“Why don't we have conferences?”

Sunday, June 18, 2017

You may or may not be aware that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization is holding their annual convention at the Ford Center. Should the church of Christ rent out the Ford Center and do the same? Let’s examine this idea in light of the word of God.

The major problem with this idea directly relates to what we read in Ephesians 1:22-23. This text informs us that Christ is head of the church. Since it His body, it is to be scripturally organized (Phil. 1:1). This means that every individual congregation should function independently on a local level (I Pet. 5:2). Notice how Peter was specific that elders were to shepherd their own flock and no another.

Knowing this, who would organize a convention if churches of Christ opted to hold one (Rom. 16:16? Will a certain local church be in charge? How can that one church coordinate such an event while still respecting church autonomy? This is unworkable. Today’s religious sects hold conventions because they have a central headquarters. Someone or some body holds the authority to make decisions. This conflicts with the design found in the Bible though – only local, independent churches of Christ are God-approved. We cannot add to or change the Christ’s universal church (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:4).

What about the gospel meetings that some churches hold – is this just a scaled down version of a convention? Truth be known, the two are simply not alike. When a local church decides to have a gospel meeting, they are fulfilling their duty in spreading the gospel and building up their members (Eph. 4:15-16; I Thess. 1:8).              

Organizing a convention is nothing that our Lord commands, expects or even authorizes. The Bible describes no yearly pilgrimage or special gathering that is required beyond the realm of a local church. To attempt to do so creates a hierarchy system. If you have hundreds of local churches being represented, who does the speaking and on what topic? In the first century, would a speaker from the church at Corinth or Laodicea speak first? Nobody from a local church would be in a position to decide this as it goes beyond what they are called to do.

But what about the day of Pentecost – were there not three thousand people gathered there (Acts 2:41-47)? Yes. The size of the crowd says little about the event though. On Pentecost, over three thousand people became Christians that day – this is not the purpose of most denominational conventions. As you read through the New Testament, it becomes clear that there was no earthly head church nor an effort to create a special gathering for all the saints.

There is a special day designated by the Lord, but this is not an annual event, nor is it intended to physically draw all Christians together. The first day of the week is for saints to gather to worship God. This gathering is not to be forsaken (Acts 20:7; Heb. 10:25; I Cor. 11:17-18). The last thing a local church would do is encourage brethren to attend some convention rather than assembling as commanded.

The apostle Paul travelled from one city to the next to strengthen churches that were established (Acts 15:36). He did not direct them to gather in a centralized city. The idea of assembling with all the faithful is just what we will enjoy when Jesus comes back. All children of God are added to the one true church (Acts 2:47), but I do not have to literally assemble with all the faithful on earth to value that blessing. Being with the local church family is sufficient, and that is what the Lord intended.

If there is one thing we learn from our Lord’s walk on this earth, we must see that that His faith did not hinge on large crowds of followers. Remember, those on the narrow road are few (Matt. 7:13-14).

                                                                                              Chuck

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