What must I do to be saved?

Most churches think they are visitor friendly. Information gathered from interviews indicate that when asked, a typical church member will respond that, “yes” his or her church is visitor friendly. When asked to provide details the answers usually center on their church having a “friendly spirit”. While there is absolutely no doubt that having a friendly spirit is essential to being a visitor friendly church it does not guarantee that a church will be visitor friendly. The difference is in the details.

A visitor friendly church takes care of the details. They conceptualize the visitor’s experience from the moment they drive on the parking lot until the time they leave that lot. Details such as clearly marked and easily accessible parking spaces, what the visitor sees when they first enter the building, how the visitor will be greeted and find their way around the building, what kind of literature to give them, etc. will all be considered very carefully—and from a visitor’s perspective. The goal of this, of course, is for the visitor to have such a positive, friendly experience that they will want to return. To become a visitor friendly church here are some essentials to consider:

• Logistics– How easy is it for visitors to find parking spaces and move from those spaces to the appropriate classes and activities within the buildings? Are maps available and easily readable? Are greeters positioned in the right places with the right information and are they easily recognizable as greeters? Are Bible class teacher’s visitor aware and work to make sure each visitor comfortably fits into the class? These are all questions essential to address. These first contact areas make lasting impressions and if not taken care of can create an atmosphere of anxiety within a visitor which could lead to a not-so-pleasant visit.
• Greeters– This is the backbone ministry of visitor friendly churches. Many churches have both outdoor and indoor greeters who are trained to meet the visitors, help direct them to their appropriate classes and provide them with the church information. Greeters should be the visitor’s first welcome and point of contact. The importance of this ministry in a visitor friendly church cannot be overstated.
• Information– Visitors need information. They need to know what the Bible class options are. They need to know how to get there. They need to know what to expect in worship. They need to leave with information about the congregation. They need to know what the ministries of the congregation are. Most visitor friendly churches have well defined, attractive and easy to access visitor information stations attended by greeters offering this type of information. Extremely attractive, well-written and creative visitor packets and/or bags with all of the above information are available for first-time visitors. All of this not only assists the visitor in getting around and making his visit a pleasant one, it also allows the visitor to take home a small part of the church.
• Worship– It is very, very important to consider our worship through the eyes of a visitor. We will look at this in more detail in part two.
• Follow–Up– This is equally essential. Most visitor friendly churches have immediate follow-up with their guests from guest luncheons to follow-up calls and contact within two days of a visit. Guests need to know that their visit impacted the church and that the church is interested in them.
• Friendly Spirit– Of course, all of the details would mean nothing without a genuine welcoming spirit. This is the foundation upon which to build any visitor friendly church. We can’t just plug in a program and expect it to work when the heart is missing. But we must be intentional about it. We must educate ourselves and then apply that education.

Churches do not grow accidentally. Churches do not become effective visitor friendly churches simply because we like to visit each other. Again, we must be prayerful and purposeful planners. We must commit the necessary resources to grow. We must not be afraid of growth, but to embrace the Great Commission and plant and water so God can give the increase.

In our 21^st culture where church-going is not as common as it once was and where people respond to and expect visitor friendly environments in the workplace and marketplace, we must strive to make a visitor’s experience as comfortable and welcoming as possible. After all, when a visitor attends, we have been given an awesome opportunity to influence them for the sake of Christ. They have given us the opportunity to present to them the message of Christ. Shame on us– if we do not take this responsibility seriously!

Start thinking about every assembly in terms of a visitor and be alert to any new face. Present that friendly spirit to them in a very personal way. It can be a difference maker!

Danny Dodd

Turtle Funeral:  Alexander M. Sanders, Jr. (who was at one time the Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals) spoke to the graduating class of the University of South Carolina in 1992. His daughter, Zoe, was a member of that class. He told a story about when Zoe was 3 years old. Sanders came home to find a crisis. Zoe’s pet turtle had died and she was crying her heart out. His wife turned the problem over to him to solve.

First, Mr. Sanders explained that he would go to the pet store and get her another turtle. He got nowhere with that idea. Zoe knew that life couldn’t be transferred from one turtle to another. She wanted her turtle alive. She continued to cry. Then Mr. Sanders said, “I’ll tell you what, we’ll have a funeral for the turtle.” Being three years old she didn’t know what a funeral was. “A funeral,” he said, “is a great festival in honor of the turtle.” She didn’t know what a festival was so he said, “A funeral is like a birthday party. We’ll have ice cream and cake and lemonade and balloons, and all the children in the neighborhood will come over to play, all because the turtle has died.” Zoe’s tears began to dry up and she returned to her happy self.

Then, an utterly unforeseen thing happened. They looked down, and the turtle began to move. He was not dead after all. In a matter of seconds he was crawling around as lively as ever. Mr. Sanders didn’t know what to say. But Zoe appraised the situation perfectly. With all the innocence of a three year old she looked up at her father and said, “Daddy, let’s kill it.”

Ross Mitchell

    A three-year-old received a trophy at a gymnastics competition. As she was posing for  pictures, she dropped the trophy and it broke into two. The audience gasped, expecting tears. But the little girl picked up the pieces and said, “Look! Now I have two trophies!”

    How nice it would be to have simple expectations as a child. Why are so many of us too often pessimistic? Paul wrote: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Phil. 4:8).

    When we feel discouraged, when we feel like we’re sinking into depression (not clinical depression; I’m talking about the “blahs” we get from time to time), when we feel like we can’t get anywhere, we have to “dwell on these [positive] things.” Let me share some with you:

    1. We are created in the image of a loving God.

    2. We are bought with the precious blood of a loving Redeemer.

    3. We are guided by the wise words of an Eternal Spirit.

    4. God can work all things together for our ultimate good.

    5. We can live in the forgiveness of God.

    6. The loving-kindnesses of God are new every morning.

    7. We can always leave the past behind, adjust to a new reality, and reach toward the future.

    “Optimism” is not a biblical word. But faith is: “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). And, to quote Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird, “Things are never as bad as they seem.”

Paul Holland

Paul, in his reply to king Agrippa, expressed the desire that all who heard him might “become such as I am.” Paul was a dedicated Christian. He wanted others to be the same. Would you want others to be “such as you are?” What if every member of this congregation was just as dedicated as you are? What if every member put forth just the same amount of effort as you do? What if every member showed the same dedication to teaching others that you do? What if every member gave to the work as you do? Would this congregation be stronger or weaker if such were the case? Each and every one of us should so live that we would desire others to be “such as I am.”

– by James Hahn

    Home is where character is first taught. Our parents and grandparents believed in the three “R’s” of good parenting:

    Respect for all those in legitimate authority (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Good parents teach good manners.

    Responsibility – This means our children will take accountability for their own actions. They are willing to carry out jobs assigned by those in authority.

    Resourcefulness – This is “stick-ability.” We have to discourage our children from wanting to quit too early. We need to encourage them to solve their own problems to the extent they can. We need to train them to entertain themselves. I don’t know how often I heard my mom say, “Son, your brother (or sister) does not exist to entertain you.”

    Yes, it takes time to train our children properly to do a chore right but we’re trying to create responsible adults and that takes time. 

    Young children can empty the dishwasher, pick up around the house, vacuum, help fold clothes.

    Elementary age children can set the table, wash the dishes, clean bathrooms, and wash floors. I distinctly remember standing on a chair and washing dishes when I was in the first grade. 

    Teenagers can mow the grass, make a meal, or care for a younger sibling.

    A man shared this story from South Africa. He said children are trained from an early age in South Africa to stand at a respectful distance from adults who are talking to one another until there is a pause in the conversation. The child is not allowed to jump into the pause! At the pause, an adult will turn to the child and ask, “Can I help you?” At that point, the child is allowed to speak. Children are trained to do that as early as 3 years old!

    That teaches children to think of others first.

    Parents of pre-school children should be more concerned about laying the foundations for good character than necessarily trying to jump start their academic success. Studies have consistently found, even in Obama’s Dept of Education, that preschool – Headstart – ultimately does not make any difference in a child’s education. A child who does not go to Headstart, until about the third grade – is at the same level of education or learning as a child who was pushed into schooling at an earlier age. 

    Children who are taught to listen to and obey parents at home will listen to and obey teachers at school and they are the ones who will do the best in school.

    The more our children do what they are supposed to do, the more freedom we can allow them to have. It’s similar to the principle Jesus taught in Luke 19:17: If you are faithful over the little things, you will be given authority over greater things. And, the more freedom we can give our children to make right choices, the more freedom parents can have!

    From an early age, parents should teach their children the “three R’s:” Respect, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness.

Paul Holland

There are many who hear this word and think of weakness. They believe that if you are submissive, you’re at the bottom of the food chain. Is this really the case?

The Bible uses this word in several different passages, and we will take a look at these verses in depth and figure out the true definition of submission.

The original word comes from the Greek, hypotasso, which can be used several different ways depending on the context in which it is used. The first definition is “to cause to be in a submissive relationship” and the second is “to become subject, subject oneself” (BDAG). With these definitions in mind, let’s notice how scripture uses this word.

James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Who must submit? Everyone. Who are we submitting to? God. What is the outcome? The Devil will flee. In this text, submission is the act of putting God in charge of our lives. In doing so we no longer chase after sin and Satan will flee from us.

Col. 3:18: “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Who must submit? Wives. Who are they submitting to? The husband. For what reason? God has commanded. In this text, submission is what the wife must do in her marriage in order to be approved of God.  A submissive wife is fitting in the Lord.

Eph. 5:21: “Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Who must submit? The Christian. Who are we submitting to? Other Christians. Why are we submitting? Out of reverence (deep respect and awe) for Christ. If we say that we revere Christ, we must submit to each other and place our brothers and sisters above self.

Eph. 5:24: “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” Who is submitting? The church, as well as the wives in the same way we (as a church body) submit to Christ. A submissive church looks to Christ for every spiritual decision. They do this because they are no longer in control. A wife submits to her husband by looking at the example of the church or “the bride of Christ.”

Titus 2:5, 9; 3:1: “to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative. Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.” Who is submitting? Wives, bondservants, and those who have experienced Christ (2:14). Who are they submitting to? Husbands, masters, rulers and authorities. Why are they submitting? So the Word of God won’t be criticized or abused, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God (10), and because we aren’t who we used to be (3).

1 Peter 2:18; 3:22; 5:5: “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.” Servants are called to submit to their masters. Why? “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly” (19). In chapter 3:1, wives are to submit to their husbands so that they may win their husband by their actions. In 3:22 the angels, authorities, and powers have been placed under Christ. In 5:5, the young are to submit to the elders.

Romans 13:1: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Who is supposed to submit here? Every person. To whom? The governing authorities. Why? Only God can give authority, those that are in place have been instituted by God. If we refuse to submit (break their laws), “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

Submission is the action of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person. In scripture several groups are commanded to have this attitude:

• Christians
• Wives
• Servants
• Every person

Submission is not weakness. It takes strength to make this choice. We aren’t forced into submission, but it is a choice each one of us must make.

Have you made that choice? If you have, understand that there will be times where you fail. Thankfully God is willing to forgive those who have sinned.

Submission means we give up what we want, and act the way God wants us to act.

Carl Pollard

An oft-repeated charge against members of the church of Christ is that we seem to think that we are infallible.  Herein we intend to address ourselves to the validity or invalidity of such a charge with the aim of clearing up any mistaken impressions.

First of all, a fundamental principle upon which our examination must be based is the fact that NO MAN can truthfully claim infallibility!  “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  Since sin and infallibility cannot co-exist, we must conclude that all men are fallible including members of the church of Christ.

Secondly, I have never known of a member of the church who has claimed infallibility.  I have known some few who ACTED as if they were perfect, and perhaps a few who thought they were.  But the point is this: members of the church of Christ do not generally and publicly claim to be infallible humans.

How then did the charge originate?  If we do not claim to be infallible, and in view of our constant references to such passages as Rom. 3:23, why do people think we claim perfection?  Consider a few possible reasons.

(1) We believe in an infallible Christ.  Unlike the modernists, we believe without any doubt that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, that He died on the cross for our sins, that He arose from the dead, and that He now serves us in heaven [as High Priest of God].  We believe what Peter declared on Pentecost when he said: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).  We are also convinced that He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).  Our Savior is a Perfect One!

(2) We believe in infallible authority.  After Jesus was raised from the dead, He declared: “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18).  Later the apostle Paul wrote that God “hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:21-23).  So the authority upon which our religion is based is infallible.  The blind unfounded expressions of human authority are not approved by a God Who gave all authority to His Son.

(3) We believe in only one infallible way to heaven.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).  Thus it is our blessed  belief that the way of Jesus is the only infallible way to glory.  This means that we, with God, must reject the “many ways to heaven” concept, and do our best to encourage our religious neighbors to do the same.

No!!  Members of the church of Christ are not infallible.  But we believe in an infallible Savior Who has by His authority revealed through the New Testament the only infallible way to heaven.  Some of us may fall from that way, 1 Cor. 10:12, and we may not always follow the example of our perfect Savior, but we firmly believe that “Ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10).

– by Warren Berkley