Aletheia en Agape: Thumbnail on The House Church

Thumbnail on The House Church

While 20-somethings pull out of traditional churches, more people are leaving organized churches altogether, according to revolutionary pollster George Barna. Your new competitor is not the church down the street, but the house next door. Here is how Barna sizes up the House Church experience:

Average size of gathering: 20 people (including 7 children in gatherings with kids)

Gatherings including kids: 64%

Of those, kids meeting with adults for whole session: 41%

House churches meeting weekly: 80%

Average length of service: 2 hours

Include formal teaching: 76%

Eat as well as meet: 85%

Satisfaction with spiritual depth of the experience: 59%

Satisfaction with personal connectedness: 66%

Attenders who have met with their house church one year or less: 75%

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/002/25.12.html

There is a cost to contending for the faith; one will never win a popularity contest. Why is it necessary today? Because false theologies and teachers with skewed theology are so admired! Wolves in sheep’s clothing have slowly crept into the church. Bad theology worsened but little by little. Because it didn’t happen overnight, many did not notice. Church leaders “widened the door.” In other words, they furthered the issue with weak preaching and targeting the unsaved rather than feeding true believers eager to grow.

Church members began to speak up but what happened? I have heard of the many who were lectured, asked to leave, called troublemakers and divisive. Unity has become all-important. But how can true believers be united around false or weak preaching and teaching? Solid Christians are being told that they must be tolerant for the sake of unity. Yes, the Bible told us a day was coming when people would not give heed to sound doctrine (II Timothy 2:3, 4). People would want their ears tickled. New ways of doing church today do just that. But following the biblical example, Paul still told Timothy to “preach the Word,” and not “tickle the ears”. By Jan Markell www.olivetreeviews.org

Aletheia en Agape ( Truth in Love )

It is written in Acts 20:28-33 that we as His flock need to be seriously aware of grievous wolves amongst us. Ezekiel 33:1-7 clearly instructs us to be watchmen. We are not only to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering ( Hebrews 10 :22-25), but we should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3).

Therefore, do not be ignorant of the enemy's devices, Hosea 4:6 warns of the serious consequences. We are call to totally rely on the Word of God as our only plumb-line of life, as it is written in 2Timothy 3:16, the Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? Speak truth in love ... Aletheia en Agape.

Be a watchman. Please email aletheia.en.agape@gmail.com your comments. We look forward to your encouragement, critical comments & prayers to us all in the body of Christ.

Sola scriptura (Latin ablative, "by scripture alone"), we assert that the Bible is; God's written word, self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter ("Scripture interprets Scripture") & sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine.

Thumbnail on The House Church

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Aletheia en Agape ( Truth in Love )