Like I Would Know...

You might find this link to info on the church of God, Anderson IN, interesting. I did. Wikipedia is obviously not the best source of knowledge on the planet... just the same... interesting to see what's changed in "our" church.

"Church polity is autonomous and congregational, with various state and regional assemblies offering some basic support for pastors and congregations."

Guess that one's under fire. My favorite reference to autonomy in the church these days is "sinful autonomy." Hundreds of millions of children sleep without shelter or food each night. Ten's of thousands die each day from preventable diseases and "leaders" are condemning autonomy. Just a tad off message.

But hey, that's just me.

I liked this section from Wikipedia:

"Below is a list of teachings that the Church of God(Anderson) now no longer teaches:"

Outward adornment: wedding rings, ear rings, lipstick on women, following worldly fashions

Entertainment such as movies, books with written material that contained writing such as was against Holiness, Holy Living and God.

Fellowship with teachings that they viewed as Babylonian, or false Christianity

Women who wear clothing that pertains to men, or women who now wear pants.

Divine Healing: the belief that God will heal those who love him

Ministers who are not paid a salary

No Musical Instruments (such as a piano or organ) in the worship service

No Divorce allowed

Much of the above is probably true in the church at large... with some BIG exceptions... the one that hits me hardest is on Divine Healing. I'm preaching on divine healing this weekend. We still teach it around Central Community. But we also still believe in autonomy of the local church. It was written in our bylaws decades before I arrived - and I've been here over 20 years.

Impossible to control what "the world" (whether you consider that "Babylon" or not) says about us. But with so many people searching online for spiritual truth these days... and since Wikipedia is easily edited, updated and corrected... might be wise for someone from the national ministry team to occasionally scan our definition.

or not.

blessings,

Eric