The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum House church vs corporate worship

I am encouraged by Johan's response, that I'm not alone in my thoughts. As for the size of the church, I believe that within the corporate body there can still be relationships. I came from a church that emphasized the prayer meeting, which was pretty much attended by all. The time of prayer was broken up into groups of two or three, always trying to pray with a different person each time. This built good relationships within the church. There were undershepherding groups which met quarterly on Sunday nights led by the deacons, each deacon having responsibility for their church families assigned them. The deacons were chosen based on faithfulness, and understanding of the doctrines of grace, not by popularity vote.

One of the problems with the small group goes with my previous post about teachers, there are leaders of these groups who have no teaching skills. I tried to get involved with them but couldn't stomach it, so dropped out of the group. Another problem I noticed is that there isn't any accountablity with the groups. Heresy can be taught or just plain fluff, the teaching more geared toward the experiencial than doctrinal. Sharing what God is doing in our lives, the struggles I'm facing and the prayer I need instead of focusing on what the church is about, God and His glory. Sometimes they can become real pity parties, reminded me of an AA meeting. Don't think I'm cold or heartless, it is just that the focus wouldn't be on ourselves if we were getting sound teaching. Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him! Again, I'm just tired of where our church is headed. Our church started out good about a year ago, but recently it has slowly been dying. It is like being onboard a sinking ship with everyone going about their own business not recognizing the peril we are in. God's church will not fail, but I believe the local congregation can, and will fail if our hearts are not right.