Downtown Church of Christ

An apostasy is taking place within the ranks of churches of Christ. Marching under the banner of change, those pursuing this course are determined to change the faith worship and practice of our brethren so they will be acceptable to the denominational neighbors. The most notable changes include willingness to accpet the use of instrumental music in worship, the placing of women in public leadership roles in the church, denying the absolute essentiality of baptism for salvation and teaching that the church of Christ is only one of many denominations that are all pleasing to God.

Those who have long been members of the church stand amazed as they see brethren turn their backs on the gospel of Christ and the church He purchased with His blood and rush to embrace the faulty notions of men. They wonder what in the world would cause folks to make such a follish choice. The points following seem to be common factors found in those who are looking for changes to the ancient gospel of Christ.

* The leading preachers in the change movement are men of much education. Many of them have pursued their advanced degrees in either secular or denominational universities. There their faith was undermined and replaced with a denominational point of view. They wish to impose it on our people.

* Churches embracing the chnage agenda and those currently sampling it are generally our large, wealthy congregations. Jesus observed, "It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven: (Matt 19:23). Some seem to think the practice of simple New Testament Christianity is all right for rural folks, middle and lower classes, but refined folks of education and wealth need something more suitable to their tastes.

* Many of those opting for change imagine themselves to be quite sophisticated. This flows from their worldly educational attainments and their welath. They are embarressed by our simple meeting houses, a cappella, congregational singing and Bible preaching. They need something new and more challenging.

* The major driving force in thsi movement has been and continues to be some of our Christian universities. Most notable in the promotion of the change agenda seem to be Abilene Christain, Pepperdine and David Lipscomb Universities, These schools have grown large, wealthy and influential both in the church and in the world. In their early years, their leaders saw their role as servants of the church. Today the seem to fancy themsleves spokesmen for the church. In their quest for acceptance in the world of academia, they have embraced the thinking of worldly denominations. Preachers coming from those schools are often infected with the virus of chnage.

* Promoters of change in our churches have concluded that the chuch is going to die if it continues to follow the ancient paths of the Bible. They mistakenly suppose that prosperity and survival justify replacing the old faith and worship with a new version.

* Evident in the promoters of change is a dearth of Bible knowledge. Even after 4-6 years of study in our universities many of the students know precious little of God's Word. They have studied much about church growth, contemporary religion, ministry and theology but their accumilation of Bible knowledge has been minimal. Ignorance of the fundamentals of the faith has made them vunerable to Satan's lies.

* Along with a lack of knowledge, we see an evident lack of respect for Bible authority in the champions of change. The demands of society, the will of the people, theories of scholars and the pragmatic approach all take precedence over the ancient teaching of te Scripture.