Thanks Kirk for that link, I enjoyed it. I especially liked the mention that all “idols” will ultimately disappoint us.

Dr. Cargill, I’ve just discovered your site a few minutes ago…amazing. I need more time to explore.

This particular article reminds me of something a Church of Christ preacher said 28 years ago in Searcy, Arkansas: “The sons of pioneers are not pioneers, they’re settlers.” These kinds of comments made the preacher popular with students at nearby Harding University, but not so much with faculty. Oddly, while it made him popular with students, it seems not to have motivated them to actually DO anything with this information.

My generation (same as your preacher at Malibu) was about rebellion and reformation, and we’ve been so busy trying to ‘fix or repair’ church, we’ve failed to recognize the value of restoration and focus.

You make some outstanding observations … now what?

Here’s what I’m trying to do: Instead of reacting to someone’s reactions, I’m just starting over. Forget unity for a moment, and fix our eyes on Jesus.

I think we’d find that if all believers focused on Jesus and moved toward him, we’d discover that he would be a “vanishing point” on the horizon of life, and that since we were all headed for the same destination … unity would just happen naturally.

Instead of choosing between hanging out together and being nice vs. being stapled or glued together … let’s grow together.

I wish I had all day to spend reading stuff on your website. It’s just awesome. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

As individuals and as a society we struggle with our own graven images. Cars we drive, clothes we wear, our status etc. These “things” do nothing but separate us from one another. Which for some reason we think will make us feel good. We go to church in the hopes that we can direct our thoughts and desires to Christ who is the ultimate example of what we hope to become like. I can see how it is disturbing to you to find that on this particular day of world communion that a feeling of separation is created particularly when it is contrary to the original mission of Thomas Campbell and Christ.

it is interesting to note that mormon and restoration movement architecture and motifs are similar, as is the theology behind them. because the early growth among the mormon church and the restoration churches (churches of christ, disciples of christ, etc.) took place about the same time, this should not be surprising. both movements were highly iconoclastic and took exodus 20:4 and other prohibitions against any graven images seriously. this was in part a reaction to the high church experience of catholicism and anglicanism, but was also done out of a lack of finances.

i wrote a paper for dr. stuart love in 2000 comparing the architecture and symbolism in the buildings of the churches of christ to that of the mormon temple in los angeles. the la mormon temple has a nature room for visitors and those of us not fortunate enough to grace the insides of the temple, but other than the golden statue of moroni pointing towards downtown (east), the architecture is boxy, devoid of imagery and symbolism, and is rather plain, just like church of christ architecture.

even the auditorium the university church uses for free on the pepperdine campus is plain, lacking symbols, and nary a cross appears in it anywhere. with the exception of that reliquary to st. thomas campbell, it’s very plain.