The Church And The Christian
"A Christian is a member of the church twenty-four hours a day; therefore whatever a Christian does, the church can do; whatever cause a Christian supports is a cause which the church can support."
That paragraph looks simple and reasonable enough —but it is false. It confuses "the church" with "the Christian", it does not take into account the score, or hundreds, of ways in which a Christian can and will act (acting because he is a Christian) in which the church has no obligation, or authority, to act whatsoever.
The Christian Citizen
The church certainly does have the right, and the obligation, to teach her members what Christian citizenship means. Those members then, being taught, will go forth to become the very finest citizens the land has. As good citizens they have the privilege of becoming a part of any rightful movement for better government. They may join, or even organize, a "Good Government League;" they may become officers in the "Anti-Saloon League," the "Chamber of Commerce," the "Rotary International", or any other: group working for the betterment of the community. As citizens, and as Christians, they have the right to work for the good of the city and nation in which they live.
But who is willing to say that it is a part of the church's mission to organize, promote, and financially support a "Good Government League," a "Rotary International," or an "Anti-Saloon League"? Surely here are activities in which a Christian may engage, but which are no part of the mission of the church. Because of the influence of Christian teaching, a man might become a good citizen and enter into any or all of these activities. But it would be the individual Christian acting and not "the church" participating.
The Christian Family Man
In fulfilling her mission to "edify", the church will certainly do much teaching on the duties and responsibilities of Christian fathers. A Christian father may be deeply impressed by the teaching, and may determine that he will seek in every way to fulfill his obligation toward his children.
In fulfilling his obligation as a Christian father, a man will surely seek to provide the right kind of recreational and social life for his children. He may even join with other good men, both Christians and non-Christians, to provide a "Community Recreational Center", where clean and wholesome sports and games may be provided. He may go in with others, Christians and or non-Christians, to form a ball club, a hunting club, a golfing association, a riding club, a summer camp for boys, or any one or more of a hundred such activities. Because he is a Christian he desires, and seeks to provide, the right kind of recreation for his own children and other children. His work along this line is directly traceable to the influence of Christianity.
But who will say it is the church's mission to provide such recreational activities? Even if every single director of the ball club were a member of the church, and if every single player on the teams were a Christian, it would not be a "Church of Christ Ball Club!"
In fulfilling his obligation as a Christian father, a man will desire to provide the very best education possible for his children. If he is convinced that the state supported schools are not providing the kind of education young people ought to have, he will seek to encourage other Christians and like-minded people to give of their money to provide a school that will give the right kind of teaching. This school may teach every branch of learning from agriculture, art, chemistry, metallurgy, and mechanics to dramatics, domestic science, and dentistry. If the men founding and supporting the school desire to have the Bible taught there along with these other subjects, they have that right.
But who will say that it is the work of the church to found and operate such schools? Even brother G. C. Brewer has signed his name to a proposition denying that such schools as David Lipscomb College and Abilene Christian College come "within the scope of the mission of the church." These schools were founded, and are largely supported, by Christian people. Undoubtedly it was the influence of the gospel of Christ that has motivated these Christian people to make the sacrifices necessary for such schools to exist. But the schools do not come within the scope of the church's mission.
A Case In Point
"The Christians in any given community make up the church in that community; whenever those Christians act in concert, that is the church in that community acting." This bit of muddled thinking was presented to us by a college teacher not long ago. But let us see how it would work: In a given community the church might conceivably be composed of only five members, each member a man and the head of a family.
These five men might decide to go into a partnership to operate a service station. That service station would certainly be run on Christian principles; there would be no dishonest practices or deceitful policies followed. The business would have a certain character about it that might distinguish it and set it apart from other service stations — but would it be right to call it the "Church of Christ Service Station?"
These same five men might decide they wanted to set up a school for the better training of their children. They would dig down into their pockets and provide the necessary funds for that school. But would that be the "Church of Christ School"?
These same five men might desire to establish a recreational center, with bowling alleys, tennis courts, and a baseball field, so that their children, and other children, might have clean, wholesome sports and games in which to engage. But would that be the "Church of Christ Recreational Center?"
The Church's Mission
The Christian man is a good citizen, a good family man, a good businessman, in every relationship of life he shows the influence of Christian teaching. Because he is a Christian he will undertake many, many activities which he would never have undertaken otherwise.
But the church of the Lord has a definite, specific, well-designated mission: (1) to evangelize the world, (2) to care for the needy, and (3) to edify her own members. Any activity which does not come "within the scope" of these three things is not a part of the church's mission—no matter how worthy the undertaking, and no matter how rightfully and properly Christian individuals may participate in it.
We sound once again the plea of brother C. R. Nichol's fine article in the March 22 Guardian, also in a recent issue of Gospel Advocate "Let the church be THE CHURCH!", and let not her mission and her work be confused and befuddled by the loose thinking of brethren who ought to know better.
F. Y. T.