Churches with No Elders

Views: 99[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 1  page.] The question is sometimes asked, “Can a church Scripturally exist if it has no elders/bishops?” This very practical question deserves a Scriptural answer. I have no doubt that the Lord desires…

Women in the Church

Views: 89[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our New Uploads page.] I have long observed that major movements in the world will sooner or later have their effect upon religion. Numerous examples exist: As the divorce rate in society has risen, we…

Scriptural Youth Directors

Views: 100[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2  page.]             What about the practice of churches that have a “youth director”? Is the practice authorized by Scripture? I suppose the answer would be affected by what his duties and…

Where Do You “Tune Him Out”?

Views: 93[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2 page.] When I was a small boy my family was very close to a Godly medical doctor in Liberty Hill, TX. This man had a hearing problem and wore a hearing…

Elders Are Not “Lords Over” the Local Church

Views: 89[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 1 page.] Every context in the New Testament having to do with the responsibilities of elders of the church speaks of the authority of the eldership. This is plain enough in the…

Elders—Their Crucial Role

Views: 95[Note:  This MS is available in larger font on our Longer Articles  page.] When the Lord Jesus returned to the Father, He first entrusted the church to the apostles (Mat. 16:18–19; John 14:16–18), who had the responsibility of receiving the revealed Word (John 16:13)…

“The Man or the Plan” Discussion Revisited

Views: 138[Note:  This MS is available in larger font on our Manuscripts  page.] Introduction In the early 1960s I was a young preacher, not long out of Abilene Christian College. I well remember the lively brotherhood discussion of the Man or the plan controversy (actually,…

The Scandal of the Church

Views: 71[Note:  This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2  page.] In worship, organization, work, and other features, the faithful churches of Christ in the first century and in the twenty-first century are identical. This is that for which those who…

The New Testament Church

Views: 73[Note:  This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2  page.] If the church as God planned it and Christ built it is to exist in any age, there are certain principles to which men must be committed. As surely as…

Separation

Views: 97[Note:  This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2  page The Bible teaches the doctrine of “separation” throughout. God requires His people to recognize that they distinctly belong to Him and to behave accordingly. God gave Israel His Law through…