An excerpt from a book by Rad Zdero entitled The Global House Church Movement.
My purpose in writing this book is not to tear down anything that God is doing in and through the traditional church. God has always, is currently, and will continue to use it in drawing people to himself. Of this I have no doubt. It is not my intention at all to throw stones at my brothers and sisters in traditional churches.
However, it must be admitted, traditional churches also perpetuate the unbiblical and often ineffective ‘cathedral’ model of church, characterized by three cardinal myths that prevent individual believers and the Church as a whole from functioning as strategically and biblically as possible. In essence, the ‘cathedral’ model of church used by many today is that of a holy man performing a holy ceremony in a holy building. Let’s look at each of these points briefly.
The first myth is that of the ‘holy man’. Many believe that seminary-trained professional clergy are absolutely indispensible. Biblically, in contrast, the vision of the Church is a priesthood of all believers using their talents for building up God’s kingdom (1 Peter 2:4-10, 1 Cor 12:7-12, 27-30). Make no mistake, there is a biblical pattern of appointed leadership (Mark 3:13-15, Ats 13:1-3, Titus 1:5-9), but this never should result in others believers’ talents and skills withering from lack of use, which often happens in conventional churches. In addition, today’s single-pastor model stands in contrast to a team of co-equal volunteer elders that managed networks of house church in the first century (Acts 20:17-21; Titus 1:5).
The second myth is that of the ‘holy service’. The very word ‘church’ for many conjures up images of a few people performing a ritual – however useful or exciting the ‘show’ may be – in which a few designated individuals perform for a rather passive audience. These gatherings are really one-man shows. Biblical house churches, in contrast, afford open, interactive, and participatory meetings (1 Cor 14:26, Eph 5:19, Col 3:16, Heb 10:25), being an ideal breeding ground for leadership development, every – member participation, and relationship building.
The third myth is that of the ‘holy building’. Most people assume that church buildings, or large rented spaces for corporate meetings, are required to be a legitimate church. Whatever church buildings may or may not be useful for, the book of Acts and history bear our that they are not requirements for rapid church planting movements, evangelism, or discipleship; in fact, they are often a hindrance. Church buildings also breed a ‘temple mentality’, which puts church in a box and, thereby, prevents Christians from seeing their very neighborhoods as mission fields. As well, the massive practical release of time, energy, and money from the elimination of building projects and/or rental payments should challenge us rethink current practices.
Today, God is currently ushering in a monumental structural reformation of the global church that addresses these three myths. Cell churches – with their equal emphasis on home cell groups and Sunday morning services in a church building – and house church movements are growing rapidly in non-Western nations and are being used in startling ways to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission in this genertion. House church movements though, are even more effective than cell churches in eliminating the above three myths and are closest to the apostolic model of church. Therefore, what I am suggesting is that traditional churches are good, cell churches are better, and house church movements are best. As such, one purpose of this book is to call the church in the West to rethink its approach in light of New Testament practice and strategic effectiveness.