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he was, afler a ll , implying that there

is a coherent, identifiable " house–

ho ld of faith" to which you can go.

But how are we going to do this if

we never even associate with those

who share our common faith?

Our human hunger for commu–

nity, our need for solidarity, and our

desi re to be with like-minded indi–

vidua ls are fulfilled by an organized

group which meets regularly.

A Holy Convocatlon

One final reason for the Church is

that it provides a forum for the wor–

ship of God in a way which no indi–

vidual or any other instilution does.

Certainly God does wanl us lo wor–

ship Him (John 4:24; Ph il. 3:3).

While it is lrue lhat the way you

cQnduct yourself in your prívate life

can

be a kind of worship, it is also

true lhat God Himself set down a

preceden! for o rganized wo rship,

both in ancienl Israel and in the

New Testamenl Church. The book

of Leviticus details the pattern of

worship which God o rdained for

ancienl Israel, and the fourteenth

chapter of 1 Corinlhians gives us an

idea of how lhe aposto lic church

worshiped (or should have, in this

case). In both cases. there is the

common denominator of

assemb!y–

a group of people who come to–

ge ther for a re ligious purpose. a

" ho ly convocation," if you picase.

Moreover, the principies of Chris–

tian living are more read ily applied

in lhe contexl of an organized group

than in the raster-paced society a l

la rge. For example, in many pa rts of

lhe counlry it is jusl plain bad man–

ners lo go around greeling total

strangers on lhe street. inlroducing

yourself and striking up a conversa–

tion. One who did that would be

looked upon as sorne sort of busy–

body, if not a downrighl kook. But

in God's Church, it is a different

slory. There we can meet st rangers

much more easi ly and enjoy lhe

company of new acquainta nces

much mo re readily than we ever

cou ld in normal urban or suburban

society.

" Warts and All "

Socia l c rit ics and lit e rary i n–

tellectuals from Dante lo Vo ltaire to

Dos to evs k i have re gula rl y ex–

coriated organizations which caBed

The

PLAIN TRUTH May 1977

themselves Christian because they

could see so many ·glaring faults

with those organizations and, just as

often, with the people who consti–

tuted them. Organized religion has,

in many circles, a bad name.

Tltis really is very unforlunate.

People can become a liena ted from

the true Church of God because of

what they see in other huma n

beings. persons like themselves who

are fallible, subjecl to " like pas–

sions" as themselves, and altoge the r

too prone to sin. But-and here's the

catch- just because there is a gap

between theory and practice. be–

tween what a person believes and

the way he acts, doesn't necessarily

mean tha t his beliefs a re wrong o r

that the orga nized body which

leaches those beliefs is wrong. The

reasons why God instiluled His

Church are indepe ndenl of lhe

people in that Church.

It

is, in other words, an illogical

cop-out to use whatever real or

imagined flaws there are in any

Chu rc h member t o a tt ack th e

Church itself. We will all make mis–

takes until we are no longer physi–

cal. On the other hand, the reasons

why we need lo be a part of the

Church are eterna), rooted in the

necessi ty of sharing love for you r

neighbor by giving him the good

news of God's Kingdom.

The Worldwide Church of God is

busily engaged in a host of o rga–

nized activities: primarily, spread–

ing the good news of Chrisl's

coming governmenl, as well as min–

istering to those in need, helping

Chris tians to become more like

Chrisl, and providing a "forum" for

His followers lo worship God a nd

become friend s with each o lher.

Simple logic compels anyone who

considers himself a followe r o f

Chrisl to want to be a part of tha t

body.

o