Communications

Visitors to our
Closed Communion

Dear Bro. Don,

How does one approach a person off the street who walks into one’s meeting hall on a Sunday and is told that he/she cannot break bread?

How is he told without offending him?

Most signs on the outside of our buildings always say “all welcome,” but is that true? Then once they get

inside they are told that they do not contribute to the collection, nor do they break bread. I know that Jesus broke bread with the disciples and not the common man from the street, but is this enough to tell a stranger?

Christadelphians base their fellowship on a common faith and a common way of life. We are heartily glad to welcome new members by belief and baptism, but we do not extend our breaking of bread service to any who might care to come along irrespective of his belief or behavior. We regard this as fundamental to our existence. Fellowship is not simply friendship. It is sharing all that is precious in the truest sense. We believe that to be worth preserving.

Is this enough said not to offend the visitor?

Suggestions?

Reuben Washington, Echo Lake, New Jersey

We have seen the matter handled in two different ways. One was to have the order of service outlined on the hymn board and “Membership Communion” listed where the breaking of bread would occur. If new visitors were present, the presider would also announce: “Now we are to begin our memorial service in which, please, participation is limited to members of the community.”

The second method was handing out a “Welcome” leaflet explaining the background and beliefs of the community and our practice regarding closed communion.

Readers are invited to submit further ideas and/or comments in response to Bro. Reuben.

Use of “Christian”

Dear Bro. Don,

I was interested to read in a recent “Tidings” regarding “Christians.”

Since I was baptized in 2000, I have not been able to call denominations that believe in the trinity, “Christians.” In my conversations, writings and thoughts, I refer to them as either “so-called Christians” or “christians” with a small “c”.

We are told we can only enter the kingdom through Truth, and Truth is based on belief in Jesus, “the Son of God,” not on belief in the man-invented “God the Son.” How can one become a Christian which is based on a belief in Jesus, not even knowing who he is?

Connie Wiedeman, Kailua, Hawaii (Oahu)

Fellowship Practice

Dear Bro. Don,

I agree with previous writers (4/ 06) who strongly suggest we must move toward a coming together of those brethren and sisters who do not see any obstacle that should keep us from enjoying a full and loving relationship with all of like precious faith, regardless of their present label.

Let me paraphrase an old adage, if he walks like a brother in Christ, if he talks like a brother in Christ, if he thinks like a brother in Christ, he must be a brother in Christ.

We (Unamended/Amended) both believe in the same God, that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that God through His son is going to establish His kingdom here on earth which will be the reward of the righteous. We both believe that hell is the grave, the devil is sin in the flesh, death is the cessation of life, that resurrection brings us back to life, and that immortality is a gift bestowed by God on those found worthy of eternal life. We both believe that the holy spirit is the power of God, that the promises God made to Abraham are relevant to those who are related to Abraham through baptism into Christ.

We call each other brother and sister; we call ourselves Christ­adelphians; we attend ecclesias for the breaking of bread each first day of the week; we refuse to participate in worldly affairs; we don’t vote; we don’t join the army or police force; we believe in total immersion for those who are baptized into Christ, etc., etc., etc.

The “NASU” experience has been positive despite what its detractors might say in that it has laid the groundwork, in my humble opinion, of having brethren of both labels sit down and talk about what happened over a hundred years ago that caused a division and what is the reality today in a divided brotherhood. The consensus arrived at by the joint committee was that there is no reason why separation between brothers and sisters should continue today. Sadly, a vote on the NASU agreement as a basis for reunion has not achieved the positive results that were hoped for by all members of the NASU committee.

Where should we go from here? Better still perhaps, how should we go from here? Keep in mind the “reality” of what happens between our two households at present in North America: on one hand, we have brethren and sisters who pass freely between both “fellowships” without re-baptism; on the other hand, we have sisters in Christ who come from a different part of the world, baptized into the same Jesus Christ, who now, because of persecution in their homeland, end up in Canada, one a member of an Unamended ecclesia and the other an Amended ecclesia unable to break bread with each other. Something is sadly wrong with this picture.

Let me offer a solution, one that I think has merit. It may be too simplistic for some, but it is worth suggesting. It takes a leap of faith but that shouldn’t be a new experience for true brethren in Christ.

Let us (with the Amended label) in the true spirit of Christ, in love, esteeming the other better than ourselves, open our hearts and our ecclesias to all who accept the Birmingham Unamended Statement of Faith or the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith, keeping in mind that both these documents are only the works of men and not the inspired words of God. After all it is the Bible, the word of God, that is our true statement of faith.

If he/she walks like a brother/ sister in Christ, if he/she talks like a brother/sister in Christ, if he/she thinks like a brother/sister in Christ then he/she must be a brother/sister in Christ.

“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Rom. 14:4 NIV).

May an all wise, all loving Father in heaven grant us His gifts of compassion and mercy, strengthen us to be His instruments of blessing and healing to bind up the wounds that have for too long afflicted the body of Christ in North America.