The September 8, 2005 edition of the River Oaks News had a front page article detailing the upcoming September 18th celebration of the First Christian Church’s 150th year of existence.
In 1855, the first church in the city of Fort Worth was chartered as the “First Christian Church.” The small building built at that time has been replaced by the large structure presently occupying that same location.
The article, in supplying details of the anniversary celebrations, gives an object lesson regarding the “social gospel” concept of the church’s work.
For example:
In 1968 the minister at First Christian (at that time designated as Doctor Quentin Gray) asked the organist of the River Oaks United Methodist Church to take the same position with First Christian. Apparently doctrinal differences had no bearing on the decision, as the organist, Charles Duke, took the position and remains there to this day.
In an interview with the present “senior minister” (now designated as the Reverend Tom Plumbly), Plumbly noted that in the early days the church “was instrumental in allowing people to make social and business contacts” and added that it had been very influential in the city of Fort Worth for the first 100 years.
Events which are planned as a part of the celebration of the anniversary include:
-
A secular music program on Sunday night at 7:00 pm, open to the public which reprises 16 musicals the church choir has done since Mr. Duke has been at the church. “It will cover 100 years of Broadway from 1896, through Tin Pan Alley and the Rodgers and Hammerstein era, right up to the present.”
- On October 2nd, in the Sunday morning service, the choir will sing a commissioned anthem by Florida composer Allen Pote.
- October 2nd there will be certain guests, including the Honorable Kay Granger, Mayor Mike Moncrief and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jim Wright.
- A luncheon will follow the morning service.
- At 2:00 pm, 83 year old bass soloist George Stevens will present a drama he has written that tells the history of the church. Members of the church will portray roles of some of the first members of the church as well as former ministers.
Rather than writing in detail regarding how unscriptural these attitudes and activities are, we will simply ask the reader to compare the emphasis and work of this congregation with what is found of the Lord’s churches in the New Testament. Did the Lord really shed his blood for the church so that it may provide social and business contacts, drama’s and broadway musicals? No! The church is the “pillar and ground of the truth”, and should limit itself to the Lord’s work!
