New Wine Does Fit An Old Skin

On Sunday, September 20, 2009, I was in Abilene and was excited to be able to visit with my youngest daughter, Lindsay and worship with her at the Minter Lane Church of Christ in Abilene. She spent some time looking for a congregation in Abilene when she got to town and knowing how frustrated she was with the concept of tradition trumping Christ, I was not sure if she would even end up within our fellowship. When I heard her talk of this congregation of saints, I was not sure what to expect when I visited but was thrilled after the worship service this past Sunday.

When I approached the building, it reminded me of several buildings I have entered in the past and everything is actually where it is supposed to be according to our denominational heritage. When I entered the auditorium, I stepped back in time with the wooden pews on each side holding the appropriate cards for visitors and membership. The building did have a great center aisle for those wishing a great place to walk for a wedding (had to put that in since my oldest is looking for a place to be married).

Being a song leader, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the song books placed neatly in the racks and I tried to think of a time when I had been in a building with song books this old but without looking at the date, it may have just been the wear of the books giving me this impression. I did notice the Minter Lane publication of a song book in the rack with the other book. It was not the usual words typed up so they could sing some other songs but rather a professional publication put together and stapled in the middle.

When we entered the building, we were given a worship guide reminding me of the worship guides I usually get when I visit a Baptist, Methodist or Lutheran service. I noticed a number of songs to be sung (few of which I knew) and several items listed for the day. One quick break in tradition was the use of more than one scripture reading and a reading done by the entire congregation. This was awesome!

Another break from the official Church of Christ traditional doctrine was one of the scripture readings being done by a woman. Yes, Christianity is not a “for men only club” found in most of our heritage. While one visit is not enough to see how much women are integrated into the worship experience, I would hope they also lead prayer, help with communion and teach from time to time. All of these things would most likely be offensive to several of the people I know but none of them is forbidden by anything other than the tradition of man speaking for God.

The singing was incredible, the lesson was awesome and I came away feeling edified and strengthened to walk the walk of a Christian this week. I know every group has their own hang-ups and I am sure this congregation is no exception to the rule. What pleases me greatly is the thought that our fellowship of Christians is coming out of the traditions of our past and knowing this group is probably one of the more conservative churches of Christ in the city of Abilene brought great excitement to the realization of Christ winning the battle over tradition.

Before closing this blog, I would have everyone know of one thing impressing me most in the handout this past Sunday. Everyone was being encouraged to attend and participate in the Great Communion planned for October 4, 2009. If you are in Abilene on October 4^th of this year, you would be able to meet together with our brothers and sisters from the churches of Christ, the Christian Churches and the Disciples of Christ and share the communion of our Lord. What a great day this will be for Christians in this world to acknowledge we are all one in the Lord though we have a variety of traditions for our weekly observance.

My hat is off to the body of Christ at Minter Lane and pray God continues to bless them with an even greater blessing than was offered up for the children and students of all ages on Sunday so they can continue to be a great edification of Christians in Abilene.

Yes, the skin is an old skin but the wine of life flowing in this congregation is fresh and edifying to those who get a “taste.”