The House Church Book: Rediscover the Dynamic, Organic, Relational, Viral Community Jesus Started Kindle Edition

The information is good, but I was looking more for some practical advice on starting house churches. What this book is about is how great house churches are. I understand that there is not a single method as to how to begin, however to be given absolutely nothing to start with is a little frustrating. There are some cool examples and things I would use, but most of this is theory only. My issue is that we've already purchased the book, we already have been sold as to the model of church called the house church, we don't need to be convinced any more. I would much rather give this book to someone who is a critic of the house church (I have yet to meet a critic of the house church).Just as an example, imagine getting a book that's supposed to be about STARTING a business, and all it does is have facts about business, why business is so great, the impact that businesses have, but not a single phrase as to how to get started... That's my feelings after reading this book.I've never given a 2 star rating on any book, but I'm frustrated when there is nothing to practice.I didn't give it one star because the information is outstanding to know!

I truly hope the types of vibrant churches Simpson is describing exist and are capable of doing what he claims they are. In my own experience, it is not easy for people to hold one another accountable or to open up to one another in the way that the house churches he describes seem to count on. The emphasis on male leaders and “fathering“ got very tiresome. It seems he truly believes that pastors who are educated are theologically incapable of leading successful churches, helping peoples’ lives be transformed, or recognizing the Holy Spirit. He insists that being a “leader” in the traditional sense basically means being a dictator. Perhaps he has not heard of the “servant leadership” model which was all over the seminary I attended and has been a part of my ministry for over 30 years. The Holy Spirit certainly has many ways of working and many structures that can facilitate that. True, many traditional churches are spiritually. That doesn’t mean a house church is the silver bullet.

I purchased this book because I had already been interested in reading the author's  Houses that Change the World . So when Barna came out with "The House Church Book," I bought that one instead, since the description reads, "Houses that Change the World (originally published in the UK) is... Now revised as The House Church Book." After I finished reading The House Church Book, I came to the "Recommended Reading" page, only to find listed, "Houses That Change the World -- If you wish to study the subject of house churches further, Houses That Change the World is the 'big brother' of the book you have just read."I am now reading through Houses That Change the World, and what it appears Barna has done with The House Church Book is to simply make an abridged version of Houses That Change the World, polish the editing, and update some of the facts, figures and "dated" comments. In essence, The House Church Book is just a "leaner" version of Houses That Change the World. I think it is misleading to call it a revision. The content of the new book is virtually identical to that of the former, it just contains less of it. One might argue that Barna edited out some of the "unnecessary bulk," and it would certainly be a less threatening book for someone who is just getting their feet wet with the idea of house churches (it's under 175 pages, versus over 300 for the previous book), but, personally, I prefer the former book, so far (despite the occasional grammatical and editorial issues).I would recommend this book if you wanted to give it to someone else to introduce them to the topic of house churches, or if you want the most up-to-date facts and figures (though there are not enough of them, in my opinion, to make this a determining facor). Otherwise, I would go with Houses that Change the World for Mr. Simpson's full picture of house church (and to save a few dollars).

I love this book. I read house churches that change the world back in 2004 and it ruined me for ever for the relational house church. I wanted to re-read the book and found this kindle version. It says pretty much the same things as Wolfgang’s previous work, but it is just as challenging and life giving. For anyone out there that is being called to the authentic expression of relational Missional community this is a must read.

As a Bible College Graduate this book cuts back to the basics and helps to reform ideas generated by tradition that the real truth we all need is found in Jesus' words, I will build my church. This book requires obedience not just a casual read.

This book contains the basic ideas and logic that we need to start redefining our language, what we should be doing and where we should be going. Recommended!!!