Customer Reviews

The Church Comes Home

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I read this book along with Frank Viola's book "Rethinking The Wineskins" and I found this book to be a bit more easier to follow and more practical. While Viola's book seem to have an heir about it that said "I'm ticked off at the established church and here is why" this book simply offers the reader a candid look at the New Testament model of house churches and how the Bank's are seeking to follow the NT pattern. Bank's is a scholar. You will find in this book a man who loves God, loves people, and teaches the truth of Scripture clearly. If you have read books on house churches and have walked away with a bit of skepticism (as I have at times) than buy this book and you will find that Bank's is truly a brother in Christ who only desires to be like Jesus.

Robert and Julia shared from experience when they wrote this book. It is so refreshing to read a book that is about real life, rather than just the theory and doctrine of how house church ought to be. The various testimonies are really insightful.

If you are contemplating leaving the institutionalized church, this book would be a good place to start your journey toward relational fellowship in the home setting.

A practical survey of the house church movement. Without bitterness toward traditional models of church, Banks introduces a refreshing model for the household of faith which has its roots in the first century. It is a radical concept for many American Christians because it stands in such stark contrast with the more individualistic, consumer driven model for church which has taken center stage in Western Culture.

The Church Comes Home is certainly worth the purchase given its practical down to earth guide to how to organize House Churches and address some of the diverse issues associated with this simple organic structure of the body of Christ

In general, I would credit the authors with doing a remarkable job of describing the need for committed relationships within the church for it to function as Christ intended. And the greatest strength of the book is the stories that they tell to share with us the successes and struggles that various house churches have experienced over many years. Those stories are very real and express the significant growth and value of house churches.

My problem with this book is the notion that house churches are the only place for real relationships to develop. The caricature that they portray of small groups in more traditional churches is full of generalizations and simplifications. They have chosen the worst of small groups and shown them to be the norm. If I were to choose between the small groups described in this book and a house church, I would also think that house churches are the only way to go.

However, small groups have the potential, when done well, to offer significant vitality in the life of a traditional church. Quality small groups, led by capable leaders, can retain many of the wonderful attributes that the authors describe from house churches. And there are many wonderful benefits from a traditional church that are totally lost within the framework of house churches. These attributes of contemporary church life are totally and inappropriately discarded as useless.

Ultimately, I think that the authors fall short by assuming the primacy of their approach. Though I am pleased to learn how God is working through house churches to minister to so many people, I do not appreciate (or agree with) the suggestion that this model needs to ultimately replace traditional church life.

I intend to utilize some key insights that I garnered from this book to implement them within the context of our small groups. And I will continue to thank the Lord for blessing me with an awesome church family, which allows me opportunities to connect and serve with people at our house within our small group but in so many other life-giving and transformational ways!!