Big Questions: About this series
In the United States, Churches of Christ are declining. Every…
Church: A place to go or a way of living?
In 2018, too many congregation are too closely associated with their buildings, minister says
‘I think ‘big C or little c?’ is an irrelevant argument on semantics,” said Freddie Lorick Jr., youth minister for the Palmetto Church of Christ in Columbia, S.C.
Big C or little c? (Are Churches of Christ a denomination?) Part 4 of 5. Click the logo for the full list.
“The important thing is that both Cs continually point to Christ.”
When asked to define a Church of Christ, Lorick answered, “I believe the Church of Christ was intended by Jesus to be movement of people, called out of the darkness of the world into his shining light. The church is literally the possession of Christ that he built for the purpose of saving the world. We see Jesus clearly stating this Matthew 16:18 when he is speaking to Peter after the apostle’s confession of Jesus as the Son of God.”
In 2018, however, “churches have become more of a safe haven for people retreating from the world instead of a movement of people seeking to make disciples of all nations,” Lorick said. “Churches have become more focused on upholding traditions rather than loving our communities.
Freddie Lorick Jr.
“I believe that in many ways our churches have become too closely associated with our buildings and trying to be this traditional idea of what the Church of Christ is. We have become a place to go instead of a way of living.
“Matthew 5:13-17 states how the followers of Christ should be salt and light. We bring out the ‘God flavors’ and ‘God colors’ in this world, meaning the Church of Christ should show people what heaven looks like here on earth.”
NEXT: ‘Maybe we have all lost our focus,’ says data compiler for ‘Churches of Christ in the United States’
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