gardenia, I believe maybe you are speaking of the Churches of Christ that have developed into denominations... it sounds like you are speaking of the church of Christ as such. You should really differentiate between the two or maybe refer to specific congregations.

A true church of Christ kid would be a Christian. The church includes all those who are saved and it is "of Christ", meaning it belongs to Christ. If you are truly saved then you are a member of the church of Christ. So when you speak of it, you are speaking of something you are a member of, and it would include yourself if you are truly saved.

Personally I wouldn't recommend Metallica over Third Day, but I would in no way worship to Third Day music because it is unathorized worship to worship with mechanical instruments.

We cannot always blame the congregation that a person attends for not having a firm understanding of his or her faith. There are many factors that could be the cause of this. In this case we don't even know all the facts of his situation... unless you attended that congregation yourself and know what they taught.

I can assure you and the Bible will as well... you will only see members of the Lord's church in heaven. If you are not a member of the church, you cannot enter heaven. I'm not sure how you would be able to come to the conclusion that those other than are in the Lord's church will enter the kingdom of heaven. Clearly only those "in Christ" (in the church) will enter heaven. If you would like, we can start a study on this to help you better understand it.

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'