V.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0“Join the church of your choice” is a foolish idea<\/p>\n
A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is advocating pleasing self.<\/p>\n
B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We need to join the church of God’s choice.<\/p>\n
We cannot “join” but we can be added to the Church!<\/p>\n\t
I agree that care is needed in wording, but in this particular case, there is biblical precedence.<\/p>\n
“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to\u00a0join the disciples<\/strong>; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out<\/em>” (Acts 9:26-28).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At the start of the church in Thessalonica:<\/p>\n
“And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women,\u00a0joined Paul and Silas<\/strong><\/em>” (Acts 17:4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At the start of the church in Athens:<\/p>\n
“However, some men\u00a0joined him and believed<\/strong>, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them<\/em>” (Acts 17:34).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Being joined with brethren and the Lord in a church is an appropriate concept:<\/p>\n
“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment<\/em>” (I Corinthians 1:10).<\/p>\n
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him<\/em>” (I Corinthians 6:17).<\/p>\n
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:19-22).<\/p>\n
“But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head –Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:15-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
However, in order to cause a bit more thinking, I like the idea and have reworded the line to say “We need to be joined together in the church of God’s choice.”<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thank you for your time and consideration. I feel there is a difference in joining someone’s efforts in ministering (i.e. the apostles and others). As to the rewording, thank you and amen <\/b>brother!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: V.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0“Join the church of your choice” is a foolish idea A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is advocating pleasing self. B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We need to join the church of God’s choice. We cannot “join” but we can be added to the Church! Answer: I agree that care is needed in wording, but in this particular case, there is biblical precedence. “And…<\/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":[448,544],"class_list":["post-30792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church","tag-membership"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16384,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-have-to-join-a-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":30792,"position":0},"title":"Do you have to join a church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to know do you believe in having to join to be a member of the \"Church of Christ\"? Answer: This question only becomes difficult to answer in that I don't know if you understand the way the New Testament uses the concept of \"church.\" \"Church\" is\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":2383,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-scriptural-to-join-a-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":30792,"position":1},"title":"Is it scriptural to “join” a church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about joining a church. I'm a bit at a loss to know how to go forward. This is all rather new to me as my family left \"going to church\" decades ago and have since worshiped with other Christians in homes or fellowships. One of\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":5173,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-a-person-have-to-attend-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":30792,"position":2},"title":"Does a person have to attend church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does a person have to attend church in order to be accepted into the kingdom of God? This question isn't sarcastically phrased; I really want to know the answer. And please note that I do attend church. But seeing that I can pray, talk to God, read His word\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":88704,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-individual-member-versus-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":30792,"position":3},"title":"The Individual Member Versus the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Charles Spence via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 4, 31 December 1991 As those who obey the gospel are added to the Lord's church, they have a responsibility to join with disciples in their area. After his conversion, Paul sought to join the disciples who were assembling in Jerusalem. \"And\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":54903,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-a-baptized-person-a-member-of-the-local-congregation\/","url_meta":{"origin":30792,"position":4},"title":"Isn’t a baptized person a member of the local congregation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a bit confused. My understanding has always been that if an individual were visiting us, and they obeyed the gospel while here, I would direct them to a sound church in their area. They would not be a member of the local church here, although they obeyed\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":8351,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-repeated-adulterer-be-dismissed-from-the-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":30792,"position":5},"title":"Should a repeated adulterer be dismissed from the ministry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to know what God's view is on this matter. A pastor in our town who is over a church is committing adultery over and over again. The church keeps taking him from the pulpit but after awhile lets him come back to the pulpit. 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