Now That I'm A Christian

I can remember receiving a book following my baptism and because I was "really" devoted at the time of my baptism, I can remember reading the book, "Now That I'm A Christian." If I still have the book anywhere in my possession, I'm sure that there are no notes made in the book and hopefully the pages are stuck together so none can waste their time in the reading. In fact, it has been so many years that I might not even have the name of the book right. One thing I do remember about the book is that it was an instruction manual to the acts of worship and what I needed to do if I was going to please God and be "found faithful."

Since I can't even be sure of the book title, I'm not about to critique it in this blog and instead would offer a few things coming to mind I wrote down in some notes to myself to consider under this topic of now that I'm a Christian.

The first thing I wrote down was to build a relationship. I'm not sure of everything I thought at the time but this relationship I'm thinking of might have many facets. I think you need a relationship with another individual who is also a Christian and someone you can share with as you mature in your Christian walk. I also think you need a relationship with a fellowship of believers. I grew up thinking there was only on "approved" fellowship of believers and it was the Church of Christ. Meet with anyone else behind any other label and you are stepping on the path to condemnation. Currently, I think it important to build a relationship with a fellowship of believers who know God and hold Jesus to be God's son and the one giving himself so our sins could be forgiven. The next relationship and while most might put it first, I am listing it third because I think these others are needed to help build your relationship with God.

I think the relationship with God is founded in my second listing of my notes and I wrote down you should desire to pray. I have to admit (don't have to but will anyway) that I still find my prayer time rather shallow. I attempt to spend the drive to school each morning in prayer and talk to God as if He were sitting right there in the car with me. It is great to realize, however, that he has taken up residence inside me and so I don't have to picture Him there with me since it is a reality. Possibly, my feeling of shallowness might be similar to the concept of sin I got from my minister. He uses the illustration of a net and large fish to describe how we see sin when we are newly aligned with Christ and desire the be Christ-like. We catch the big sin and can easily keep from it but really don't see all the little sins (fish) slipping through the net. As our righteousness gets closer to the righteousness of Christ, our net gets pretty fine and we start seeing how really filthy our lives are because of all the sin we can now see in our maturity. I suspect prayer might be much the same and as we desire and actually pray more, we discover how really weak we are to speak with God.

As I am giving credit to the minister for helping me understand something, I realize and think he would admit how the credit does not belong with him but rather God and I get to my next point. Place credit for what happens in our lives where it belongs! I don't think anything in our lives is accidental and if we have opened ourselves to God, I believe He will orchestrate our lives based upon what He wants to happen and who He wants us to reach. I have no success and last night, when discussing the fullness of Christ we receive immediately from God, we have no chance at failure as members of His family. We are a success already because Jesus was successful. Yes, I used past tense because the whole story has been written.

This in mind, I come to the concluding thought in my notes and think we must allow our joy and realization to be evidenced to others. No, it will not be our work but the joy of God is infectious and instead of isolating ourselves in church buildings each week as we display our joy, we need to be the picture of Christ all day and every day. We need to walk among others, infected as we are, and allow the infection to spread to all we touch in a day.

Do I need to say it? The books like the one I mentioned and the legalistic views we face daily would and have, in the past, boxed the infection of God into a building hidden away from the public needing to "catch a whiff" of godliness. Yes, my fourth suggestion is to allow ourselves to spread the infection.

May I be so bold as to alter the words of Jesus and declare "go forth and INFECT the world!"

Sorry, but another thought entered my mind as I wrote what was supposed to be the LAST sentence in this blog. Infection and disease never seem to take exactly the same path and so our goal should not be to CONTROL the infection, but rather simply spread the infection and allow God to follow whatever path He has chosen for the individual.

Does God Exaggerate?

"for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 NIV

"...death came to all men, because all sinned-" Romans 5:12 NIV

"But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God" Hebrews 10:12 NIV

"Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself." Hebrews 9:26 NIV

Not sure what started me thinking today but I remembered my brother telling me something to the effect that there was no "unforgiven" sin in the world. It may have been stronger than I remember and he may have said there is no longer any sin. Then, again, I may simply be out of my mind and if so, this is simply my current thinking which needs further evaluation as I look to grow spiritually.

One of the verses above says that Christ offered his sacrifice to forgive all sin and then sat down at the right hand of God. Another says to do away with sin after appearing once for all.

I know I am often speaking before thinking but my current belief system is one believing my sin as a Christian is forgiven even if I fail to "officially" ask for the forgiveness. If I was driving down the road speeding to get to Abilene this past Saturday morning and running off the road I killed myself (actually my wife was the one "officially" reminded to drive the speed limit), I do not think I would be condemned for speeding and breaking the law. My family will be my best defense if I ever get a ticket for speeding because I usually drive below the speed limit. Just for the sake of this blog, however, God probably already knew I would be speeding if it is truly the case and I believe the sacrifice of Christ would have already forgiven the sin.

Is this the case? Has all sin been forgiven? The bible seems to say this and yet it is not something I hear regularly taught by other Christians. In fact, I usually hear the opposite and many would have me perish due to the sin I commit later today or even tomorrow and fail to make the "official" request for forgiveness. I can't help but wonder if the Holy Spirit (God) was exaggerating when giving the words in the writing above or is it possible, even likely (like so many other things) my understanding is skewed by human reasoning impressed upon me as a child.

While I never gave as much attention to my writing in school as I now wish might have been the case, I seem to remember the concept of returning to what you started with as you wind things down and prepare to make a conclusion on your thoughts. The first quote above has to do with all have sinned and fallen short and in 53 years of life, I have probably not gone two weeks (while involved with a church congregation) without hearing this phrase used and yet I am not sure I actually know anyone who believes this statement the way I read. If the statement is accurate, then all have sinned. Using the "official" thinking I was brought up with, "how hard can it be to see what is actually said. Anyone with a brain can see it says all and all means EVERYBODY!"

Almost in the same breath, I can hear someone saying, "and the wages of sin is death" (most don't believe this either). I guess I could be accused of starting controversies like Timothy was warned about in the letter from Paul but if you want to see some people squirm over the discussion of all just bring up the "unforgiven" sin of a child or mentally handicapped person. Suddenly, I/you are faced with the non-biblical teaching of some not being accountable for their sin (if they even believe these individuals have sinned). Being faced with challenges like this one has helped me move past the idea of needing an answer for everything.

I continue to desire answers and wanting these questions answered from a biblical position, the idea of no one being accountable for his/her sin is much more reasonable than some of us being accountable and some sins being condemning in nature because we fail to "officially" ask for forgiveness. Of course, this brings up another question of what actually separates us from God at judgment. If we are not faced with our condemning sin, how can any be lost?

Just my opinion (like everything else) but I currently think it is the choice we make to be like God. The choice, to have the loving heart (nature) of a child. Then again, it may not be the nature of a child but rather the nature of God ever so present in the child when Jesus told us of those who would inherit the kingdom!

Who Then Can Be Saved?

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10:26-27 NIV

While I hope the kids in chapel got something out of the message this morning, I saw something entirely different from what was taught. Concerning the rich man coming to Jesus and asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, the message I have been taught all of my life was taught this day in chapel. Yes, the message of all of us having something we put before God is a good message and one I think is represented in the bible. This morning, I saw how "off track" we can be when we try to take more from a story than is said. In the last post, I mentioned some of the things one could draw from the story of the rich man and Lazarus and man has taken more from the story than the concept of us not being able to change who we are after this life is over.

This morning, I considered how we also make more of the rich man coming to Jesus and asking about eternal life. The man asks the question we all ask at some time in our lives because we would like what Jesus has to offer. We go to the bible and make it a rule book because we want to have control over our destiny. We/I grew up believing I was responsible for "working out my own salvation."

As I look at Mark 10, I see the same story of "what must I do to be saved" and Jesus gives a simple answer. There is nothing humanly possible for you to do that will save yourself. The rich man in this story had kept all of the commandments and I can see those disciples in the crowd thinking, "man this guy has it down." When Jesus says that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, it absolutely crushes the spirit of all those listening because this man is a gleaming example of all that is RIGHT!

We have worked hard in my faith heritage to be RIGHT. We have worked hard to be like the rich man and I'm not talking about building wealth but rather building upon the correctness of what we do. Jesus has the answer for all of us. You can't be right enough to get there.

Yes, it is impossible to enter the kingdom of heaven from a human position of being RIGHT. The great thing is that with the GRACE of GOD, It's A SNAP!

What Would You Give To Be Immortal?

...God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:15-16 NIV

Just recently, I was in a devotional and heard the comment made that we were going to live forever and so we needed to be with God. The basis for this plea comes from the belief we possess an immortal soul which will either spend all of eternity with God in heaven or spend all of eternity without God being tormented in hell.

There are still a few people I know who are surprised to discover I am not party to the belief of the wicked spending all eternity being tortured. In fact, I would guess the majority of those I am around believe differently than myself. In my reasoning, I have little problem with those having this belief but I think there may be a problem with not wanting to examine what the bible says on this topic.

I come from a heritage where many are still fighting the bondage caused by simply agreeing with the belief system formulated and held coming out of the reformation. We have had those in the past who, without thinking for themselves would turn to a commentary in order to form their belief and the commentary turned to for the "proper" belief had to come from one of the primary leaders in the Church of Christ heritage so the "correct" information would be learned.

When I started questioning some of the concepts I have been taught in my youth growing up in the churches of Christ, the idea concerning the wicked not being tortured for all of eternity was foreign to me and I was sure I would find no person within my own faith heritage believing such nonsense. Oddly, the curiosity following my thoughts led me to discover this topic is far from being decided within our own group and there are many on each side of the subject.

I mentioned earlier how I did not have a problem with someone believing differently from me and yet, I think there may be a problem with not wanting to examine the issue. I am not sure reformation is a process ever meant to cease and yet the attitude towards learning is often one of having arrived. In other words, I know about God and I know what the bible says and so there is nothing new I can learn seems to be a dangerous mentality. As I read, discuss and consider various topics, I find the eternal nature of God and all He has given to be exciting and I wonder what happens to us when the excitement of learning comes to an end.

I told my preacher this morning how I appreciated him because he stimulated my mind to think on God and all He has done for His creation. I would hope all of us would desire to stimulate the thinking of others toward God and I hope we all believe God is thrilled when we find success in this area.

As I consider the verse above, I am amazed, first of all, how anyone can consider themselves to possess immortality. The passage seems to read how only God is immortal. In fact, I think most of us have grown up wishing to have immortality or supernatural power. We find in the first temptation of Adam and Eve the lie of them being like God if they eat of the fruit.

We learn in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." When discussing the topic of our end being one of eternity with God or eternity being tortured, I like to turn this verse around and remind people they are saying the wages of sin is eternal life. I find it very comforting to know the hope we have for eternity is that we will receive eternal life. We will receive immortality! The wicked get no eternal life but they get DEATH!

I don't have all of the answers and I promise I will never get to the point where I have any more than a belief or opinion based upon where I am in my path to eternity right now. There are two passages in the bible giving me some trouble with this concept but most have only read far enough to come back with one challenge to this idea of the wicked being destroyed in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Yes, even with my understanding of this passage, I still have some problem with the wording (I would also like to know what was going through the minds of those making translation which causes me problem).

Without going into great detail, I'll mention some of the teachings from the parable in Luke 16. Yes, I believe it to be a parable or teaching tool used by Christ and not a true story depicting torture for all of eternity. This passage teaches 1. a judgment of the wicked and righteous prior to the final judgment (two judgments instead of one. 2. angels carried the righteous to Abraham's side and the wicked are buried (no burial for the righteous). 3. we are taught that communication will existed between the righteous and wicked. 4. we are taught that Abraham is in control (not God). 5. we are taught that the judgment is based upon whether we have good things now or bad things now (no love or grace from God and not even merit earned salvation or loss. and 6. we are taught that the wicked and righteous continue to live in the presence of each other for all eternity.

I didn't refer back to the various writers I have read on this topic, but in my current reasoning, I find it hard to accept eternal torment of the wicked from this passage and not accept all of the other teachings and yet I think I would be eternally barred from speaking in class if I claimed all of the teachings in this text to be the word of God.

I hope to get the chance to open this topic up for study in an adult class some time soon but first we have to get past the tradition of our heritage to only repeat from what has happened before. Our tradition is one of being reminded of that we know and not one of being challenged to learn something new!

After all, if you bring a "new" message you must be an apostate because there is nothing new for me to learn.

Hopefully one of the topics to be written about in the near future will have something to do with our knowledge that instrumental music was added to our worship some time between 300 and 500 AD. I didn't look up those dates from our official church doctrine writings and so the date range is used. I was surprised this past week or so to discover congregational singing was added to the church at the time of Martin Luther! Now you also know that instruments have been with us for over 1500 years and congregational singing has only been with us a mere 500 years!

Racism In The Church

When I typed the title of this blog into the space, I immediately thought of what might be going through someone's mind when they see the title and yet I don't think I'm going down the path one might think. In the previous blog, it was mentioned how family members do not have the right to kick brothers and sisters out of the family and this morning while sitting in class, I considered how different some of our families have become over the years and how common it is to make adoptions outside of our own race. Yes, even if you are a member of a family where parents choose to adopt someone so totally different your race is not even the same, you do not have the option of kicking them out. In fact, as parents, we can adopt who we choose and make our personal families as diverse as we like because we are the parents and make the decision; not the siblings.

I said I wouldn't go down the implied path so on to the point. Our racism in the church is one of doctrine. In reality, one or the other is not good enough because of the doctrine believed and as a child, I was taught we need to test the spirit of those claiming to be the same "race" as myself because they might be a wolf in sheep's clothing. The bible passage prompting my thoughts this morning came from 1 John 4 and here is verse two and three from this chapter.

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Mankind is not satisfied with God's qualifications for recognizing the spirit and so we must come up with our own. It sort of reminds me of the "all men are created" aspect penned at the formation of our country. We didn't accept but one race as part of the "all men" and in fact, we also excluded women from this aspect of what was being penned. Fortunately, we matured past our weakness and not only accepted women but also the various races coming to our country. In fact, our country wishes to "champion" the idea of freedom because God created us equal.

In our church congregations, there are many coming into a maturity where our freedom in Christ is being championed. How sad it has become to realize how living in a land where religious freedom is shouted from "sea to shining sea," we have actually been party to teaching anything short of bondage.

Our heritage is one of each group declaring the "restored church" and binding the desires of a few on those who might want a relationship with Christ. Rather than teach (disciple) another individual into a relationship with Christ, we have focused on "branding" others with our mark of the "true" church and often leave the development of a relationship to the individual. At least they are allowed to grow their relationship to Christ according to our standard doctrine (the right doctrine). We forget about the test God has given us in the recognition of Jesus Christ. It has not been appropriate to call a person a brother in Christ if they do not agree with our doctrine.

I have a very close brother from another denomination and having invited him to come worship with me, I anticipate the "racist" remarks that might be made behind my back should I introduce him as my brother in Christ from the Methodist church.

If this had happened in my presence some ten years ago, I would have looked for an opportunity to pull Mike aside and say something like, "don't you know he is not a Christian because..." I might be nice to him but I would begin to question the brotherhood of Mike and possibly even approach the elders about whether Mike should be part of the family since he obviously does not know what is required to be a brother.

I hope he takes me up on the offer because we all need a place to call home and a place to join with the family. I also hope my brothers and sisters, more like me (I know that's a stretch), will recognize they are still not in charge of the family. If he calls Jesus his brother because Jesus came in the flesh and his fruit is good, who am I to say he can't stay in the family.

Racism rears it's ugly head in many fashions but simply stated, racism is more than the color of our skin. Racism is the requirement of others being exactly like me or else they are not "fit" for the group.

The Fight Is Still On!

"Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

Mark 10:9 NIV

I'm not always sure that people are glad to know they have inspired me to write something but in the lesson today I was once again led into a path of thinking about who we are and what we have been about in the course of our history. Of course, the verse listed above has always been used in conjunction with a wedding and today I was given the opportunity to consider the verse in light of the church.

It was mentioned that we are quick to claim that God is responsible for adding people to His church and not man. My additional thoughts went to consider the aspect of us being God's family and heirs with Christ.

When considering the nature of families, those of us with brothers and sisters know how fighting between siblings is a normal part of family life. Many times the fights even continue into adulthood and create additional problems with grandchildren and other members of the extended family. With families joining other families through marriage or adoption, problems often expand into unworkable situations. Oddly, those with the greatest success accept each other for who they are and realize they are all part of the same family.

I imagined tonight what it might be like if the parents of each child born into a family dictated that each sibling be exactly alike to remain part of the family. How impossible it would be for the second, third and subsequent children all to be told. "That is not the way your older sister does things and so you must be exactly like her;" effectively telling them they can have no individuality.

As I grew up in the church, it was not stated this way but we were taught what to believe, and not how to read and think. We were told this is the right way to do things and all of the verses were established in our thinking to support every tradition we had in the church. Obviously, when all the scriptures are established to mean what we are taught they mean, the church is "following" the bible in all things done.

The concept of being with like-minded people is thrown out and being of EXACT mind is taught so no error can exist. In the church (God' family) there is no room for individuality because only one way is right and anyone not exactly on the same pattern is not following the bible and lost (a wolf in sheep's clothing).

I'm sure in many families, the idea of wanting to get rid of a family member or kick them out of the family might often become a desire of the fighting children but this is not an option. I can imagine going to my mother or father and saying we need to take ???????? and drop them off somewhere in the woods far away from home because they just don't work in our family. Yeah, if my brother and sisters might come across this the ? marks refer to you but in all honesty, you probably would have had a greater chance of getting mother and daddy to take me out and drop me off since discussion already took place about what to do with me.

I don't want us to miss the great fact present in these comments, however, that brothers and sisters don't get to decide who is a member of the family. If our parents want to adopt another child we get no say and it is only the sick parents who get rid of their kids and not those who are trying to look like Christ.

As kids, we will still fight. We tell our brothers and sisters you are doing that wrong and dad is going to be angry with you. As I typed this sentence, I wonder if anyone has ever stated "and dad is going to kick you out of the family." Our parents might say I'm going to leave you out of the will but just what takes place before a parent leaves a child out of the will? I believe the answer lies in the child refusing to have anything with the family and withdrawing him or herself and not the parents not having anything to do with the child.

Yes, we have the ability to walk away from the family of God. We have the ability to place ourselves in a position where it is impossible for the Father to extend an inheritance to us but we don't have the right to decide who the Father extends His gifts.

I doubt if "kids" will ever get a grasp on the idea that we don't run the family regardless of how much energy we expend trying to take over and I guess we will be fighting among ourselves until Christ comes and puts an end to all of this.

I would hope and pray those of us having had families might learn from our own families and realize how happy we become as parents when the kids are all getting along with each other; they can do no wrong during this time. How much more our Father in heaven will be pleased with us when we all play well with each other and honor the family with good treatment of our brothers and sisters. Fights do nothing more than sadden our parents and fights between those calling God Father only sadden the one who gave everything so He can live with His family!

Food Fight At The Table

"I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies."
Amos 5:21

Having just finished reading "One Bread, One Body" by Al Maxey, I thought of the scripture above. The reason behind God despising everything done by His people, was not the perfection or lack of perfection they had in the performance of their acts of worship, but rather the fact of their hearts being far from Him and in my opinion the mockery they made of God by simply going through the motions.

In Al's book, there is a constant calling of God's children back to the family and the reminder that God looks at the hearts of His people. While I did find one use of the word must at the bottom of page 166, I do not believe Al ever intended to leave the reader with the idea he believes we really "must" ask the questions set forth. Instead, in many examples he reminds the reader of things being to his personal taste and not a condition of Christian fellowship. I openly admit that I am a biased reader of Al's and I told him in a message that this was so because what he writes MAKES SENSE!

He starts his book with a poem "Help Them Be One" which I intend to read before communion sometime in the near future. He then goes on to discuss the many abuses and traditions that have crept into something meant to simply have us remember the gift of our Savior on the cross. One of the comments made more than once in his book is the fact that we have often been the children having a food fight at the Lord's table. I would add that he does not limit all of his comments to the Lord's table but we can easily be led to believe that we have not only been having a food fight at the table but have been a pretty bad group of children as we look for ways to fight with our brothers and sisters in God's "house." One expression I learned from Al in some of his writings has been that those with the same Father are brothers and sisters not twins!

The first chapter of this book is worth the purchase if you read no further but I'm sure some of the things will catch your eye and cause you to finish the book. In the Table of Contents he calls the chapter "Brief History of the Lord's Supper" and even though I'm not a theologian, I think it may be the best "Reader's Digest" version of the the history you can pick up anywhere. He covers the many views of what the emblems were actually thought to be and the powers they were believed to possess in the chapter and yet with a simple mind, the item that caught my attention most was the idea that some thought we might cause an infestation in heaven if we allowed crumbs from the bread to be dropped and possibly eaten by mice!

In contrast to the last book I read on the Lord's Supper, I believe Al came up with seven purposes he perceived for the Lord's Supper instead of just one (off the top of my head). In my thinking, the basic premise was that the concept of who Christ was and what he had done for us is more important than the emblems on the table. Having seen in the brief history that we have been having this argument for over 2000 years now, I expect his book will not solve the fighting at the table. I do believe he realizes this but I pray, as does he, that we will at least get a few more children to the table together celebrating God's gift to mankind without the fight.

One of my favorite sections dealt with the timing arguments concerning the celebration of Passover by Jesus and His disciples prior to the actual Passover. I don't know how many times I have read over this section in the life of Christ but I did not realize his presentation and eventual death took place on the day of preparation which means he celebrated Passover on the WRONG DAY. Since I don't believe Jesus sinned, the day must not have been as important as what was done with His disciples. He also discusses the four cups on the table and the controversy this should bring to those who must defend the idea of silence in the bible actually forbidding a practice. It may be in another chapter but the discussion of the question concerning the use of Jewish or Roman time when Paul stayed over at Troas was exceptional. I have thought and mentioned for a few years now how Paul obviously shared communion with the Christians on Monday morning before leaving and with his explanation, I am even more convinced of this being fact.

In one of the chapters, Al devotes time to a request he got from a reader (there are a few of these in the book) concerning the desire of her daughter to have communion at her wedding instead of the unity candle. His response was superb and if I was not already married, I believe I would have communion offered not only to my bride and I, but also the rest of those with me. My only change would be to do so during the meal following the wedding. The way he wrote in the book would be the words used prior to the offering of communion because I don't think it could be said any better.

The book is almost over by the time he introduces the history behind the communion token and yet being near the end of the book was great because the choice was made by Campbell not to use his token because the clergy was deciding who was worthy (my brief interpretation so read the book). A constant theme throughout the book was the idea that he, you and I may have preferences for what we like but we are not charged with the ability to decide who is and is not our brother. Our freedom is a wonderful thing and freedom is not bound by traditions.

The prayer of Jesus for our unity is mentioned several times and while he didn't say it in so many words, I am amazed that we use even one ounce of our strength and time to condemn someone who says they love God. We a tremendous number of people who fully stand against God and yet we (those in many fellowships but mainly mine of the past) want to condemn others claiming to love God to hell while we ignore and stay clear of the evil spread by those claiming no association with God at all.

While it may be a strange concept, I believe we adopt the Father and once adopted, He fully adopts us! To the best of my ability, I am going to accept those who have adopted the Father as my sibling and make every attempt to share His love rather than condemn their individual actions.

In closing, let me encourage you to purchase a copy of this book One Bread, One Body and support Al in his writing. If you are not a follower of his weekly Reflections, I would also encourage to to contact him and get on the email list. Once he has you in his list, the effort to send you a copy takes no more time than it does to send to several thousand others. You are the one missing out if you choose not to read.

You can find his previous Reflections at http://www.zianet.com/maxey/Reflect2.htm

and here is the information once again for his book. I already know you will enjoy both!

One Bread, One Body
An Examination of Eucharistic
Expectation, Evolution and Extremism
A 230 page book by Al Maxey

Order both books from Publish America at:
www.publishamerica.com or (301) 695-1707

Fundamental Principles?

Recently, I was speaking with one of my good friends and he mentioned a book to me he referenced in a lesson. The book was "Fundamental Principles of Serving The Lord's Supper" by Jonathan Walker Sr.. I think he knew the mentioning of the book would get my blood flowing a bit faster but I don't think he considered this flow of energy would cause me to order the book. After ordering the book, I sent an email to Al Maxey asking if he had heard about the book and he informed me of his latest book which, after ordering a book, I believed might fit right into my biased opinion of what is still taking place in the church, was all the encouragement I needed to order one I believed might actually be a blessing to myself and others. I have not received Al's book yet but based on his past level of writing, I will go ahead and recommend the readers ordering one for themselves. I will also read and make comments about his book when I get it in the mail.

My argument against the book by Jonathan Walker Sr. does not challenge his desire to bring the Lord's Supper to a higher criterion and deeper understanding that will strengthen the congregation through spiritual encouragement. My reading of the book also gave me some short comments which I might find useful at sometime in the future when I have the opportunity to speak prior to the Lord's Supper.

My disgust with the book is found primarily in the two areas of (1), "the need for a guidebook concerning the preparation, implementation, and supervision of communion" and (2), his decision, not the instruction of the bible, to preface many statements with the word "must." I won't waste the readers time with how I feel about a "rule" book to follow for the Lord's Supper but I fully believe it reflects the church I grew out of and the need to do church in the RIGHT WAY! Someone might as well instruct me the the right way to love someone or accept love from someone because I fully believe an instruction manual on the Lord's Supper is nothing more than an attempt to instruct me on the proper way to feel and be loved by my Savior.

There is much more to be said about the "must" statements and in an effort to keep this post as short as is possible, I will, for the most part, show the quote and allow the reader the choice of accepting the statement as a God required must.

The first statement I noticed can be found on page 41. "The leaders of a congregation must pay close attention to the sequence of events in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 1 Corinthians in relation to the Last Supper of Christ." While I see nothing wrong in the examination of these passages, there is no indication from God concerning the testimony becoming some sort of "guide" for the right way to partake of the the bread and cup.

In the same paragraph, he then states, "In addition to the sequence of events, there must be an equal emphasis placed on the overall preparation for and the implementation of the Lord's Supper." When making reference to the comments made prior to the communion, he states, "the comments must focus on at least one of the four scriptures quoted above." I find myself able to accept certain words of it might be a good idea or I would like to recommend but instead, we find the writer using the word must. As I mentioned earlier, some of the suggested comments provided in the book are quite good.

Following the examination of the bible passages mentioned, he then makes two more statements. "One could deduce that blessing or praying over the bread is a principle that must be adopted before distributing it to the partakers...Moreover, Jesus Christ has furnished a fundamental guideline to an orderly communion-bless the bread before it is provided to partakers.

Not necessarily using the word must, the author makes the following statement on page 44. "Also, a Christian's sole purpose is to reflect on and remember Jesus Christ when partaking in this ceremony." I would guess the process of examining the body "must," therefore, take place prior to the blessing of the bread and distribution to the partakers. In his concluding comments of chapter 3, the author reminds the reader, "Also, a communion prayer is not optional, but rather, it is essential before the bread and cup are distributed to the partakers." He goes on to say that Jesus Christ furnished the best example and while I have no problem following an example of Jesus, it is the will of man making an example more than an example.

Chapter 4 deals with the implementation of the Lord's Supper and we are told, "The communion servers must plan and rehearse the event in all aspects." When referencing the disciples traveling with Jesus prior to the Passover meal, he states, "a congregation must "make ready" the Lord's Supper prior to the start of worship." While I think most of us would agree it is not a bad idea, I'm not sure where the must comes in to play.

The following statements are taken from the discussion of the communion table layout and the positioning of servers on the communion table (I think most of us would rather have those serving communion be at the table instead of on the table but we all know what is meant).

"Because the bread is normally consumed first, the tray containing the bread should be placed in between the cups." I'm not sure where "normally" came from since we have already been told the sequence of the communion is very specific.

"The Christian assigned to preside is located at the center of the communion table or in the middle of the bread and cup." "those who oversee the Lord's Supper can determine if the active speaker will serve the communion or remain inactive during this duty." A microphone is necessary if the active speaker is positioned on the same level as the servers or when the servers are assigned to bless the bread and cup."

In discussing the service of the communion to the partakers, the author tells us, "Moreover, the servers must use both hands and lightly release the communion tray when it comes to handing off the tray to a member. However, the server should keep at least one hand underneath the tray until the server is confident the tray is firmly in the hands of the member." He goes on to remind the server of the need to make this happen even when there is a tray in each hand.

Ending chapter 4, the author lets us know of the proper way to end service, "Consequently, the communion should be closed with a simple statement such as, "This concludes the Lord's Supper" so that visitors and members have a sense that a new segment of worship will occur."

Chapter 5 deals with the oversight of the communion and opens with, "There must be one member assigned to oversee the preparation and implementation of the Lord's Supper to achieve a higher-caliber communion." A few more comments are provided below from this section.

"The process must be in writing as a reference guide for the servers and can be provided in outline format."

"Therefore, the communion may comprise of the following elements: comments at the communion table, communion hymns, prayers over the bread and cup, distribution of the Lord's Supper, and a closing communion hymn."

"A congregation must establish a worship plan that addresses each part of a worship service from announcements to closing prayer." Anyone see formula written all over this?

The required outline from above, has the following elements:

1. a written procedure regarding how the Lord's Supper is managed and how the process is integrated into the communion.
2. A plan that specifically itemizes the assigned tasks and who will be performing the tasks.
3. A summary of the executable steps within a worship plan or communion procedure.
4. A document allowing the worship coordinator to monitor the execution of the communion process.
5. The name of each member assigned to worship duty, which includes communion servers.

"As a courtesy, the servers should (nice use of word) arrive twenty minutes prior to worship service to confirm assignments."

Chapter 6 deals with the comments made at the communion table and we are told, "The active speaker is charged with preparing comments-days in advance-and reading the comments to the congregation as a form of reflecting on Jesus Christ."

Additionally, "If the active speaker reads scriptures, the passage must be short and concise, but directly related to the remembrance of Jesus Christ."

"The Lord's Supper is a separate worship event from contribution or a sermon; therefore, a verbal separation must be maintained. When the communion and collection are consecutive in the worship service, it may be confusing to some visitors, so it would be worth stating, "This concludes the Lord's Supper. Now we take up the collection."

While several appropriate comments are provided for speakers, the authors, seemingly concerned with confusion of various aspects of a worship service, often mixes the apparent requirement of baptism as necessary to partake of communion. While this has become a common tradition of my fellowship, there is no reason to believe all who love and cherish the gift of God in sacrificing his son should not partake and I believe it can be a great teaching time for our children.

He does mention, "So we gather here on the first day of the week-just as Jesus and the apostles did-to break bread and drink of the vine in remembrance of Jesus Christ's death." I'll have to look that one up because I don't remember Jesus meeting with the apostles on the first day to partake. He does come short of stating that the first day of the week is the only appropriate day but I believe it to be his belief from what is written.

All of this can be most frustrating to those who have been freed from the regulation of men to our time together but things like this written in 2009 serve as a constant reminder that we have not yet entirely broken free from our heritage and sadly, the appreciation of so precious a gift has been reduced by many to the "fundamentals" rather than the richness of our enjoyment.

While I look forward, yes with a biased expectation, to Al's book arriving, I hope the reader is able to recognize this book is written in the tradition of man and not the Law of God.

I also hope the reader might join me and order Al's book. The information is provided below.

One Bread, One Body
An Examination of Eucharistic
Expectation, Evolution and Extremism
A 230 page book by Al Maxey

Order both books from Publish America at:
www.publishamerica.com or (301) 695-1707

How Smart Do I Have To Be?

I am not sure how many people struggle with this question but it is one I find hard to dismiss and which continues to force its way back into my thoughts.

As an educator, I do not feel strange telling others how our education begins shortly after that first breath and though some people seemingly bring and end to their education at some point, I believe their level of understanding and education continue to grow until they take their last breath.

Having been raised in the church, I was taught or either felt I was taught to believe I existed in my early years without any need of the blood of Jesus (this was never taught in these words). As I grew older, this concept changed and I was told "you know better than that," and I was taught that those who knew better (education) were sinning and the "wages of sin was death." This teaching went on to convict me of my sin and remind me of my need to come in contact with the blood of Jesus. Eventually, I was told, "you have to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins" if you want to be covered with the blood of Jesus and I was "obedient." Later, I even took this responsibility upon myself and even encouraged those who had not been baptized for the right reason (education) to complete the baptism once again for the "right" reason (I have since considered I may have been asking those in the RIGHT to participate in what I only considered to be "right").

Recently, I have been reading Eternity In Their Hearts by Don Richardson and with the thoughts from this book in my mind combined with the thoughts from our lesson Sunday morning on the Holy Spirit, I was reminded how I don't think SALVATION is our educational issue (Just a note, but I paused for maybe 45 seconds thinking of how to put it and I left it as thought). Yes, my Christian education taught me how, once entrusted with the knowledge of God and what one needed to do to be saved, I was responsible for taking salvation to the rest of the world. Without me, God's plan to save the world could be frustrated. I now realize how this understanding might be the very definition of arrogant. I might be a disappointment to God and I have definitely failed Him at times but I am not capable of FRUSTRATING His plan. I will also add how I do not think I am capable of frustrating his plan with any individual.

I often find myself seeming to be describe a situation negating the importance of missionaries and yet this is most distant to my thinking. I want to do nothing more than exalt and lift all who have chosen and will choose to be missionaries for God and I am thrilled (also a bit fearful) to see my youngest daughter have this goal in her heart. However, I do think the concept of missionaries needed to take salvation to the lost is a bit misguided (off track).

In the book mentioned above, the author makes it clear how the idea/concept of taking the message of God to other peoples has existed since the 12th chapter of Genesis. I do not think this mission has ever ceased and yet I do believe we have been "reformed" into thinking the purpose of the mission has changed and our participation is much more important.

Lest I get too long with these comments, I believe salvation to be the work of God. I believe the Holy Spirit is living inside of every last person recognized by God as belonging to His family and guiding them to make righteous choices in their lives. I also believe the Holy Spirit is working on everyone who is not currently recognized as a member of God's family to convict them of their sin and encourage them to change direction. In other words, it is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to instruct/educate people as to "what they must do to be saved" and not MIKE. My purpose is to tell the story of God!

Yes, like Abraham and so many others throughout history, I am to continue with my specific portion of God's plan to tell someone else of all that God has done. Some of us may only reach a few with greater knowledge of God and others might reach thousands or millions.

At this point in my life, I have come to believe and accept God is in control of everything. I believe God (Holy Spirit) will successfully bring salvation to the world and offer it to every last individual. In my life and the life of those who choose mission work, I hope others will learn of what God has done for them so they can take joy in knowing of His work.

To answer my own question, I don't believe man is capable of answering it for each individual. I do believe the Holy Spirit is more than capable of bringing each person the answer and making sure obedience is possible for everyone and not just those capable of man's wisdom.

In reality, I do not believe the choice to be covered by the blood of Jesus is one we make through the process of education about God but rather the choice made in our hearts to be like God because He has made the difference.

Man's wisdom will never be sufficient to make sure we are obedient enough for salvation so lets forget about our misguided thoughts of SAVING people and simply continue telling the story of what He HAS DONE!

One Body

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it, if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (From 1 Corinthians 12)

I hope the fact that I have not been writing in a while does not mean my life has been stagnate and lacking growth but only a reflection of getting everything done at school for the kids. One of the things I am blessed with each week is getting to hear a great speaker in our congregation. I call him a great speaker because every time I hear a lesson, my mind is challenged to think and consider all that God has done in the past and is doing right now in our lives. While I would not even assume he desires for my thoughts to wonder in the many directions my mind has taken, I know he loves to know he has engaged listeners each week. I trust that the Holy Spirit is involved with his lessons each week and also trust the Holy Spirit is leading my thoughts in the direction needed for my individual growth.

Oddly, I was not even present for the lesson leading to the thoughts coming from the scripture above. Due to this, I should probably not "quote" much from his lesson. We did have a discussion of the lesson in our Sunday night life group and I got the message "second-hand." The concept sending my thoughts into a spin came from his description of the "two side" comparisons of our brains and what motivates some of us to approach our Christian lives in one way or the other.

I have already stated my belief of the body of Christ being found throughout the many denominational names we see on buildings in our community and yet I never really considered how this variety might be a GOD DESIGN! Of course, those growing up within the same heritage as myself know how we have always declared denominations to be an abomination. This is also why so many in my fellowship are offended when someone associates those meeting in a building with the name "Church of Christ" with the word denomination.

Having visited many of the various denominations in and around the community, I am quick to recognize sincere devotion to God and our saviour Jesus Christ. I have found nothing other than people wanting their lives to reflect the light of Christ in all they do and yet for most of my life, I condemned what they were doing as evil and considered them adversaries of Christ because they were not like me. While there are still those within my fellowship stilling holding on to these beliefs, I am proud to say they are becoming fewer and fewer with each passing year. Effectively, we were considering ourselves the "head" and telling every other part of the body they were not only not needed but destructive to the body.

Having taken a little time to look inward on my local congregation, I see the same thing within the walls of one building I see demonstrated in the community. We have several life groups with differing names (denominations) and different focus of Christian activity. We have differing classes each Sunday and Wednesday. One of the groups on Wednesday night has named themselves (Christians In Action) and focus getting out to the community with Christ-like activities. Yes, it is perfectly ok for us to have a variety of names representing who we are and what we are doing for Christ just as long as we come to the building with "Church of Christ" on the sign.

Taking this focus back into the community, I see no problem with grouping Christians based upon the focus of Christ-like activity going on in each group. In fact, if we are serving Christ, the true head of the Church, then we are all part of the same body and necessary for the body to function properly.

When I look at the last part of the quote from 1 Corinthians above, I also see how the body suffers when any part of the body suffers. If we take a careful look at what has happened to Christianity over the past decade in our country and how many people are living without Christ in our communities, it is not hard to see how the failures of those in many denominations representing Christ have led to a distrust of Christianity (the body). Whether it is a preacher being caught in an adulterous affair, a television evangelist caught in criminal sting operation or a priest abusing young boys, we are all affected in a negative manner because of who we represent.

As I finished writing this last comment, I am reminded of a dear friend who discovered a cancerous tumor in his brain a few weeks ago and the comment that cancers survive the defenses of the body because the body does not recognize the cancer as being destructive. I think it is too bad we are quick to raise our weapons in the defense of tradition and effectively miss the cancer of Satan slipping in to eat away at all that is GOOD!

Our Baptismal Confession

Having witnessed several baptisms in various denominations, I recognize the fact many groups do not take a public confession of the individual being baptized just prior to the act of baptism and so these few comments today only reflect the nature of what takes place on a regular basis in my own fellowship. While not responsible for what I write, my youngest daughter at Abilene Christian University gave me the idea for these comments and I am more than pleased to see her taking hold of her own faith and not simply mimicking the things told her in the past.

Most members of my fellowship expect and some might even raise their hand and say, "wait a minute. We have not heard his/her confession yet," if we were to take someone into the water for baptism without having them stand before the congregation and state their belief that Jesus is the son of God. I will not go into it at this time but most of the congregations I have been affiliated with over the years will ask women if they belief Jesus is the son of God so she can give the only acceptable yes. After all, it is important to remember women MUST remain silent in our worship services and the only allowable alteration to this "command" from God is when they join in the "song service" and admit they believe Jesus is the son of God.

Returning to the focus of my comments, I finally realized while talking to my daughter the problem with divisions in our fellowship has nothing to do with people "leaving" the truth of scripture behind, but rather our failure to adequately ask for the RIGHT CONFESSION!

It is not enough to know of the person recognizing Jesus as the son of God; the son of God who came and gave His life for our sin. Since the Church is obviously responsible for adding members to the body of Christ, we need to know more about their ability to match the "true" commands of God. We fail because we do not have them stand and confirm their displeasure of women praying in the service, instruments being used, a girl collecting the attendance cards, women serving communion to the membership and a myriad of other items demanded by those seeking to take the Lordship from Christ.

In my search of through the bible, I do not find the official creed of the Churches of Christ demanded by so many for fellowship and I am saddened these same people will even allow someone the opportunity of baptism and tell them their name is being written in the book without knowing they are "true believers."

I hope we will soon get to a point in our fellowship where we recognize our understanding of God does not position us as the official scribe for the Book of Life!

What IS Actually Stated?

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering , but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. Genesis 4:3-5 NIV

Still thinking of my "New Year's Resolution," I thought I might briefly mention one of the stories in the Bible where we have often taught more than is actually stated by the passage. I was reminded of this because my 7th grade bible class has been focusing on anger this week and our book uses the story of Cain and Abel to open our discussion for the week.

The author of the book makes a point to tell the reader why Cain's sacrifice was not acceptable to God. The reason given and the one I was brought up being taught was how Cain's sacrifice was of the soil and not a "blood" sacrifice (checking with some of my brothers and sisters tells me that this is not much of a belief any longer so BRAVO).

My question to those saying it was not acceptable because it was not a blood sacrifice seems pretty simple. Where does the passage tell us of this deficiency. From the quote above, we can suggest some possibilities but even our suggestions are little more than "my opinion." One suggestion might be how Cain offered "some" of the fruits and Abel offered the "fat" portion of his firstborn. As I read the passage, it looks like Abel offered the best of the best and Cain just took some of what he had and made an offering.

I told the kids how I almost get the feeling of Cain's sacrifice being in response to Abels offering and not something that he really desired in the heart to give. I then followed up with what has become our class statement and reminded them how this was "my thoughts" and not from a biblical statement.

Speaking to one of the other bible teachers between chapels, I mentioned how thankful I am for those who encouraged me to read for myself and not accept what I have been told "as truth." As I discover more and more of what has been taught to be without support in the bible, the fuel of excitement found in each new discovery brings a great sense of joy.

Much like our government, we have been weakened by accepting what we are told. As I witness the swelling tide of those excited about the message actually found in the bible, when they read for themselves, I can also hope (politically) to find people who will examine our country in the same light.

People like control and to control great masses of people, we need to have them believe we know what we are talking about. We only lose our control when people begin to think for themselves.

Further Defining Us As A Denomination

As New Year's Resolutions go, we all seem to have a problem keeping them for very long and one of mine is to post shorter comments on the blog as they come to me. I love writing and when I get going it is often hard to stop short of 1000+ words.

My thoughts on this occasion were brought on by reading/scanning the Christian Chronicle. In one of the advertisements for the "official" listing of Churches of Christ in America, the company made a point to mention those Churches of Christ deleted from the registry. Richland Hills Church of Christ was one of the ones deleted and the specific reason stated does not matter since the point was made of them not adhering to the "official" creeds "accepted" by the Churches of Christ.

There are some who object to my use of the word denomination when referencing the Church of Christ because I have been taught that each congregation is autonomous. My heritage also created a belief in my earlier years regarding the name Church of Christ being the only "acceptable" name for those claiming to be true Christians.

When I think of those who have assembled the "official" listing of the Churches of Christ, I must draw certain conclusions from their statement of exclusion.

The first conclusion is that the Churches of Christ are not individual congregations autonomous to the rest of the congregations and "allowed" to make their own decisions. It is obvious in the advertisement each congregation calling themselves Church of Christ can only make decisions agreeable with the HIERARCHY defining the boundaries or creed for the Churches of Christ.

Another conclusion is that an official hierarchy for the Churches of Christ does exist and a church congregation should not be using the "official" name for the body of Christ if they do not wish to follow the official creed of the Church of Christ. This hierarchy is made up of those who have disowned those of our fellowship not following a pattern defined and created by man.

I guess I should keep at least one entry short and so I think you have the idea by now. May God help any of us who thinks we have an exclusive right to determine who and who is not a Christian. When we get right down to the main idea, I am convinced God ignores the name on the building where I meet with other Christians and can easily see the name of Him who is written on our hearts and guarantees our name being found in the Book of Life.

I am thankful that more and more Christians around our community are realizing and acknowledging the work of God in the lives of more people than those who meet at the "right" place. Yes, it has always been easy to see the demonstration of the Holy Spirit living in others once you take off the blindfold demanding exclusion.