Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

This is the first in a series of three that Fudge is now running related to
Christian unity.  I will keep you posted as they come out.  They ought to be
interesting.

Love in Jesus,
Tim

----- Original Message -----
From: "Edward Fudge" <Edward@...>
To: <cuprayer@...>
Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 2:31 PM
Subject: gracEmail (churches, changes and controversies)


~ gracEmail ~
Edward Fudge
___________________________________________

CHURCHES, CHANGES AND CONTROVERSIES
(Part 1 of 3)

When my generation was growing up in the 1940's, 50's and 60's, we knew
exactly what to expect when we went to church. My town had perhaps a dozen
expressions of the Church universal, each carrying forward its own
traditions of thinking, speaking and doing. And if people from our town
visited a church of their own variety somewhere else, they could anticipate
in advance what they would find when they arrived. My group thought it was
the only one that did things "right," but most other Christian groups
probably thought at some level that their ways were also best.

*          *          *

Today, to put it mildly, things are different. It is not uncommon now to see
as many independent or nondenominational churches as churches with the old
brand names. Also common are what I jokingly call "stealth churches" --
congregations affiliated with traditional denominations or fellowships which
omit that association from their name. Within five miles of my house are
"stealth churches" that are really Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and
Lutheran. Other churches use a location or community name, disclosing an
affiliation in smaller print on a second line. It is not uncommon to hear
people say, in all varieties of churches, "I think of myself as a Christian
who happens to attend such-and-such church."

Things really get exciting when one moves about. Within my own tradition
(non-instrumental Churches of Christ), one finds most churches singing
without accompaniment but some using instruments now and then. Most of our
congregations still limit public functions to the males but a growing number
of churches make no distinction between men and women. Some use a song
leader; others feature a praise team. Some celebrate Christmas and Easter
while many others do not. Most have fellowship halls, family centers or
multipurpose facilities but a minority avoids them all. The issues vary with
other denominations but the diversity is clearly present in most Christian
groups.

One finds many different attitudes toward change. Any church usually
contains an element of people who not only prefer the familiar old ways but
believe that anything else is wrong. Another group seems to think that
anything is better than what has always been. A larger group -- who perhaps
did not grow up within the particular Christian tradition -- doesn't care
either way and cannot quite understand what the fuss is all about. Meanwhile
those charged with responsibility for leading the church try to balance old
and new, to do the most good and the least harm, and to maintain unity while
promoting progress. In this short series of gracEmails, we will look at two
of the earliest Christian churches -- Jerusalem and Antioch -- and ask how
they dealt with diversity, how they evaluated changes and how they led when
controversial issues arose.

____________________

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