About eleven years ago, I left the pulpit and we began our journey walking out Scripture as it is written. We were part of a small congregation for a couple years, then we began a home fellowship that met weekly and for special feasts. This was a significant and satisfying ‘upgrade’ from church life, but it still left something to be desired.
People would come and people would go. Division was easy… the Name, calendar, other minor doctrinal issues… And, the typical Shabbat ended with, ‘see you next week,’ not unlike church. Certainly, home fellowship was a good place to grow and study, but…
As I researched, studied, and wrote for Authority, Headship, and Family Structure, (According to Moses), I came to the now obvious realization that kol Israel is a patriarchal tribal FAMILY! Where I used to think of the Torah as a national Constitution, I now recognize that it is YHVH’s instruction on how we are to love Him and love the rest of the family (our neighbor).
Over the last year, our home group began to pursue ‘community’ with the growing realization that we are family. (Cue Sister Sledge) We began to understand that as a collection of families, we are a ‘clan,’ not unlike the clans of Israel 3000 years ago. The key was/is to divest ourselves of a ‘fellowship’ mentality (I can leave if I want) and embrace the harder road of working things out, accepting our differences, loving each other even when we may not be in 100% agreement!
Collectively, we are changing our mindset from ‘fellowship’ to ‘family.’
We are quitting fellowship!
We are building FAMILY.
(And, Clan!)
This is a major step forward, and one I strongly recommend other home groups think about. But the foundation that needs to be laid is an understanding of Torah as a document for a family, not a national governing document. Again, this is a ground up, grassroots growth, not top down, organization or government model.
As I have stated before, man builds organizations, God builds men, then families, then clans, etc… Witness Adam, Noach, Avraham, Ya’acov, the sons, then the tribes. Kol Israel is a patriarchal tribal family!!
Selah!!
natsab 
Shalom Pete…..so true, its been on my heart for a long time, that we need to change this ‘church mentality’ . Never was able to put it in words but the ‘hebrew roots’ people, including myself, was acting more and more like the denominational church…..it hurt my heart…..as you share the structural and foundational workings of a biblical community my heart leaps….I should say the spirit in my heart leaps….Elohim (Father) , Son (Yahshua), Man, Women, children tribal community, kol Israel…what a beautiful plan and I believe He is in the process of building His house now….I appreciate and am thankful for your stepping out to teach and to live out the Truth….keep us updated out here and also keep Robin in your prayers…..she is struggling with health issues that is keeping her mobility limited…I covet this…miss you guys and be extremely blessed….(and its not civid)
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Shavua tov, achi!
Will keep Robin in prayers. And, yes, exciting to be learning and walking this out together.
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Today Duarte made a video about the breakdown of the institutional church, and I was simply meditating on how we need to be organic and familiar to resist everything that is to come, your message was providential for my spirit.
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Brachot v’shalom, Fabio!
So glad Abba is teach us the same things!
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Definitely something to ponder and figure out how my little online congregation can act like a family or clan.
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I really liked this.
Sent from my iPhone
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Abraham was called the”friend of Yah”.
He was promised a future nation.
Be like Abraham! 😁😁😁
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A good thought, as Christ said: “ye are all brethren”. Would not “fellowship” and “congregation” be biblical words still? “Assembly” and “gathering” are used in Scripture.
I assume you will continue to meet together on the Sabbaths; will there be changes, like, perhaps, as I have heard some rural villages described: “the houses were like different rooms in one house”?
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Oh, absolutely, we’ll continue to gather. The point is changing our culture from ‘loose-knit, once a week, I can leave if I feel like it’ to an attitude of ‘family.’ We stick together.
One problem with many ‘biblical words’ is that meanings of words change over time, or how we relate to those meanings can change. Ex. there are 1000s of ‘fellowships’ and ‘congregations’, but how many function as the ‘family’, particularly kol Israel, that Scripture points us toward in the Torah and future prophecy.
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