Company with These–Run from Those

Posted by admin on April 17, 2012 No comments

Vaclav Havel was the president of Czechoslovakia when I was there several years ago, as a result, I associate him with political matters. Therefore, I was a little surprised recently to read a quote from him addressing the subject of truth-seeking.

Here is what he said:

“Keep the company of those who seek the truth — run from those who have found it.”

Some people have given up on any search for truth. Their solution is that no real truth for everybody actually exists.

The rest of us, however, are still in pursuit of the truth. We feel that religious truth comes from the mind of God through the pens of His inspired authors who wrote the Bible.

With such a noble motive, how can a “truth-search” possibly be wrong? There are several likely possibilities. Truth is both simple and complex at the same time. The surface face of truth can be quickly seen. The inner core of truth sometimes eludes all but the most determined study.

As long as we are struggling in search of truth, we tend to have a certain humility. It’s similar to a mountain climber who is struggling to reach the top of the mountain and not sure he’ll make it. On the other hand, when we feel we may have reached the summit of truth, we may relax and become complacent. With complacency comes the tendency toward smugness. With smugness comes arrogance. A smug, arrogant attitude is not becoming to anyone.

Let us never decide we have found “all truth.”

Instead, let us always open our Bibles with the attitude of: “Speak, Lord, your servant hears” (I Samuel 3:9).

Robert K. Oglesby

Pulpit Minister, Waterview Churh of Christ

Categories: Uncategorized.

The Struggle of Small Churches

Posted by admin on April 3, 2012 No comments

Locked doors.

Grim faces.

Frayed emotions.

Sadly, this is the picture of many small churches of Christ. Begun with dreams, they died for lack of resources. They needed to reach out, but didn’t know how. They had people, but they did not know where to go or what to do. It was hard to keep the wolf from the door.

Somewhere in the journey, frustration overcame the dream.

It was out of that picture, the Waterview church in Richardson, Texas gave birth to Strengthening Mission Churches. Armed with the passion that small churches can survive, thrive, and grow, the Waterview elders put into play a video library stocked with titles by experienced and talented church leaders. They could teach leadership, church growth, Bible class teaching, preaching, and involvement.

At SMC, we want to be your partner in ministry. We want to help you. Look through our site and you will find a video library with dozens of title to help you. You can learn leadership, how to survive in ministry, and get some inspiration at the same time.

Thanks for coming. Let’s get to work in a small church!

Categories: Uncategorized.