Particular Baptists and the Need for Revival
….that the rise of the Particular Baptists was when they were basically house churches. I dare suggest that in the coming years, we ought to borrow that page, and presumably others, from their playbook.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
At the church where I pastored, the best thing for the remaining congregation would be to blow the building up, and start a new church with whoever is willing to meet in somebody’s living room. They worship that building, like a pagan shrine. It should be destroyed. My wife has already volunteered to push the button to set off the explosives, if they decide to go that route.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
…we could bring marshmallows and hot dogs, no? Tyler will be appalled with me when he learns (now) that I may have prevented an old, idolized church from burning by pointing out to the head deacon that the collected VBS decorations of the past 20 years were a clear fire hazard. :^)
(in my defense, it was mostly masonry and reinforced concrete and a lot of it would have survived….)
Seriously, I dare suggest that as our culture degrades—if this is indeed going towards times of trouble where the church will be persecuted—then we really, really, really ought to consider more house churches and such. We can simply hide it by noting we’re going to borrow some eggs or a cup of sugar. Like Joe B., we need to get acquainted with people who come from more persecuted areas of the world like China, Cuba, Vietnam, and the like. Learn a bit from them.
I remember talking with Benny Costea, a pastor from Romania, about how the church seemed to thrive more under the Warsaw Pact there than it does today. We can make it work.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Discussion