8G. The Primary Model of Church

If the Extended Christian Household was the primary model of church in the early centuries, how should she operate as the Household of Faith today? What is God's plan for her in this generation? The Household of Faith may be God's choice for us at the beginning of the Third Millennium. She is the small unit of Christian friends who work and worship together. This model, when rediscovered, will restore what we now call "the church" to a clear and focused plan for the future.

Love One Another

One of the basic keys to successful Household Ministry is that Christians love one another. They like being together and find fulfillment in one another's company. Their relationship defines their membership. If you are loved and accepted by the other members, you are part of God's household. In caring and upholding one another, members of a Household of Faith often grow closer than blood brothers and sisters.

A Unique Personality

The Household of Faith is a conglomerate, with a unique personality like any other body! Each household is basically a bunch of friends, and therefore each local worshipping community is unique. When I look in the mirror, I see a middle aged balding male. While my appearance is important to me, it is only one part of who I am. Scratch the surface and the multifaceted individual with all his likes, dislikes, and idiosyncrasies appears. The Household of Faith, like the human body, may have the characteristics of a jolly, middle-aged gentleman or even a starchy spinster with her head in a book. Households are distinct in that their distinctiveness lies in the mix of individuals who are the real Body of Christ there.

Different Functions

In the Household of Faith, various parts perform different functions in order to make the whole operate efficiently. A foot as the structural support to a leg differs from a hand or an ear. A hand may be able to manipulate a small delicate object like a pair of tweezers but it cannot hold up the weight of the whole body for an extended period of time. An athlete may work the pommel horse, swinging her body in ever widening sweeps, all supported on her hands. How glad those wrists and fingers are to exit the performance and return to their normal duties without all that weight and stress! Together, the parts of the Household of Faith, even though they are radically different, become one.

YOU ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST

AND EACH ONE

IS A PART OF HER

Unassuming Roles

The role of some members of the Household of Faith may not be apparent at first. Ears are not particularly impressive, but their job is vital to the body. They are not as strong as feet or as active as arms or fingers! They may not move but they inform the brain what's going on around. They also give a torso its sense of balance. If the ears fail, a person staggers and falls. So ears are important members of the Household of Faith.

Cooperate as One

The various parts of the Household cooperate as one. Jane as an ear in the Body of Christ is a very thoughtful person who always makes a positive contribution. Her skilful listening and attentive hearing help settle disputes between others. John as a hand is quite different. He is a doer rather than a talker in the Household Body. He responds generously and quickly to another's needs; mending a washing machine or carrying a bag of food to a needy family. God uses the differences between Jane and John to complete his work.

Different Organs or Limbs

All Christians represent a different organ or limb in the Mystical Body. Adrian Plass humorously considers this thought in his "Sacred Diary." "Anne started by saying that she thought she was probably a bit of dried skin on the elbow, but Edwin, bless him, said that he thought she was much nearer the heart than that.. Thynn said he was a left shoulder blade for some obscure reason, and Norma Twill said she thought she might be a dimple. Couldn't think what I was, and dismissed Thynn's assessment of me as a small, unimportant vein in the right foot."²⁶

Actual Discipleship

Actual discipleship is logically and biblically the only sure sign of membership in the Household of Faith. Separation from Jesus, the supportive head, is always a dangerous possibility for the proud and disobedient limb. Paul warns of one such person in the Colossian church, "He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow."²⁷

Questions for Discussion

1. Go around the group and answer the question "what part of the Body of Christ are you?"

2. How interchangeable are the parts of the Body of Christ in your Household of Faith?

Notes

1. 1 Timothy 3.15 2. 1 Corinthians 12.27. 3. Romans 16.23 4. Romans 16.5 5. Romans 16.5-15 6. 1 Timothy 3.2- 5. 7. Acts 16.15,32-34 8. 1 Timothy 3.12 9. 1 Timothy 3.11. 10. Joshua 24.15. 11. Matthew 10.25. 12. Matthew 10.24. 13. Romans 12.6. 14. 1 Corinthians 12.21. 15. 1 Corinthians 12.26.16. The Minneapolis Star and Tribune. 17. 1 Corinthians 12.12. 18. Paul Brand 19. Corinthians 12.22. 20. Matthew 19.14. 21. Ephesians 3.20,21. 22. Leviticus 17.11 23. Romans 8.16.24. Loren B. Mead, "The Once and Future Church" page l0. 25. Paul Brand "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made." 26. Adrian Plass "Sacred Diary" 27. Colossians 2.19.

"You are fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household." Ephesians 2.19

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