Imagine a young man named Mark, and he lives in the concrete jungle of 1970s Attica, NY. His family and neighbors were all Catholic, and went to Mass every Saturday night.
Much lip-service was given to Jesus, but really it was "the Church" that determined his religion, which was only expressed and felt outwardly in rituals, but had little influence on his day-to-day life. Cussing and smoking and drinking and cheating and sexing and fighting and stealing were just normal parts of his life.
But scanning the dial of his radio, he heard something about studying the Bible instead of just assuming your traditions are valid with God. That struck a chord within him, and he then began reading the Bible.
Two things struck him quickly: 1) ritual doesn't matter so much as heart, and he realized he had never had a heart for God, which was also evidenced by his former way of life, which he now wanted to change; 2) what rituals he did find, didn't match up with most of the rituals with which he was accustomed, one of which was a "new birth" understanding of baptism.
He shared what he was learning with his sister, who also began to come to faith as he was doing.
Mark and his sister realized they needed to commit to Jesus from the heart, and not just in their church rituals, and that the turning point was marked by immersion in water in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins.
Not finding a sympathetic ear from their family or their church, they went to the local public, and crowded, swimming pool, and in front of dozens of mocking Catholic kids and a few adults, immersed each other, declaring their allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Does God add Mark and his sister to the church of Christ?
The following Saturday evening, they attend Mass, and continue with the rituals they had known all their lives, but now with a new perspective.
Is Mark and his sister members of the church of Christ, but in error on some things?
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