Acceptance of Church Family Disagreements

People mumble about how difficult it is to find a "right" church to meet with.

It is disappointing when one finds that a church is doing things they believe to be wrong or makes them uncomfortable but is it worth leaving the assembly? Do you sin by association? As messed up as some of the churches, addressed in Revelation were, Jesus never told those he commended to leave those he was criticizing.

Is the assembly a worship event or hs man decided it is worship?. In Acts the church assembled to remember Jesus, to "break bread." In Hebrews the church assembled to encourage each other to love and good works. No place do we read the church met to worship. Paul encouraged the individuals of the church in Rome to each present their body a living sacrifice which is their reasonable service or worship.

With the recent activities surrounding the "unity" of the Church of Christ with the Christian Church you can almost forget that the a cappella churches have divided over pre-millennialism, pacifism, congregational cooperation, Bible classes, the use of multiple communion cups, the construction of kitchens and bathrooms in church buildings, the indwelling of the holy Spirit, charismatic gifts, hermeneutics, women in public leadership, choruses, and worship teams, cell groups, prayer partners, over/under discipling, and the nature of total commitment, etc.

Our local congregation receives calls from people looking for a "good" church and many times we are found wanting and the caller does not want to assemble with us. Why? We have a kitchen. We have bathrooms. We use individual cups during communion. We have a Youth Minister. We have Bible Classes. For some, those are as or more important than instruments. Human families have disagreements but they are always family. Spiritual families have disagreements and they hate each other and refuse to associate.

Based on Jesus' prayer, recorded by John, the world is not going to believe that the Father has sent Him and that will be because of our actions. The church needs to rethink our responsibilities. Our actions show we would rather let the world enter eternity with no hope than to find ways to get along with our brothers and sisters. And we should make no mistake, anyone who has obeyed the Bible's teaching on what they must do to be saved are brothers and sisters. Is it any wonder the church is not effective?