Tag: Organic Church

In the West, persecution of Christians used to be something we heard about happening in other places. We read stories of Christians being harassed, imprisoned, tortured and sometimes killed for their faith in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China and the Middle East, but we thought it could not happen in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada or Australia. But signs are appearing that that may be beginning to change. For example:

• Christian Concern reported that on 1 September 2024, the Metropolitan Police were called to The Angel Church in Islington, London, after a Muslim woman stormed the building screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘I am here to kill the God of the Jews.’
• On 15 April 2024, a young man entered the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, New South Wales, Australia, and stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel several times while he was leading a service.
• Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Christian charitable volunteer who was arrested twice for praying silently in a ‘buffer zone’ around the Robert Clinic in Birmingham, UK, where abortions are carried out, has received a payout of £13,000 from West Midlands Police in acknowledgement of her unjust treatment, and the breach of her human rights.
• Christian street preachers in various towns and cities in the UK have been arrested on charges of so-called ‘hate crime’ after criticising Islam or speaking against homosexual acts.

The Bible tells us that persecution is a normal experience for Christians:

• Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12)
• Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. (1 John 3:13)
• Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)
• “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Matthew 5:11)

In a helpful article, Dr Patrick Sookhdeo explains how we can prepare ourselves individually to face persecution if, or when, it comes.

But should the threat, even the imminent arrival, of persecution influence the way our churches operate? How can they prepare themselves to survive and flourish in a climate of restriction or opposition?

The experience of the church in China is evidence that the church can grow in a harsh climate. The research of Dr Darryl Ireland of Boston University suggests that the Chinese church has grown from 1 million to 100 million over the past four decades. Fenggang Yang, of Purdue University’s Center on Religion and Chinese Society, estimates that fewer than 30 million of these attend officially registered churches; the rest are members of underground house churches.

One of the benefits of the organic, simple, small-scale church that meets in a home or other private setting is that it can continue to flourish and multiply under persecution.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins, on leaving home after his 111th birthday party, reluctantly leaves behind his magic ring of power, dropping it on the floor. The wizard Gandalf picks up the ring, places it in a sealed envelope and instructs Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, to “keep it secret, keep it safe.”

I suggest an adaptation of Gandalf’s instruction: Keep it secret, keep it simple.

Why might a small, simple church of, say, a dozen adults plus their children, be better able to endure persecution and continue to carry out Jesus’ great commission than a ‘conventional’ church?

Many churches have a prominent presence in the community: most meet in a building that has a distinctive architectural style and a board outside advertising its identity and what goes on inside. The church probably has a web site and may advertise its services and special events in the local newspaper. In the event of restrictions being imposed on services, prayer meetings and so on by a government antagonistic to the Christian faith, such churches would be easy targets. Just consider the ease with which the British government was able to shut down church meetings during the Covid-19 lockdowns. And if a fanatical Islamic fundamentalist is looking for a group of Christians to assault or murder, where is he or she going to look first?

A small, anonymous group of Christians that meets in a home is not exposed in the same way as a church that meets in a building and advertises its presence. It can adapt easily to operating completely ‘under the radar’. It grows and multiplies as its members share their faith through personal relationships and invite new believers to join them, or set up new home churches to accommodate them. It can move its meeting place from home to home, if necessary, and if it should be suppressed or eliminated, other groups can pop up spontaneously, Whac-A-Mole-fashion.

A church that relies heavily on a paid, professional minister for leadership and ministry could be incapacitated if that minister were arrested (or worse). A church that has high overheads, for example, the cost of maintaining a building or employing a caretaker, could struggle to continue if its members’ income declined, for example, as a result of reductions in state pensions, allowances and benefits or the imposition of a central bank digital currency restricting what money can be used for. But a home church that functions using the spiritual gifts distributed among its members and the ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher can continue to flourish in straitened circumstances. Loving, caring relationships will ensure that, as in the church described in Acts 4:34, there is ‘not a needy person among them’.

What if persecution or restriction comes, not from government or violent aggressors, but from within a denomination? What if ‘conscience clauses’ allowing congregations to opt-out of doctrinal changes opposed to the word of God determined by denominational leaders are eliminated, and a church has to take the decision to secede? What if this results in a requirement to vacate the church’s premises and the termination of the minister’s stipend? Will the church be able to adapt and survive? Would it not be better to start restructuring now and start enjoying some of the benefits of small-scale, simple church: closer fellowship, the blossoming of spiritual gifts, and the opportunity to use most of the members’ tithes and offerings to proclaim the gospel worldwide and help the poor and needy, rather than spending them on the upkeep of a building?

For many churches, the Covid-19 lockdowns were a missed opportunity to do things differently, possibly more effectively, even more biblically. Instead, they have returned to the status quo, but with fewer members, as some found they could do without ‘church’ as they knew it: a weekly routine of visiting a building, sitting passively for an hour and then making a hasty exit.

Praise God for our dear brothers and sisters who gladly give their all in the service of their Lord and Saviour through the activities of their churches, who use every opportunity to share the good news of Jesus and invite their friends, neighbours and colleagues to church services, Alpha courses and the like. But will they still be able to do this in one, five, ten years’ time? Might there be a better way?

Keep it secret, keep it simple.