Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

My wife and I left the c of C in 2005. One of the things we discovered, after separating from the c of C is how other believers view c of C folk.

The c of C is often viewed as a cult or at least cultish. They are often seen as an overly legalistic sect of Christianity. We have also discovered they are often the butt of jokes.

The preacher at the Methodist Church told this true story to a new comers class. He was running very late to church and admitted he was speeding. A Police Officer pulled him over. In an effort to escape a ticket for speeding and to hurry up the process he told the officer he was a preacher and was running late to the service.

The officer just nodded apparently not impressed with the preachers story. The preacher making one last effort to avoid a ticket asked the Officer if he was a Christian. The officer glared at him and said, Yes, Church of Christ.”

The preacher smiled and said, “Oh, well, then just write me a ticket and I’ll be on my way.”

My wife will not admit that we were ever in the Church of Christ. When she placed membership in the Methodist Church and was asked when she previously worshipped she told them honestly that she’d been raised Baptist. She still refuses to tell anyone we were ever part of the Church of Christ. But she proudly claims her Baptist history.

It’s not fun to grow up in a church where when people find out that is where you go, they say, “Oh, that’s the church that thinks they are the only ones going to heaven.”. That stuff is embarrassing.

FinallyFree wrote:It’s not fun to grow up in a church where when people find out that is where you go, they say, “Oh, that’s the church that thinks they are the only ones going to heaven.”. That stuff is embarrassing.

I am more frustrated than embarrassed. I simply will agree. Then I will comment on what it is like to live in a Hell of muddied and guilt driven theology. Think about it. Non church attendance is sin. Missing the Lord's Supper is frowned on. Dancing is somehow sin. Euphemisms are the same swearing. Gossip somehow is not a sin. You have a whole host of made up sins when real sins are not identified or ignored. Because they are so busy worrying about the business of others they don't realize how far they have missed the mark. I am not interested in sin city aka the CoC.

FinallyFree wrote:It’s not fun to grow up in a church where when people find out that is where you go, they say, “Oh, that’s the church that thinks they are the only ones going to heaven.”. That stuff is embarrassing.

Quite embarrassing and for a young person all the more reason to just not say anything or make an excuse if you do answer. Growing up that and not going out in shorts during summer really has stuck with me all these years later.

You know, I told a family member a while back when discussing our leaving about the only ones going to heaven line we know so well. They said that they didn't believe that and then I said "maybe you don't but the people saying it are saying it for a reason". How embarrassing?

I sort of keep up with the c of C membership issues. In a nut shell, according to their own figures, their long term survival is in doubt.

Apparently, those in leadership positions believe their loss of members is due to liberalism. They have become too liberal and grace focused and that’s why people are leaving.

The obvious solution is to return to the c of C of the 1950’s when they were growing. In other words, they need to return to the old paths and preach sound doctrine once again.

And if members are still leaving that would be good thing, because narrow is the path and few that find it. Jesus wants His Church to be Scripturally correct and that will likely make them small and irrelevant in the world, but correct and Biblically sound.

It seems if things continue on the same path they will get their wish.......meaning few will follow their narrow path.

Cootie Brown wrote:I sort of keep up with the c of C membership issues. In a nut shell, according to their own figures, their long term survival is in doubt.

Apparently, those in leadership positions believe their loss of members is due to liberalism. They have become too liberal and grace focused and that’s why people are leaving.

The obvious solution is to return to the c of C of the 1950’s when they were growing. In other words, they need to return to the old paths and preach sound doctrine once again.

And if members are still leaving that would be good thing, because narrow is the path and few that find it. Jesus wants His Church to be Scripturally correct and that will likely make them small and irrelevant in the world, but correct and Biblically sound.

It seems if things continue on the same path they will get their wish.......meaning few will follow their narrow path.

I won't hold my breath on this one. Many Christian communities have arisen and perished only to be replaced by another. This is simply a matter of history. They are not Biblically sound because they have added on unnecessary stuff and fail to understand the basics. The over focus on what is sin and not is plain foolish. They focus on a specific detail and miss the application. Principles are often more important than specific details. They focus on the details but not the principles. Jesus asked, "Is it OK to heal on the Sabbath? He would being doing work which would violate Pharisaical rules. He then pointed out specific instances where doing good was allowed under their rules. He healed the hand. See Matthew 12. When dealing with Pharisees you will find yourself trapped in corners as I often did in the CoC. You are given a brain for a reason. Learn to use it. There are many examples of rules vs practicality. Yes Jesus used one cup for communion. It was part of the culture. Does that mean I should get an infection from the person next to me?

Cootie Brown wrote:I sort of keep up with the c of C membership issues. In a nut shell, according to their own figures, their long term survival is in doubt.

In a lot of online debates (at least) the claim for the antis and ultra cons is that even though it "appears" to be dying in the US, it's growing by thousands every month in Africa and Asia. No proof or statistics offered from an actual survey, but they pull a Mormon deal and just believe because they want it to be so. With that they justify that the 1950s/1960s perfect order of worship and obedience is the right way to go here until people realize they must come groveling back to them for forgiveness (not God, but rather the church).

ena wrote:

FinallyFree wrote:It’s not fun to grow up in a church where when people find out that is where you go, they say, “Oh, that’s the church that thinks they are the only ones going to heaven.”. That stuff is embarrassing.

I am more frustrated than embarrassed. I simply will agree. Then I will comment on what it is like to live in a Hell of muddied and guilt driven theology. Think about it. Non church attendance is sin. Missing the Lord's Supper is frowned on. Dancing is somehow sin. Euphemisms are the same swearing. Gossip somehow is not a sin. You have a whole host of made up sins when real sins are not identified or ignored. Because they are so busy worrying about the business of others they don't realize how far they have missed the mark. I am not interested in sin city aka the CoC.

'The Teaching of Fear'
And when nothing is written DOWN, anything is fair game for the label of 'sin'. It's all anyone's opinion - throw in 'avoid the appearance of evil' AND 'be ye perfect' and it is HELL ON EARTH to be a CoC member and take it seriously.

agricola wrote: 'The Teaching of Fear'
And when nothing is written DOWN, anything is fair game for the label of 'sin'. It's all anyone's opinion - throw in 'avoid the appearance of evil' AND 'be ye perfect' and it is HELL ON EARTH to be a CoC member and take it seriously.

Been there done that! There are sins named. Are all named? Probably not. Jesus was called a wine biber and a drunkard. He did associate with people of low status. It was not status that attracted him but the spirit of those he was with. Mary Magdalene was at some time considered a prostitute. But no where is called that in the Bible. The Jesus Death scene was probably reported by the women as the Apostles hid. The problem was it was dangerous for them to be there. I am not accusing them but pointing out that women had important uses in the early church. Certainly Mary Magdalene and Jesus had a tie not necessarily sexual. Greeks have several types of love and specific words for each. English has only one. Same thing for Hell. There are different abodes translated Hell as well. For instance there Sheol, Tartarus, the Bottomless Pit, Gehenna and the Lake of Fire that are mentioned. They are different places that are mentioned and often translated as Hell. You may have a comment on Sheol. Interesting that women were behind much of the witnessing.