About NTRF
NTRF is part of a growing body of believers who have come to see the importance of following New Testament patterns in church practice. We have taken to heart the evangelical belief that the Bible is our final authority, not only in matters of faith, but also in matters of practice. We see theological significance in the distinctive practices of the apostolic church.
Our desire is to provide resources and training in how the early church met together in community. We seek to aid others in recapturing the intimacy, simplicity, accountability and dynamic of first century church life. Thus far we have been blessed to be able to travel and present these concepts to believers in Peru, China, Russia, England and throughout the United States. While we are firmly convinced that God’s best is for all His people to organize their churches according to New Testament patterns, we are not “against” everyone else. What we are against is divisiveness or the blanket condemnation of our brothers who see things differently than we do. Our desire is not to come across as judgmental or overly critical. Matters of church practice are much in the same category as the issue of believer’s baptism versus infant baptism. People of faith can be found in each camp. Assuming that the Lord prefers one approach over the other, then the other method is “wrong.” Is the wrong group therefore in sin? Are they thus not a true church? Will God refuse to work in and through them? Heaven forbid! While they may be in violation of God’s best, it is an honest, sincere blunder in a completely different category than moral failings such as lying, theft, murder, rebellion, etc. We understand that sincere, Godly saints sometimes understand the same Scripture passages differently. We hear Paul when he asked, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Ro 14:4).
We advocate orthodox, historic, classic Christianity poured into the wineskin of New Testament church practice as established by the twelve apostles. Thus, what we promote herein concerns orthopraxy (right behavior), rather than orthodoxy (right theology). We argue strongly from Scripture for such things as living room sized churches, the Lord’s Supper as a full meal, church leaders as servants (rather than lords), government by consensus, the right and responsibility of the brothers to make decisions corporately, no clergy-laity distinction, and interactive (participatory) church meetings. An emphasis on simple, home-based, relational, family integrated church does not mean that careful attention to order and organization are unimportant. Our goal is to be Christ honoring and thoroughly biblical in every area concerning our church life.
As for those of us at NTRF who lead house church workshops, we truly do identify with Paul when he wrote, "we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Cor 4:5).
About Our Workshop Leaders
Steve Atkerson
Steve lives in Georgia with his wife, Sandra, and their three home-schooled children. Steve graduated from Georgia Tech and worked in industrial electronics before heading off to seminary. After receiving a Master of Divinity degree from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, served on the pastoral staff of a Southern Baptist Church. After seven years in the traditional pastorate, he resigned to begin working with churches that desire to follow apostolic traditions in their church practice. Since 1990 he travels and teaches as the Lord opens doors of opportunity. Steve is an elder at a local house church, is president of NTRF, edited Toward A House Church Theology, authored both The Practice of the Early Church: A Theological Workbook and The Equipping Manual, and is editor of and a contributing author to Ekklesia: To The Roots of Biblical House Church Life.
Dan Walker
Dan Walker is an NTRF trustee, former editor of The New Reformation Review news letter, contributor to both Toward a House Church Theology and Ekklesia, To The Roots of Biblical House Church Life, co-sponsor of past Southern House Church Conferences, team teaches NTRF workshops, and is actively involved with a house church that he helped plant in South Carolina. He has degrees from the University of South Carolina in history, economics, business administration, and law, plus a Master of Arts in Church History from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
In addition to three grown children, Dan and his wife, Linda, have a burden for the church in pioneer areas. He took a leave of absence from teaching business at Coker College in order to be free to equip and encourage God’s people worldwide. Dan and Linda spend much of the year abroad evangelizing, planting churches, and training leaders. They have three grown children.
Tim Melvin
After college and a military career, Tim went on to earn a Masters of Divinity from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary (MABTS) while serving on two Baptist church staffs in Memphis, Tennessee. He then did three years of doctoral work in Hebrew and Old Testament while teaching Research, Writing and English at MABTS. He and Sarah home educated their three daughters, two of which are married. While in the Memphis area, he also planted two house churches. He and his wife Sarah and their youngest daughter now reside in Columbus, Georgia. Tim travels widely teaching church life workshops for NTRF. In addition, he teaches a child training seminar, "Raising Wise Children in a Foolish World," and is a contributing author to both Toward A House Church Theology and Ekklesia: To The Roots of Biblical Church Life.
