The Nature of the Church

by R. L. Whiteside
via Gospel Advocate, December 3, 1942

From what reading I do, it seems to me that brethren are drifting away from a correct conception of what the church is. The church of God is the family of God, and all his children are in it. If one of his children wanders off into some institution where he should not be, he is still a child of God, still a member of God's family. If your own child gets into something that he should not, he is still your child. A United States citizen may join an unlawful mob, but he is still a citizen. To say that the local churches of Christ constitute the church of Christ is a great mistake, for there are children of God who are not members of any congregation. When Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, there was no local church in that community for the eunuch to become a member of; yet, he became a child of God, a member of God's family, which is the church of God.