Southside Oracle Archive

Vol. 48, No 33                             SOUTHSIDE ORACLE                    November 4, 2005

The Bulletin Board

The Sunday Night Live youth program last Sunday evening went well with several congregations being represented. The attendance was 94.

Care Packages. Our second round of college care boxes are set up in the foyer leading to the fellowship hall with directions for making a contribution attached. John and Christina. Anguiano who are attending York College will be the recipients of these boxes. If you have any questions please see Colleen Windell.

Our elders and ministers are having a planning retreat this Friday and Saturday in Port Washington. Please remember them in your prayers as they plan for the future.

The Sick - Vernal Britton, Sr., father of Kent, had cancer surgery recently and is now home and doing well .... Diane Santana. is trying to decide on options for her severe back pain that has been diagnosed as degenerative disc disease and she requests our prayers .... Carol Henning, sister of Nathalie Campbell, is suffering from emphysema and is in Froedtert Hospital.

Women's Ministry - A planning session for our women's ministry will he from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 13^th. It will be preceded by a lunch fellowship at 12:30 p.m.

Calendar of Events

November 4,5 - Elders/ministers planning retreat, Port Washington

November 13 - Women's Ministry planning session, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

November 13 - Elders/deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.

November 13 - Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.

November 15 - Christian Workers' Meeting, Southside, 9:00 a.m.

November 19 - Senior dinner sponsored by youth group, 12:00 noon

December 11 - Congregational meeting, 1:00 p.m., after sandwich lunch

The Identification Problem

One of the most perplexing aspects of undenominational Christianity is the problem of identification. Identification is important in every life, and even if we wished to escape it, we could not.... Identification is essential if we are to exist in an interrelated world, and while we may resent today's computerization, a return the "good old days" would not eliminate the necessity.

In religion we must also have identification. The very name Christian is a means of designating one's faith. Identification helps the world to properly place us in its scheme of things, and assists Christians in their mutual relations.

However, the importance of being identified by the world has probably been overstressed. The signs in front of our places of worship and our advertisements in the newspaper testify to our desire to be known by those whom we seek to influence for Christ. Churches place their names on tracts, list themselves in telephone books, and communicate with the general public by means of radio and television. Most religious broadcasts make an effort to identify a specific group of people with the message being taught.

Yet, it is scarcely necessary that others know our history or that we have a denominational appellation for us to teach them. The true image of the church in the eyes of the world is not the building in which it worships or the advertising campaign it carries on. Rather it is the personal lives of the people who compose it. The most effective way of teaching is the godly life and the example of a dedicated child of God. A person may desire to become a part of "that group of Christians" because he sees in them what he wishes he had. He may be totally unfamiliar with such terms as "church of Christ" and whether there are ten or ten thousand similar congregations is not relative to his needs. In fact, sometimes it is easier to communicate the undenominational plea if one is totally ignorant of the existence of other congregations. This is especially true where prejudices have been formed and a sectarian image implanted in the mind of the one being taught....

Jesus suggests one criterion for distinguishing the disciples. "A new command­ment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have laved you, that you love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34,35). Before we conclude that the mutual love of Christ's disciples is too subjective a test for identification purposes, we ought to note the impact that such obvious love has on searchers for truth. Conversely, is there anything which so quickly turns one away from the Lord as the exhibition of bitterness toward one's fellow Christians? It should still be true that simple followers of our Lord are known by the love they have for one another.

Monroe E. Hawley, Redigging the Wells, pp. 127-129

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