Some Great Questions

Here are some questions (and my replies) from a great couple who visited our home church last night. I thought some might find it helpful.

Trish,

It was great meeting you guys last night. You'd probably find it helpful to browse through the magazines that I gave you. They'll probably address other questions that you haven't thought of.

I'll try to address each of your questions here:

How is each Sunday meeting structured?

Um, good question. It varies from week to week.

Is there studying/teaching of the Word during each church meeting?

Yes and no. We almost always have a time of interactive bible study. Where we read and discuss the scriptures together. We DON'T usually have a "prepared" teaching of any kind. We tend to look at that as the role of the Holy Spirit. The Celtic Christians used to refer to the Holy Spirit as the Wild Goose. We like to think of our whole lives and especially our times together as kind of a Wild Goose chase as we try to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as best we can.

Do you rotate who teaches/leads a discussion?

Kinda. We don't really have a leader, and we've all become pretty good at taking part in the conversation. I took a little more active role last night than I probably would normally.

Do you worship through music? Sometimes, but we don't feel it's required for church.

Was last night's meeting typical for a Sunday night or changed up last minute since not all of us had the John Eldridge book?

Yes and Yes. There aren't really any typical Sunday nights to point to. Last night was typical in that we prayed for each other and had a good conversation. We look to do 3 things when we get together, break bread (eat), study the word, and pray together. These are out of the beginning of Acts where they talk about what the church did together.

And here was her response (including permission to use her email – thanks Trish).

Jon,

Thanks again for answering our questions. You're welcome to use my email as a FAQ or Q&A. Home church seems revolutionary to me. I say this because I was raised in a conservative, Presbyterian church home. I've become accustomed to program style churches and church small groups where there is much structure in place. These experiences have shaped my thoughts of what church should be. However, I'm setting aside these preconceived ideas because I think there is so much more in worshipping and gathering in Christ's name than pew sitting on Sundays and attending the proverbial mid-week Bible Study. I appreciate your help in our church search, Jon.

Trish