Author Archives: J. Randal Matheny

Ft. Worth church elders add ‘instrumental music worship service’ on Sunday nights

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Front-page image for special announcement

Front-page image for special announcement

FT. WORTH, Tex. (BNc) — The Heritage church elders announced on Sunday that they had made a decision “that the addition of an instrumental worship service would be beneficial to our quest to reach the lost.”

They will begin the Sunday night service in the Fall. The two Sunday morning services will remain a cappella.

The announcement said that all the elders were in agreement that “scripture does not prohibit the use of instruments in our worship.”

They did not explain how they thought the addition of instruments of music to the worship would contribute to reaching the lost.

They stated that “we have spent a great deal of time studying the issue and praying for God to reveal his will as to what we should do.” Gone was the appeal to the New Testament as the single source of knowledge of God’s will.

They said the a cappella worship was a “long-standing tradition” that many of their members would still prefer.

Some elders stepped down from their posts at the decision. In spite of “many” members’ preference and the decision of some of their “leadership” to step down from their “positions,” the change will be made.

They claimed the change “allows people to focus on worshipping God in their own way.” Following that rationale, more future changes might be expected, with the addition of candles, dance, priestly robes, or other denominational practices.

The image on the front page which links to the special announcement was appropriately titled, “Whatever It Takes” (see above).

The special announcement is posted on the Heritage site.

Oklahoma churches gear up to help tornado victims

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moore-ok-tornadoOKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (BNc) — Hardly had the tornado dispersed, congregations in the Oklahoma City area began already to mobilize to help the victims.

The Memorial Road congregation is organizing a disaster relief effort, with a webpage of suggestions on how to help.

Dan Lovejoy noted on Twitter that he had confirmed by telephone that the “Oakcrest Church of Christ at 1111 SW 89th is OPEN for shelter if you lost power or your home.”

Jeremie Beller noted on Facebook: “The Oakcrest Church of Christ is serving as a shelter for members of the surrounding community. I just spoke with someone there and they are asking for donations of water bottles, diapers, baby formula, and blankets. If you would like to bring donations to the Wilshire church building, we will deliver them in the coming days.”

“We are concentrating on the Edmond area and will expand as opportunities arise,” Kevin Rayner, community and senior adults minister with the Edmond church, tweeted.

Another brother noted that his father was transporting people to the hospital in his pick-up truck.

Several members from the South Walker congregation live in Moore, two of whom, Bob Finley, a retired fire fighter, and Malinda Cheshier, lost their homes, Paul Goddard, dean of students at Harding Academy in Memphis, said. Paul is a native Oklahoman.

There are no reports as yet of loss of life among churches of Christ.

One person published a picture of a tornado (above) mirrored in his side mirror as he left the town of Moore.

Other efforts will be noted as news arrives to BNc.

Budding publisher kicks trend with third release: ‘Bible 101′

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Bible101-footprintsPAINTSVILLE, Ky (BNc) by Rick Kelley — Ben Wright hopes to achieve “something a bit more out of the box while remaining Biblically sound” with his new publishing company, Enwrightened Publications (EP). Ben ministers to the congregation in Paintsville, Ky., where he grew up, and where his father David serves as an elder.

EP’s third book, Bible 101, written by Mike Johnson, came out May 14. Directed toward new Christians, it covers “everything from the authority of the Bible to the important role women have in the Church,” and “clearly lays out the foundation of the church,” Ben said.

Ben took the time to answer some questions about his new venture.

BNc: What provoked your interest in this work? Tell us how Enwrightened Publications (EP) got started?

Ben: Our interest in the work has really developed over the last few years. It all began as a simple blog and grew from there. My wife and I love to read and write, so we decided to embark on a journey of producing books that we really liked. The name Enwrightened is more of an accident than anything; we were trying to come up with names for our blog and misspelled “enlightened,” then discovered we could use our last name and make it “Enwrightened”.

BNc: Your first two books, While You Are Away From Home (Mike Johnson) and Branded (Ben Wright) are already in print. How are they being received?

Ben: So far, they have been received exceptionally well. Mike is an extremely talented guy and his books are marvelous. While You Are Way From Home is a really neat concept for a book and one that, I think, was very needed.

Branded has achieved more than we had anticipated in terms of copies sold and the reaction it has received. Considering that, for the most part, social media has been our only source of advertising, both books are doing really well.

BNc: Someone once said that those associated with churches of Christ do more publishing than any other group. Why another publishing company? Does EP have a niche is seeks to serve, or a deficiency it seeks to address?

ben-wright

Emilee and Ben Wright

Ben: We knew so many talented people that had amazing things to say, but didn’t know how to get their ideas out. I (Ben) have a background in Graphic Design so we were able to do most of the legwork ourselves and really get people heard who may not have had the means otherwise. We really believed it to be a great way that we could serve others and spread the Gospel.

We try to work on projects that are maybe a little different from the traditional type of books that are published in the church today. Many books in the church now are written specifically for classes and have a very standardized format and, while we have (and will have) many of those kinds of book, we also want to produce books that are written with more of a practical aspect in mind.

Branded, for example, is a small book; it’s not a classroom book, features no questions at the end of the chapters, but rather focuses on making the Christian life better in a challenging and more practical way than a traditional classroom book might. That is certainly not to say that the traditional approach isn’t great, but just that we are interested in doing something a bit more out of the box while remaining Biblically sound.

BNc: We’re in a digital age; printing isn’t cheap. Why books?

Ben: I am a huge technology lover. If I can do it digitally, generally, I do; but I also love the feel of a book in my hands. There’s just something about it I can’t describe. I’ve tried e-books and own many. They are fantastic in their own way, but the experience just isn’t the same.

The digital age has also produced things like on-demand printing that makes the costs of creating printed books extremely affordable, which is why you see so many people self-publishing today. We try to make all of our books in as many formats as possible, including digital ones. We are also currently in the process of making our books available in audio book format.

BNc: What’s in the works for EP?

Ben: We have a lot of projects going on right now. Our big work is a project called, “Radiate”, that we hope to have out early next year. It will be a four-year teen class curriculum, written with teachers in mind. We want teen class teachers to be able to take our materials and easily be able to teach from them, and have a pre-set teaching schedule. “Radiate” takes students through the entire New Testament and various other topical subjects in a period of four years. We have some really fantastic guys lined up to write for us.

We also have several more books in the works that we’re excited to put out, including a book called, “Spiritually Fit”, a book that challenges Christians to take a look at their spiritual health. Another one is called, “Not Just the Future”, and it is about empowering the younger generation to take hold of leadership now. Of course, we also try to keep our blog updated regularly with good stuff there, as well.

Find out more about Ben, Enwrightened Publications, and ordering information on their website.

GoSpeak/Forthright launches Christendom News service

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christendom-background

WINONA, Miss. (BNc) — As a religious studies resource, GoSpeak/Forthright has launched Christendom News, hosted on the Twitter microblogging service.

Already 33 news sites and services are included in the feed. Both large news organizations and smaller ones are represented. Sites such as Christianity Today, Religion News, World magazine, World Vision, and the Vatican are included.

Some denominational news services are represented as well, among them Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists; others cater to subsets such as Pentecostalism. Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox divisions also have their feeds included.

The service is informational only and does not endorse the reports or stories to which it links. This is important to note, since the service rebroadcasts headlines written by the news services themselves.

Twitter is the second source of online news in social media, after Facebook. Many major news stories have broken through its posts, or tweets, such as the Obama bin Laden raid and death. So hosting Christendom News service on Twitter makes sense.

Christendom News seeks to fulfill at least two objectives:

  1. It serves as a good resource for religion news in general and allows researchers to get a good feel for news that interests those religions that style themselves Christian and for tendencies among them.
  2. The service also includes the BNc feed in its tweets and displays a link to Forthright Press in the profile, providing an introduction to many in the religious world who might not otherwise have knowledge of the restoration plea.

labarumChristendom News pulls RSS feeds from the religion sites automatically and republishes them through its Twitter account.

The news service uses the Chi Rho (right), an ancient symbol used to indicate Christianity. The two Greek letters are imposed upon each other to form a monogram. They are the first letters for the word “Christ.”

An alternative to following the Twitter account is through access to GoSpeak’s Christian Hub site, located in the lower right. The RSS feed and the Facebook page (the latter still in progress) are also options, although both are subject to the constantly changing whims of the sponsoring services.

GoSpeak is the ministry effort that published BNc, Forthright Magazine, The Fellowship Room, and a host of other websites. Forthright Press is the publishing arm of GoSpeak.

Denominations influenced by gospel teaching change practice of Lord’s supper

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cubati-brazil

CUBATI, Brazil (BNc) by Jeremy Newlin — In Cubati, there are four members of the church. During a trip there a couple of weeks ago, I talked to them about vision, the mission of the church, and had prayer with the couple, Afonso and Vânia, who live here.

The other two members of the church were weak in their faith. I say “were” because I talked with them and I think they were strengthened with my visit, but it seems to be a recurring theme for them.

Afonso and Vânia pray for their city, but it seems that no one listens to the Gospel. There are many denominations, and the Catholic Church is also present, but these are not the greatest problem for this city of 6,000 inhabitants.

This is a city full of immorality. Perhaps it is more evident because of the small population or maybe it is just really immoral.

Afonso told me how they are talking to people in the city about Jesus, but no one has come to meet with them.

Afonso also said that most of the denominations in Cubati now eat the Lord Supper every Sunday because “Afonso’s church,” as they call it, is doing so. They don’t say that out loud, but the reason is so that they do not lose any members.

The denominations also started doing some other things because Afonso teaches it. So with that insight I encouraged both Afonso and Vânia to continue teaching and not to be discouraged by numbers, because God is working.

Who knows, maybe the denominations in Cubati as a whole will begin to obey the Gospel truth. They may not see immediate results in numbers at their church meetings, but God’s Word will be working to transform the lives of many and an entire city, wallowing in immorality.

If you have any thoughts on this article, I would love to hear them.

I ask for your prayers for the city of Cubati and the spreading of God’s Word.

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Christian writer stupefied: ‘How could Gosnell do what he did?’

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chuck-websterBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BNc) — Instead of his regular devotional thoughts, writer Chuck Webster, who ministers with the Hoover, Ala., congregation, dedicated his space today to the conviction of Philadelphia abortionist doctor Kermit Gosnell.

Gosnell was convicted this week of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies.

Chuck expressed wonder at how Gosnell could do what he did and how the abortion industry could be acceptable in a country where the majority of its citizens call themselves Christians.

As he dealt with some “perhaps” and “maybes” in an attempt to understand what God might be doing in the situation, he remarked, “I’ve already read stories of people who have changed their minds about abortion, so we can praise God for that.”

I suppose we don’t have those answers, and maybe we never will, but whenever we see sin in some kind of graphic form like this, it ought to remind us that sin isn’t just the big, headline-making, jaw-dropping things. It’s pervasive, and it hurts us all. Those of us gawking at Dr. Gosnell from a distance also struggle with sin, though maybe it’s of a more private, not-as-serious (so we say) variety.

Chuck ended his devotional thought by including several relevant Bible passages for reflection.

Read the entire devotional thought at this link.

Goebel Music, author of ‘Behold the Pattern,’ dies

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goebel-musicELK CITY, Okla. (BNc) — Goebel Gene Music died Thursday, May 9, at the age of 78.

Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday, May 14 at 10 a.m., at the Martin Funeral Chapel of Elk City. Interment will be in the Ural Cemetery. Visitation will be on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday until service time.

Goebel was the author of several books. Perhaps the best known was Behold the Pattern. Roy Deaver had written that, if teaching a class on “Current Liberalism,” “I would choose this book.”

BNc will publish a full obituary shortly.

Gospel preacher honors 105-year-old mother, born 6 months after Oklahoma gained statehood

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Juanita Williams

Juanita Williams

HOUSTON, Tex. (BNc) by Jon Gary Williams — My mother, Juanita Williams, was born in Pontotoc County, Okla., in 1908, six months after Oklahoma became a state. On May 14th she will be 105 years young. (Her mother lived to be 101.)

Over the years she has experienced unusually good health, still taking no extended medications, which her doctors find hard to understand.

She has long been a faithful Christian. She and my father, Edward Williams, were baptized by L.R. Wilson in Ada, Okla., in 1933.

She now lives in Houston, Texas.  For years we lived in Pasadena,Texas, adjacent to Houston.

She raised three daughters and two sons and helped raise several grandchildren. Until more recent years she was a hard worker, never neglecting arduous responsibilities.

The ethical, moral and spiritual attributes she instilled in us still linger.

She is a sweet and cheerful person, full of love for everyone. Her life has been a splendid example for all who have been fortunate to be around her.

God uses preacher’s mistake to get the gospel in woman’s door

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Preacher Neil Richey

Preacher Neil Richey

MARIETTA, Ga. (BNc) by Neil Richey — While out to visit a gracefully aging member to wish her a happy birthday, I found myself in the wrong location. I don’t know why this happened, I’ve been by to check on her before. But for whatever reason I knocked on the wrong door and an unfamiliar face answered.

She was no doubt as surprised as I was. I introduced myself, and so did she. She invited me in and I accepted. I told her my funny story, and we had a good chat.

Most times when I knock on a stranger’s door to pay a visit, I’m kindly told “not interested” and sent on my way. Thankfully, this was not the case this time.

We talked about our families, religious background, and shared our “stories.” I learned that this friendly lady was retired, had recently moved to town to be closer to family as she deals with some health issues, and at one time thought of becoming a nun.

Before leaving, I asked her if I might come by and study the Bible with her.

She was surprised that I’d offer to come back and study with “just her,” as if I needed a larger group before I would offer to teach the Bible. I assured her that I wanted to talk to anyone and everyone that would listen.

So we’ll be getting together again real soon. She was so very pleasant, and I look forward to that time.

You know, there is more said in the Bible about Jesus teaching in a one-on-one scenario than giving large public discourses. Statistically, more people decide to become members of a local church when they are invited by an individual, than by hearing public preaching.

What does that tell us? Perhaps we should knock on the “wrong door” a little more often.

The Bible says, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel” (Mk 16:15). That’s our job. How’s work going?

Neil is a gospel preacher with the Piedmont Road congregation in Marietta. He graciously gave us permission to use and adapt his article.

Las Vegas taxi driver transports and teaches the gospel to riders

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Las Vegas taxi driver Mark Regan

Las Vegas taxi driver Mark Regans

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (BNc) — The World Video Bible School, based in Maxwell, Texas, recently received the following letter from Mark Regans, a Christian taxi driver in Las Vegas. His focus in life is clear and encouraging:

There is nothing more important to me than talking to people about the truth. No matter where I am this is what I do. I talk to people across the country and other countries: Scotland, Canada, and Kenya.

I will wake up out of a sound sleep to talk Bible with someone. I encounter a lot of adversity behind this. It is amazing how many people do not care about their salvation, the thing that should be most important to them.

In Matthew 6:33 the key word is “first.” The Lord is not going to play second. Our job is to speak the truth and hopefully when they hear us they hear Him (Luke 10:16).

There is a lot of work to be done everywhere. Most people I encounter do not expect to hear the gospel in Las Vegas in a taxi cab. I pass out a lot of information and discs every day.

The thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is anticipation of the encounter (the journey). Our biggest asset is our availability. I always make myself available for the Master’s use.

In Acts 2, twelve men preached one sermon and 3,000 souls were added. Nowadays it takes 3,000 sermons to bring one soul to the Lord. Every waking moment I am searching for that one.

I really appreciate the material that WVBS makes available. This is a very serious war out here and I need all the ammunition I can get my hands on. Thanks! I love you guys and I am so happy to call you my family!”

 

16-year-old preaching student speaks at Georgia School of Preaching Annual Bible Lectureship

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gsop-lectures-2013MARIETTA, Ga. (BNc) by David Decker — The Georgia School of Preaching & Biblical Studies hosted its 8th Annual Bible Lectureship May 4-5, at its Marietta campus located at the Piedmont Road church building.

This year’s lectureship theme, taken from Esther 4:14, was “For Such a Time as This.” Speakers included the youngest student currently enrolled at GSOP, 16-year-old Thad Williams from Bremen, Ga., as well as brother Allen Webster of Jacksonville, Ala.

Also on the program were Mike Greene (Bowling Green, Ky.); Gene Godfrey (Hahira, Ga.); Laron Poulian (Warner Robins, Ga.); Ricky Phillips (Martin, Tenn.); Robert H. Martin (Missionary, Pacific Islands); Misty Golden (Marietta, Ga.).

Topics included “Bearing a Young Person’s Cross,” “Bearing an Ancient Cross,” “No White or Black Church,” “What the World and the Church Need from Men of God,” “Offering Acceptable Worship,” and “Overcoming a Dangerous World in Such a Time as This.”

Several awards of recognition were given.

Bill and Connie Dedmon of the Bowdon church and LeRoy and Nila Fogle of the Piedmont Road congregation were recognized with the GSOP Distinguished Service Award for their years of faithful service in various capacities in the body of Christ.

Thad Williams became the inaugural recipient of the Tate Williams Memorial Scholarship, given in his brother’s memory.

Michael Lovelady of the Lithia Springs congregation was recognized as the GSOP Alumnus of the Year.

GSOP graduates for 2013, Mass Kalango Darcio and Michael David Domingue, received their Preaching Certificates during the Commencement portion of Saturday’s program.

Lectureship attendance in 2013 more than doubled that of past years. Neil Richey, Piedmont Road preacher, estimated that the number “was just shy of 200.”

GSOP is enjoying its fourteenth year of service as a school of preaching and biblical studies. There are nine GSOP campuses located across Georgia, with an average enrollment of 225 per quarter.

The school’s web address is www.gsoponline.org.