They are friends in Congress — and brothers in Christ

The only two members of Churches of Christ in the U.S. House share a special bond.

By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle

When two U.S. congressmen visited a small, English-speaking Church of Christ in Brussels, one of them left Sunday worship with something that didn’t belong to him.

Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, chuckles as he recalls his friend and brother in Christ — Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas — carrying a brown “Songs of the Church” hymnal back to the pair’s hotel.

“I took it by mistake, of course,” Poe said with a laugh, noting that he had his Bible and the songbook in one hand as he greeted fellow Christians with the other.

“We had it delivered by the State Department back to the Brussels Church of Christ,” the former Texas judge added.

Guthrie and Poe serve together on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. During annual trips to the Belgian capital, the congressmen worship with the Brussels church — an ethnically diverse congregation with a Ghanaian immigrant minister named Joseph Acheampong.

Overall, 91 percent of U.S. House and Senate members describe themselves as Christians, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. However, only two House members — Guthrie and Poe — identify as members of Churches of Christ, according to the report titled “Faith on the Hill.”

A third House member with Church of Christ ties — Rep. Janice Hahn, D-California — did not seek re-election in 2016.