Month: August 2021

by Don Hooton

“Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A.D. 30. The strength of the appeal lies in the restoration of Christ’s original church.” (Batsell Barrett Baxter, Who are the Churches of Christ and What do they Believe?)

History tells us how people lived and dealt with life where they were. The history of Christians does the same. Churches of Christ do the same. They are comprised of imperfect people who did indeed  falter. Even in the movement known as the Protestant reformation where people began to read Scripture and challenge Catholic teaching, tradition and papal authority, there was borne in hearts of people like that a desire to follow only the Bible. As next generations began to adopt their own traditions and set up their own church polity, the result of denominationalism grew. Yet there were many who were dissatisfied with that result and wanted to restore what the New Testament church should believe and practice to themselves. And there are people today with the same desire.

These restoration “movements” have been happening all the time. An early advocate for this restoration was James O’Kelly of the Methodist Episcopal Church who in 1793, withdrew from the Baltimore conference of his church and called upon others to join him in taking the Bible as the only creed. In 1802, a similar movement among Baptists in New England was led by Abner Jones and Elias Smith who were concerned about “denominational names and creeds” and decided to wear only the name Christian, taking “the Bible as their only guide.” In 1804, a Kentuckian named Barton W. Stone and several other Presbyterian preachers took similar action declaring that they would take the Bible as the “only sure guide to heaven.” In 1809, Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander took similar steps and maintained that nothing should be bound on Christians as doctrine which was younger than the New Testament. These men did not advocate the starting of a new church but rather, a return to Christ’s church as described in the Bible.

Likewise, members of churches of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Instead, for churches who identify as churches of Christ, it is a plea for religious unity based upon the Bible in our divided religious world. We believe that the Bible is the only possible way to develop this common ground for unity among people who want to please God. It is an appeal to go back to the Bible. It is a plea to “speak where the Bible speaks and to remain silent where the Bible is silent” in all matters that pertain to religion. The objective is religious unity of all believers in Christ with the only basis for that, the New Testament, the whole body of authoritative literature for Christians in every age.

It was Jesus Himself who prayed for those who would believe in Him through the Apostles when He prayed, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:20-23).

If fulfilling Jesus’ prayer for unity around the teaching of the Apostles in the Bible interests you, we welcome you to join us.

by Don Hooton

There are many ways the modern church should learn from the first century church. We too often look for inspiration from peers or other churches when instead, right in front of us, are early Christians who let the gospel transform them personally and empower them collectively. We can see this in cosmopolitan Antioch!

Luke said, “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul (Acts 13:1, NLT). These five leaders, prophets and teachers, represent a broad racial, cultural and socio-economic span of culture. This diversity gave the church great strength – and unity with a broad scope of experiences that fastened them together to keep the unity of the Spirit.

Barnabus and Saul are the most well-known. Barnabus was a Levite from Cyprus and “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” who brought “a great number of people … to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). Though he had respect, wealth, and other standings in the world before (c.f. 4:36-37), he followed Jesus. When the Apostles were afraid of Saul, Barnabas vouched for him (9:28). At Lystra, Barnabus’ demeanor triggered pagans to call him “Zeus” while Paul, who did most of the speaking, was “Hermes” (14:12). Even though Saul had been trained at the feet of Gamaliel (22:3), Barnabus obviously took no passive place next to Paul in the work; he led. They both did. While Jews, they partnered with non-Jews to lead.

Then there are three rarely observed as leaders. One is Simeon, who “ministered to the Lord” in the same way. He was called Niger (or, the black man, see NLT). The Greek word, “Niger,” is translated black and is the source word for Nigeria. Also, it was a common Roman name, so Simeon wasn’t Jewish and strongly Gentile. His ethnicity did not stop his leadership in Antioch.

Then there is Lucius, from Cyrene. In the first century, Cyrenaica was an African territory roughly corresponding to eastern Libya. While mostly Greek, it did have a community with 100,000 Judean Jews who had settled there under force during Ptolemy Soter (323–285 BC). Yet, Luke does not identify any Jewishness but instead, his locale – which suggests his origins from north Africa because he was another African who ministered to the Lord and expanded the ethnic diversity of this evangelistic church.

Last, there is Manaen (the Greek form of a Hebrew name), likely a Hellenistic Jew. Luke says that he grew up with Herod Antipas, the one who killed John the Baptist and before whom Jesus stood trial. This has been interpreted as “foster-brother” (ASV), “childhood companion” (Berkeley), or “courtier” (cf. RSV). Whatever the precise meaning, it was a relationship of honor and distinction Luke emphasized which placed Manaen in the upper levels of society. Yet, his upbringing did not prevent the Antioch church from allowing him to lead them as prophet and a teacher.

The naming of these five men reminds us of several things. First, the church needed leaders who were prophets and teachers – and these three would carry on when Barnabas and Saul leave on their journey. Second, the church was proactive in including everyone. The names, along with details supplied by Luke, indicate the early church was unafraid in being culturally diverse. Third, leadership reflected the makeup of the church. While these five are not called elders or deacons, their qualification to be used by the Spirit was in their character – not skin, not heritage and not wealth – but none of those prevented them either.

While I am grateful to God that our congregation grows more diverse, we need to grow more. It’s true that the gospel is not about percentages: it’s about people. It’s true that it’s not about ethnicities: it’s about souls. Yet it was Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who made the point to share information that reflected the diversity in the church in Antioch. As we grow, we need to reach out to everyone around us – and not just the people who look like us – so we can look more like Antioch did.

Over the last twenty years, our membership has become more diverse but there is more that we can do, particularly among Asians and especially Hispanics. Second, our evangelistic support has grown to include different ethnicities in countries like Uganda, Italy, India as well as even a Spanish speaking work in our County. And third, our leadership has started to reflect the same diversity. Yet, it is my hope that as qualified men who desire to serve will mature, as opportunities arise in the support of foreign work, and as days unfold to teach the gospel to a person from another culture living in ours, that the gospel will transform all of us personally and empower us collectively to be like Antioch.

Paul told the Thessalonians “that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk).. excel still more,” so should we. We have come far – but we have more to do and more with which, to excel.