READER'S EXCHANGE

 

I think you are stretching the point on the woman’s place in the church. It seems accommodating to present trends without attention to some long held principles about male leadership. Can’t women be treated with respect and serve God’s church without being ‘’up front”? I love you.—Chuck Dickens, Exeter, CA.

I came into a Church of Christ from another church several years ago. One thing that impresses me about the Church of Christ is how men of all ages readily participate in all the services. It thrills me to see men teaching classes so willingly. In my previous church it was hard to find men who were willing and qualified to teach, and this was true of women as well. I am comfortable with the way things are in the Church of Christ, but it would be beautiful if women were given more opportunity for leadership and participation in the services, providing the men did not regress.—Beth Cain, Lubbock, TX.

I’ll sure be sad to see this end.—Bill Parker, Jasper, IX.

Sad to know that you will soon cease publication. The paper has been a source of strength for me and many others, and a powerful force for change in what I am sure is a positive, truly Christian direction.—Henry Boren, Chapel Hill, NC

You have been such a blessing all through the years. I thank God that a young preacher gave me my first copy of your paper, It so changed my thinking and caused me to hunger for God that that same preacher soon initiated a withdrawal of fellowship from me. You have challenged my thinking many times. The paper will be sorely missed. I’m sure it has been a teacher and friend to many readers. Thanks also for sharing your overcoming victories and the daily care of Mother Pitts. The heavy loads we are called on to bear are not necessarily to make us better people but so that others may be encouraged in their trials when they see Jesus in us.—Phylene Pressley, Maricopa, CA

These words came to me out of the blue, as a golden, jeweled rod: “What you are is God’s gift to you. What you become is your gift to God.”—Hubert Derrick, Huntington Beach, CA.

As for what the Church of Christ must do to be saved, the first thing is to fall in love with Jesus. We need to love him enough to want to be like him. Most of us serve out of duty and for what we can get out of it, mainly to go to heaven. If there were no heaven, Jesus would still be worthy of our love. The second thing is to learn to worship.—Renee and Jeff Sperry, Anniston, AL.