If you’re looking to understand the purpose, heart, and practicality of house church from people who have been doing it for years, you’ve come to the right place. The “Why House Church?” podcast was created for everyone on a house church journey–whether you’ve just been introduced to the idea or you’ve been doing this for years.
Our hope is that our episodes add perspective and testimony to the possibilities of what the Lord can do and is doing through the house church structure.
If you have questions about an episode or suggestions for a new episode, you can reach out to our team here.
Listen at these links:
Wondering where to start?
If you’re wondering about why Christians would choose to leave the institutionalized church structure behind, this episode may be helpful:
In this episode, we begin to address the elephant in the room: why not institutionalized church (featuring side tangents on blood letting, neck popping, and more). At the core of our concerns, we discuss how institutionalized church structures inherently encourage a consumeristic and individualized approach to faith, as opposed to a participatory and communal approach. We also talk about how popular house church voices too often unfairly blame the people in these churches as the problem when the issues are about the structure, not the hearts of our brothers and sisters in Christ
Concerns with the Institutionalized Church
If you're part of a house church that's struggling with over-systemization, stagnating into more of a "friendship club" than a church, leadership concerns, or a number of other issues, this episode may be helpful:
In this episode, we talk about some of the most common struggles we see house churches experience, including both over and under structuring their gatherings and difficulty developing healthy patterns for leadership. Sometimes, these happen when we run from any sense of organization out of fear of falling back into those old ways. That often starts from an unhealthy form of “deconstruction,” which we take a moment to address in the first half of this episode. Other times, these struggles come from a tendency to lean back on and rebuild old institutionalized ways when we aren’t sure what to do. Here, we suggest foundational and practical ways to move forward from both issues by bringing the focus away from liturgy and titles and towards purpose and people.
Troubleshooting Common House Church Issues
If you’re wondering how to recognize when a house church or any other spiritual community shows signs of unhealthy or toxic patterns, this episode may be helpful
In this episode, we talk about “red flags” or warning signs of unhealthy or even dangerous patterns in faith (or other) communities, including some that point to cult-like behavior. We split these concerns up into a tier list. “Tier S” starts off with the most dangerous and difficult concerns to come back from, and we progress through to the “F Tier” red flags, which are odd and even goofy idiosyncrasies that depend on context to determine if they’re actually worrisome. Through each of the tiers, we share about times we’ve seen the house church structure serve as a solid foundation for noticing, addressing, and overcoming some of these concerns. We also point out that many of these concerns are systematically ingrained in the modern institutionalized church, which can make them difficult to see and unlearn in other settings.
Red Flags
If you’re wondering about or have concerns about what accountability for doctrine, action, and leadership looks like outside of large-scale institutionalized structures, this episode may be helpful.
In this episode, we explain how accountability can actually be done more easily and effectively in a house church setting. As part of that, we look at some of the larger systematic issues with accountability in practice, doctrine, and leadership within the institutionalized church. Then, we dive into how the house church structure can help us avoid those same pitfalls and help us constantly encourage and challenge one another to better reflect the image of Christ.
Rethinking Accountability
If you’re wondering about what goes on when house churches gather, this episode may be helpful.
In this episode, we give a wide-reaching but practical answer to the questions “What is house church?” and “What do house church meetings look like?” We explain how we separate ourselves from a set liturgy and instead set each meeting’s structure by navigating different seasons and needs. In all of the variety of meeting structures, though, the focus is always on becoming better representatives and disciples of Christ who make disciples. For an even wider view into what house church meetings might look like and include, check out the article series on our website, A Glimpse into Gatherings. There, you’ll find a more detailed explanation of why we let go liturgy, as well as examples of how we’ve seen house churches include scriptural study and reading, fellowship, edification, worship, and prayer in their gatherings.
What Is House Church?
If you’re wondering if house church is a phase or fad in people's lives, this episode may be helpful.
In this episode, we talk about what factors might be behind the growth of the house church scene in modern times. Why are so many Christians moving towards more intimate faith communities in the 21st century? Is it just part of a fad to “fight the system,” another season of revivalism that will fall away? Or is it an instinctive return to the biblical ways of the earliest church? (Spoiler alert: we think both of those views are unfair). Join us in unpacking the complexity of modern revivalism, declining trust in institutions, and the impact of the “Age of Information” for Christians today.