Well, to be quite honest, there is a good deal that is right with the church. Much more, in fact, than many critics of the church would care to admit.

      It is true, of course, that the church has always been under fire--and she always will be. Alan Paton in his book "Cry, the Beloved Country" shows us how some people feel.

      The old African minister, Stephen Kumalo, was in Johannesburg, paying a visit to his brother John.

      John had once been a member of the church, but he turned his back on her when he took up politics of a socialistic kind. As two brothers sat talking, John likened the existence of the church in the now almost useless place occupied by the tribal chief. He said "The church is like the chief. You must do so and so. A man must be faithful and meek and obedient and he must obey the laws whatever the laws may be. It is true that the church speaks with a fine voice, and that the Bishops speak against the laws. But this they have been doing for fifty years, and things get worse not better . . . That is not my experience! There is a new thing experience! There is a new thing growing here. Stronger than any church or chief. You, will see it one day." John Kumalo was expressing the opinion of many folk today who claim, with apparent sincerity, too, that the church is a spent force.

      Nearer home, I find that some people feel the same way, as two incidents--widely separated--reveal.

"The church is not what she used to be!" Those words were spoken by an old preacher, to a band of younger men, as they sat waiting for a meeting to begin. His memory went back a long way, and because many things were being done differently from the past, he made his pessimistic pronouncement.

      "The church is not what she used to be!" declared an officer of one of the largest churches of Christ in Australia, as he stood talking with a friend at the street corner. Boy and man he had been a member of that church, and he had seen it rise to a high level of achievement, and later he had seen the work go back a little bit. Numbers at worship were not so high as in the past, and some other things had changed, too. He was well aware of the reason for all this, but in spite of that, he made his sombre statement.

      The first man was thinking of the church as a whole, and the other was concerned only with one part of it--a local congregation. But they both agreed on one point, for they both felt that in some way the church had become a spent force. It is heartening, therefore, to hear a man like Halford Luccock saying, as he did to the International Convention of Disciples of Christ at Miami in 1954. "The church is not washed up."

      We would be foolish to insist that the church is perfect, for it is made up of people like us. But the picture is not nearly so bad as these--and others--would have us believe. There have always been many to point out the faults and the failings of the church. Let us, therefore, take a look at the other side.

      The Christian Church has always been one of the most misunderstood and most maligned institutions in human history. In the light of the high claims which the church has over made for herself, this' is inevitable. The higher the claims made by a person, or a society, the more difficult it is to fulfil those claims. As far as the church is concerned, however, she has done no more than to claim for herself what God intended she should.

      In spite of all that men say about the church and her work, she is still vital to this world. George Bernard Shaw tells us what would happen if the church went out of business for a while. He said it would have "a very salutary effect. It would soon evoke an irresistible desire for the re-establishment of the church." No matter what people say, the world just can't live without the church. As we attempt to discover what is right with the church let us look at the church that was, the church that is, and the church that is to be.

A Look Backward.

      The church was right at the start! So, to get the perspective right, let's go back to the beginning of things. In Acts 2 we have the commencement of the official history of the church, and through the Epistles we can trace how that church grew and developed. Here is adventure, drama, and romance of the finest order. It makes fascinating reading, for it is a thrilling story. If you want a spiritual tonic read the story again, as told by J. P. Phillips in "The Young Church in Action."

      The church was right in the way she started. It all happened something like this. A handful of men, fear-swept and dread-drenched, stealthily picked their way through the lanes and back-streets of Old Jerusalem, as they made their way to the upstairs room of a widows house. At last they arrived, and quietly entered the premises. Suddenly something very wonderful happened to them, and a power took possession of their personalities which neither time, nor trial, nor testing, nor they themselves could ever deface. They had come into that home afraid, but now unconquerable zeal took the place of cowering fear, and with divine daring they were willing to go back to face the world which so recently had frightened them. Leaving the widow's house, unperturbed by suffering, and undistracted by peril, they went back to confront men with a song of joy on their lips, because there was a song of praise in their hearts. Before them was the grandest of all adventures. To hear these men talk, you would have imagined that they "walked along roads lined with roses, or followed some rainbow trail to the pot of gold at the other end." Actually the exact opposite was the truth. Soon they faced pain, and hatred, and even death. They were compelled to flee to the caves of the earth, and the catacombs below Rome for their rendezvous in safety. These first Christians were politically outlawed, social outcast, ecclesiastically scorned economically impoverished, and religiously hated. But such was the calibre of these early disciples that they walked right up to the people who hated them, in the spirit of adventurous goodwill won many of them for Christ. Before three hundred years had passed fiery evangelists of the Cross had carried the story of God's amazing love over an area of a thousand miles north and south, and fifteen hundred miles east and west. In that time over seven million converts came into the Christian Church.

      Those who regard the history of our faith as drab and dull, and doleful have never really read this glorious tale of adventure and quest.

      The church was right in the material she used. The Spirit of God blew through the lives of men and women, and they started life afresh with a new power, a new purpose, and a new prospect. We must always remember that the church is a divine institution even though she is made up of people.

      On that of Pentecost, nearly two thousand years ago when the church was born in Jerusalem, the hand of Almighty God rested upon her. The church is no mere man-made organisation, she is the product of the Divine Carpenter of Nazareth. The poet summed up the Master's work this way:

      The church is made up of people who live transformed lives, victorious lives, because the power, of God's Spirit abides within them. This divine institution is described by Paul in three pictures found in the letter to the Ephesians. He calls the church a building (2:20), and thus portrays her permanence. He describes the church as a bride (5:24-27), and thus reveals her purpose. He says the church is a body (5:22), and thus suggests her power. The really interesting thing, however, is that in each instance Jesus Christ is set forth as the Lord of the church.

      The church was right in the way she grew. Away back in the Old Testament is a verse which refers to the building of the Temple. We are told that the servant of God came "and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and since that time, even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished." (Ezra 5:16) The church began in Jerusalem and from that time till now it has kept on growing, and even yet it is not completed. As we study the history of the church in the Book of Acts, and as we survey church development from that time on, we are constantly reminded that the church is a growing organisation. The church just didn't stand still. It moved, it got out into the world, it invaded society at all levels. In our own day this same kind of thing is going on for the church is making new and determined efforts to break through into certain areas of life which have, perhaps, been neglected too much in the past--areas like industry, education, economics, and politics. Perhaps Dean Inge was correct when he summed up the situation in this century by saying that "we are losing our Christianity because Christianity is a creed for heroes, while we are mainly harmless, good-natured little people who want everybody to have a good time." That may be true of the church in our day, but is was certainly not true of the church whose picture is so pertinently presented in the pages of God's Word. That church grew through the sheer contagion of her courageous convictions.

      Knowing the danger of being a Christian, the early members of the church were people to whom belief was real. They knew what they believed, and why they believed it.

      The church was right in what she believed. The truths which were so firmly held by these disciples of old emerge with crystal clarity as we look into the New Testament.

      They believed that God was at work in the world, moving in the lives of ordinary people. Their conception of God had been transformed by the coming of Christ.

      His teaching had brought hope, and peace, and joy into the lives of men and women. In the simplest of

terms it might be said that these Christians of long ago believed fervently that God loved men, that Christ saved men, and the Holy Spirit helped men. These truths were both simple and profound, for what a man believed determines the way in which he would behave. The consciousness of man's lost condition, and his need of help from outside of himself, were answered by the belief that a man could receive pardon, purity, and power when he submitted his life to Christ, and his way of living. These people believed that there was limitless power for limited people, and that the ordinary man could live a changed, radiant, and victorious Christian life. The church lived and moved in the expectancy of Christ's return. As a distant goal they looked forward to life eternal. The newborn church had "a sense of what is vital in religion," (Romans 2:18--Moffatt).

A Look Inward.

      The church is right at the present time. Even amidst the confusion of our time there are many heartening signs. Increasingly Christians are coming to deprecate their divisions, and to deplore those standards and attitudes which run counter to the spirit, and the mind, of the Master. Many folk really are interested about the spiritual state of the church, and they tell that what we need just now is a Christ-centered, courageous, creative, conquering church, equipped to meet the challenge of this great age. A careful survey right now might reveal, however, that such a church is emerging, that it is not just a distant dream, but a present reality.

      The church is right in her sense of mission. She is in this world for a purpose. Consequently, and rightly, she feels that her work is inspired and empowered by God Himself. Increasingly she is coming to see her task in a new light--she has local obligations, but, she has world-wide responsibilities as well. That she is realistically facing some of these things the story of the last ten or twenty years can tell us, Naturally this mission expresses itself along many channels, and so, today, we discover the church at work in evangelism, missions (at home and abroad), education, benevolence, healing, social service, personal counselling, and many such kindred activities. Above all else is her desire to confront men with Jesus Christ, and his amazing ability to change them. In her attempt to discharge that mission faithfully the church is doing just the kind of thing God wants her to do, in this she is right!

      The church is right in her insistence on love. It was love which first inspired the birth of the church--God's love. It was love which was the motivating force at the heart of her expansion and enterprise. Love is still the driving power of every task she undertakes. Without love her worship, and witness, and work are all made less effective. Love, being a creative thing, demands that the Christian church honestly face the problems which handicap men, whether personally, socially, nationally, or universally. So long as the church insists on love being the quality which crowns her ministry. Worthwhile things will be attempted and achieved. If love controls her then every practice, every action and every attitude which oppose human interest will come beneath her searching scrutiny. Love requires a frank and fearless facing of things like racial discrimination, the struggle of pensioners for adequate means of support, the urgent and ever prevalent matter of war and peace, the condition of the Aboriginal people in Australia, and the like. Love says to us that we must find a way to deal with these, and many other similar issues. The church is only following the lead of her Lord when she lifts love to such a level of eminence.

      The church is right in her idea of greatness. It is to the lasting credit of the thinking people within the church that they do not measure the church's greatness by the standards of the world. For instance, we have come to see that the church is not great simply because of the greatness her numbers. That doesn't mean, of course, that we more we despise numbers. The more dedicated disciples there are, the greater will be our impact on the world, The more who attend our services, the more effective will be our Christian worship. However, mere numbers do not make the church great.

      A church of fifty members--all devoted and dedicated--is a great church. Nor is the church great simply of the size of her offerings. It is true, of course, that the way in which we give to God's work may indicate a keen sense of stewardship. It is the spirit of our giving, and not the size of the gift which shows the church's real greatness, for as Paul has said "God loves the man whose heart is in his gift." (2 Cor 9:7--Phillips). Likewise, the church, is not great simply because of the amount of her property. That doesn't mean that buildings and equipment are unimportant. In many cases we would do a much finer work if we had better and more suitable buildings. But property alone does not make the church great, for the church may have magnificent buildings and be spiritually dead.

      Then again the church is not great simply because of the greatness of her organisation. Good leadership, careful planning, adequate machinery, and the like, are all valuable. But in themselves alone they are not enough. Usually the church selects its leaders wisely and prayerfully, and then rightly expects real leadership from them.

      But simply for the church to be well organised is not enough to make her great.

      Where these things exist it is possible to say that in many cases, whilst they do not make the church great, they exist because the church is great. In which case they are the product, and not the cause.

      Looking at the other side of the matter we can see that the church's greatness is really the result of the greatness of her faith, the greatness of her love, the greatness of her commitment, and above all, the greatness of her Lord. These are the things which make the church vital! The church is right, therefore, in that she knows the true secret of her success and spiritual strength.

      The church is right in her desire to help. The church, at her best, is the brotherhood of the helping hand. All round us are people in need--frustrated, perplexed, disappointed, beaten people. They are desperately in need of aid if they are going to face life triumphantly. That's just where the church comes in. She has a Gospel to share which gets right to the heart of the problems men are facing--it is "Good News" about faith, forgiveness, freedom, and the future. It is the only message that can help man to resolve his difficulties, and to find a deep, personal, and satisfying reconciliation with God.

      The task which the church has to do, at a time like this, is to keep alive in men an awareness of God. Her purpose is to create within people a sense of reverence. Her fundamental object and aim is to help folk to be sensitive to God's values. I like what Dr. Joseph R. Sizoo has said: "It is the function of the church to establish an order in which men shall see more than the eye can see, hear more than the ear can hear, feel more than the hand can touch. It is something that begins with earth, but does not end there. Its goal is neither political, social, or economic reform, but the redemption of man from sin through the cross of Christ. It holds high the throne of God to keep our world sane. If the church should cease to be, men would no longer keep their faces

towards God, and life would be as futile as it would be terrible."

      As the church makes it easy for people to find God, and difficult to forget Him, she is performing her most helpful and vital ministry. That's why people are beginning to see again how valuable is the work of the church. "Why do you go to church?" a minister one day asked a well known English journalist. "It isn't to listen to the sermon," he replied. "I had such a gruelling in reporting speeches that I seldom listen. I go to church to salute the Almighty." The church stands for the worship of God, and the well being of man. In that she is right!

A Look Forward.

      The church must continue to be right. So we turn from the past, and the present, to the future. The church will continue to be right just so long as she lives, and acts, according to God's sovereign will for her. So long as He rules, and guides, and empowers, the church's influence will remain effective.

      The church must continue to be right in the spirit she manifests. Hers must be the Christlike spirit. A church governed by Christ's Spirit will always manifest the spirit of love, obedience, tolerance, service, and Godliness. A church like that will, inevitably, be happy, harmonious, and healthy, and will be free, therefore, from all those crippling Christless characteristics which have, at times, handicapped the work of God. Can we imagine a church like that indulging in "whispering campaigns?" Can we picture a church like that hampered by factions within? Can we believe that a church like that would remain utterly indifferent to the needy multitude around? I'm sure we can't! Jesus Christ must continue to be at the heart of all the church's loving, serving, and thinking. When that happens miracles take place. David A. MacLennan tells a story about Archibald Rutledge, the gallant champion of the negro people of America, which reminds us of what happens when Christ controls. Archibald Rutledge had been greatly impressed by the Christian life and witness of a negro minister and his wife. When the minister was suddenly taken, Mr. Rutledge knew that the widow had very little with which to go on. He knew, too, that this woman had lived a life of completely selfless devotion to the needs of others. In order to help her, Mr. Rutledge had renovated a cottage on his estate. It was redecorated, and refurnished with fine, modern new furniture. Then he came to the Christian widow and said "It's yours." He was astonished, and perhaps a little horrified, to discover that one of the first persons to be entertained in her new home was the most disreputable woman in the community. He went to the widow and said, "How could you have done this, in your beautiful new home?" She let her eyes fall as she said to Mr. Rutledge, "Jesus would." That's it! "Jesus would!" So the church must constantly meet human need, regardless of circumstances or reputation. The church will be right so long as she manifests that spirit to the world, and she will maintain that spirit so, long as she is prepared to face the discipline of self-criticism.

      The church must continue to be right in the faith she reveals. One of the outstanding things about the early church was the courage of its members. That same quality must continue in the church of tomorrow. Such a church will then be in the position to challenge accepted standards, and to apply, without hesitation, the teachings of Christ to the great issues facing mankind. It has been said that too often the church has spoken with a plaintive treble when she should have used a powerful bass. Perhaps that is true. But one thing is sure. If our faith shines brightly because it is stimulated by contact with the living Christ there will be no doubt about the authority with which we speak concerning

the problems confronting mankind at any time. We have a great Gospel for a great age. But it will take a faith which is tested, tried, and true, to make the most of it. Such a faith satisfies, and achieves great results. Let us keep on fire our faith in God and His Gospel. Concerning that Gospel Gerald Kennedy has said: "It is to be expected that the Gospel should be disbelieved; that it should be opposed is inevitable; but that it should be dull is intolerable." We need a faith that is alive, active, and aggressive so that our presentation of that Gospel will have about it an eternal freshness. Because the church has faith in her own heart, she must strive to give men a faith to live by. It's that kind of faith that gave strength to a young Chinese Christian, who had fallen in to the hands of brigands who threatened to kill him, and helped him to have courage to carry on. One of them said to the young man, "What can your God do for you now?" His splendid reply came back, "He can help me to love you, and forgive you." It takes a lot of faith to act like that, and it is the church's job to create in men the faith to do it.

      The church must continue to be right in the loyalty she displays. The twin virtues which mean so much to the church are love and loyalty, and as we have already mentioned the first of these, let us now look at the second. Men and women must continue to be loyal to the church, not because she is perfect, but because her face is set in the direction of God. The church may know local failures, and on a larger scale may suffer a partial black-out for a time, but in the end she will win, for the church was designed for conquest. Knowing this men and women must continue to pledge their loyalty to her, and her programme. Charles Reynolds Brown gets right to the truth when he says, in speaking about the church, "I do not mean the stone structure with a spire on it--one cannot build a church out of stones, or boards, or bricks. With that material one can only build the place where some church may meet. The church is built out of men and women, young men and maidens, boys and girls, who have seen in Christ, what Peter saw in him, who have declared their loyalty to him, as Peter declared his loyalty, and who are undertaking to live in the same high mood. Out of that sort of material, and on that foundation, he built his church--and still does." And we would add--"must ever continue to do so." The church has been the scene of some of the most amazing loyalty the world has even seen. What was true of the past, must be increasingly true in the future.

      The church must continue to be right in the enterprise she maintains. The Christian church from the start has been a pioneer. In the future she will still have new frontiers to face and conquer. She must go on leading the way. Which means, of course, that she must constantly bring her message, and methods, and machinery under review. The message will not change, but the emphasis might, and the presentation will. There is no real point in holding firmly to old methods just because they are old, nor refusing to consider new ones just because they are untried. The method--old or new--which we use ought to be the one which will get the best results. So long as the church keeps alive the spirit of consecrated enterprise she won't go far wrong. Experiments in new methods of evangelism, new and even quite unorthodox approaches to the great unchurched masses, a fresh attitude to stereotyped and often spiritless services, must all come beneath the searching scrutiny of the Master, and the members of his church--a church which is alive. Of course, there are some things that will not change, because no change is needed. John Hutton tells us that there were three things that helped the church to win in the past--the force

and attractiveness of her faith; the new and haunting quality of her goodness; and the suffering which she radiantly bore--imposed by the world--by which she showed her communion with her Lord. These things must continue! The spirit of enterprise, the overwhelming desire to make Christ known, and loved, and served by men, this--too--must go on. As skilful men and women, trained in the arts and techniques of a highly developed and organised world, dedicate their ability to the service of God we can dare to hope that the future will be glorious with success. Through such enterprise, in the days before us we may see many men and women, boys and girls stand face to face with the Saviour, and call him "Lord." For this alone the church has a right to exist. Lose this, and she might just as well go out of business, The church is here to introduce men to the Master and he wants our help to do it.

      All that remains for us to do now is to take a long look at Christ, and his church, to find our place within it. After that let us do what David Livingstone did on March 19, 1872 (his last birthday on earth). On that day he made an act of dedication saying:

      Jesus, my King, my Life, my All, again I dedicate my whole life to Thee . . ." If we do that the church of tomorrow will go forward in conquest.

R. V. AMOS
graduated from the Federal College of the Bible, Glen Iris in 1940. Ministries followed at Georgetown, N.S.W.; West Hobart, Tasmania; Chatswood, N.S.W.; and now at Blackburn, Victoria. During eight of his ten years at Chatswood, Mr. Amos was also lecturer in Homiletics at the Woolwich Bible College. He was also President of the N.S.W. Conference of Churches of Christ in 1952-3.