Going to their house

Tall Skinny Kiwi today links to an old post that relates to my earlier post on Luke 10. In this 2004 post he relates what he sees as a needed refocusing of the "house church movement" from our house to "theirs" -- getting out into the missional community. This, he says, is what Jesus was sending his followers out to do:

Jesus told his short-term missionaries to put peace on THEIR (those other people, the ones they were sent to) house, enter THEIR house, live in THEIR house, eat in THEIR house, heal someone or something in THEIR house. Right there is the base of a new church and it is in THEIR house. Do we no longer trust God enough to free up people to run with the Kingdom of God in their houses? Have we replaced our trust in the Spirit's power for the scaffolding of programs and hierarchies that prop up our temples?

For the record, despite his griping about the model, Andrew sees great value in the small communities that are springing up around the world. "For most of the world, starting new churches means cleaning up before the living room fills up with people. Millions of churches around the word are starting this way and millions more are needed."