A Texas sister writes that her church fellowship claims to be the "New Testament church," founded on the Day of Pentecost about A.D. 33. That church went into "apostasy," she is told, but was "restored" in the early 19th century. "But what about the many centuries between?" she asks. "Can anyone show an unbroken line of people or churches linking Pentecost to the present?" * * * Some today do claim to be the only "true church" by pointing to such an unbroken chain as you suggest. That argument has long been used by the Roman Catholic Church as well as by the family of Eastern Orthodox … [Read more...]
EXPLORING ROOMS
Big old houses have always fascinated me. I am excited to explore rooms and to discover unique nooks and crannies. A few years ago, Sara Faye and I toured the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. We spent a full day exploring the Biltmore House which, built by George Vanderbilt in the 1890s, contains 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces and is the largest house in the United States (http://www.biltmore.com ). It is fascinating, isn't it, that Paul refers to Christ's people around the world as a living building, a holy temple, a dwelling-place for God by his Spirit (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Tim. 3:15). The … [Read more...]
THE WHOLENESS OF TRUTH
As a child, I naively thought that the particular subgroup of the non-instrument Churches of Christ into which I was born had discovered "the truth" and that all other Christian groups were either ignorant or dishonest because they differed from us. By the grace of God, when I became a man, I put away those childish ideas. I gradually realized that almost all the hymns we sang were written by Christians from other denominations, as were nearly all the biblical commentaries our preachers studied in preparing their lessons. That didn't mesh with the notion that of all God's people, we were … [Read more...]
LOOKING FOR THE TRUE CHURCH
A brother in the Churches of Christ (who does not see his own fellowship as a "denomination") comments, "I don't know of any major denomination that appeals for the restoration of New Testament Christianity and urges people to drop all human creeds." * * * In addition to Churches of Christ and Christian Churches, the Seventh-day Adventists, Nazarenes, many different "Church of God" groups, plus the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, all claim to have recovered, regained, or even "restored" first-century ground. One Church of God group points with pride to the fact that it was established "in … [Read more...]
THE ONE TRUE CHURCH (POEM)
Many years ago someone sent me an anonymous poem titled "The One True Church." Although considerably longer than most gracEmails, I think its point is worth sharing here. ______________________ THE ONE TRUE CHURCH One Sabbath morn I roamed astray, and asked a Pilgrim for the way: "O tell me, whither shall I search, That I may find the one true Church?" He answered, "Search the world around; The one true Church is never found. Yon ivy on the abbey wall, Makes fair the falsest Church of all." But, fearing he had told me wrong, I cried, "Behold the entering throng!" He answered, "If a … [Read more...]
THE ONE TRUE CHURCH
Someone recently wrote me an email arguing that only those who belong to his particular denomination are any part of the body of Christ and the universal church of God. How should we respond to such claims, which are made across the "Christian" spectrum? * * * For more than a millennium now, different people have equated the true church of Christ with some particular group found in the Yellow Pages (an anachronism, I know, but you get the point). All such attempts will ultimately fail because they are trying to shrink Christ's spiritual body, God's true church, to a tiny segment of the whole … [Read more...]
ONE HOLY CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH
A few Sundays ago while my wife Sara Faye was on a women's retreat, I missed Bible class at our Church of Christ to attend a service at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston. This is an evangelical congregation whose long-time rector (pastor), gracEmail subscriber Larry Hall, has been a dear friend since 1982 and has occasionally invited me to serve as a guest teacher. I reflected afterward about what part of the service I found most to be a blessing, and concluded that it was the incarnational involvement of the whole person and all of one's senses. One bows upon entering the … [Read more...]
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH
A gracEmail subscriber writes, "I keep hearing from fellow ministers that we need to become a first-century or New Testament church. Does not the New Testament show the first-century churches to be just as fraught with problems as churches today?" * * * Throughout church history, various Christian groups have sought to "restore" New Testament Christianity. Insofar as that means proclaiming the original good news of God's mighty, saving deeds, giving Jesus the place of preeminence the New Testament accords him, relying on the same divine power and leading of the Holy Spirit that characterized … [Read more...]
THE CHURCH NAME
A gracEmaiI subscriber writes: "I am considering worshipping with a nearby Baptist congregation. However, I keep thinking about the Scriptures that refer to churches as Churches of Christ, Churches of God, Assemblies of God, etc. Where does that leave people who attend churches with other names such as Calvary Baptist Church?" * * * Ideally, we followers of Jesus would all be called simply "Christians," "believers" or "disciples of Christ." Unfortunately, we live in a world that is not ideal -- which, of course, applies also to each one of us. I am well aware of the arguments regarding a … [Read more...]
EMBARRASSED BY HER CHURCH
A gracEmail subscriber asks, "What advice can you give someone in a small, one-church town, who wishes to reach out to unchurched friends, but who is embarrassed by his or her own congregation? It's difficult to invite another person to visit a church you don't enjoy attending yourself." * * * Have you spoken with others in your own congregation about this problem -- including the leaders? Who knows, they might even share your distress and want to join in making your church a more inviting place! And if they are not, perhaps other brothers or sisters in your church share your feelings and … [Read more...]