Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

I always found these so funny. You could count on hearing them at some point in every service. Mainly in prayers. I often wondered if the person saying it even had any idea what it meant.

They include but are not limited to:
Guide, guard and direct us (sometimes, it was guide, guard, and direct OUR STEPS)
In spirit and in truth
Of like precious faith
In foreign fields
Next appointed time (that one always cracked me up )
That he may have a ready remembrance (in other words, don't let him screw it up!)
Worship with the saints (often asked to anyone who returned from being out of town. "So, did you get a chance to worship with the saints in any town, USA")

That kind of thing is actually 'liturgy', which the coc denies it has.

"Separate and apart from" "As we stand and sing"

God doesn't understand modern English. You have to use 17th century English, like the KJV.

Somehow, 'Thou' is better than 'you'.

My personal all-time favorite: "I know that's what the verse says, but that's not what it means!"

"the sick and afflicted the world over"
"In like manner" (praying over the cup)
"Gospel Meeting"

"command, example and necessary inference"
"We will call bible things by Bible names and do Bible things in Bible ways. We will speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent."
I knew an old biddy who believed those last two phrases were in the Bible.


I heard the same old biddy say more than once about something: "If it's not in the Bible, it ought to be."

"Ole so and so has gotten pulled away". Said whenever someone stopped attending. That one always killed me. I mean, why does it HAVE to be that they were "pulled away"? And that was stated as the reason every, single time!! There was not one occasion where the person had come to any type of conclusion on their own that made them leave the cOC. NO. In every situation, they had been pulled away by some outside influence. Not too long before I left, one of the members who practically started that congregation just up and quit one day without warning. It was quite a shock to everyone. Well, naturally, he had gotten pulled away. So, someone spoke up and asked "well, I keep hearing this business about him having gotten pulled away, but nobody will say what it was that actually did the pulling". Surprise, surprise NOBODY had an answer!!

During the Lord's Supper: "Let us partake of this in a manner that is well-pleasing in thy sight."

"Lord willing" - Usually said at the end of a statement referring to anything in the future. ("We'll meet again for bible study Wednesday night at 7:00 Lord willing.")

Fallen away/Left the Lord - When referring to anyone who has left the COC, even if they're a faithful and active member of a different denomination.

The whole "We speak where the bible speaks and silent where the bible is silent" thing always drove me absolutely nuts. Especially since they do plenty of things that aren't in the bible, but that's conveniently covered by CENI.

"Turn in your song book to number..." Never use the word hymnal...that sounds too denominational.

"Pulpit"

Not podium, stage, lectern, platform or soapbox.....heaven forbid!

I remember my grandmother using the phrase "bringing shame and reproach on the church".