Hi there,<br>reformed, unreformed, yada yada yada yada . . . the thing you have to think about is what the Bible says. The house church is absolutely biblical - not to say that the large congregation is unbiblical. I think of the verse that says, "everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. . . ." Yes, I know that is basically talking about food and habits and stuff like that, but the truth spills out into this issue of how we worship and where we worship. The statement, "I will not be mastered by the traditions of the church," could be used in this case. The tradition of the church - even the evangelical, bible-believing, non-cult, bible-believing church - has become big services, one speaker, services planned out (largely by the mind of man) for months, sometimes years, ahead of time. <br>Back to the point - beneficial<br>Not everything is beneficial, and some things that are beneficial are not as beneficial as God wants them to be. We'll take the issue of fellowship, for example. Fellowship is supposed to be beneficial. It is supposed to be a time when people get together, worship, teach, learn, listen, grow in Christ and unity with each other. <br>I think the Bible clearly teaches that we should have beneficially maximized fellowship. God wants our gatherings to promote true biblical fellowship. If that means meeting in a home, then meet in a home. If you can meet w/ other people of like mind whose goal it is to pursue holiness and righteousness with other believers; to grow, to serve, to be transformed - then go do it. If you need to meet in a home, then meet in a home. That's a great start; where two or more are gathered together. That's a worship service. That's church! <br>Whatever you do, don't balk on fellowship. Have what you can. Don't hold out for what you consider to be perfect. But don't settle for monotonous, impersonal fellowship - even if you have to start there.<br>This is an extremely important issue. I pray that God directs your steps and leads you into dynamic fellowship.<br>Adios hermano,<br>DN
