Is or Is Not a Church of Christ!
From In SEARCH of the Lord's Way Newsletter March 2001

Brother Mack Lyon received a letter saying, "Please take us off your mailing list. It would be a waste to send us any more of your materials. We are no longer a Church of Christ". How sad! Here is his response.

"Church of Christ" is not a name. It describes a possession. Christ's church was built by Christ (Matt. 16:18). The church of Christ consists of people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ (I Pet. 1: 18). Thus the Scripture says that He (Christ) "purchased the church with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). Christ, then, is the builder and purchaser of the church you read about in your Bible. He bought it and built it, therefore, it is His as a possession. It is the church belonging to Christ and He is the head of it (Eph. 1:22-23).

A church of Christ is a spiritual temple in which every redeemed (saved) person is a living stone (I Pet. 2:4), and Jesus Christ is the comer stone (Eph. 2:2 1). Each of those living stones was added to it by Christ the builder when that person became saved (Acts 2:47). We can be sure, then that all the saved are in it. No saved person is left out.

Before the days of radio and television some denominations had other ways of raising money from the unsaved to do their work. It was a common practice for them to go up and down the streets asking merchants to contribute to the erection of their church buildings. The story was told that one many solicited merchant who promised to give a considerable sum if when the building was completed, they would put a sign on it that said, "THIS IS A CHURCH OF CHRIST." To which the solicitor responded, "Oh no! We couldn't do that. Because, you see, it is NOT a church of Christ!" "All right," agreed the friendly merchant, "I'll still give you the money if when it is completed, you will put a sign on it that says, THIS IS NOT A CHURCH OF CHRIST."

This seems to be the dilemma in which some churches are finding themselves nowadays, who no longer want to be a church of Christ. They probably know better than anybody whether they belong to Christ or want to be known in the community as belonging to Christ.

Every congregation should persistently strive toward being the kind of church described in the N. T. as being the church of Christ's . However, if there is a congregation that is not striving toward that and would rather not be known in the community as the Lord' people, redeemed by His blood, and subject to His authority, they should do as the church who notified us: stop deceiving the people, pick up their toys, stay at home and stop playing church, because whatever else they do doesn't really matter.

To us "Church of Christ" as a name is but to denominationalize the congregation. To denominate means to divide and name. But to fail to recognize "church of Christ" as an indication of the possession of Christ is to deny the Lord. Shame on some who only pretend to be Christians."

Ladies Ghana Fund
Ladies, just to let you know that we have built our Ghana Fund back up to $500.00+. Ted Wheeler is in Ghana now and should be giving us encouraging updates on the work there shortly. Our Bob Bauer will be leaving for Ghana the 30th, Lord willing. So let us make extra effort to build up the Ghana Fund so that he can do the most possible good with the monies we collect while he is there. Aren't you grateful to God that we live in this age where we can "let our light shine" not only around here but all the way around the world to Africa in record time? Surely the Lord will bless those who are willing and ready to give and those who are willing and ready to take it over.
Shirley Faneuf

Make Note of This
Change you're your directories to reflect the following information:

Rob and Teri Blesi
**** **** ***
Longmont, Colorado *****

Sister Teri (Fowler) Blesi writes the following:

It was a spur of the moment thing, instead of the planned end of summer wedding. I rededicated my life to the Lord during the ceremony and I know Rob will be baptized one day, he is such a good person and goes to church with me all the time. Please pray for us and have the church pray for us.

Children's Class
Our young folks meet each Sunday evening at 5:40 here in the auditorium for a period of stories and songs. The scheduled teacher this evening is Bob Bauer.

Upcoming Events

IN PROGRESS - Camp Carmel Bible School
2-4 pm Monday - Friday
Orange Street - Auburndale

LADIES' DAY
Saturday - July 14^th
South Fla Ave - Lakeland

Gospel Meetings

T/B/A