O.K., don’t confuse this with "A Night At The Opera," one of my favorite Marx brothers’ movies (1935). One of the best lines of the movie? Delivered by Chico during "contract negotiations": "You no fool a me. There ain’t no sanity clause!"

If you’ve ever been to a symphony concert you may have noticed this ritual. Once the orchestra has been seated and has spent a little time getting situated, the last member to come out is the "First Chair" violinist. He or she walks on stage, takes their seat and proceeds to play a single note on their instrument. Quickly every other member of the orchestra picks up that same note until the entire orchestra is in tune to that one note. Then and only then is the orchestra ready to proceed with the performance. Now the conductor is ready to conduct, the pages of music are ready to turn and the music is ready to flow in a symphony of beauty and harmony as each instrument, tuned to every other instrument in the orchestra, is ready to produce and contribute it’s unique sound.

Welcome to a picture of house church, spiritual intimacy and "communitas."

This week I want to revisit the issue of "intimacy" as it relates to house church, our life together as an ekklesia (what I am calling "communitas" following Alan Hirsch) and outreach. Why am I including intimacy in a series on "Defragging House Church"? Because of some issues it raises, issues such as what is intimacy with God, how do we achieve and express it together as a HC "communitas," and what (if anything) does it have do to with "outreach".

Let’s begin by trying to "nail jello to a tree" - that is, let’s begin with a definition. This issue is somewhat of a "sticky wicket" because "intimacy" means different things to different people. What means "intimacy" to you ("I just want to crawl up into daddy’s lap and let Him love me") may sound like over-the-top emotionalism to someone else who just wants to be quiet before the throne of grace and worship the King of creation. Yet both expressions and experiences of intimacy with God are equally valid. You could recount your own journey into intimacy. Personally, I have fasted in God’s presence, wept and wailed before Him, laughed and sang in His Presence, interceded for people and places, pled for mercy on behalf of friends and family, and sat quietly without a word for what seemed like hours. All part of my own personal journey into intimacy with God. No one style or experience is more valid than another, but we can all learn from one another without attempting to impose our version or experience of intimacy on others.

O.K., back to the problem of a definition. The first question of the Westminster Shorter and Longer catechisms reads as follows:

In a humorous historical side note, many of the early settlers of the American frontier in the late 1700s and early 1800s were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, people like the Reverend James McGready, a Presbyterian pastor whose claim to fame - in addition to receiving death threats written in blood - was that he was so . . . well . . . ugly, that children would run away in fear (!) and adults would say, "Anyone that ugly must have something significant to say" (true story, honest)! The "saying" on the frontier regarding these folk was that if their crops ever failed they could always live off of the shorter catechism. With questions and answers like the one above, I can understand why.

To couch our definition in terms of the Shorter Catechism, intimacy with God is that process by which we as individuals, and as a corporate ekklesia, pursue a relationship with God that enables us both to glorify Him and to fully enjoy him, both now and eternally. The "boundaries" of this definition are broad. The boundaries encompass worship, prayer, fasting, personal repentance, prophetically listening to God’s still small voice, devotional meditation and more. In other words, intimacy with God includes all of those things which contribute to and build a healthy personal relationship. Why have I chosen to approach and define intimacy with God this way? Because, to my mind (puny as it is), this definition is both flexible and reproducible. And in House Church, we need to teach and model things which are both flexible and reproducible.

O.K., let’s define what we mean by "communitas". Alan Hirsch in "The Forgotten Ways" refers to "Communitas, Not Community." Here is what he says: "The most vigorous forms of community are those that come together in the context of a shared ordeal or those that define themselves as a group with a mission that lies beyond themselves . . ." (Hirsch page 25). I liken and compare "communitas" to what Dr. Scott M. Peck ("The Different Drum") describes as "genuine community". Genuine community or "communitas" is that form of community which arises through mutually shared conflict, chaos and emptiness (for a real-life example, see my e-letter for May 18, 2006, "Turning The World Upside Down"). Dr. Peck observes that most churches are, in fact, "pseudo-communities": "The essential dynamic of pseudo community is conflict avoidance. The absence of conflict in a group is not by itself diagnostic. Genuine community may experience lovely and sometimes lengthy periods free from conflict. But that is because they have learned how to deal with conflict rather than avoid it. Pseudo-community is conflict-avoiding; true community is conflict-resolving."

Dr. Peck’s observation is true of many (if not most) house churches. Communitas, genuine community, is that form of House Church community which emerges when a group of very gifted but individualistic people come together, confront their differences, lay down both their gifts and their agendas, resolve their conflicts and seek to be in mutual submission to one another and to Christ. Let’s revisit Hirsch’s definition of communitas as a group of people who "define themselves as a group with a mission that lies beyond themselves . . ." . Hmmm. Interesting. Let’s go back to the example of our orchestra. The goal of the bassoon player isn’t really to play the bassoon, despite the fact that its their instrument and they have spent a lifetime mastering it. Like everyone else in the orchestra, the bassoon player is focused upon a "mission" that lies beyond himself. The mission of the bassoon player is to play Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor as part of a symphonic orchestra. But in order for that to happen, the bassoon must place itself in submission to all of the other instruments, and be willing to tune itself to the note struck by the first chair violin. But the result is symphonic beauty beyond compare. But such would not be the case if the Bassoon had insisted on being the dominant or preeminent instrument. After all, how many people (other than bassoon enthusiasts) want to attend a three hour concert in which the bassoon is the only instrument being played?!

Now, before you opine "enough music appreciation for one newsletter," let me draw the obvious parallel. Think of your house church as an orchestra (O.K., a small chamber orchestra) and of corporate intimacy with God as all of the instruments listening and tuning themselves to the note struck by the Holy Spirit. All the instruments get to listen, all get to tune up, and as the Conductor directs, all get to play their part. But such intimacy requires "communitas". If you do not have communitas, the laying aside of agendas and the resolution of conflict through mutual submission for the purpose of a mission that is beyond them, you do not truly have intimacy. You may have a room full of people praying & prophesying together, but you don’t have genuine community or intimacy.

Intimacy plus communitas will result in outreach. How do I know this? Because we see it clearly demonstrated in the early Church:

"Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." (Acts 13:1-3)

Let me tell you what I see in this passage. First, I see many gifted people. We are told that there were prophets and teachers. But we also see an apostle (Saul) and a pastor (Barnabas). My guess is that these are all very gifted 5-Fold leaders. Second, I see an ekklesia of very gifted people who had achieved a degree of "communitas" together. Third, I see an ekklesia which had become a "communitas" of gifted people who had achieved intimacy with one another and with God. They had learned how to "minister to the Lord" together and to corporately hear that note which the Holy Spirit was striking. Fourth, I see communitas and intimacy resulting in outreach: "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." There you have it: Communitas - Intimacy - Outreach. To use the phraseology of Hirsch, the House Church (sorry, couldn’t resist) of Antioch, by their journey into communitas and intimacy, had become "a group with a mission that lies beyond themselves". Hmmm. Call me foolish, but I think I see both a lesson and a pattern emerging here. Do you?

While we’re at it, let me suggest another emerging lesson: Outreach will produce greater communitas along with greater intimacy with God and with one another. Follow me on this for a moment. First, the communitas and intimacy of the House Church at Antioch in Acts 13:1-3 produced the outreach of Acts 13-14 that we refer to as Paul’s First Missionary Journey. But, second, the outreach of Acts 13-14 resulted in the differences-exposing, conflict-resolving, Holy Spirit-seeking meeting of the Church in Acts 15. The outreach of Acts 13-14 forced the Church to confront their issues (deep theological differences), lay down their agendas, come together before God and seek to hear the "note" that the Holy Spirit was striking and to "tune" themselves accordingly, "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit (there’s the "note") and to us (there’s the "tuning") . . ." (Acts 15:28). The result? Greater communitas and greater intimacy . . . which led to (drum roll please) more outreach (Acts 15:30-41).

Where are you, and where is your house church, on this journey into intimacy, communitas and outreach. We need to recognize that different people and different house churches are, indeed, at different places. Are you still living in "pseudo-community" with people you don’t really know and whose differences you haven’t yet confronted? Have you come to the place of laying down agendas, even gifts & ministries, in order to simply seek God together? Have you learned how to be quiet together and to listen for that "note" which the Holy Spirit is striking and which He desires each of you to tune & play. And, as Alan Hirsch describes, have you become "a group with a mission that lies beyond themselves".

As many of you already know, I am very involved in what is becoming an annual "Block Party" outreach to the West Central neighborhood of Spokane. You can read about last year’s event by clicking on the following link: http://www.parousianetwork.org/Cyber_Cafe/West_Central_Blast_2006.htm. Last year we had somewhere around 800 people come through. This year we are anticipating as many as 1,500 people attending. We are deep into the planning process for this coming summer’s event (July 21-28). I want to make this event as meaningful for the house church community in Spokane as possible, so I have decided to turn the block party into an opportunity to journey deeper into this concept of intimacy, communitas and outreach.

My friend, Neil Gamble, whose ministry has involved equipping pastors, leaders and churches around the world on how to experience greater intimacy with God, recently told me, "We are never commanded to plant house churches. We are commanded to make disciples, and they happen to meet in houses." I hate it when Neil’s right, ‘cause it means I’ll be required to eat crow the next time I see him . . . but he is right. Jesus commands us to make disciples, and promises to build His church in the process. And discovering intimacy, communitas and outreach are part of the process of growing into our discipleship.

For this reason, I have invited Neil to come to Spokane and spend some time prior to the block party equipping us and discipling us in intimacy with God and what it means to hear God’s voice. Then we will take what we have learned and apply it in a practical ministry environment - a neighborhood block party. Welcome to the class we are calling "House Church Intimacy, Communitas & Outreach 101"! Think of this as a House Church Conference where all attendees will have the opportunity to become "hands on." It’s time our house church conferences got hands on and practical. I have invited Neil to come and meet with us on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings (something like 6-to-9 each evening, maybe a potluck). We will then spend all day Saturday working the block party. This year we have also added Sunday "Worship In The Park" so there will be ministry opportunities on Sunday, too. Then Sunday evening we will do a potluck of some kind and "debrief" on what we learned through the experience. This will be a "no fee, no registration conference". We will create a "schedule" of events soon and make it available to you. We will meet in someone’s home, and the time will be "up close and personal". I hope some of you from outside of Spokane will be able to come, and that those of you in the greater Spokane/Pacific Northwest will choose to get involved. Stay Tuned For More Details.