North MacArther Church of Christ

     Last Saturday evening after a week of school and work and junior high softball games and the county fair, the husband and I decided we needed to get the heck out of Dodge, so we hired a sitter and headed to the city for a night away. Thinking relaxing and low key and knowing we wouldn't encounter a loud band and flashing lights (not that we don't enjoy that as well), we decided to visit the North MacArther Church of Christ. A friend of ours recommended we attend especially to take part in the beautiful acappella worship music, and while we had never been to a Church of Christ before, we were excited for our first experience.

 

         The church building itself is a beautiful structure and the sanctuary is large and lovely. Generations of families filled the pews from grandparents to babies and every age in between. It looked much like any other traditional church we've attended except for the obvious absence of any type of musical instrument. Members of the Church of Christ are firm believers that the use of external instruments, having not been specifically stated in the New Testament as an acceptable form of worship, are therefore, a direct violation of God's Word. So, when we were asked to stand and sing the first hymn, it was with a jovial warning from the song leader for the bases and tenors to stay on beat, which sent a jolt of fear through me and made me suddenly fearful of hitting a wrong note and making a fool of myself. Anyone who's ever sat near me in a singing situation can tell you that my voice is by no means dainty, so it was with purposeful effort that I quieted my voice and worked painfully to read the music notes broken into four parts on the large screens at the front of the sanctuary. Being unfamiliar with two of the four songs, and an utter failure at ever learning to harmonize, I found listening to the beautiful hymns being sung much more satisfying than singing along. I found myself saddened that I lacked the skills to sing along with confidence and honestly,  wishing for a piano to keep me on key and cover up my mistakes.

   Throughout the offering and communion, I began to notice the joyful, and sometimes fretful, sounds of an abundance of babies in the church and I realized that in so many churches we attend, their sounds are few and muffled as most spend the service in the nursery or have their cries drowned out by the musical instruments generally played during that time. The coos and cries were a beautiful reminder of a church that is training future generations to love and worship the Lord.
   
     The church has a congregational body with elders in leadership positions, and it soon became apparent that the various elders were dispersed throughout the sanctuary in order to see to the needs of the people and welcome those of us who were new or visiting. We felt very welcomed and met not only the lady in the seat next to us but three name-tag bearing elders who made a point to come to our pew and shake our hands and get to know us a bit. The overall atmosphere of the church was very warm and welcoming.

    I very much appreciated the fact that several congregational members took part in the service through prayers, announcements, and reading of scripture. The sermon was biblically sound and well prepared, and the pastor was warm and sincere.

     We closed with a hymn I knew quite well, and I was excited to let my pipes loose and sing praises to the Lord.  The choir all about us was simply beautiful and must surely bring joy to the Lord.

       It was certainly a different type of worship service for us, and although not using instruments during service does not align with my personal beliefs, I can't help but admire members of this denomination for their determination to do what they believe to be right and pleasing to God despite a great amount of pressure to change. Their love of Jesus and of one another was most certainly apparent and after all, nothing else is greater!

       Thank you so much for joining us once again on our Steeple Chase. God bless you!

This wall symbolizes the general feeling of a church who embraces their members and reaches out in service to others.