Thanks, brother. I will be sure and look at your material when I get a chance, and I appreciate you calling it to my attention.

God bless you,

Matt

I’m going to have to INSIST I not read another of your blogs today or I’m not going to get anything done!

WHAT an eye opening blog about a problem no one in the churches of Christ should ignore. By the way, I neither know Deaver nor have I read his book. So, take my comments for whatever they’re worth.

At SaintsMeet I have a discussion that runs along these same lines. It asks, “Restoring the church & America With a Biblical World View?” http://www.saintsmeet.com/profiles/blogs/restoring-the-church-amp

I found out right away by mistakenly posting this discussion on someone else’s page that many people don’t know what a “Biblical World View” means and why it is so important. So, that’s explained now, right up front. Deaver’s book, however, punctuates exactly what I am saying. I can say tbis even though I know neither the man nor his book. How?

Few of us in the west have a remarkable Biblical World View. It is pagan in many respects and included the view even of this writer even though I was a GOOD “church of Christer.” Until I TRIED what I’m going to suggest I wouldn’t have accepted such a simple tool as THE MOST EFFECTIVE method of winning the lost, discipling them, making the message viral and duplicable all at once and all at the same time getting rid of the divisions of fellowship. Christian churches planting other churches, elders and deacons are automatic and the only interests worthy of mention. Division simply vanishes as easily as it came upon the church when we stopped narrating God’s word. Ahem!

Were it not for the fact that I’m giving this work away, I could be accused of profit mongering, but for the sake of the kingdom I DO pray a profit for the Lord’s church and kingdom.

Narrating God’s word is a biblically approved example most of us have ignored, to the western church’s dilemma. Even though 75% of the bible is narrated, we are mostly expositively teaching and preaching it. Thankfully, we’ve followed a biblically approved example in our teaching and preaching, but it’s only 10% of the biblically approved examples while the other 15% is poetical (though much of that is narrated)!

What we are finding out in India is that these questions of fellowship are falling away by themselves due to getting right down to practicing a biblical world view. We have been going into the denominations and whole Churches are repenting and becoming simply, “the church of Christ meets here.” Men have stopped calling themselves and others “Pastors” and are increasingly opting for all the bible they DO.

Brother, what I think is the evil here is focusing on the problem rather than the solution. The solution is to get back to the bible as fast as we can, and there is no more powerful and effective way than narrating the bible in chronological, sequential order. For an example, please go to the following link and start. If you want more of the science and argument, then click the links therein. Otherwise, just try reading ALOUD with as much meaning as you would give when telling the story to a child: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dgqtv9ff_175cj2nj7f6&hl=en

The most important thing about this is that one can TEST it upon himself in the privacy of his own study. Just read the stories out loud. Not a whisper, but a mumble if necessary, and yet with as much meaning as one would give it to a child, Rom 10:17 “hear” verses “read” or “study.” I cannot over emphasize that.

Let us praise God!

Thanks. I appreciate you stopping by.

Matt

Say a prayer for me, then, and I will try to get some further study done. I’m on no one’s side, I just want to be on God’s side. Ultimately we can only go back to the Bible to sort it all out.

Talk soon, Lord willing.

Matt

God bless,

Zach

The inconsistencies are very important, since so many of those who hold them believe and teach, as Todd points out, that 2 John 9,10 requires correct boundaries of fellowship in order to be in fellowship with God.

Someone might be practicing the biblical standard, but if it is any of these “big shots”, it can only be one of them, since they are inconsistent. That should mean that we can’t be in fellowship with all of them… only the one who has it right, which would mean a VERY small group indeed.

Note: When I have used “big shot” I really don’t mean anything at all derogatory. These guys are prominent men and very respected. I am neither.

I suppose I wonder how there is any hope for the “normal” approach when such a fundamental issue as divorce/remarriage can’t even be something all these guys agree upon.

I think Todd has commented upon your general solution, which would be to be more consistent. Unless there is brotherhood agreement upon that at all levels very very soon, I can’t see how anything other than an incredible period of marking false teachers / disfellowshipping would “solve” this problem.

I really hope to read what you think. So far, I have a lot of trouble imagining a solution that does not involve admitting Todd has it correct. Being one of those “conservative” brothers Todd refers to, I have found this a very interesting wake-up call.

Thanks. Hopefully I’ll get some more done on this soon.

Matt

Thanks for your comments. I’m trying to fit a review in amongst my ministry duties, family responsibilities and educational obligations. Lord willing, I’ll have my second part up in a couple days, maybe as early as tonight.

I understand what you are saying. One problem with Todd’s work, as I see it so far, is that pointing out that brethren are inconsistent in application of fellowship standards does not mean there is no standard, nor does it mean that there is not someone, somewhere within the church practicing the biblical standard.

The same could be said for our standard of sin. A person could go through the brotherhood and point out places where we practice sin, or have different opinions on sin. But that certainly would not bring one to the conclusion that we need to be more lax on sin. Instead, it would mean that we need to be more biblical in our practice and observance of God’s commands against sin.

Thanks again, GW. I really appreciate your comments, and your visit.

Matt