Home Church

Over the past couple of weeks, a story has been reported on some websites about a pastor and his wife who live in San Diego and host a Bible study in their house. Apparently, they were confronted with a county authority who told them that they needed to obtain a proper permit (at the cost of perhaps thousands of dollars) in order to host religious services in their home. It looked as though the issue was about proper land use and the government official must've felt like the pastor and his wife were running their home like a business (in this case, a non-profit business) and that they needed permission to do so. Well, this story caused quite a furor because Christians were concerned about the perceived attempt by San Diego to regulate or suppress religious and personal freedom.

Well, the case didn't get very far. The government probably wasn't too fond of the negative publicity and dropped the charge against the couple. At least for now, they're free to continue hosting their Bible study.

The matter was brought to my attention by some members of our church (which, incidentally, is a home church!) and I wanted to write about it but I delayed doing so until the matter got resolved. Because Sanctuary is home-based, the issue of needing governmental permission to engage in corporate prayer, worship, Bible study, and ministry is troubling. Of course, Philippians 4:6-7 tells us ask the Lord for His help rather than be anxious, so as scary as this incident was, we can't afford to let it dictate to us what we believe or how we conduct ourselves. Being Christ-centered means being centered on Jesus in everything we say and do, and that includes our dealings with the government.

My initial reaction when I first read about this story was to see it within the context of a broader trend of increasing intolerance towards Jesus, His people, and His gospel. In that sense, I'm not surprised that such an edict could be given to believers seeking to grow spiritually with other Christians. But I also speculated on the motivation of the official. What moved her to contact this couple and wield such a heavy hand against them? Had she ever done this before, and if so, to whom? Was she forced to do so because of the complaints of neighbors, and if so, what were they complaining about?

Proverbs 18:17 suggests that when we judge matters (a topic for future blog entries in its own right!), we need to pay attention to both sides. It's too easy to make a decision based on only one side of the story. I know the pastor's side of the story from my own experience of leading a home-based church and I share his concern about the potential use of coercion against his religious freedom. Furthermore, as I described above, I admit that I really don't know what the county official was thinking or what motivated her. But as Christ's followers, I know that we have to be careful not to put stumbling blocks in front of The Stumbling Block. The ultimate issue is the cross of Jesus Christ and what people will do about what Jesus has done for them. Other issues, like courtesy toward neighbors and complying with subdivision codes, are important, but shouldn't dominate. I'm in no position to assert that, for example, the Bible study clogged up the streets with parked cars, but social conventions like parking and noise levels matter to people and have to be taken into consideration by believers who seek to represent Jesus well to the community.

I don't think that it's a simple either/or situation: we can either honor the Lord and host the Bible study or honor the neighbors (or government or anyone else) and not host a Bible study. The Holy Spirit is far too creative; He can give this San Diego couple, and all of us, the wisdom we need to maintain our commitment to Christ while at the same time limiting the causes for stumbling that we might place before others. God is a good Father and will show us what's really going on and what we need to do. There's no substitute for His leadership so we should never feel that we have to solve these problems with our own wits. Mine aren't good enough; praise God that Jesus' are!