Weblog Entry - 03/07/2006: Volume 86 - Dying on the Vine by Mary Rodriguez

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03/07/2006: Volume 86 - Dying on the Vine by Mary Rodriguez"

Dying on the Vine

I have this little ivy plant. I've had it for about 3-1/2 years. It started out as just one branch. It was in a little 2 inch pot.
Well, the plant started to grow. Soon it was too large for the little pot. So I broke off a piece of the branch and rooted it. Then, when it had a good root system, I planted both pieces in a larger pot.
The plant was doing pretty good for a while, but I noticed it wasn't really getting bigger. Ivy should grow easily. I just continued doing what I was doing because I didn't know what else to do. I watered it. I fed it. But the plant wasn't growing like I thought it should. So I asked some people if they had any ideas. Someone told me that it needed this special fertilizer. So I tried that. It didn't seem to help. So I just kept on doing the same thing.
Eventually, the plant grew a bit more so I broke off another piece and rooted it. This time when I put the newly rooted piece into the pot, it dried up and died.
The problem with the plant is that it has no drainage hole. The plant is getting root rot. One by one the leaves are turning brown. Then I'll see a little leaf come out. There's new life! But the growth is stunted. It can't sustain the new life. The roots are shriveling up.
There is only one way for this plant to grow. I need to put it in a new pot that has drainage holes. If it's not too late, the plant may survive.
The Lord showed me that this is the same problem that many house churches have.
In the beginning of the group everything is beautiful. People are being added to the group - there is growth. But if there is no drainage, if the church doesn't reach out, eventually it will get root rot and begin to die.
If a house church does not fellowship outside of herself, the group will eventually get stale. This will usually happen within 5 years.
We have seen this over and over again.
Let's just look at the typical house church . . .
You decide to start having meetings in your home. You want to be a "first century" style church. You invite some brothers and sisters you know who want the same thing. Let's say you have a total of 4 couples. OK . . . so you're going along and everything is great. You get together a couple times a week for fellowship. Sometimes someone will bring a revelation, another a song, another an inspiration, etc. You love these saints so much that you only want to be with them. You don't fellowship outside of the group.
Things go along for about a year then somebody invites a new couple. These new people fall in love with the group and continue to fellowship with them. This is wonderful! However, because the rest of the group knows each other so well and have been meeting together for so long, they have their own vocabulary. They have little "catch words" that only they are familiar with. This new couple feels awkward. They soon drop out and stop coming to the meetings.
The second year of the church passes much like the first. The group continues doing what it's been doing. Maybe a few more people come in, but another couple decides to leave. (They need something special for the kids - maybe they'll just go back to the organized church for a while.) You hate to see them go, but you're going to press on. (You don't fellowship with these people any more because they left the group.)
The third year of this church is the same. No new people are coming. Every week is the same. You do all the right things, but nothing is changed. The growth stops.
Eventually couples stop showing up every week. Or maybe you all decide to take a break for awhile. You don't have "meetings" but you still see each other sometimes for dinner or something. After all, they are your only friends.
What's going on???
The saints get bored. There is no new life. Even though you are doing all the right things, the growth gets stunted. The church dies.
"A river that flows into itself will grow stagnant." A river must flow outside of itself.
So what can you do? Here are a few ideas.
Meet your neighbors! In America most of us think we're too busy to meet our neighbors. But how much time do we spend sitting in front of our televisions? Invite the neighbors to watch a movie or better yet, just invite them for dessert and get to know them. They may be hurting Christians looking for a place to fellowship.
How about finding another house group to meet with periodically? This is not so you can expand your group or theirs; it's to fellowship with different saints to expand the Body of Christ in your area. What about the brothers from one group going camping with the brothers from another group? How about the sisters from both groups getting together for tea?
You could have an outing with your group in a park. Invite your new found friends in your neighborhood to join you. Introduce the church to your neighbor.
Without intercourse, there can be no new life. Get out of your comfort zone. Meet new people. Let the Living Water flow out from your group.
"Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, in order that those who come in may see the light."
Luke 8:16
Written by Mary Rodriguez