Why I Never Joined the Church of Christ

I have attended gatherings of the Churches of Christ for seventy-nine years, usually three or more times a week. I love the churches and I love the people, with all their foibles.

I have heard and read the gruesome descriptions of the behavior of some of the churches and of some of her leaders, but I strongly believe that, taken as a whole, her endearing strengths, including her love for each other and for others, strongly outweigh her shortcomings. Many of the congregations compare very favorably to the one in Corinth, addressed by brother Paul, and to some of the seven groups to whom John sent the Revelation (1 Corinthians 1:2-4 and Revelation 1:4-6).

At the same time, I respect the decisions of some of my sisters and brothers who have decided to “move on,” having been severely mistreated by our collective family.

But why have I stuck with it, while never joining it?

First, I love the commitment to non-instrumental music (though I do not like some of condemning explanations as to why everyone should follow that lead). The fact that the earliest churches did not use instruments has an appeal to me. Our current four-part harmony, using the songbook’s shaped note adaptation, can create incredibly beautiful harmonies and complex rhythms, all delivered by a diverse group of “non-musical” people – a true community building experience. Everyone can join in. And the fact that the literal translation of the Latin term “a Capella” is “in the way of the Church” carries some weight for me. Even some of our greatest musical performers, masters of their instruments, including Willie, will silence the instruments and sing a verse a Capella for the effect. And I really enjoy that effect. Brothers and sisters, never apologize to anyone for our song services.

The weekly observance of the communion is another unusual part of our Sunday services that we should not hang our heads over. Jesus asked us to use the bread and the wine to remember him. It was on a Sunday morning that Jesus got up and walked out of the grave, proving once for all time, that there is nothing in this world we need to fear. Pausing every Sunday morning to pass around this physical reminder of what he did for us is not too much to ask in answer to His request. If you are too busy to do that, you are just too busy.

I could go on about why I love the churches of Christ and why I have stuck with them all these years but the title of this blog is “Why I never joined the Church of Christ.” What is that about?

In the interest of transparency, having been raised as a free-range teenager, I suppose I should confess a certain degree of rebellious spirit. If someone tells me to do something, my first thought is “Why should I do that?” I have long had a (I think) healthy disregard for human authority. It has served we well in some circumstances and not so well in others. But I do not believe that is the primary reason for not joining any churches.

And let me say at this point that I have never made a big deal of my feelings in this regard. I have never tried to push them onto anyone else. I have just held them for myself. You are among the first to hear of it. I base my thought on it on scripture – the only authority to which the Churches of Christ adhere.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus promised “I will build my church.” He did not say “churches.” Jesus went on to establish that church on the Jewish holiday, Pentecost. There were people from all over the then known world present and they eventually went home. They were the church that day in Jerusalem and they were still a part of Jesus’ one, worldwide church when they got home. They did not have to go home and join any earthly organization. They were called by many names including the church of Christ, the church of God, the church of the first born and the way.

The other relevant scripture tells how you get into Jesus new worldwide organization. “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:47).” I was saved when I was baptized back at Union Avenue Church of Christ as a 10-year-old (1 Peter 3:21) and God added me to his worldwide church that day.

Put those two scriptures together and you see that you do not need to join anything. When you are saved, God adds you to Jesus’ one church. I have always operated that way. I consider myself a member wherever I attend. It just does not feel right to me to ask to become a part of something to which God has already made me a part.

All this may seem esoteric, but it is important to me because it leans on an understanding of whose church it is, who controls the membership, and how you get into it. None of those three are human. The “Man in charge” is no person, regardless of title. He is the supreme Creator of all things, the Lord of lords, the King of kings and the Savior of all humankind.

 

Regions Hospital

This will be short. It is being done on my phone. This entry comes from a bed in Regions Hospital in Saint Paul, though as I publish it, I have arrived home and shared a chicken pot pie Thanksgiving Dinner with Charlene.

Charlene and I were self-quarantined because we had spent a few minutes with a woman who later was diagnosed with COVID. Tuesday morning, I came down with several symptoms that could have been COVID, so Charlene called the Care Line. They said I should go to the Emergency Room. The ER very efficiently did a COVID test, a CAT scan, a chest Xray, an EKG and several other tests to conclude that I am COVID free and that I have diverticulitis. The turnaround on the COVID scan was less than two hours! The new diagnosis led to my admission and to two overnights. They wanted me to have IV antibiotics and to watch me for 24 hours after they switched to pills. That was this morning.

All that was to say that we both love Regions Hospital. I have been in hospitals in Port au Prince, Haiti; Miami, FL; Lagos, Nigeria and St Paul MN. Regions is by far the absolute best. Everyone here is very patient, very friendly, and very competent. (Though the one in Lagos did save my life.) Do not ask about the famed Jackson Memorial in Miami. Ugh! 

Charlene worked at Regions for awhile before it was bought by Health Partners. At the time it was a county hospital named Ramsey, named for the county. She worked as the unit clerk (read: the communications hub) of the X-Ray department while #2 son, Mark, ran all over the building(s) working as the local expert on their current computer system. 

We all have fond memories of Regions, formerly known as Ramsey.

 

The Intersection of Politics and Religion

In polite company it is okay to talk about anything but politics and religion. That is because opinions tend to be strong on those topics and opening one of them could lead to an argument, maybe even to hurt feelings.

The two topics are handled alike because they are both close to the core of who we are. Religion speaks of our deeply held beliefs about humankind: our origins, purpose and ultimate destination. Even if we claim to have no religion, that speaks to where we think we came from, what we are about and where we are going. And we shy away from discussing those topics because we do not want to risk having our beliefs shaken.

Politics is about the balance between the good of the collective as opposed to the good of the individual. It comes down to how much individual liberty and property are we willing to give up for the betterment of humankind – and who do you trust to make those decisions for you? It is very personal.

But here is the rub. If we do not talk about these things, how can we grow? If we are never called upon to defend our religion or our politics, our ideas will stagnate. They will become rote memorization of what we have been told, without the intervention of any thought on our part. We will become unwitting, cult-like proponents of “Ours is not to reason why; ours is but to do or die.” And we will all become victims of those who, for their own purposes, want us to believe as they do or as they want us to believe.