Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

So, the congregation that I was a member of during my second stint in the cOC is at it again. I just found out that in addition to the regular services, they now have something happening Sunday afternoon, Tuesday night, of course Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night. The goal is to make the congregation "more open to visitors" because they found in a recent study (done by a member of the church, of course) that if someone is going to visit your congregation, then they are going to visit on a "non-service night". Statistics taken by this person have shown just that. So, naturally, the members are expected to be there. Every. Single. Time. Yeah...I think that they are about to take a membership hit. Even the most hardcore, dyed in the wool members are not too happy about this. Ohh...and wanna know the real kicker? They say "well, that still leaves you Monday and Saturday". So...they want appreciation and recognition for leaving their members TWO whole days where they are not expected to have their rear ends in a pew? What a crock of excrement! When I heard this, I told the individual who informed me of it "I think that they are leaving Mondays and Saturdays alone....for now. They will take those next!" and this person said "yeah...I think that that is the end of the line for me". And this person was a founding member of the congregation back in 2003! And, surprise, surprise....the one's who came up with this? Ahh..yes! Those of the retired variety I swear, if I live to see retirement (which at this point appears unlikely) then I will remember what it feels like to have to balance a 60 plus hour work week plus all of life's other responsibilities and not impose some bullshit on people who are in the workforce.

OneStrike_ur_out wrote:So, the congregation that I was a member of during my second stint in the cOC is at it again. I just found out that in addition to the regular services, they now have something happening Sunday afternoon, Tuesday night, of course Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night. The goal is to make the congregation "more open to visitors" because they found in a recent study (done by a member of the church, of course) that if someone is going to visit your congregation, then they are going to visit on a "non-service night". .

That's wrong. People typically visit a new congregation on Sunday morning.

By requiring constant attendance, they are attempting to isolate the church members. This is a cult. This is how they operate.

I wouldn't go to that church even if I was still cherch uv Krist.

B.H. wrote:I wouldn't go to that church even if I was still cherch uv Krist.

The irony is, I chose that one because, they were (at least when I was there) a little more relaxed in certain areas. While they did police attendance, there was no Sunday evening service and that helped. It was nice finishing up at 11:00 AM Sunday morning and not having to rush to be right back there just a few short hours later. Unless there was a gospel meeting or some such, which was only once or twice a year. However, those days seem to be over. There must be a new regime there now or something. Because they have gone flat out bat shit. And they are even calling the members who aren't making it there every time the doors are open on those other nights that are not regular services. From what I hear, they have really pissed some people off, and these aren't new people by any means. These are lifelong, hardcore conservative cOC members and they are not happy about any of this. I do believe that this is their death knell. And what's funnier is, it came in the form of a self inflicted gunshot wound.

OneStrike_ur_out wrote:

B.H. wrote:I wouldn't go to that church even if I was still cherch uv Krist.

The irony is, I chose that one because, they were (at least when I was there) a little more relaxed in certain areas. While they did police attendance, there was no Sunday evening service and that helped. It was nice finishing up at 11:00 AM Sunday morning and not having to rush to be right back there just a few short hours later. Unless there was a gospel meeting or some such, which was only once or twice a year. However, those days seem to be over. There must be a new regime there now or something. Because they have gone flat out bat shit. And they are even calling the members who aren't making it there every time the doors are open on those other nights that are not regular services. From what I hear, they have really pissed some people off, and these aren't new people by any means. These are lifelong, hardcore conservative cOC members and they are not happy about any of this. I do believe that this is their death knell. And what's funnier is, it came in the form of a self inflicted gunshot wound.

OneStrike, sometimes they are their own worst enemy. Some elder gets a bee in his bonnet and starts barking orders and implementing more draconian policies. People leave.

OneStrike_ur_out wrote:So, the congregation that I was a member of during my second stint in the cOC is at it again. I just found out that in addition to the regular services, they now have something happening Sunday afternoon, Tuesday night, of course Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night. The goal is to make the congregation "more open to visitors" because they found in a recent study (done by a member of the church, of course) that if someone is going to visit your congregation, then they are going to visit on a "non-service night". Statistics taken by this person have shown just that. So, naturally, the members are expected to be there. Every. Single. Time. Yeah...I think that they are about to take a membership hit. Even the most hardcore, dyed in the wool members are not too happy about this. Ohh...and wanna know the real kicker? They say "well, that still leaves you Monday and Saturday". So...they want appreciation and recognition for leaving their members TWO whole days where they are not expected to have their rear ends in a pew? What a crock of excrement! When I heard this, I told the individual who informed me of it "I think that they are leaving Mondays and Saturdays alone....for now. They will take those next!" and this person said "yeah...I think that that is the end of the line for me". And this person was a founding member of the congregation back in 2003! And, surprise, surprise....the one's who came up with this? Ahh..yes! Those of the retired variety I swear, if I live to see retirement (which at this point appears unlikely) then I will remember what it feels like to have to balance a 60 plus hour work week plus all of life's other responsibilities and not impose some bullshit on people who are in the workforce.

The ultimate irony being that believers don't "go to church", rather they are already "in Christ" 24/7....therefore they are already "in" His church 24/7. Where is the phrase "going to church" or "go to church" found in scripture?? It is an invention of man and the CofC worships their own "worship services" (another phrase not found in scripture)…..

“Going to church” accomplishes 2 important objectives. It provides an opportunity to strengthen social bonds and to re-enforce that particular groups theological beliefs.

One can only assume those in the know are aware the Church of Christ is in trouble and their survival is in doubt. I think meeting more often is a survival tactic.

When asked why their membership is in decline they invariably say they have become too liberal. They think returning to the c of C of the 40’s and 50’s is the solution because that is when they were growing. In other words they are clueless to what is really causing their decline, but even if they knew the cause of their decline they wouldn’t change because they can’t.

SolaDude wrote:The ultimate irony being that believers don't "go to church", rather they are already "in Christ" 24/7....therefore they are already "in" His church 24/7. Where is the phrase "going to church" or "go to church" found in scripture?? It is an invention of man and the CofC worships their own "worship services" (another phrase not found in scripture)…..

Great observation, Sola. Good example of departure from their mantra "Bible names for bible things", their insistence that the building is "just a building" and nothing special, etc. Of course the building is nothing spiritual or special until somebody eats a sandwich in there.

What's funny is how differently they act about the building, depending on when it is. I've seen painters who were working in the building bring along a card table and set it up in the auditorium where they chowed down at lunchtime. I had even seen a couple of them pop the top on some Budweisers in the foyer and church members were right there just laughing it up with them. They were probably just kissing the workers' asses so as to keep them happy. But, it was hilarious to see Subway sandwiches and beer being consumed within the confines of the "sacred building"

Wow, that's crazy! I remember back in the day they tried having a bible study on Saturday mornings, mostly geared towards kids but open to all families, and group bible studies divided up regionally at different people's houses on Friday nights. Neither of these lasted long because it was just too much. Hell, even the church I grew up going to only have gospel meetings Sunday through Wednesday now because the week long ones got to be too much.

It's things like this that help show just how much the CoC tries to take over every aspect of its members' lives, and really just ends up running people off. I can imagine if they really do police attendance on all five nights then membership is bound to dwindle. They have to realize that, even for the most holy people, there is more to life than church.