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.
