I want to join a new church, but this church has church on Saturday and Bible study on Tuesday; I thought church must be on Sunday and Bible study on Wednesday, or does it matter?

Sincerely,
Calendar Keeper

Dear Calendar Keeper,

We can study the Bible whenever we want (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc.), but the church is commanded to come together on Sunday to worship.  Acts 20:7 gives us the example that the church took the Lord’s Supper on Sunday, and 1 Cor 16:1-2 shows us that the church should take up a contribution on Sunday.  The church must come together on Sunday to do these two things if nothing else.  We have further evidence that the church used Sunday as a day of worship because John used the term “the Lord’s day” in Rev 1:10.  Numerous early christian writers and historians refer to Sunday as the Lord’s day.  Sunday is a day that God has set aside for christians to come together, remember Jesus’ sacrifice, contribute to the work, sing songs of praise, pray, and study God’s Word.  Any church that doesn’t meet on Sundays isn’t taking the Bible seriously.

Could someone please explain to me their viewpoint on the progressive nature of the church?  Is it okay to diminish standards (i.e. dress codes, song selections, fellowship gatherings that have nothing to do with Jesus, etc.) in the church to bring people to the church?  Shouldn't Jesus be enough?

Sincerely,
Old-Fashioned

Dear Old-Fashioned,

The culture of the day has always affected the church, for good or ill.  The church can adapt to the culture as long as those adaptations don’t compromise the pattern of the Scriptures.  There are only certain things the church can do as worship (read “Order of Operations” for details), and there are only certain things the church can participate in (read “Down With Denominationalism” for details).  Within that general pattern laid out for the church, we have the freedom to decide the details.  For example, the church is commanded to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col 3:16), but we have the freedom to decide which specific songs are sung.  The church has general authority to sing, and the specifics are up to us.  Whenever God gives the church a general command, we have the freedom to use wisdom with the details.  However, when God gives a specific command, we don’t have the right to deviate from that pattern.  We aren’t allowed to add or subtract from God’s Word (Rev 22:18-19).

All of this leads us to our final point; some cultural changes in the church are perfectly fine, but other cultural changes are a deviation from the Lord’s pattern.  There is nothing wrong with a church attempting to meet the needs of the society it is in (1 Cor 9:20-22), but it is wrong for a church to be swept away by the tides of society and go beyond what God has written (1 Cor 4:6).

How did Jesus love the church?

Sincerely,
Big-Hearted

Dear Big-Hearted,

Jesus loved the church in a thousand different ways, but all of that culminated in a single act – His death on the cross.  When Jesus sacrificed Himself at Calvary, He gave His life for the church (Eph 5:25).  Jesus bought the salvation of the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28).  When we are added to the church through baptism (Acts 2:38-41), we are covered by the blood of Christ, and our sins are removed.  There is no greater act of love than to lay down your life for others (1 Jn 3:16, Jhn 10:15).

Why does the church allow men to be elders that do not have "faithful" children?  I hear excuses that it's IMPOSSIBLE to find a man like that... if God demands it, then it MUST be possible.

Sincerely,
No Excuses

Dear No Excuses,

When you use the term ‘the church’, that makes it sound like every congregation allows men to become elders even if they aren’t qualified.  That simply isn’t true.  Our congregation here in Monroe, as well as many others that we personally know of, only select elders who have faithful children because that is what Tit 1:6 says.  You are right, it isn’t impossible to find qualified men to serve as elders because many congregations have qualified elders.  The amount of care that a congregation puts into following the Bible pattern for elders is an indicator of how serious they are about being a Bible-led church.  The qualifications for elders are easily found in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9.  What a congregation does with those verses says a lot about their priorities.

Do you have any ideas to share with me on how to attract more people to our church?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Welcome Wagon

Dear Welcome Wagon,

The only trustworthy pattern for church growth is the one found in the Bible.  There are ways that churches can grow very quickly… but in an unhealthy manner because they have left the Bible message in their fervor to fill the pews (Gal 1:6-7).  On the other hand, many churches stagnate because they aren’t zealous about anything.  The key is to be zealous about truth and the joy of salvation in Christ.

The apostles were unapologetic about their message of morality (Acts 20:27).  The Bible message of Christ allowed first-century evangelists to reason and persuade people to obey the truth (Acts 17:2, Acts 24:25).  The churches grew when everyone was equipped to share the good news of Jesus and give an answer for why they believed in God (1 Pet 3:15).  Today’s modern churches are too often places of emotional zeal, but void of conviction and reason.  How can we expect people to place membership in a church that is only another form of entertainment?  When we remove conviction and morality from the Bible message, we dilute the message and the purpose of Christianity.  Many churches are dying from the inside because of the gangrene of entertainment religion.  We live in a world of “cafeteria theology” where what you believe is a matter of preference, not truth.  Until we begin teaching that truth matters – all churches will continue to suffer decline.