|
|
First of all, we WANT you to
visit us at the church of Christ! And we want you to feel comfortable.
We know unfamiliar places can feel intimidating.
So allow us to tell you what you can expect.
BACKGROUND
A short description of our background
might help you understand us. We are
part of “The Restoration Movement”.
Our goal is to restore the New Testament church.
We use only the Bible as our guide, to see
what the church was like in the beginning. We try our best to emulate that pattern. We always try to be a Bible-centered church. We know we aren’t perfect and that sometimes
our practices are colored by habit,
preference, tradition or convenience.
Every
church of Christ
is autonomous, operating independently of any national or worldwide headquarters.
SETTING
Many churches of Christ find
it convenient to meet in members’ homes or even rented facilities.
However, the Goldthwaite
church of Christ
has a building in which
we meet weekly. You will enter what we call an “auditorium”, where there
will be rows of pews for the worshipers.
There are no reserved seats, so feel free to sit wherever you’re most comfortable.
SINGING
In the bookrack on the pew in
front of you, there will be a hymn book for your use. The song leader will announce a number, you can turn to that number in the book
to find the words and music.
One of the unique things about
the
church of Christ
—and something you may find strange—is that our songs are sung a cappella. That is, we sing without the accompaniment
of musical instruments. This is a conviction
with us, not just a preference.
We are seeking to worship according to the New
Testament pattern.
Since the New Testament
leaves instrumental music out, we believe it’s best to exclude it, too.(1)
You may consider us narrow on
this point. But we believe you will
respect our reasoning behind it and our conviction to uphold it.
We also believe you will find the
congregational singing meaningful, with everyone being invited to participate.
PRAYERS
There will be several prayers
during the service and there may be prayers for specific needs and requests.
PREACHING
You will notice that the preacher
doesn’t have a title. He won’t be referred
to as Pastor or Reverend. He will be probably
be referred to as “Brother” or
“Mister” or probably just called by his first
name.
He won’t be wearing any ecclesiastical vestments
which set him apart. We believe in
the priesthood of all believers—that all are equal. (2)
The sermon will last between 20 and 30 minutes. We hope you will find it refreshingly Bible-centered.
INVITATION
At the close of the sermon, the preacher will “extend
an invitation”.
This is simply an expedient
and convenient time to invite those who are moved to do so to make a commitment
or request prayer support.
He will encourage those who wish to
“respond”
to come to the front of the auditorium while the congregation sings
a hymn.
Don’t feel ill at ease during this invitation.
You will not be singled out in any way.
There may be several who respond—or none.
Some may respond for baptism. Some to confess sins. Some to ask
for prayer for a specific need. Some to
“identify” or
“place membership”
with this church.
If anyone responds for baptism, you will witness the baptism
during the service. The baptism will
be by immersion
(3) and it will be for the “remission of sins”.(4)
LORD’S SUPPER
If you visit on a Sunday morning, the Lord’s Supper will
be included in the worship service.
Churches of Christ observe this memorial
every
Sunday.
Our reason, again, is because it is our strong desire
to follow the New Testament pattern.
The first century church celebrated this observance on the first day of the week.(5)
We assume from this that they did it the first day of
every week.
And we know from respected
historians that in early centuries, the Lord’s Supper was an every-Sunday commemoration.(6)
During this memorial, plates of unleavened bread will
be passed throughout the congregation.
The bread is a symbol of the body of Jesus.
Each participating person will break off a piece of bread and eat it.
Next, trays filled with small cups of grape juice will
be distributed.
The juice represents
the blood of Jesus.(7) Each participant
will drink the contents of one of the cups.
If you choose not to participate, don’t be embarrassed.
Feel free to just pass the plate or tray
to the person next to you.
OFFERING
Also if you visit on a Sunday morning, containers will
be passed to collect the weekly financial offering.(8)
As our guest, you are not expected to make a donation.
Feel perfectly comfortable to just pass
the collection plate on down the row.
WHAT WILL BE EXPECTED OF YOU?
Nothing
at all! You are welcome to participate.
But don’t feel obligated to.
Just observe if that is your choice.
You may be asked to fill out a visitor’s card. This simply provides information so the
church can write or call to thank you for your visit.
Supply the information only if you are comfortable doing so.
But feel free to decline this request if you prefer.
THE PEOPLE
What kind of people can you expect to find at the church?
Pretty much the entire spectrum, as in any
group.
You’ll find traditionalists—and you’ll find those who
prefer
anything new over everything
old.
You’ll find those of us who mistake our traditions for
absolute truth, and get pretty bent out of shape when they’re tampered with.
And you’ll also find those of us who
are a bit smug at having been liberated from tradition.
You will find legalists and liberals—and a lot of people
in between.
You will find happy people—and grouchy people. Friendly people—and unfriendly people. Loving people—and cantankerous people. People who are learning—and people
who think they already know everything.
You will find us a lot like that little town out in west
Texas
that has a billboard at the edge of the city which says,
“Home of 3000 Friendly People—And a Few Old Soreheads”.
You get the picture. We’re a diverse group, coming from varied backgrounds and at different stages
of knowledge and spiritual growth.
We don’t know
everything. We don’t do everything right. We
don’t always treat each other as we should.
We haven’t
arrived—we’re just on the
journey.
But you see, we were not brought together by any illusion
of our perfection or righteousness.
We were brought together by our recognition that we are sinners in need of the cleansing
blood of Jesus.(9)
That’s the reason we can worship together, stick together
and, with God’s help, accomplish some things that make a difference.
You won’t have to look far to find our failures.
But, bottom line, you will find people who love Jesus
and love the Bible.
|
|