"I was overlaying the Gospel with rules ,,, I repented and began teaching the Gospel

An established author, Lucado asked that his church salary go toward other church expenses - for example, hiring another employee. His living expenses would come from book sales. That's the way it's been ever since.

Lucado's Church is Church of Christ (was- now just Oak Hill Church),- but not a typical Church of Christ. For starters, musical instruments are used (although there is still one a cappella service).

"We've received criticism, of course," he said. "But our thinking is that we're not here to please other churches or other church leaders in other cities. As a church in San Antonio, our goal is to reach San Antonio." Christians of all denominations have embraced Lucado's work. He has written more than 55 books -- with more than 45 million in print --

He was ask by a reporter some few questions on his theological journey.

QUESTION: < Would you still consider yourself or the church a part of the Campbell/Stone movement?

(The names of those who began the Church of Christ movement.)

Lucado: "To a degree, [yes], because we have never apologized for that heritage. In its purist sense it's a real healthy heritage.

When you go back and read the writings of Barton W. Stone and Campbell -- it was a great revival that broke out in the early 1800s, right up here in this area, in fact. I guess you could say we're as much a part of it as we ever were. But the congregation has always had a sense of autonomy.

QUESTION: Does the name “Church of Christ” sometimes cause controversy and criticism for you as a prominent writer and speaker?

Lucado: "I've always had plenty of ministry opportunities, but I have suspected a disconnect when people say,

'I don't understand your understanding of grace when you come out of a Church of Christ background.' I've tried to help them see, first of all, that not all Churches of Christ are alike -- just like not all Baptists or Methodists or Lutheran churches are alike -- and then also,

That there is a great movement of grace, discovery going on among Churches of Christ right now. And it's exciting to watch."

QUESTION: You preached a sermon in the mid-’90s about baptism. What led you to preach that?"

(The sermon, available on the church's website, explained Oak Hills' understanding of the role of baptism that it wasn‘t the water that saved, that salvation didn‘t come through baptism, that it was not required for salvation , that it was required for obedience, blessing ad further growth in the Lordship of Christ)

Lucado: "I think our church just felt like we needed to have a clearer stand. There are those who have taught that baptism is necessary for salvation, as if baptism adds to the finished work of Christ. We have felt that baptism is necessary for obedience, but that baptism doesn't add to what Christ does for us in the cross, and doesn't add to what a person receives by faith."

QUESTION: Have you ever changed your position on this?

Lucado: "I think I can say I have changed my position. I think when I was a missionary in Brazil, I came to a better understanding of grace that I didn't have before I went to Brazil.

There was some latent legalism in me -- and there probably still is -- that I found when I was in Brazil. When we were in Brazil, our little church wouldn't grow. We thought, 'Why won't it grow?'

So we started studying the Gospel, and I personally found out that I was kind of overlaying the Gospel with regulations and rules. And so I repented of that, and we began teaching the Gospel.

Then, the church had its own mini-revival. It was a wonderful experience for me. I can say that in my own life, I have gone through a personal discovery of grace."

QUESTION: This is an issue that could make both sides upset - a lot of readers and a lot of people in the Churches of Christ. Have you seen that?"

Lucado: "I think people are very understanding. We've received criticism, of course. But our thinking is that we're not here to please other churches or other church leaders in other cities. As a church in San Antonio, our goal is to reach San Antonio. Our goal is to raise up 10,000 members who will pray every day for 10 people, and thereby impact 100,000 people -- which is a tenth of our city. That's our dream as a church. We're about halfway there now.... I'm sure we've disappointed some people along the way. We didn't mean to, but we wouldn't do it differently."

QUESTION: Does your church hold to a Church of Christ view of eternal security?

Lucado: "I don't. Now, this is an ongoing conversation in our church. I believe that if a person is genuinely saved they're eternally saved, and that the work of the Holy Spirit -- Ephesians 1:13, 'When you believed you were sealed with the Spirit' -- that sealing is effective and eternal. If a person is genuinely saved, then nobody can snatch them out of the Father's hands. That's a discovery that I have made in the last decade or so that I don't think I embraced early on.

But when you discover that salvation belongs to the Lord and doesn't belong to you, that is good news.

"As a church, I think we're working through that. We are really an elder-led church. We have 14 elders, and they weigh through all of our doctrinal issues and teachings. I couldn't say that our church, as a teaching position, teaches eternal security. They know where I land on it, and I teach it."

[NEWTONSTEIN NOTE! Max Lucado has traveled quite a theological journey in the independent movement of the Churches of Christ - his own heart transformed by grace deep in the heart of Brazil.

The Churches of Christ are a very important movement in the USA. Though less than 200 years old, on any given Sunday, their may be more actual people of Churches of Christ attending a Worship service than of any other denomination.

They are serious, faithful and devoted people. They are also divisive for their hard-line edge on baptismal generation: just as Lucado they need to discover the incredible doctrine of Grace. For all of us, we need to consider the important of getting Lucado’s book into the hands of ministers and Church of Christ laity .

They are saved, they believe in Christ as Saviour, they are our brothers & sisters in Christ, whether they accept us or not. They are eternally saved whether they understand it or not. We must assist as we can in their theological journey as we obey Christ’s two Great Desires:

That we as His Church may be one!

That we as His Church may win the World for Him and to Him.]

We thank Baptist press for their contribution in this article,