READER'S EXCHANGE

 

I appreciated” Are You Tired of Trying to Go to Heaven?” in the April issue. I have a hard time shaking the attitude of the teacher you described in the article. Intellectually I know what you said is true. I’ve read the relevant Bible passages and I know what all the words mean. Still, deep down inside, I feel like I need to try harder. It is a tough one! Anyway, your article helped. Thank you. Steve Coburn, Springfield, Illinois.

(Steve’s problem, humbly described, is the problem we all have, and the cause of it, I am persuaded, is man’s inherent assumption that he can save himself or do it himself. It is the bill of goods Satan sold man from the beginning. Accepting the full beauty of God’s grace is a gradual thing. There are no quick fixes. In the end an acceptance of God’s free gift of grace will cause us to work more, not less, but it will be more from love and confidence than from fear and dread. —Ed.)

Isn’t it strange that we can read an article by a woman in some Christian journal, but we cannot listen to her give the same message from the pulpit of our congregations? —Dean Melton, East Alton, Illinois.

(It is when we start asking questions like this that we set the stage for change down the road. —Ed.)

We see some movement toward unity in the various Church of Christ groups. There is hope on the horizon! - Bob Howard, Myrtle Creek, Oregon.

The institutionalization of the ekklesia, which is of course the secularization of it, marches on, and I see no end, except that small groups will pull off and try to recover the informality and love life of the early followers. Am I too pessimistic and can you see a bigger light beyond the tunnel? Give our love to that beautiful wife. —Norman Parks, Murfreesboro, Tn.

(Norman has done too much for the renewal of the church, especially in giving our sisters some hope of liberation, to be called a pessimist. Yes, I do see light at the end of the tunnel —and even some shafts of light through the cracks before the end of the tunnel. Institutionalization and secularization may not be as evil as Norman supposes, but to some degree necessary to the ongoing of the church through the centuries in changing cultures and conditions, just as the church in an important sense is to be “worldly.” Bonhoeffer would at least say so. Read about him in this issue. —Ed.)

Your article on Socrates reminded me of a fascinating statement by John Stott, which I quote: “We need both Christian gadflies to sting and harry us into action for change, and also Christian watchdogs who will bark loud and long if we show any signs of compromising biblical truth. Neither gadflies nor watchdogs are easy companions to live with. Nor do they find each other’s company congenial. Yet the gadflies must not sting the watchdogs, nor must the watchdogs eat up the gadflies. They must learn to coexist in God’s church and to fulfill their respective roles by concentrating their attention on us, the generality of God’s people, who badly need the ministry of both.” —Alex Wilson, Louisville, Ky.

Several years ago I contemplated leaving the Church of Christ, but I didn’t because of one of your articles on unity in diversity. And I prayed and came to see my obligation to serve and teach where I was. Would you believe that our next preacher was a Spirit-filled, grace-oriented lover of God’s word who had grown up in the Church of Christ? Well, it didn’t work out, for they didn’t want to hear him anymore than me. His resignation was forced and mine was voluntary. One of the elders said, “We are going to clean out the sinners and have a nice little church here.” Up until then we were growing and people were learning to open their minds to God’s word. Since they don’t want us anymore we are now meeting in a home and the preacher is looking for a job. —Jamye Russell, Center, Tx.

(It is to your credit that you hung in and tried to make it work. There is not much you can do except pray for them when they run you off like that. But your labor will not be in vain. Down the road at that same church there may one day be a big difference because of your patience and what your preacher said about grace. His word does not return to him void! —Ed.)