OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

The Arcadia Church of Christ in Arcadia, Ca. recently had Dr. Donald McGavran, “the father of the church growth movement,” as a guest speaker. They introduced him as “one of the most significant Christian leaders to arise from the Restoration church tradition,” an accolade with which we would agree, for he has impacted the study of missions more than any other man of this century. Of Disciples background, he was a professor of missions at Fuller Seminary and onetime professor at Bethany College. We are pleased that the Arcadia church is free enough to draw upon men of this kind. The church also recognizes the church calendar, observing that Dr. McGavran was speaking on Pentecost Sunday. It does not sound exactly like us, but if the Church of Christ honored the church calendar any at all, surely it would be Pentecost Sunday! After all, that is when the Church of Christ began, wasn’t it? Pentecost Sunday, 33 A.D., 9 a.m.!

As with most denominations, there is a shortage of pulpits among Churches of Christ, with preachers waiting in the marketplace ready to be hired. Many preachers have gone into “secular” work, unable to find pulpits. One Dallas church, which is but an average job, had 42 applicants when we last heard, with others coming in. One church near Ft. Worth began to get calls the same day their preacher resigned. It is phenomenal how the word gets around. While our folk have no general clearing house for such business, one apparently is not needed. The average pay these days is around $22,000-$23,000 with parsonage, $25,000-$30,000 without. One preacher looking for a job predicted that the pay might well decrease in a glutted market. He called one church with an opening and an elder said, “You can send us your application and we will put it with all the rest.” This preacher, a college graduate, has decided to give up and take a secular job. An elder in Houston confided in us his concern over the caliber of the men entering the Church of Christ ministry. “Our most promising young men are entering other professions,” he said with some alarm, fearful that the “preacher school” type would soon dominate our pulpits. But then again let’s not underestimate the preacher schools, for they are not as stereotyped as one might think.

The Mountain Heights Church of Christ in Denver, where Bruce Wadzeck ministers, no longer has a Sunday or Wednesday evening service. On those nights the believers scatter over the city, meeting in 60-80 homes, often in non-members’ homes. In this way they reach out to people who would never come to their building. In the past year they have baptized an average of one a day. Around 1,000 now gather for the assembly on Sunday morning. Each house church has a leader; all the leaders periodically meet together to discuss their problems and pray for the work.

Another unusual congregation is the Bammel Road Church of Christ in Houston, which in 1977 had a one-Sunday contribution of $1,000,000, which was then a record. Starting with the proverbial handful in a school only eight years ago, their attendance now consistently exceeds 1,000. They have an extensive missions program, both at home and abroad, much of their work being behind the Iron Curtain. In their recent Eastern European Mission they accounted for their rapid growth as: visionary leadership, determination to meet the needs of people, commitment to evangelism, exciting worship assemblies, involvement of each member, a loving fellowship. Joe Schubert has been the minister from the outset. Becoming something of an authority on church growth, Joe has started a program in which he hopes to share his findings with other churches. Their address is: 2700 FM 1960, W. Houston, Tx. 77068.

One of the most significant developments among Churches of Christ in the past decade and among the most promising for the 80’s is the Mission Training and Resource Center in Pasadena, Ca., which is unusually well-equipped to help churches develop meaningful and effective mission programs. In a recent essay in Mission, the Center’s vice president, Bob Douglas, says that while they are strongly associated with the Churches of Christ, they adhere to the Restoration tradition of “Christians only, but not the only Christians.” Their eye is on the “unreached peoples,” the hundreds of millions that are not Christians in any sense. There is a lot of waste, duplication of effort, ignorance, and ineffectiveness in our mission programs. This Center, led by four Ph.D.’s in missions and related areas, can be most helpful in providing what they call “a multifaceted undertaking which ultimately’ must include social concerns such as relief development, and social justice, as well as proclamation, church planting, and discipling.” They conduct seminars for churches and do “on the scene” planning in mission fields. The Ph.D. ‘s are more than scholars in missiology, being men of extensive on-the field missionary experience. Their address is 221 E. Walnut, Suite 271, Pasadena, Ca. 91101. The Center is funded by concerned Church of Christ business men.