THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: WHAT I LOVE AND WHY I’M STILL A MEMBER

I’ve written 2 articles that have given me a little trouble. The first one was the last of a 4-part series I wrote on change. It was meant to be an example of how I have applied the principles we talked about in the earlier sections of the series. The article is called “Church of Christ: Some thoughts on Change.” The other article that got me into some trouble with my mainstream Church of Christ brothers and sisters was called “A Letter of Apology to Christians Outside of the Churches of Christ.” I want to say a few things from the very beginning for the sake of clarification.

I knew that I would have some pushback from those articles, so they did not come without long prayer, much study, a lot of rewriting, and tons of counsel from others. I also want to say that I knew from the beginning that the articles would not go without cost for me. I knew that as soon as I made them public, I would be labeled and lose any respect I had in the average church of Christ.

I wrote the articles to do two things. First, I wanted to boldly teach what I believe Scripture teaches. Second, I wanted to do so in love, fairness, and respect. I did not want to compromise either of those things. There were probably times I was not gracious enough, and there were probably other times where I walked on eggshells a little too much for the sake of love and respect. But my goal was to carefully choose my words so that neither truth nor love was compromised. I tried to make it very clear in both articles that I was only speaking for myself. I only spoke the truth I gathered from God’s words, Christ’s character, and my own personal experiences. While, in my experience, most churches of Christ are fundamentally the same, I realize that not every congregation (or individual) within the churches of Christ act or think the same way. I implied these things in several ways, several times, in both articles.

I have, however, received some useful feedback. Many who have been hurt by churches or individuals within the churches of Christ have seen this as a sign of unity and healing. Many who grew up in the churches of Christ and were discouraged to the point where they stopped participating with any church have seen this blog as a sign of hope. Comparatively speaking, there has surprisingly been very little negative criticism. Most of the criticism I have gotten has been emotionally based, and I understand that. I’m questioning something held most important in their hearts. But some of the criticism has been fair, and that is what I want to write about in this article. The only constructive criticism I’ve gotten was from people asking, “why are you still in the churches of Christ?” I plan to use the rest of this article to list some reasons I am still in the churches of Christ and some reasons I love my heritage. This is not meant to be exhaustive, and it is not intended to be a study sheet full of verses to support every view. It is only a personal list of reasons I haven’t deviated from my heritage.

1) I love that the churches of Christ (generally speaking, of course) are some of the most biblically literate people of any Christian institution.
2) I love the fact that acappella worship is not only beautiful but it is also pure and unifying. I’ve noticed (again, in my experience) more sing in this setting than in an instrumental environment.
3) I love the commitment to Jesus as our only authority as opposed to church fathers, creeds, or scholars. The churches of Christ respect scholarship and study church history, but Jesus and His words are the authority.
4) I love that the family environment in the Churches of Christ tends to be more evident than MOST other fellowships I’ve participated in. They take care of their own in remarkable ways.
5) I love that the Churches of Christ take the Lord’s supper (communion) every week to remember His coming as well as to remember that we are His body as the church.
6) I love the commitment to what they understand as true, even if that means someone they love will be offended.
7) I love that, generally speaking, they try to teach what they believe to be true in love because their hearts hurt for those they believe to be lost.
8) I love the sacrifices and resources the Churches of Christ put towards evangelism.
9) I love the emphasis and immediacy placed on water immersion.
10) I love that they tend to teach the Trinity.
11) I love that they teach Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
12) I love that they tend to teach that we are not born with sin, but instead, we inherit the inclination and environment of sin.
13) I love that they tend to teach that, while salvation is by grace, there are different degrees of discipline and reward.
14) I love what they tend to teach concerning the book of Revelation.
15) I love how the Churches of Christ tend to make a distinction between old and new covenants without disregarding the old covenant altogether.
16) I love how the Churches of Christ want to make Christ the head of the church, not man.
17) I love that they tend to have a plurality of elders who oversee the local congregation instead of a preacher controlling the church.
18) I love the autonomy of each congregation. No outside eldership or congregation tells another congregation what to think or do (at least with any degree of authority). The local congregation and the leadership study for themselves.
19) I love the Restoration Movement and its foundational principles, from which Churches of Christ were formalized (although I am uncertain that, in my experience, those principles are generally maintained).
20) I love the desire for nondenominational Christianity.
21) I love the Restoration desire for Christian unity, although we differ on how to go about said unity.
22) I love the widely forgotten phrase in our movement, “Christians only, but not the only Christians.”
23) I love another widely forgotten phrase, “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things love.”
24) I love one more widely forgotten phrase, “No creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, no law but love, no name but the divine.”
25) I love that the Churches of Christ hold the Lord as Messiah in its name.
26) I love that they tend to teach that one is saved by grace but can also “fall from grace.” It’s a relationship!
27) I love that they tend to teach that relationship with God is a choice, not a forced action. There’s free will to stay or go regarding our relationship with Jesus.
28) I love that they tend to teach (although differently than I) that Christ saves, not the church.
29) I love that almost all in the Churches of Christ (in my experience) are people who study, love God, and have good intentions.
30) Last, I am still part of the Churches of Christ because I love my heritage, my family, and my friends. Even when they aren’t sure how they feel about me because of some of my views. They are my people! They are my tribe!

I think it is fair to ask me why I am still with the Churches of Christ. I look at the movement from which we came (The Restoration Movement), and I am proud of those principles. I am proud because I believe they are biblical principles that happen to be the best framework I know of for nondenominational Christianity. I personally believe that we, generally speaking, have unfortunately become sectarian in many ways. If I am wrong about some of my views, then said sectarianism is justified. But if I am right, it is not justified. Either way, I love my movement! I love my Church of Christ family dearly, but I love the true church as a whole as well. I love the universal, spiritual body of Christ. I believe we have great potential in the Churches of Christ. That is why I love this movement. That is why I am a member of the Churches of Christ.

Also Read: A Letter of Apology to Christians Outside of the Churches of Christ

And…THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: SOME THOUGHTS ON CHANGE