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Thoughts To Ponder
The destined end of man is not
happiness, nor health, but holiness.
A Friendly Discussion on Mormonism
Held at the North Charlottesville church of Christ on January 13, 2008
Why Do We Need the Book of Mormon?
LDS Representatives
Elder Batty, Elder Limb and Elder Comstock
First
Speech Audio
First
Speech Handout
Response by Larry Rouse
Response
Audio
Response
PowerPoint
Response Handout
The LDS Doctrine of Eternal
Progression
(The Nature of God)
LDS Representatives
Elder Limb, Elder Batty and Elder Comstock
2nd Speech Audio
2nd
Speech Handout
Response by Larry Rouse
Response Audio
Response
PowerPoint
Response Handout
Dangers
Facing the
"Non-Traditional" Christian
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Are churches of Christ the modern day Pharisees?
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Should we clap, wave hands and encourage "spontaneous worship"?
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Do we have a
wrong
hermeneutic?
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Have we rejected the true grace of God?
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Should we include other "believers" into our fellowship?
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How can we resolve differences without dividing?
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Two Ways to Keep Members Faithful
by Bill Hall
There are two ways to keep members of the church "faithful." The first way is to be sure everyone is involved. Have a project for each member, and make sure that he feels important in his role. Praise him for the good job he is doing. Make him feel needed; make him feel that the well-being of the whole congregation rests firmly on his shoulders. That will keep him "faithful."
There are two problems with this method. In the first place, it encourages the creation of projects that are not remotely related to the work of the local church. One member plays on the church ball team; another leads the Boy Scout troop; another is an active member of the "Dorcas Society"; another plans the program for the men's luncheon. Everybody is busy all right, but in activities that are not authorized in the New Testament.
In the second place, members are often given roles for which they are not qualified. A lady is chosen to teach a class, not because she is qualified, but because she needs to be involved. A man is appointed a deacon to help him to be "faithful." Another man is appointed to serve the Lord's Supper for a month in order to en-courage him to be present each Sunday that month. This method thus places "the cart before the horse," for no one should ever be assigned any work in the Lord's service who is not already faithful and qualified for the work to be done (2 Timothy 2:2).
The second way to keep people faithful is to develop within them a genuine love for the Lord. When people love the Lord, they will be faithful, and it won't take some kind of "special" project to keep them faithful. They will also be involved: in worship, in study, in prayer, in godly living, in sharing the gospel with a friend, in helping the needy. I have known literally hundreds of Christians who have never in their lives been appointed to any special work, but whose love for the Lord alone keeps them faithful. There is no superficial faithfulness on the part of these; theirs is a faithfulness that is real.
Special responsibilities are fine for those who are qualified, but the man who requires some special duty to be faithful has never learned what true faithfulness is.
Other
Articles by Bill Hall
O
Boy! It is Allowed!
The Difficult Part
Thinking of Quitting?
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