House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity

Trinity Journal, Spring 2006 by Hyde, Michelle C

Roger W. Gehring. House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004. 408 pp. $29.95.

Roger Gehring's House Church and Mission is the translation of his German dissertation, Hausgemeinde und Mission - Van Jesus bis Paulus. The dissertation was accepted by the Protestant faculty at the University of Tubingen in 1998 and was partially updated for publication in German in 2000. Since the work was written in the German context, the use of German language material on the topic is solid without neglecting English language material.

Gehring's work is composed of six major chapters. In the first chapter Gehring traces the history of the study of house churches, considering several major studies that are foundational in this discipline. He proposes a working definition for the house church with three components: a) a group with a particular religious life, b) having regular meetings that develop different aspects of faith, and c) having some degree of organizational structure. Gehring also establishes the distinction between a house church and a local church, the former meeting in a private home and the latter a group that gathers in a specific geographical location.

Chapter 2 focuses on the role of house churches before the resurrection. Gehring explores two houses that Jesus may have used as a base for his mission, suggesting that once a household was on board with Jesus' mission, it became a ministry base for outreach into surrounding areas. Gehring claims this model was also used by the disciples.

In ch. 3 Gehring turns his attention to the role and outreach of house churches in Jerusalem and Antioch after Easter. He also discusses what components may have been included in a worship service, suggesting that two different services were observed: those that celebrated the Lord's Supper in a home and those that included the "teaching of the apostles, bread breaking, fellowship, and prayer" (p. 84). Gehring considers different ways that the message of Christ may have been spread by believers. Also addressed in this chapter are the leadership that Peter and James provided to the early church in Jerusalem and the outreach of the Hellenists.

Chapter 4 addresses Paul's use of house churches. Gehring explores house churches based on Acts 16-18, considering cities with known house churches. He also discusses the use of language, seeking to clarify the usage of oikia and ekklesia. Another line of inquiry is the social and economic status of the Christians in the house churches. Gehring discusses the content and separation of worship services, Paul's coworkers in the mission, and the leadership structures in Pauline house churches. At the end of the chapter Gehring includes an excursus on the role of women in leading house churches.

The concern of ch. 5 is the role of household codes in the order and leadership of local churches. Given the complexity of these passages from Colossians and Ephesians, Gehring looks to the Pastoral Epistles for evidence of a church code. He addresses the complexity of the leadership structures, especially concerning elders. He closes the chapter with an excursus on 2 and 3 John exploring the insight they offer into the practical functioning of a house church and the role of traveling missionaries and evangelists.

The sixth chapter of the book explores the architectural, socioeconomic, and ecclesiological significance of house churches. In the final pages, Gehring discusses the modern house church model, pointing out areas of continuity and discontinuity in different contexts.

Following the last chapter is an appendix of floor plans and possible reconstructions based on archaeological evidence. In addition, the book has an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources. An index of modern authors, subjects, and ancient sources completes the work.

Gehring's work is an important contribution to our understanding of the ancient house church. The discussions and the analysis of technical language indicate that this work is directed toward an audience with knowledge of Greek and first century society. While the content of the book would be helpful to people in house churches, the academic nature of the argumentation is better suited for those with specialized training in NT and first century studies.

Michelle C. Hyde

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School