Church of Christ On Hughes Road At Gooch Lane

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THE LIGHT OF GOD’S PRESENCE
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psa 23:4).
Dark fears flee in the light of God’s Presence. The Scriptures enlighten us. The trusting child of God never walks alone, for God has promised to go with us.
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, `I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb 13:5-6).

THE SPIRITUAL APPEAL OF THE GOSPEL
In the New Testament, the message of the gospel is the only way the Lords church is to draw sinners to the Savior. Jesus said, And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to Myself (Jn 12:32). Any other carnal appeal cheapens the gospel and betrays a lack of confidence in its power to convict and convert the sinner. Were looking for those who are looking for Him. Jesus declared, For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Jn 18:37; cf. 6:44-45).
Paul offered the gospel of Jesus to draw a crowd. We preach Christthe wisdom of God and the power of God (1 Cor 1:22,24). The message of Jesus is the message the early church preached by word and example (1 Thess 1:8, Col 1:23) as well as example in a transformed, Christ-like life (Phil 2:15-16). This arrested the attention of an unbelieving world. The power of the gospel message turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6)!
Although banqueting, athletics and gymnasiums were widely popular in Greek culture, the early church did not use any type of physical (fleshly or carnal) enticements to attract a crowd. Paul refused to try to promote Christ by using worldly techniques of worldly wisdom or human philosophy (1 Cor 1:21). For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:22-24)
In fact, Jesus rebuked those who sought Him merely as a physical inducement. Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal (John 6:26-27). Jesus had performed a miracle of feeding the hungry 5,000, as a sign that He is the Son of God (Jn. 6:5-13). Instead of seeking Christ by faith, the carnal crowd only saw a free lunch. They were more concerned with hungry stomachs than with hungry souls. It was a sharp and deserved rebuke (A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament).
History repeats itself. After WW II, many churches of Christ sent money to Germany and Japan to feed the needy Germans and Japanese. Leading with physical benevolence initially led to large crowds, but as soon as the Germans and Japanese recovered and became more prosperous, church attendance dramatically fell off. Why? Churches were appealing to the physical needs first, which shows a lack of faith in the power of the spiritual gospel to appeal to and convert the soul of man. The early church never used physical inducements to promote the spiritual gospel. Marketers call this bait and switch. What draws people keeps people. Physical inducements appeal to fleshly people, whereas spiritual message appeals to true spiritual seekers.
Brethren used to believe that social activities were not part of the churchs spiritual work. In 1942, N.B. Hardeman preached: “It is not the work of the church to furnish entertainment for members. And yet many churches have drifted into such an effort. They enlarge their basements, put in all kinds of gymnastic apparatus, and make every sort of an appeal to the young people of the congregation. I have never read anything in the Bible that indicated to me that such was a part of the work of the church. I am wholly ignorant of any Scripture that even points in that direction” (Tabernacle Sermons, 5:50).
In 1944, Floyd Decker wrote a widely circulated tract, Why I Left the Christian Church. Reason #7 states: The Christian Church emphasizes society and the physical man by appealing to the carnal nature, with church carnivals, bands, plays, choruses, dramatics, church kitchens, church camps, and elaborate fellowship halls; the church of Christ does not (1 Cor. 10:7; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 11:22,34). He correctly understood Bible authority when he wrote: Time have changed in many churches of Christ and not for the better.
B.C. Goodpasture correctly wrote in the Gospel Advocate in 1948, “For the church to turn aside from its divine work to furnish amusement and recreation is to pervert its mission. It is to degrade its mission. Amusement and recreation should stem from the home rather than the church…” Amen.
Sadly, the graphics in this article are from a promotional poster of a nearby church of Christ that recently offered a Fall Family Festival. It was simply food and entertainment to draw a crowd. I would challenge churches that think they can use food and fun to Scripturally draw a crowd: why not simply offer money to people to attend church? I heard on CNN a few years ago that a church in New Orleans once offered $20 a service just to boost their crowd. One could rationalize that if you get them in the door, then they might hear enough Bible to prompt some spiritual interest. Churches that spend huge sums on Family Fun Festivals or gymnasiums are spending $1,000s from the church treasury. There is no divine authority in the churchs collective mission to cheapen the gospel by using physical inducements. The church is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim 3:15), not of food, fun and frolic. Its spiritual mission is too important to cheapen it by carnal appeals.