Can a hall used by a church for worship also be rented for a potluck by members?<\/a>“<\/p>\nThe primary point that bothers me is that you stated: “I believe that having a kitchen is mere expediency in the overall goal of reaching people with the Gospel;”\u00a0yet, I cannot think of an example in the Scriptures where food was used to attract people to the Gospel. Instead, I recall that after our Lord feed 5,000 and they followed him, he rejected them saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled<\/i>” (John 6:26). The fact that people were feed was incidental. It was not the purpose of the gathering, nor was it the point of the miracle. When the people following Jesus later asked for more food, he turned them down.<\/p>\n
For something to be an expediency, it must first be lawful. Only then can we talk about which method is the most efficient for accomplishing the task that needs to be done. If we are going to feed people when we gather, we must first determine the command, example, or necessary inference that leads to the obligation on the part of the church to feed people. There are some, such as the feeding of needy widows who have no other family to care for them, but upon what are you going to base a general obligation to feed people?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I currently stand in the position that it is a matter of opinion concerning a kitchen or fellowship hall. Again, that is where I currently stand. Here where I preach, we do not have a kitchen per se. A majority of the brethren here would like to have one so that it would accommodate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[151,114,593,594,152],"class_list":["post-2836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-eating-in-the-building","tag-expediency","tag-fellowship-hall","tag-kitchen","tag-social-activities"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5718,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-i-corinthian-1133-allow-fellowship-meals-at-the-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":0},"title":"Does I Corinthian 11:33 allow fellowship meals at the church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother in Christ, \u00a0 I read your answer to Why is eating in the building an issue?\u00a0concerning eating in the building and have a few questions. \u00a0 First, you quote I Corinthians 11:17-22 where Paul is remonstrating the Corinthians for leaving some hungry and for some getting drunk\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63521,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/strictness-not-according-to-knowledge\/","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":1},"title":"Strictness Not According to Knowledge","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 15:1-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In our zeal to live as God requires, we will at times take on more restrictions than God has placed upon us. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ecclesiastes 7:15-16 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A confusing verse. Is Solomon saying don\u2019t follow God\u2019s laws strictly? Have a little sin in your life?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19698,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-shouldnt-write-against-having-kitchens-and-fellowship-halls-since-these-arent-important-to-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":2},"title":"You shouldn’t write against having kitchens and fellowship halls since these aren’t important to salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I stumbled across your web site and found some very valuable information that may help me in the future. I disagree, however, with one of your beliefs. Having a kitchen or a potluck at the church building is not wrong. The church building is just that -- a building.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56202,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fellowship-halls-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":3},"title":"Fellowship Halls (Miller)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 25, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Adapted from an article by James P. Miller via\u00a0Stand, March 1981. It is with regret that we learn that one of the congregations is now building a \"fellowship hall\" to advance their understanding of the gospel of Christ. We regret more for it widens the gulf between them and all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":734,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-hall-used-by-a-church-for-worship-also-be-rented-for-a-potluck-by-members\/","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":4},"title":"Can a hall used by a church for worship also be rented for a potluck by members?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Our congregation meets in a rented hall. Would it be wrong to make use of the facilities available for a potluck gathering? I understand that the church doesn't have authority to own a kitchen, but I was wondering why we couldn't rent the facility where we happen to meet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68242,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-fellowship-halls-optional\/","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":5},"title":"Are fellowship halls optional?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning, brother Jeffrey: I have had several discussions with an elder of a church of Christ. First, the issue of fellowship halls. I sent him the article entitled \"Kitchens and Fellowship Halls, What Was the Issue?\" His response was because the early church met in homes for worship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}