Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Things I learned growing up in the church of Christ...
One of the interesting things about living in Abilene is the discussion about the pros and cons of growing up in the church of Christ heritage. Mostly it seems to be seen as some kind of negative thing to have been burdened with. Here are my five reasons why I'm glad I grew up in the church of Christ.
I learned to value and appreciate Scripture. We may bicker over how we interpret it, how we read it, and what it means...but I did learn a lot of Scripture. And I learned to value God's Word as the authority from God. I still am amazed how many believers don't stay in the Word. I hope we never lose this emphasis.
I learned to appreciate baptism. I do think we have some issues we need to re-think about baptism, and often we only emphasized one aspect of it (forgiveness of sins), but I am glad I knew that was how one responded to Jesus. I'm glad I didn't have to come to an understanding of baptism out of a church culture that ignored or downplayed its significance.
I am thankful for the emphasis on the Lord's Supper. Is it hard to keep it fresh? Yes. Is it easy to lose focus on it? Yes. But we did it. We remembered the death and resurrection of Jesus every Sunday. If the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, then baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two visible responses we can make. One we do individually and one we do as family.
Maybe it was just where I grew up, but I appreciated the emphasis on evangelism and missions. I remember seeing friends and neighbors being baptized. I remember church leaders telling the story of their conversion (including my own Dad). I remember knowing people in my church who were going to the mission field. That is still my passion.
Finally, I appreciate my heritage of singing. I am not talking about theology here, but rather the joy of worship. I learned that and felt that even as a child. As I talk to friends from other religious backgrounds, I am continually surprised by their amazement at how well we sing. If you grew up in the church of Christ, you knew how to sing.
There are lots of other things I could mention, but I just thought I should take a minute and celebrate the good things I grew up with in the church of Christ.
Thanks for my heritage of faith.
I learned to value and appreciate Scripture. We may bicker over how we interpret it, how we read it, and what it means...but I did learn a lot of Scripture. And I learned to value God's Word as the authority from God. I still am amazed how many believers don't stay in the Word. I hope we never lose this emphasis.
I learned to appreciate baptism. I do think we have some issues we need to re-think about baptism, and often we only emphasized one aspect of it (forgiveness of sins), but I am glad I knew that was how one responded to Jesus. I'm glad I didn't have to come to an understanding of baptism out of a church culture that ignored or downplayed its significance.
I am thankful for the emphasis on the Lord's Supper. Is it hard to keep it fresh? Yes. Is it easy to lose focus on it? Yes. But we did it. We remembered the death and resurrection of Jesus every Sunday. If the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, then baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two visible responses we can make. One we do individually and one we do as family.
Maybe it was just where I grew up, but I appreciated the emphasis on evangelism and missions. I remember seeing friends and neighbors being baptized. I remember church leaders telling the story of their conversion (including my own Dad). I remember knowing people in my church who were going to the mission field. That is still my passion.
Finally, I appreciate my heritage of singing. I am not talking about theology here, but rather the joy of worship. I learned that and felt that even as a child. As I talk to friends from other religious backgrounds, I am continually surprised by their amazement at how well we sing. If you grew up in the church of Christ, you knew how to sing.
There are lots of other things I could mention, but I just thought I should take a minute and celebrate the good things I grew up with in the church of Christ.
Thanks for my heritage of faith.
