I have read every thing posted here and each person here has chosen scripture to back up what they believe. And the up shot of the whole thing is this,” What you Believe — You Believe!” There are way to test sprits and doctrine. But you have to keep the subject and the time line straight. How does it line up with the Bible? Not what we think or what our opinion is on a subject. Jesus is pretty clear on this matter. Mark: 9:38, 39 and 40: You may also want to pick up parallel scripture in Like: 9: 50 38: John said to Him (Jesus) “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he did not follow us” 39: But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will reform a miracle in My name, and soon be able afterward to speak evil of Me. 40: “For he who is not against us is for us.” First Jesus was talking to his Disciples, so we can conclude that his instruction were for us as well. I assume we are all Christians. The some one, that John saw was conducting Christian acts, was casting out demons. It could have been healing or preaching , same principle. But what appears to have upset John was, he was doing it “without the Apostles.” Oh that must be a No, No. Jesus, in essence said, Don’t do that, don’t stop him. The key ingredient here was the some one was performing the miracle in Jesus Name. If such a work is done in this manner, how can that person doing the work, speak evil against the name he is performing the work in. Verse 40 says it all. He is for us. That’s the test. Some days the fact that I am now ancient makes me grieve for my younger days; but with age comes patience and hopefully some understanding. It is always a wonderful thing to see people passionate for the Will Of God. We as old codgers must remember to remind these younger ones, That the Will of God is always revealed in “The Word Of God”. In the days when I was a young man, I was lamb blasted for bringing a coffee pot into my Sunday School Class. It was never done. There had to be a deacon meeting because I was such a sinner and what was doing was “Not of God” What the main problem was it was not what had been practiced in the church before. I was teaching the young married couples. And Coffee and donuts help bridge the social gape for the new folks. What I am trying to say is that things and social issues change. Look at the cloths our Grand parents wore the car we drive. Ask your self these questions: 1) Does this lift up the Name of Jesus 2) Is it done in the Name of Jesus 3) Does it encourage others to follow Jesus? 4) Is it reaching those that need the Lord ? 5) Does it recognize Jesus as Christ the King of Kings our savior? Test the water but don’t judge the creek, God has a way of changing the flow. Sometime a creek, one day a river. P.S. The coffee pot stayed the vote by the deacons was 4 to 3 in favor. The Class went from 3 to 23 then split in two classes and both grew and split again. The were many people saved in that class and two new churches started, but that’s a story for another day. In the name of the one who loves us, I’m Just Old Jim