It is quite frustrating yet liberating reading articles like this. Frustrating in the sense that anyone who would actually give it the time of day would find themselves wondering if the life they decided to live following Christ was one of sitting in a church pew discussing doctrine, or one that was meant to look around and see what other Christians are doing in the way they share their faith. It is liberating in the sense that there are other options for Christians in the Athens community, and they dont have to go to a church with a leader like this. The church in question, is my home church Central Church of Christ. My church family at Central is not perfect, could be doing more for their community than they already are, and probably have a long way to go as a body growing in faith. My church has come a long way. It used to be that the Family Life Center that they built was only used for member only events, church meals, and the weekly youth gathering that was more of a party than a time of praise. My church has been blessed with a number of things since those days. 1) Ministers and elders who care about the lost and want to reach them. 2) Church members who want to help people rather than always helping themselves. 3) Facilities that can be used to reach the community in many different ways. It is difficult to give John Gibsons article attention, because I believe that is what he truly desires. His argument against a church using their facilities to bless other people is redundant and plain stupid. He quotes Matthew 7:21, yet forgets that twenty verses earlier Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. He does however make a solid point about the early church not hosting community events such as a free leg of lamb or chariot races. Mainly because the majority of the early church hid themselves from the persecution of death and chariot races were often places where Christians were martyred before crowds. I guess I have to concede that. He goes on to quote 2 John 1:9 and I cant help but go back to Jesus actual teaching from the sermon on the mount, Why do you see the speck that is in your brothers eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Not to mention the fact, that in this whole argument we are forgetting that no where in the New Testament does it say to build a church building, so why does the Jones Road Church of Christ have one? What John Gibson has failed to notice, and will ultimately lead to the demise of his church, is that Christ message was for all. Paul says that he became like all, to win as many as possible. Mr. Gibson is so concerned with doctrine, that he has forgotten the lost. He has forgotten that our mission is to go out and preach the gospel, but in this day and age that looks a lot different than it did 2,000 years ago, and it cannot be done when it is confined to an auditorium that seats 300 people. No, my church is not perfect, and we have a lot of growing to do. There are more things we could do to show people Christ. But hey, Ill take where we are right now as a good starting point. We were the first church called after the tornadoes to be a Red Cross disaster relief center. We fund missionaries to preach the word of God on two different continents. Instead of going away from less privileged neighborhoods, we built a house in the center of one, and we tutor children after school there and also read the Bible with people who are helped through our Mission Athens program EVERY SINGLE WEEK. I feel bad for John Gibson and all those who follow him. I truly believe if he knew Christ, he would be less worried about the Central Church of Christ having a cookout and more worried about how he can reach the lost around him. Praise God for the Central Church of Christ family. We love Jesus, which ultimately means we love people and we cant help but do everything in our power to draw people closer to the one who has saved us from death, and may we continue to help further the Kingdom of God on this earth.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 04:38:28 +0000
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