From time to time, I'm told that churches of Christ are notoriously divisive, fight over minor quibbles, and act in a way quite different from denominations (which are apparently havens of peace and unity).

And then there's the real world. Read this - in particular this part:

A ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance sometime in the 19th century has remained there ever since because of a dispute over who has the authority to take it down.

There's no question we should be considerably better, but I can't see much evidence that we're any worse.

This parable was originally written in 1953 by an Episcopalian named Theodore Wedel. Perhaps nothing originating with man has ever captured better the cycle of history that has faced God's people since the beginning: success for a generation, drifting from first principles in the next, open departure following this, division, a remnant returning to God's way while the majority continue on uncaring.

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and their money and their effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Now some of the members of the lifesaving station became unhappy, in time, however, because the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable, suitable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. And so they replaced the emergency cots with beds, and they put better furniture in the now enlarged building, so that now the lifesaving station actually became a popular gathering place for its members. They took great care in decorating it beautifully and furnishing it exquisitely, for they found new uses for it in the context of a sort of club. But fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, and so they hired lifesaving crews to do this work on their behalf, and in their stead. Now, don't misunderstand, the lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club's decoration and symbols — there was a liturgical lifeboat (symbolic rather than fully functional) in the room where the club initiations were held, for example — so the changes did not necessarily mean that the original purposes were totally lost.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold and wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty people and they were sick people, some of them with black skin, some with yellow skin. The beautiful new club, as you might imagine, was thrown into chaos, so that the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where these recent victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside the main clubhouse.

At the very next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's lifesaving activities for being so unpleasant, as well as for being a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary purpose, pointing out that, indeed, they were still called a lifesaving station. But these few were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. And so, they did just that.

Now as the years passed, the new station down the coast came to experience the very same changes that had occurred in the older, initial station. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station had to be founded to restore the original purpose.

Well, history continued to repeat itself, so that if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a great number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown!

As I've said before, I make it a point not to post much on politics here. I don't believe God endorses any political party (which is fortunate, since I'm not a member of one). I've been known to take people (particularly other bloggers in churches of Christ) to task for either implying or out-and-out stating that their political ideology is more in line with God's plan than their political opposition's. While I'm not Lipscombian, I find that God's teachings urge us to focus less on the physical and more on the spiritual

Plus, it probably says something that the Christians I've known that became heavily involved in politics tended to wind up in jail.

However, that doesn't mean I'm apolitical. I have strongly-held beliefs developed over the years based on historical and economic facts. I'll be the first to admit that I spend entirely too much time on politics as a whole. Sometimes I need a good reminder of what's really important, which is why this post from Edwin Crozier hit home with me today.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to say that individual Christians are not allowed to participate in the political process. I encourage you to vote. I encourage you, if you have a heart’s desire for it, to be political. But please, recognize that Christian is not a political party. God did not establish Christianity to impact national politics. Jesus did not die so nations could become Christian. Jesus died so we could carry the gospel message to one more person and let them be forgiven.

It's an important reminder in our partisan-crazed society today, no?

Some continue to struggle with the idea that "church of Christ" is a description, not a name. I had posted a while back on this, but let me try another explanation.

I'm married to a woman named Rebekah. I could be described as "the husband of Rebekah." If you called me that, I might even answer. However, that doesn't make it my name. "Rebekah's husband" is simply a possessive description of me - the husband belonging to Rebekah - not my name.

Likewise, when I refer to a (or the) "church of Christ," I'm not using a name. I'm not using a denominational title. I'm describing the church that belongs to Christ.

This may seem a small distinction, but it's one that shows a completely different worldview. I'm not part of a sect among sects. I'm not a member of a denomination. I'm a member of the church that belongs to Christ, the one that He established, the one that is His property. Nothing more, nothing less.

The church is not an organization. The church is a family.

If my (physical) father or mother or brother is in need, I don't give money to a relief agency to help them. I don't go form a charity to see if maybe they can help with the bills. I don't try to get an outside organization to give them something. If a member of my family needs help, I help them!

That's what family does.

An organization, on the other hand, holds meetings. An organization refers the issue from department to department. An organization shuffles papers and tries to find reasons to not cut a check. An organization is often composed of people looking for reasons to shift the responsibility to someone else. There is no individual accountability, only corporate - and thus no real accountability at all.

Which one sounds like the church you're a part of?

(Inspired by remarks from another member here in Charlotte.)

Growing up, I often heard the statement that God had changed Saul of Tarsus' name to Paul. It wasn't until my 20s that I realized the Bible nowhere teaches this!

This misunderstanding is based largely upon Acts 13:9-10:

But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

Thereafter, the apostle is known exclusively as Paul. While God did at times rename (Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel) or nickname (Simon to Peter) men, there is no indication this happened here.

Note Luke's explanation: "...who was also known as Paul..." There is no name change at this point; Luke notes that Saul had been known as Paul before this point. "Saul" would be the Hebrew name he used, while "Paul" would be the Latin one. From this point in Acts onward, the focus of the gospel (and Paul's mission in particular) was to the Diaspora and Gentile world outside of Palestine, as Jesus had commanded in Acts 1:8. The use of Paul's Latin name is but one indicator of this shift.