Category: Liberalism

A recent Google search (News division) of the word church resulted in the find of the following headlines:

Church to Participate in Christmas Open House
Building on the success of last year’s event, Sutter Creek Methodist Church is planning to provide a festive and religious dimension to the festivities. (Sacramento Ledger Dispatch)

Durham Church Plans Fair Trade Bazaar
All sales will assist in improving the quality of life for people half a world away. (Seacoastonline.com)

Church To Hold Holiday Tea
Mark your calendar and call for your reservations for the annual Holiday Victorian Tea and Boutique to be held at the Presbyterian Church in Garden City. (Garden City News)

Yummm! Annual Pie Social and Church Fair set for Dec. 1,2
On the second floor in the Education Wing, a Kid’s Fair is held offering kids the chance to play a game, do a craft or get their nails painted.
Tewksbury Advocate

Church Leaders Plan To Build Family Center
Two long-time city churches have merged and will build a multimillion-dollar family center on U.S. 19 that is expected to draw new parishioners from throughout Pinellas County. (Pinellas Park Beacon)

Ham and Beans on the Menu at Church Supper
The Union Congregational Church of Madbury will sponsor a ham and bean supper on Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Madbury Town Hall. (Seacoastonline.com)

Contrast the preceding activities: Open house, Bazaar, Tea, Pie Social, Family Center and Church Supper, with the actions of the first century church. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). While the first century Christians enjoyed each others company, it was an individual thing, as Christians broke bread “from house to house.”

In fact, Paul admonished the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11, “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?…” (vs. 20-22a).

The church of the Lord is not a social club. It’s purpose is to save the world through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While it is fine and dandy for Christians to participate in Pie Socials and Holiday Teas, such things are not the work of our Lord’s church. No soul was ever saved by a Family Center. Preach the Word! It is the gospel that saves!

The River Oaks News reported in the Thursday, May 25th edition of the paper, the generosity of the Wal-Mart corporation in giving away $28,500 in grants to various non-profit groups. Among the grants given were donations to various area schools, fire departments and police departments, and city governments.

On the back page of the paper there is a picture of Dr. Bob Mullen, an evangelist for the Westworth Village church of Christ, receiving one of the big cardboard checks from Wal-Mart representatives in the amount of $1,000.

We have three questions:

1. As the freewill offering of the saints is the only means by which the church has been authorized to raise funds (cf. 1 Cor. 16), where is the authority for the Westworth Village church of Christ to accept such a donation? (Answer: No such authority exists).
2. As Paul indicated that the transfer of funds from the church in Philippi constituted a fellowship in the gospel of Christ (cf. Phil. 1:3-6), where is the authority for the Westworth Village church of Christ to have spiritual fellowship with a corporation like Wal-Mart? (Answer: Again, no such authority exists).
3. Does the Westworth Village church of Christ care that what they are doing is without authority? (Answer: Apparently not, as it is the continuation of an unscriptural emphasis on the social gospel concept that has characterized that church for many years).

The way Wade Hodges sees it, a cappella churches of Christ and instrumental Christian Churches share too much in common not to treat each other like family.

But in Truitt Adair’s view, any attempt at unity that does not include an “honest discussion of the things that divide us” risks creating more division than reconciliation.

Such are the disparate views among church leaders 100 years after a 1906 federal religious census first reported the a cappella and instrumental churches as separate bodies…

Continue reading ““Unity Events”” →

First, praise the Lord. Then, “Go Seahawks!”

After morning services Sunday, many South Sound churches will throw huge Super Bowl parties.

They’ll show the game on mammoth projection televisions normally used for worship lyrics. They’ll eat pizza and drink soda pop. And they’ll shout for the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

Some congregations are even shifting or canceling Sunday night services to accommodate the home team’s first appearance in the Super Bowl.

Sacrilege on the Sabbath? Not so, pastors say. The Super Bowl is a chance for churches to reach out to nonmembers and members consumed by the Seahawks, they say.

Continue reading “Seahawks Gospel Takes Hold” →

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.

Continue reading “First Christian Church Celebration” →

Author’s Note: Yes, I am a fan. Therefore it is not surprising that events such as the Superbowl might be the inspiration for some the articles I write. However, I am very aware of the excesses of society as well. As such, I hope this article, written in January of 1994, will cause you to think about our misplaced priorities.

Just in case you have had your head in the sand for the past two weeks, I wanted to let you know that the Dallas Cowboys are playing in Super Bowl XXVII today at precisely 5:18 pm. It used to be, a long, long time ago, that the game was played during the afternoon. However, someone got the idea that viewership would increase if the game were to be played in “prime time”. That was certainly the case, and since then all Super Bowls have been played at 6:00 or after, Eastern Standard Time. Continue reading “The Superbowl, Our Misplaced Priorities” →