it's funny how people take you seriously when you make a declaration that you need to step back into your gifts...kevin happened to read what i said, and now i'm guiding/teaching/facilitating (whatever the word of the week is) our house church discussion on acts - or at least on the first chapter next week. church happened last night, and it happened good. it seems we're all fairly hungry for jesus and scripture right now, and it's good for the spirit. i think my community and i sometimes run the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water when it comes to structure in the church, resulting in a potential for drifting who knows where...so we've decided to try a bit of structure (see kevin's post for today), and the cool thing is that it's something we want, and a decision we arrived at together, honestly. (holy spirit, perhaps??) anyway, one thing that's been on my mind lately regarding house churches is the place for new believers and seekers. i have a friend who is hungry for the gospel right now, but he has had very little teaching or discipleship. he's starting to come to house church, and the community is good for him. but i've had a fear that when he is there, there is a chance that he isn't receiving much more than a safe little spiritual discussion that could take place anywhere. but last night we came to some definition of what the church is, and my fears are gradually being dispelled....but i do wonder about the place for new believers and seekers. my friend is at a place where he really just wants to know what the bible says, and get some teaching from it. he went to my old church in indiana last week, which has a big service with loud music and a preacher who just moves through scripture, chapter by chapter. i don't want to have to send my seeking friends to a large, mainstream "culturally sensitive" church in a building to hear what the bible says. but there are many times in our house church when the bible may not be opened. now, i'm definitely not a mainstream evangelical. and i have a lot of questions and ideas about what it means to follow jesus that may have some believing i'm on my way to hell. but i think sometimes we have a certain assumption that everyone already knows what scripture says, as most of us in my church come from homes and backgrounds where reciting scripture was just a part of life. so we all have that foundation for discussion, and we often want to go different directions. but what about those who don't? hmm...i suppose i'm starting to sound like a bible-thumper. i definitely believe that God's word is revealed in many complex ways beyond scripture. but doesn't there need to be a starting point somewhere?? i certainly want to make it clear that i'm not judging my house church. in fact, i've only recently been a part of it again, after a year of being the prodigal. and my church family is full of people who really rock when it comes to loving God and each other. i'm just wondering some of these things... any thoughts out there??