In Celebration of the Church of Christ

In all the hub-bub and hand-wringing resulting from the “perfect storm” reaction to recent publications within Church of Christ circles, I thought it might be refreshing to pause and celebrate our warm and wonderful fellowship.

Yes, I do have my concerns and have voiced them, but I pray that this has not been perceived as bashing. (In my view a running dialogue about concerns is healthy- as long as our end-goal is searching for solutions.) But to be honest, I am a little weary with all the gloom.  

A couple of years ago I posted here about the good things  in our tribe. They remain good.

From a more personal perspective, I cannot envision my life  apart from the fellowship of the Churches of Christ. This church has been the source of incredible love, support, grace, forgiveness, growth and affirmation for me. This church has nurtured me, encouraged me, provided me with many forever friendships and blessed me in innumerable ways.

Sure, there have been a few bruises along the way. Not everyone within this fellowship has always acted with as much charity as they probably should. But it happens- and unfortunately will continue to as long as we are walking around with skin on bones. That is why we all need God’s grace.

It is not the aim of this post to gloss over our problems or excuse away any hurtful actions, but I do celebrate the Church of Christ. I thank God for the opportunity to work and worship within this body of believers.

To borrow a phrase, I like to consider us, “Christians only, but not the only Christians.”

So, I ask you to join me in taking to heart Peter’s divine counsel and “love the brotherhood of believers” including the Churches of Christ.

Did We Miss the Point?

Now, do not misunderstand me. I am all for open and honest dialogue. One of the reasons why I blog and read blogs is because of the wonderful opportunity they provide for just that.

And wow, ever since the Christian Chronicle reported on the decline in Church of Christ membership based upon the stats of a national directory of the Churches of Christ, the blogs- including mine- have been buzzing.

Much of the buzz has been about the exclusion in this directory of Churches of Christ now using instrumental music in a worship assembly. Much has been written about the intent of the Chronicle in their reporting or the directory in their choosing to exclude these churches. Discussions about all of this have led to other discussions about many things Church of Christ. Some have used this dialogue to even bash the church.

But I am asking, did we miss the point?

The report of declining membership is still the real issue to me- and an urgent wake-up call.

Hey, how about let’s all commit to get busy trying to win as many as possible! Maybe then we can reverse this disturbing trend.

Here are some posts dealing with this topic:

• Matt Dabbs
• The Blog Prophet
• Jay Guin
• Bobby Ross Jr
• Mike Cope
• Carl Royster
• Rex Butts
• John Dobbs

Anybody Alarmed Yet?

Bobby Ross Jr.  recently posted a very informative and alarming article on the Christian Chronicle website concerning the non-growth of Churches of Christ in America. He reports- based on data from the 2009 edition of Churches of Christ in the United States- that our total current membership is at its lowest level since 1980 (the first year efforts were made on a large scale to document total membership).

The article explored several contributing factors to our membership loss, but the discussion about losing our children really caught my attention. The loss in our numbers reflects the “graying of the pew” the article pointed out.

I certainly see that. Churches of Christ are getting older and smaller. Obviously this is not the kind of trend we should want. (I discussed some of these matters in two previous posts.)

But my question is- is anyone alarmed yet? Or are we going to remain content to sit by idly and watch our younger people continue to slip away?

I think this article and the research it is based upon is a major wake-up call. Leaders in our churches should take this information to heart and urgently respond to it.

To me this means:

• An honest self-evaluation of the vision and direction of our church. What are our goals? Just what are we doing to engage, encourage and equip the faith of our younger generations? Do we actively seek to involve them in all phases of church life? Are we even relevant to them anymore?
• Dumping whatever is not working. Do I have to remind you of the definition of insanity?
• Stop fussing and fighting. For a movement born of unity we have set horrible examples to our younger generations. Many have grown up witnessing church splits and ungodly behavior among church leaders mainly over disputable matters and/or personailty conflicts. Little wonder we are having trouble keeping them. We need to put this childish pattern behind us and grow up in the grace of Christ and learn how to love and accept each other- differences and all.
• Work together. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. We need to stop already with the suspicion and contempt toward each other. Again what message are we sending our younger people when sister churches in the same community ignore or worse, belittle each other?
• Rediscover a passion for evangelism. We need no special courses. No church-wide program. No Bible degree. Just go and tell what the Lord has done for you. This brings light into darkness to expose, challenge and defeat it. We must learn to be bold again (think Acts here)  in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
• Trust God. If we plant and water he will give the increase! Too often I fear, we micro-manage God right out of the way. If we are to reverse our erosion then it has to be a movement born of him- not clever church growth or marketing campaigns.

We certainly cannot afford another generation growing up not knowing God (Judges 2:10).

What’s the Deal about Sarah Palin?

While this blog usually deals with more religious and spiritual topics, I have occasionally ventured into the political arena. The reaction to some of my venturing in the previous post has created this one. It just got me to wondering, what is the deal with Sarah Palin?

Why does she evoke such negative reactions? Maybe I have become out-of-touch but I don’t get it.

To me she is refreshing. Sure, she was totally unprepared and over-her-head- initially at least- when thrust abruptly into the national scene. She made her share of goofs- who wouldn’t? (Biden anyone?) But- to me- she seemed truly to be one of us. And what about all the feminist and other voices crying out for strong women to achieve and accomplish? You would think she would be a role model. Instead they torched her.

Don’t get me wrong. Anyone who steps up on the big political stage these days will get scrutinized, criticized and investigated by all kinds of media types. Anyone stepping into that arena should expect it. But Palin got all of that and much more. She was viciously attacked- with all kinds of outlandish accusations made against her and her family. Folks- it seemed- were simply out to smash her.

And why? Here is a lady who is self-made. She did not speak or come across like a politician. She seemed like she could have been my neighbor. She seemed to have normal problems that thousands of families deal with. And she is immensely popular in her home state. (I guess those Alaskans are just weird.) To me this was a breath of fresh air in the usually smoke-filled world of politics- regardless of political views.

Compare her to a couple of other currently famous women in politics. Hillary is the very definition of an insider- doing whatever it takes to advance herself- caught in nunerous lies and scandals. Caroline Kennedy has absolutely no experience- even compared to Palin- and yet she is likely about to be placed into a national office of prominence. Sure voices have spoken out in criticism of her, but without the vitriol embedded in Palin’s opposition.

So why is Palin so terrible? Why did it seem so vital for so many to tear her down? Is it because she is Republican conservative? Does that explain it all? Or is there more to it? I am still scratching my head.

Is It Just Me…

Is it just me or is the news media demonstrating some hypocritical tendencies recently? Just consider how they are treating Caroline Kennedy compared to the number they did on Sarah Palin. Guys and gals in the “fourth estate”- your biases are showing.

Is it just me or does the unlikely pairing of the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers seem kind of intriguing? Could be an entertaining Super Bowl to watch.

As long as I am on the subject- Is it just me or is college football just more fun than the NFL. The tradition! The rivalries! The pageantry! Whoa Nellie!

And while I am here- Is it just me or is anyone else nervous about the jacked-up level of expectations now placed upon the Ole Miss football team? I mean, one writer on SI.com has them already ranked sixth for the 09 season. Not only is it way too early to be ranking- the Rebs do not need this kind of hype to jazz up expectations to an unreal level. Hey, we had an unexpectedly good year in 08, but do not make us the Georgia of 09!

Is it just me or does anyone else miss the time when Churches of Christ used to actually cooperate with each other? Once upon a time area churches supported each others ministry efforts and even combined resources for community events- not so much anymore. Now attitudes toward other congregations seem to run from suspicion to outright contempt. Recently I asked a guy from one congregation in a town if he knew some folks in another congregation in the same town. He replied, “We don’t run in the same circles.” What? Will we run in different circles in heaven? Sad- for a movement born of unity.

Is it just me or does anyone else think Facebook is taking over the world?

Is it just me or is there someone else out there who wishes he/she had not waited so long to complete their Master’s degree?

Is it just me or has anybody else tried to figure out why there seems to be a growing gap between folks who attend worship and Bible class on Sunday mornings?

Is it just me or does the product Hollywood puts out really stink? There are a few competent programs on TV, but most of it- to me- is junk. What ever happened to the good ole days of The Andy Griffith Show or even Everybody Loves Raymond?

Is it just me or can anyone else not wait until Fantasy Baseball season!!

Is it just me or would anyone else rather be fishing?