Date: 6/2/2009
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: Columbia Avenue Brethren
<br><br>According to Ms. Carolyn, this bulletin finds its way into many homes outside of the state of Tennessee.  If yours happens to be one of them, perhaps you are considering a trip to our fair state sometime this summer, and if so, I thought I would give you a few places you need to be sure to visit before you head back home ..... the Bell Witch Cave in Adams ..... the world's largest guitar in Bristol ..... Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills ..... Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, in Memphis ..... and of course, the world's largest teapot collection in Trenton.  If you happened to be visiting in the fall, some would say you have to experience the excitement of attending a University of Tennessee football game (I know, I know .... I had trouble even typing it :-)  I must say though, it is quite something to sit in the midst of over 100,00o screaming football fans ..... even if they are wearing all that bright orange.<br><br><br>I had the pleasure of being able to spend time with our brethren at Columbia Avenue this past Sunday morning.  Let me encourage you, if you have never experienced a worship service with this good church before, that you need to put it at the top of your “things to do” list, like you might would those places listed above.  We in the Churches of Christ have been accused in the past of having .... how shall I say it .... mundane, boring, dead, un-inspiring, and lifeless worship services.  I will say this though .... the ones making those accusations could in no way include the fine folks at Columbia Avenue in that group of “sleeper churches”.  <br><br><br>It tickles me to hear people talk about worshiping with our African-American brothers and sisters in Christ.  Those of us from mostly Caucasian congregations will leave a church like Columbia Avenue saying things like, “Wow!  That's how worship ought to be!” or “Whew, if that song service and sermon didn't make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, then nothing will!”  Again, worship with Columbia Avenue is not just worship, it's an experience that involves each participant.  At times, you can hear the toe-tapping over the awesome singing.  No one there is too shy to say “amen” when something of agreement is mentioned.  There is the occasional clapping of hands to keep the beat of the song  being led.  Every now and then there will be a responsive audience reading to a passage of God's Word being preached on.  Rory Ghant is the minister of the Columbia Ave. Church of Christ, and he preached as effectively and passionately as anyone I have heard in a long while.  By the way, I don't even know if they have a clock in the building, and if they do, I don't think anyone pays attention to it.  Worship service began around 11 am and I think we were dismissed somewhere close to 12:30, but, I did not one time hear anyone complaining that it went too long or that they were late for something.  The only apparent urgency on Sundays is to spend as much time as possible worshiping God and being in the company of those “with like-precious faith”.  I could not imagine Norman Rockwell painting a more perfect picture of what pleasing worship looks like to God.  I think Columbia Avenue makes God happy.<br><br><br>It's interesting to me to note that there would be some advocates of the devil who would say, “Well, that is just part of their culture and heritage to worship in that way”, while if those of us with lighter skin tone worshiped in the same way, we would be labeled as “progressive” and “leaving the old paths”.  There is no more doctrinally sound, Bible teaching church around than the Columbia Ave Church of Christ.  I think they have a passion and zeal for God that most of us have never experienced ..... and it has nothing to do with culture or heritage.  It has everything to do with a love for Jesus Christ and the salvation that can only be found in him through the shedding of His blood on Calvary.  We are planning a joint Sunday service with the Columbia Avenue brethren for later on in the summer and I plan on letting my hair grow out as long as it can ..... I don't want to miss out on the experience of having it stand up :-)<br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin<br>