Mailing One Day Early, as My
Computer Is to be Down for Repairs

BEING DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY
James 1: 22

Declare the counsel, the whole counsel,
and nothing but the counsel of God

Striving to plant the word of God as widely As possible and
working to teach the word as Sound Doctrine to all who will hear.
Let us study our preaching and teaching methods searching
for opportunities to improve them to save and keep souls.

GO GATHER PEOPLE TO WORSHIP GOD
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To the "70 Gents" and Ladies Seven,
       Though obeying the word of God is grounded in and based on faith, it is not just a religion of believing, thinking, envisioning, hoping or hearing; rather, it is a religion as well of 'doing.' This issue of PtOS will discuss some of the things done and being done by God's people. Primarily it is to address what we do to try to carry out God's will in teaching and serving. However, there is one long article here that may provide you with just some fun reading. It is the second story below, and it does not show a lot 'done' in the Kingdom of God. It does point up though a weakness in mine (and I would imagine) other's missed opportunities when we see celebrities or men/women of power.
       The attached word document contains the story "I Like the Church of Christ". It shows some things I think are glaring weakness of Jews, Catholics and Protestants. The story allows a strong contrast of the Church and the other groups. There are things we might use in teaching individuals from these other groups.
       About 3 years ago, we hosted a workshop we titled "Sound Doctrine and Practice."
Our lectures were designed to emphasize the 'practice' part of the Christian life. Some of our attendees stressed the need to focus on the doing that came from the workshop. If we are only baptized then do nothing to serve or do no work in the Kingdom, that is similar to having a 'faith only' doctrine. It would just be a 'baptism only' doctrine. That is not in obedience to the words of Jesus in the book of John chapter 14, "If you love me you will keep my commandments." dp
 

Theme of PtOS for Next Month: Church 2000 Year History

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   HONOR GOD - WORSHIP AND SERVE - PRAY AND DO - GO AND TEACH      
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Contents...

These following articles may be read on the email page.

HEART TO HEART; EYE TO EYE

DOING THINGS FOR THE LORD
                              
GROWING THE KINGDOM (AGAIN)

                               ELBOW RUBBING AND NAME DROPPING

                               DO NOT JUST HEAR, BUT DO!

                            COMMUNICATION DURING WORSHIP
             (Speaking to and Hearing God)  
QUESTION...

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These following articles may be read in the attached document.

1 - THE WALK INTO THE ASSEMBLY WHERE GOD'S PEOPLE WILL WORSHIP
                
2 - I LIKE THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

                                    3 - TIME, HADES, ETERNITY - MAN'S TRANSITIONS

                 3 - AN ELDER ENCOURAGING MEMBERS IN THE WORK OF THE LORD

                               4 - ELBOW RUBBING AND NAME DROPPING
                                     (continued from the email page)
6 - THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD: GOD'S THRONE IS NOT VACANT

                                7 - LIVING OUT OF THIS WORLD
                               
8 - PAINS WE DON'T FORGET 

                  8 - DOING A CAMPAIGN TO WIN SOULS IN A FOREIGN LAND

10 - GOSPEL GAZETTE ONLINE
                        Published by Louis Rushmore
12 - "WILL WE KNOW EACH OTHER IN OUR FATHER'S HOUSE?"
                           by Don Wright                
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HEART TO HEART; EYE TO EYE
                           by Don Petty
       In this December Issue of PtOS I list a number of celebrities, royalty, professional athletes, and political personalities I have seen over the last several decades. It was a lot
of fun recalling them and remembering the "interfaces" with them when and where I had seen or even met and talked with them.
       I hope you have a little fun with it, as well, when you read them. Of course, the point and message sadly was that I had no plan for saying anything to them about our Lord. I believe there must be a way to get a message to them, perhaps in a brief 'one liner' message on a business card of some kind.
       But, as you think of some way to do that, will you write me, say, five or so "interfaces" that you have had such as those about which I wrote down below? If you could format it similar to the way I did it, we can include them in an issue of the PtOS in the very near future. And if you have a thought on how we might get some word to these 'stars' in our life about Jesus Christ and what He can do for them, please include that in your response.
       I have a second thought for you as well. Well, mostly it is a question. Do you think a Christian can or should or should not write a book for commercial sale to the public on the topic of the supernatural in the form of a vampire book? I do not mean that the book defines him as being a 'creature of darkness' or some such. Should he (or not) just write a fiction book telling the story of supernatural beings...like a Hollywood movie? If it were intended to entertain and 'be scary,' would it be wrong for him to write it and publish it?
       If the leading man in the story were a good honest hard-working southern fellow, who was indeed a clean living character who confronted the 'vampire,' would it be wrong or even sinful for the writer to do so, as he lived the life of a Christian? I am asking this very sincerely, as I have written that story and am entertaining the idea of putting it on E-books.
       I recall when I was a kid, preteen, in fact, my close buddy and I would go see movies like "Dracula," "Frankenstein," "Wolfman," and ones about mummies and zombies. They would scare me out of my wits, but I kept going back. I don't think they harmed me in any way, including spiritually; but then who knows how warped I might be?       
       If you would give me your opinion, I would appreciate it. dp

AN H2H NOTE just here. It is a policy I am adopting for PtOS not to use names of individuals or of congregations in discussing anything "wrong with the church." I prefer keeping our articles on the 'high road.' If you write articles or submit a piece for a PtOS issue, that will be the way it needs to be written, discussing 'issues' not people. Thank you for helping me do that. don
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DOING THINGS FOR THE LORD
                    by Don Petty
There are many things Christians do in serving God. Along with worshiping, living cleanly, inviting others to church, and helping the needy, the Elect does other things. Some of these things include:

1...Packing up, selling out, and going to the mission fields of the world.
2...Teaching others via TV, radio, the Internet
3...Grading VBS lessons.
4...Sending disks teaching the bible and the gospel.
5...Adopting orphans.
6...Caring for widows.
7...Passing out tracts and pamphlets by hand.
8...Writing in newspapers, magazines, and on the web.
9...Telling others in person about Christ wherever they are.
10..Praying actively, expectantly for guidance from God for the service they perform
11..Giving money for the works of the Church to God's glory.
12..Writing books on the bible, the Church, mission work.
13..Serving as elders, deacons, bible teachers, ministers, church secretaries.
14..Preaching in an American congregation.
15..Enjoying fellowship meals and get togethers with other Christians.
16..Writing notes of encouragement to the sick or absent or prisoners.
17..Studying God's word.
18..Reading good Christian literature and books.
19..Discussing the Bible together.
20..Trying to comfort the bereaving members and others.
21..Writing original hymns for worship.

We know there are things to be done by God's people, and it is ours to do them. Paul
wrote, "The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you." (Philippians 4: 9, ASV). We as the
People of God, the Elect of God, a Peculiar People, a part of the Body of Christ, and
members of the Church of Christ, have work to do, services to perform, and sacrifices to
make, in order to fulfill our purpose, our mission, and the mission of Christ, which has
been set before us, laid out in definite terms. How many of us have actually felt any
danger in 'becoming weary in well-doing?'

If we have "eternity set in our hearts" (Eccl 3:11) should we not, will we not, strive to do the things the Lord wants of us? dp
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GROWING THE KINGDOM (AGAIN)
                    by Don Petty
       For years the membership of the Elect of God has been decreasing in America. All
of us can help change that to a positive growth, if we will begin DOING more and not only
hearing. Here are five ways we can help turn it around.
1...Tell MANY more people about Jesus and that the church He built has a congregation of
       people meeting nearby.
2...Study the New Testament intently and often.

3...Always pray expectantly and pray often.

4...Worship spiritually and with understanding, focusing on the acts of worship at hand.

5...Teach Bible Classes from the NT no less than three quarters for all ages, every year.

       All the above things are easily within the realm of our ability to get done. It is worth the conscious and focused effort needed to reach people to help lead them to Christ and to their eternal salvation. dp
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ELBOW RUBBING AND NAME DROPPING
                    by Don Petty
       When I serve as a resource missionary in teaching missions classes in the World Evangelism School of Missions, I use some 'situations in the mission field' to give an idea how the missionary might act when confronted with unusual circumstances, 'pickles' he gets into, we might call them. In this paper I set up some real life situations that have come to me and what I did. It points out a great need I have, and I daresay one that most Christians must have.
       There is not much to be gained in rubbing elbows and dropping names of people of power or celebrity, but it is sort of fun and interesting. Now, you see, that is a set up line to tell you about some of the people 'with names' in their fields that I have been associated with in one interface or another. Unfortunately, doing anything for the Lord to offer them a chance to 'save their soul' was not on my mind in these "interfaces past."
       Some popular people with whom I have talked (or at least seen) include ABC TV journalist, Sam Donaldson. I was in line years back for him to sign a book for me which he had written. He was signing at a Waldenbooks Store, I believe, in North Dallas. When I got to him with my book, I asked him, "Why does it seem you are always standing with the Left?" He said with a big smile, "I don't always stand with the left." But he and I both knew which political persuasion he held. An interface past.
       During my days at Frito-Lay Inc. in R&D in Dallas and Irving, Texas, it was my lot to meet Michael Jordan, one of the nation's finest Financial Minds. (Not the Chicago Bulls Basketball Star.) He was the CFO of the largest snackfood company in the world, Frito-Lay. I had been called to headquarters to make a presentation on one of the tortilla chip products our team had developed. He and I sat across from each other at a huge conference table, which seated about 60 people. Our eyes met and he got up and walked all the way around to where I sat, and said, "I don't believe we have met." I blurted out my name (or somebody's; who knows what I said). But look at this man of power. He came over to me, a no-name developer of products in a lab tucked away in a hidden bunch of laboratories where 100 researchers worked, just to meet me. I was humbled and sort of in awe at this giant of a man in industry going out of his way to come to me. An interface past.
             (This article is continued in the attached Word Document, Pg. 4)
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DO NOT JUST HEAR, BUT DO!
                           by Don Petty
There is every reason to 'do something' for the Lord. He has always promised, " There is something good coming." When His people do good things they can count on our God to do something good, and far better than they can do themselves.

Consider these people....

Adam, do something. There is something good coming.
Abraham, do something. There is something good coming.
Moses, do something. There is something good coming.
The Prophets, do something. There is something good coming.
John the baptist, do something. There is something good coming.
Jesus (before Acts 2), do something. There is something good coming.
Peter (after Acts 2), do something. There is something good coming.
John the apostle, do something. There is something good coming.

Always when men obey God they can look for something good to come.

That promise is tied up in Christ and the reconciliation He brought. It is
not that we are only to hear, or believe, or understand; but it is to DO!

Do believe Christ is the Son of Go
Do obey His word to become a Christian
Do assemble and worship God
Do read the scriptures daily
Do pray expectantly
Do tell others about Christ
Do help the needy
Do live cleanly

Do love Him and keep His commandments.

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COMMUNICATION DURING WORSHIP
             (Speaking to and Hearing God)   by Don Petty

Worship is a time when there is communion between God and His people.
The acts of worship provide the avenues for the communication flow, and it
happens in two directions, from us to God and from God to us. That may be
seen in the following way...

Praying - We communicate to God - Us to God
Singing - We communicate to God - Us to God
Giving - We give our gifts to God - Us to God
Lesson/Sermon - God communicates to us - God to Us
Lord's Supper - We partake with Each Other - God and Us together
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Announcements - We communicate with US - Us to Us

These are interfaces with God in praise and petition, adoration and love.
       worship and honor, humility and grace, thanks and acknowledgement,
       and His pleasure and ours. dp
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QUESTION...
Would our giving be better if we had been taught to be much more generous as children putting money in the contribution plate each Sunday? How, one might ask? The simple
answer is to stop teaching them to be tight or stingy by giving them a puny coin or a
one dollar bill. Give them a handful of money and tell them, "We are giving to God. We
should always give Him a lot of money as our gift to Him." 
============================================================
THOUGHT...

The reason people stay married so long
is that they never get a divorce.

       Regrettably this can happen to any of us, and I print this from a good brother,
J. Lee Roberts, because of his long time service to our Lord and because many of
us may have received the paper in which this occurred.
       I received this today from Brother Roberts.....

A dear Brother has informed me that some porno ad
has been added to one of my messages. This is very
disturbing as you can imagine.
 
I pray our gracious God will help us in
all our struggles against such evil.
 
Pray that we can overcome our spiritual adversary.
 
In Jesus, J Lee

Declare the counsel, the whole counsel,
and nothing but the counsel of God

Striving to plant the word of God as widely As possible and
working to teach the word as Sound Doctrine to all who will hear.
Let us study our preaching and teaching methods searching
for opportunities to improve them to save and keep souls.

GO GATHER PEOPLE TO WORSHIP GOD
----

To the "70 Gents" and Ladies Seven,
       Another bitter-sweet departure for an Eternal Home with God. I am forwarding the
complete letter written by Betty Choate (First) about her friend and coworker and (Second)
about her own mother in Winona, Mississippi.      
       We have often written about the remarkable work going on in Winona, Mississippi,
to advance the Evangelism Efforts by God's people. Betty writes as spiritually about her
losses as anyone can, who is serving our Lord.
       Here are two stories from the last week, Thanksgiving week in our country. Betty's entire letter follows....

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Subj: Mother's death 
Date: 11/28/2011 9:37:25 PM Central Standard Time
From: choate@worldevangelism.org
To: choate@worldevangelism.org

I will send this as a mass-email, because there is no time for individual notes.  So the message will be relevant to some, and a puzzle perhaps to others, but I did want to share something of the tremendous changes that have taken place in our lives these past few days.

  Eulene Ramsey worked with us in the office from 1994 until the fall of 2007.  She was multiplied blessings to us and to the work.  When Jerry and Paula came in August of 2007, Paula assumed Eulene's responsibilities, and Eulene "retired".  She is currently in very bad health, and last Wednesday (a week ago) the Lifeline people called to say that she had fallen.  I went over to check on her and learned that she had fallen four times in the past five days.  Her face was covered with massive bruises -- red and blue and black -- because she fell forward out of her wheel chair and onto the concrete.  We tried to persuade her to go to the hospital for tests to see what was causing her to fall so much, but she refused.  Finally, on Thursday afternoon, she agreed to go to the hospital and then to the nursing home for two months for rehabilitation (she and Darrell, since both need constant care, and are not able to do for themselves). 

  Coming home from the successful event with Eulene, I was shocked when I opened the kitchen door and saw Mother lying on the floor.  She had fallen and had broken her leg, a spiral fracture from the hip to the knee.  We took her by ambulance to the hospital in Greenwood, about half-an-hour from Winona.  Friday she had surgery and began recovery treatment.  Because of blood clots, she had to have massive doses of blood thinner.  She was still in a great deal of pain from six weeks of having "shingles", so she was on pain medicines.  Probably because of her weakened condition from the shingles, her body was not able to overcome all the shocks of the pain, the surgery, the strong medicines, and an infection that developed.  Monday afternoon she went into a coma and died at 1:00 AM Tuesday.  The funeral was Friday afternoon at 3:00.

  Mother was 90 years old, June 1, 2011.  She was still very active -- even had a little garden this year, and she was the more frequent "weed puller" in my flower beds.  Her mind was sharp, and her interest in people was great.  Even on the way to the hospital, she made opportunity to talk with the attendant in the ambulance about his soul.  During those five days at the hospital, we gave quite a number of copies of The Voice of Truth International and select study books to the nurses and doctors.  Her intention always was to make a way to bring up the subject of salvation.  Her life has been a motivational example for all of those who knew her.

  Considering her age and the severity of the break, probably she would never have been able to go back to her normal, active life.  To have been confined to a wheel chair would have been unbearable for her, because she has always been active and busy.  To see her suffering from that kind of loss would have hurt even worse than giving her up to enter that eternal world.  Without doubt, I know that this Thanksgiving Day has been the most blessed she has ever experienced, and so I am thankful that, as J.C. often said, "We are in God's hands, to do what He sees is best."

  I have received many Facebook messages and emails, and I am deeply grateful for the concern and the prayers.  No, I can't actually grieve for Mother, because she is in that far better world.  My grief is for myself and for family members.  What a lonely house this will be, with J.C. gone, and now Mother.   

  Thank you for taking the time to express your words of comfort.  God bless each one of you.  Betty
____________

  Betty Choate, along with the World Evangelism team, continues
with the mission work initiated by J.C. Choate.

  "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..." Mark 16:15, 16

  "The churches of Christ salute thee." Romans 16:16

  http://worldevangelism.org/
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Men 70 & Ladies Six,

(Note: There are about 45 more names than 70+Six that have been added to the PtOS list, but The 70 of you "Septua-Gents" were the initial men who receive PtOS.)

       This is a new world for me (with my old wrinkled brain), but I am trying to forward to you an E-book I just received from Roger Dickson, missionary in Africa. I think there are
some really good things to be found here, and I hope in the future to be using E-books on
some material I write myself.
       I hope this can be of value to you in your work.
       In Him, Don
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Subj: EBOOK: The Lord's Supper 
Date: 11/16/2011 4:08:59 AM Central Standard Time
From: rdickson@mweb.co.za

 
AFRICA INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS
Cape Town, South Africa
  
E-BOOK RELEASE!
  
THE LORD'S SUPPER
 
A Reflection Of The Body Of Christ
 
Roger E. Dickson
 
(EBOOKS do not come in printed form.  Recipients are encouraged to forwarded them on to friends.  Any comments should be send to rdickson@mweb.co.za)

PtOS SPECIAL - Hester-Sungenis Debate on Video

Declare the counsel, the whole counsel,
and nothing but the counsel of God

Striving to plant the word of God as widely As possible and
working to teach the word as Sound Doctrine to all who will hear.
Let us study our preaching and teaching methods searching
for opportunities to improve them to save and keep souls.

GO GATHER PEOPLE TO WORSHIP GOD
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To the "70 Gents" and Ladies Seven,
       This debate was received via Randal Matheny's BrotherhoodNews.com.
                               http://brotherhoodnews.com/
       With his approval I forward it to you here. Don

BrotherhoodNews.com

Authority: Review of the Hester-Sungenis Debate

Posted: Minister and debate moderator Kyle Massengale reviews the discussion on the Christian standard of authority.

Don Petty,
Writer, Speaker, Evangelist
Eternal life is at stake; we have ONE chance.
We simply cannot afford to misinterpret
Scripture...for ourselves nor our children
"Planting the Original Seed"
http://originalseed.posterous.com/
Contact: DOSYL56@aol.com
Phone:  972.243.2585
My writing is my view alone and does not necessarily
reflect the view of the elders, ministers or teachers of
the congregation where I have my membership, the
Lewisville (TX) Church of Christ.
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The purpose of the mission of the people of God is
to go and assemble souls to know, obey, love, worship and serve God;
to help all who are in need, especially His people; and
to teach both the saved and not-yet-saved the gospel of salvation.
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TEXAS DROUGHT

Declare the counsel, the whole counsel,
and nothing but the counsel of God

Striving to plant the word of God as widely As possible and
working to teach the word as Sound Doctrine to all who will hear.
Let us study our preaching and teaching methods searching
for opportunities to improve them to save and keep souls.

GO GATHER PEOPLE TO WORSHIP GOD
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To the 70 and Seven,
       Perhaps you do not know how bad it has been in Texas this summer. A
friend in Manhattan, Kansas, sent these pictures to me...now you see!
       Maybe you could include the hardship on our people all over Texas in your
next prayers.     
       In Him, Don
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Don Petty,
Writer, Speaker, Evangelist
Eternal life is at stake; we have ONE chance.
We simply cannot afford to misinterpret
Scripture...for ourselves nor our children
"Planting the Original Seed"
http://originalseed.posterous.com/
Contact: DOSYL56@aol.com
Phone:  972.243.2585
My writing is my view alone and does not necessarily
reflect the view of the elders, ministers or teachers of
the congregation where I have my membership, the
Lewisville (TX) Church of Christ.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of the mission of the people of God is
to go and assemble souls to know, obey, love, worship and serve God;
to help all who are in need, especially His people; and
to teach both the saved and not-yet-saved the gospel of salvation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SPECIAL - STOPPING THE DECLINE

Declare the counsel, the whole counsel,
and nothing but the counsel of God

Striving to plant the word of God as widely As possible and
working to teach the word as Sound Doctrine to all who will hear.
Let us study our preaching and teaching methods searching
for opportunities to improve them to save and keep souls.

GO GATHER PEOPLE TO WORSHIP GOD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the 70 and Seven,
       Several years ago a number of the "70" and others submitted ideas about
why the church is losing members (10 per day between 2003 and 2006). It seems
that the 'flow' still goes on in the U.S. (Some did point out that membership in our
overseas missions was growing, thanks to our Lord).
       I summarized the things that might be done and drew conclusions from what
had been written and sent to me. I am publishing those again here, AND this same
article will come out in the October issue of PtOS, but the facts are so important
that I thought we (PtOS people) should get this in advance so we can 'go to work'
to stem the tide.
       Here are some things that were pointed out that might be corrected. Don Petty
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THE CHURCH OF CHRIST MEMBERSHIP DECLINE - STEMMING IT!
                    by Don Petty

       What does the term Decline in the Membership of the Church mean to you?
It means that the way were doing things, have been doing things, and/or are doing
things is not working well. We would be growing as we did in the 1950s if we were
doing things as well for OUR time as the Christians were in THAT time. Do you
agree with that? Are you trying to come up with some reason to say that is not
true? Would that be to, sort of, justify OUR methods today?
       There were several things that 'stood out' in a decline study to which a large
group of us (60 in number) contributed to or in which we participated back in 2006
and early 2007. Perhaps you were a part of that study, which turned up Reasons,
Solutions, and Ways to Implement the Solutions. We may not have listed all the
reasons and solutions, but we named a lot of them. I think you might think of some
more if you set your mind to it. But for now, we will look at the ones that were put
on the list from readers of the PtOS. If you have seen them before, please just let
it be a 'review.'

Here are the conclusions from that report...

The conclusions drawn from the 225 reasons offered is that the church decline is
caused primarily by these several factors:

1..The church has done a great job in converting souls over the decades, and
Satan does not let a thing like that go unimpeded as best he can. Thus, because
of our success in many efforts and at the cost of some life, we have made the
church grow through the help of our Lord. Churches are planted all over our country,
and indeed, the world by God using us in our weakness to preach the gospel in its
power and purity. Satan has been aroused to fight us and fight us hard, claiming
some victories when we weaken and give in and grow weary and lose our mission.

2..We have lost our understanding of the meaning of the restoration movement as
it relates to the "peculiarness" of the church of our Lord. We have let the church
in the eyes of the world, and sometime in our own eyes, become just another
denomination of believers without the distinction the Lord intended it to have.

3..Members install unqualified elders who rule as if they were running a company,
lording it over members to get their ideas put into practice. Elders should meet the
qualifications God has set forth, not the criteria men may put on the function.

4…Sound doctrine is not preached strongly.  Soft preaching has resulted from
preachers making careers out of the ministry, rather than making their goal the
reaching of the lost and soul-saving activities.

5…Membership does not know the scriptures. We have quit studying and have
let others, inside the church and outside, influence our beliefs, not knowing what
the Lord says on the primary points of doctrine. We are painting with a "broad
brush," not wanting to "split hairs" over doctrine.

6…Leaders and members are not evangelizing. We have focused on our own
needs and wants, and wishes for soft Christianity and pleasure and fun and
enjoyment, but not work to reach others. That has become too hard, and besides
we have been convinced by leaders of thought that door knocking and cottage
class teaching are no longer effective.

7…Preachers are being trained only as 'ministers', not as evangelists. Most
preachers choose to be ministers OR evangelists. Rare is the pulpit man that
evangelizes a community. The training they receive in our schools does not
emphasize soul-winning; rather, it teaches men the bible and how to get along
with elders and the brethren; how to counsel; how to orate; how to prepare
sermons. But…the zeal for lost souls is not a course in the curricula.

8…The brotherhood is looking inward, not to the lost. We heap onto ourselves
the socials and fellowships, the comfortable elaborate buildings, and the easy
'compartmentalized' ministries that we can do in a short amount of time. But…
we do not factor in a study with a lost person. We do not plan to sacrifice a TV
night, or a ball game, or a time for leisure or vacation or a weekend getaway, in
order to teach a soul the way to Christ. We indulge us, but not them.

9…Christians have become more worldly, secular, and material. We measure
our life and productivity by the standards of the world, our jobs, our successes,
our accomplishments in the arts or our travel experiences, our raises and
promotions, our position in the eyes of our peers and superiors at work. We
impress with our prowess or stamina or strength or speed or how well we fight
or play a game, brain game or muscle game. We have let money lead us and it
leads us down trails of no spiritual worth and sin.

10..We are seeking more 'entertainment' in our worship. We are not content with
quiet, sober worship and deep, serious, serene singing, praying, and communing.
We want clamor and loudness and clapping, like a concert or a production of
drama. We want to see outward acts of submission, instead of accepting a heart
worshipping with spirit and understanding.

Now, here is our challenge -  draw our own conclusions and go to work on them.
I am going to start THAT process with these two thoughts...

First, READ, STUDY, PREACH, TEACH THE NEW TESTAMENT THREE TIMES
AS MUCH AS WE DO NOW. (That will of necessity reduce our focus on teaching
the Old Testament to some degree.)

Second, GET OURSELVES AND THOSE WITH WHOM WE HAVE INFLUENCE
TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP WAYS TO EVANGELIZE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
(That will logically lead to an understanding of the mission of God's people, and
enhance our misson efforts around the world.)

Recommendations: All of you who read this, evangelize! Learn well God's word!
Install Godly men as elders! Require strong preaching!  Worship spiritually! Live
like Jesus! Prioritize your life for the cause of the Lord! Look beyond yourself and
your congregation!

       What can we do? What WILL we do? Will we begin teaching Christ in our
sermons more scripturally, more deeply, more strongly? Will we inspire the ones
in the congregations to 'tell others about Jesus'? Will we cause our members to 
want to do more to 'help the poor'? Will we do more ourselves in these areas?

       Lord bless the wise ones of the SeptuaGents to act to stem the flow of your
people away from the narrow and strait of your word. Let us all impress our young
and our youth to stay in the body of the Lord. Let us all give MEAT to the members
and teach the new members to wean themselves from the milk. HELP US, OUR
FATHER AND OUR GOD, TO KEEP THE SAVED AND BRING IN THE LOST.
Amen. dp    

NOTE: The complete 'Decline Study' is in a Word Document that can be emailed
to you at your request. Just email me back requesting it. DOSYL56@aol.com
========================================================

Don Petty,
Writer, Speaker, Evangelist
Eternal life is at stake; we have ONE chance.
We simply cannot afford to misinterpret
Scripture...for ourselves nor our children
"Planting the Original Seed"
http://originalseed.posterous.com/
Contact: DOSYL56@aol.com
Phone:  972.243.2585
My writing is my view alone and does not necessarily
reflect the view of the elders, ministers or teachers of
the congregation where I have my membership, the
Lewisville (TX) Church of Christ.
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The purpose of the mission of the people of God is
to go and assemble souls to know, obey, love, worship and serve God;
to help all who are in need, especially His people; and
to teach both the saved and not-yet-saved the gospel of salvation.
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