Category: Biblical Church

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Biblical Church

The First Supper

I still remember what my Calculus teacher told me. He said that it was highly unlikely that I would be solving mathematical equations later in life. Learning Calculus was useful because it would train my mind on how to solve problems. He was correct on both accounts. Problem solving and critical thinking are important in life.

The picture above is a digitally altered version of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. My friend re-posted this on Facebook with quotes from all the disciples about why they couldn’t attend. The last paragraph of the post said, “Following Jesus was never meant to be a solo experience. Pull up a seat at the table. It is a level table and there is room for all of us.” The post encouraged people to attend church.

I added a comment. “Here’s an interesting question. So you attend a church for many years. You go faithfully, give money, get involved, even go to Bible study on Wednesday night. The question…how many times has the senior pastor invited you over to his/her house for a meal? For most people the answer is never! Anyone find that strange?

Look at the picture, Jesus was sharing the Passover meal with His friends. I’m sure He also ate daily with His friends…this is Jesus! If you’ve never shared a meal with your senior pastor maybe you should ask why.”

Jesus set an example for us. It’s not only The Last Supper that matters, it is also The First Supper and all The In-Between Suppers. We never question the fact that there is not “a level table” at a conventional church, not when it comes to senior leadership.

I find it important to think and discuss such matters. It has been my experience, however, that most church leaders don’t see critical thinking and/or problem solving as spiritual gifts. Questioning things in church will usually get you labeled as insubordinate. It is not a sin to think about and question what goes on in a church. It is not a sin to feel that there is something amiss.

I would attest that there is a better way, the road may be more uncomfortable, but stopping and having supper with your friends and Jesus makes it all worth the effort!

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Biblical Church

God in a Salad pt.2

Yes it’s delicious! Every week, no matter what the main course is, Derek makes his salad. You can really tell that Derek delights in making his salad and delights in the reaction he gets from his guests. I imagine him in the kitchen preparing the ingredients and thinking about adding something special, all with a huge smile on his face. This is his gift to the group and we all look forward to receiving it.

I do wonder however, what would happen if Derek missed a week. Perhaps I, or someone else from the group, would try to make Derek’s salad. We would do our best to copy it, but the group would just be reminded how much they miss the real thing.

There’s no reason to try and copy someone’s gift, there’s no joy in that. God is incredibly diverse and the gifts He gives His children are wonderfully diverse. In a small group setting, if you are paying attention, it will become apparent that everyone has gifts that are unique. However, most people don’t feel what they have is anything special. Many have been conditioned to think gifting is ‘preaching’ and ‘teaching’ and they know that they will never be able to orate like a Senior Pastor, Teacher or Evangelist.

Last week someone had a song on their heart, they sang it to the group, no music, no instruments, it was beautiful. Others have had drawings, poems, words of encouragement, dreams, visions, prophetic words, inspiring thoughts. Jesus was, and is, in all of it!

Most of us will never be a Billy Graham. True joy and peace come when we realize who we are, and that what we possess is something special. Trying to fit into someone else’s mold will frustrate us, lead us to believe we ‘just don’t have it’ and eventually convince us that we have little to offer.

I pray each of us will discover our ‘special salad’ and take great joy in preparing it and serving it to others. When we do, our ‘ministry’ becomes effortless, we bless those around us and find our faith renewed.

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Biblical Church

God in a Salad pt.1

My friend Derek makes the best salad I’ve ever had. What puts it over the top is his home-made salad dressing. Forget about asking Derek for his dressing recipe…he refuses all inquiries.

At our last house church meeting one of the guests said how good the blueberries tasted in the salad. She could tell that the blueberries were organic. Derek responded that all the ingredients were organic, yet another reason why everything tasted so delicious.

Livesstrong.com has an online article listing the 10 worst non-organic fruits and writes this about the blueberry.

Blueberries are an additional berry type that contain a high level of pesticides. The thin skin allows the chemicals to enter the fruit’s flesh. Buying blueberries organic is the safest option. Conventional blueberries contain 52 pesticide chemicals.

Wow, I didn’t even think there were 52 different types of pesticides! The use of pesticides changes the taste and might have negative health impacts down the road.

It’s interesting that house church is also know as organic church, reflecting a kind of pesticide free influence on the crop. When we gather together for house church we try to model a purity reflected in the Book of Acts. I understand how and why the church model evolved and am passionate to help de-evolve the church back to its original model. Check out my Resources page for some great books on the subject.

It is inevitable that some people will attend a house church and still attend a conventional church. People enjoy the fellowship found at the house church meetings, the ability to share and the freedom to express life experiences without judgement from others. Those same people also enjoy the conventional church with full band worship, a dynamic speaker, kid’s church, youth groups and coffee and donuts in the lobby.

Honestly, it does bother me sometimes when people don’t exhibit the same passion I have about house church. I hear them referring to our group as a Bible study or a fellowship group, not really understanding the nature of what house church is intended to be. My frustration is relieved however, when God speaks to me through a blueberry in a salad. I am praying that people will eventually taste and feel the difference. When they do, I will gladly share why!

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Biblical Church

Lonely Weed

My back wall is lined with six Bougainvillea plants. I think the previous owners planted them for privacy. The plants grow fast and shed their red petals…regular cleanup and maintenance is a must.

Once venturing out to do some trimming, I saw a weed had popped up. Single skinny stalk about three feet high with the most beautiful flowers. Instinctively I pulled it out but immediately regretted uprooting it. Why did I just kill something so beautiful?

The Lantana Camara is officially considered a weed. A weed is defined as a wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants. It was different, it didn’t fit and it had to go, no matter how special or beautiful it was.

How does our religious mindset define what is beautiful and what is not? In what context do we define ideas of church, pastors and prophets? What do we do with people who may be beautiful but don’t fit in? Have you ever felt that you didn’t fit in organized church? Unfortunately, like the Lantera Camara, if you don’t conform in a corporate church there is little chance of thriving.

I think of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist and Jesus. Organized religion didn’t recognize their beauty and so they did as I did, plucked them out.

As a house church facilitator, I am amazed at how unique, wonderful, beautiful and yes wild people can be. Most Christ followers have never been given a chance to express themselves in a spiritual setting. We rely on pastors, teachers and small group leaders to feed us, which then sets a pattern of how things are done and defines what is normal.

You can now purchase Lantana Camara, plant them and admire your ‘weed’ garden. My prayer is for more weed gardens to pop up and thrive, creating a new definition of what is a Biblical Church. Don’t give up if you have been hurt by religion…you just need to find a place where you can thrive.

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Biblical Church

Stones and Bricks

So a fork lift drops a skid of bricks in front of you and then a skid of natural stones.  You’re asked to build a wall.  Which would you pick? 

Hmmm, well I guess if you were considering how long it would take or how easy it would be, you would pick the bricks.  You would start with the first row, add the mortar, stagger them and add another row and another and in no time you would have a wall.  Natural stones are in all shapes and sizes.  You would most likely lay them all out on the ground, consider each one and then come up with a plan.  Maybe the larger more uniform stones would be placed at the base and then the others would have to be fitted, determined by your hand and skill.  This would take much longer and would be much more of a challenge.

We find bricks in the Bible at the story of the Tower of Babel. 

They settled there and said to each other, ‘Let’s form bricks and bake them.  Let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.  Let’s make a name for ourselves, for otherwise we’ll be scattered across the face of the earth.

Genesis 11:2-4

Bricks are also a key element with the children of Israel in Egypt.  Both seem associated with the key phrase in Genesis 11 – Let’s make a name for ourselves, let’s build something that will be a monument to our greatness. Bricks are also associated with slavery.

God seems to love stones, natural and beautiful.  In fact if you read in Exodus 20:25 or Deuteronomy 27:4-6 when God says “build me an altar” He not only wants natural stones, He gives instructions not to hew them or use iron tools on them.  They are perfect the way they are! Maybe you’re perfect the way you are?

If you’re like me, you’ve found yourself in many brick and mortar churches throughout your lifetime.  The leadership wants to build high and fast. It seems no matter how much the Pastor and the leadership try to hew you and cut you up, you just can’t fit into their wall. It becomes painful to become a brick in a wall that is elevating one person.  After a while you get frustrated, maybe leave church all together, thinking there is something wrong with you.  If you’ve ever struggled with this, let me assure you, you’re a stone.  Each of us is created differently, we’re all different sizes and shapes, different colors and textures.  It’s God’s plan to take each of us and examine us and fit us into his Holy Temple based on the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ. 

It’s so freeing to be part of a group of believers that is not determined to build something that is a monument to someone’s greatness.  We are aware that each one is beautiful and different and we are allowing Christ to gently fit us together. 

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Biblical Church

Walking in Circles

My wife and I are taking a little vacation in a couple of weeks. Our ideas of vacation are very different. She will plan out our itinerary every day, making sure we have a fun-packed time. She is awesome and I do end up enjoying myself. However if it was up to me I would just hang out and rest, sit by the beach, wander through the mountains, take lots of naps. I like resting.

The word rest is in the Bible over 500 times but I can’t remember hearing one sermon on this topic…hmm.   I  finished reading Hebrews 3 and 4 which talks about rest and verse 4:9 says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”  However this promise is conditional and in earlier verses it says that not everyone will enter.  The illustration is given of the Hebrews walking in circles for 40 years before entering the Promised Land.  We all know that even God rested on the 7th day; so maybe it is something we need to understand and appreciate.

There is something wrong with the current, familiar church structure. Take a look at some of these statistics I found on soulshepherding.org. A quick web search will give you even more grim statistics concerning Pastors.

75% of pastors report being “extremely stressed” or “highly stressed”
90% work between 55 to 75 hours per week
70% of pastors say they have a lower self-esteem now than when they entered ministry
70% constantly fight depression
50% feel so discouraged that they would leave their ministry if they could, but can’t find another job
80% believe their pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families and 33% said it was an outright hazard 
80% of ministry spouses feel left out and unappreciated in their church
77% feel they do not have a good marriage
41% display anger problems in marriage (reported by the spouse)
38% are divorced or divorcing
50% admit to using pornography and 37% report inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church
65% feel their family is living in a glass house

It is no wonder we don’t hear sermons on rest…the system is designed to overwork and burn out pastors.

As a facilitator of a house church the biggest struggle is to get people to participate. The conventional church conditions people to rely on the pastor for everything. Just come to church and get fed. I refuse to fall into that trap.

I found that over time people do understand and begin to participate, and when they do, it is such a joy to witness. When everyone shares we begin to see God from different perspectives and we understand Him in different ways. We all have valuable input even children and youth. It’s a shame that in a conventional setting youth and children are sent away.

There is wisdom in how God instructed us to gather and participate revealed in the Book of Acts. It really works and it is worth the effort to get there.

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Biblical Church

Mama’s Meatballs

Mama always knew that when I went back home for a visit I would want her to cook me my favorite.  That was, of course, her meatballs…famous in the Tri-State area. 

I found out later that she had a secret ingredient: stale Italian bread.  I always wondered why there was a loaf of stale Italian bread in the bread cupboard.  She would soak the Italian bread and then use it to make her famous meatballs.  She would make enough to eat and then freeze the rest so I could take some back home.  My father made an outrageous tomato salad that I would also request…yummy!  When we would have family gatherings people would always bring their specialties, often requested by other family members.  I’m sure we can all relate.

Meatballs, tomato salad, whatever food we prepare will cost us time, money, and labor. There is no comparison when we try to duplicate the experience at a restaurant.  Nobody can make meatballs like my mama! 

Spiritually it’s the same way.  It’s interesting to compare the corporate church model to the house church model, which I believe is more Biblically based.  Think of your restaurant experience…you decide to go to a restaurant with a famous chef, get dressed up, you drive up, if it’s a fancy place you can get valet parking, you enter and get seated, you check out the menu, get served, eat the food, pay and leave a tip, then you leave.  If you don’t like the food or experience, next time you can go to another restaurant, maybe one not so big and fancy. Eventually you’ll find a place that fits your style and taste.

Compare that to a family gathering or a picnic.  You have to give some thought to the event, decide what to bring, go out and prepare your meal, make enough for all to enjoy, share your gift with others and hopefully take home some leftovers that others lovingly prepared.  When we meet together we are expected to bring something. Participating is good for us and good for the church.

I Corinthians 14:26 What then is the right course, believers? When you meet together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation (disclosure of special knowledge), a tongue, or an interpretation. Let everything be constructive and edifying and done for the good of all the church.

The challenge in today’s Christian experience is that we are accustomed to pay for services rendered. We expect an experienced cook and staff will do all the work. We just show up, enjoy and pay for it.  If we don’t enjoy the experience we feel free to go to another church.  As stated in scripture, a proper house church needs everyone to participate and bring something.  In my experience this is the hardest hurdle to overcome.  It’s so hard to break the mindset of coming to a meeting expecting to get and not give.  Yes it takes work, time to interact with God and courage to share something personal but over time each of us will develop a special dish (gifting).  We will eventually find joy in the preparation and joy as others consume.  Also, don’t forget to make enough so others can take some home.

Author: Jonathan Rovetto