House Churches
Could a pastor of a house church actually be more successful in God's eyes than a pastor of a mega-church with a huge building and thousands in attendance every Sunday? Yes, if he is multiplying obedient disciples and disciple-makers, following Jesus' model, as opposed to simply gathering goats once a week to watch a concert and listen to an entertaining speech sanctified by a few out-of-context scriptures. Apostolic Tradition: Obsolete?
Apostolic tradition, also called apostolic custom, apostolic patterns, New Testament patterns, or New Testament practice, means imitating the practices of the apostles. When scripture does not specifically command us to imitate a certain practice of the apostles, should we still follow it? The Church Without Laity
The church that the Lord added people to at its beginning was a “called out” or “gathered people” (for such is the meaning of ekklesia, the Greek word often translated “church” in the New Testament) that did not consist of a clergy-laity distinction, as do most religious bodies today. On the contrary, Christ’s church, a church He purchased with His own blood (cf. Acts 20:28; Hebrews 10:29), consists entirely of a priesthood of believers who have been “baptized into Christ” (Galatians 3:27 Romans 6:3). Biblical Accountability and Authority
What exactly is the role, function and responsibility of the church elders or leaders. How much “authority” do they have, and are we supposed to “obey” them? Is Attending Church A Spectator Event?
The New Testament knows nothing of an inert, believer-priesthood whose only function is to passively absorb sermons and pass the offering plate! But isn’t such passivity on the part of the members the most obvious thing within our church meetings? Interactive Meetings
It is fact of history that the early church met in the homes of its members. No special church buildings were constructed during the New Testament era, nor or for the following two hundred years. This necessarily meant that their meetings were smaller rather than larger. This smaller setting argues against the possibility that those pristine meetings consisted of an eloquent sermon delivered to a massed crowd of hushed listeners. Worship At All Times But Meet Primarily To Edify
Surprisingly, the NT never refers to a church meeting as a “worship service.” Romans 12:1 does make mention of a “service of worship” (NASB), but this refers to offering our bodies to God as a living sacrifice; it has nothing to do with the church meeting! Certainly there is nothing wrong with worshipping God during the church meeting (1 Corinthians 14:22-25; Ephesians 5:19b; Colossians 3:16b), but is this to be the primary objective of the meeting? Four Tragic Shifts
Few Christians realize the central concepts and practices associated with what we call 'church' are not rooted in the New Testament, but in patterns established in the post-apostolic age. | 
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