From House To House

I am reading and studying at Whole Foods, located at East Houston Street. A group of Chinese people is having a Bible Study near my table. I am impressed by such a small gathering in the city, and I miss the times that we spent together. I don’t know whether the group leader is a pastor or not. If he is, he is good. If he is a lay-leader with a full-time job in the secular world, he should be praised. It’s such an effort to keep up the good work while having a full-time job at work.

I paid and still pay a lot of attention to personal or small group meetings outside of church setting.  I know that regular activities are important for Christians on the weekend. Without them, we lose the regular means through which the Holy Spirit transforms us. If we fail to attend them regularly, forget about spiritual growth, for it’s our minimum requirement.

I also consider that activities or meetings on the weekdays are equally important. This “extra curriculum” is purely voluntary. And it usually happens at someone’s home or in the world, not in the church—the place where we spend less time in comparison with our homes and workplaces. Whoever shows up, he/she can’t just attend, but participate with openness and authenticity. Whenever we are voluntary, vulnerable, and authentic in front of one another, it involves trust, dependence, and embrace. Transformation starts to foster in this environment.

Acts 20:20-21—“How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV). Based on these verses, concerning the office of the pastors, John Calvin wrote, “The manner of teaching not only consists in public discourses, but also has to do with private admonitions” (Institutes, 4.3.6). Public proclamation and personal encounter must go hand in hand. They are two sides of the same coin. Pastoral work is incomplete without one or the other.

The works of pastors are clearly defined on the weekend. As long as we handle preaching and teaching well (and some other minor matters), we are fine. But there are no clear job descriptions for pastors on the weekdays. Paul’s idea of “from house to house” should be the job descriptions, meaning that pastors should meet up with people privately on the weekdays: private talks, private sharing, private encouragement, and private admonitions.

I understand why many pastors fail to relate to others privately, personally, and intimately. Kenneth Leech, a parish priest in Soho and Race Relations Officer for the Church of England, notes, “In fact, the nature of the pastoral relationship is one which does not allow us to escape from inner struggle, but rather intensifies it. The pastor or spiritual guide will experience and absorb the conflicts in others; indeed, it is probably the fear of this experience which scares so many pastors away from too intimate relationships in caring.”[1] True caring can be scary, for it could become our scar. Theologically, Jesus’ scar shows that He came to practice true caring. In Henri Nouwen’s language, we are wounded healers.[2]

I admire this group of Chinese folks doing something like this in the city. Basically, they are teaching and sharing God’s Word “from house to house.” “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’ (Matt. 18:20)

Believe it or not, I find it quiet odd to have a Chinese Bible Study in a place like this. I find it strange that I think of it this way. Perhaps, it has something to do with the fact that I didn’t have a chance to lead any Chinese Bible Study in a place like this.

I wish I could join them and tell them that the way they tackle the Scripture is not so good. You know that it’s a sin to misinterpret the text. And you know that I sin a lot.

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[1] Spirituality and Pastoral Care (Cambridge: Cowley, 1989), p. 35.

[2] Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society (New York: Doubleday, 1979).