"Church Stuff"
Paul Crume, columnist, in the Dallas Morning News, issue of June 27th, gives his readers the following report:
The church of Christ at De Soto recently acquired Gary Montgomery, a young minister, who is not only a minister but who throws himself into the social existence of his flock. He plays volleyball with the kids and organizes fellowship dinners for the adults, etc. He attended a youth devotional recently at the Howard Perkins home. Before the meeting, they enjoyed volleyball, hot dogs, and homemade ice cream. It raised the question in the mind of John Perkins, age 5. "Mom," he ask his mother, "why is it that everytime we're with Gary there's always this church stuff?"
The readers of Crume's column got a laugh out of this youngster's way of questioning his mother with reference to what he called "church stuff' or social, activities. But there is a serious side to this matter to which both churches and preachers need to give attention. Do churches hire preachers for a two-fold purpose — to minister about both spiritual and social affairs? I read in my New Testament where Paul told the young preacher Timothy to give himself wholly to the ministry of the word. No mention is made of his social activities in connection therewith. No one that I know is, or should be, "anti-social," but "church stuff' is not made up of recreation and amusement. "Church stuff' — things which the churches and preachers should give due consideration to are plainly out-lined in the New Testament. Any church which "stuffs" anything else into its program of work is "overstuffed" and should rid itself of the excess.
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