USA TODAY FEATURES: Simple Church

This article includes an interview with our very own Ken Eastburn of The Well, one of our OC/Organic Church Forum friends, so I had to share this here.
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Simple Churches Find a Foothold Across the U.S.
By Cathy Lynn Grossman
USA Today

(RNS) This weekend, Jeanne O'Hair, her friends and family will raise their voices in Easter hymns "as the spirit leads us," she says, in her "house church" -- O'Hair's living room in Brea, Calif.

In a metal outbuilding at a shuttered horse track near San Antonio, Jeff Bishop says he will celebrate at his "simple church" under a rough-hewed cedar cross, with "folks who speak 'cowboy' like I do."

In Washington, D.C., at the Saturday night Easter Vigil, "we'll keep it casual and focused on Christ," says William D'Antonio, a member of a network of Catholic-style house churches called "Intentional Eucharistic communities."

No matter what you call them, house churches, or "simple" or "organic" churches, have long thrived in Third World countries where clergy and funds for church buildings are scarce. Now, however, they are attracting a small but loyal following across the U.S.

It's not that Americans can't find a conventional church congregation. Rather, millions of believers are leaving the pews for small, regular weekly gatherings where they pray, worship, study Scripture and support each other's spiritual lives.

These groups operate without a building, a budget, an outside authority or, often, even a pastor. Many are lay-led groups where they like to say they "do church," rather than "go to church."

Participants are not "Christmas & Easter Christians" -- folks who pour into the buildings on peak holy days and fade away a week later. Instead, "they're intensely active believers who want to take charge themselves and find something that feels more authentic," said Christian
research expert George Barna, author of a new book, Maximum Faith.

"If you look at the Bible, the church we have today is nowhere to be found. The original form of church was the house church. Older people want to find a more personal experience of God and young people don't want the congregational structure or process. People don't want to just read the responsive reading when they are told to," Barna said.

A January 2011 survey by Barna Research (the firm that Barna founded and later sold) found that 5 percent of Americans -- about 11.5 million American adults -- say they attend a "house church or simple church, which is not associated in any way with a local, congregational type of church," at least weekly or monthly.

That's up from 4 percent (about 8.8 million adults) in 2006. Although the increase is slight, it's clearly "more than a passing fancy. It has staying power," current Barna Research President David Kinnaman says.

Before moving to California, O'Hair was on the staff of an Oregon megachurch that pulled out all the stops with Easter pageantry -- and later disbanded.

"We just weren't seeing any fruit, any new members, for all that huge expense of time and effort. I love Jesus and I love the church, but I think the way we do institutional church in America will be extinct before long. It will just crumble," O'Hair said.

Now, she says she's happier celebrating her Christian faith with Sunday morning house church meetings and pot-luck breakfast with her spiritual family.

"We believe this is what Paul meant by the priesthood of believers, something that's increasingly missing in the modern, hierarchical church," said O'Hair, who works in accounting at a private Christian school.

Bishop, a retired fireman and acting director of the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches, is not seminary trained or ordained, but has a license to conduct weddings.

"We're not affiliated with any denomination, but we are affiliated -- we're affiliated with Christ," he says, using a favorite expression.

Bishop had taken the traditional church route, but said "I don't miss a thing about it. This is church for people like me -- rural folk who speak my language."

Ken Eastburn, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, checked out of traditional church a decade ago and jumped into a church without walls. Now he works with The Well, a network of eight groups like O'Hair's.

"The whole point is not to be passive about your faith," Eastburn said. "Groups might meet on Sundays or on a weeknight but the constants are that there's always a meal together, a time of sharing, a time of prayer and Bible reading, and listening to each other and God, not a pastor."

Traditional churches have taken note of the growing desire for more simple ways to worship.

"Every large church I know is looking for ways to get small, to provide intimacy that may be missing," says Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor at the 500-member University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Mich., and co-author of Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion.

"Christians can meet anywhere from a cathedral to a storefront to a basement. There's no one perfect model," DeYoung said.

One drawback, he said, is that alternative congregations may drift away from church doctrine: "One of the main jobs of the church is to be the pillar of the truth, and its leaders are there to shepherd and guard it. It can be dicey in these small groups."

Catholics like D'Antonio remain tethered to the historic church through the volunteer priests who serve the Eucharistic communities, even if many don't ask the local bishop for permission.

"People are weary of all the constraints," says D'Antonio, a sociologist at Catholic University and co-author of a study, "The Catholic Experience of Small Christian Communities."

"We may have about 45 people at Easter vigil, but when we light the Easter candle and march into worship, we'll make as much noise singing as they will at any big parish."

Cathy Lynn Grossman writes for USA Today.

*See original article
HERE

KEN EASTBURN OF THE WELL

Ken Eastburn is the founder of The Well, a network of house churches that began in Southern California, and has spread to Pittsburgh, and most recently in Ghana, Africa.

The story of The Well—now located in Orange County, California—actually began long before I became its pastor. Originally named First Southern Baptist Church of La Habra 1952, the church experienced many ebbs and tides—from congregation size to pastoral leadership—over its first 50 years. By 2003, the 20 or so members who stuck around felt trampled and without answers.

Enter: me, Ken Eastburn. Over a cup of coffee, our denomination’s Missions Director asked whether I would consider stepping into the pastorate at this struggling church. I reluctantly agreed to visit with an “open mind.” But at my first sight of every wooden pew and plastic flower bouquet that adorned the sanctuary platform, I quickly dismissed the pastoral position. However, God still had his foot wedged in the door and six months later, I agreed to meet with the church’s board.

During the interview the five elderly board members’ faces looked war-torn. Seeking some reason why I might join their plight, I asked, “What’s next for this church?” One deep, male voice broke through the silence and with confidence said, “The Holy Spirit is not through with us.” His answer gripped my heart; I believed along with this man that God was still moving in their midst. So, in November 2003, I became their pastor.

But from the first time I stepped behind the large, wooden pulpit, I began to butt heads with some folks in the church body. Every time I tried to make a change—such as moving the “great, white Bible” from the altar, I stepped into sacred territory. Desperate to discover something radical, I even tried out a few funky techniques I had read about. We hosted a coffee-house style evening, complete with dim lighting, candles, and emo-type band. The whole endeavor flopped with a thud, and I was back at square one. So I prayed…and prayed…and prayed. And when I had finished, I prayed some more.

Our sweet and supportive church treasurer, Bonnie, suggested that the church buy a house, in which my family and I could live and the church could worship. Although the idea was fraught with potential problems, her proposal got me thinking. I went online and Googled the words “house” and “church.” A new world exploded in front of me. The more I read and researched about house churches in America, the more convinced I became that God was moving behind the scenes—and I was terrified.
In September 2004, five congregation members agreed to attend a house church conference with me in Denver, CO. After every seminar and assembly, their cry became, “We HAVE to do this!” So without a clear roadblock from the five, I proposed to the board the idea of leaving the building to begin meeting in houses.

Surprisingly, they, too, seemed to like the idea. Our little congregation agreed. Over the next four months, we prayed, fasted, researched, and dreamed together about what a house church model might look like. The congregation members went from “Don’t you dare get rid of the plastic flowers” to “Let’s change it all.”

The congregation radically voted to leave the building and we became The Well, a community of house churches. We adopted our new name immediately—even before we left our building—and began to make preparations to ditch the concrete. Finally, on a Sunday morning in January of 2005, The Well met in its building for the last time. We stepped out over the threshold…and never looked back.

Although bold and terrifying, leaving our building behind began our journey of discovering what the Church is really all about. Along the way, we have learned that everything a “normal” church does—missions, study, growth, evangelism, and so on—we can do together, because a change of venue does not negate the responsibilities and privileges we share with any other church. Daily, God continues to transform us…and He’s not done with us yet.

What about you?

Do you believe the Holy Spirit is still moving in your midst? While God does not lead everyone down the same path, His desire for you to be an active member of His Body remains the same. Could something as simple as a building be standing in the way of your becoming the living, breathing Body of Christ? Is it time for you to strip down to the bare essentials and become the Church all over again?
If so, we invite you to join us on this journey and leave the building.

JOIN US FOR MOMENTUM 2012 ON MARCH 30 & 31. REGISTER TODAY>

NEXT HOUSE CHURCH 101 CLASS - FEBRUARY 7TH

Registration is FREE* (Must RSVP)

Learn more about the House Church experience and how you can start your own house church, or join an existing one, here in Orange County, California.

This seminar will explore several aspects of house church including:
*Is House Church Biblical?
*What about the kids?
*Who's in charge? (Leadership in a typical house church)
*What about Spiritual Covering?
*Guarding against heretical doctrines and keeping the faith.
*Food, fellowship, family and fun in the house church context.
*God's Amazing DNA For His Church.

TO RSVP FOR THIS SPECIAL SEMINAR PLEASE EMAIL US AT
mailto:ATOCHOUSECHURCH@GMAIL.COM

Let us know how many will be attending and we'll send you a map and more information about the "House Church 101" class.