Church of Christ celebrates 100 years

The Church of Christ is celebrating its 100th year of worship in Iola with an upcoming gospel meeting, in which members will examine “The Life of the Church.”
A series of services June 21-24 will include guest speaker Ron Eggleston, who will “Present the Lord’s truth of His word.”
“Last year we’d had our first gospel meeting in a while,” said Thurman Golemon, a “gospel evangelist” who serves as Church of Christ’s preacher.
That meeting was well-received, Golemon said, and member Melody Forman, the church’s unofficial historian, told Golemon earlier this year about how the congregation first started meeting in Iola in 1915.
“We figured our next gospel meeting could coincide with the 100th anniversary,” Golemon said.
Not only that, but the church’s building at 2205 S. State St. (next to the KIKS-KALN radio station) was erected in 1965.
“So it’s the 100th year of our church and the 50th year of our building,” Golemon said.

WHILE THE church’s history will be celebrated, Golemon is just as eager to speak about Church of Christ’s present — and its future.
With a relatively small congregation — roughly 20 of the 30 members are active and attend services regularly — Golemon remains excited about the newest members.
“We’re spreading the Word throughout the community as much as we can,” said Golemon, who arrived at the church from his native Texas about two years ago.
“When I got here, we had about 30 members, 20 I’d had interaction with,” he recalled. “We lost some, which just happens. Some people moved off; a couple others died. But we’ve managed to replace them.”
Golemon counts nine converts to the Church of Christ in the past 16 months.
“These are people who are changing their lives,” he said. “You can see it. Prior to this, many will tell you they weren’t religious at all. They might have believed there was a God, but they didn’t attend services.
“Nine converts in 16 months is not as much as we’d like,” Golemon continued. “But when you see that, it’s about the quality, not the quantity, of the convert. Here’s a person who has sincerely changed his life and you see the impact God has made. It’s a great blessing.”

GOLEMON, 41, is a Texas native who got his start as a teacher.
Or, he says, it may be more accurate to describe himself as a professional student.
He graduated with a degree in theater arts from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, but continued his education from there.
He began teaching, off an on, for about 10 years at a charter school, dealing primarily with troubled youth.
“In a charter school, it’s little different than traditional,” he explained. “We didn’t have to have teacher certification, or at least that’s the way it was in 2010.”
Because he’d studied multiple subjects thorough the years, Golemon found himself “highly qualified to teach anything and everything,” he said with a laugh.
“I have to tell you, you have some good standards for education in Kansas,” Golemon laughed. “There, I could have given you a shorter list of things I couldn’t teach. Here, I could barely be a sub.”

A LIFE of serving the Lord beckoned, and Golemon enrolled in the Memphis School of Preaching in 2011. He completed his schooling and internship there, and found an opening in Iola.
“No, I’m not ordained, but based on what is required within our faith, any state I enter, I’m acknowledged as equal to ordained. When you look in the Bible, it doesn’t say you have to go to school, but let’s be honest, if you’re gonna do anything, they want proof you’ve studied.”

CHURCH of Christ has extended its outreach, to assist those in the community who have fallen on hard times.
“I couldn’t even count the times we’ve helped get somebody gas or food,” he said. “But I can think of, literally, 12 individuals, where we’ve been influential in truly helping them, to the point, at least six of those are now on their feet. They have their own places. When we met them, they were homeless.”
And while Golemon would gladly accept all of the church’s beneficiaries as full-fledged members, attendance isn’t mandatory to receiving aid.
“Truth of the matter is, you want to help everybody,” he said. “And we’d love to get new members. Are we in the spiritual business, first and foremost? Yes. Would I ever deny assistance if they don’t? No.”

ONE OF THE church’s biggest appeals for Golemon is its adherence to the Bible — more specifically, to the New Testament.
“There’s nothing we believe that’s not in this Scripture,” Golemon said. “There’s a saying among older members of the Lord’s Church, and it’s been around for years. We speak where the Bible speaks, and we’re silent where it’s silent.
“We worship exactly as they did in the First Century Church,” he continued. “If it’s not in that New Testament Scripture, we don’t do it. It says, the old covenant was nailed to the cross. We’re under a newer and better covenant. What you read is not only how we worship, but how we go about our lives.”

SUCH A philosophy has turned some off to Church of Christ, Golemon acknowledged.
“There’s a misconception about us,” he said.
He recounted some criticism stemming from a column years ago from one of the members in a nearby community that explained a woman’s role in the church.
“Women do have a place in the Lord’s church,” he explained. “They can teach children here. But are you going to see woman preacher? No. Scripture tells us not to have such.”
That’s also why Golemon can never be considered an elder.
“Scripture says I have to be married and have faithful children,” Golemon said. “I’m not married, and I don’t have children. I don’t take offense to it.
“We stand on what we believe,” he concluded, “in a day in society where so many people don’t stand for what they really believe.”