Word: churches
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Boston Church of Christ is unique inits agressive prostelytizing efforts. The Churchbulletin publishes weekly service attendance,contribution and baptism figures, and sermonsoften stress the absolute importance of themembers being "fruitful," both in terms ofrecruitment or "discipling," and in personal cashcontributions...
According to Thornberg, the leading Boston areaexpert on the Church, the average weeklycontribution per member is $22. Thornberg alsoclaims that the Church bills members for"voluntary" contributions, and that these accrueif not paid week to week. Church officials denythis...
They freely admit, however, that members arerigorously expected to "fellowship," or spread theword, outside the Church community. Indeed, somesenior members such as Shepherd left ministerialposts in other denominations because they weredissatisfied with the slow conversion rates...
...growth of otherchurches, the sense that they were all preachingthe same tired, mellowed out Christianity and thatthey had departed from the Scriptures," Shepherdsays. Shepherd went on to stress that evangelizingwas "a direct command of Christ," and that memberswho did not evangelize were by definition badChristian in the Church's view...
Doctrinally, the Boston Church of Christdoesn't differ that radically from otherFundamentalist churches. They, too, preach thatthe Bible is the ultimate authority on all moralquestions, that adult baptism by immersion isnecessary for salvation, and that most establishedchurches have departed from the true path of theLord...