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After reading a post by a Church of Christ member, I had to respond to it in another thread with a question.
I have discovered that the name “Church of Christ” is never used in the Bible to describe a single congregation. Paul did refer to all congregations as the “churches of Christ” in Romans 16:16, but he nor any other inspired writer ever used the singular expression.
Of course, I know some of you are going to disagree with me on this topic and even may argue that all profession christians are technically the church of Christ. But I am not asking that question. What I am asking is--is it biblical for a church to call itself THE CHURCH OF CHRIST?
If there were churches of Christ in the plural, then a single congregation would have been the church of Christ. However, since the Bible is silent on referring to a single congregation as “the church of Christ,” why would that silence not eliminate that designation from being used as the primary designation today?
Isn't the Church of Christ signs we see on their churches teaching their Church of Christ doctrine rather than specific Bible teaching?
It is o.k. for the Church Of Christ because they believe they are the only people going to heaven.....NOT
I went to a coc for a while when I lived in Bellevue washington.
I came away from them with many stories about how they believe.
I ended up in a monster disagreement with many teachings they have about "the name" and also about "music"
I believe they are for the most part a Christian church.
The have the same basic understanding about Christ and how to be saved as other christians.
They are mixed up about somethings,,,
yes, they are mixed up about the need for a church to have the same name as their church on the sign out in the yard.
they are also deeply mixed up on the role of music within the act of worship.
I ended up walking away from the COC over the music issue.
In my mind, they are just crazy on that....
I went to a coc for a while when I lived in Bellevue washington.
I came away from them with many stories about how they believe.
I ended up in a monster disagreement with many teachings they have about "the name" and also about "music"
I believe they are for the most part a Christian church.
The have the same basic understanding about Christ and how to be saved as other christians.
They are mixed up about somethings,,,
yes, they are mixed up about the need for a church to have the same name as their church on the sign out in the yard.
they are also deeply mixed up on the role of music within the act of worship.
I ended up walking away from the COC over the music issue.
In my mind, they are just crazy on that....
Each COC is autonomous, so each one may believe differently. There are even COC's who use instrumental music. If music was the reason you stopped going to one, maybe you could find one that does use it.
I prefer a Capella, but I don't believe it's sinful to use instruments. There will be other members of the COC on this board who will disagree with me, but that's ok.
I totally understand why most think the name is important, because personally I hate to see a "church" sign that reads, "Cowboy John's Church", or whatever name, when it's not supposed to be their church, but Christ's. On the other hand, sometimes some members do place too much emphasis on the name. There are many names the church was referred to in the bible.
Mzjamiedawn :
yes, I still believe that many of the people at that COC were Christian and that they worship and everything fine, they do so with open hearts and I think I should say nothing to cause them to 2nd guess their church.
I just felt the music thing was very silly and was not based on the bible at all.
As for the name thing, again my own gut feeling was that it was another thing that was all based on a silly idea that has gotten out of control.
The reason I stopped going to that church was because of the way the 'name" seems to get in the way of thinking clearly about other churches for them.
In my own mind, I could not care less about the name on the sign out on the lawn.
To me the more important matters happen when the people walk out of the church past the sign stuck in the lawn.
It's how people reflect what they have learned, how they act, how they speak and write that is far more important to me.
So to sum up:
I got no "real' problem with most of the COC people I have run into.
I do understand that they are not all on the same page with each other as far as teachings goes.
The one I went to In Washington was fine, but I have heard of other types of COC like the President Obama one that are clearly dipping down into the area of being a cult.
But the one in Bellevue was not like that at all.
I stopped going there due mostly to the way I saw their ideas about their own 'name" were ,,,well....were a bit crazy .
When you come right down to it, I got a monster disagreement with the COC on a few teachings that I cant back away from.
I just felt that it was not a good fit for me.
Last edited by alanMolstad; 05-24-2009 at 07:48 AM..
I went to a coc for a while when I lived in Bellevue washington.
I came away from them with many stories about how they believe.
I ended up in a monster disagreement with many teachings they have about "the name" and also about "music"
I believe they are for the most part a Christian church.
The have the same basic understanding about Christ and how to be saved as other christians.
They are mixed up about somethings,,,
yes, they are mixed up about the need for a church to have the same name as their church on the sign out in the yard.
they are also deeply mixed up on the role of music within the act of worship.
I ended up walking away from the COC over the music issue.
In my mind, they are just crazy on that....
You are entitled to your opinion...I will stick with the scriptures !
They are what will judge me in the end, not what any one 'thinks'.
I would much rather be pleasing in God's eyes, than enjoying music in a worship service. I can enjoy music elsewhere!
See thats the thing...
I got no real problem with members I run into who are going to a COC.
They have every right to believe all the things they want.
But for myself, I just felt that the COC that I was attending was ok for a while, but when I saw the way the "name" thing seemed to get in the way of their members seeing the good in other churches I just felt that the COC and me was a bad fit.
The music thing was just a silly teaching that I put up with while I went there.
I never believed that the lack of music or their "name" teachings were based on the Bible at all.
I tried to look past that stuff, but I soon felt that I was just not in a church I could relax in and call "My home".
I went to a coc for a while when I lived in Bellevue washington.
I came away from them with many stories about how they believe.
I ended up in a monster disagreement with many teachings they have about "the name" and also about "music"
I believe they are for the most part a Christian church.
The have the same basic understanding about Christ and how to be saved as other christians.
They are mixed up about somethings,,,
yes, they are mixed up about the need for a church to have the same name as their church on the sign out in the yard.
they are also deeply mixed up on the role of music within the act of worship.
I ended up walking away from the COC over the music issue.
In my mind, they are just crazy on that....
People must understand that the church of Christ was built to save man, not to please man. God told us how He wants us to worship Him. Name is very important. It identifies. But name alone is not enough, you must have the right doctrine to go along with it. Before you leave, do some in depth study on these subjects. Just because we might think something is right doesn't mean it is right (Prov.14:12). God and His word is right. God bless.
well....the name thingy and the music issue were mostly what got to to stop going to the COC...
However there was also the Arrogance I ran into there ...
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