{"id":54072,"date":"2018-08-31T20:56:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-01T01:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=54072"},"modified":"2022-09-23T21:03:01","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T02:03:01","slug":"in-regards-to-fellowship-halls-it-seems-you-gave-two-different-answers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-regards-to-fellowship-halls-it-seems-you-gave-two-different-answers\/","title":{"rendered":"In regards to fellowship halls, it seems you gave two different answers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I was reading through some of your questions and answers regarding\u00a0fellowship halls<\/a>. I’m a little confused. In\u00a0one post about the subject<\/a>, someone asked if they could still worship as long as they didn’t attend the meal. The answer was yes and Revelation 3:4 was cited. In\u00a0a different question<\/a>, someone asked about using the building for weddings, funerals, and fellowship halls, and you stated a person who disagrees with fellowship halls can’t avoid it by just not going.<\/p>\n

I understand that if I buy gum at a gas station that also sells alcohol. Most people wouldn’t assume that I approve of drinking. But what about the fact that the money I spend will be used by that business to buy more alcohol? That’s the thing that’s tripping me up.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

In “If you can have fellowship with people who differ in one area, why can’t you have fellowship with those who have kitchens and fellowship halls?<\/a>” the problem addressed is the use of a person’s contribution to the local church. Those who use the building for social purposes all too often spend money from the church’s treasury for these events. So while a member may want to avoid being a part of these events, their contributions to the church still make them a part of it.<\/p>\n

In “Should we leave our current church because of unbiblical practices?<\/a>” the problem was slightly different because the issue was that there was no congregation in the area practicing the biblical way using the church’s funds. There I suggested that they worship with a group, but send their contributions elsewhere. Since their funds would not be supporting what they saw as wrong, they could avoid the events where church funds were being inappropriately spent. It is not an ideal situation, but it allows the individual to worship without violating his conscience.<\/p>\n

In “Should the church building be used for weddings or funerals?<\/a>” more detail is given about the use of the building for things that the church does not pay to support. Here consideration is given to each individual’s conscience.<\/p>\n

In regards to buying gum from a store that also happens to sell alcohol, you cannot control how the store owners choose to spend their money. In this case, it is like buying meat from the market that just happened to come from an idol’s temple. The source of the meat is out of your control because you are not the butcher. You are buying meat, not its source. “Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake<\/em>” (I Corinthians 10:25). In this case, you are buying gum, not alcohol. In fact, because of that, you are encouraging the owner to invest in more gum because it is being sold. If fewer people bought the alcohol, the stores would not buy it as much.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I was reading through some of your questions and answers regarding\u00a0fellowship halls. I’m a little confused. In\u00a0one post about the subject, someone asked if they could still worship as long as they didn’t attend the meal. The answer was yes and Revelation 3:4 was cited. In\u00a0a different question, someone asked about using the building…<\/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":[151,593],"class_list":["post-54072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-eating-in-the-building","tag-fellowship-hall"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68242,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-fellowship-halls-optional\/","url_meta":{"origin":54072,"position":0},"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":[]},{"id":1999,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-can-have-fellowship-with-people-who-differ-in-one-area-why-cant-you-have-fellowship-with-those-who-have-kitchens-and-fellowship-halls\/","url_meta":{"origin":54072,"position":1},"title":"If you can have fellowship with people who differ in one area, why can’t you have fellowship with those who have kitchens and fellowship halls?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you believe that weddings and\/or funerals may take place in the church auditorium? Do you think that you can maintain fellowship with those who differ with you on this question? Do you think that you can maintain fellowship with those who differ with you about having a kitchen\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":61320,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-buildings-assembly-halls-and-fellowship-halls\/","url_meta":{"origin":54072,"position":2},"title":"Notes on Buildings, Assembly Halls, and Fellowship Halls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 10, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Assemblies The church is commanded to come together for the purpose of worship and encouragement - I Corinthians 11:18, 20, 33; Hebrews 10:25 The purpose of coming together as a church is specifically separated from eating meals - I Corinthians 11:22, 34 Fellowship Fellowship is a state of being. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10468,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-have-a-fellowship-building-for-dinners\/","url_meta":{"origin":54072,"position":3},"title":"Is it wrong to have a fellowship building for dinners?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You have a great web site, and I'm forwarding a link to several people. On the home page, the first paragraph causes me to ask if you think it is wrong to have a fellowship building for pot luck dinners. Answer: In answer to your question, I will point\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":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":54072,"position":4},"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":55535,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/church-kitchens-and-fellowship-halls\/","url_meta":{"origin":54072,"position":5},"title":"Church Kitchens and Fellowship Halls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Riggs Church buildings with kitchens and fellowship halls are quite common today because the social gospel has gained acceptance in the minds of many. In fact, more and more churches of Christ are running headlong in that direction with complete apostasy being the only outcome. Unauthorized There is\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54072","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=54072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}