THE POUND PROCLAIMER

Volume I

November 2005

Number 1

Two Ways To Keep Members Faithful

BY: Bill Hall

There are two ways to keep members of the church “faithful.” The first way is to be sure everyone is involved. Have a project for each member, and make sure that he feels important in his role. Praise him for the good job he is doing. Make him feel needed; make him feel that the wellbeing of the whole congregation rests firmly on his shoulders. That will keep him “faithful.”

There are two problems with this method. In the first place, it encourages the creation of projects that are not remotely related to the work of the local church. One member plays on the church ball team; another member leads the Boy Scout troop; another is an active member of the “Dorcas Society”; another plans the program for the men’s luncheon. Everybody is busy all right, but in activities that are not authorized in the New Testament.

In the second place, members are often given roles for which they are not qualified. A lady is chosen to teach a class not because she is qualified, but because she needs to be involved. A man is appointed a deacon to help him to be “faithful.” Another man is appointed to serve the Lord’s Supper for a month in order to encourage him to be present each Sunday that month. This method thus places “the cart before the horse,” for no one should ever be assigned any work in the Lord’s service who is not already faithful and qualified for the work to be done (2 Timothy 2:2).

The second way to keep people faithful is to develop within them a genuine love for the Lord. When people love the Lord, they will be faithful, and it won’t take some kind of “special” project to keep them faithful. They will also be involved: in worship, in study, in godly living, in sharing the gospel with a friend, in helping the needy. I have known literally hundreds of Christians who have never in their lives been appointed to any special work, but whose love for the Lord alone keeps them faithful. There is no superficial faithfulness on the part of these; theirs is a faithfulness that is real.

Special responsibilities are fine for those who are qualified, but the man who requires some special duty to be faithful has never learned what true faithfulness is.

— Selected —

The Editor’s Page

With this issue, the Pound church of Christ expands its efforts at preaching the gospel. It is our collective hope that there will be much good and many souls introduced to the gospel through the pages of The Pound Proclaimer.

We have chosen the name for this publication from words found in the Psalms. The particular verses that caught our attention are as follows. Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples (Psalms 96:1-3).

The coming of the gospel age affords Christians the opportunity to sing a new song. It is the song of redemption. The Christian should joyously sing to the Lord and bless His Holy name. Those who joyously sing the new song also have a responsibility to proclaim the gospel each and every day. The publication of this bulletin is one way that Christians who make up the Pound church can “proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.”

The PROCLAIMER will present to its readers material that is grounded in the Bible. We are New Testament Christians; therefore, we are obligated to follow the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). We accept the New Testament as the complete standard of authority in religious matters today. All materials that will appear in this publication will be our effort at “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Our only desire is to present the truth in a manner that can be understood.

Those who read the PROCLAIMER are invited to contact the editor should you have any questions or comments about the content of the bulletin. Those who stand upon truth are willing to have their teaching put to the test. Any and all things that are found in this publication are open for the reader to examine fully. We invite you to do just that and if it is truth, to accept it.

As the editor, I look forward to bringing you this bulletin each month. Pray for me and for the Pound church that God will receive glory and honor through this endeavor.

— P. O. Box 802 Pound, VA 24279 —

Can I Worship God By Myself?

BY: Rick Mullins

What most people mean by this is ‘do I have to go to an assembly to worship?’ Questions have been asked and statements made concerning this subject. Statements like, “Worship is just between me and God”; “I feel uncomfortable around people, so it’s better for me to stay home”; “I can stay at home because it’s an individual thing anyway”. Questions like, “Is it really necessary to go to church”? I’m sure other things have been said, but these give us a good idea what some people think about the subject. Let’s consider some of these statements by turning to the Bible for answers.

The Bible says that “every knee should bow, every tongue should confess and everyone must work out your own salvation” (Philippians 2:10-12). These are things the individual must certainly do. The Bible also says that each soul will go to Heaven or Hell based on deeds done that please or displeases God (Ezekiel 18:20; Matthew 16:24-27; 2 Corinthians 5:10). All of these verses (and I’m sure many more) certainly show that a person does have an individual relationship with God, and each person is held accountable for that relationship.

The Bible also clearly indicates a person can worship God in a private way through fasting, prayer, and Bible study. Although God allows us to do these things in our private worship and devotion to Him, this does not make it O.K. to forsake to assemble ourselves with members of the church. I think the following verses will show that while God allows us to worship Him in a private way, He commands us to come together as a body of Christ to worship Him in a public way. Acts 2:41— after being baptized 3000 souls were added to them. Who were they? Acts 2:47— People that were being saved were added to the church by the Lord. So the people made up the church. In I Corinthians 12:12-27, the Bible tells us we have individual members of our physical body and that compares to the individual members that make-up the whole body of Christ. Someone might still say all these verses deal with a person’s individual worship. Where does the Bible say I have to come to the building to worship?

We know that individual’s make-up the Lord’s church. If these individuals can stay at home to worship, why did the apostles need to go from place to place to establish churches? Why have a church in Jerusalem? Why a church in Corinth or Ephesus? Why go to all of Judea, Galilee and Samaria (Acts 9:31) to start individual churches? After Paul was converted in Acts 9:18, why did he try to join with the congregation at Jerusalem in Acts 9:26?

Just like the people in the first century, we must answer this question: Why come together on the Lord’s Day? 1) To partake of the Lord’s Supper— Acts 20:7. Can this be done at home? No!!! I Corinthians 11:17-33. 2) To give of our income to the Lord’s work— I Corinthians 16:1-4. If we don’t have to assemble with the local church, then why give? How would we give? Who would we give to? Who would be the needy saints Paul is talking about in verse one? 3) To love and exhort one another and to help one another to do good works— Hebrews 10:24-26. If everyone thought they could stay home to worship God, then why would the church need a preacher? Who would he preach to? Why have elders? Who would be their flock? Why would Jesus shed His blood to purchase the church in Acts 20:28 if it was not necessary to be a member of the church?

The question we must answer is how, when, and where we worship God.

— 6603 Pole Bridge Rd Wise, VA 24293 —

The Last Word

NEW PREACHER:

Nila and I would like to say how much we appreciate the welcome you have given us. You have made us feel like part of the family. You have encouraged me so much by telling me how much you enjoy the sermons each service. In short, I feel very lucky that you asked me to work with you here at Pound.

I am fully aware that because I am the new preacher, makes me more appealing for the moment. This is sometimes referred to as the honeymoon period. Although this may be true as a general rule, I haven’t observed anything that indicates there will be any change in our relationship, regardless of how long I stay at Pound.

The fact that I am the new preacher means that I am following the old preacher. Tim Shepherd did his work with distinction. He and his wife Sherry were a big asset to the work at Pound. The church at Pound will long remember his contribution to the work of spreading the gospel. I am sure that Tim has a long and prosperous life ahead in his work of preaching the gospel. Pound was lucky to have him work with them.

In the years to come, should the Lord see fit to allow us to live, we intend to do all that is in our power to help this work progress. I firmly believe that when we live faithfully and commit our energies to serving the Lord, He will bless us with growth. It is impossible to progress unless we have goals. Setting goals for church growth will keep us focused on the higher goal of reaching Heaven. God has given us the organization of the local church. God’s organization will always work. It behooves us to set goals that will bring the Pound church into compliance with God’s organizational plan.

A goal that I personally would encourage us here at Pound to set is one of joining together in prayer, unity, and a common zeal for the lost in our community. The Christian is at his peak of faithfulness when he is working to spread the gospel to others. If we desire to be called “faithful,” we must be found doing the work of our Lord.

Pray for the work at Pound.

GOSPEL MEETING

BEGINS

BILL HALL

NOV 7—11

7:30 PM

MON — FRI

VISITORS ARE WELCOME

MEMBERS ARE EXPECTED

The Pound Proclaimer is published monthly by the Pound church of Christ 9517A Orby Cantrell Hwy. Pound, VA 24279

— Editor: Glen Young

— Phone: 276-796-5767=Office

— 276-796-7401=Home

— Time of Services

— Sunday: Bible Classes—10 am

— Assembly—11 am

— Assembly—6 pm

— Wednesday: Bible Classes—7 pm

— e-mail: gyoung47@ntelos.net

— All questions or comments regarding the content of this bulletin should be directed to the editor. He may be reached at the e-mail given above or at P. O. Box 802 Pound, VA 24279-0802.

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