“Home churches are a great idea, but to work they have to be strictly under the radar: no paid staff, no insurance, no property or trusts, nothing that could create a paper trail. The pastor would need to be a tentmaking pastor, which is a demanding way of life.”
Just like the Apostle Paul. We’re returning to the book of Acts.
“Perhaps a FReeper with more legal acumen than me could speak to the possiblity of the hosting homeowner being named a party in a civil rights lawsuit. To the point: could you be financially or otherwise liable for hosting a home church that refuses to marry homosexuals? My gut says yes.”
Legally speaking, how could they sue someone for a private group in his private home?
This is already happening. “Home churches” are being sued and shut down on the grounds they violate zoning laws. There have been a couple of notable cases in the past year.