Tag Archives: church of christ

Feb 6 2009

Blog Traffic to Grace Digest


I posted my first blog post on June 29, 2006. It was 4 paragraphs and received one comment. As of today, and 782 posts later, I have learned some things about by blogging.

  • For each post I publish I get about 5 comments. Some posts get no comments and some get many comments.
  • My readers come from most of the states and from about 20 foreign countries. I have regular readers who live in Australia, England, Germany, and Africa. I was most surprised that someone in China sometimes reads what I write.
  • The busiest day for traffic to Grace Digest was 222 page views. The average for ’07 was 21, for ’08 it was 30, and so far in ’09 the average is 55 views each day.
  • If high visitors numbers is what I want I know how to get those big numbers. Tags (key words) like “a cappella”, “instruments in worship”, “coC unity”, “restoration movement”, get large interest and blog hits. Words like “Jesus”, “Christ”, “grace”, “salvation”, “forgiveness”, and “peace of god” get far fewer hits.
  • I am very likely addicted to blogging!

In view of the above facts about my blogging on Grace Digest, what subjects should I choose? And, more importantly, why do it at all?

First, blogging is a purely selfesh outlet for a frustrated writer and preacher/teacher. I seem to learn more when I write as I learn from God’s book and the school of life. I would write much of the same content even if I could not share it. Writing is a personal need fulfilled.

Without regard for the big hit numbers, I intend to share my heart with my readers. My first desire is to encourage every reader to consider the claims of the good news about Jesus and to trust him alone as the only basis of their standing with God. 

I am always learning. I try to, on purpose, approach my open Bible with an open heart and mind, ready for it to shape my thinking and by it’s truth to shape my life. A constant pursuit of objective truth is a passion for me. And, sharing those truths with others is also a very high priority. I know of no better way to accomplish that end than blogging.

I would be lying if I said the big numbers don’t matter to me, they do. But I refuse to taylor what I write with a view of having a large number of readers. So, I will continue to share what moves me at the moment and let the numbers be only numbers.

Part of my desire to continue blogging (apart from selfeshness) is fueled by the wonderful reports from people who have been helped in some way by reading my stuff. Recently, over the span of about 20 days, I received emails and other communications from several people who had read someting here that helped them to understand a part of the Bible better, had some theological question answered, expressed a desire to trust Christ more completely and be more devoted to him. And, I had 3 requests to use something I had written as a part of a sermon, lesson, and in one case a communion meditation.

It is encouraging to be validated by others who are more learned, more experienced, and widely trusted as men and women of God. Two years ago I think, 5 of the presenters at the Pepperdine Lectureships and 3 or 4 presenters at the Tulsa Soulwinning Workshop had recently made kind, encouraging remarks concerning something I had written. I am humbled.

I have also had several odd, nasty, hateful comments that I chose not to publish. Religeous zealots are often furious when you point out their hypcocicy and unbelief. Some folks are offended by truth while others embrace it and are healed by it. That is just the way it is.

As I complete this post and publish it I will shamelessly use some of those traffic generating “tags”.

John 6:40
Royce

Jan 27 2009

Bible Preaching Needed…


The recent flack over the decision of 21st Century Christian to exclude some churches because they have instrumental accompaniment in some services (My response to Mr. Royster’s defense) has caused me to consider the deeper and more alarming problem which should be a concern to all of our people. Perhaps the most important criteria for orthodoxy in the mind of most coC people is music. As important as baptism is to Restoration Movement folks, I believe it is relegated to number two. So the discussions on bulletin boards, chat rooms, blogs, websites, and print media as to who is right with God and who isn’t begins with this topic, are you a cappella or do you have “the instrument”? It is funny that the usual way of mentioning instrumental accompaniment in worship is “the instrument’, you know like you would say the “the Bubonic plague”.

It is very obvious that many, many of the people who populate our coC pews on Sunday morning have very selective Bible knowledge. For too many years the lesson topics from pulpits has been focused on “The Lord’s church” and what and how we do what we do on Sunday morning. There is a super imposed “pattern” for worship that people must comply with or they are lost. To complicate matters even more, the so called “authorized pattern” is different from location to location based on the history of that congregation’s leadership and training. Almost everyone though can agree that the most easily defined aberration, and the one that surely damns those who fall to its deception is “the instrument” in worship.

A cappella only is the most important practice but the most difficult to defend using the Bible. A few people like Kenneth Sublett have given all their time to defending a cappella singing and blasting the offenders with a barrage of less than brotherly kindness. Not long ago, in an email to Mr. Sublett I pointedly ask him “Is there any doctrine more important to you than a cappella singing”? His answer was shocking but not surprising, “NO” with some reasons why.

Our church of Christ people need desperately to be taught the word of God. It is clear that with the exception of a hand full of topics that are usually repeated over and over, there is little understanding of the great Bible doctrines of the historic Christian faith. A good place to start is for preachers and teachers to take Paul’s words to young Timothy to heart. “Preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:1-3) and “All Scripture” is good for what ails us. (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

If every preacher would begin to preach through books of the Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, every need would be met. Some men are very good at “Topical Preaching” but most topical sermons are a theme or idea the preacher wants to get across and he finds a few Bible verses to support his points in presenting his message for the day. Far too often verses are taken out of context and misapplied because they seem to support the point or topic. Someone wiser than me said “A text taken out of context is a pretext”, not what it appears to be.

Expository preaching is the form of preaching where the preacher expounds on a verse or passage of Scripture. Both his motive and method is to mine the passage for its truth and then to make application to himself and the listeners. This method of preaching is much more difficult to prepare for and requires discipline that many do not have. But going chapter by chapter and verse by verse through books of the Bible will cover every doctrine, expose every sin, correct every error, and potentially heal every heart. There will be very difficult passages that the preacher might not understand. That is absolutely true in my experience. When one of those awkward times comes, and they will, the honest preacher should just admit, “I am not sure what is meant here, this is a passage I have not mastered. But I have done some research and here are a few of the most prominent views and here is the way I am leaning, but I am not ready to take a firm stand at this time in my study.” That sort of transparency will be appreciated by the people and everyone, including the preacher, will learn from the experience. It is not a sin to admit you don’t know everything.

I challenge my friends and those I have never met to consider giving it a try. Today there are tons of resources to help you as you study. Pray, pray, pray, and read, read, read, sermons, commentaries, illustrations,etc. and then make it your own, in terms you are comfortable with, and give it to the people in the power and authority of the Spirit and you will grow a healthy church, one that keeps the main thing the main thing.

I am for Christ and the Bible and I am against any agenda that vies for His place as preeminent in our hearts and lives. Only when He is lifted up do sinners come to Him. The word of God exalts Him above every thing in heaven or on earth and ours is to make Him known by our lives and our lips. The Word of God, not the traditions we cherish, is to be the final authority for both faith and practice for every believer. Preach the Bible!

Grace to you,

Royce

Jan 23 2009

coC loosing churches and members


The headline in the latest on line edition of the Christian Chronicle is “Church in America in decline”. According to the article churches of Christ numbers are the lowest since 1980 when such stats began to be compiled. The Chronicle states:

“In the newly released directory, 21st Century Christian identifies 12,629 a Capella Churches of Christ with 1,578,281 adherents nationwide.

Those figures represent 526 fewer churches and 78,436 fewer people in the pews than just six years ago.” 

I’m sure there are a number of reasons for this decline. One that I believe is at the heart of the problem is this. The time frame referenced in the article closely corresponds to the birth and expansion of  the Internet, the “Information Age” if you will.

For most of it’s history, Restoration Movement congregations, especially churches of Christ, received their doctrine/theology almost completely from the guy in the pulpit, from elders, and both groups gathered most of their instruction in truth from “brotherhood”journals. The sphere of the church (coC) was relatively small. A few members visited lectureships, summer camps and work shops, but there too, they likely got a recycled version of what they had already heard. Most all of the information available was exclusively coC.

Suddenly, in the span of a few short years, almost every family had a PC connected to the world wide web. The information available was astounding! Now, those same folks who had lead sheltered lives religiously were now exposed to other views of Bible teaching and theology. The “brotherhood” journals which had been the principal source of instruction from outside the local community was in a very short time relegated to only fraction of what the family on the pew read.

As church members have been exposed to more views, more Bible teaching, they were challenged to rethink why they believed some of what they had been taught and began to think for themselves. The more isolated a group is the easier it is to keep them under the iron thumb of legalism and error.

The sectarianism of the past several decades is regularly being rejected and more and more coC members are embracing the ideals and passion of the RM founders like Alexander Campbell who coined the phrase “Christians only, but not the only Christians”. Tens of thousands of people have studied themselves out of sectarian bondage and legalism and are now grace filled and grace giving people. Some of them are in more “progressive” churches, some have gone to some other brand, and some are toughing it out where they are, but their children are long gone and aren’t coming back.

Another reason for the decline is the glaring foolishness of people like 21st Century Christian’s brilliant idea to purge churches like North Richland Hills from the directory because they have instruments “in one or more services”. They are evidently no longer considered a church of Christ because they don’t tow the party line. This is exactly the kind of narrow minded, shoddy Bible scholarship many people are running away from in large numbers.

Meanwhile the church fathers are wringing their hands trying to figure what the problem is. I have a news flash! Churches that are growing by winning new converts are making a big fuss about Jesus! So long as churches of Christ major on other topics and minor on Jesus they will continue to swirl down to extinction and they deserve to do so.

I have looked at sermon topics of dozens and dozens of churches on their websites and a Capella singing, the church of Christ, baptism, the church of Christ, the error of the denominations, the church of Christ, and many other topics take precedence over teaching about the Christ.

Will there be a revival of love for Jesus Christ and the desire to be in unity with believers of every stripe which was the plea and ideal of the early Receptionist’s? It isn’t looking good. The vast majority of those who fill the pews in churches of Christ on Sunday morning are like me. They have gray hair, are either retired or near retirement age, and they are not bothered very much by the sound of young children in the assembly. Two generations from today, perhaps three, and most of those folks will be buried. Who will replace them? I hope revival comes, but I am not hopeful.

Royce


Dec 4 2008

Infantrymen for Jesus


Carol and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at the home of friends from church along with several others, (there were 19 at the table), and the food and fellowship could not have been better. This morning I had coffee and read the local news paper in my comfortable home in front of the fire place. While I am enjoying the best life has to offer in my opinion a guy named Mike Bumgartner is preparing meals, unloading trucks of appliances and food, and sharing the love with volunteers and residents of the gulf coast community of Port Bolivar, Texas.

Mike is a Florida resident whose heart was touched by the Lord after the storms ploughed through the gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana. With little other than the love of Christ in his heart and a desire to help the hurting Mike hooked his 5th wheel trailer to his pick up truck and drove to Texas where at once he started cooking meals for displaced residents and those who had volunteered to help them. We met this great servant face to face at the Broadway church of Christ in Galveston several weeks ago. The day we wre there, Mike and a few helpers fed about 800 people a hot meal in the name of the Lord.

disaster_assistance_truck

Mike and his ministry, “Disaster Assistance”, has prepared thousands of hot meals in the last few months at several locations along the Texas coast. You can see his work fist hand at the ministry blog http://www.mikesmissionupdates.blogspot.com/ . Mike Bumgartner is a great man who is worthy of your support and prayers. His ministry partners Don and Rosemary Hudson have also been great supporters, serving meals, washing pots and pans, and sharing the good news about Jesus to those they feed. You can also read Don Hudson’s blog www.donchudson.blogspot.com for more information about his ministry and Mike’s as well.

I am thankful for these “Infantrymen for Jesus” who are putting the story of Jesus in shoe leather, serving God’s love up a plate, a smile, a hug, and a Bible study at a time. God’s best to these great servants!

___________________________________________________________

Twins with one heart!

Jane Smith and Judy Peter are twin sisters from El Campo, Texas. They are very active members of the El Campo church of Christ where my friend John McCord is the preacher. We first got to know this “dynamic duo” as a result of our joint work in the South Alabama town of Bayou La Batre. These ladies are like servants on speed! (I mean this in the best possible way) They are high on Jesus and want to serve people in His name and make Him known to everyone possible.

The winds of Hurricane Ike had hardly died before Jane and Judy snapped into gear gathering ice, coolers, water and food for those who had been devastated by the storm. They loaded a pick up truck and were off on a trip that would be repeated time after time in the next months. It is amazing what these two gals have done! Just ask Mike Bumgartner with Disaster Assistance and you’ll get an ear full of wonderful comments about them.

When Carol and I recently visited several churches and hard hit communities, these delightful twins insisted on treating us to a beach front lunch of scrumptious hamburgers and the very best onion rings. After a great visit we followed them to the relief site where Mike Bumgartner was cooking up a storm and preparing to serve 800 or so meals. I was recruited to help unload the twins truck. They had huge cans of vegetables, drinks, cleaning supplies, and other things hurricane victims need. What for us was a big deal for them has become routine. They seem to think nothing about getting in the aged pick up and driving a few hours to deliver the goods, most of which I suspect they paid for out of their own funds.

If I could lawfully clone anyone, I might just start with these dear sisters who know no fear, see no obsticles, and can get more done than a small army. My hat’s off to the “Turbo Twins” from El Campo. What a joy to know them and their families and to have them as friends. You go girls!!

His peace,

Royce