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Whether it is a good or bad thing depends on one's religion and perspective. In some ways it could lead to liberalization, but could just as easily lead to more groups like the Westboro Baptist Church.

In a way, it is the next logical step for low-church Protestant Christianity, since Protestant Christianity tends towards division (gross generalization, of course). American Protestantism has long had a tension between ecumenism and individuality. This is especially true for evangelicals and other denominations that have little centralized identity. For high-church Protestant denominations like Lutherans and Anglicans, home-church movements would probably have less effect. And of course it should have almost no effect on Catholics and Orthodox, which put a much greater emphasis on liturgy.

Posted by: Dendroica | June 16, 2006 8:45 AM

The chief problem with home churching is that it's often a move to limit diversity. In a neighborhood church you have to learn how to put up with the fact that you end up in the pew next to Joe Doe whose mannerisms you find infuriating, or with Mr. X who (they say) is having an affair with Mrs. Y; and with the fact that your priorities aren't the same as everyone else's. In a home church situation, you don't; you're not pushed into even the minimum sort of accountability required to deal with the society around you. A common argument put forward in favor of home churching is that it allows you to evade the sorts of rules neighborhood churches tend to have -- about requirements that have to be met before you can claim to teach others about doctrine, about procedures that have to be followed before anyone can be expelled, etc. And, despite the fact that homechurchers are often great people, that sort of attitude is worrisome. The religion most conveniently practiced behind closed doors is fundamentalist.

Posted by: Brandon | June 16, 2006 11:38 AM

There is a church here in Columbus called Xenos Christian Fellowship, and home church is apparently how their mega church got it's start. They call it "underground church." Here is their explanation of it. I met a woman who attends this church, and she said that the big problem that she sees is that sometimes the groups become like cliques and that over time, the beliefs of the different groups begin to vary just a bit. This was her opinion, but I can see her point...

Posted by: Cassandra | June 16, 2006 1:17 PM