Stuff About Things

• March calendars are now ready. Duty rosters will available this week.

Calendar

• February 26-28 — Bible Forum at Douglass Hills.
• March 8-11 — Our meeting with Ralph Walker. We have meeting announcements in the form of color fliers & business cards.
• March 18-23 — Oak Grove

Meeting Time
By Reggie Robarts

        In the early days of the Restoration Movement, churches looked forward to meeting time. The rural churches especially relished protracted meetings in their area because it was a social as well as a religious occasion. People would gather from far and near and camp out to hear what would often be several weeks of preaching and visiting with other Christians. Social intercourse was valued because it was so infrequent, due to the distance of neighbors from each other, and the rigors of farm life. It was timed so as not to interfere with planting time or later when the crops were laid by and winter was about to set in. It was often the only time when they would hear preaching since most of those rural churches did not have a “located preacher.” It was an era when the evangelist not only encouraged the brethren but also truly did the work of an evangelist in trying to reach the lost. The meeting would last as long as the crowds were there and people were responding to the gospel call.

        But the culture changed from an agrarian to an industrial society and the lifestyle changed with it. Folks moved to the city, got jobs that demanded 40 to 60 hours a week and protracted meetings were no longer practical. Meetings generally became ten-day affairs going from Sunday to Wednesday week. These did not herald a lessening of spiritual commitment but were a necessary adjustment to the different cultural climate. Even rural churches were not so starved for religious instruction and social relationships because “city men” began to venture to the country to preach and teach on the Lord’s Day, and the automobile also made social exchange so much easier and convenient than it had been in the past.
       
        But change never stands still long and our society continued to evolve into an age of technology and social development. Meetings became of one week’s (actually 6 days mostly) duration. Again this does not indicate less spirituality, but a necessary concession to demanding schedules. Today families are consumed with running hither and yon, every day being filled with work, obligation to children, etc. The pace of life is fast and furious and it takes most of one’s time and energy to keep up. The impact of meetings has produced more changes. Today the popular trend is “weekend” meetings of 3 or 4 days duration. But meetings can still be effective tools for churches to discharge their responsibility for being the pillar and ground of the truth.

        All of this to say, our meeting begins in about 11 days (Mar. 8th) and should be the focus of our attention during those 4 days. Ralph Walker is a capable preacher who will do his part well. The elders have tried to select a topic that will not only be of interest to both Christian and non-Christian but will also be instructive to both. Flyers have been mailed to other congregations in the area to give them opportunity to benefit from these lessons as well as us. But they are not the targets of this meeting. Your family who are not Christians, your neighbors who need the gospel, you co-workers who are without Christ and any others whom you may be capable of influencing are the real targets. I need not tell you this is a golden opportunity to introduce someone to the truth and perhaps be the instrument through which his or her soul is saved. Cloyce has printed a number of flyers and business cards to distribute and more can be printed if necessary. It takes little effort to hand someone one of these pieces of paper and extend a personal invitation to them to come as your guest.
There are also a number of our own members who are not faithful and who need to be encouraged. The elders have a special responsibility to these folks, but so does each member. Remember, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted (Galatians 6:1).
   
        So let’s get enthusiastic and try to make this the best meeting we have ever had. It is our duty, to not only have us strengthened through our study of God’s word, but also to try and bring our neighbor to Christ. “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (II Timothy 2:2)

“If I believed…”

        William Booth (1829-1912) began preaching at the age of 15. He and his wife founded the Christian Mission in London in 1865, which in 1878 became the Salvation Army.

        While it is easy to find fault with Salvationist theology, and their emphasis on the social gospel, it is hard not to admire their zeal and dedication.

        The following statement was supposedly made by an atheist to Booth. He told others that this statement haunted him and spurred him on in trying to help others. The statement was…

        “If I believed what you Christians say you believe about a coming judgment, and that impenitent rejectors of Christ will be lost, I would crawl on my bare knees on crushed glass all over London, warning men, night and day, to flee for refuge from the coming day of wrath.”

Taking a Trip

When you take a trip, you must ask three questions:

• What will I leave behind?
• What will I take along?
• What direction will I go?

        Jesus said the same thing about our spiritual journey: “If anyone wishes to come after me [the journey], he must deny himself [leave behind], and take up his cross daily [take along], and follow me [the direction]” (Luke 9:23). How well are you prepared for the journey?