A Tale of Two Churches

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I was in Indiana last weekend "trying out." That part of Indiana has small churches of Christ all around it.  One of the local families was taking us around the countryside showing us the lay of the land.  They pulled up to this now defunct church building and began telling us about its demise over 80 years earlier. The people directly involved are now dead.  Most of them are buried in the cemetery across the road due west of the church building. What I am sharing below is taken from part of their family history.  (An unpublished manuscript.)  I have not edited it in any way except that I have added current pics of the two buildings of the little churches involved. And a few labeled comments below… 

This is not a great doctrinal treatise but how it was remembered in later years by a nine year old child… 

Bethany Church of Christ

How Liberal Churches Are Like The Federal Government

Today I was considering the course our nation has gone… from being among the richest nation in the world to being basically owned by the Chinese.  Today I was also considering the course of various churches in our community.  They have gone from being Bible based with eternity and godliness being their focus…  to shallow speaking shells whose children are fleeing from them….

And I asked "why?"

Because both entities have made the same mistake. Both thought they were smarter than God and ignored His precepts.  Both have gone down a road that had an “unknown price”  to pay for it.  Both are now finding out the price for their choices.  Such is the way of sin…..

Consider…

"For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order : if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either."   II Thessalonians 3:10

A Church Satisfied With Being a Church

Have you noticed that nowadays churches seem to be about everything but being churches? Let’s see …

We have so called churches with gymnasiums, swimming pools, restaurants, bowling alleys, day care, schools, gift shops, etc. in them.

We have churches preoccupied with teaching everything from yoga to belly dancing. Here in Wichita we had a fellow trying to start a church inside of a strip club… with other local preachers trying to justify said behavior.

Where Did Church Buildings Come From?

In recent years I have continued to run into folks that have believed it was somehow more spiritual to worship God at home alone, or in small groups etc. Each time it seems the persons are coming from a different direction but to the same conclusion that the practice of gathering together in a public building as a congregation of God’s people was somehow inferior to a private, or hidden worship.

They are generally pursuing intimacy and fear losing it.

By way of contrast I have also continued to run into folks that believe that the building was “nothing” and therefore you can do anything with said building that you wish. They have thereby wrapped Jesus’ name around everything from country music shows to strip dancing. Yes… here in Wichita a group recently tried to mingle the worship of God with a strip club!

Locally we are trying to raise enough for a down payment and to find financing to buy our first building… so we have been discussing every aspect of this question for the last year.

Here is some of the rationale often given to dismiss church buildings;

• Organized religion is corrupt. (No one can deny that some, if not most, of it is!)
• Constantine founded modern Christianity in the 300’s AD. (Not true…)
• Church buildings were not used until after Constantine’s edict of Milan in 313AD. (this is a blatant misrepresentation of history!)
• In the first century the church was composed of “house churches.” (Some were in homes… only some… not all or even most.)
• If a local church owns a building, then its work ends up centering on the building rather than saving souls etc. (This can and often does happen. This argument is like saying ‘since some marriages fall apart we should do away with marriage.’ Simply put, it is clearly an over-reaction.)

How do Churches Become Liberal?

I suppose that everyone recognizes that there are liberal churches and there are conservative churches.  Most liberal churches have arisen out of more conservative churches.  i.e.  Most churches have begun as conservative churches then over time became more and more liberal.

Today I look around at the shallow, noisy conglomerations that many call churches and wonder how in the world people are deceived into believing that these are what Jesus founded.  They generally operate using Jesus' name, but are not anywhere close to anything described in the New Testament.  How do people go from one day believing the Bible to be the Word of God and the next day just jump into a Rock concert while calling this “noisy gong and clanging cymbals” mentality  worship? (See I Corinthians 13:1)

Answer… generally they don't!  Based on Jesus' parable of the Sower we learn that it is a more gradual “choking out” of respect for the Word of God.  Most of all, Satan fears your comprehension.  He would prefer that you just not understand (Matthew 13:19) so he can snatch it away.  When that fails, the devil tries to offend you away from respect for scripture before you can become long term and stable (Matthew 13:20-21).

So They Call This Worship?

Wherefore Come out from among them, and be ye separate...

Text for today’s article:

"And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." (II Corinthians 6:15-17)

It has been sometime since I have written, owing to the distractions of building onto my house.  However, I have had opportunity to research the modern homogenization of the church into worldly entertainment that is sweeping our country.  I will share this research with you.  As with the threat of Islam, most people among the older generation have no idea what is afoot, or at least how far it goes.  Today, I’d like to take a peek into this subject.

Three specific contemporary trends come to mind:
1.  The community church movement and contemporary worship services.
2.  The loss of discipline and godliness as a cornerstone of faithful religion.
3.  The final act: setting aside Jesus as insignificant and unimportant.  (Oprah’s version of church)

Not every church moving in this direction involves all three trends, but any one of the three is a movement away from the established truths of scripture.

A "Normal" Christian Worship Service???

We recently have had several studies concerning these variations of worship that have come into the churches all over the area around us.  The reality is that in the Wichita area, we have seen churches offering everything from rock music to bribes in order get people into church.  Here, the liberal churches of Christ have been embracing more and more of these behaviors and bringing shame on all of us… whether we participate or not.

Last month one of those liberal churches… the South Emporiachurch of Christ (Wichita, Ks) invited our young people to some kind of wing ding. . . They promised to give them all free pizza and dilly bars if they’d come!  The social gospel has so eclipsed the gospel of Christ in these churches that they don’t even recognize the damage they are doing…  Perhaps even more tragic, I doubt that many of that church’s members realize that I have raised a doctrinal objection to their behavior with their leadership. They are still blindly following along.

Jesus said…”They are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."  Note how the focus of the invitation is blatantly social/worldly.  Notice further what this says about their young people… they assume that their young people are not interested in godliness… they are therefore luring them with worldliness.  Dilly bars, special appearances, entertainment etc.
 Let me ask a practical question. When you picture Jesus’ cross… Do you envision the apostles working the crowd offering free pizza and dilly bars? Me neither! So… Is Jesus the Head of this church?

What is a Contemporary Worship Service?

"Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."   Matthew 15:14

It seems like over and over this question has been coming up lately.  As this email list has grown, folks from all over have been asking about this.   Almost all the older generation is against this innovation... They just can't seem to figure out why!  Since this is a computer distributed (emailed) article let me recommend that you try an experiment to answer your own question. 

Run a word search on your Bible using your computer and see if you can find a contemporary worship service. Did you?  Me neither.  “Contemporary” doesn’t even occur in my version of the bible (NASV) or a KJV.  What does that tell you?  Churches going this direction are going where they have no instruction from Christ! 

Normally the churches instituting this “contemporary” worship service have long ago quit looking to the Bible for direction.  Almost always, they institute it as a separate service…. Why?  Because if they didn’t the “old” people would walk out!  And the leaders know it!