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Does the Bible say to attend a Church building?

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Dave Slayer

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Does the Bible say to attend a Church building? Would it be okay if a group of Christians met in someone's home every Sunday for Church? Does it have to be a building with stained glassed windows and pews?
 
Of course not. But for some (not all) people, meeting in "house churches" is really a cop-out. It removes authority and accountability from their lives. I tend to believe that it's better to go to a healthy church and build community and relationships their than start a new one. However, God does call some people to start churches or leave their old ones. So there's nothing wrong with meeting in a house or in someone's swimming pool - just as long as you're doing it for the right reasons.
 
e. barrett said:
Of course not. But for some (not all) people, meeting in "house churches" is really a cop-out. It removes authority and accountability from their lives. I tend to believe that it's better to go to a healthy church and build community and relationships their than start a new one. However, God does call some people to start churches or leave their old ones. So there's nothing wrong with meeting in a house or in someone's swimming pool - just as long as you're doing it for the right reasons.


Was Jesus copping out when he refused to join one of the religious parties of His day? What kind of authority? The authority of the state?
 
Dave Slayer said:
Does the Bible say to attend a Church building? Would it be okay if a group of Christians met in someone's home every Sunday for Church? Does it have to be a building with stained glassed windows and pews?

It is biblical to meet in the simplicity of a home. Why Sunday? Why not Saturday night like in the bible? ;)
 
Adullam said:
Was Jesus copping out when he refused to join one of the religious parties of His day? What kind of authority? The authority of the state?

Of course not. But then I don't think you can say that the Jews were actually in a "healthy church" at the time. The goal of Jesus wasn't to establish a religion, it was to bring freedom to our lives. And the only way you can do that is to have a healthy relationship with God. And one of the best (although not the only way) is to be involved in a "healthy community".

As for authority - I was careful to qualify my statement. People do leave churches because they are unsound or unhealthy. But it's been my experience (purely anecdotal) that many others leave because they don't like being challenged by a healthy church community.

You can meet wherever you like, and in whatever format you like - but if you aren't willing to be challenged by a healthy church community (including the authority structure of that church) - you probably aren't growing closer to God. At least not as quickly as you could be.
 
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