Branford News Is the Church of Christ a cult? G. .... Parsley Branford Church of Christ L autho s adnto h uane -DeortI I have read recently that the Lord's Church has been charged with being a cult. This is a pretty steep charge coming from one that has probably never stepped foot into the House of the Lord (1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; Eph. 2:19). Those that make such claims come from a reli- gious "cult" as well (if the charge is true). The American Heritage Dictionary defines cult in this way, "a system of religious worship and ritual." So by definition those that make such claims are members of a cult, now isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? But I am fairly confident that this is not the sense in which the charge was intended. The intent was to paint a picture of a satanic religious extremist. For there is one mental image that comes about when the word "cult" is used and it is not in a positive way. Let us consider the Church of Christ from the Bible. 1. The Church of Christ is found in the Bible. If the Church of Christ were a cult as it has been charged then it could not be from God but from the devil. We can read in the Book of God, "Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you" (Rm. 16:16). Is your church in the Bible? If not could we not rightly conclude that it would be more in line with a "cult" in the sense that we have been charged. 2. The Church of Christ is the Body of Christ. Paul writes "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence" (Col. 1:18). Also, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22- 23). So if the body is the church and the church is the body and that body is called the Church of Christ (Rm. 16:16) then Christ must be the head of a cult and the full- ness of Christ dwells in a cult. 3. The Church of Christ is holy. As Paul wrote "Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you" (Rm. 16:16). If the Church of Christ were a cult as we have been charged could anything holy come forth from it? If the one who has charged us as a cult were to visit us he would be welcomed in a holy manner and not in a cultish manner. It is holy because the fullness of Christ dwells in the church/body of Christ (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23). The Church of Christ is also the foundation of truth as Paul writes, "but if I am de- layed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the W trrrtrj Hatch Bend Apostolic Church Pastor Steve Boyd Church 935-2806 Hm. 935-0125 Sunday Worship................l10:00 a.m. Wednesday...................................7:30 p.m. 571672-F Branford United Methodist Church Lerbie Alligood 935-1653 Sunday Sunday School.............................9:30 a.m. Church Service..........................10:45 a.m. Wednesday Bible Study ................. .......... 5:30 p.m. 571675-F Burlington Santa Fe Church of Christ Evangelist Ken Campbell 935-1532 Bible School.......................1....10:00 a.m. Worship Service.................11:00 a.m. Bible Hour...................................5:00 p.m. Worship Service.......................6:00 p.m. Wed.-Bible Study......................... 7:00 p.m. 571676-F Living Springs Family Worship Center Pastor Charles Istre Church 935-1713 www.livingspringsfwc.org Sunday School..........................9:30 a.m. Morning Service...................... 10:30 a.m. Wed. Family Night & OPEN Youth Ministries Dinner...... .....................5:30 p.m. Service...................................... 7:00 p.m. 571693-F San Juan Catholic Mission Reverand Sebastian George For information call 935-2632 Sunday Mass.................................. 9:30 a.m. Wednesday Mass...........................6:00 p.m. 571699-F McCall's Chapel 7755 S. SR 349, Branford, FL 32008 935-0595 Sunday School............................9:45 a.m. Worship Service...................11:00 a.m. Wed. Bible Study....... .............. 7:00 p.m. 571704-F First Baptist Church Gordon Keller, Pastor Church 935-1363 Sunday School............................ 9:00 a.m. Morning Worship.................1....10:15 a.m. Youth Discipliship.......................5:00 p.m. Sunday Evening..........................6:00 p.m. Wed.-Prayer Meeting....................6:30 p.m. 571705-F Ephesus Advent Christian Church Pastor Bill Talley 935-6735 ~ 208-9626 Sunday School Service..................9:45 a.m. Worship Service.........................11:00 a.m. Prayer Meeting...............................7:00 p.m. 598718-F Hatch Bend Baptist Church Pastor Paul A. Coleman 935-0943 Sunday School...... . .............. 9:45 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship..........11:00 a.m. Sunday Evening............................6:00 p.m. Wednesday Evening..................... 7:00 p.m. 3029 S.E.CR 500 593837-F Peace Baptist Church S.B.C. Pastor T.L. Holton Sr. 935-4681 * 7794 E. US Hwy 27 Services Each Sunday Bible Study.............................10:00 a.m. Worship.............. ....... ....... 11:00 a.m. W orship................. .............. 7:00 p.m. Wednesday Prayer & Bible Study................7:00 p.m. 571701-F This space could be your church listing or business, for more information call Nancy at 386-362-1734 571384-F _________________'__________________________571384-F truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). Can your denomination make this claim? 4. The charging of the Church of Christ as a cult is nothing new. This very same charge was made from the beginning toward the Church of Christ. "But this I con- fess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect , so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets" (Ac. 24:14). Even in the days of Paul there were people saying "the Way they call a sect" and we as Paul are charged with such because we "worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets". Those that do not believe all that is written are always the ones to make charges against the Lord's Church as a cult. Paul was also told "But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere" (Ac. 28:22). And such is the case today the Church of Christ is spoken against everywhere by those who do not understand the scriptures nor the ways of God. 5. Consider some passages. If the "church" of Christ is a cult then consider how the following passages would have to read. "And upon this rock I will build my cult and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18) "Greet one another with a holy kiss, the Cults of Christ salute you" (Rm. 16:16) "...And the Lord added to the Cult daily those who were being saved" (Ac. 2:47) "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the cult. But if he refuses even to hear the cult, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector" (Matt. 18:17) "that He might present her to Himself a glorious cult, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27) And on and on we could go. The Church of Christ is not a cult. We only desire to serve Jesus as our Head, Savior and King. We endeavor to respect His authority and abide in His doctrine (Mk. 1:1; 2 Jn. 9). And take the admonishing of Paul when he wrote "Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other" (1 Cor. 4:6). We invite you to come and see for yourself if we are a cult as charged. Branford Elementary School 2010 Continued From P Second Grade of stuffing or insta toes Third Grade - cranberry sauce or sweet potatoes Forth Grade - green beans Fifth Grade - Corn Pre-K and Mrs. Condiments Thanksgiving din be served at BES vember 18th. Th will include turkey, potatoes with grav greens, sweet w/marshmallows, bread, and ice crea The Branford Pi brary has tutoring to students. App are available the p brary. Popcorn and Di will be November Please be court one another while i pickup line. We at age 13A move the line as quickly as possible and we greatly ap- - Boxes preciate your patience as nt pota- we do our duty. You can visit the Bran- Canned ford Elementary School Li- r canned brary website by going to http://destiny.suwannee.kl Canned 2.fl.us. Click on Branford Elementary School and Canned then check out some of the resources you will see on Allen - the first page. You can also click on the catalog tab and see what books we have in nner will our library and what their on No- AR level might be. If you ie menu click on webpath express , mashed you can enjoy a search en- y, turnip gine that shows articles potatoes about whatever topic you corn- choose and what grade lev- im. el they are appropriate for public Li- We still need many vol- available unteers for the Kid's Ko- lications mer Gift Shoppe, sched- �ublic li- uled for the week immedi- ately after Thanksgiving rink day break. Proceeds benefit the 19th. school at large and the mu- teous to sic department. Please see n the car Mrs. Kelley, in the music tempt to room, if you are interested. Cold weather is upon us. Please put your child's name in all jackets, sweat- shirts, hats and gloves. BUS AND CAR NOTES We do not honor phone calls changing transporta- tion for your student during the school day. If you need to revise transportation for the day, please send a note to the school in the morn- ing. If you are unable to do this, you may fax us a signed request by 2:15 pm at (386) 935-6311. TRUANCY It is the responsibility of the parent and student to make sure that the student attends classes daily and is on time. Students must be in school unless the ab- sence has been excused for one of the reasons listed below. Death in the family, or some other insurmountable condition. Documented appoint- ments with health care pro- fessionals. Documented absence for religious instruction or reli- gious holidays. Participation in an acad- emic class or school-spon- sored activity approved by principal. Court appearances (copy of subpoena required). Science Fair set up will be on January 19th. Sci- ence Fair Parent Night will be on January 20th and take down will be on Janu- ary 21st. Starting in No- vember backboards (no headers) will be on sale from 8:00 to 8:30 most days in room 118. The boards will cost $4.00 and come in various colors. Teachers may ask students to bring in projects earlier. Also, please do not include any glass items for safety of our younger students. Picture Retakes are Tuesday, November 30th. A FREE MUSIC CAMP at Spirit of the Suwannee begins on the evening of Friday, Novem- ber 5 and ends on Sunday, November 7. There is drumming, stringed instru- ments, etc., and the camp lasts all weekend. Please take advantage of this won- derful opportunity for your children. If you have any questions please contact Spirit of the Suwannee at 364-6565. We at BES wish all of you a very blessed and re- juvenating Thanksgiving. Please remember the true meaning of the holiday as you join in family tradi- tions and quiet reflective times. David V Campbell Food for Thought THE GIFT! Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. This account carries over NO balance from day to day. Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use that day. What would you do with such an account? Actually we do have such an account, it is called time. 1) Your Daily Balance: Every morning we are given this credit: 86,400 seconds. It carries no balance. If we fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is ours! There is no going back. 2) How Are You Spending Your Time? Many today are "killing time." God tells us to "redeem time" Eph. 5:15-16 We must live in the PRESENT! 3) The Clock Is Ticking: We must first make our lives right with God [II Cor. 6:2 "Now, is the acceptable time...day of salvation." We can enjoy today with our sins forgiven in Christ [Acts 22:16]. We know sin equals death, but God gave us His Son to pay for our sins [Rom. 6:23] Ken Campbell, Evangelist Burlington-Santa Fe Church of Christ 570031-F PAGE 14A FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2010 Suwannee Housi g Authotity I * SUWANNEE DEMOCRAT/LIVE OAK