Thursday, July 29, 2010
   
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Minister - Richard Rose

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.  Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ        Contact Richard Rose
Elder - Leon Berry This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;  not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;  one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence  (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);  not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.  Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil    Contact Leon Berry
Elder - Ronald Thigpen The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;  and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.   Contact Ronald Thigpen

The Legacy of the Restoration Movement

One cannot really talk about the legacy of the Restoration Movement (RM) without first explaining what is the RM.  The RM is first of all a Unity Movement.  Early in the founding of this country, men were disenchanted with the state of religious affairs.  Partisan and strife characterized the religious world.  Several men from different denominations sought to unify all Christians.  They all came to the conclusion that unity can only be achieved when we have one standard by which to measure all denominations.  Believing that standard to be the Bible, these men began to preach a message of Restoration of New Testament Christianity.

The early restorers believed that is we are to be really one, we must throw off any and all man made titles and names.  Therefore, they re-adopted the term Christian as the only label for themselves.  The restorers also believed that worship should contain only those things that are specifically mentioned in the New Testament.

In promoting the movement, certain phrases were coined:

  • Speak Where the Bible speaks
  • Do Bible things in Bible Ways
  • Call Bible things by Bible Names
  • No name but Christian, no creed but Christ.

In order for the movement to advance, the Bible and the Bible alone had to serve as the only authority in religious matters.  The Church and every Christian is a product of the Bible.  If our interpretation of the scripture is incorrect, then our practice of Christianity will be incorrect, and we will be right where we were when the movement got started.

Some of us who have embraced it, the RM, have weakened it by division amongst us.  The foundation though is the same.  The real legacy of the RM is that Scripture and Scripture alone must be our guide.  With the Bible as our guide, we can (with work) overcome any and all divisions.