house church microbrew

"Finding Spirituality at Home," From Lisa Randall's "House of Worship" column in Newsweek (1.11.10)

Seven percent of Americans say they "attend religious services in someone's home." This surprising little fact was buried in a recent survey ..

..The first Christian church services were held in people's homes, of course, and living-room prayer meetings have long been staples of Western history and literature. More recently, though, American worship has become industrialized. In the 1980s, the mega-church—with its Wal-Mart approach to spirituality—became a fixture of the suburban landscape, and the megapastor a Christian CEO. Now, says David Kinnaman, president of the Barna research group, many Christians are expressing "disappointment that the congregational models have become so consumeristic." "House church"—also called home church, simple church, or organic church—is "the new expression of hippie Christianity," says Kinnaman. If the megachurch is Budweiser, the house church is a microbrew.

...What's happening to church has already happened not just to beer, but to food, magazines, and music. As people reject a one-size-fits-all approach, they're yearning for a church that's more homemade.
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