Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting

by Robert Banks

Robert Bank's widely read Paul's Idea of The Early House Churches in their Cultural Setting is once again available to laypeole, pastors and scholars alike. In this extensively revised edition Banks has rewritten chapters for clarity, taken into account recent scholarship on Paul's writings, updated and expanded the bibliography, and added an index. This new edition retains, however, all the freshness and vitality of the original. "The book draws fully upon the wealth of recent scholarly analysis of the New Testament churches, but in such a skilled way that the picture is not buried in learning, but brought to life for present-day readers. . . . People will be startled to find how much of modern church life has departed form the New Testament spirit. And yet the modern communities still possess in the New Testament, as illuminated through a book like this, the sources from which church life can be reawakened to the community consequences of accepting the Pauline gospel."
—Edwin A. Judge, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia "It is good news that Robert Banks's Paul's Idea of Community is once more available, now in a thoroughly revised, expanded edition. Convinced that Paul's distinctive contribution to Christianity is his idea of community, Banks demonstrates how this notion informs Paul's instruction to his churches. . . . [I]t is striking how naturally discussions of such topics as Paul's teaching on freedom and on eschatology fall within the purview of this stimulating book."
—Abraham J. Malherbe, Yale University

Genres: Theology, Church, Ecclesiology, Nonfiction, Christianity, Church History, Christian

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[C. Christopher Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic! A must-read for Christians interested in what the Bible says about community…

[Mark Sequeira]

One of THE best books on the nature of the early church and those that Paul planted. Rooted in solid scholarship and early history, this book upsets a lot of current church practice and therefore may not get the reviews it deserves. I first read this book back in 1983-4 and it is still one of the best on church-planting and the early church.

[Jason Poe · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the problems with Higher Criticism is that the writer can end up fooling himself, by removing the parts of the Bible that cause more and deeper study, and simply stating, "I don't think that part should be in the Bible."
This is where I see this book. While what is written is thorough enough, it does not visit the entire counsel of God. Moreover, it does not even visit the entire counsel of Paul!
The author only accepts 7 of Paul's letters as genuine. Therefore, his views are extremely narrow. Rejecting all three pastorals outright, although admitting in the appendix that there is little reason to do so, and not even mentioning other books such as Philemon, he conveniently explains certain topics of controversy, such as women in the ministry, as simply being irrelevant to us today. His topics do not seem well thought out, hence, there are few references, and the chapters are short and easy enough to read quickly, but that's because there is little meat.
On topics such as pastor and elder, he explains that there is no proven history that shows anyone was in charge or was a leader in the early church. It was just whoever showed good gifts, and they gradually became leaders because of their use of said gifts. That's easy enough to say when you can simply deny or ignore the other Scripture and early church history that says otherwise. Furthermore, what starts out as laughable quickly becomes deplorable if you think of the popularity contests within churches that teaching such as this would lead to.
The reason I give the book two stars as opposed to one is that, albeit there is plenty lacking in his narrow view of Scripture, there is some bits of useful information.
If you find the book on sale or if it is given to you, it's worth a read to glimpse into as a reference for other, deeper study. As with any HC book that focuses on one particular person or group of books, you must eat the fish and spit out the bones. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bones in this book.

[Jeremiah Gilfoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lot of information. great book.

It's a dence book, seminary level material but great refresher and great info. Challange where your at in your own community.

[Stan Sorensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good insights but I was expecting more practical implications to come from the principles. It was a bit difficult for me to read for some reason. It did prompt me to do more study in this area.

[Christian Wermeskerch · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Like I alluded to above, this book becomes an important piece that would help pastors, small group leaders, and ministry leaders think biblically about the way that they organize and talk about their communities."

read my review at chriswerms .wordpress .com

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall really good read. Make sure to get the 3rd edition (or newest).

[Mike Dili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not let the author's view on Ephesians and the Pastorals distract you from the content of this book.

[David Mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banks asks us to lay aside our preconceived notions of what we have always thought church o be, and instead ask the question what did those who created it think it was. When one begins there and refuses to let prejudice get in the way, some pretty large paradigm shifts come into light. First, he asks us to realize that we are not primarily saved to be in a personal relationship with God, but rather we are saved to be part of a community. Secondly, he asks us to consider the fact that there are no real ecclesiastical offices named, voted for, or instituted by those who would have done so...were it the primary goal for organizing our religious lives. Thirdly, he defines the words we translate now as pastor, elder, deacon etc. as they first appear in Scripture, and as they later slightly shift in meaning in the pastoral letters. Banks contends that most of the words we think we know so well, we really don't know at all. Take for instance the idea of elder being someone, in our time and space, who is wise and a good business man with upright moral character...in the texts it simply is presented as a older person albeit with those same attributes. Likewise the words for shepherds is more closely linked with navigation of ships. In short the naturally occurring populace of a gathering has giftings of teachers, and mentors, and servants, and teachers, and vision casters etc. The gifts are sprinkled throughout the gathering and carry no stipulation that they are in any way institutionalized. However there is an authority structure in that certain gifts carry within themselves an inherent authority. For example an elder, because he is older, commands respect and attention to his direction not because he is somehow superior to the community or holds an office, but rather because he is older and we naturally respect our elders. Because of the understanding of the gathering as a family with a strong group identity, these men would have been seen as father-figures...and consequently listened to and obeyed. This idea of family is not just a pithy analogy, but is rather a fact. Jesus told us that those of us who do his Father's will are mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters...not as analogy but as a fact. As such then, our gatherings should be groups where all the gifts are present but that operate along the same rules of conduct as a natural family would operate. Paul's Idea of Community is largely a textbook of sorts and the research and technical aspect are, admittedly, tedious at times. However, as we see church changing across the American landscape with no amount of money, time, or effort changing the droves fleeing traditional congregations, it seems prudent to ask why. Could it be that it is because the Holy Spirit himself is authoring the change because we have missed the mark of what our gatherings are supposed to be so widely? Given the supposed dangers for errancy of thousands of little groups meeting all through the world, and taking into account the miserable record of organized religion, it would seem we are left with a cost benefit analysis. Is it more dangerous that the gatherings, that have now supplanted organized religion on Sunday morning (according the Barna Report), is the danger greater to Jesus and his Kingdom that people will slip into heresy, or that traditional church will end up strangling the little life left in the American church today? Those are the questions raised by Robert Banks' book, and one we had better find the answer to quickly.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated Robert Banks' research and thoughtfulness. I liked finding out more of the cultural context, and how the early Christian communities functioned. For example, they met in small groups in houses, hosted by men and women of means, and regularly "the whole church" (e.g., 4 or 5 house groups) met together for fellowship and learning. Another thing--the early church, in celebrating the Lord's supper, ate a genuine, complete meal. I love that idea, since it ties in so well with the Bible's theme the joyful feast God grants his people. Come to Jesus and join the feast!

Mostly, what Banks does is explore Paul's basic themes surrounding Community--freedom in Christ, unity, diversity, gifts and order in the church, participation and responsibility, etc. He emphasizes freedom, and how different the Christian meetings were in many ways from the culture around them (and how in other ways, they were sometimes similar). He talks about the basic metaphors Paul uses for the Chrisitan community (Building, Body, Family) and explains what that means. He emphasizes that the main purpose of church gatherings is for the people of God to meet and build each other up in Christ.

Now and then he says quite surprising things, making me think hard even if I don't totally agree with him. For example, he says today's church is too focused on Word and Sacrament; there should be a deeper awareness of the different ways the Spirit works, most especially the fact that He works through and in Christians themselves. Another thing--he seems to think that ordination is a non-biblical concept. Not sure if I agree with him there, but he definitely has a point when he says that a "holiness hierarchy" does NOT exist in the church. Pastors are not like priests, not more holy than "laypeople", and there's a problem if pastor or laypeople think too much in terms of hierarchy. Instead, the key word MUST be "service." It's all about service, hard work in the Lord--giving up pride and fame and instead giving time, energy, money, wisdom, comfort...just giving whatever is needed to those who need it (as long as you can supply it).

So to sum up...this was a good read! I enjoyed this particular author's perspective, though there's not enough evidence at several points to convince me of his point of view. He made me think, and it was very refreshing to walk through Paul's Epistles and ponder the meaning of community.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could rate this book higher than 5 stars I would. This book, along with a few of Dallas Willard's books, have been of huge importance for me as a growing and maturing Christian in this mass confusion of denominations in our current age.
The author, Robert J Banks, has studied Paul's letters against the backdrop of the time period and then frames Paul's ideas and instructions to the early Christian communities. It blew my mind, put simply. I have read Paul's letters numerous times, but often not quite understanding Paul's meaning and his big idea on the communities he founded. What I enjoyed about Banks' book, was that he provided every Scripture verse he implies, so I would often look up the verse in my Bible to delve deeper.
Paul wanted Christ to lead, not any one person. All Christians are given gifts which we are meant to use to build up each other in our Christian communities. But not one person is "better" or more important than the other. There is no coercion or firm rules, but bold statements of sticking to the Gospel and Christ's teachings. Authority exercised through the service of others, not in domination. Living by the Spirit is upmost importance.
Ahh, if in our present Christian communities we could follow Paul's led in how to follow Christ and how to practice our faith within our communities, I think more people would be Christian and those believers would be more passionate and led wholeheartedly by the Spirit, not led by our man-made ideas. I know there are many church communities that do practice this way, the issue for people is trying to find them. I highly recommend this book!

[Blurp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Garbage, may as well go to Sunday school. Or watch a televangelist. Poor writing, kindergarten analysis, question begging theology of the most 80s-sort (a hilarious medieval reliance on Luke's hagiography in Acts): probably not worth the time of a full read. Only redeeming aspect is a bit, just a tease, of Banks' influential exegetical work on the word 'ekklesia' in the Pauline corpus. It's a nice and almost dispassionate examination of an important word in in the NT (especially in light of the Pastorals, and then, whoops!, the 'Catholic Church' that developed in the wake of Paul's unfortunate and hilarious failure to properly predict the parousia). Long story short, Paul was a spiritual locavore, dude. He didn't really have his eyes on the Superdome or, more piquantly, even a big town church (again, see parenthesis above: he thought the resurrected Christ was going to reappear literally out of the sky and take everyone alive, dead, and otherwise to go hang out in God's presence). Anyway, the fakers who picked these loose ends up in the Pastorals smoothed things over for almost a couple millennia and called it Paul's idea. Banks' other more specific piece on this topic looks specifically into the community at Corinth, which we have some nice, if disjointed and weird, info on in the NT from Paul in the several correspondences that make up First and Second Corinthians. I haven't read it yet, but plan to, Banks' horrible writing and kind of anachronistic paternalism be damned.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

"To embrace the gospel, then, is to enter into community. A person cannot have one without the other."

Robert Banks argues that Paul's entire theology springs from his understanding of community and of Christianity as a communal practice.

A standard principle of biblical exegesis (and all reading, for that matter) is to consider the context. Banks does this by comparing Paul's system to those of other notable groups of his time: the Jews (including Pharisees and Essenes), eastern-style mystery cults, and Greek philosophers (notably the Stoics and the Cynics).

The cultural background is not particularly deep, but it is detailed enough to be useful for the sake of comparison, and it's interesting in its own right.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really an academic critique of what the Apostle Paul really taught as opposed to the way most churches actually behave. Like all books written for university students it isn't quite "accessible". It suffers from the scholars need to define all the terms of the argument up front which makes for slow reading up front but it is absolutely brilliant.

Also be prepared for mad props from Divinity students. They really get impressed when this is your "light" reading. Good for getting you some Baptist booty.

[Nathaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this book is a good look at what Paul meant and desired in the communities that he set up. There are also so things that were particularly weak about his view. Banks does a poor job addressing church government, specifically eldership and its role in a thriving Pauline community. Banks also seems to deny Pauline authorship to some of the pastoral epistles.

Over all, this book is a helpful easy read that should be supplemented with other Pauline theologies.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally in Paul’s writings, he mentions “the church in thy house.” This book is a great help in understanding the background to this phenomena, and is helpful in its explanation of what it means (Spoiler alert: it isn’t a reference to a home school church, no matter how you slice it). If you want a scholarly yet readable explanation for these words (also helps you understand church sizes in the 1st century), this is a helpful read.

[Ramón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong cursory analysis of the various views of community represented in the Pauline Epistles, and the sociocultural milieu in which they were written and received. Highly recommended for a broad, but quality introduction to the topic.

[Timothy L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I should probably read it again. As I remember this book it was interesting to see a guy from the institutional crowd call attention to the simplicity of Paul's teaching about the community of the believer... Very refreshing.

[h.f.]

Read for school. To be honest— I read more to get it done than for comprehension. It be like that sometimes.

Important quote from this book: "Paul's understanding of community is nothing less than the gospel itself in corporate form!" (p. 142).

[Patrick Oden · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best little books on what Christian community should be about as seen in the letters of Paul. Robert Banks is brilliant and insightful and quite readable.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talbot Course: Systematic Theology 4- The Church & The Last Things

[Eddy Ekmekji · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've read on the first church / early Christians.

[Skip Crust · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so powerful that it actually made me reconsider my vocation (as a pastor). The biblical foundation of the house-church movement has an anthem, and this is it!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful!

[Noemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, clear, thorough, and wide scope of Paul's teachings on community. Abrupt, but great content. I don't agree with everything he writes, but Banks provides a great introduction to Paul.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read putting an emphasis on the apostle Paul's contribution on the idea of community in the first century Christianity.

[Patrick Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of page 108 deserves a highlight.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just hope to have a good grade in this test xD

[Lisa Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

ONly read it for class. :(