Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

I imagine a lot of you experienced the fear, the Sunday morning preaching how the church was always under attack?

In my experience, growing up in the cofc in southern California, the church was always under attack from the denominations and even more so from the other cofc down the street or in the next town teaching something that wasn't scriptural. I was paranoid while growing up in the movement and felt lucky at the same time to have the whole truth.

What always seemed to impact me the most was when a "member that was so faithful" decided to leave. This was a huge blow, like having the wind being knocked out of you. How could brother and sister and so on, leave the one true church? Sometimes they left to a so called denomination or to a more liberal cofc, and it created a stir no doubt...


I was always willing to defend the church and experienced a few preacher audition days before. Seems funny now thinking back...me sitting in the pew with my arms crossed listening to the preacher applying for a job with his lesson, that better be on point with a proper invitation mentioning baptism etc.

They are their own worst enemy. A recent post, referencing a c of C study, indicated the c of C is losing approximately 900 members per month and closing 4-5 congregations per month. In other words they are dying a slow death and it’s of their own making.

The restoration movement was constructed on a false premise. I recent posted a video about religious narcissism. It was not directed at any particular religious group but it describes the c of C perfectly.

The c of C thinks their problem of dwindling numbers is due to liberalism within the church. They are totally clueless.

Oddly enough, once you get out of a coc and look around, you find that, not only are 'the denominations' not attacking the coc, most of them have never even heard of it.

Except in the Southeast US. How did that area get so 'lucky'?

Cootie Brown wrote:They are their own worst enemy. A recent post, referencing a c of C study, indicated the c of C is losing approximately 900 members per month and closing 4-5 congregations per month. In other words they are dying a slow death and it’s of their own making.

The restoration movement was constructed on a false premise. I recent posted a video about religious narcissism. It was not directed at any particular religious group but it describes the c of C perfectly.

The c of C thinks their problem of dwindling numbers is due to liberalism within the church. They are totally clueless.

Interesting because the largest cofc in the county here is the liberal church with over 500 members, they have instrumental music praise hour.

Amazing to me because I grew up in that church as it moved throughout the county, different buildings, splits etc. and now they are doing really good I guess because they are getting rid of CENI as their approach to the scriptures which I think is the number 1 reason the church in general is dying. People are tired of the legalism etc.

agricola wrote:Oddly enough, once you get out of a coc and look around, you find that, not only are 'the denominations' not attacking the coc, most of them have never even heard of it.

Except in the Southeast US. How did that area get so 'lucky'?

Right!

That was my experience too, people were like huh, thought we were Mormons etc.. And the only attacking was always from our church usually mentioning the Baptist church or other denominations down the street etc. Or the more liberal cofc down the street.


It's no wonder more and more people are leaving. You can't scale up with a doctrine that is always fighting with itself, but I know how powerful the grip CENI has and thankful that I got away from that poison...

Grace1973 wrote:

Cootie Brown wrote:They are their own worst enemy. A recent post, referencing a c of C study, indicated the c of C is losing approximately 900 members per month and closing 4-5 congregations per month. In other words they are dying a slow death and it’s of their own making.

The restoration movement was constructed on a false premise. I recent posted a video about religious narcissism. It was not directed at any particular religious group but it describes the c of C perfectly.

The c of C thinks their problem of dwindling numbers is due to liberalism within the church. They are totally clueless.

Interesting because the largest cofc in the county here is the liberal church with over 500 members, they have instrumental music praise hour.

Amazing to me because I grew up in that church as it moved throughout the county, different buildings, splits etc. and now they are doing really good I guess because they are getting rid of CENI as their approach to the scriptures which I think is the number 1 reason the church in general is dying. People are tired of the legalism etc.

You do realize that ain't really a c of C congregation right? It has obviously been taken over by false teachers and liberals. The members sound to me like they have itching ears and are no longer responding to sound doctrine. Church ain't supposed to be fun, it's supposed to scare the hell out of ya and keep you fearful every day of your life, so ya stay on the narrow path! Grace is just a fancy word for apostate. It sounds to me like the Devil Himself has taken ownership of that congregation. Have fun now, because the fires of Hell await you sinners! Some of you guys same amen now.

I remember on numerous occasions being told that, at any moment, police could come barging in our back doors and drag us all to jail because the world “hated” us (the CoC) and wanted to make worship illegal. Talk about terrifying for a kid to hear those things! Of course, like agricola said, once I left the CoC I realized that not only did other denominations not care if worshiped or not, they didn’t care what we believed, many didn’t even know the CoC EXISTED. It was a non-issue to them. While CoC preachers stand up there and bash every other denomination, those people are going about their business not worrying one bit about what the CoC does. The whole “The church is under attack!” BS is just a way they feed their enormous persecution complex.

"That was my experience too, people were like huh, thought we were Mormons etc"

Ha Ha if you live around Kansas City, there are a bunch of little Mormon sects named Church of Christ Temple Lot, Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, etc. COC'ers visiting here have to watch it if they visit an unfamiliar little white clapboard church building that says "Church of Christ" lest they pull out the Book of Mormon

haven't been around much lately but can relate to warnings of the more 'liberal' churches of Christ. They talk about division being sinful yet many of hem have divided .

MusicMan826 wrote:I remember on numerous occasions being told that, at any moment, police could come barging in our back doors and drag us all to jail because the world “hated” us (the CoC) and wanted to make worship illegal. Talk about terrifying for a kid to hear those things! Of course, like agricola said, once I left the CoC I realized that not only did other denominations not care if worshiped or not, they didn’t care what we believed, many didn’t even know the CoC EXISTED. It was a non-issue to them. While CoC preachers stand up there and bash every other denomination, those people are going about their business not worrying one bit about what the CoC does. The whole “The church is under attack!” BS is just a way they feed their enormous persecution complex.

Precisely. Also helps the leaders maintain control over the ones who remain.

I can't forget all those times I heard someone pray about the privilege of being able to worship "without fear of mo-lestation," as if a bunch of pervs are gonna bust in and do unspeakable stuff. Freedom of religion is important, but that was overkill.