The principle of silence is really quit simple and is a common occurrence in everyday life. This may be a part of the difficulty that people have with the principle; it’s too simple and too common that it is often overlooked. Much like the process of breathing in air, it is so natural that people often fail to give thanks to Almighty God for the air, the ability and the process of breathing it into our lungs - oh, and don't forget to exhale. Silence is as simple as walking into a restaurant and ordering your favorite meal off the menu. Mine happens to be breaded pork chops fried in bacon grease, covered in country gravy with a homemade biscuit of the side. If the waitress brought me everything on the menu including what I had ordered and the manager expected me to pay simply because the manager says, "Well Mr. Popejoy, you did fail to tell us not to bring everything on the menu. I don't know if you realize this or not but our other menu selections are very popular. So enjoy your meal, Mr. Popejoy."
Friends, silence is really that simple. The restaurant represents the religious world and the menu, all the choices of worship styles that are offered. God is the costumer and we are the waiter; the cook; and the manager. In John 4:23-24 Jesus said, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Who really wants to be the manager on the Day of Judgment expecting God to pay for the whole menu, when He only ordered breaded pork chops fried in bacon grease, covered in country gravy with a homemade biscuit of the side? Who wants to be the waitress that messed up the order or the cook that failed to speak up and say, “Wait one minute, this customer only ordered pork chops!”
It is the height of arrogance for Mark Henderson, or any other man, to tell God what He will get or not get. Humility allows God to decide. Seeing that God desired for men to walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7) and that faith comes by the word of God (Rom. 10:17) the only way to walk/live that pleases God is to listen to His revealed will, the New Testament.
Consider another problem that we have with regards to this whole situation that Mark Henderson has brought on the churches in the Oklahoma City area. A manager at a local Wendy’s restaurant decides that he is going to start serving Big Mac’s, Quarter Ponders and McRibs on his menu. In reality he wants to be a McDonalds but he does not want to give up the Wendy’s franchise benefits. Is that local restaurant a Wendy’s or a McDonalds? Trying to be an instrumental church of Christ is like trying to be a Wendy’s selling Big Macs! Is Quail Springs a church of Christ or a Baptist Church? In reality the elders at Quail Spring are just like that manager that does not want to give up the Wendy’s franchise benefits. Its time to give up the benefits of the franchise! If you want to be the denomination known as “The Family of God at Quail Spring” have the courage to take down the sign out front that still says, “Quail Springs Church of Christ.”
Rick Popejoy
2 comments:
The absolute absurdity of your argument is amazing. The reason you were brought the meal you ordered was because that is what you "specified". Silence has absolutely nothing to do with it. How supposedly educated, mature students of God's word continue to misapply this principle baffles me. Plus, the "silence is exclusionary" argument is universally recognized as flawed logic. The silence principle is so misused and overused it has reached the point of being laughable.
The fact that Christians would air their disputes in front of unbelievers is incredibly frustrating to me. Also, if we are really autonomous congregations, than who gives you the right to police another congregation and its eldership? If we are not a denomination, then we cannot act like it and try to enforce our opinions on other churches.
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