Wayne Meeks (The First Urban Christians) -- Belleville's own source refutes her position

Belleville cites Wayne Meeks, The First Urban Christians (p. 76) as her source. But Meeks on those very pages says groups formed in houses 'headed by non-Christians.' Meeks does say the head of household 'by normal expectations of society would exercise some authority,' but only 'some authority' (like directing people to the right bathroom), not overseer-level authority. On p. 87, Meeks explicitly concludes that the Greco-Roman household hierarchy 'offers no clue to the source of the kinds of power and leadership' in the church, as 'there were other models and social ideas at work.'