Pulpit Swap - an exercise in grace

Notes from the Pastor...

On September 3, 1827,  Alexander Campbell, a father of the Christian Church and Church of Christ movement, confessed a “deep and solemn conviction that the [Assembly] is the house of God  – the temple of the Holy Spirit  – and that [Christians] are, especially and emphatically, in the presence of the Lord while we are engaged in his worship.”

While First Christian Church and Gateway Church of Christ may have two different assemblies, we are brought together in the same Holy Spirit  – the motivator who prepared and enabled prophetic words delivered by Pastor John Duncan last Sunday.  I too sensed the Holy Spirit at work within my preparation and delivery to our brothers and sisters at Gateway Church of Christ.

The fact is our pulpit swap was an exercise in grace.  The “one Church” in Ruidoso may be divided by congregational style or worship and emphasized points of biblical interpretation; however, we must not be divided by an egocentrism that finds our tribe as “right” and another as “wrong.” A more open view of our brothers and sisters of different traditions leads to truer Assembly of worship and a clearer understanding of the presence of the Lord.

Church of Christ theologian, John Mark Hicks suggests that unity among believers follows from three foundational truths:
1.  Unity is a divine initiative, created by and located in the relationship of God to creation.
2.  Unity is enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
3.   Unity is the experience of heaven on earth.

Therefore, when the congregations and Christian individuals of Ruidoso practice unity, we become means of grace to one another and agents of grace to our community.  After all, First Christian Church Ruidoso affirms: “We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.” (Disciples of Christ Statement of Identity)

Grace,
Pastor Ryan