I am a disciple of Jesus Christ who attends a fellowship of churches once known as the International Churches of Christ. I was googling opinions and articles on various biblical topics when I saw your website. I just wanted to tell you how refreshing it was to see such an uncompromising stand on being the church of the New Testament. I’m not sure if you are a part of the mainline churches of Christ fellowships or an independent congregation but it doesn’t matter. I was sincerely encouraged and convicted by your site. I found some of your articles and Q&A helpful to me spiritually. I pray for your continual service in Christ and ever-increasing impact in your community.<\/p>\n\t
All of the churches of Christ are independent. There is no central headquarters or guiding organization beyond our Lord in heaven. Among the churches of Christ, we are considered among conservative element that retains the old ways. We are definitely not among those who broke off from us in the 1940s and 1950s and call themselves “mainstream.” See: “What is this business about “anti,” “liberal,” and “sound?” <\/a>” and “Isn’t the use of “conservative,” “non-institutional,” or “mainstream” to distinguish churches wrong?<\/a>” for details.<\/p>\n I’m glad you are finding the website useful in your studies.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I am a disciple of Jesus Christ who attends a fellowship of churches once known as the International Churches of Christ. I was googling opinions and articles on various biblical topics when I saw your website. I just wanted to tell you how refreshing it was to see such an uncompromising stand on being…<\/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":[127,448,1508,982,192],"class_list":["post-30984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-church","tag-institutionalism","tag-international-church-of-christ","tag-liberalism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44375,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-answer-on-circumcision-and-how-it-relates-to-baptism-and-covenants-made-it-clear-to-me-why-baptism-is-necessary-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":30984,"position":0},"title":"Your answer on circumcision and how it relates to baptism and covenants made it clear to me why baptism is necessary for salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Someone asked about\u00a0the law of circumcision\u00a0and your answer was so helpful to me, especially in how it relates to covenants between man and God, then and now, with baptism. Now I understand how it can be symbolic of salvation, as the Baptists claim, and be a step in salvation,\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":38151,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-am-simply-amazed-learning-about-the-churches-of-christ-and-their-strong-bible-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":30984,"position":1},"title":"I am simply amazed learning about the churches of Christ and their strong Bible teaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I\u00a0really appreciate your website! I have been reading so much on the Internet about the churches of Christ. I am simply amazed! The churches I grew up with, their way of doing things, are quickly being changed or given up on completely. Where have I been? Strong Bible teaching\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":44197,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-it-seem-that-there-isnt-that-much-difference-between-the-christian-church-and-the-churches-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":30984,"position":2},"title":"Why does it seem that there isn’t that much difference between the Christian Church and the churches of Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, When I was 15, I was baptized in a church of Christ. Originally the church had been non-instrumental but later used an organ and piano. The minister was also a professor of Greek at a nearby college. If the Christian Church has so many differences, as is indicated\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":20053,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-mormon-what-are-your-beliefs\/","url_meta":{"origin":30984,"position":3},"title":"Are you Mormon? What are your beliefs?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I happened to stumble upon your church when I googled \"the most accurate version of the Bible.\" I have been currently attended a Baptist church, which solely uses the King James Version. I am really in search of the truth on my Christian journey. I am not one who\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":67110,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-churches-of-christ-the-only-correct-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":30984,"position":4},"title":"Are the churches of Christ the only correct church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeffery, In the article \"Wasn't Babel the city of Eridu?\" you mentioned, \"You will not find any claim that the churches of Christ are the only correct church on this site.\" Do you no longer believe in the one true church? I understand that not every church with\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":4647,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-history-of-the-church-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":30984,"position":5},"title":"What is the history of the “Church of Christ?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the history of the \"Church of Christ?\" Answer: The true history of the church is found in the Book of Acts in your Bible. However, I assume from your question you are wondering about the history of the churches of Christ in the United States. A really\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\/30984","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=30984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30984\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}