I was less than 10 years old the first time I ever went door-knocking, and about that same age the first time I participated in a weekly visitation program. I was afraid. I was weak. I was imperfect. I am still all of these things. The point is that there is really no excuse for not reaching out to people who need the Lord and His church.

There is a place where visitors go to die right in our church buildings. If you wanted to do a study on it in your local congregation, you would locate the spot. Visitors sit there, and nobody speaks to them. They got unlucky.

They just happened to sit in that part of the building where some of the members only talk to their friends after services. Where members beat them out the door as soon as amen is said. Where there are members who have never decided to obey the great commission.

Forget going into all the world. These members won’t even go across the pew.

I am looking for visitors on Sundays. Jesus died for our visitors, too. I may not talk to you every week because I am looking for lost sheep. If you would join me, then we could make sure that there are no places in our building where visitors go to die.

It may not be what you want to hear, but I know exactly where some of the dead spots are in our current building. And unless things change, I hope that visitors don’t sit in those particular places.

Move off your pew and make a place for a visitor. Invite a visitor to eat lunch with you after services. Introduce yourself and tell each visitor you are glad to see them. Invite every visitor to Bible class and show them how to get there.

There is a place where visitors go to die. Make sure that it is not next to you. You are accountable.

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all” (Galatians 6:10).

—Jeremiah Tatum, Willow Avenue church, Cookeville TN, via bulletin-digest.com

—Kippy Myers

We have more than we know what to do with. Garage sale it. Donate it. Stuff it in a closet. Build an addition. One radio advertisement for a storage facility concluded with, “so you can go and get more stuff!” Right!

We have more than we realize. Ungrateful attitudes abound. Why? Enjoyment of life is not attached to prosperity, things, etc. That is a dream held by many in poverty and wealth. Make no doubt, those unhappy without stuff would find a way to be just as unhappy with it.

Jesus’ words never go out of style:

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

—Rick Kelley, Prestonsburg KY, via Bulletin-Digest.com

He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Really. Do you have a place in mind to preach?”

“Not a clue,” I said.

And then those immortal words that always bring a smile to my face and thanks to my lips that God looks after little children, the mentally incompetent, and preachers.

He said, “Well, even Tarzan didn’t let go of one vine before he grabbed hold of another.”

The rest of the story: My school checks ran out June 30, and I started preaching full-time, 30 minutes away from my mentor and father-in-law, on July 1, 1977.

—Doug Greenway via Bulletin-Digest.com

“There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose. Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God … there is no other possibility. Spontaneous generation was scientifically disproved 120 years ago by Louis Pasteur and others, but that just leaves us with only one other possibility … that life came as a supernatural act of creation by God, but I can’t accept that philosophy because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation leading to evolution.”

Sounds kind of crazy, but a lot of people do the same thing with other Biblical truths.

In the youth group class we have been studying the book of Genesis. If you have ever read it, you know it begins, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Many people do not want to accept this simple truth. They do not want to put anything or anybody above themselves. We need to learn it doesn’t matter what we think and believe — what matters is what God has said and done.

How many times have you heard someone say they don’t believe God would condemn a particular sin or require a particular thing, even though the Bible says he does?

God is God; we are not. It matters what God has said, not what we think. Take a look at your life. Is there anything you are doing or accepting that is against what we know God has told us? If so, restore God to the rightful place in your life as Lord and Creator.

by Luke Bower, via Baker Heights church bulletin, Abilene TX
Bulletin-Digest.com (Subscribe to the print edition)

However, when the missionary saw him a few days later, he noticed, much to his dismay, that the Bible looked like it was already falling apart, with many of its pages missing. The missionary asked him, “What happened? What did you do to your Bible? When I gave it to you I thought you considered it to be a treasured possession.”

“Indeed, it is a very precious possession, the man replied. “It is the finest gift I have ever received. It is so precious that when I returned to my village I very carefully chose a page and tore it out and gave it to my mother. Then I tore out another page and gave it to my father. And I tore out another page and gave it to my wife. Finally, I gave a page of God’s Word to everybody who lives in my village.”

We may smile at such an event, but what a testimony to this man’s belief in the treasure of God’s Word! God’s Word was so wonderful to him that he wanted to share it with everyone he knew!

May we all have that spirit as we seek and save the lost in America!

—Dale Duverney, Rogers City MI congregation, via Bulletin-Digest.com

• Some exist as social clubs. (Who’s who in your town? Find out here!)
• Some exist because of nostalgia. (Grandma and grandpa did, mom and dad did, so we do, too)
• Some exist for self-preservation. (We’ll do anything to get you in the door!)
• Some exist for entertainment. (Concert, anyone?)

The church of Christ exists for none of these reasons. It primarily exists to do one thing: to spread the good news of Jesus Christ the Savior (Mt. 28:18-20). In this, it brings glory to God (Eph. 3:21).

In fulfilling this mission, it is a family (1 Jn. 2:13-14), an army  (2 Tim. 2:3-4), a brotherhood (1 Pet. 5:9), a body (Rom. 12:5); a royal priesthood (2 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6).

These are a far cry from a nostalgic, self-preserving, entertaining social club. We do well to keep this in mind. The church is identified by what it does, not who’s a part of it, or where it meets.

The church must constantly fight the influence of the world to be anything more or less than God intended it to be.

—Rick Kelley, Prestonsburg KY church, via Bulletin-Digest.com

Did you catch Rabshakeh’s attempted selling point to God’s people there? He told them to reject the counsel of Hezekiah, forget about God, lay down their arms and — now listen closely — that he would come back and bring them to land that rivaled the one they had.

The truth is that no land could rival the land that God had given to them through their fathers. They were living in a land that had been like one which “flowed with milk and honey,” and those blessings could still be had if they trusted their true Redeemer (Numbers 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; Jeremiah 11:2-6).

The enemy of God’s people promised them something that could not be delivered. The enemy promised pleasure, but they only had pain in mind.

Had God’s people given in they would have traded freedom for slavery.

Did you know Satan still uses the same tactic today! He promises a lasting pleasure that he cannot deliver. He tempts God’s people to trade the spiritual land of milk and honey (Heaven) for supposed earthly substitutes that only lead to a land of sorrow.

Like that of Assyria’s king, Satan’s offer is more akin to spoiled milk and venom than milk and honey.

Trust in the promises that Jesus has given and beware of what the Devil sells, lest we end up with a severe case of buyer’s remorse (Hebrews 10:38-39).

—Eugene Adkins, Keltonburg church of Christ, Smithville, TN via Bulletin-Digest.com