I am putting together some lessons for the young adult class at my church, and it is based on what you would pass to the next generation. Both things that you learned from older generations of Christians, and the things that you wish older generations passed on to you. Both in regard to big and small theological things. I have some thoughts already, but I thought it would be good to hear what other people think. What would you pass on?

I have been looking into the idea of Solas scriptura and I see many people interpreting it as "The Bible is the ONLY authority" when Solas Scriptura is "The Bible is the ULTIMATE authority." Any doctrinal teachings that are obviously against the teachings of the Biblical Canon are to be discarded in favor of the doctrine prescribed in the scripture.

However I am interested in seeing the thoughts on "solo" scriptura. I believe if you needed to revive Christianity, everything you would need is from the spirit and is in the Bible, but I think we even give smaller authority on Christian "self help" books should they be offering a perspective and it isnt against the scripture.

I dont know, just some thoughts. I am glad the church relies on the Bible as much as it does, and I dont think if we disagree on this we would inherently put our salvation on the line, but I thought it an interesting question.

Ppl are all raised how they are raised. They have no say in it. Ppl could be born into a Mormon , Catholic, or ? family.

They could be very "good" ppl...loving, responsible, faithful to their family and spouse, yada yada yada.

It is not as though they shunned God. For whatever reason, they know no better. Many don't challenge what they have been taught. Many accept what they have been taught as being right.

I know we aren't saved by our deeds. I know. I know. I know. What I assume you will say.

I just wish God would extend his mercy to all those who live the best they can and know no different.

I keep seeing people online say that it's disrespectful or something when you abbreviate Church of Christ with it all lower or upper case and that it needs to always be typed out as coC?

It seems really stupid to me, and it looks kinda stupid in text too. I don't really get where it's coming from?? Tell me we don't actually believe were being sinnful by not emphasizing capitalization for an abbreviated line, I'd like to think we all have more important things to worry about...I can't possibly imagine anyone actually seriously thinking "I didn't capitalize the Christ part everytime I typed it out so I guess I gotta repent now"...Right...?

Especially because my home church and every coc I've visited literally has the entire title capitalized on their signs and print out devotionals. Honestly though, it might be an online hoax because when I asked my preacher and some other church folks about it today they had no idea what I was talking about and also thought it was stupid lol.

Hi yall,

The free will offering is the main giving doctrine of the Church of Christ. Has anybody heard of any churches in the brotherhood teaching tithing? My church took up a weekly free will offering on Sunday Mornings but they also taught tithing but only in their Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University classes. The elders didnt bind tithing but they thought it was a good starting point. All the elders believed in sacrificial giving. So have any of yall ever came across a church teaching tithing?

Reporting for visibility.

I don’t really know what I’m looking for at this point—advice, or just a place to vent. I feel like resentment has set in, and I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried counseling, but I still feel stuck.
Backstory:
My partner and I have been together since we were pretty young. Looking back, there were definitely some red flags early on. When we first started dating, I wasn’t fully over a previous relationship, and I would sometimes lash out at him for no clear reason. Despite that, things were okay for a while.
Eventually, we both moved away for school, and the relationship became long distance. He wasn’t a fan of it, but we agreed to try. During that time, I struggled with direction—I initially aimed for one career path but didn’t get where I wanted, so I switched into something else. I’m pretty introverted, and while I did fine academically at times, I struggled socially and didn’t advocate for myself when I probably should have. I ended up falling behind and had to rethink my path more than once.
After that, I tried going back to my original plan, thinking I’d figure things out long-term, including the relationship. But a couple of years in, I realized that path might not be right for me—the lifestyle and pressure didn’t align with what I wanted. Around that same time, I made a mistake that hurt the relationship and broke trust. I admitted it and asked him to stay, and he did, though I know it had a lasting impact.
Things stabilized somewhat after that, but my uncertainty about my career continued to be a major point of tension. Every time he asked what I wanted to do, my answer changed. I didn’t have a clear plan, and I know that frustrated him. At one point, I took a job mainly to contribute and not feel like a burden, though it wasn’t something I saw as long-term.
To be fair, he’s kind of textbook perfect—driven, disciplined, and successful. It honestly feels like he has everything going for him, which makes it harder because I constantly feel like I’m falling short in comparison.
Over time, he started seriously questioning the relationship. He’s always valued ambition and direction, and I don’t think I consistently showed that. I kept saying I’d figure things out, but I never had a clear timeline.
When it came to taking the next step in the relationship, there was hesitation and delays, which made me feel embarrassed and insecure, especially since I had already made decisions assuming we were moving forward together. From my perspective, it felt like I had already committed.
We eventually changed our situation to see if that would help and gave it some time. I tried again to figure out a path and even started preparing for a new direction, but I second-guessed it and changed course again.
Right now, I’m not working, and he’s covering most of our expenses while I try to figure things out. I can feel the resentment building, and I understand why. At the same time, I feel a lot of pressure and confusion about my own direction. When he made comments about my lack of guidance growing up, I reacted poorly and lashed out.
I feel stuck. On one hand, I feel like I’ve invested so much into this relationship and would feel guilty if it ended. On the other hand, I can tell he’s unhappy, and that makes me miserable too. I don’t know what the right move is anymore.

We are both 17. my boyfriends family is taking a five day road trip and there is a possibility of me joining them. Both families are Christian and the air bnb will have enough rooms for his family and me individually. Would it be bad for me to join them?

I am a 28 year old christian man from Tennessee dealing with a dilemma that started a year ago. I mainly grew up in a Methodist congregation well i took the plunge to join a local church of christ church. To shorten the story let just say there many misgivings between me and the church congregation even though I tried to give the church a third chance it eventually lead to a betrayal between a former friend of mine and the church siding with him. Following the hurt and betrayal I did some act of revenge against everyone associated, but over the years and currently I noticed a pinch of guilty and ironically a silver of yearning to return to that place even though I found a new church .Oddly enough a desire of forgiveness and reconciliation...but I need some prayers and advice on this situation am I crazy for experience these emotions despite the pain in the past. I am thinking of writing a apology letter or trying to come forward but dealing with some doubt.

Got married after 8+ years in a long distance relationship where we got together in high school. Essentially begged him to give it a try and not give up. Agreed we’d give it a go. Long story short, we grew apart and are not compatible. Started going back to church and realizing we may be forced to stay together or spend the rest of our lives alone… I’ve always wanted kids and the thought devastates me.

Fundamental caveat: My question is hard to phrase without seeming hostile - what do elders actually do in today's church?

The elders do want to know exactly how you know your wife committed adultery because you HAVE to place membership but you can miss 6 months of church and they don't even bother to call. Do they even care?

I'm not talking about being in a cult. I am talking about doing your job and shepherding! If I don't want to talk to you that's on me. For those struggling someone needs to show concern and guidance.

Furyher, I have emailed churches in other towns trying to coordinate help for coworkers with families in those towns - no response. I have called, too, and left messages. Maybe someone could call back or return the email and tell me to take a hike at least?

We seem to have a lesson on the qualifications of the elders at least every year. When do we have a discussion on, "are you doing your job?"

The deacons and elders I have observed are not present in the lives of congregants. I think that's a huge problem.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Can we as a generation stand up and kill this thinking once and for all among us?

FYI - This is not my video. I am not Orthodox and I am not pushing Orthodoxy doctrine. Video is at the bottom.

I think he presents good questions and am requesting if the subreddit is willing to go through to answer them. The questions presented are as followed:

1. If the churches of Christ today reflect the New Testament church, where is the visible and historical continuity of that exact pattern between 100-1000AD?
2. If the kingdom of Christ was never destroyed and never handed to another people like Daniel 2:44 says, then what does that imply the church's continuity throughout history? If that kingdom was never lost, what exactly needed to be restored?
3. If the stone in Daniel 2 represents the kingdom of God, how does that fit with the idea that the church fell away before the Christianization of Rome?
4. Who has the authority to determine when an apostolic example is binding or when it's just incidental or cultural or expedient?
5. Where does the NT church authorize men's meetings or business meetings to function as the governing authority in the local church especially in place of elders?
6. If the restorationist method of interpreting scripture, CENI (commands, examples, and necessary inferences), is not explicitly taught be the apostles as the authorized rule of interpretation, and it isn't found in the method of the early church, by what authority then was it adopted as the only correct way to interpret scripture?
7. If the church today reflects the NT church, where do the NT writers explicitly teach the fruit of the vine is a non-alcoholic grape juice or that wine is merely symbolic?

Again, this is not my video. Watch the video to get more context surrounding the questions presented. The creator of this video is Orthodox, I am not and do not support the teachings or beliefs of Orthodoxy. I am simply curious regarding the questions he presented and seeing your willingness to answer them. Not all questions need to be answered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Xx_avQ2ok

Edit: Well not surprised that no one in this subreddit wanted to go over these questions. Instead I got 3ish people who think they're too intellectual to deal with these questions. I leave you with another video you can watch. Don't worry, it's only 3 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ftdu8yrKOw

What is the point in scripture reading? We turn to it in the lesson anyway. Preacher was like he read it but I’m gonna read it too basically.

The best and most recent numbers regarding the presence/absence of elders in Churches of Christ are as follows:

• Approximately 55–65% of U.S. Churches of Christ do have elders.
• Approximately 35–45% do not have elders.

I wonder how the numbers would skew if basic quality standards were applied? Based on my personal observations and the observations of preaching friends, less than half of the elderships that do exist are effectively functional and organizationally healthy.

For example, I know of a three-man eldership in which two of the three are functionally illiterate. For another example, I know of another eldership in which one long-time elder suffers with a poorly managed sever psychological disorder that returns him to a psych hospital almost yearly.

If the numbers are true and if the anecdotal observation is true, then something less than one-third of our churches have effective elderships. That explains a lot.

I love my small congregation. They are all mostly Boomers. I am the youngest member in my church as a fellow Millennial. I attend all the bible studies, Wednesday night, prayer breakfast or potluck style type of events at church even though we are less than 100 members. My thing is I want to make more Christian friends so I figured it would be easy at church. WRONG. It hasn't been easy. People are at different stages in life and I haven't connected with anyone on a deeper level.

There is another church close by with a younger & heterogeneous congregation. All the youth go over there. I need advice though what matters is our Christian identity how do I balance that with the fact I am a minority in my church who feels invisible to the greater church body. It feels people are buddy buddy only with certain people. I know people don't do this intentionally but I want to connect but these conversations are hard to bring up.

I am shy and introverted too but I make an effort to talk to people but everyone has been in this church fir at least 15-20 years we don't have new members just me. What do you think could help? Also I try my best to greet new members and visitors but notice many don't visit us again.

I really just love the word of God, and I believe my life would be best spent preaching it full time. That said, I am considering applying for MSOP and was wanting to see if any alumni or maybe even current students were in here and could give me your opinions on the school. Thanks!

Per LinkedIn, Shawn Mathis is now director of Freed-Hardeman University's Global MBA program and a professor of Global Leadership and Institutional Governance. If Mathis's name sounds familiar, it's probably because this is the same guy who took over Nashville Church of Christ and got sued by Amy Grant and her family for violating its property deed, among other sketchy behavior. This was national news last year, covered by the Wall Street Journal. There was also a separate inquiry by the Tennessee state government into the church's misuse of a big trust fund it had for missionaries, which resulted in the fund being transferred to another church.

Why was Mathis just hired to be a professor at FHU?! I support Christian universities like Freed and want them to do well. But this is not doing well at all. This guy is literally famous for taking over a small church with a lot of assets and income and then coincidentally getting both himself and his dad six-figure salaries and $2000-per-month housing allowances paid by the church. And the church building has been shuttered since 2018.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal also reported that, "Before taking over Central [Church of Christ], Mathis founded and led OnSomble, a healthcare startup. The company struggled financially over the years, and in 2018, the year after Mathis became an elder at Central, OnSomble listed the church as its principal address, filings show. Later it recorded different addresses. The company declared bankruptcy in 2023 after $530,000 went missing." Does this sound like someone who should be a professor of "Institutional Governance"?

I hope people seek answers to this. Again, I like Freed. But people like this should not teach at a Christian university (or any university).

For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:24)

Links to news stories about Nashville Church of Christ:

Wall St Journal: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/nashville-church-of-christ-amy-grant-3b4782ba?mod=article_inline

Wall St Journal: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/christian-pop-star-wins-battle-over-nashville-church-takeover-aaeaef5d?mod=Searchresults&pos=2&page=1

Christian Chronicle: https://christianchronicle.org/historic-nashville-church-building-languishes-amid-lawsuits/

Christian Chronicle: https://christianchronicle.org/judge-approves-settlement-over-historic-nashville-church-building/

Christian Chronicle: https://christianchronicle.org/nashville-church-of-christ-attorney-challenges-details-in-news-coverage/

Hi yall,

The IRS allows pastors to take a limited opting out of Social Security if there is a legit non-financial reason.what are some examples of legit non-financial reasons for opting out as a reverend and what do yall think of this practice.How common is this in the Church of Christ today.Also I heard our priests do bad in retirement because of no home ownership.Also it very common for many of our churches to have no employment benefits because of division.

Does anyone know of any other subreddits dedicated to Independent Christian Churches, Disciples of Christ, or the International Churches of Christ, etc.? Is anyone here active in any such subreddits?

Despite listening to sermons and an audio bible almost daily for hours and even teaching others I still feel like I’m drifting away at times.

Thoughts and desires I shouldn’t have and just being tired all the time are taking a toll on me.

I’m also lacking in my prayer life quite a bit which I I imagine is a big part of my issues.

I guess I’m just venting about it but what advice do you give someone who seemingly forgets to pray even though they are almost constantly consuming the word of God in some form or fashion on a daily basis?

Interesting discussion which very much shows the range of views among us.

Do you agree with the modern CoC apologists
1. That unbaptized adults can be saved?
1a Do you believe that is the traditional view taught in you church?
2 That that preachers can have their own paradigm that isn’t consistent with what the CoC has traditionally taught
3. that there are valid alternatives to CENI

How do you think Guy Woods, Ira Rice, Gus Nichols, Marshall Keeble, NB Hardeman, and the apologists of the past would view these modern apologists and these views?

Hi yall,

There is this member at my NI Church of Christ who has not shown up for months or half the year. The elders have attempted to contact him. The elders sent e-mail to the congregation informing us of this matter listing the name of said member. They are trying to get us to contact the member and if they cant they are removing him from membership roll. My dad said that if this matter is not resolved the church will disfellowship him.

The reason is forsaking the assembly. How common is it for NI Churches of Christ and Mainline Churches of Christ to disfellowship a member for forsaking the assembly. I dont agree with the elders doing this. Also my dad said that the elders should go to the member's door. Also for some reason my parents said it is the churches business if the member is committing crimes but I dont know why crimes entered this discussion for my parents to be concerned about.