There is a story we know about how Jesus met a couple disciples along the road to Emmaus. Today I’m going to talk about a different road, one that is paved with good intentions.

I’ve been back in the Ohio area for 10 years now this summer, an area where Christianity runs deep. The town of “New Lisbon” is where I am from and live near, with a rich history of the church including Walter Scott, a couple Campbells, some fella named Sidney Rigdon, and William Amend. Also, some mumbo jumbo about the “First Christian Church” and the “Disciples of Christ” being founded here.

In any case, there are Churches of Christ in just about every town around here, with old members getting older. While this is interesting, having such a depth of Christianity everywhere you go, I have found to my dismay that the devil has already been here sowing his pathetic tares.

I didn’t notice at first how much of a hold he had until just lately. Like a sore tooth, it pained me now and then, but brothers are brothers and we overlook matters that don’t matter right? And then we needed new doors for the building.

So, it was suggested we get plain, white, industrial steel doors to replace our main entryway. Some of us wanted “church doors” – you know, made of wood, maybe a little prettiness to them, etc. Nothing doing. It turns out we have a member that was adamant we could not have “proud” or “immodest” doors. Looking up and down the street at all the many other churches in our town, with, you know, wooden doors, I just didn’t see the problem. The brother almost came to tears that we would even consider it. We will look haughty! We will look just like everyone else! (inviting? Friendly? Like.. a church?) so like the eating of meats we had to scuttle that. No passages were discussed, no biblical evidence given, just “I was always taught that was SINFUL!” and a lot of emotions. This is a guy in his late 60’s mind you, who preaches here occasionally and has taught classes. Huh???

Eventually I found folks here that believe women must wear drab, shapeless dresses everywhere in public, and never with jewelry or makeup of ANY kind. That listening to “religious music” on the radio or whatever is SINFUL because we “worship” 24/7 and therefore it is instrumental music in the worship. Also, service is the same as worship – so Wednesday night bible study isn’t a study, it is a worship service, therefor an assembling of the saints, therefore anyone who isn’t here is SINNING and needs to repent. Hmmmm. Also a few other odd things – such as there is no such thing as “luck” so we can’t use the term potluck, it must be a pitch-in, and using the term luck is SINFUL. You can’t play games with cards or dice since they were “invented for the sole purpose of gambling” (this is probably not true, not at all) and on Sunday you must wear your absolute best clothes, or you are SINNING. Never mind you actually – gasp! – came to church, at a time when numbers are less and less!

What surprises me the most is looking at something like I Corinthians 11 they say “oh we as a church decided that wasn’t necessary so we don’t do that here” and if you DO wear a covering, well, you are SINNING (disunity!!!) but they will let that go… I was unaware a church could “change truth” to suit themselves and override the word of God, perhaps I am the one in the wrong here…

Finally, they are so big on the 5-finger thing – hear believe repent confess baptized. They obsess about it, while they never follow up with living faithfully. I am forever saying “just believe in God and obey him!” and I get the “talking to” for false doctrine.

Now lest you think I am just full of complaints for my brethren, know that I love them. I teach most of the classes here and I preach most of the lessons among many other tasks. It makes me look at myself and wonder if I am just as guilty of this, and I realize that all my life I have this funny non-scriptural rule! Ah ha! I will NOT have anything in my mouth during communion, not gum or even a cough drop. Of course, I don’t teach this, and it’s just me. Since some of the righteous also had “habits” not commanded by God (i.e. Daniel praying daily towards the east) I suppose I’m not in too bad of company. Do you have any of these odd rules? Maybe we ought to consider this from our own point of view today, instead of always condemning Pharisees:

In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

If you don’t have scripture, solid scripture not some twisted pretzel mess of supposition, then that doctrine is all yours.  Or as my dad would have said, you must have gotten it OUT of the bible because you didn’t find it IN there.

~ Randy Crihfield