1. Restudying the Issues of the 1950’s and 1960’s

2. Human Institution: $ $ $
12/30/2018

3. Sponsoring Church Arrangement$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Help Fund Work
Works Beyond Ability Oversees Work

4. “For the church to turn aside from its divine work to furnish amusement and recreation is to pervert its mission. It is to degrade its mission. Amusement and recreation should stem from the home rather than the church…” (B.C. Goodpasture, Gospel Advocate, 1948)

5. “Building recreation rooms and providing and supervising recreation activities at the expense of the church is a departure from the simple Gospel plan as revealed in the New Testament. The church might as well relieve the parents of feeding and disciplining all the young people at church expense as to take over the job of entertaining and supervising their recreation at church expense ” (1951 Gospel Advocate Teacher’s Annual Lesson Commentary)

6. N.B. Hardeman preached in 1942: “Again, I say to you, with caution and thought, that it is not the work of the church to furnish entertainment for the members. And yet many churches have drifted into such an effort. They enlarge their basements, put in all kinds of gymnastic apparatus, and make every sort of appeal to the young people of the congregation. I have never read anything in the Bible that indicated to me that such was a part of the work of the church. I am wholly ignorant of any Scripture that even points in that direction” (Tabernacle Sermons, V:50)

7. “This one is a little different in some ways from the other two in that this one has gained acceptance for the most part in my own lifetime and in my own memory. There were church-supported orphan's homes when I was born. There weren't many of them, but there were a few. There were some sponsoring church arrangements when I was born. They occurred on a rather small scale, but they existed then. But the general acceptance of dining areas and kitchens in the buildings owned by churches of Christ has come, not only within my lifetime, but within my memory.” (Bill Hall, Restudying the Issues of the 50’s and 60’s)

8. What Was Not the Issue: Whether one could eat in the building
The building is sacred

9. IS THERE NEW TESTAMENT AUTHORITY FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH TO PLAN AND PROVIDE MATERIALLY FOR SOCIAL ACTIVITIES IN ITS PROGRAM OF WORK?

10. An assembly of the saints (Hebrews 10:24-25)
In such an assembly the saints are to observe the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 11:33)
They are to sing praises unto the Lord, and with spiritual songs teach and admonish one another (1 Cor. 14:23, 26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16)
They are to pray together for one another and for all men (Acts 12:5; 1 Tim. 2:1)
They are to preach and attend to the teaching of God’s word (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 14:26)
They are to lay by in store on the first day of the week as they have been prospered to finance their collective responsibility (1 Cor. 16:1-2)
They are to support the preaching of the gospel (2 Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:15-16)
They are to provide for the fulfillment of the needs of certain destitute saints (Acts 4:34, 35; 2 Cor. 8,9; Rom. 15:25-31; 1 Tim. 5:16)
The local church is to exercise discipline against its ungodly members (1 Cor. 5:1- 5; 2 Thess. 3:1-15)

11. Arguments to Support Church Sponsored Kitchens and Fellowship Halls
The water cooler
Love Feast
Fellowship
The Bible indicates that brethren ate together