"What
do you do in there ?"
During the
final stages of remodeling on our building, one day a young boy,
perhaps 7 or 8 years old, walked cautiously up the steps and
peered into the door. After watching the workers for a short
while he turned to one of us, with all the honesty, sincerity
and curiosity of one who simply wanted to know the truth, he
asked, "What do you guys do in there anyway ? I ain't never
been in a church. . ." If you have ever wondered the same
thing, if you are seeking the simple truth, perhaps like that
young boy you "ain't never been in a church" we would
love to have you visit us and find out about "what we do in
there". . .
The worship of the church of Christ is simple and spiritual. Men
officiate at each part of the worship, just as was done during
New Testament times.
Congregational singing is performed in the assembly today just
as it was done during the days of the apostles, without the use
of accompanying instrumental music (Colossians 3:16).
Prayers are offered to God through Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:8)
The Lord's supper is observed as a memorial to Christ every
first day of the week, just as the first century church did
(Acts 20:7).
Christians contribute a portion of their finances once each week
on the Lord's Day to support the work of the church (1
Corinthians 16:1).
Time is dedicated to the preaching, teaching, and learning of
God's Holy Word, the Bible.
The New Testament says: "He that goeth
onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God:
he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father
and the Son" (2 John 9). Christians
must conduct worship consisting only of those elements found in
the New Testament church (John4:24). All of these actions of
worship are privileges of the members of the Lord's church and
in no way will be forced upon our visitors.
Top
What
is the church of Christ?
The church
mentioned in the New Testament came into existence almost 2,000
years ago. With the promise of Jesus: "...upon
this rock I will build My church..."
(Matthew 16:18), shortly after, Jesus Christ was crucified,
buried, resurrected, and ascended back to God the Father, the
apostle Peter, along with the other eleven apostles, preached to
a multitude about Christ and about the church He promised to
build. After the people heard the sermon (Acts 2:14-36),
believing, they repented, were baptized for the forgiveness of
their sins, "and the Lord added to the
church daily such as were being saved" (Acts
2:37-47).
Thus, the church was no longer a promise, but a reality! The
promise of the Lord in Matthew 16:18 was not to build a
"building", but an assembly or body of people who are
in fellowship with Jesus, the Son of God the Father. The church
is composed of those who have been called out of the world by
the gospel unto Christ, (2Thess.2:14). Thus, these called out
ones are simply Christians trying to be just what the followers
of Christ were in New Testament times (1Thess.1:5,6). In New
Testament times each local congregation of God's people was a
church of Christ. For example, there was a church of Christ at
Philippi, a church of Christ at Corinth, a church of Christ at
Jerusalem, etc.
The church IS the saved, (Eph.5:23), that is, a collective of
those who have been saved. The church is Not the Savior, Jesus
is. The church is the body of Christ, with Jesus as its head
(Eph.1:22,23). ALL who believe in Jesus and are baptized are
saved, (Mark16:16); that is, they are added to the church by the
Lord, (Acts2:38,41,47). The church at Samaria consisted of the
saved, those who had believed and been baptized after hearing
the things concerning the kingdom of God (the church), and the
name of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the head over all things to the
church, We have no synods or conventions to guide us. We are not
part of any amalgamation or association of churches. We are
subject only to the authority of Christ.
Top
What
the church of Christ is NOT:
The church
is NOT a denomination, neither are we inter-denominational. It
is our sincere desire to be non-denominational; to wear no other
name than Christ's, and to be known simply as Christians,
members of the body of Christ (Acts11:26; Ephesians 1:22,23). We
refer to ourselves collectively as "the church of
Christ", the Lord's church", or by some other
scriptural designation, to identify ourselves as the saved
people belonging to Christ (Ephesians 5:23) We are not
associated or affiliated with any form of denominationalism. It
is our purpose to be identified with the Christians of the first
century. We believe this to be possible to all who will learn,
believe, and be guided by the plain teaching of God's word. When
Jesus declared such to be "The seed of the
kingdom"(Luke 8:11), He was emphasizing a known fact of
nature; that specific kinds of seeds, when planted, will always
reproduce after their kind. Wheat, for example, will always
produce wheat. In like manner, the word of God, when planted in
the hearts of honest people, and obeyed, will produce Christians
just as it did in the first century. . . nothing more and
nothing less. The
creeds of denominations are foreign to the Bible teaching on
Christ's church. The only church founded by the Lord is the one
mentioned in the Bible (Matt.16:18). The very term denomination
implies division, our plea today is the same as Christ's own
". . .that they might be one. . ." (Jn
17:11).We plead for unity among all who obediently respond to
the doctrine and commands given in the New Testament. Such is in
harmony with the prayer of Jesus and the pleading of the
apostles (Jn 17:20,21; 1Cor 1:10; Ephs 4:1-6) We consider such
unity to be possible, or Jesus would not have prayed for it.
Since division has always been the result of departure from
God's pattern, we believe division can be healed by a return to
the revealed truth of God's word; for this we plead.
The church is NOT Catholic or Protestant. We are not a part of
the Catholic Church. Though the word "Catholic" means
worldwide and the church Jesus established has certainly gone ".
. .into all the world, preaching the gospel. . ."
(Mk 16:15), we honor and revere no man or human authority such
as the Pope (Matt.28:18). We are not a Protestant church in the
popular sense. We most certainly protest against sin, false
doctrine, ungodliness, and immorality, but we are not in any way
allied with Protestant denominationalism. Catholics and
Protestants are not referred to in the scriptures, Christians
are. (Acts11:26).Then said Jesus to those
Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are
ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the
truth shall make you free. . . (John8:31,32).
We live in a world where there are hundreds of different kinds
of so-called churches, all of them differing in name, in creed,
and in practice; And yet all of them claim to be Christian and
headed by Christ. How can one be sure which church, creed, or
practice is what Jesus wants and which is of man? By examining
what is taught and practiced against the only standard
available... GOD'S WORD (1John4:1).
The church is NOT a social Club. The church was purchased with
the blood of Christ (Acts20:28). The Son of God did not die for
a social organization, but for a spiritual house (1Pet.2:5). We
are not a glorified social center. We are the church. We worship
God in spirit and truth (John4:24), not fun, food, and frolic
(Romans14:17). Though we have found, and are sure you can too,
that there is no greater joy in life than time spent in true
worship of our creator and the study of His word.
Top
What
is the Creed of the church ?
Jesus Christ
is the only creed of the church, (Matt. 16:16,17). We teach the
gospel of Jesus Christ, anything more or less is of human origin
(2Timothy 3:16, 17).
There is no
man, or group of men, who legislate for the church. We have no
one to answer to but Christ; He is the head of the church (Col
1:18), which leaves no room for any human head. As was true in
the first century, there is no inter-congregational
organization, but rather, independent congregations in different
locations with Christ as Lord and Master. According to the
authority of Christ, when a congregation grows to the point
where there are enough men who meet the qualifications,
overseers (also called bishops, elders, or pastors) are
appointed to look after the spiritual welfare of the
congregation. Such men are appointed only when they meet all of
the qualifications set forth by God in (1Tim 3:1-7) and
(Titus1:5-9). These men then have the responsibility to feed the
flock with the spiritual food found in the scriptures, and to be
examples for others (1Pet 5:1-3). Our preachers are not
"pastors" (unless they meet the qualifications and are
so appointed), but are simply teachers of the gospel.
The Bible Is
Our Only Book of Rules. We have no man-written creed books to
follow. We are governed in faith and conduct by the Bible alone.
While recognizing the guiding principals of the Old Testament,
we seek to conform to the rules and patterns of the New
Testament (Heb 1:1-2; 2Pet 4:11). We accept the Bible as being
both verbally inspired and infallible in content (2Pet 1:20,21;
1Cor 2:11-13); consequently, when the Bible speaks upon any
given subject, its pronouncement is accepted as final. By its
own testimony no one may, with impunity, alter a single word of
the Bible (Deut 4:2; Prov 30:6; Rev 22:18,19).
Top
You
Are Welcome Here
So Then, Who
Are We? We are a group of God-fearing men and women, young and
old, who have formed and constitute a congregation such as those
described in the New Testament. We are simply Christians (Acts
11:26, 26:28; 1Pet 4:15,16), followers of Christ. We comprise a
church which is of Christ (Rom 16:16). We do not wear or accept
any designations which are not found in the scriptures, and we
do not subscribe to any creed drawn up by fallible men. Christ
is our only creed, and the Bible is our only guide. We are
striving to be a church after the pattern found in the New
Testament. . . in how we become Christians, in how we live as
Christians, in what we teach, in the work we do as a
congregation, and in the way we are organized. We are trying to
speak where the Bible speaks, and to be silent where the Bible
is silent, to do Bible things in Bible ways, and to call Bible
things by Bible names. We are interested in honoring God, in
following Christ, and in learning, teaching, and following God's
word. We are your neighbors, your fellow workers, and your
fellow students. We are people saved from sin by the grace of
God, who are interested in the salvation of others. We want
heaven to be your eternal home, as well as ours.
Please Come
And Worship With Us. When you visit our assemblies, you will be
received with friendliness, kindliness, and courtesy. We believe
this to be the natural attitude of those who truly love God and
mankind. We know how hard it can be to visit somewhere you
haven't been before, with people you do not know, and not
knowing what to expect. Hopefully, this information will allay
some of those feelings and though at first you may be among
strangers, we hope that you will soon come to know us well, and
to count us as your friends.
|
