{"id":31541,"date":"2012-01-31T21:08:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-01T03:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=31541"},"modified":"2021-02-02T21:11:34","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T03:11:34","slug":"is-it-wrong-to-get-agitated-at-having-baby-dedication-ceremonies-during-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-get-agitated-at-having-baby-dedication-ceremonies-during-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it wrong to get agitated at having baby dedication ceremonies during worship?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>I am in search of a church home and have visited several.\u00a0 The last church I joined was more focused on supporting its Christian school than on evangelism, or even Sunday school and joyful singing, and it really bogged me down.\u00a0 That said, when I sense something out of place about a congregation, it turns me off and makes me not want to go anymore.\u00a0 I&#8217;d really like to find a congregation whose members have actually read their Bibles, and are interested in learning, but lately, I&#8217;ve noticed a trend in the churches of Christ, that reminds me of the year I spent in a denomination and makes me question what other things may leave me unsettled after I&#8217;ve invested a significant amount of time attending services.<\/p>\n<p>Long story short, is it unreasonable for me to become agitated during &#8220;Baby Dedication&#8221; ceremonies during worship service?\u00a0 Obviously, there is no scriptural justification for it, but I also recognize that there is no scriptural justification for reading the announcements during worship.\u00a0 I love babies and families, and know that it is a very special time for those that have been blessed with a child, but why are so many congregations now taking time out of worship to remind everyone who has had a baby in the past year?\u00a0 Didn&#8217;t they announce it or print it in the church bulletin when the child was born?\u00a0 And, if I am being unreasonable, and that is acceptable, why aren&#8217;t the newlyweds and the graduates are given a ceremony annually to recognize them?<\/p>\n<p>Really, after several years of feeling like I waste my time by going to church, and attending pointless Bible studies, I really wonder why I bother at all anymore.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve never attended a non-institutional church, but I really feel like if I tried it, I might not leave the church so aggravated each week.\u00a0 Are you aware of a listing of such congregations?\u00a0 I wouldn&#8217;t even know where to look.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>There are several directories. This page has a list of links: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/resources\/congregations-of-the-churches-of-christ\/\">Congregations of the Churches of Christ<\/a>\u00a0The Interactive Bible one is probably the best one.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t blame you for getting disgusted with the behavior in some churches. It is one of the things the brethren warned about when the liberal elements broke away from the conservative groups &#8211;though they now rewrite history and say it was the other way around. When you found your beliefs upon the concept that silence means approval, you have nothing to stop you from sliding down the slippery slope that leads to denominationalism. A number of congregations have demonstrated this in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>Announcements exist in most congregations for organizational purposes. They remind people who is doing what during the service and gives a list of the things we will be praying for. It is a part of &#8220;<em>Let all things be done decently and in order<\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 14:40). Thus, the announcements are not additions; they are a way of fulfilling the command to have an orderly service.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: I am in search of a church home and have visited several.\u00a0 The last church I joined was more focused on supporting its Christian school than on evangelism, or even Sunday school and joyful singing, and it really bogged me down.\u00a0 That said, when I sense something out of place about a congregation, it&hellip;<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-31541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-the-whole-church-makes-decisions-how-is-it-organized\/","url_meta":{"origin":31541,"position":0},"title":"If the whole church makes decisions, how is it organized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read\u00a0the reply by Ney Rieber, to the question posed by one that was having a problem reconciling with a congregation that does not have elders. These questions come to mind and I hope you can help answer them when you have time or maybe point me toward a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28132,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-for-teenage-girls-to-give-a-report-to-the-congregation-during-the-worship-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":31541,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong for teenage girls to give a report to the congregation during the worship service?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am visiting a new church of Christ. Today was my second Sunday to attend, both Sunday morning and evening services. Tonight, during the Sunday evening service, a group had just returned from a mission trip to Guatemala. The service was to include a report on what had gone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17928,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-to-go-to-a-youth-group-or-chapel-service-during-the-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":31541,"position":2},"title":"Is it a sin to go to a youth group or chapel service during the week?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I saw that the church only met on the first day of the week to gather and worship. Does this mean that I sin if I go to youth groups on Wednesdays (while still going to church on Sunday), or if my school has weekly mandatory chapel services on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25124,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-woman-be-an-associate-campus-minister\/","url_meta":{"origin":31541,"position":3},"title":"Can a woman be an Associate Campus Minister?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been attending the church of Christ. I'm fairly new there. It's almost 30 miles away and there is no other acceptable church that I know of. My concern is with their campus ministry. My husband only recently noticed a flyer in the church hallway announcing a woman as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28602,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-someone-be-withdrawn-from-for-not-moving-his-seat-during-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":31541,"position":4},"title":"Can someone be withdrawn from for not moving his seat during worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This question is in a scenario form: A member of the Lord's church was asked to move his seating in the church building during worship on several different occasions. This member refused to do so after several requests. This member was consequently brought before the congregation with the charge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/worshiping-during-the-coronavirus-19-pandemic\/","url_meta":{"origin":31541,"position":5},"title":"Worshiping during the Coronavirus-19 Pandemic","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brethren, I really appreciate the wealth of information contained on your website and it has been very helpful and insightful. I do have a current concern with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been a few articles in your archive where some have inquired about proper worship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","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\/31541","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=31541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}