Doctrinal Statement
Principles and Practices
Shepherding Guidelines
Diligent Workmen
Fellowship Meals
General Messages
Special Events
Contact Us
  
 

Southwest Wake Christian Assembly

Last updated 23-January-2007. [Thompson]

Southwest Wake Christian Assembly is a local "family-integrated" [Family] church that meets in southwest portion of Wake County, North Carolina. The church is committed to model itself after the pattern of the church as seen in the New Testament. It is non-denominational.

This document is a continual work-in-progress which attempts to succinctly describe our principles and practices. It is not intended to be an exhaustive justification for everything we are doing or planning to do, nor is it an attempt to define what every church should do. This document is basically to let others know what we do and why we do it. It is expected to be a living document, changing as we are progressively sanctified or our circumstances change and revised to communicate more clearly. It is expected that there will be links to more detailed discussions/articles of the issues identified in many of the principles and practices.

Our Principles & Practices are divided into 3 categories:

  • Principles - These are the pillars we stand on as fundamental to everything we do. They are ordained by God and only the depth of our understanding and choice of words to best communicate them are changeable.
  • Primary Practices - These are practices that we believe flow from these principles and are not expected to vary significantly throughout the life of our church. We see these practices as those that, at the very least, reinforce our confession of the principles. Although we do not see these as "the only way" the confession of these principles can be reinforced, we believe they are consistent with the patterns we see in Scripture.
  • Secondary Practices - These are practices that also flow from the principles, but may change in a variety of ways as our circumstances change. They aim to reinforce our goal of following Christ rather than the precepts of man, and are based more on practicality where normative patterns of Scripture are difficult to find.

These are followed by a collection of Frequently Asked Questions.

 

A SUMMARY of OUR CHURCH PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES

Principles

The following are the fundamental principles that drive all of our teaching and our practices

  1. Sola Scriptura - The foundational principle that guides our every practice as a church (and as families) is the sufficiency of Scripture for everything pertaining to life (salvation) and godliness (sanctification)-- 2 Pet.1:3-4 (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Lord Jesus is the grand theme of both the New and Old Testament Scriptures, which unifies all of the Bible (Luke 24: 27, Eph 1:9-10).
  2. Sound Doctrine - As a further clarification as to how we practice and teach the implications of Sola Scriptura, our doctrine is founded upon the following simple truths:
    - One Triune God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit (Eph 2:13-18)
    - The deity of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1-18): virgin birth (Luke 1:26-37, 2:6-7), sinless life (2 Cor 5:21), miracles (Acts 2:22), atoning death (Rom 5:8), resurrection (1 Cor 15:3-4), ascension and future return (Acts 1:9-11)
    - Salvation is based on faith of the repentant sinner through God's grace alone (Acts 15:11, Eph 2:8-9) through none other than Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12)
    - Resurrection of the saved unto eternal life and the unsaved to eternal damnation (1 Thes 4:14)
    You can also see this in its expanded form in our Doctrinal Statement.
  3. The Local Church is a Gathering of Believers and the Household of God - In virtually every example of the formation of a local church in Scripture, believers are gathered. The church is the household of God and the pillar and foundation of truth on the earth (1Tim 3:15). The plethora of "one anothers" (encourage, serve, love, exhort, admonish, etc.) and the other New Testament illustrations of a church--a flock and a body--indicate intimate relationships of mutual support. The gathering of the local church for edification, fellowship and worship is an essential activity of the church (Heb 10:25), but church life is more than superficial relationships and is not contained to a once-a-week activity. A local church is intended to be a family of families.
  4. The Local Church is Strengthened, Led, and Guarded by Multiple Elders - It is clear from Scripture that there may be an initial time in the life of the church where no elders have been appointed (Acts 14, Titus 1:5, etc.) because clear, qualified leaders have not been identified and recognized. It is also clear that the only Head of the church is Jesus Christ and "the priesthood of all believers" (1 Pet 2:4-9, Rev 1:5-6, Eph 2:17-18) can approach Him without other mediators. However, the necessity for accountability and order within the body of Christ is also very clear. As we follow the development of the church in the New Testament, a primary issue in further "establishing or strengthening churches" is the appointment of "elders" (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5). Clear qualifications for these elders are given in Scripture (Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim 3:1-7) as well as standards for disciplining an elder (1 Tim 5:19-20) and submission to the elders' authority in matters pertaining to the church (Heb 13:17). Although all elders must be able to teach, some elders may be the primary teachers (1 Tim 5:17). Their main responsibility is protection and provision (shepherding) of the flock. The main thing they are to provide is "help for the weak" and instruction in the word (Titus 1:9) while protecting from false doctrines of men and evil influences that would draw people away from Christ (Acts 20:28ff, Rom 16:17-18, Heb 13:17, etc.). Although Scripture requires the flock to submit to elders, it discourages assertion of control/power by the elders and limits the jurisdiction of their authority. Submission of the flock is voluntary, not forced, as elders are to lead by example (1 Pet 5:1-4).
  5. Men & Women: Equal but Different - Scripture clearly teaches differences of roles for men and women (Titus 2:1-8,11-15, 1 Tim 3:4-5, Prov 31, Num 30:3-16, Eph 5:22-6:4, 1 Peter 3:1-7, etc.), particularly in the context of marriage. However, there is no difference between the value of male or female in Christ's eyes (1 Peter 3:7b, Gal 3:28). God designed marriage to be an earthly picture of an eternal truth. The church is Jesus Christ's betrothed bride (Eph 5:22-33, Mark 2:19-20, Matt 25:1-13, John 14:2-3, etc.) and Christian marriages should reflect that truth.
  6. Children: Blessings From the Lord - Scripture clearly teaches that children are a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127, etc.), and the Lord wants them to come to Him (Mark 10:14). In fact, some of His biggest admonitions are against those who would cause little ones to stumble (Mark 9:42). It is a theme throughout Scripture that it is a father's primary responsibility to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:1-4) and that a mother is to love their children in honor of the word of God (Titus 2:1,3-5,15). A fatherless home does not change God's design, but increases the church's responsibility as the body of Christ in its exercise of "true religion" (James 1:27).

Primary Practices

Our practices follow from these principles. After searching the Scriptures carefully, examining each passage in Acts and the epistles that has any reference to the meeting and activities of the early church, we've adopted the following primary practices as a local church. (It is not the purpose of this document to exhaustively explain all valid practices, or identify invalid practices, based on the above principles. We recognize that there may be other valid applications of the principles stated above that differ from these):

  1. One Regular Meeting - Although there is the notable exception of the early church in Jerusalem during the formation of the church, it seems that the normative pattern of the early church in Scripture and historical documents indicate that they had one regular meeting each week held on the first day of the week (1 Cor 16:2, Acts 20:7). It also seems that they came together for four primary activities, the Christians' necessary spiritual diet (Acts 2:42--apostolic doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayers). Other meetings were seemingly irregular as needed: to pray brothers out of jail, to hear a missionary report, etc. We plan to only have one regular meeting each week. We attempt to model that meeting based on what we see as examples in passages of Scripture such as Acts 2:42; 20:7; Eph. 5:18-19; 1 Tim. 2:8ff; 1 Cor. 14:26ff, etc. [Reg], and believe that the practices described in Scripture are primarily transcultural [Trans]. The major implications for us are as follows:
    1. Preeminence of Breaking of Bread - Of the four primary activities, the preeminent purpose for the regular meeting seemed to be remembering the Lord Jesus Christ in the breaking of bread--they met "to (purpose) break bread" (Acts 20:7; cf. 1 Cor. 11:20). Therefore, almost every meeting includes remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ through sharing the Lord's Supper.
    2. Men's Leadership Role In the Church - 1 Cor. 14 is the clearest description of the meeting of the church, revealing that each brother came prepared to participate vocally (church isn't a spectator sport), while the sisters were to participate silently and quietly receive instruction (1 Tim 2:10-11) [Women]. God's purpose here seems to be to maintain proper roles of leadership and followership by men and women in directing the corporate worship. Women are certainly encouraged to actively participate vocally in singing, fellowship, or other activities that do not exercise authority over men.
    3. Family-Integrated - This is not meant to imply that a child is never allowed to leave a parent's side [Family], but rather that we encourage the family to stay together during the activities of the church.
    4. New Testament Worship Practice - Each brother is free and encouraged to bring worship (what Christ is "worth" to him) through testimonies, a hymn or spiritual song, prayer, Scripture, commentary, etc. for the edification of the saints through the praise of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:18-19; 1 Tim. 2:8ff; 1 Cor. 14:26ff). Fathers are encouraged to have their sons take an active role in bringing worship once they have become a young adult (around the age of 12-13). Teachers bring more systematic teaching of the Scriptures (Titus 1:9, 2 Tim 4:2) which includes interaction with the men so they will be better able to answer their wives and children's questions at home (1 Cor. 14:35; Acts 20:11). Fellowship is also part of the worship service.
  1. Music - We are told to "speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with [our hearts] to the Lord" (Eph. 5:18-19). Although instruments are not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament, they are prominent in the Old Testament especially in Psalms which mentions many of them including "loud" and "resounding" cymbals (Psalm 150:5). Therefore we will worship using psalms, hymns and "spiritual songs" that include "contemporary music". We encourage all of our members who have skills with a musical instrument to share them in our worship service (decently and in order, of course). We hold to the following priorities in choosing our music selections and worship:
    1. Worship is more important than music style
    2. Great theology is more important than music style
    3. Content is more important than music style
    4. Great passion for God from the heart is more important than music style
    5. Multigenerational ministry is more important than music style
    6. Others are more important than I am
  1. One Anothers - Scripture commands us to be devoted to one another, love one another, accept one another, admonish one another, encourage one another, serve one another, bear one another's burdens, etc.(Rom 12:10, 13:8, 15:7, 15:14; 1 Thes 5:11; Gal 5:13, 6:2, etc.). During the week, we therefore encourage each family to be in close association with the others through various means such as phone, email and personal association in order to follow these commands. Various resources are shared. Otherwise, we are not really a connected, caring family, just "Sunday Christians." We practice and promote separation from defiling influences (1 Cor. 15:33; 2 Tim. 2:22, 1 Pet 2:11) and encourage our families to hold each other accountable to the call to holiness (Mark 12:28-31, 1 Peter 2:1-10), while being mindful of our own condition (Gal 6:1, 1 Pet 3:15). In order to maintain the purity of the church, we follow the steps of restoration/discipline outlined in Matthew 18:15-18 (and overseen by the elders) when necessary, always respecting the authority structure of the family unit and keeping within the proper jurisdiction.
  2. Family Reformation - We will equip families by: becoming a standard bearer of the marriage covenant; equipping fathers for spiritual leadership; encouraging and training for Biblical manhood and womanhood; providing resources and relationships to single parents and their children (Gen 1-3; Deut 6:4-9; Prov 1-31; Eph 5:21-6:4; 1 Tim 1-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7).
  3. Ministry to Widows & Fatherless - As a church, we seek ways to support widows and the fatherless (1Tim 5:3-16, James 1:27, Deut 14:28-29, 24:19-22, Psalm 82:3). For example, if a godly woman without a husband desires to be a keeper at home and train up their children at home, we will work with them to determine a reasonable standard of living that we can support. This may include becoming part of another family's household temporarily or various other means determined on a case-by-case basis. We do not believe support of the woman is the job of the government. However, the church is not expected to support widows or fatherless who are not supported by their own Christian families or who do not lead godly lives. We also encourage widows to be industrious from their home as we see in the case of Lydia (Acts 16:14-15) and the godly woman described in Proverbs 31 among others, but do not necessarily expect them to be self-sufficient.
  4. Outreach - We are commanded to sacrificially use our gifts to practice hospitality (Rom 12:1-21, 1 Pet 4:7-10, Heb 13:1-3, 3 John 5-8, 1 Tim 3:2, Titus 1:7-8, 1 Tim 5:9-10) and to do good works (Eph 2:10, 1 Tim 2:10, 1 Tim 6:17-18), fulfilling the Great Commission (Mark 16:15, Matt 28:19-20) as we train up our children (Deut. 6:7, Deut 32:45-47, Eph 6:4, Prov 22:6, etc.). The primary way we encourage the body of believers to accomplish this is by ministering together as a family to open our homes and do good works together (which may or may not be outside the home and can often include a family business/ministry). Teaching is not just in word, but also by example. We must keep our behavior excellent as we go into the world (1 Pet 2:12, 3:15). Although there are certainly times that evangelism and "missions work" are done without one's family, we encourage these activities to be done as a family as a general rule. We will also use our financial and material resources to help meet the needs of those in the ministry of the advancement of the gospel (Phil 4:10-16) or brothers outside of our assembly in need (1 Cor 16:1-4).
  5. Church-Based Leadership Training - We train leaders in the context of the local church to minister to the local church via a discipleship model and leading by example (John 13:15, 1 John 2:6, Acts 20:18-35, Phil 3:17, Heb 6:11-12) being tested by the local church as faithful men (2 Tim 2:2).
  6. Multiplication - The format and size of a local church must not restrict its ability to function as a spiritual family, sharing our common life. (The only clear exception to a "limited size assembly" in Scripture is in Jerusalem at Pentecost and shortly thereafter when the Holy Spirit was first poured out and the Apostles were all present in one place... after they were scattered we see no indication of large regular assemblies). A church that is too big for people to deeply know one another well will have a difficult time functioning as a family. A large assembly cannot encourage interactive discussions and sharing by all men in worship. Based on our practices of worship and discipleship and the call for deep relationship within a local body, we believe corporate growth can be an enemy of personal growth. Although it is not clear how many families per assembly there might be, we suspect that the maximum size is greater than 10 families but significantly less than 50. Therefore, we will strive to spawn other similar assemblies as the size of our assembly grows and leaders are developed.
  7. Like-minded Interdependence - Our assembly exercises interdependence and mutual accountability and fellowship with other like-minded believers and assemblies.

Secondary Practices

The Scriptures clearly teach several principles that do not appear to have a prescribed or even implied form. For example older men are to teach younger men, older women to teach younger women (Titus 2, 1 Tim 5:1-2), the church is to care for the fatherless and widows and others in need, but the form(s) for doing so are generally not described. The following are some practices we've adopted in support of these principles and the primary practices stated above. We believe the forms discussed below may change over time as we learn other practical ways to put these principles into practice:

  1. No Paid Full-Time Staff - We certainly believe there is freedom to pay those who faithfully serve among us and biblical examples of the same (1 Tim 5:17-18). We have found that some modern churches elevate paid staff (which is not required by Scripture) as a priority over other commands of Scripture (such as caring for the fatherless & widows). Some modern churches tend to rely too heavily on paid staff to provide spiritual food to families rather than expecting men to both lead their families and participate in corporate praise & worship. Therefore we will refrain from paying elders or administrative staff for anything other than reimbursement of legitimate expenses and small stipends until we have firmly established the opposite patterns (caring well for fatherless and widows and men actively participating in corporate praise and worship).
  2. No Special Building to Maintain - For the same basic reasons as listed above regarding paid staff we prefer not to own or maintain a special building for the church. We expect that any buildings used will be well cared for by their owners and respected by the church as we use it. We will meet in homes when possible, or seek to use other available buildings when not.
  3. Sunday Schedule - Practically speaking, our "formal church meeting" begins at 10:00 am on Sunday mornings and continues until somewhere between 11:30 and 12:30 pm. We then enjoy a fellowship meal together following the "more formal" part of the service. (Depending upon space available, we may stray from this rule, in which case we would encourage families to invite other families into their homes on Sunday afternoons for more intimate fellowship). We typically start the "more formal" part of the service with a short call to worship, usually in the form of song. We then move into systematic teaching & discussion, a mix of praise via song and whatever the men bring to share which leads to the Lord's Supper, shared prayer requests, and prayer. We may switch the order of these components from time to time.
  4. Ministry Partners - We intend to support and promote non-government organizations and activities that protect and provide godly Christian training and support of widows and the fatherless as well as those focused on making disciples of all nations. Whenever possible, we will work with these partners with our time and build deep relationships.
  5. Family Businesses and Ministries - We encourage the creation and establishment of family businesses and ministries in order to train children up to maturity through discipleship and reinforce family as a primary economic system established by God and set an excellent example to the community at large (Col 3:23, 1 Pet 2:12, 2 Thes 3:7-14, 1 Thes 4:11-12). We also encourage sharing of resources (money, time, tools, skills, etc.) between families (2 Cor 8:13-15).
  6. Occasional Special Gatherings - We may also have other times where we gather for some special purpose. We try to avoid regularly scheduled meetings during the week that encourage "being at church" rather than ministering with and through families. However, there are times that we may invite all of the church together for special activities. Examples include (but are not limited to):
    1. Diligent Workmen - Men's meetings to discuss topics or sections of Scripture. Occasionally (1-4 times per year), we will have extended sessions of deeper study, often facilitated by a teacher from outside our assembly. The men are the primary focus of this activity that may last the better part of 1-3 days. Men are encouraged to bring their sons with them, using their judgment as to the level of participation appropriate to their maturity. These meetings are expected to encourage men as leaders (or future leaders) of their home and other leadership roles as well as to prepare elders of new churches as we grow and sub-divide.
    2. Occasional Father-Son Outings - In addition to direct spiritual training, other life-skills may be taught to enable men (older and younger) to be good providers and protectors of their current and future families.
    3. Women of God - Women's meeting approximately once/month to encourage each other to grow as godly women. Women are encouraged to bring their daughters with them, using their judgment as to the level of participation appropriate to their maturity.
    4. Occasional Mother-Daughter Outings - Special women's gatherings or Mother-Daughter outings where the older women encourage each other and the younger women primarily in their roles as keepers at home. These may also be facilitated by others outside our assembly.

 

Frequently Asked Questions [Hope]

The following is a series of answers to questions that are frequently asked by those interested in the church. These answers are based on either "current thoughts" or "experiences of other similar churches" and are subject to change over time. Additional questions/answers may also be added as they come up.

How long has the church been meeting?

The initial meeting of the church was Sunday 17-Mar-2002. We started meeting on a weekly basis starting Easter Sunday, 31-March-2002.

 

Where and when does the church meet?

We were meeting, for quite a while, in our homes. Although we are very comfortable meeting in our homes and believe doing so enhances our meetings, we are open to any place with a floor layout that is conducive to our meetings, preferably another home, but not necessarily. We do not subscribe to the idea that we MUST meet in homes and, though we plan on beginning other local churches which will probably begin to meet in homes, we are currently meeting in an inexpensive rented facility provided to us graciously by Wake Christian Academy. We are currently meeting at Wake Christian Academy, Elementary School (please come in the Simpkins Rd. entrance. Another church is meeting at the high school and uses the entrance from Wake Christian Academy Dr. Click here for directions) on Sundays beginning at 10:00 AM. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to visit, please call ahead to verify that we are meeting there. Our meetings normally start at 10:00 AM on Sunday morning and end with a (simple, pot-luck style) fellowship meal which we consider an integral part of our meetings.

 

Who provides the systematic teaching?

Our elders are the primary teachers for the systematic teaching. Some teach more than others as gifts and time permit.  Ken Auer coordinates and schedules teachers as appropriate. It seems clear from the Scriptures that there are teaching elders and also teachers who are not necessarily elders (but are held to high standards). So, we do the same... elders could teach and other teachers (approved by elders) could teach.

 

What is taught in your regular meetings?

The majority of the teaching will be a connected sequence of "expositions" of passages of Scripture (we've been working our way through the Bible... switching from Old Testament books to New Testament books occasionally) with occasional "topical" messages from Scripture. General topics/passages will be announced ahead of time so heads of households can have the option of preparing their family ahead of time in their family worship time. Alternatively, heads of households will be encouraged to reinforce what is taught on Sunday throughout the week. Although we certainly promote "household order", the focus of our teaching will be the Scriptures as it all tells of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom all families are subject.

 

How are elders appointed?

The qualifications of elders are clear from Scripture (Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim 3:1-7), but how are they appointed? Scripture seems to indicate that they were proven to have those qualities. It also seems reasonable to think that appointment is generally an acknowledgement by men of what is already occurring. Since we no longer have an Apostle like Paul to make the official appointment after determining who is "elder material", the initial elders have been appointed by general agreement of the initial members of the assembly. Additional elders have been appointed by those elders based on recognition of who the Lord is raising up, and affirmed by the heads of households.

Elders serve an indefinite term until they decide to take some voluntary time off for personal reasons, (in agreement with the other elders), step down because of reluctance to continue, or are removed due to the legitimate exercise of church discipline. We see nothing in the Scripture that would indicate an elder is a "fixed-term office" or that it should be. We also see little about when an eldership should end. According to 1 Peter 5:1-3, it is a voluntary position, and that elders are to be an example. When it is no longer voluntary, or an elder is no longer an example of the elder qualification listed above, it would seem that this man should no longer hold the office.

Is this church associated with any other churches?

We greatly desire mutual accountability with leaders of like-minded assemblies, and have participated in joint meetings with other local bodies. This document, in its various stages has been reviewed by many brothers, many of whom are church leaders in both "family-integrated" (see National Center for Family-Integrated Churches) and "non-family-integrated" churches. However, we currently have no formal arrangement with any other church. We have and will continue to pursue accountability and fellowship relationships with other bodies both local and outside our area. Our elders are committed to accountability to each other, the men of this church, and various godly men outside of the local body, some of whom are associated with the Association for the Restoration of Church and Home. We do not believe there is any biblical basis for a church hierarchy, so we don't have one.  When we send out others to begin other local bodies (e.g. Chatham Christian Assembly ), we do not have any strings attached, other than heart strings.

Isn't it difficult to bring the whole family together especially with very young children?

This format poses new challenges to parents who are not used to being in Bible study and worship meetings with their children, particularly since we live in a society that almost always separates families for activities like this, and there is an underlying feeling that children can receive nothing from worship services because of their age. We believe the long-term value will be greater than the short-term difficulty parents will experience as they learn to worship and learn together. Parents will have the privilege of training their children to hear and respond to God's Word and to honor the other people in the room by their quiet and respectful behavior. We realize this is not an easy task and it will require patience.

Parents will be provided with teaching and tools to help their children understand the theological concepts presented during the gatherings. We encourage the heads of households to elaborate and complete the ideas presented, even to young children. We recognize that they will not understand all of it, but also believe and have seen that exposing them to these concepts often goes far deeper than we might first suspect.

We realize that our culture does not support the idea that children can understand complex ideas at young ages and that parents are not qualified to teach. We reject this notion and believe that a rich transfer of truth can be accomplished during and after the services.

We also believe that even though very young children may not understand everything that is said or done, they can understand something very valuable as they see the head of their household truly honoring and adoring God in worship and enthusiastically studying His Word.

We expect a certain amount of background noise, and arrange "overflow" areas whenever possible to allow young children who are disruptive to be taken to be trained while they remain restless.

 

Without a Sunday school program how do you foster in depth Bible Study for each member?

We are focused on training heads of households and their families together as a unit instead of disconnected individuals, which will give the family the opportunity to work out their discipleship journey together as a unified group.

We are also about the training of men as individuals who will make it their aim to teach God's Word in their homes everyday. This is the main source of in depth Bible Study for our members (Eph 6:4, Deut 6:6-9). We also organize ourselves so that there is regular leadership contact with heads of households to encourage them in their roles.

In the cases where there is no man in the household, we will work with individuals as appropriate in addition to the regular meeting and other occasional meetings of the church.

 

How large will the assembly be before creating multiple assemblies (multiple services)?

The reality is that we don't have a number in mind. It depends on a lot of things. Two things that are obvious are that we need to have leaders and need to have space to meet. We're assuming the Lord will provide both, but we need to do our part to prepare. As we train and encourage men to be the spiritual leaders of their homes, we expect that some will become capable of being spiritual leaders of the church.  Already, this has proven true.

On January 14, 2007, Chatham Christian Assembly began meeting with Darren Eck and Geoff Bright having been sent to go out as the elders, and several other families being blessed to join them.

We do not have to have immediate plans for further subdividing/multiplying, but we have ongoing discussions about options that we think are valid so that we are not caught unprepared when the time comes. We expect this will happen well before we have fifty (50) families.

 

Is there a place in the assembly for new believers who are single (especially single females)?

Absolutely. If they are looking for singles groups, etc. we're not going to have those kind of programs. Instead we offer a model of a family of families. If they desire healthy family relationships, they should feel extremely welcome. If they don't know what they are looking for, we hope they will see something similar to what they are learning about in the Bible. We suspect that many new believers who have never been part of a "modern/traditional/institutional" church might be more excited about our assembly than most "modern/traditional/institutional" churches. This, of course, is dependent upon the real life of the body rather than the form it uses at its meetings.

Living in a household which includes father, mother, and children is by no means a prerequisite of being a part of this church. In fact, we desire that all would recognize the church as a household of households, recognizing that households come in a variety of shapes and the Lord's body includes many and varied parts.

To confirm these thoughts, we currenlty have several members who do not live in a home where the father is present. We have had other "singles" who have joined us temporarily while business or education opportunities have brought them to the area. They confirm that they feel extremely welcome in this family of families.

 

What groups are you targeting?

Everyone. Some might suggest that this format would only be attractive to homeschoolers. We feel we should also be attractive to families who school their children in other school systems since we will offer an opportunity that does not exist for them in most churches and other social structures to bring the whole family together for worship and instruction. Families with children who are not yet "school age", families with grown children, and individuals and families without children all need a family of families that desire to live godly lives.

 

Is there a place in the assembly for people who do not homeschool their children?

Certainly. Scriptures teach that parents are the primary teachers of their children and are responsible for their training. Many who have applied this principle, combined with the general principle of discipling ("follow me as I follow Christ") have decided that homeschooling their children is the form that will best enable them to apply these principles. However, homeschooling is not a prerequisite for being a part of this church. The principles of parental training and discipling will be taught, as consistently as possible by broken vessels in God's hands, in word and action. We certainly recognize that God calls people in all sorts of circumstances to Himself and progressively sanctifies us. God seems to tailor that sanctification process to the individual. Homeschooling may or may not be part of that sanctification process for any particular individual or family whom God calls to this church.

 

With the emphasis on Biblical manhood and the head of the household, what about ministry to women?

We continue to cast a clear Biblical vision for godly femininity and raise up many wives and daughters to exemplify the most compelling virtues of their calling as daughters of their King. In contrast to the cultural assault of feminism and egalitarianism in the church, you will see us present a rich theology regarding the Biblical roles of women. A look at passages regarding the vigorous and effective women in the Bible would help to define some of the roles women played in redemptive history. i.e., Women participating in the life and ministry of Jesus, Sarah and the virtuous woman in I Peter 3:1-6, the Proverbs 31 woman, Lydia in the New Testament (Acts 16:14-15, etc.), Nabal's (and then David's) wife Abigail I Sam 25:26-38, Gen 2:18, Eph 5:23, I Tim 2:12, 3:1-13, I Tim 5:14, Titus 2:3-5.

 

What kind of church programs do/will you be offering?

Instead of creating a portfolio of church building based programs, the leadership team will attempt to fan the flame of the ministries of the members in their areas of influence.

 

How does the church foster fellowship when you meet only once per week?

The Sunday meeting is designed for a large amount of time that includes worship, instruction, discussion among families and members about the implications of the scriptural teaching. A meal with fairly open-ended fellowship follows. We expect that "informal" small group ministries would emerge as needed to meet needs that are communicated as others have opportunity to minister. However, we believe these small groups will typically be extremely small and temporary to address particular areas of discipleship. We will focus on the needs of the individuals rather than the maintenance of programs.

Other events designed for fathers and sons, mothers and daughters and men and women are sometimes scheduled for further equipping.

We encourage families to walk together during the week whether in work situations, hospitality at one anothers homes, or small groups that meet for a particular purpose. 

 

How does the Church seek to meet Christ's commands for evangelism?

Several methods are and will be employed through both "world missions" and "home missions".

For world missions, we will seek to support natives of foreign countries who are doing the work of Christ as well as others who may be ministering in unique ways in foreign fields. We will encourage our members to seek and fulfill God's specific role for them in world missions.

On the home front, we direct our efforts toward neighborhoods, family to family and workplace evangelism. The work of evangelism in our homes (bringing the lost souls of our children to Christ), and in our neighborhoods are a central focus of our equipping efforts, so that the head of the household is equipped to lead the family to evangelize friends and neighbors and co-workers. We encourage the members to seek out those who do not know Christ in their areas of influence including neighborhoods, workplaces and among the fatherless.

The work of evangelism is central to the focus of the universal church and we will constantly encourage one another to make the Cross of Christ the central focus of our households. We are not intending to hold a significant number of evangelistic meetings, but will rely on the members to be the evangelists in their spheres of influence. We continue to learn together how to more effectively use our homes in practicing hospitality for evangelism.

We realize that one who does not evangelize at home and at work will not be equipped to evangelize overseas.

 

How does the church make day-to-day decisions?

Decisions are made through our elders who are accountable to the congregation to always be true to Scripture. Leadership is shared among a group of mutually accountable elders who also seek congregational input for decision making in key areas of church life. The primary role of elders is not to create programs, but to come alongside heads of households and equip them in their primary ministry as well as other ministries God is calling them to. We encourage these family ministers to make decisions that affect their family ministry.

Of course, there are always administrative details to work out. The elders oversee these, but often delegate these tasks to others. Because of the simple model of our church, these administrative details are relatively few.

When these details become a distraction to the elders, we place them in the hands of biblically qualified Deacons (see Acts 6:1-6, 1 Timothy 3:8-13).

During transitional times, if there are not multiple elders, there will be a leadership team in place to help make necessary decisions and hold a single elder accountable. A lone elder would not have access to the bank account during such times. Also, no person is able to write themselves a check for more than $50, even if they have signature authority.

 

Without expenses of paid staff and buildings, what do you do with money collected?

We have a small amount of assets: hymnals, chairs, etc. and expenses such as paper plates, etc. We also incur some maintenance expenses (such as cleaning services) in homes we use or buildings we rent. However, the vast majority of funds are and will be used to support various ministries. Foremost among them will be the support of widows and fatherless, as well as those who are afflicted, as the Lord brings them to our body. Other expenses may include support for ministries that minister to the fatherless and widows in manners consistent with Christian principles and promote the gospel. We also support individuals and organizations that promote the gospel and are like-minded in promoting biblical churches and families. These are decided on a case-by-case basis and the books will be open (with respect to expenses) to everyone in the body of Christ.  Over the first four years of the church, less than ten percent of our funds have been used for facilities, assets and consumables (paper plates, etc.) and we pray that this will not increase in the future.

 

How do you refrain from becoming reclusive?

It is difficult to be reclusive as we focus on evangelistic ministry in our neighborhoods and workplaces and take a proactive role among the fatherless and widows. See Isaiah 1:17, James 1:27. We also believe that men are hungry to know how to be the head of their households and that many men (even unbelievers) from the community will be drawn to our vision to train men how to provide Biblical leadership in their homes. Similarly, our focus on world missions and God's call to reach the nations will keep us outwardly focused.

 

What are you doing about facilities?

Currently, rented facilities and our homes are sufficient to practically meet in on a regular basis. Meeting in the homes offer many blessings including the immediate and obvious example of hospitality. We have so far been blessed to have areas for overflow (sometimes a room with an audio/video feed) for parents whose children are not ready to sit through an extended teaching time without distracting others. We've also been able to provide places for babies to sleep during nap time. Meeting in homes works exceptionally well. It seems that the early church typically met in homes, and we've seen that they are still excellent places to meet today.

We are committed to "multiply" whenever the church becomes too big to have real relationships and "the one anothers" but we're also convinced that the maximum size with which we can do so is potentially larger than fits in most of our current homes comfortably. We're certainly willing to deal with a little inconvenience for a little while, but don't feel that we should force that on anybody... being cramped is not "next to godliness".  As God has raised up an abundance of leadership, and we have continued to grow with people coming from as far west as Pittsboro and Mebane, as far east as Clayton and Four Oaks, as far south as Angier and Lillington, and as far north as Morrisville, we are exploring ways to meet in multiple geographic locations.

We recently commissioned two of our elders (Geoff Bright and Darren Eck) to begin meeting along with several others from the church as Chatham Christian Assembly .  They began meeting in Chatham County on January 14th, 2007.  We expect and hope this will not be the last multiplication, though we are not talking seriously about any specific multiplications at this time.  

We will use community buildings or other facilities (We have been meeting at Wake Christian Academy since January of 2005) that might be available on Sundays whenever we go beyond our practical capacity in our homes. All we need is one big room and it would be great to have some kitchen facilities. Any ideas would be most welcome. We think it is critical to avoid any long-term leases and we don't see any reason to even consider buying a building unless it was for a song or is purchased by someone for private use and leased to the church on a flexible basis when needed. The Lord has always been faithful to address this issue for us.

 

What about youth groups?

Every head of household is a youth minister.

The practice of separating youth from their parents in the church at a time when they desperately need to be in the family context to learn how to honor and obey their parents is producing negative results. We also believe that the family should be in training together and not as individuals.

We submit that what we commonly call "adolescence" has become a socially acceptable way to keep a teen in a delayed maturation process and does not acknowledge the great positive impact youth can have. Instead of sidelining youth in peer groups, we will strive to put them in the place of leadership and service alongside mature adults. We also believe that since "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child" that concentrating this foolishness in youth group gatherings is not the best way to train the next generation.

 

What about youth who are not in a church family?

We will encourage families to open their hearts and homes to these youth and bring them into their discipleship program.

 

Why can't you do this in an existing church?

This is a very different church structure and format compared to the vast numbers of churches in the United States. To ask for such a dramatic shift in structure and format might be counterproductive to the ministries of the existing churches and might subvert the good things happening in them. Although we encourage all churches to consider the issues we are raising, we believe such changes in existing bodies will typically happen a little at a time. (For more information on transitioning traditional churches, see the book Uniting Church & Home by Eric Wallace and the website for the ministry of the same name).

We also believe these are desperate times, as families are separated and fragmented in every endeavor in the culture including the church. At the same time there is a systematic breakdown of the family within the church as well as in secular society. Our culture has almost completely lost a memory of what it means to be a father and mother and how to provide loving leadership in the home, and fulfill basic Biblical roles and responsibilities. These desperate times call for purposeful measures. The rate of change in existing local churches is likely to be slow, and we feel that the time is now for restructuring the church to bring families together and to give family members every opportunity to turn their hearts toward one another for the glory of God.

 

How do you get the word out and seek those who might be interested in the ministry?

Our families talk about this to people in their neighborhoods and other places of influence. They share what the scripture teaches about church and other issues as well as the vision of this church with their neighbors and friends and invite them to join if they are not already involved in a Bible-centered local church body. We get some interest from people who are already "in between churches" and hope to continue to add others that are new converts. We occasionally get visitors who are pointed to our website which is registered in the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches directory. Like the early church, we endeavor to rely on word of mouth and the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

How do the fellowship meals work?

We REALLY try to make this as simple as possible and not have anyone sweat over this. The focus should be on the fellowship, not the food preparation. Therefore, we will be using the following guidelines:

  • We will supply water to drink (easy and don't have to worry about spills)
  • Please don't bring any desserts
  • Bring plenty of food to share, but keep it simple, e.g. Crockpot meal, Casserole, Sandwiches (even PB&J), Salad, whatever is convenient.

Guests are not expected to bring food, but will be encouraged to join us... there is always plenty of food.

An added blessing is that you don't have to prepare another significant meal after church is over on Sunday.

 

What is the background of the founders & elders?

Elders

Ken Auer and his wife Carol have been married since June 1985 and have three children - Hope (born March, 1992), Caleb (born November, 1996), and Joshua (born August, 2005). Ken has spent most of his adult life in the software industry and is president/founder of RoleModel Software in Holly Springs, NC which he started with God's grace in 1997, as well as RoleModel Studios which he started in 2005. One unique feature of RoleModel Software has been its successful apprenticeship program for training young men to become effective professional software developers (as a discipleship-based alternative to college training) and a witness in the workforce. He is continuing that model with RoleModel Studios which has a further reach into the local community.

Ken has served in various areas of the church over the years. He began a "church based leadership training program" in 1993 at Fellowship Bible Church in Fuquay-Varina, NC and later began leading parts of the same program. He also went to India for two weeks in 1998 to assist in the training of native church planters there. Ken was installed as an elder at Fellowship Bible Church in 1997. At the beginning of 2001 he developed and led a 16-week class called Parenting from a Biblical Perspective as a preliminary effort to explore beginning a new church in the area. Shortly after this effort, he attended a "Family-Friendly Church Summit" organized by Doug Phillips of Vision Forum Ministries in San Antonio, TX in September 2001 and resigned as an elder of FBC at the beginning of 2002, with the blessing of the other elders, to pursue the start of this type of church. Ken has also been the President of Narrow Way Players, a non-profit ministry focused on presenting the gospel through musical theatre, and is currently serving on the Governing Council of the Association for Restoring Church and Home (ARCH) .

Carol invests her first energies as a wife and keeper at home, playing a key role in the homeschooling of their children while supporting Ken in many ways, especially with her administrative skills. She has also mentored several women in their roles as godly women. Hope and Caleb provide cleaning services to RoleModel Software, a variety of roles in RoleModel Studios, and minister with Ken and Carol through hospitality and a variety of other ways.

Court Weathers and his wife Karen have been married since 1992 and have been blessed with five children: Emily, Kathryn, Zadok, Brockton, and Caleb (all born since 1998). Court has been employed in the electric utility industry as an electrical engineer since 1987. Upon college graduation, he considered full-time vocational ministry but was confirmed that the Lord would have him ministering in the marketplace. For nearly 20 years he has held various lay leadership positions in the churches he has attended. These have included Sunday School teacher, small group leader, and joining Ken Auer in the first run of the Parenting from a Biblical Perspective as leader of the occasional complementary sessions for children. Karen invests her first energies as a wife, mother, and keeper of their home. She has also mentored many younger woman and enjoys opening her home in hospitality.

Mark Faggion and his wife Lynn have been married since 1989 and have been blessed with six children: Emily, Elizabeth, Andrew, Joseph, David, and Joshua.  They spent quite a bit of time with Campus Crusade for Christ both at home and abroad. Mark currently heads up AFO Consulting through which he apprentices young men in the area of graphic and web design as well as his own children.  Mark has a particular focus on challenging and encouraging men and the Lord led him to organize the Forging A Head Bootcamp.  Lynn invests her first energies as a wife, mother, and keeper of their homeschooled home.

 

Founding Members & Deacons

In addition to the Auers and the Weathers, four other families from a variety of backgrounds participated in the early formation of Southwest Wake Christian Assembly. Two of them are currently actively involved in the life of this local body: Tim & Heather Irwin, and Adam & Laura Williams.  Another founding family, Jack & Larisa Halton, have moved to the Jacksonville, FL area and are active in a young family-integrated fellowship there.

Tim Irwin and Adam Williams also serve as deacons

 

Are you credobaptist or paedobaptist? Reformed or fundamentalist? Or ???

Well, that depends on your definition of each of those terms. We will define each of these terms in the simplest form possible and then comment on our position with respect to them. We fully understand that many reading this may think this is a gross oversimplification of each of these terms and the issues surrounding them. To a certain extent, we agree. We attempt to address these only as the starting point of a conversation that we would be happy to continue in a different context.

Credobaptist

Basically a credobaptist believes that baptism is for believers. The current elders have or plan on baptizing their children when they've professed faith in Christ. We believe that this is an outward symbol of a profession of a change that has already taken place. We do not believe that the act of baptism, in and of itself, does anything to save a person. If someone who has been baptized after a profession of belief in Christ began walking in a manner that did not bring glory to God, we would attempt to use the steps of church discipline/restoration, and if they refused to listen, would treat them as an unbeliever.

If someone professed themselves as a believer in Christ but refused to be baptized, we would question their reasoning and their biblical basis for this refusal. However, we also understand and respect that others can make a case from Scripture that they should baptize infants as a sign of a covenant and believe that once they have been baptized in this way there is no further need for ":believer's baptism":. Should someone wish to exercise infant baptism in our church, based on a case for doing so made from Scripture, we would certainly allow it and celebrate with them. We do not believe this issue needs to be a divisive issue (although we recognize that it often has been).

Paedobaptist

Basically, a paedobaptist believes that baptism is a sign of a covenant, much like circumcision was a sign of a covenant in the Old Testament. Therefore, they believe that they should baptize everyone in their family from infant to adult once a parent determines that they wish their family to live as children of the King. The elders understand this reasoning and believe that each head of household should be fully convinced in his own mind how to lead his family in this issue. We would certainly be open to having elders in the future who held this view, as long as they agreed that this should not be a foundational and divisive issue in the church. We believe it is more important that individuals are living each day for the Lord than to try to use the ceremony of baptism as a litmus test for whether someone is a believer or not.

Reformed

Do we agree with the doctrine of the reformers? Which reformers on which days?

Basically the elders have no major issues with the Westminster Confession  or London Baptist Confession so, that might make us ":reformed":. However, we'd rather emphasize ":The Great Commandment(s)": found in Scripture (Mark 12:28-31) than the first question in either the shorter or longer catechism. (Yes, we agree that the chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever). Our position is that the reformers were godly, but fallible men and were not Christ or His Apostles. Therefore, we should not take anything one or more of them has said as authoritative, though it is very often extremely well thought out and considered sound doctrine. There are things the reformers missed, and there are things we'll miss, too, if we think that some subset of them actually perfectly figured out everything there is to know about God's plan for His church. Scripture is the source of truth, not the Westminster Confession. The elders have not formally gone over the Westminster Confession, or London Baptist Confession, line by line to determine exactly which lines we might take issue, but would be happy to discuss any of them with you.

We adhere to the Nicene Creed, but we believe our principles and practices represent our doctrine better than any historic confession. 

Fundamentalist

The term fundamentalist literally means "one who adheres to the fundamentals".

We believe the most fundamental issues of the Christian faith are listed in our doctrinal statement. Our principles stated above add slightly more to that list. Neither is claimed to be an exhaustive list of fundamentals, but rather a list that we do not believe are open to serious debate among professing believers (though we will be happy to discuss why we think so with any who have not arrived at the same conclusion). If someone has a longer list of what they believe is fundamental, we'd be happy to discuss it with them. The elders certainly have strong convictions about things that are not listed here, as do many of our members. We believe we can disagree on certain things, as long as we agree that Scripture is our final authority and we are willing to grow in the knowledge of our Lord together by diligently seeking the answers to our questions there.

 

Can we visit?

We often get this question. Perhaps the question is raised because we are so different from many churches people picture an exclusive community. But the answer to the question is a resounding YES. In fact, if you are coming from out of town, we'd love to bless you by having you stay in one of our homes. This will allow you to really get to know the community that we have and encourage (and because God tells us in his word to practice hospitality and we have found the tremendous blessings that come from such obedience). Please contact us with as much notification of possible so we can make the best possible arrangements for you. If you are not coming from out of town, we'd still love to have you visit on a Sunday and perhaps share a meal with one or more of the families during the week for the same reason.

At the same time, if you want to visit because you are dissatisfied with your own local body, we would encourage you to discuss the issues with your current church leadership. We do not want to "divide the body", which is Christ's body. We would be the worst type of hypocrites if we were promoting the ideas of church and household order and, in any way, encouraged people to be disrespectful to the authorities that the Lord has currently placed them under. We believe people, especially God's people, need to be under authority and to have a heart attitude of honor.

 

What is your perspective with respect to being under the authority of the elders?

The best answer to this question is probably inferred by reading our Shepherding Guidelines . However the short answer is that we encourage people to recognize that God has placed authorities over them and the visible authority in the church is the elders. This is not the sort of authority that makes every decision for a person like a parent does for an infant, but rather the sort of authority that is recognizing that we are all in a battle against the flesh, the world, and the devil, and believes his role is to look out for those under them and help set those under them in a direction that will be best for them and the Kingdom of God. If a leader of a home will not put themselves under authority, but expects his children to submit to his authority, he is not practicing what he preaches and certainly not what our Lord, Jesus Christ preaches.

No, the elders of SWCA will not (or, at least, probably should not) command you as to what time to wake up in the morning, who you must marry, where you should live, what you should wear, etc. They know the difference between advice and commands, and give a lot more of the former than the latter, especially when asked for the former. However, they are charged with giving an account for the sheep in their charge, as are the leaders at any church with which you might currently be associated. "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." (Heb 13:17 - NASB). They don't own you, but they do own a responsibility toward you. We encourage folks to respect and honor that responsibility.

Christ is the head of the church and the head of every man.  The elders are merely overseers. 

 

For answers to additional questions or more information, please contact us at 919-552-6977 or info@swcassembly.org

Notes

[Family] As Douglas Wilson states, "Children are not to be automatically and routinely excluded from the public worship of God. This is true in both the Old and New Testament" (Future Men, p. 96). In the Old Testament we see passages such as Deut 31:11-13, Joel 2:16, and Deut 29:10-13. In the New Testament, we note that Paul's letters to the congregation address children (Eph 6:1-3, Col 3:20) as if they are expected to be present at the reading of his letters. When Paul departed from his meeting with the Ephesian elders children were present (Acts 21:5). There is certainly no mention of any special programs for children during the assembly of the local church anywhere in the New Testament. On the other hand, it is certainly not universally true that children are always present at every assembly of God's people. We see in Neh 8:1-3 that the assembly consisted of men and women and "all who could understand"... it is not clear exactly what age children might be excluded, but it is certainly reasonable that the youngest of children might not have been included. There were also feasts that only required the men attend (Ex 23:17). We believe that having families worshipping and learning together is the biblical norm and wonderful (see Scott Brown's article "Children in the Meeting of the Ephesian Church"). Exceptions are not necessarily tantamount to declaring "war on the family" though their affects should be examined carefully in light of Scripture.

[Thompson] Many of the ideas in the initial draft of this document were based on an e-mail from John Thompson describing the principles of "Connecticut River Christian Assembly" and discussions that followed with John. Since then this document has been influenced by many and assembled by Ken Auer.

[Hope] Many of the "Frequently Asked Questions" were derived from a similar document describing Trinity Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC, which has since been adopted by Hope Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC.

[Reg] This has been called the "Regulative Principle of Worship". There is some debate among theologians who believe we should model our worship after the patterns we see in the bible as to some of the specific implications of accepting this principle with respect to exactly what is "off-limits" versus where we have "liberty" (what is prescriptive versus descriptive?). We expect that we will discuss this further at some point as individual questions are raised. However, we believe that the primary practices described above are well within the implications of Scripture.

[Trans] Unless something was specifically "culturally limited", New Testament practice was grounded in eternal, transcultural principles which we are to faithfully follow today (cf. 1 Cor. 4:17; Phil. 3:17; 4:9; 2 Tim. 3:10). Again, there is some debate among theologians as to the tests to determine whether something is "culturally limited" (what is prescriptive versus descriptive?). As in the case of the regulative principle, we expect further discussion will be necessary as individual questions are raised. However, we believe that the primary practices described above are well within the implications of Scripture. We must be careful not to elevate any extra-biblical traditions from any culture that are not implied by Scripture. This was the error of the Pharisees. God wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24) following any particular form, no matter how "biblical" does not necessarily imply "true worship".

[Women] 1 Cor 11:5 discusses women praying or prophesying. There is some debate among theologians as to the context of this activity and the purpose for head covering. We do not expect to resolve that issue here, but rather would state that we choose to follow the practices we see in other passages during our regular meeting which certainly reinforces and is consistent with the fundamental issue of the role of men and women.