Why I Left the Church of Christ

I once was a very devout member of the Church of Christ. I believed we were Christians only and the only Christians. I believed everyone else would go to Hell. I don’t recall what really started the process. I do remember a growing sense of unease at not being able to explain where the Church was before Alexander Campbell. There are a lot of things I could say about what convinced me to leave, but history is certainly one of the biggest reasons.

I grew up the son of a Church of Christ preacher. I was homeschooled and steeped in Church of Christ homeschool materials such as Apologetics Press. AP is a publisher affirming Young Earth Creationism and dinosaurs and men coexisting. As a child, I was involved in Bible camps, Bible bowls, and CoC homeschool groups. As a teenager, Future Preacher’s Training Camp, and door-knocking quests. As a young man, a seminarian at the Bear Valley Bible Institute International. I preached part-time for several years afterward. Needless to say, I lived and breathed the experience of the Church of Christ.

So what changed? Well as I said, I began to have doubts because of our history. That was one of the main things bothering me, and I withdrew from preaching until I could come to a stronger conclusion I was preaching the right faith. But I never really found a solution within Churches of Christ. I looked at the Baptist churches, but wasn’t convinced by salvation before baptism. I looked at Reformed churches, but wasn’t convinced by TULIP. I looked at the Orthodox Church, but wasn’t convinced because they didn’t fill the whole world. Then I looked at the Catholic Church, and it became a total roller coaster ride.

At highs of the coaster, I was ready to convert that day. At the bottom, I believed they were demon worshippers. And so I fought long and hard against Catholic theology, but as I learned more, I began to see it wasn’t what the Catholic Church believed that was in error; it was what I thought the Catholic Church believed that was in error. Here I am today, one month away from reception into the Church.

The purpose of this blog is to build a bridge of understanding toward Catholic beliefs, specifically for Church of Christ members. This is not going to be a blog of hate and hostility. In fact, my first articles are going to be written about the good things the Church of Christ does, and the benefit my life has received. I’d like to eventually set up a YouTube channel to provide a platform of discussion, as well as analyze Church of Christ videos from a Catholic point of view.

My friends in the Church of Christ, you are loved, you are welcome. Hopefully, the information here can be beneficial to all parties. The Lord be with you, and with your spirit.