Then we saw that there was great growth in the 20th Century, at least up through about the 1960’s and early 70’s; but there were challenges; there were difficulties even along that way. There were questions about cooperation; there were those who wanted to embrace Premillennialism; there was the issue of non-classes and college and the number of communion cups to use. And we looked at some of the statistics in previous lessons. But we have weathered these storms.

But now, we are seeing, well, maybe not something that is completely new and different, but we are seeing a continued leaning toward liberalism; toward the rejection of the New Testament pattern. In fact, some even from among our brethren would claim that there really is no New Testament pattern to follow; some would claim that there are no commands to be carried out, and so on. And interestingly enough, I’ve done some reading about the Disciples of Christ, and much of what we see going on in our brotherhood today is really a repetition of what the Disciples went through in the first 40 or 50 years of the 20th Century. And that metamorphosis that they have gone through has brought them to the point where, as I mentioned earlier, they out and out reject the Restoration. They are a denomination among denominations; they are proud of it. And we see some of the same things happening among some of our brethren in the church today that are a repeat of what the Disciples of Christ did in the early to mid part of the 20th Century.

I wanted to mention and introduce to you the concept of the fact that the Restoration Movement, of what we are a part of… And I hope you understand that by employing this term; this phrase, I am not suggesting that this is something that is outside of the New Testament. We’re not following something or someone that is outside of the New Testament. I consider the term; the phrase, “Restoration Movement,” to be synonymous with the New Testament pattern. But, is there more to be done? Is there a continuing restoration that we need to be aware of?

Well, we know, as we look back on what we have studied in recent weeks, that the church of Christ indeed is strong; is viable. We continue to embrace the appropriate and the sound doctrine of the New Testament. We continue to do our best to follow the pattern. For example: in the immersion of believers; we also observe the Lord’s Supper, as we see the pattern in the New Testament—observing the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week; we sing and make melody in our heart—we do not embrace the instrument; local congregations are free and autonomous; and in many cases (not all cases), congregations are Scripturally organized, meaning that they are overseen by qualified elders and they have deacons, and so on. And so, we are adhering to these fundamental, these basic, and these obvious principles and patterns that we see in the New Testament.

But it’s an ongoing effort. We need to constantly be on guard; we need to be watching for those wolves who would come in among us that Paul warned those Ephesian elders about; we need to be careful that we do not become enamored, or wooed away, to think that we need to change; to update; to modernize.

But moreover, there are some things that we still need to do better, that we really can concentrate on, such things as evangelism, for example. The New Testament church; the 1 st Century church was very, very evangelistic. They recognized; they knew that their work; that their mission was about evangelism. We need to be reinvigorated; we need to be more like that 1st Century church in our evangelistic efforts.

The early church; those early Christians, their concern for the Lord transcended their concern for material things. We read there in the book of Acts, those first Christians in Jerusalem could sell their house, their lands, their property, and lay the money at the apostles’ feet. Even those poor ones in Macedonia could, in their deep poverty, still give.

Those early Christians believed in the absolute power of prayer. They were a praying people. They prayed continually.

We also note that they continued steadfastly—steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, but also in service to the Lord; in the joy of being a part of that Christian community. And there was a closeness; a real brotherhood that existed; no, not just in Jerusalem, but we see examples of this in the church in Corinth, the church in Ephesus, the church in Philippi, and so on.

Yes, we must preserve, and we must strive to continue to live up to those obvious; those very objective things that are a part of that New Testament pattern—baptism, partaking the Lord’s Supper, and so on. But there are some subjective areas, I submit to you, that we need to be RESTORING among ourselves all of the time.

Thanks for your attention. I hope that you have received some benefit from this entire study.