Notes on Houses that Change the World
Some notes about Simson’s book, Houses that Change the World. Some are good, some aren’t.
Worth Pondering
phrases like ”let us now have a time of worship” or ”let us now go into worship” meaning that all have to stand to sing some songs, might be less helpful than they sound, because they are a simple misnomer. ”It is important to note that the New Testament never mentions worship as the very the reason for Christians to come together - they come for mutual encouragement and edifying each other (1 Cor 14:26; Hebr. 10:24-25), but focuses more on the how, and not on the when and where of worship”, says Peter Ignatius of Christian Fellowship in Madras. The New Testament never refers to a meeting of the church as a worship service. Worship, in short, is not so much what we do but how we do it; not so much what we say or sing, but how we are a living sacrifice. (134)
Housechurches have the ability to shift the main emphasis from public religious behavior to the semi-privacy of homes. (135)
There is even a very powerful Christian equivalent to the minor crimes modern youth bands require from new members, which bond the new members to the tribe. It is the confession of sin. If someone confesses his sin to the housechurch, he may lose his face before the outside world and literally die to a life of double standards, but is accepted in grace and forgiveness and love by his new spiritual tribe. (138)
Preach the church, and the response will look like the church that sent you out. Preach Jesus, and the response looks very different. (147)
In each culture there are therefore essentially three ways of building - and planting - the church: 1. Trying to fit into the ”patterns of the world” … 2. The other extreme is to ignore the patterns of this world, of the local culture, the local ”way of doing things,” and to create and remain on a ”Holy Island”… 3. The third way, which I am advocating, is not a middle-of the-road-compromise, but to find a truly godly mix between redeeming and crucifying a given culture. [my emphasis] (150)
For most churches, everything starts so wonderful. Someone experiences God’s blessing because he has been obedient to His word and spirit. Someone else tells the story and it appears as a testimony; the third one creates a model out of this experience, which then is copied and cloned by a fourth one. A fifth one finally suggests: ”lets create an institution around this new model!”, and goes on to start franchises all over the world; and the sixth one forms all this into a new law, which judges everyone who chooses to do things different. I call this ”the six sure and easy steps to transform a blessing into a curse.” If we put our hands to the plough and look back (or abroad?), how do we dare to think we are fit for the work in the Kingdom of God? …Stop copying, and start creating in the name of the Creator-God, who lives in all of us, whether we are Pastors or not.
This way our churches would pass what Bill Beckham calls the photocopy test. If a church replicates itself with only dimmer versions of itself, then it’s life and nature is simply not good enough. (153-154)
large churches have a larger tendency to transform attenders into passive consumers of a thrilling program than small housechurches, for whom the involvement of almost everyone is absolutely vital….
We should work, in an united effort, towards the goal of placing a church in walking distance of every person on earth.
In order to make people ”see how they love each other”, we would literally have to place the church, the Body of Christ, as ”a shopping window of God” into the neighborhood of every person on the planet. (161)
Head Scratching
Could it be that one of the up-side-down principles Jesus introduced in the church is the freedom from work for a profit-oriented boss by freedom to work for God the blessing-oriented father who can well provide for his children? (140)
Not Worth Pondering
we have to require a higher level of commitment for anyone to become part of a local church. (136)
Contrary to popular thinking and translations, the Greek wording in Mt. 16:18 does not suggest the ”gates of hell” storming against the church, but the church storming against the gates of hell. Whatever or whoever or wherever those gates are, they will be unable to withstand. Is it the church which will, in the end, crash the entrance of hell and somehow depopulate it, since hell, we know, was not prepared for people in the first place? (Mt 25:41). [He is wrong about the Greek in 16:18. The greek forms clearly show Hades as the Subject and the Church as the object. 'And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it; (Young’s Literal Translation) Bad retranslation seems to justify bad theology, depopulating hell?!?!?!?!?!]
Worth Pondering
phrases like ”let us now have a time of worship” or ”let us now go into worship” meaning that all have to stand to sing some songs, might be less helpful than they sound, because they are a simple misnomer. ”It is important to note that the New Testament never mentions worship as the very the reason for Christians to come together - they come for mutual encouragement and edifying each other (1 Cor 14:26; Hebr. 10:24-25), but focuses more on the how, and not on the when and where of worship”, says Peter Ignatius of Christian Fellowship in Madras. The New Testament never refers to a meeting of the church as a worship service. Worship, in short, is not so much what we do but how we do it; not so much what we say or sing, but how we are a living sacrifice. (134)
Housechurches have the ability to shift the main emphasis from public religious behavior to the semi-privacy of homes. (135)
There is even a very powerful Christian equivalent to the minor crimes modern youth bands require from new members, which bond the new members to the tribe. It is the confession of sin. If someone confesses his sin to the housechurch, he may lose his face before the outside world and literally die to a life of double standards, but is accepted in grace and forgiveness and love by his new spiritual tribe. (138)
Preach the church, and the response will look like the church that sent you out. Preach Jesus, and the response looks very different. (147)
In each culture there are therefore essentially three ways of building - and planting - the church: 1. Trying to fit into the ”patterns of the world” … 2. The other extreme is to ignore the patterns of this world, of the local culture, the local ”way of doing things,” and to create and remain on a ”Holy Island”… 3. The third way, which I am advocating, is not a middle-of the-road-compromise, but to find a truly godly mix between redeeming and crucifying a given culture. [my emphasis] (150)
For most churches, everything starts so wonderful. Someone experiences God’s blessing because he has been obedient to His word and spirit. Someone else tells the story and it appears as a testimony; the third one creates a model out of this experience, which then is copied and cloned by a fourth one. A fifth one finally suggests: ”lets create an institution around this new model!”, and goes on to start franchises all over the world; and the sixth one forms all this into a new law, which judges everyone who chooses to do things different. I call this ”the six sure and easy steps to transform a blessing into a curse.” If we put our hands to the plough and look back (or abroad?), how do we dare to think we are fit for the work in the Kingdom of God? …Stop copying, and start creating in the name of the Creator-God, who lives in all of us, whether we are Pastors or not.
This way our churches would pass what Bill Beckham calls the photocopy test. If a church replicates itself with only dimmer versions of itself, then it’s life and nature is simply not good enough. (153-154)
large churches have a larger tendency to transform attenders into passive consumers of a thrilling program than small housechurches, for whom the involvement of almost everyone is absolutely vital….
We should work, in an united effort, towards the goal of placing a church in walking distance of every person on earth.
In order to make people ”see how they love each other”, we would literally have to place the church, the Body of Christ, as ”a shopping window of God” into the neighborhood of every person on the planet. (161)
Head Scratching
Could it be that one of the up-side-down principles Jesus introduced in the church is the freedom from work for a profit-oriented boss by freedom to work for God the blessing-oriented father who can well provide for his children? (140)
Not Worth Pondering
we have to require a higher level of commitment for anyone to become part of a local church. (136)
Contrary to popular thinking and translations, the Greek wording in Mt. 16:18 does not suggest the ”gates of hell” storming against the church, but the church storming against the gates of hell. Whatever or whoever or wherever those gates are, they will be unable to withstand. Is it the church which will, in the end, crash the entrance of hell and somehow depopulate it, since hell, we know, was not prepared for people in the first place? (Mt 25:41). [He is wrong about the Greek in 16:18. The greek forms clearly show Hades as the Subject and the Church as the object. 'And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it; (Young’s Literal Translation) Bad retranslation seems to justify bad theology, depopulating hell?!?!?!?!?!]
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