Why is it that "Church of Christ" never gives a hand or support charities?

Question

This is the article where i read it
TRUTH MAGAZINE
Vol. XLVI,No. 14
July 18,2002
Title: Who Would HAve Ever Thought It?
Author: withheld
It says..
A couple of church bulletins came across my desk that caught my eye. As I read these bulletins, a question came to my mind as to who would have ever thought churches of Christ would be engaging in such things? Please note how far some Churches of Christ are getting out of field.
*Community Care Center. The Central Church of Christ Bulletin of Bedford, Indiana said, " I consider 2001 a success financially because we supported many benevolent and outreach works. When we include preaching, preschool, food preparation and flowers, local outreach and outreach for mission works, as well as benevolence for people of the local community, including donations to the Community center... A thing might look financially successful but not touch top, side or bottom scipturally! Is there a passage of Scripture telling the church to support such?

Answer 1

Hitch,

(I noticed that you seem to have posted this same question a couple of times & I will post my answer on all of the ones that are still open, since some people may read one & not the others.)

I am a member of the church of Christ. I have grown up in & around the church of Christ. I have attended 2 coC-affiliated universities & currently work for one of them.

The first thing that you need to understand is that ALL congregations are autonomous. I had NEVER even heard of the “Truth Magazine” that you referenced. I did look it up on-line. It appears to be associated with congregations that are ultra-conservative or what is commonly referred to as “anti”. ALL of the congregations that I have been associated with use a large portion of the church funds to support various benevolent acts. One thing that my home congregation is currently doing is continuing to work with Best Buy & a congregation in southern Mississippi to supply new appliances to those rebuilding in Gulfport, MS as their homes become ready. Most of the congregations in North Alabama support AGAPE & Childhaven. (See the links below.)
http://www.agape-nal-inc.org/
http://www.agape-nal-inc.org/staff.html
http://www.childhaven.com/index.asp
http://www.childhaven.com/programs.asp
http://www.childhaven.com/fostercare.asp

Here are links to some congregations that I am familiar with that show/mention benevolence:
http://www.estes.tn.org/Estes%20Echo%20Bulletin/B033007.pdf
http://www.westhuntsville.org/works.shtml
http://lincolnchurch.org/Ministries/benevolence.html

My first thought when I read your question went to Acts 6:1-4 (NAS).
Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. "Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

I will grant you that this text is about appointing deacons/servants, but it is an example of them serving widows, which is a benevolent act.

I also found a copy of a sermon online from a well-respected deceased coC minister that addresses this issue. Here is the link: http://www.acoc.org/bduncan/Benevolence%20and%20Church%20Cooperation.pdf

I hope this answers your question & helps you to understand that not all congregations are the same. BTW, here are links to some other coC publications that are more mainstream coC.
http://www.housetohouse.com/hth/index.htm
http://www.apologeticspress.org/

Answer 2

Why are you asking again the same question you asked 3 days ago? This question was asked and answered!

Why do you again say that "the Church of Christ never gives a hand or support charities", when several people answered your previous question saying that they either know of or are members of Church of Christ congregations that do help the needy!

Either you are stating a position you know is false, or you are stating that those other people (including myself) were wrong. Either way, someone is expressing something that is not true.

I assure you that most congregations do indeed help the needy! They do this through organizations and/or on a one-on-one basis!

I am a member of the Church of Christ. The congregation I am a member of has a large portion of its budget that goes to helping both individuals and organizations. We have appointed a deacon who's main responsability is taking care of those who come to us for help!

While you may find some congregations that don't help the needy, this is not the norm! Also, these congregations that you say don't help the needy simply don't believe in using the church treasury for that purpose. (They use the money donated to the church to help members of the church.) Even though they don't help non-members from the church treasury, most of these churches encourage their members to make seperate, individual contributions to worthwhile causes, so these churches do help the needy through individual member donations.

Also, local congregations of the Church of Christ are autonomous. There is no "headquarters" on earth, but each congregation goes directly to the Bible to see what they should teach and practice, therefore, if you find one congregation that does something, then it is not necessarily true that another congregation of the church will teach or do the same thing. One congregation may not properly undersatnd something the Bible teaches. Some congregations tend to be conservative while others are liberal.

That is why we stress that you should go to the Bible for authority in religion. We stress that you don't believe anything because a certain church teaches it, but you should compare all teaching to the Scriptures to see if it is true! (Acts 17:11) If you depend on men, you may be led astray.

Answer 3

You should not block author's names. If someone is going to state an opinion, they should at least be able to take a contrary point at the least or better eyt, defend that position. I think your article is wrong. CoC, like all the churches that I know of, even cults like People's Temple (800+ people dead in Guyana, look it up if you have not heard of it), does charity work. They founded several colleges and hand out scholarships, support needy people in their communities, send missionares across the globe to provide food, medical care and education and do many smaller things locally. Ask a local CoC about their charity works and you will see how much they do. If you do not want to take their word for it, confirm it with the agencies they support. As for scripture, the Bible is full of directives to aid your neighbor and help the less fortunate.