Manslick Road church of Christ

Why Don’t We Have One?

People not too familiar with us may wonder why our facility is missing some common items. I will try to answer those questions. Why don’t we have. . .

A piano? Not all worship is acceptable to God. True worship is in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:23 ). That requires following God’s revealed will. The New Testament teaches Christians to sing to each other and to the Lord (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; etc.). It says nothing about playing instruments. We dare not assume that just because we like a thing God is pleased with it. The Bible warns us not to go beyond what is written (1 Cor. 4:6 ).

A choir loft? A better question is, Why should we have one? The purposes of singing in worship are to praise God (Acts 16:25 ), to teach and admonish one another (Col. 3:16 ), to give thanks (Eph. 5:18-20 ), and to express joy (Jas. 5:13 ). Which of those objectives is better achieved by a handful of singers than by the entire congregation singing? The command to sing is addressed to all, not just those with the most melodic voices.

A family life center? First it was a kitchen, then a fellowship hall, then a gymnasium, now a family life center. In each phase of its evolution the facility has grown to accommodate ever-expanding social activities. Who knows what is next?! We do not have one for the simple reason that it does not pertain to the church’s work. Churches in the New Testament were involved in three things: preaching God’s word, building up Christians through instruction and worship, and providing financial relief for poor Christians at home or elsewhere (read the book of Acts). The only authority we have for any facility is what is implied by the command to do some work; therefore, we need to limit facilities to our assigned work.

A day-care center? God’s word says a lot about child-rearing, but it is all addressed to parents, not churches (e.g., Eph. 6:4 ). The church is not in the babysitting business. We do have Bible classes for children, in conjunction with our work of teaching. But let us remember that even these are supplements to, not substitutes for, parental instruction.