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TechnoratiAnd as people open themselves up more, what typically happens is people's sins begin to surface, the Orange County pastor noted.
"You got to deal with it, or you run," he said, adding that The Well encourages groups to work together with the person when such situations arise. "A lot of people run."
"They'd rather run and not deal with it."
Another advantage to house churches is they're open source, Eastburn pointed out.
"I've heard some bad theology from the pulpit and you can't challenge the pastor right there," he said. In house churches, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, challenge views, and even correct theology on the spot.
"Basically, anybody can put their two cents in," he noted, and "it's easy to edit on the fly and correct right there."
Eastburn currently has little concern for heresy considering they have less than 100 people and each house church is overseen by an elder who is grounded in sound doctrine. Any time a discussion may veer the wrong way theologically, Eastburn and the elders are present to steer them in the right direction.
"We're not saying we have the final word," the pastor added, "but we say 'this is aligned with what's accepted solid Christian doctrine.'"
Since moving out of the building, The Well has kept a low profile and spread only by word of mouth. But after four years, Eastburn realized they have a unique story to tell and other churches to help as more are considering transitioning into or starting a house church.
"This is something we're passionate about and we believe in this model and it'll grow," he said, noting that traditional church attendance is dropping. "God's going to use it."
"It's a powerful movement," he commented. "You can't really put it in a box."
Eastburn was a youth pastor for 13 years and has "done [his] time with the more traditional model" of church, having previously worked at a church plant of Saddleback Community Church – the megachurch of prominent evangelical leader Rick Warren – as well as other churches.
He has nothing against traditional churches or even megachurches and acknowledges that there are many people who could never attend a house church.
But, "if you really get it," he says, "it's hard to go back to anything else."
The Well currently has house churches in Yorba Linda, Brea, Tustin, Huntington Beach and La Mirada.
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