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Vol. 1, No. 5 - June 1994
REFLECTIONS
ON THE FIRST SOUTHERN HOUSE CHURCH CONFERENCE
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By Dan Trotter... In house church Christianity, meetings are leveraged: they are either heaven, or they are hell, or they are boring. The distinct possibility crossed my mind several times in the month leading up to the conference that it could very well be a disaster. It wasn't. It was heaven. The first thing I immediately noticed was the camaraderie and good spirits of everyone present. The last thing I noticed was the personal testimonies, indicating that people had really been touched and inspired during the weekend. Several mentioned "next year" as in: "of course, there's going to be a next year."  WARNING!! The Surgeon General has determined that all who have attended the First Annual Southern House Church Conference should be considered armed. And dangerous. The little things were what impressed me. I listened to a bunch of testosterone-filled men talk about their jobs, and educating their kids, instead of their "ministries." No one mentioned how many they had running in Sunday school. No one mentioned the size of the church budget. No one mentioned the size of their congregation. Not once. It was heavenly. The one thing that struck me the hardest was Gene Edwards' emphasis on preconceived "models" that influence us as we try to do house church. Everyone comes in with different models (I like to call them "private agendas"), and when the church turns out to be different, frustration and disenchantment set in. As Edwards put it, we are all haunted by the ghosts of our past. I am amazed about how my thinking concerning the ecclesia has changed within the last year and one-half, about how my paradigms keep flipping. We need to let the bride be the bride. Speaking of Gene Edwards, he is continuing to walk along the narrow precipice that separates his genius from the abyss of insanity. I love watching people watch Gene Edwards speak. A large portion have their jaws slack, and their eyes are glazed over. Another substantial portion are transfixed, with beatific expressions on their faces. The rest look like they are about to pass a kidney stone. I knew of two participants who came to the meeting loaded for bear. They were going to "get" Gene Edwards. "Gene Edwards is continuing to walk along the narrow precipice that separates his genius from the abyss of insanity." Trying to get Gene Edwards is like a cockroach standing up on a railroad track on his hind legs and announcing to Amtrak that he is going to derail the next train. It just ain't gonna happen. Edwards likes to deflect criticism with humor, and he is a master at it. At one point he raised two fingers, and pointed them at three critics, saving the toughest one for last: "I absolve you, and I absolve you, and brother, I almost absolve you!" And speaking of Edwards' humor, it's my favorite part about him. You don't get the full flavor of it on his tapes or in his books; you have to be there in person. The boom mike was aimed at him: "Brother, is that thing loaded?" A brother wonders whether Edwards and his wife were the subject of a dream, in which a man and his wife were crying out to God: "Oh, no, brother, that can't refer to us. My wife and I haven't cried out to God in eight years!" Other miscellaneous observations: the only time I was brought to tears was listening to Steve Atkerson describe the battle of Picket's Mill outside of Atlanta. The only time I doubted the wisdom of open meetings was when I asked what the one chief, overriding purpose of doing house church was. I had set up the question by discussing with the group for a half-hour about wrong reasons for doing house church, one of which was reacting against the horrible things in the institutional church. Cheryl Buford responds: "I'm doing house church because I can't stand the institutional church!" The most factually erroneous moment came when Gene Edwards said that sisters don't like to share publicly (this was before he had met Libby Woolard and Cheryl Buford!). The most confusing moment came when Adam Zens called me a "pluralist." [Adam, "pluralist" sounds like "liberal." Adam, I'm still making payments to the widow of the last person who called me a liberal. Adam, please write and explain what you meant. Thank you.]
For any evidence
leading to the discovery of Gene Edwards' planet of origin! By Les Buford... My wife and I had a great time at the conference! We were both refreshed. It was great to fellowship with so many dedicated Christians. There was genuine love for each other, without any regard for whether a person was from a Pentecostal, Baptist, Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Methodist or Brethren background. [Hey, Les! We even let three Yankees from Wisconsin in!] We fellowshipped around Jesus, instead of trying to make each other agree with our pet doctrines. I have new hope now that God is bringing His Body together in His own way, without divisions, and with Jesus as Head of His church. By Artie Hall... The First Southern House Church Conference at Clemson was one of the best times I've ever had at a conference. I was really encouraged to meet others from all over the place, sharing many of the same beliefs as I. It does appear that we are at the beginning of something exciting. This creates in me feelings of anticipation and also apprehension. Movements can be good and they can be bad. As Gene said, "Perhaps we have a chance to get it right this time." I hope we can continue to have these times to come together to share ideas and to renew our zeal. The theories, methods, models and plans all sound good, but we can't lose sight of why we are doing this. Jesus is the reason for the season, as it were. (I bet you knew I was going to work that in somehow.) He is all there is! For all the folks I met for the first time, I enjoyed every minute of it. We sure are a diverse bunch. FIRST SOUTHERN HOUSE CHURCH CONFERENCE! What critics are saying...
By Spencer Morrison... At the school, Clemson, some Christians did abound. (Some from Wisconsin) they came from miles around. All agreed on this: "House church is not an end. Christ is her center. It's with Him we begin." Arrived Gene Edwards. He shook his arms a lot. The Christians sang loud. They gave it all they got. A cowbell sounding, no neckties to be found. A big microphone (to pick up every sound). Plenty of laughter, good cheer in every heart. "Whatever that means!" made smiles and giggles start. Patterns were taught on and relationships, too. B-ball at break time caused some minor boo boos. Do not be astir, if the poem's not all clear. To get it all down, yes, you had to be there. If this little taste gets you thirsting for more, Know that tapes exist for your mind to explore. And if the Lord's willing, a conference there will be. A whole year ahead, set up for you and me. [Seven audio tapes of the First Southern House Church Conference are available for $10 (cheap). Make checks payable to Steve Atkerson, 2752 Evans Dale Circle, Atlanta, GA 30340
DIALOGUE... Dear NRR: Thank you for publishing NRR. The articles are thought-provoking and the personal testimonies are a great way to connect with what God is doing in the lives of those in the house church movement. You seem to have the wit of Luther and Erasmus, making you into a sort of Rush Limbaugh for house churchers. One complaint: don't use so many 20-dollar words. Just because you found "hubris" in a dictionary somewhere doesn't mean you have to subject us to it! For maximum punch, whenever possible, use short (Anglo-Saxon) words as opposed to long (Latin-based) words. In a future article, how about looking into why Gene Edwards never references his source material for the outrageous claims he makes. How about an article on tithing. I've found three references that say the early church for the most part did not practice tithing because it would have brought them under Jewish law. --John Green, Page, Arizona Dear John: You'll need to ask Gene himself why he never references his source material. You can reach him at 1-800-OUTER-SPACE. You're on to something about the tithe. Many years ago I concluded it was not taught in the New Testament. But more recently, I have decided that it is a racket designed to finance the church system. I plan to do a future issue on that, as soon as I can find some cheap life insurance. As for my sesquipedalian tendencies, I promise to henceforth eschew obfuscation. --Dan Trotter Dear NRR: As missionaries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we are enjoying the privilege of watching a NT house church take shape in our home. Please enter our subscription to NRR. We're sure it will be a great help and encouragement. Blessings! --David and Susan Brazzeal, Rio de Janeiro Dear NRR: I just wanted to write you and tell you how much my wife and I enjoyed and benefited from the house church conference. The conference ministered to everyone who attended and no one left the conference without taking home some challenging and thought- provoking suggestions. --Adam and Kelly Zens, Cushing, WI Dear NRR: Be encouraged. There are hundreds (maybe even thousands) of small groups of Christians around the country learning the simplicity of Christ, gathering under His headship in homes around America. I believe more and more of God's holy ones will continue to leave the trappings of religion and determine not to know anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified as we see the Day approaching. --Steve Coplon, Memphis, TN SOUTHERN BAPTISTS FIND BIGGER ISN'T BETTER... So runs a headline in The Arizona Republic, May 14, 1994. The article reads in part: "Now at the top of the hill of Protestant denominations in terms of size, there is the beginning of a movement back to the 'house churches' that first gave the Southern Baptist Convention its strength. 'It's really only been in the last generation that we've created these large churches...,' said the Rev. David Palmer, associate director of the convention's New Church Extension Division. 'We made a fatal connection. We sold the idea that to be a real church you had to have a full-time preacher.'" If you find it hard to believe a Southern Baptist would say something like this, let me assure you, David Palmer did. He was the Sunday morning speaker at the First Southern House Church Conference. The day before, he was speaking at a California Southern Baptist convention, teaching them from Gene Edwards' book, How to Meet. According to David, Southern Baptists all up and down California are reading that book. And you thought miracles dies out in the first dispensation!
We close this issue with a distaff view of the First Southern House Church Conference. Libby Woolard of Powder Springs, GA gives us her impressions. Libby is in full time ministry as a stay-at-home mom with husband of 14 years, Jerry, daughter Merci, 6 years, and son Grayson, 2 years. [Did you catch that? FULL TIME MINISTRY.] The weekend of May 20 brought a whirlwind of new thoughts and emotions at the First Annual Southern House Church Conference. Friday evening began with personal introductions. All conference attendees were asked to categorize themselves as:
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