A Battle for Direction
For more than one hundred years Churches of Christ have drifted in a direction of legalism and division. We have emphasized worship styles and legalistic intellectualism while forgetting to reach out to those who desperately need to hear about Jesus. I know there are those who take issue with this statement. Disagreement with what I have said doesn’t change the truth. We are involved in a battle for the direction of Churches of Christ today. At stake are the souls of mankind both present and future.
One direction would emphasize worship styles and intellectual doctrine. The other would place emphasis on the preaching of Jesus Christ as Messiah. Since the message of Daniel Sommer so many years ago Churches of Christ have drifted into an attempt to convert the world to how we practice Christianity. Instead of converting the world to the church our preaching should convert the world to Jesus Christ. If we convert the world to Jesus, God will take care of adding them to the church.
The emphasis of Jesus was serving His fellow man, doing good, and seeking the lost. If we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus we must emphasize the same things He held as important. Instead of Christians who can win Scriptural arguments, the Lord needs Christians who are willing to search for those who need Jesus. It is time we learned what is taught inside church buildings has no value if it doesn’t translate to the streets.
We are in a battle for the present and future direction of the church. It will be a hard battle. Those of us who attempt to sway the direction away from legalistic intellectualism back to the preaching of Jesus will be labeled. We will be called false teachers, change agents, post-modernists, and a multitude of other things. None of this matters so long as the Lord calls us good and faithful at judgment. This battle for direction will be fought one Christian one congregation at a time. Don’t be afraid of the names. Fear not what man can do. Let us continue to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Amen! And again I say Amen!!!! Just as Phillip preached to the eunich—-Jesus. Jesus said, “I will draw all men unto me”. How can we be soul-winners if we make people feel alieniated before they get in the door? Jesus loved all people. If we follow His footsteps we will love all people too. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We must study our Bible without our minds already made up as to what it says and let the Word speak to us just as it is. Thank you for making me think outside the box!
jc in Slackland
The Good News is that Jesus loved me so much that he was willing to take my place of sin and he put me in his place of perfection. The bad news is that some want to replace the old law, which Christ nailed to the cross, with a new law of salvation by obedience to doctrine. The good news is that those people are becoming fewer and further between. The bad news is that many of them go to their graves without ever really knowing Jesus and the joy and peace that he brings. The good news is he might take them anyway because his grace is far reaching. The bad new is that he might not. The good news is that it is not my job to decide. My job is to love. And that is good news indeed.
Good post.
Brother
You’ve stirred up several thoughts in my mind with this post, but I’ll latch on to only two.
First, the Churches of Christ would be wrong to lose the commitment to real evangelism I’ve found in them. Attending Harding and having my baptism and a lot of experience (and later ordination) in the context of instrumental Christian Churches, it was eye-opening to see people actually PREPARED to study the Bible with others. There were Bible studies to be used and the ready question: “Why don’t we get together to study the Bible sometime?” This is not something I found in my beloved Christian Churches, where we talked about “witnessing” but really didn’t have a clue what to do about it.
Second, too much of the talk was about the church. I can’t remember how many times I was asked, “So, how did you first learn about the church?” Ummm…wasn’t that supposed to be JESUS I had heard about? I imagine that this focus came about because in the Bible Belt environment of most North American Churches of Christ, everyone has already heard about Jesus and not about the plan and purposes shared by Churches of Christ.
I continue with a foot in both fellowships of the movement, and hope that we can find a way to be truly evangelistic and ready to offer the Good News to people, without undue focus on things that are best left to private conversations and friendly debate.
Adam G.
http://igneousquill.blogspot.com
Agreed. So many in our brotherhood grind on liturgy,(form), because it’s comfortable, easy, not terribly demanding. When challenged to address funtion they shy away, for now it requires work, sacrifice, time, patience and understanding. We need to get our story straight. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, not to maintain the status quo.
How do you know everyone in the C of C was forgetting to reach out to those who need top hear about Jesus? While you bash good faithful children of God you should think about what you write. How did the church es of Christ continue to grow? Yes, we have always fought against many things that to you makes us legalist but can’t you see that we must have been telling people about Jesus. Thousands into the millions in the US and world wide have done the same thing that the E. E. did when Jesus was preached. Who has done this telling about Jesus? I will tell you who….The brethren that you bash. God fearing Christians that’s who!
“Bashing?” You have got to be kidding, right? This is about choosing to follow the things Jesus considered important or choosing to continue to drift into legalistic intellectualism. You can’t go in two opposite directions. One thing is for certain, “if we continue to do what we have done for the last 50 years we will continue to get what we have gotten. If the status-quo satisfies that will be between you and the Lord. As for me I will continue to preach Jesus and the direction He has set. Thanks for your comment, I appreciate your participation. In Christ, dell kimberly
At this current point in the history of the Restoration Movement, most churches of Christ have become monuments to past perceived successes…and in the process have “quit moving” — and for many of them, quite some time ago, actually. They are liturgical and empty, having become devoid of spirit and Spirit. This is the reason why there is such tension and conflict between those who would continue to seek to be “restorers” or “relevant” and those who are “defending the fortress.” And it will continue to be so until “the movement,” as a generalized whole, is “moving” again or begun anew.
Forgiven1
I think things get too complicated sometimes when we mix so many things into one discussion. For example, Why is this about the Church of Christ? Why can’t we speak merely about the tendency of humans toward legal understandings. Since before the black oblisque we have been defining relationships through legal language. Someone once said, “every good law deserves another” because we continue to seek specific definition of what is and what is not allowable. Our tendency toward legal views of righteousness are a part of the human condition. It is the “Do this and you will live” syndrome.
Another question: Why does this have to be about the past and the future? Why can’t it just be about today? Yes, we can learn from the past, though we rarely do, but we can’t change it. We can say whatever we want about people who lived in the past, since they aren’t here to correct us. I’m not saying history isn’t important, I’m just saying that the past is open to interpretation, just like the commentor who spoke of us growing because we were fighting against many things has an interpretation. Bringing the past into it, just complicates things.
And so does making it about the future. That’s a heavy burden to bear for most people - to think that what we are doing right now is building the future of the church.
So one commentor feels compelled to protect the legalistic heritage of the Church of Christ and future they built and are now attempting to build. But your message is so simple and biblical, if I understand what you are saying: Let us teach Jesus, primarily by ministering to others as he did. Let us create new identity among ourselves and our communities as people who teach Jesus and attempt to minister as he did. In doing this, let us give up the institutionalized church as our sense of identity and be merely Christians.
Don Morrison
You are so joking, and all your articles I like them. Very good!