Introduction As we have stated in a previous article , the church is the collection of members; The Called Out, and not the building. In this article we will look at how to become a member of the church; both universally and locally.   Am I member or not? Several years ago, a friend of mine was baptized and added to the church (Acts 2:38, 47). I was preaching a lesson later that evening and commented that he was added to the church but was not a member of the local congregation. The next day, as I was studying with the local preacher, he brought up what I said and the confusion it brought on my friend when I made that statement. His question was, Am I a member or not? From there members explained to him the difference between two “types” of churches.   The Universal Church To become a member of the universal church, which is also known as The Kingdom, you have to show obedience to the gospel. To that you must do all of these listed below…   Hear t...

(from 2007) Introduction Sometimes you hear the phrase “white elephant’ being used for a gift exchange during the holidays. A person brings an item they really don’t want but doesn’t hasn’t thrown it away and brings it to the party in exchange for another useless item that someone else doesn’t want. From the internet, I found an origin of this phrase: “A useless and troublesome possession that one cannot easily get rid of. Legend has it that rare albino elephants in ancient Siam automatically became the property of the king. At least one such monarch gave a white elephant to any courtier who fell out of favor; the subject was soon ruined by the cost of maintaining this precious gift.” Since the white elephant was so respected by all, the elephant couldn’t be used for work; thereby, it ruined an individual financially by the maintenance of it. Are You Useful? There are times when the Kingdom of God has “white elephants”. One example of this is when a m...