In the year and a half that I've been "blogging" I have written a few posts on the church/theology/bible. Here is what I've noticed: The vast majority of people who read my blog are waiting for funny stories. That's cool. That is one of the main things that I post on here. I also know I'm not the most brilliant Biblical scholar and may not be writting the most thought provoking posts. You can go to Brett's (http://mentalmeandering.blogspot.com/) or John's (http://faithpractices.blogspot.com) for that. BUT, I think I'll still write some thoughts about God.
With all that being said, I was asked to blog my response to Bobby's post on the Postmodern Deconstruction of the Modern Church (http://www.emergentadventure.blogspot.com/). In his blog, he says that the latest movement in the postmodern/emergent church is to meet in homes and he propounds the question, "Can it get smaller than home churches?" This is my response.
I don't know if I have any answers, but I have thought about the movement into homes for awhile.
A couple years ago we moved to home ministries for our high school ministry. We still met as a large group, but HANDS DOWN the biggest amount of ministry, impact, passion, heart, outreach, Spirit, etc. was found in these home groups. Each took on a unique feel and most were thriving...we got people in the homes that would NEVER go to church...Alpha does this same thing...I really do think it is the next wave.
It can't get smaller though...I think what we will begin to see (in an attempt to get smaller) is the "I don't need church" mentality. Meaning, "I don't need to meet regularly and fit into some form. The church is the people, so I will just hang out with my believer friends and do outreach by hanging out with unbelievers." While I totally agree that the church is the people, Paul was still writing to people who were gathering regularly, partaking in the sacraments on a regular basis, listening to the reading of the Word (or Paul's letters), meeting with people of all different ages, etc.
I think this can totally take place in a large church (although, it is much more difficult) or in homes. The bottom line is that we don't "neglect to meet together" (Heb. 10:25).
