Restoring the Home as The Center for Spiritual Growth
Millions of Christians have left the Church since 1960. Why? Today's Church behaves more like a "Greek theater" than a living organism. Its members "go to" church when they should "be" the church. These spectators are wearied from fighting, wasting money and trying to fulfill a pastor's "vision." Assuming there is no alternative, many Christians just want "out." They leave (fully intending never to darken a church door again), but they soon realize they are missing the church. They do not realize they are the church. Still believing in God. His Son Jesus, God's Word and the power of His Spirit, they wander and search for something real. They have been made sick from the church's "competing" with itself! They only wanted relationship, not membership; ministry, not programs; shepherds, not theater manager; Bible, not buildings! We Are The Church! Ralph Neighbor, in his book, Where Do We Go From Here?, says, "During the past 35 years, a new form of church life has spread across the earth. It is estimated that as many as 74 million people are participating in 'cell churches.' Satan Wants to Destroy Families! Satan, the enemy of God, has destroyed the family in the Western World. Satan has used television, films, and music and has taken advantage of an increasingly worldly church. The church has unwittingly aided and abetted Satan. For example, the church measures faithfulness to God by attendance. It says you cannot get to heaven by attending, but it will send anyone to hell for not attending! By demanding faithful attendance to every program devised by the church, little or no time is left for the family to be together. There are many other examples of how today's church destroys the family, but the worst is the notion that one must be faithful to attend services at the expense of family time. The church was never intended to be like a Greco-Roman theater building with stages and pews. If buildings are the answer, then why are so many cathedrals being turned into museums? Is it possibly due to a lack of people? Yet, the church continues to build buildings, not people. It even builds Gothic cathedrals in the heart of India where peasants can't afford the upkeep! When I say that the church needs to return to the home, I am not speaking of thousands of "mini-Greco-Roman pastorless churches." Nor am I speaking of "cell" churches. I am advocating the restoration of the home as the center of each family's spiritual growth. When we build strong families, then our assembling together will make a strong church, not the reverse! When we of Family Restoration Fellowship made the transition from a "building oriented" church to being "family oriented," five things were considered. They were: (1) The home should be the center of spiritual growth; (2) Church leadership should "pasture" the flock; (3) Tithing should be received from all member families as a transaction which requires a blessing from the pastor; (4) The head of each household must assume the responsibility for spiritual leadership; and (5) A weekly family day of spiritual rest must become part of each family's lifestyle. These five things were found in the Biblical family model.
Tithe Must be Properly Handled! Tithing should be received from all member families as a transaction which requires a blessing from the pasturer. Tithing is God's plan to fund His ministry. It is not an "optional" clause in Scripture. What needs to be done is found in Nehemiah 9:38-10:39. It says in summary, "We assume the responsibility of God's Law to tithe so that the needs of our priests are Biblically provided." Denominational statistics indicate that fewer than one-third of today's church members tithe. Part of the cause for this embarrassment is that the tithe has been improperly received and improperly administered. Furthermore, how that tithe is administered is critical. It should be invested in the people. According to Numbers 18, ten percent of the total tithe of a congregation should be held in reserve. If a family loses their income, that ten percent could help with household bills until employment is found. We of Family Restoration Fellowship have seen this work successfully for three years without any family's taking advantage of the fund. We place fifteen percent of the tithe into a fund which purchases and supplies each family with home study materials. These materials include books, study notes, video tapes, crafts and audio cassette instructional tapes. We simply take what is best from publishers, put them all together to make an orderly study and "give" them to the tithing families. The head of each household sees to it that a day is set aside each week for the family to gather to study God's Word. The results have been astounding! Spiritual growth has been steady and rapid. We save another fifteen percent to take all our families on a week-long vacation. Lodging and food are provided for the entire week. The families spend the time building relationships and ministering to each other. There is a special time each day to gather and share what God is doing in our midst. We meet weekly in different homes during the remainder of the year, and we also meet monthly for praise and instructions on the "how to's" of home Bible study and conducting a day of rest.
