A Sincere Offer

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     In the January, 1958, MISSION MESSENGER, I published the first of a series of articles entitled "Thoughts On Fellowship." In the following months I showed that the koinonia, fellowship, was not equivalent to endorsement of the views of others, that it was not contingent upon conformity of opinion, unanimity of interpretation, or simultaneous arrival at a specific degree of knowledge. I demonstrated that it was a state or condition to which men were called by God through the gospel, and that every sincere and consecrated immersed believer was in

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the fellowship. Fellowship was achieved by faith and the only test of admission to fellowship, should be the divine test of faith in Jesus, submission to immersion in water in His name.

     This led to the conclusion that the parties, or factions, growing out of the early nineteenth century restoration movement, sparked by the Campbells and their contemporaries, had become sectarian and exclusivist in profession and practice, and that a revival or rejuvenation of the spirit of the original restoration movement was now in order.

     The only real assailants and defenders of the partisan status quo, have been those who either could not or would not understand what we wrote, and found it more to their liking to create a straw man and belabor this scarecrow with diligence, under the guise that they were smiting my position "hip and thigh." Such one-sided tactics may be calculated to please rabid party followers who constitute "the loyal church," but they hardly satisfy less emotional, and more rational searchers after truth. Nothing of value is to be gained from such maneuvers unless the crystallization of the party spirit is no longer a work of the flesh, but a spiritual desideratum.

     It is admitted that the views I have voiced run counter to those which have generally motivated "The Church of Christ" and "The Christian Church" for many decades, although individuals in both of these, and some in neither of them, have cherished the same ideas. We have no desire to protect our convictions from investigation, nor conceal them from examination. Rather we invite inquisition. By such means we can eliminate any fallacy in our reasoning and correct our errors. Our desire is to attain to the truth on these matters. He is a friend indeed who will help us in that endeavor. We feel that this spirit characterizes the majority of our brethren in the Lord, and that they wish to be fair, honorable and just.

     We, therefore, make the following proposal. At the invitation of any interested congregation in this country or Canada, we will appear before them, and present our views on the subject of fellowship and unity of the Spirit. In order to guarantee adequate investigation of our plea, we suggest three meetings, each of at least one and one-half hour duration. In the first, we will present our position. In the second, we will submit to questions by a panel of three informed men, to be selected by the congregation. In the final session, we will answer questions submitted from the audience. The three meetings may be held on consecutive nights, or all in one day, at the discretion of the local congregation.

     For the second session, the panel of querists need not consist of adherents or representatives of any one faction, but may be drawn from divergent groups. For example, two may be from the "Church of Christ" and two from the "Christian Church." In the case of congregations affiliated with the more exclusive segments, the questioners may all be drawn from those having endorsement of the party. All such meetings must be advertised in advance and open to people of all faiths. This proposal is not limited to the groups mentioned above, but is open to all other respectable religious organizations and denominations composed of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

     For his part the editor promises to present his views in a clear and lucid manner, but not in a dogmatic or arbitrary fashion, and with the understanding that no person except himself shall be bound by them, and that no person in attending shall he considered as indorsing either the views of the speaker or the congregation making the arrangements. It will be made clear that the views of the speaker do not necessarily represent those of the inviting congregation, but that the meetings are arranged as a forum in the interest of research for truth. The speaker covenants to be gentlemanly, polite and kindly in manner to all questioners, and to exercise forbearance in love to those who express disagreement. Those who are eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and who feel that such meetings will contribute to better

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understanding, are asked to communicate with W. Carl Ketcherside, 2360 Gardner Drive, Saint Louis 36, Missouri.