No fellowship with denominations? Are you sure??

The Church of Christ, by majority, rejects what they term "having fellowship with denominations."

Consider this post from the Church of Christ's "House to House" publication:

1. The church of Christ is not a denomination, and having fellowship with denominations implies falsely that it is (cf. Ephesians 5:11).
2. People in denominations, generally speaking, have not obeyed the Gospel, and having fellowship with them implies they have (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38).
3. Worship unauthorized by God is a very serious sin, and having fellowship with those in denominations implies that it is not a serious sin (cf. Matthew 15:9; John 4:24).
4. We should not have fellowship with denominations because they do not teach the doctrine of Christ, and having fellowship with them implies that they do (cf. 2 John 9 - 11).

"Fellowship" may need defining in this case.  It does NOT mean that individual members can't have friends or family with whom they associate who are also members of other denominations.  Rather, when you hear a Church of Christ person condemning fellowship with denominations, it generally means this:

• Denominational preachers cannot be invited to speak at a Church of Christ service or event.
• Church of Christ preachers may speak at a denominational church, but only for the sole purpose of railing against and preaching against the doctrines of said denomination and attempting to convert them all to Church of Christ doctrine.
• Church of Christ ministers may not participate in any sort of ecumenical grouping that would put them on equal footing with preachers from other denominations, such as a Ministerial Alliance.
• Churches of Christ may not participate in any way in a charity drive or community service that is coordinated by another brand of church.  They may not support the Salvation Army.  They cannot do volunteer work in a Catholic soup kitchen.  And so on, and so forth.

Churches of Christ would not think of allowing members of other denominations to preach for them or teach in their Sunday School classes.

Or would they?

I don't THINK we would.  Hey, did I forget to brush my teeth this morning?

Why not open up your Church of Christ hymnal?  Turn to songs like "Blest Be the Tie That Binds," "He Leadeth Me," "I Need Thee Every Hour," or "My Jesus, I Love Thee."  Churches of Christ sing these songs every week, even though they are penned by those horrible, denominational Baptists.

OK, OK, how about "Blessed Assurance," "I Am Thine, O Lord," "Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home," "No Tears in Heaven," or "Tell Me the Story of Jesus"??  Not only are those songs written by a Methodist, but the writer is also a woman!"

Usurping CofC men's authority from beyond the grave.

So, you see, Churches of Christ have been giving not only fellowship, but also a platform in their worship services for years.  

How many of you would imagine that a Church of Christ would allow popular contemporary Christian music artists like Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, or Twila Paris to have a forum or speak in their assemblies?  They wouldn't so much as allow these "denominational" people to lead a prayer or lead a song.  Yet, they will incorporate the words they have written into worship services over and over.  They will allow them to speak through their lyrics and melodies during their worship hour without hesitation.  It has become quite fashionable to lead "Thy Word Is a Lamp Unto My Feet" and "Friends" in Churches of Christ.

So, really?  You don't fellowship denominations?

We led your worship service this morning, and you didn't even know it!

OK, so let's put the song book aside.  How about the Bible itself?  Surely they've got some of their guys on it...  except that their favorite version is the King James Version, which was done by the Church of England.

But there is one version of the Bible that a Church of Christ member helped to translate.  Jack Lewis, of Harding Graduate School, is on the translation committee for the NIV...which, unfortunately, most Churches of Christ don't really like very much. 

Next time, we consider the question...just how non-denominational is the Church of Christ?