"MOVE...from a room up in a house!" [Excerpt from The Central Laws of Productivity]

"...When they reached Jerusalem, they went to a room up in a house. Here lived Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon the freedom fighter, and Judas the son of James." [Acts 1:13 Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)].
The problem with residency?
Upon the ascension of Jesus, the disciples returned to Jerusalem where everyone of them lived together. Can you remember such stories that end with: they lived happily ever after" ? That was the picture the disciples were trying to portray then.We saw how they [disciples] assembled in a room. One of the dangers of living together in a room in a house is that communicable diseases tends to spread easily through the residents! It was just like the concept of the church of today. Churches have mission houses where some of their clergy and/or members live. You are allowed to sleep, go to work from there and retire there after work. As a result, some members don't even bother seeking job to pay their bills or rent their own room. When the church becomes a dwelling, it ceases to fulfill her divine mandate. Why? Because we were called out. We are the called out ones. We are supposed to be going-out to impact the societal systems! The truth is that the called out ones may assemble in a building but they cannot afford to be resident there! Church is supposed to be an analogy of the Terbanacle of Moses in the Wilderness? Even though, there was a tent of meeting then; the people were continually moving. The tent was not a permanent structure! The reason is because it has to follow the Cloud of glory! And the order of the cloud is that it moves! The pillar of fire by night was a symbolism. It epitomized movement despite the tendencies of seeing darkness! And we must learn from that. We cannot allow darkness stop us. We cannot allow darkness hinder us. We cannot allow darkness limit or contain us. The un-containable God is asking us to move!
As a result, the people were in movement until they got to the promised land. Now, it is easy to assume that since they eventually settled in the promised land; then we are allowed to find a settlement too. We are not supposed to build a city that will become an end in itself. Every structure, projects must point to God and His purpose. If they do not point to God. They become the visionary's monument. And there is a danger in that. And this is the danger: that we have shared the glory of God with Him. And we have misled the people of God. As we see through the scriptures that creating anything that is seemingly sophisticated as God, or for God, or in the name of God is idolatry. These things may be done out of good intentions but they get easily perverted after all.
Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.(Judges 8:27). Idolatry is still happening today. And i am not saying outside the church but even in churches. Today, some sick people cry to their family members to be carried to the actual venue of some religious permanent structures. Some ask for the picture of their religious leaders to be brought to them. And the devil would readily remove the sickness he placed on them as longer as they have agreed to worship man, or things created by man; in place of God. That way, the devil has succeeded in making them commit idolatry!
 Some people think that their answers to prayers cannot come until they have stepped onto the grounds of some physical building called "church-ground". We can see why God was careful to take Moses away and be buried in an "unknown site"? Because people can easily worship his tomb! The people perverted the ephod, thinking that was the actual God when they could no longer see Gideon to lead them rightly. The way that gold-project became a snare unto Israel; that is the same way church-domicile is gradually becoming a snare to people today. As churches cuddles and pampers her members' frailties; therefore the people are not challenged. The people are being encouraged unto inaction. And such inaction lead to nonproductive followers. As a result, a deadened audience. They hear the word but they are not changed by it. The potentials that should be deployed have been curtailed. Yet we assume that they are maximizing their potentials in ushering, protocols, choirs, children's ministries, et.al. The truth is : is there not much more? Is this all Jesus died and rose again for? The limitations is obvious. And it cannot be explained in one piece of writing. In the name of God, let my people go that they might serve me! Says the Lord!
We have made a mockery of the church. We have turned the service of God into an end in themselves. We do not emphasize service unto God! Oh my God! Since the people are not pushed into the holy of holies where they can encounter God for themselves; they have been spiritually handicapped. They are always in need of counselling or laying on of hands. They need the Pastors or they will not give birth in the hospital ward. It is a shame!
Sadly, because the people have somewhere to run to, [in guise of church], they do not bother running to the word of God. Little wonder, how the times of trials end many lives. We do not hear from many again after passing through tough times. Their faith is dead. And their lives become pseudo-living! Falsehood.It is because they were not trained or equipped to handle afflictions and persecution effectively. Such that when problems comes, they flee the faith deserting God! No one taught them to expect trials. Since, they were only taught in flimsy studies of "things" instead of the study of the Maker of all things! So what can brands and personal branding concepts yield to anyone in times of trouble? Nothing! It may yield living in a lie. Trying to appear in falsehood. Little wonder how a brother of low estate will live in pretense just to belong and be accepted. Suffering and smiling? Little wonder, we have a crashing economy within us. Could it be that some of the people who suffered mostly from recession were church folks!
It is because we have gradually shifted our focus from the central subject. The author and the finisher of our Faith. "The Christ of God".This is what the whole laws and prophets were pointing to.We cannot make the primary become secondary.This is a call to the church...that the people must be seriously taught about, in and on; the Christ! Then they must be released unto their destinies.
I am backing up to my opening text: "When they reached Jerusalem, they went to a room up in a house. Here lived Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon the freedom fighter, and Judas the son of James." [Acts 1:13 Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)].
"...to a room up in a house", that was where church went. That was where it began! And church has spread across the globe till date. However, we cannot remain in a room up in a house! We cannot stay in a room down in a house basement either! We have a mission to fulfill outside the religious place of worship. Out of the building in the name of Jesus!
Churches are springing up in form of cell-groups, home fellowships, band-meetings, and so on. Newly springing church rent a suite in a strip-mall. A church served with eviction notice and some forms of financial problems would quickly retire to a room in a house . This has been the order. It was the story of the disciples after ascension of Christ. But thank God for persecution! Persecution worked together for our good.

So what is your problem with the church?
I do not have any problem with mega-churches with big facilities or a church that is just budding. I do not hate any church operating from a room in a house. Whether in pretense or in truth, so long the gospel is preached. I delight in that. However, I have a problem with any church that decides to be resident! I want to see churches fulfill their divine mandate. The kingdom mandates is not a resident mandate! And I am going to expatiate on this further.
When the church will no longer open her dooors to the poor and the needy, you must know what happens. The non-profits organizations steps in. They help these folks. But they did not stopped there. They kicked off the church folks out of the structure, and/or the vision outrightly! So what happens next is that they acquire the entire vision and re-frame it. Since, he who plays the Piper dictates the tune, these Non-profits reform the church missions. And gradually the NGOs changed the name of every single mission they have ever taken over. The changed organization no longer carry the initial vision. The vision and mission statements get revised. The modus operandis changed. Such statements that tends to elucidate God, get removed. They shift the ancient landmarks. And they change the values to reflect anything outside of scripture. That way, the Jesus people have been kicked out! Anything but ministries will now do. They make it sound "cool". They said that the new name portray universality! They called it re-branding! I once worked for an organization like that. They changed the name and everything else followed suit. Right from the removal of the word: ministries, to the re-frame of the vision and mission statements. Some people can remember the stories of ceratin organizations like: Hope Ministries, Coop, etc. It was anything that portray ministry that got changed. Why because it is religious. If everything becomes rebranded, they are evidence that the church is losing grounds. And it is because the church shirks in her duties.
I remember an incident where I was negotiating a business and my partner on the other side of the table "struggled" back and forth on ownership. He was determined to hold on to 51 percent of the company stock simply because he feared that going 50/50 ratio will mean losing control. Now, why did he determined not to lose the control tower to myself? He was considering the danger in relinquishing a kingdom mandate into the hands of another "non-profit rascal". I laughed when i realized that. Of course, I understood his concerns.
Why is it that the church is gaining grounds, and at the same time, losing grounds? Why is it that the church is taking over but at the same time; relinquishing power in several other areas? Why are we winning souls, then losing souls? Why are we amassing crowd but we are not taking them through discipleship? Why are we launching out, then folding up? I think one of the reasons is because we have decided to stay "up in a room, in a house"...inside our comfy church four walls. This is why our productive capacity has been cut back. This is why our energy has depleted. Our muscles collapsed and we have not fully realized our full potentials.I keep asking: where are the greater works than these in His name?