There is no area of life that is unregulated by the church. There are rules (a.k.a. “judgments”) for everything, and when a rule doesn’t immediately come to mind, they are encouraged to call a Teacher for “counsel.” Once the question makes it through a discussion at a May Meeting, the individual congregations fall into line with this year’s latest rules.
Here are some of the rules for traveling:
- You mustn’t worship in another congregation
unless you are visiting family. - If you are traveling for something work
related or some other reason you must go back home for worship. - You can
also worship in another congregation if you are courting someone. - You must keep the schedule of the church in the city you are in if
there is a church there. If the church you are visiting has a ladies
class or a non member class that your home church doesn’t have, you must
attend it. If your congregation has a midweek class on Tuesday and you
attended it, but you happen to be in another congregation’s city on
Wednesday, you must attend their midweek class also. - You should seek counsel before you leave to make sure it’s okay with the teacher/preacher.
h/t to CB
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Why can't Christians be allowed to follow their conscience when making traveling plans? Why must there be a list of rules and specific exceptions to these rules? Do all of the teachers and preachers really believe these traveling rules are necessary? Do you not see that a few people's consciences are being bound on the entire brotherhood? I can't even imagine what would happen if a Christian couple decided to travel to a location without a Church but chose to keep the Lords day with each other. I can picture a couple of scenarios…Maybe that couple has a family member… Read more »
I dropped off my wife at the hospital to have her baby because I had commitments to keep. That was the wrong judgement. I am sorry, honey.
I was forbidden to leave my congregation to move to be with my family who lived in another state, so I was poor and alone clear across the country trying to raise my child.
There may be a few more but I can think of only one instance in 20-30 years where a couple had the guts to move to another congregation without the Church sending them. They moved because the husband had a job offer in another state. That was brave.
Anybody know the rules on prayer?
1) you can't pray for anyone NOT in the church of Christ unless they … are a child? Not sure about this but please clarify
2) no holding hands during prayer
3) prayers must be said a very specific way with.no deviating
4) if someone is praying and they aren't part of the CoC, you must:
A. Leave the room
B. Keep your eyes open
C. DON'T bow your head.
D. Say your own private prayer.
What else is there? Where are the Scriptures to back any of this up?
Recently decided that one must say "in Jesus name". Not "in our Savior's name", not "in the name of our Lord", not "in your son's name'. If you don't say "Jesus name" it isn't heard.
I know for sure that you were taught not to pray for anyone not in the church other than that person would get saved. I'm free from that now! Hallelujah! I pray for my loved ones, fellow Christians in my "off church" mainstream COC that I attend and anyone else I think of. This "off church" has taught me that there really can be peace in the church. Amazing to be in classes where you're learning about the bible the whole time instead of listening to long rebukes about nothing!
Anonymous @12:57 I know what you mean! I am an adult child from the CoC and even over the past 15 years, my parents have tried to get me to come to their church. I have a few times. . .but each time I went, it was nothing but rebuking people in the church! One time they were having a visiting preacher come and preach and they asked me to come. I agreed, thinking I would surely get some enlightenment or lesson from a visitor….WRONG!!! It was nothing but rebuking AGAIN!!! I left after the sermon- didn't hang around for… Read more »
Craig and Seeking or anyone else… have the rules of travel changed?
Here's been my experience lately: the "rules" aren't taught on all that much but yes people still seek counsel on travel. In early April we travelled without counsel out of state and didn't miss anything but still the preacher who was also travelling to same wedding but didn't go taught on how he asked counsel n it was decided it was best he not go. It wasn't real reproving but the impression left was one should seek counsel. I have seen just where if you're missing the work, etc., people start asking questions. Also in late Feb of this year… Read more »
As the old saying goes: "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission" In the book of Acts you read of all the travels of the Apostle Paul as he went spreading the gospel through out the world. All the controlling rules and regulations choke the love for God out of the hearts of men.
2 Novembers ago I went to the meeting in Stanton. We attended Tuesday night class in SA and then flew out with our little ones in tow at 5 am to make it to Disneyland by 10 am. After all that effort (and carrying little ones, luggage, car seats, etc. thru the airport), one of the first people to say hi to us at the meeting, a sister from Alaska who's been in a real long time, said right after Hello, "So you brought all your family so you could take them to Disneyland?" I said, "No, we came to… Read more »
That is a very spiritual comment, and is not carnal at all.
Very funny, AFS. I'll take that as a joke. It was not intended to be a spiritual trip. It was just good old family time. Good for the heart. Good for our family. Some really awesome memories. ��
M. Long I think I understand why you chose to share this post about traveling. It's as though Merie's group wants to sap all of the joy out of everything they can-even traveling to meetings. It's almost as if anyone has any type of enjoyment-such as stopping to photograph something-they consider it to be "carnal" and not the thing to do!I remember when someone took an extra day off before a meeting and drove up to the meeting-they were rebuked! We were all informed that everyone should travel together, and how carnal it was to go with just a couple… Read more »
Yes, you get it, Debby. A couple summers ago my husband was sent for 2 weeks to train near the border of Alabama / Georgia. We were the closest we had been to Florida and for quite a few days. I tried and tried to figure out a "logical" way to take the kids to Disney (my oldest at this point was just 18 and still had never been), but it was still 6 hours away and between travel time, worship, classes, etc., it just wasn't realistic to make all that effort to just have to come right back for… Read more »
I’m curious what advantage you feel traveling frequently, which impacts the budget, has over leading a stable life where one lives, with the exception of spreading the gospel? Would you agree that Americans travel much more frequently and farther today than a century ago, due to technology? Yet, how has that benefited the family? Does Wanderlust serve any virtuous purpose? Weren’t families and churches far happier, more stable, and prosperous a century ago? We travel more today and have more college degrees today than we have ever had before in American history, but what tangible benefit has this given us?… Read more »
Advocate, I think it's just about balance and freedom. Ultimately, it should be up to us, the adults, to be able to decide whether we travel often and to where. If you prefer to stay home all the time, well that's certainly your right. I grew up in a wonderful little town with the best spring fed creek. I have the best memories with my sisters there. My single mom made a huge effort to take us every couple years to a large Waterpark and that was loads of fun with our cousins. My children are growing up in a… Read more »
Advocate 4:48pm No one is saying they want to travel all the time. People aren't against the rules so they can church hop or because they want to bounce from state to state or backpack overseas. I don't think Wanderlust is the motive for people being against the rules. Many couldn't even afford overseas travel if they wanted to. Most only travel for work or to visit family and aren't even allowed to do that either sometimes. Many preachers/teachers have kids they take to amusement parks, zoos, camping, etc. to bond with the children. What's wrong with M Long taking… Read more »
Good points, AFP. I have a college degree that really helped me in life. Because of my degree, I was able to work many years at a large publishing company and that job paid the bills and we were able to buy a nice home. Unfortunately my ex paid more than half of his check in child support so the weight of our own home was on me. During my first visit to the SCOC a member told me Christian women don't work. I told her we would literally be in the street because my ex didn't bring home enough… Read more »
I have seen the opposite M Long. We had a man in our congregation that was highly trained in the medical field, a respiratory therapist that worked on a flight for life helicopter that when entering the SCOC left the medical field to be a home handy man trimming bushes for five dollars an hour and not paying his child support and looking for other men to support him in his underpaid job. Good education has to be put to work to be profitable, and the demands for all of ones time in church activities prevented this.
Wow, Anon 614, that's just crazy. But it doesn't surprise me at all. My ex had to do required on-call overtime one week a year, and he decided (even though they were willing to work with him on making worship) that he couldn't miss classes either so he told them he wouldn't do it. He'd been there for quite a few years and took this position knowing this. Anyway, he was given a 30-day notice. I had him contact the EEOC claiming religious discrimination and they ended up transferring him to another position with a pay cap. I didn't think… Read more »
M Long, good for you getting your children to Disneyland and World as well as getting photo opportunities. Usually you have a sour grape in the crowd and would frown upon what you did. However, with this cult they are trained to be those sour grapes. Not that everyone will turn sour but it’s instilled in the members as you know. Yet, on a May week such as here in Portland in 1998 it was okay to go sight seeing to waterfalls and other places. What’s the difference?
Very true M Long and Anon 6:14am and Craig. Traveling is not the reason people in the SCOC are poor or why their lives aren't stable. I've mostly only seen people travel for work, family reasons, or church meetings that are far away, and even for those people don't travel all that often. What bothers me personally isn't so much the rules that Kevin posted up there. The issues I'm mostly concerned about is when people are still told they can't travel or miss a class while traveling somewhere even when they have valid reasons for it. They still like… Read more »
In high demand groups perfect attendance is mandated; it is a way of hooking members in. Read the free kindle book: Cult deception, how a personal development company seduced me and how I broke free by Dana Baker and you will see the common tactics used to deceptively recruit and then hold people in to their group.
Anon 6:56pm, were you ever a member of the SCOC?