We are a small congregation with no deacons or elders.  Recently, several issues have been raised in the men’s meetings:

     Issue #1: Different men are assigned to the Lord's table each Sunday, ages seventeen and up.  One of the men who regularly serves on the table obtained approval to use his two young sons (ages seven and nine) to help pass the plates.  They do not participate with the men at the table, only stand at the end of the rows and hand the plate from row to row. They take this duty very seriously and do a very good job. Yet, some members feel that no one should be helping serve on the Lord's table unless they have been baptized.

     Issue #2: The offering has always been returned to the front table after collection (although the Lord's Supper plates are taken to the back room) and, after services, is counted by two of whoever served on the table that week, which changes weekly, and therein lies the problem.  Several members are upset about the lack of confidentiality (at times, children and other family members have observed while their fathers count the offering), and, in fact, one family has withheld their offering as a result.  The decision was made to take the offering plate to a side room to count which does not completely resolve the problem of confidentiality since any two of fifteen different people are counting the money each Sunday.

     Issue #3 involves allowing men whose regular attendance is lacking, or were baptized less than a year ago, to deliver Sunday evening sermons.  More than a few members are uncomfortable with this, mostly because of the lack of Bible knowledge and potentially false impressions left with visitors.

     Issue #4: Allowing AA meetings to be held in the building (although made available to them at no cost).

I appreciate your Bible answers and words of wisdom.

Sincerely,
Counting My Concerns

Dear Counting My Concerns,

Your first three concerns are all issues of wisdom – there is no hard and fast line of right and wrong; the congregation must decide what they think is best and wisest because God gives us freedom in these areas.

There is nothing wrong with those young boys helping pass the plates.  This isn’t any different than when people sitting in the pews help pass the plate from one person to another.  The same goes with counting the collection; the Bible never says we need to guarantee people’s anonymity in giving.  In fact, there were times when Paul openly bragged about how much a congregation was prepared to give (2 Cor 8:1-2, 2 Cor 9:2).  As for men preaching, the Bible never gives a specific maturity level needed for a man to preach a lesson.  Wisdom would dictate that the younger in the faith someone is, the more cautious we should be, but once again, that isn’t a prohibition, just a concern.  In the end, with all of these issues, God tells us to do that which makes for peace and edification (Rom 14:19).  If an expediency stops being helpful, it is no longer expedient.  Typically, an eldership would handle such matters because they are qualified to watch over the souls of the congregation and delicate matters like this (Heb 13:17), and the fact that your congregation doesn’t have elders yet is a big part of what is making these issues so painful.  These are exactly the kinds of growing pains that congregations go through until they are able to appoint elders.  The only thing you can do is try and strive for unity and submission to one another in these sorts of situations (Eph 5:21, Eph 4:3).

Your fourth concern is a different matter; a congregation has no authority to use its assets (and the church building is part of its assets) to support things other than the Lord’s work.  As positive an influence as Alcoholics Anonymous can be, it isn’t the church, and it isn’t the church’s work, therefore, the church shouldn’t be using the Lord’s funds to support it.  Read “Purpose Driven Church” for further details on the church’s purpose and responsibilities.

(This is a follow-up to the post “Without Creedence”)

Your answer to the difference between creeds and publications that preachers write didn't fully explain a difference between the two.  Can you please show me where different denominations hold their "creed" books to the same standard as the Bible?  I have had many discussions with various Lutherans and Baptists alike, and none of them view their supplements to the same degree of Bible authority.  They all view them as teaching tools to supplement the Word.  Many preachers claim that their writings should be heard because they are "based" on the Word of God.  Many religious groups with creed books would claim the same.  I believe the difference between a creed book and the publications church of Christ preachers write is that we believe that one follows the Bible, and the others don't.  Our friends outside the church make the same claim.  Anytime we hold our opinions and explanations to demand the same level of attention as plain Scripture, we have written creeds by your definition.  Maybe we should simply point people to Scripture and quit offering our opinions.

Sincerely,
Tracking Tracts

Dear Tracking Tracts,

If a preacher takes something he writes and gives it equal weight to the Bible, then he is sinning, but we’ve never personally experienced someone using a tract or commentary that way.  Your statement that “many preachers claim…” is arbitrary, and we can’t speak to personal experiences and subjective viewpoints.  In fact, the discussions you have had with various Lutherans and Baptists are also subjective because most Baptists and Lutherans don’t know what their own creed books even say.  The key is to read the books for yourself and ask what the leaders of these churches say about their creeds.  The Lutheran church uses four creeds: The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Augsburg Confessional.  They teach that these creeds are authoritative guides for their worship and beliefs – they aren’t commentaries; they are distinct belief systems that don’t require Bible authority to back them.  As we said, read them yourselves.

The Baptists are even more blatant about the value they place upon their creeds.  The Standard Manual For Baptist Churches says that baptism used to be a necessary part of salvation, but now things are different (Standard Manual for Baptist Churches pg. 22).  That type of a statement clearly places their manual as a religious authority above the Bible!

Not all people who are part of a religious group understand why they do what they do and where their beliefs come from, but that doesn’t make the creed any less of a guide for their respective denominations.  These creeds add to God’s Word, and that is definitely wrong (Rev 22:18-19, 1 Cor 4:6).

Are we predestinated to be saved according to Acts 13:48 and Ephesians 1:4-5 amongst others?  Is Calvinism true about predestination?

Sincerely,
Chosen By God

Dear Chosen By God,

We here at AYP firmly believe in election, grace, and predestination because they are all terms clearly mentioned in the Bible.  The important questions to ask are:

1. How are we elected?
2. Who receives grace?
3. What is predestined?

Many false doctrines have been created because people failed to ask these questions.  Calvinism (a very popular false doctrine that has infected many churches) teaches that people are elected by God without any conditions and that it is impossible to choose to serve God; it is all up to God.  It also teaches that grace can never be lost and that it is impossible to fall away even if you become an axe-murderer or live a homosexual lifestyle.  Calvinism also teaches that God predestined specific people throughout history to be saved and that only those specific individuals will go to heaven – everyone else is lost by default.  (For further information on Calvinism, please read “Calvin And Sobs”.)  This is an example of how the words ‘election’, ‘grace’, and ‘predestination’ have been abused when we didn’t clarify their biblical meanings.

God teaches that He has elected certain people to be saved.  John 6:44-45 says that God draws people to Him through the Bible.  When we listen to what the Bible says, we are called by God.  2 Thess 2:14 makes it even clearer when it says that we are called through the Gospel. ‘Called’ is another word for ‘elected’.

Those who turn to Christ will receive grace.  ‘Grace’ means ‘unmerited or undeserved favor’; grace is a gift you haven’t earned… in this case, it is the gift of salvation.  We receive grace when we live by faith (Eph 2:8).  Jesus died and paid a price none of us could ever pay – the price of our sins.  When we walk according to His teachings, His blood cleanses us from sin (1 Jn 1:7).  A faithful life isn’t a perfect life, but it is a life that is guided by God’s Word (Rom 10:17).

The Bible also teaches that God predestined something to be saved.  ‘Predestined’ means ‘to set the limits’.  Before God made anything, He set the limits of who would be saved and who wouldn’t (Eph 1:5).  God said that those in Christ will be saved (2 Tim 1:9).  Everyone who is washed in the blood of Jesus will be saved – He is the only way to God (Jhn 14:6).  God predestined only a certain group of people to be saved – the church (Acts 20:28).  The question we must all ask ourselves is: am I a part of God’s church?

Can you explain what repent means?

Sincerely,
Webster

Dear Webster,

‘Repent’ means to ‘change your mind’. A change of mind always involves a change of action as well. Repentance is when we change our mind about what is important and submit ourselves to Jesus and His Word. Repentance is one of the necessary steps to be saved (Mk 6:12, Lk 13:5, Lk 15:7).  Read "Five Steps To Salvation" for all the steps involved in becoming a christian.

Why do we still struggle when we give tithes and offerings?

Sincerely,
Giving Up

Dear Giving Up,

The teaching that we will never struggle if we give enough money to God is called ‘The Prosperity Gospel’ and it is a false teaching.  The prosperity gospel doctrine teaches that the more faith you have, the more money, health, power, etc. you will receive.  They teach that all sicknesses, poverty, and suffering are caused by a lack of faith.  This is simply wrong.

Jesus suffered more than anyone – and yet He was perfectly faithful and never sinned (Heb 4:15).  When Jesus was asked why a certain man was blind, His answer was, “That God’s works could be revealed in Him” (Jhn 9:1-3).  That blind man wasn’t blind because He had sinned, He was blind because it gave God an opportunity to use him.  The apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” (some sort of sickness) that God gave him… even though Paul was exceptionally faithful (2 Cor 12:7).  Job suffered at the hands of Satan BECAUSE he was so faithful (Job 1:8).  And last, but not least, God clearly states that we must suffer in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (Acts 14:22).

The idea that serving Christ will provide you with every physical blessing you could ever want is a perversion of the Scriptures.  It is a preaching that is based upon selfishness and the love of money – both of which God abhors (2 Tim 3:2, 1 Tim 6:10).  Christians should condemn and flee from this kind of false teaching.  Don't let anyone rob you of your hope by feeding you a teaching that says you only suffer because you aren't giving enough money.