Reading: House To House - Chapter 6 Spiritual Families

Chapter 6

Spiritual Families

The Lord sees His people much differently than we often perceive them. We believe He sees us, first of all, as individual believers, bought by the blood of Jesus. But He also sees His people within spiritual families. This is illustrated in the Old Testament when the Lord told Joshua there was sin in the camp. Notice how the Lord instructed Joshua to identify the man who was in sin. The Lord could have simply pointed him out to Joshua, but He didn't. Instead, Joshua had to go through tribes, clans, and families until he arrived at the guilty individual. There are levels of accountability in the Kingdom of God.

Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken (Joshua 7:16-18).

All families have extended families. My immediate family lives with me in the same house. We spend a lot of time together. On occasion we spend time with our parents and brothers and sisters and their children. Once each year we spend time with some of our cousins and their children. I don't even know all of these people by name, but they are still a part of my family! By only meeting in congregations on Sunday mornings, the church of today is emphasizing the extended spiritual family rather than the immediate spiritual family (small groups and house churches with people we know well).

The question we need to ask is this: How can these spiritual families be most effective? Part of the answer to this question is to be found in recognizing that the Lord sees each of us as a part of various spiritual spheres.

First of all, He sees us as members of a natural family. In God's plan, families (spouses and children) are to function as little churches. Nearly everything the church does our family should do. In my own family, we teach, pray, and discuss our faith with those who have not yet been made spiritually alive through faith in Jesus. Sometimes we share communion together in our home. This is similar to how a small group should function. In fact, the church meeting as a small group is a type of spiritual family.

A clan is a group of families that are related. We have come to believe that clusters of small groups that relate closely together as a congregation or a house church network are a type of spiritual clan. The believers in the New Testament church who met from house to house in specific areas were a type of spiritual clan. They were simply an extended spiritual family. For example, according to Romans 16, the believers in Rome met together in homes. But it is also clear that they were in relationship to one another throughout the city.

The third sphere of relationships is that of a spiritual "tribe.” For some, this refers to a denomination. For others, it may be a group of churches that work together as a network or as an apostolic fellowship with a common vision. For us, the DOVE International churches that partner together from various parts of the world represent a spiritual tribe.

The Israelite people consisted of twelve tribes and a multitude of clans and families. They were corporately known as the children of Israel. In the same way, the Lord sees His Church as being composed of believers in families, clans, and tribes who represent the whole of the Kingdom of God.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. . . . There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26,28).

The walls have been broken down! We need one another. I have noticed that when a particular group does not relate to other groups in the Body of Christ, in most cases they eventually feel a need to reach out beyond themselves for practical fellowship and accountability. We believe the Lord places this desire in our hearts. Each "tribe” has something to offer the other, expressions of the Church of Jesus Christ. We must work together. We need each other!

United We Stand

Unity is not created by no longer having denominations or spiritual tribes. Unity comes when believers and leaders of churches, denominations, and networks of churches and house churches can each obey the calling God has given them, while simultaneously affirming the vision God has given to others. Then, as they confirm, support, and pray for one another, the Lord will bless them with tremendous oneness.

It would be foolish for the U.S. Air Force, Marines, Army, Navy, and Coast Guard to dismantle their area of responsibility and expertise in order to achieve unity. Unity comes as each branch of the military fulfills its responsibilities while maintaining clear communication with the rest of the Armed Forces.

The same principle applies to the church. Let's pursue what the Lord has called us to do with all of our hearts and encourage those in other "spiritual tribes.” Let's pray for one another and support each other any way we can. As we do so, Jesus will build His Church among us.

I have the privilege of praying on a regular basis with spiritual leaders representing thousands of Christians in our area from different spiritual tribes (denominations). It is tremendous to pray with other servant-leaders in the Body of Christ. A while back, a group of pastors and other spiritual leaders took some time away to pray, fellowship, learn from one another, and play basketball at a local retreat center. The Lord gave us a tremendous sense of His presence as we spent this time together. The Lord is teaching His Church that there is no competition in His Kingdom.

When the Lord called Gideon to deliver the people of God, Gideon saw himself as an individual member of his family, clan, tribe, and of the Israelite extended family.

The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?”

"But Lord,” Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:14-15).

When Jesus fed the 5,000, He saw more than a sea of faces. He saw individual people and knew that it was most practical for them to be placed in groups.

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties (Mark 6:39-40).

We are convinced there is a God-ordained need within every man, woman, and child to belong to a small group of people with whom they can relate. In some cases, this need may be denied due to the hurt and pain of broken or strained past relationships; however, deep down, the need is still there.

As those who have God-given authority and responsibility for the local church, we have a choice. If we do not provide the new wineskins (small groups) the Lord ordains, the door will be open for the devil to form unhealthy groups. The counterfeit will be groups of people who are backbiting and complaining and spreading spiritual cancer through¬out the Body or cults that employ the same principle in the service of a lie. Let's cooperate with the Lord and provide healthy small groups and house churches for God's people so they are not ensnared by the counterfeit.

Homogeneous Cells

In the same way that we have various kinds of living cells in our body, the church should be made up of various kinds of homogeneous small groups and house churches, each having a different target group. According to the New Merriam-Webster Dictionary, homogeneous means "of the same or similar kind; of uniform makeup or structure.”

Cells in your body have certain similarities, such as a nucleus, but they are all unique and different, depending on the work they do in the body. For example, all liver cells are in the same place--the liver. All heart cells are located in the heart. Each cell functions within the capacity and environment that God created for it.

With small groups and house churches, each serves the entire church or house church network in the way God has ordained in His sovereign wisdom. He places each person where He wants him or her to be, in order for him or her to learn and to serve others in a way that is most effective. The most common type of small groups and house churches in the DOVE family of churches usually consists of a mixed group with a balance of families, young and older people, and singles. These small groups of believers may have a mission of intercession, praying actively for people in their communities and the church. Others periodically serve at local rescue missions or serve the homeless. Still others may spend time ministering to lonely senior citizens at the nursing home.

There have been small groups and house churches that have reached out solely to the unchurched children in their communities. They are convinced that today's kids have vast spiritual needs and must be led into an early and deeply meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ before their tender hearts are hardened by the world. The children's small groups and house churches tailor their message for kids, and the groups are kept exciting and relevant and create in the children a desire to trust God.

Youth small groups have been tremendous! Young people who get involved in small-group leadership grow spiritually themselves as they reach out to others. When our daughter Katrina was fifteen years old, she began to serve as an assistant small group leader in a youth cell that met in our home. It gave her the opportunity to grow in the Lord and develop leadership skills that will be with her for her entire life. Many times youth small groups are responsible to plan evangelistic outreaches or social events for the entire youth group in the church or local congregation. One junior high small group outreach to skaters resulted in an ongoing Bible study for the skaters, along with an indoor skate park constructed for them.

Some small groups and house churches may relate only to businesspersons. Their focus is to reach out to other businesspersons who need to believe in Christ. In the nation of Barbados, a small group started with the desire of targeting local businesspersons. A business lunch small group began weekly and eventually added dozens of white-collar workers to their local church.

Still other homogeneous small groups may include only women or men or singles. One time a small group was formed by single women who were concerned for unwed mothers. The group initially decorated a box with the word LIFE (Living Instruments for Emmanuel) on it. At each meeting, the women would bring small, practical gifts for a baby and deposit them in the box. After a few weeks of praying, the Lord led a single mother to their group, and they spent prime prayer time interceding for her and her unborn child. When the child was born, they had a lot of items to give, along with their prayers and encouragement.

In the same way that we need many kinds of cells in the human body to do the many tasks, so it is in the Body of Christ. While each of these small groups and house churches has its own vision, they need to flow with the vision of the entire local church (cluster of small groups) or house church network serving together to fulfill the Great Commission. No small group or house church is an island of its own. It is one part of a larger vision.

We are not just called to be a local church isolated from the rest of the Body of Christ. We are called of the Lord to be a part of a movement of the Holy Spirit. We are called to network together in a practical way to build the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in our communities. We are called to extend our hands to others around the world who have "caught the vision” to make disciples in every nation of the world.

How are disciples made? The next chapter explains how we first have to reach out in our communities and world by asking Jesus to lead us to those who have not yet determined to follow Him.

Questions for Practical Application

1.How does the Old Testament pattern for the nation of Israel (family, clan, tribe) compare to a church comprised of small groups?

2.Why is "structure” necessary in the Body of Christ? Contrast structure in the human body with structure in the church body.

3.Define how structure needs relationship and how relationship also needs structure.