By Raymond E. Harris
The way some churches work at making the Church of Christ “just another denomination,” we wonder why they dont just change the sign on the building and join hands with the Methodists, Presbyterians or some other like group.
The latest effort to organize and denominationalize the Church came recently from Vancouver, Wash. The liberal church there bills itself as “a concerned congregation” that “is willing to serve as the single coordinating congregation for the whole nation.” They have already presumptuously enlisted the services of various congregations over the country to be “relay stations.”
This latest brain storm has to do with moving church members. They lament the fact that many members move into a new area and do not look up the church. They do not attend worship services and so, dry up spiritually and die.
It cannot be denied that such a problem exists, but, what is their solution? They magnanimously have offered to serve as the one national coordinating church. In other words, they suggest that if a member and his family moved from Plainfield to St. Louis, Mo., we should send this mans name and address to the coordinating church at Vancouver, Wash. They would in turn send the information back to some congregation known as a regional relay station and then the regional relay station congregation would send the mans name and address to the nearest “faithful” congregation and send the man, the address of the nearest “faithful” church.
Hows that for wild man-made church bureaucracy? Instead of local elders helping moving members with such matters, they suggest we become dependent upon two of three other congregations. Whats more, we can see this lame-brain plan would mean doubling the time, the postage and the effort involved.
We cant help but feel that this is just a feeble scheme to propel an obscure church in Washington State into national prominence. But, whatever their motive the plan is unscriptural, sinful, impractical and downright silly!!
TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 44, p. 13
September 14, 1972