House Church (Part 3): Plurality, Protection and Accountability

I have no doubt that “some” house church advocates will read this and say, “You sure showed those traditional church people a thing or two!” and that “some” traditional church members will read this and think, “You’re just being divisive”. To both sets of individuals; you’re both in great error! My intent is not to “get anyone” or to “be divisive”… it’s to expound the Word of God alone, without bias or favor to any particular group, house church or not. In short, this note is written for those who want to come into deeper truth; it’s to you that I write.

All who read this need to clearly and plainly understand is this: I am not “against” traditional church in any way whatsoever. That said, I am also not under any illusion that I do not see many, many concerns with the structure of traditional church formats. In comparing house church and traditional church with the Biblical outline which the Holy Spirit gave to His Body, I am deeply concerned for the spiritual welfare of those who sit under singular rule. Please see my heart in this; I believe with all of my being that both the house church and traditional church formats should work side by side; however, concerning leadership structures, I cannot remain either silent or indifferent to the problematic and more importantly unBiblical model of accountability and authority structure of traditional church. Due to this, I have written this note with the prayer that those who read it will see it as (1) a call to return to Biblical leadership and (2) an outline of why house church isn’t as bad as some believe. In fact, I welcome and and all to join our house church or plant a house church based on the Biblical model given in the Word.

There’s a common charge against house churches of not being accountable and being prone to falling into the ditch of heresy. Is this a valid charge? I submit –and will detail in this note – that not only is such a charge unfounded, the opposite is in fact the case. In fact, models which rely on singular leadership are far more prone to falling into false doctrine and a spirit which breeds a lone ranger mentality. A Biblical house church is just that: Biblical. Thus, the Lord, in His great wisdom, gave us this model of gathering as it provides solid accountability and protection from falling into false doctrine due to it’s very nature. How so? Let’s look at the Biblical guidelines of house church and then compare the house church model with the traditional building model of gathering. My heart in this is not to attack traditional church structure but instead to bring Biblical clarity to the leadership and accountability aspect of house churches in comparison with the leadership and accountability structure of traditional church. In explaining and clarifying how house church is accountable and protected from heresy, my prayer is that many who have never been to or participated in house church life – yet make claims on issues they have no idea about – would come into a more full understanding of just how safe and protected the house church is in comparison to every other model of church life.

1. Biblical house churches have a plurality of leadership: In Titus 1:5 we read the following, “I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you”. Elders (with an “s) were appointed in churches in Apostolic times for a reason. What’s that reason? When there’s a plurality of leadership, the chance of falling into doctrinal error and heresy is greatly lessened. House churches which follow the Biblical model are less prone to heresy than traditional church. While traditional churches- have “senior” Pastors who all other pastors must submit to in authority, house churches do not. All leadership within a house church is equal in authority; no one is “senior” over the other leaders; no single individual can dictate what the house church believes and no single individual can suddenly make doctrinal changes that affect the life of the church. Not so with traditional church. Assistant Pastors, Youth Pastors, Worship Pastors… none of these positions are in the Word and all of these positions are subordinate to the “Senior” Pastor.

Thus, if the “Senior Pastor” decides that the church is going to move in a direction not wanted by the corporate whole or the subordinate leadership, too bad; the “Senior”Pastor gets the “final say”. Of course there are certainly exceptions to this (Praise God!) yet for the most part the “Senior Pastor” in a traditional church is the “head shepherd” (not Jesus Christ) and what he makes as a “final decision” is final. Period. In house church, this isn’t so; in fact, let me give you an example. I once hired an actor to make a video outlining our house church gatherings. I loved it! There was nothing in it which was wrong or immoral etc… but some of our leadership had an issue with it in that what the actor was saying was true but it was…acting.

They had a problem with that and they challenged me. I asked for a compromise and we came to a final agreement as a leadership body. House church is different in that there’s no “one man show”. Many will say that traditional church has deacons, denominational offices,etc, to keep “senior pastors” in check. While this is a noble attempt at protection… it falls short of Scriptural guidelines.

In fact, while many traditional churches have deacon boards to determine things, these very boards are man made; deacons, according to the Book of Acts, are to serve the church in practical things; not make leadership decisions which affect entire congregations. House church,on the other hand, has a Biblically sound leadership model based on Scripture alone without any inserted tradition; thus, the sheep are well protected from heretical influxes by lone rangers.

A plurality of elders with absolute equal authority is seen, in the majority of instances, in house church. Traditional church, while mightily used of God, has intrinsic dangers due to it’s top-down structure while house church is solidified against heresy due to it’s side-by-side leadership structure.

2. Accountability is to one another…not to a singular “leader” or a denominational board: Ephesians 5:21 tells us to “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”. Church members are to submit to “one another”… not to any singular outside influence. It’s said that the Early Churches submitted to the Apostles; of course they did! The Apostles were the fathers of those assemblies, being planted by them. Yet it must also be noted that the Apostles themselves submitted to one another and to the elders of the churches, as seen in Acts 15:1-4 which says,“While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised are required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted. When they arrived in Jerusalem,Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them”.

All of these dear Early Christians were accountable to one another and that accountability came from relationship between elders, apostles and believers. Nowhere in the Word of God do we find people voting Pastors into denominations or voting pastors out due to minor differences on doctrinal matters. Accountability in traditional church is lacking… deeply. House church, however, being structured by God Himself as outlined in Scripture, provides accountability to“one another”. This means that sheep are not left to “do as they please” and nor are leaders. From A to Z, accountability is more than to a singular Pastor… it’s to a whole body of Believers. I’m disturbed when I hear people say things like, “That’s my Pastor; I’m under his authority”. That’s dangerous.. yet it’s the traditional church mindset. No lone man has any power to bring people under his authority; submission is to “one another” (sheep_ and to a plurality of elders…not singular Pastors. Is this Biblical? Yes. In Hebrews 13:17 we read, “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit”. Believers are to submit to “leaders” (with an “s”). Whenever I hear someone say, “I’m submitted to my Pastor” I raise my spiritual eyebrow. Submission to a lone authority places you in spiritual danger.

Because of the traditional church view of submission to authority, when a Pastor – a lone Pastor – makes a decision based on personal preference or makes a decision which is clearly not the proper one, many Believers will heed it anyway. House church is much different in that if a leader makes a decision of deep significance,it must be made, without exception, with the Mind of Christ as revealed through the other leaders and affirmed by the corporate body. No one Pastor has any Biblical authority to demand submission to his office as a singular entity.

While some will disagree, there’s no Biblical support for such a view; on the contrary, submission is to “one another”… not to “one”.

3. In Acts 15:28-29 we read, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols,from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell”. Notice that the direction given to the early churches was given by“us”… not a singular individual. The “us” shows an agreement among the leadership of the Early Church. There was no singular “Senior Pastor” to overrule the others; there was a common consensus and thus the protection of the church from false doctrine and cultic rule flourished. In Acts 13:1-4 we read, “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas, and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit…”

Notice here that the body of Christ was used by God to send out the Apostle Paul and Barnabas; even the Apostles were required to come under the authority of the local church as a whole. This is a perfect example of submission to “one another”. The work of the ministry in the Apostles in the text above was affirmed by the Holy Spirit through the corporate church; this is the Biblical model and it’s how house church operates.

4. Finally, singular rule in an assembly is seen in the Word of God as being an aberration of God’s Will and dangerous to God’s People. In 3 John 1:9-12 we read, “I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church. Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God. Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth”.

Notice that a singular man wants to be “the leader”(singular). This singular leader made accusations against “us”(the Apostles). The Apostle John tells us that those under the singular leadership of Diotrephes are kicked out of the church for receiving and helping traveling teachers (plural). Singular leadership, as seen here, rather than the Biblical model of equal and plural leadership, can bring great harm to a local congregation. If a church has a “one man show”, the potential of falling into error, condemning others, excommunicating those who do not follow “the leader”… it’s all possible under one man rule, just as seen here.

For example, if I’m welcomed in an assembly by several brothers and sisters, and yet “the leader” happens to not like me for whatever reason, those Believers who have received me can then be shunned,hear malicious things about me, etc… just as Diotrephes did with the Apostles. Singular rule in an assembly is unBiblical and fraught with danger from every side. Only within a genuine structure of plural eldership is the church safe from error, lone ranger decisions and a “I’m THE leader and my decisions are FINAL!” mentality.

In Conclusion

Far from being cultic or unaccountable,the house church model is far more accountable and solidified against heresy than the traditional church format. In fact, as demonstrated above, house churches are clearly safe havens from singular rule,dictatorial authority and a “I’m submitted to my Pastor”mentality rather than “I’m submitted to the elders and the congregation as a whole” Biblical view. House church provides it’s members with personal and corporate accountability which is found in no other structure.

Certainly, the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, knew what He was doing when He gave us His Word… and His Word is clear on leadership, accountability and safeguarding the ministry, it’s leaders and it’s sheep. Thus, if you’re ever told that house churches are not accountable or lack proper leadership, etc… simply direct those who make such claims to this very note.

My prayer is that whether you’re in a traditional church structure or a house church structure, you’ll always go back to the Word of God to question, challenge and find answers for what you’re being told and taught. Only when a heart longs for truth can it be freed from deception and man cantered philosophies. Amen? Amen!

I pray that this three part series has provided you with exactly how house churches are accountable and protected in a manner which is Biblical and sound.