"What could a denomination do that really wanted to become a church with New Testament dynamic? Let us suppose...
First, all church buildings are sold. The money is given (literally) to the poor. All congregations of more than two hundred members are divided in two. Store fronts, garages or small halls are rented as needed. Sunday school promotion and most publicity is dropped. Small group Bible studies meeting in private homes take the place of midweek prayer meetings.
Pastors take secular employment and cease to be paid by the congregation; they become, in effect, trained "laymen" instead of paid professionals. "Laymen" take the lead in all affairs of the church. There is no attempt to attract unbelievers to church services; these are primarily for believers.
Evangelism takes on new dimensions. The church begins to take seriously its charge to preach the Gospel to the poor and be an agent of the kingdom of God. It ceases to take economic potential into consideration in planning new churches. It begins to lose its enchantment with suburban materialism."
- Howard Snyder, excerpt from The Problem of Wineskins: Church Structure in a Technological Age
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This is a challenging book, and another I recommend if you want to think through some of the disconnected (from Scripture), worldly, faux-christian patterns that the Church is currently buried under. CA
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