words of Ephesians 4: 8, 11-13:

"When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.

And he gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; For the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come into the unity of the faith..."

Jesus gave gifts for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. To sit back and not acknowledge these gifts nor let them flow is to neglect some of the most basic tenets of the faith.

Consider other gifts listed in various places in the NT: Miracles, healings, helps, governments, various types of tongues (I Cor 12:28); Motivational gifts of prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, administration, mercy (Rom 12:6-8); and charismatic gifts of I Cor 12: 8-10.

According to I Cor 12: 4-7 where all three categories of gifts are mentioned, (charismatic, v4; ministry, v5; motivational or ’energy’, v6) they are MANIFESTATIONS of the Spirit, given to everyone to profit (v7).

Jesus is in charge in a meeting by moving in these gifts through the various people assembled. He is a God of order and he does things by confirming in the hearts of those in attendance the direction to go (I Cor 14:29-33), but there will be someone in charge.

The strongest visible gift in operation in house churches

What then does house church leadership look like? How can we move people from hurt to healing? As always, we must look to the Word and to what the Holy Spirit is doing around us to gain understanding.

We must begin by going to Jesus’ command of Matthew 28: 19-20: "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations...teaching them to observe all things I’ve commanded you..."

Notice that Jesus did not command us to preach to people to get them ‘born again’. He commanded us to ‘make disciples’ by teaching them the ways of Jesus.

Teaching therefore will be the primary method used in the discipleship process.

Let’s look further into the Word to see how the leaders fulfilled Jesus‘ command to make disciples by teaching.

In Ephesus we see a husband and wife team named Aquila and Priscilla who are ministering there in Acts 18:24-28. They had traveled there with Paul (18:19) but stayed while he moved on. They then meet a man name Apollos who is teaching the ways of the Lord, knowing only of John the Baptist. They lead him to the Lord and he moves on to Corinth (19:1).

It must be noted that Apollos is a teacher. The value of the teaching gift in house churches cannot be overstated. It may be said that preaching leads to salvation, but teaching leads to discipleship. It is through teaching that we learn the mystery’s of the kingdom and indeed, all of Paul’s letters are teaching lessons about what we have in Christ!

Paul came back to Ephesus after Apollos had gone to Corinth and found 12 men who, like Apollos (and probably his students), knew only of John the Baptist. After 3 months of teaching in the synagogue, Paul moved to a school setting where he taught daily. (Acts 19:9)

History tells us that Ephesus observed a siesta between 11am and 4pm, and it is most likely in that time frame that Paul taught the disciples. Verse 20 said this school went on for 2 years, so that all of the province of Asia (a small part of ancient Turkey) heard the Word of God.

We must understand that Paul’s main role was to stay in the school and teach. How then did the whole province hear of Jesus? Through the disciples. This is another clue to what a house church should be doing; spreading the word about Jesus. The purpose is clear: Make disciples.

Thus far we have seen Jesus command to make disciples by teaching, and Paul doing exactly that. Teaching therefore must be a strong element of house churches for this is how disciples are not made. From that teaching the disciples spread the word about Jesus.

This is why house churches that have leadership that refuses to be called leadership are stagnate and failing. There is no strong teaching. I’m not talking about a Bible study and discussion, ‘what do you think it means?’. A teacher explains the Word with revelation, wisdom, certainty, and relevance.

Key point:

The teaching gift is the primary visible gift in operation in a house church

Without someone to teach there is no definition and revelation of what we have in Christ. Without that revelation and definition there is no moving towards maturity. I value those who can organize and host a house church and their gifts, but hosting a house church meeting does not disciple people.

Unfortunately this point is not understood by many. Just getting together with a small group of Christians does not lead to discipleship. The word ’disciple’ means, "a learner’. And as Jesus pointed out in Mt 28, discipleship and teaching go hand in hand.

Empowering believers and their gifts

I’d like to contrast Paul’s methods of empowering those around him with the traditional church thinking. I do so because many house churches unknowingly carry on the old thinking as they meet in their homes.

Priscilla and Aquila should be noted in this study for their involvement and gifting. Vine points out that in the Greek, Priscilla is mentioned first 4 of the 6 times they are mentioned in the NT. Tradition says she was the main speaker and teacher, although Acts 18:26 says that "they" expounded the ways of God to Apollos. Paul notes when he writes the Corinthian church from Ephesus that Aquila and Priscilla have a church in their house. (I Cor 16:19)

About a year later by most accounts, Paul pens his letter to the church at Rome from Corinth this time, again stating that they have a church in their house (Rom 16:3,5). And once again, this time 6-7 years later, Paul tells Timothy (who is in Ephesus) to greet ‘Priscilla and Aquila" (II Tim 4:19).

Clearly they are leaders working side by side with each other and with Paul, hosting churches wherever they live, intimately involved with teaching (as with Apollos) and discipling believers.

Let’s look at the nature of their relationship with Paul so we can see the freedom they have. Acts 18:1-3 tells us that Paul met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth after he had left Athens and they had been banished from Rome. (by Emperor Claudius in A.D. 50)

They were tent makers by trade and soon set up shop together.

They stayed in Corinth for the next 18 months (18:11) making disciples, and then all three of them went to Ephesus. Then an interesting thing happens. Acts 18:19 says, "And he came to Ephesus, and left them there..."

Note the freedom they have to flow with their gifts and call. This is very similar to the way Paul empowered Silas in Acts 15: 34 where it says, "Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there awhile."

Silas is identified as a prophet in verse 32, and works alongside Paul in Antioch, yet Paul allows him the freedom to flow in his gift.

Contrast this with the pyramid structure of a traditional church. With the pastor at the top and volunteer and paid staff jockeying for position and territory within the pyramid, the only way to rise to the top of the ever narrowing pyramid is to give up part of yourself and what you’re called to.

To rise to the top means conforming to the image of the leader. This is in stark contrast to the flat or shallow V structure that Jesus described and was in practice in the early days of the church.

Paul talked in II Cor 10:13 about not boasting of things outside his ‘field’ or ‘sphere’. He recognized his call and where his sphere of influence was, and was not. Knowing this, and being secure in this knowledge, he demonstrated great leadership by first recognizing and then allowing those around him to operate in their ‘fields’ or ‘spheres’.

In Galatians 3:7 Paul notes that Peter’s call is to the Jews, and his to the Gentiles. Each had a mutual respect for the other. Peter even acknowledges Paul’s writings as scripture in II Pet 3:16, stating that some things in them are hard for him to understand.

Even in Acts 15 each apostle, within their own ‘spheres’ of influence stood up and stated their case. Then another leader, James, pastor of the church at Jerusalem, stood up to make a determination (v19), to whom the others submitted in agreement.

In the midst of an intense difference of opinion when Barnabas wanted to take his nephew John Mark (who had deserted them in their first trip), Paul allowed Barnabas to take Mark home to Cyprus and, going with the flow, chose Silas for his trip.

When I look at these passages combined with Paul’s sending his protégé's Timothy to Ephesus and Titus to Crete, I see a man who lives to empower believers to enter into their own call in God.

His father/son relationship with these men speaks of the close, mentoring relationship they shared. Foxes Book of Martyrs tells us that Timothy stayed on at Ephesus, becoming Bishop over all the (house) churches in the region, until his martyrdom in the year A.D.97.

I could go on about Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and the disciples and how each of them empowered those around them to move into their respective destinies, but I think the point is clear.

Key point:

Leadership empowers disciples to move into their gifts and callings

In a house church setting this means that a leader knows when to be quiet, allowing others to open up, not being afraid of the silence or awkward moments. When the Lord first led me to start CWOW I shared every Sunday for the first 3 months. Then I had revealed to me that the 4th month I was not to teach or lead the group in any way, other than hosting it in our house.

I would at times feel led to ask someone in the group to share the following week. We had some of the most wonderful meetings during that time. I had no problem with asking various people to lead it (giving them a 1 week lead time) and they dug into the Word and prayer to see how the Lord would lead them.

On a couple of occasions I didn’t feel led to ask anyone, so we went into the meeting ‘cold’. One turned out to be a serious prayer meeting as the Lord led us to pray corporately and then for several individuals there.

Again, my wife and I remained quiet, allowing others to lay hands on and receive prophecies for different people on the ‘hot seat’, getting prayer. People who had never given a prophecy before suddenly started moving out in this gift, others had various impressions from the Spirit and many were touched.

The next month the Lord told me it would be divide time. After a month of rotating leaders while in our living room, the next month we refused to have the meeting in our home. Understand that there was a certain reckoning that took place within our group. They came to the realization that house church didn’t just mean coming over to John and Barb’s for church, it meant that we as founding apostles and pastors, were charged by Jesus to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

With that reality sinking in, they stepped right up and we immediately had 4 host homes, in two main groups. I’ve taught 1 time since then, just part of the church like anyone else.

Again, leadership empowers disciples to enter into their gifts and call. When we were in the process of moving out of our house and the people were thinking about hosting CWOW’s in their own homes, one of our members called me and said she had a vision of a bird pulling the feathery cushion out of the nest to reveal uncomfortable sticks beneath.

We did have one couple who left early on because they thought we should all just sit around and ‘let the Lord be in charge’. They did not understand that Jesus is in charge through the various gifts he gave. It’s up to leadership to empower the gifts in people. We had another couple leave who were very comfortable coming to our home, being taught by me or others.

When they were told on Easter Sunday of this year (2002) that we were going to begin meeting in other peoples homes, that we were about empowering the gifts in others and this wasn’t the "John and Barb show", they left and haven’t been back since.

What I am describing is much different from the traditional church meeting. Those meetings are all focused on the man up front, these are horizontal in nature, with the leader merely stating where he or she is feeling led, then stepping out of the way to allow it to happen. If they have a teaching, they teach, if they have just a couple points and then open it for discussion, they do that. If they have nothing but feel led to pray, we do that.

Meeting with Purpose

Thus far we have identified teaching as the primary visible gift in the discipleship process, and the fact that Biblical leadership empowers those around it to move into their gifts and call.

The third and final element to discuss is purpose. So many house churches I see, hear about, and have people email me about, revolves around purpose. They know what they don’t want, but still something is lacking.

Again, leadership provides the direction and purpose for having a house church. While there doesn’t seem to be an express purpose outlined in scripture that has to be sketched out before someone hosts a church, there is clear intent. Paul sends greetings to two different house churches in Colosse, namely a woman named Nymphas in Colossians 4:15 (’his’ house actually being ’her’ house in the Greek) and Philemon (v2), the later being urged to receive again a runaway slave named Onesimus.

Whether it be Priscilla and Aquila, Philemon, or the church meeting ’house to house’ in Acts 2:46, the purpose is growth in the knowledge of the Lord. The purpose therefore, wraps together discipleship and empowerment into one: Grow in the knowledge of God and the application of his ways into our lives.

This may seem like I’m stating the obvious, and any house church would mouth agreement with me, but the actions of many house churches speak otherwise.

Allow me to go back to Ephesians 4:8:

"When he ascended up on high he gave gifts unto men".

This is actually part of a quote from Psalm 68:18. While Paul was not led to complete the quote in Ephesians, the full quote actually completes his thought, and the intention is clear:



"You have received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might live among them."

The gifts are for the rebellious so that God can live among them! The gifts, and he mentions in this passage apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists, but would include the other gifts as well, are all designed to be ’out there’ among the unsaved!

We have been trained in the traditional church to think that the gifts are just for the 4 walls of the church on Sunday morning, and unfortunately this thinking carries over into some house churches. That is there is no life, no purpose, no growth.

The gifts are for the work place, the grocery store, in our daily routine. That means we are to allow the giftings in us to manifest in the environment that we live.

I know managers of departments who are pastors. The old way of thinking was "I’m going to give up my career to go into the ministry", but scripture tells us the gift of pastor is for the rebellious!

The Lord told me one time when he was teaching me this that "the gift of apostle in the church is called entrepreneur in the world. Same gift, different title. All gifts come from me, men just label them differently depending on their culture and use."

That manager who pastors his or her coworkers...the one everyone goes to for advice and help...they’re moving in the gift of pastor and God is living among the unsaved. That Assistant who has tremendous administrative abilities is moving in one of the gifts mentioned in Romans 12. God is living among the unsaved when they do their job.

I have done several informal polls among students I’ve taught. I’ve asked for a show of hands for all those who felt called to be an evangelist, or evangelism. When their hands go up I ask them what they do for a living. Most common responses are sales, marketing, recruiting. Why? The evangelist tries to ’sell’ people on Jesus, so that gift finds it’s function in the world in sales.

I could go on about prophetic people being in accounting and human resources, teachers involved in training, policy makers, and so on.

Our purpose in house churches is to share our gifts with the rebellious! When we do that God begins to live among them...in the work place, and then, into our homes!

Our rapid growth in CWOW has come because our people understand the truths I’ve just shared. They share Jesus with coworkers and neighbors and these people, seeing Jesus among them, come into our homes.

These three, leadership, empowerment, and purpose, all have to do with making disciples. If we aren’t doing that, we aren’t doing what Jesus wants.