Things were going just fine until I became a Steward and Trustee. The only reason I can figure
that I was made a steward was that I was twenty-one years old, for I was not qualified in any
other way! As I continued to study the Bible, I noticed that a man in "authority" must be tried (I
Tim. 3:10), but every time we had a new man to come (novice or not) he was made a trustee and
a steward. I wondered about this. Then I began to teach the adult class (although I hardly knew
what book followed the other in the Bible), I began to think about some other things: (1) I
thought my wife and I left the United Methodist because of a man-made organization, and now in
the Southern Methodist we had a Conference and had to pay $5.00 per member per year to
belong. I asked way - the answer I got was, "Where else could we get preachers?" I accepted this
at the time. (2) Then, as I would talk to members of the church of Christ, they would get me to
thinking. They would ask, "Do you take the Lord's Supper every first day of the week?" I would
answer, "No, we do not". I asked why - and I was told that it might take some of the importance
away from it by doing it so often. I wondered if we prayed every day - or without ceasing - would
it cause prayer to become unimportant! (3) In my class I began to teach first and second Timothy,
and I wondered where our elders were! I was told that after a man studied for a while and the
conference thought he should be one, then he was made one, but the men who were made elders
were the preachers. I did not see it that way. We began to try to decide who had the authority.
Some said a democratic vote was the way. The preacher said this was true to a certain point, but
that he would have the last say. My question, after studying first and second Timothy, was "Why
were the elders to be preachers only?"
We had a problem so we had a meeting to settle it and had to call the president of the Conference
in. I did not feel he had anything to do with our problem, and I wanted to get out of the
conference. This was not popular, so I told them at the meeting that I was going to the church of
Christ. A short while later I came to a full understanding of the plan of salvation and the church as
it is revealed in the New Testament, and was baptized at the College View church of Christ. I feel
if many would study and have an open mind, they would see what God's word has to say, and if
they would ask themselves some questions in light of Bible teaching they would soon come to the
truth as my wife and I did. Some questions that need to be asked are:
COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, FOR WHAT FELLOWSHIP HATH LIGHT WITH DARKNESS?