A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 2 NO. 16                                             June 5, 2005

“ATTRACTING CROWDS”

A SELECTED ARTICLE

Many religious groups use a variety of carnal appeals to draw people to their assemblies.  For instance, there are suppers and ice cream socials, ball games and entertainment events, etc.  When asked to justify these activities they will commonly refer to the episodes where Jesus fed the multitudes.  Some have said, “If you first feed a man's body, then you'll have a chance to feed his soul.”  Let's see if their reference to Jesus' activities will really support their practice.

There are two separate instances in which Jesus miraculously fed huge crowds of people with small quantities of food.  One time there were 5,000 men, plus women and children (Mt. 14:15-21; Lk. 9:10-17).  On another occasion there were 4,000 men, plus women and children (Mt. 15:32-38; Mk. 8:1-9).  In both instances, the people had followed Jesus to hear His marvelous teaching and to see His amazing miracles.  There had never been a promise of food to draw them.  In fact, both episodes show the people following long distances and for a long time before they were offered food.  For example, in Matthew 15:32 we read, “Then Jesus called his disciples unto Him, and said, I have compassion on the multitudes, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.”  Do you see it?  The people were not lured to follow by an offer of food.  The food came afterwards, as an act of compassion.  The people had not come in anticipation of being fed.

We have one reference where Jesus suspected that the people did, indeed, come with a desire of receiving food (John 6:22ff).  On that occasion, He did not feed them!  This should be enough for us to question the tactics some use to attract crowds to their assemblies.

EXPERIENCED AT IT!!!

A SELECTED ARTICLE

The strong man at a circus sideshow gave an exhibition of his strength by squeezing a grapefruit to pulp, then offering a reward to anyone who could get another drop of juice out of it.  A thin, shallow undersized man stepped up, took the grapefruit, squeezed it, and out came several more drops of juice.  The astonished strong man asked him how he could perform such a feat.

“I've been preaching for thirty-five years,” he said, “to tightfisted church members, and I'm experienced at that sort of thing.”

THINK IT OVER!

SELECTED

If ten different preachers can preach ten different doctrines in ten different houses in ten towns and please the Lord, why can't one man preach ten different doctrines in one house and please the Lord?  If it is right for ten men to preach ten different doctrines it is right for one man to preach as many different doctrines....you know they say that all the doctrines came from the same book.  Just how long would one man last if he undertook to preach ten conflicting doctrines?  Just about as long as ten men who will stand before the Judge that “DEMANDS” that we all speak the same things (I Corinthians 1:10 and Galatians 1:8)

“It's not the passages of the Bible that I don't understand that gives me trouble.  It's the ones I understand all to well”-----Mark Twain