House Church: Step 1

This is my first draft - the first invited participants will help to craft the way the house church will take shape. Eventually this will also be a 'zine...at least that's what I think now!

Vision: Damascus Road United Methodist Church

In a few simple words the writer describes life in the first-century church, where the followers of the Way of Jesus met to learn and practice life in the kingdom (realm, reign) of God.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

Just two verses further on, we learn more: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people” (Acts 2:44-47a).

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s a United Methodist Christian and pastor—now free on Sundays to consider what sort of church I want to be part of—the idea of starting a house church seemed right for this time. I am not alone in this thinking as others have noticed a rising interest in small churches, in “new monasticism” in urban settings, in spending less on property or staff and more on serving with and for neighbors and the world. Part of the United Methodist influence comes in the proposed name. Early in this particular part of Christian history, Methodist chapels were named for the street on which they were built. I thought back to the two-millennia-old story of an awakening, repentance and turning to the way of Jesus that began on the road to Damascus. Our willingness to hear God, to be transformed, renewed and communicate with others is needed now. Perhaps we won’t have to fall off a horse like Paul did on that road, but the truth of Jesus speaking to each of as a risen and living Lord does make an impact!

When the first generations of followers of the Way of Jesus met together they weren’t able to meet in large groups or buildings because the ‘new’ religion was regarded with some superstition and there were periods of persecution. Paul, one messenger of the good news, wrote letters to groups of Christians in cities around the Mediterranean region of the Roman Empire to help them work out how they would live and work and worship. In the book of Acts in the New Testament we learn some of the ways he and others did their teaching and what the new faith communities were like. We can read in some of Paul’s letters that the reality didn’t always live up to those words above from Acts 2. And yet, the power of those small groups became a movement strong enough to sustain people in the face of persecution, even death.

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nough history already…it is fascinating and there are lots of books, letters and documents preserved from those first centuries that you can look up if you wish.

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ere’s what I’m envisioning for this old/new form of being church. A small group will meet together in a home on Sundays at a time chosen by the participants. To start we will meet at my home, which is at 935 Iowa Ave. W., in Saint Paul. This church will be especially open to people who are new to Christian faith or have been away from church for a while.

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ur worship time together will be about an hour, in three parts, beginning with group examen and prayer (thinking back to the previous week with an eye to feeling close to God or distant), moving into conversational/experiential reading and study of a passage from the Bible, and concluding with communion (sharing in the breaking of bread and cup as Jesus did with his disciples). Like the early followers of the Way of Jesus we will gather around the table after worship and eat a simple meal together (potluck style), taking turns providing the main course.

While skipping around reading randomly from my blog list I found this from Julie Clawson on www.julieclawson.com, in her post titled “Worship confession”:

“Is worship simply about encountering God or should it also involve participating in God? Watching a show and being moved to see God seems like a mere shadow of worship compared to making of ourselves living sacrifices and being caught up in the work of God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven….It is only in the messy and faltering attempts to be the body of Christ—to give of ourselves as we are instead of in a role someone expects of us—that I not only experience God but feel that I am participating in God’s work in the world.”

This is what I hope Damascus Road worship can be about, there will be no show to watch, we will be coming together for the beauty of a gathering in the pursuit of faithful lives and “being caught up in the work of God’s kingdom come.”

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n addition to weekly public worship we will set as a goal daily examen, private prayer and/or Bible reading. If someone is in a twelve-step program that daily practice of Big Book devotions, etc., fulfills this of course! Public and private worship is the framework of this house church. There are two more structural elements: serving people who are poor, disenfranchised, imprisoned, hungry and/or homeless in the Twin Cities together at a frequency and place the group will decide upon; and, third, an expectation and practice of generous giving of financial resources using the tradition of the tithe (one-tenth) as a guide. All three practices will support our reorienting of priorities from self to God and the world. We will decide together where to send our financial gifts. It is my hope that we will decide on a project or program that serves in Christ’s name and that we can become knowledgeable about as we watch the impact of our giving.

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he Vision for Damascus Road UM House Church has roots in the Methodist-Wesleyan tradition, brings some Ignatian-Jesuit-Catholic practices into our daily lives and worship (like the examen),* identifies the gathering as GLBTQ-friendly…and cat friendly, proceeds with mutuality in decision-making, holds confidentiality, and respects the spirituality of 12-step programs. *Each household will receive a copy of Sleeping with Bread, which will serve as a guide to what the examen is all about.

I like this guide to communal decision-making. “Confirmation comes after the process of deciding, not before. It is a four-step process: prayer, discernment conversation, decision, and then confirmation. Make the decision first and then see if there is confirmation, not the other way around. If it's not confirmed, you need to go back to the group and work on the decision some more and bring it back out for more holy conversation” (Bob Farr [2011-05-01], Renovate or Die: 10 Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission [Kindle Locations 1552-1555], Abingdon Press, Kindle Edition.)

John 4:23-24 (MSG)

"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."