Quiet Time Notes

Notes from my daily Quiet Times with God

Must Churches Be Complicated? (part II)

July 6th, 2025
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Most orgainizations that call themseleves churches are really minitries of the church or a parachurch

They do good work:

• Ministry of families, children, singles and seniors
• Provide large meeting spaces to experience worship and teaching
• Provide opportunities to give to the less forunate

In many cases the church's essential nature, activity and mission are obscured by concerns that are better left to parachurch organizations

Parachurch (stand along side) are good from accomplishing tasks efficently

Small house churches are still the most pure and simply the essential church

• No common treasury
• No employees
• No property
• No government entanglement
• No professional clergy

Smaller house churches will most of the time be closer to the ideal church the first century Christians lived

Parachurches cannot facilitate the intimacy, friendship and deep community a small church can

Parachurches tend to treat small groups minitries as adjunct to the larger church

The reversal of this thinking - house churches first and then periodically meet together to encourge a larger group, would be ideal

Given this is unlikely in the near term, plan to treat parachurch are they are right now, good for organization of events

Key Phrase: Smaller house churches will most of the time be closer to the ideal church the first century Christians lived

Notes from: Rethinking Church by Ron Highfield.