As difficult as it may be to believe, we are in the year 2010. As a young lad, my thoughts of the future surrounding the year 2010 were filled with space ships and robots performing our everyday tasks. Now the year 2010 is here, and although much has changed, the church of Christ in 2010 is much the same as it was in the late sixties, when I was a boy. Following are a few of the many things that haven’t changed since that time. We still meet for assembly as we did in the late sixties. We partake communion on every Lord’s Day as has been done for years. We offer communion in the evening in “the room down the hall” to those who were “unable to attend”. We still sing songs with the intent to be pleasing to the One who provides all blessings without the instrument. The reason for all of these is we clearly believe the pattern of the church was fixed for all time; the pattern is set forth in the New Testament; and unless we can find authority for doing a thing either by direct teaching, approved example, or necessary inference, we reject it. Our attitude toward the Bible was powerfully referenced by Thomas Campbell, “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak, where the Scripture is silent, we are silent.”
Is this attitude correct? Is this position pleasing to God? When Moses was about to build the tabernacle, God warned him, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Heb. 8:5). That was concerning the Tabernacle, but what about the church? Consider the words of Paul in II Timothy 1:13, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” It is just as important for us to hold to the pattern set for us by Christ Jesus for the church today as it was for Moses to hold to the pattern for the Tabernacle.
Following are some things that have changed since I was a lad. We worship in the comfort of air conditioning (the funeral home fans are gone). We can teach by computer rather than flip charts. Jesus commanded us to “preach” and “teach” and given we live in the internet age, there are many new ways of preaching the Word in 2010 compared to even a few years ago. Women’s pant suits have increasingly replaced the dress and men’s dress has seen a decline in the percentage of neckties. Hats for both men and women have all but disappeared.
Is the biblical pattern still suitable for a changing world in the year 2010? What is it that changes? The people, no; the nature of the human has not changed. There are no new sins. The Bible has not changed. All the changes are mere outward changes. Styles come and go, but the pattern for the church stands upon the Firm Foundation.
For the elders, Tony Williams