Queries to the Editor (No. 2)
W. Carl Ketcherside
In our previous issue we presented answers to some of the questions
frequently raised by our correspondents and hearers. Perhaps there is no better way for one to
clarify his position than to submit to grilling by those who are concerned especially when they
are inclined to opposition. Solomon declared, "He who states his case first seems right, until the
other comes and examines him" (Prov. 18:17). If truth, not partisan victory, is the object of our
search we should not resent the searchlight being turned on in full power to scrutinize our
position. If you did not receive a copy of the paper last month we suggest that you write for one
immediately. The questions and answers found therein will be helpful in these days. You should
study them before reading those which follow.
- Which one of the groups calling themselves "Church of Christ" do you regard as the
loyal church?
In the divided state now existing among the heirs of the Restoration
Movement there is no such thing as "the loyal church." There are brethren in all of the groups
who seek to do God's will sincerely. There are many in all of them whose lives and attitudes are
a disgrace to the cause we profess. No one of these parties is the church of God to the exclusion
of all others. They are all factions, existing because of emphasis upon one point or another
which has been pressed to the extent of creating division or separation. So long as one is in
schism all are in schism. It is a figment of the imagination to idealize any of the two dozen
splinters of the disciple brotherhood as "the faithful church."
- Should not one who is a member of a faction get out and leave it?
Where would he go--to another faction? It is this philosophy which is the
root of all our current difficulty. It has created all of our existing factions. When a man learns
something his brethren do not know, he concludes that they are no longer his brethren because
they do not know all that he knows. He immediately abandons them to attach himself to another
group more favorable to his newly formed views. If one discovers truth he should remain and
share it with his brethren. He seldom betters himself by going to another faction, and contributes
nothing worthwhile by creating one of his own.
We need to distinguish between being in a faction and possessing a
factional spirit. One can be in a sect and not be sectarian. He can be in a faction and not be
factional. The cure for our present sadly divided condition is not for all of "the faithful" to leave
the various factions and come out and form a "loyal church." That would only complicate the
matter further. Those who are no longer factional and, thank God, the number of such is
growing, should work as leaven where they are. They should exhibit a spirit of patience and love
which will influence those whom they contact until eventually all of us will flow together again.
We cannot divide ourselves into a faithful church. We cannot secure loyalty to the one body by
fracturing it. We have tried long enough to divide ourselves into unity. It is time to find a
common denominator and reduce our fractions. It is that for which we plead. Let those who have
crucified the party spirit, a work of the flesh, remain where they are and help their brethren
achieve the same attitude. Thus will factionalism be killed among us!
Of course conditions may become intolerable where one is allied and he
can best serve God elsewhere. Every man is obligated to go where he can best fulfill his
responsibility. But if he does go, he should not conclude that those whom he leaves are not his
brethren. He should love them, pray for them, and continue to help them in those areas where
they can mutually labor. Merely going from one faction to another for personal satisfaction is the
resort of a weakling. It is
easier to leave than to stay and face up to problems. "Let every man be fully persuaded in his
own mind."
- How can a congregation take steps to grow out of the factional attitude?
The first thing is to resolve to regard nothing as a test of fellowship
which God has not made a condition of salvation. Whatever is required to bring one into the
Christ should bring him into partnership with us. Nothing else should be devised to drive him
forth. The belief of one fact and the obedience to one act constitute the terms of entrance into
our Lord. The one fact is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The act required to validate
that faith is immersion in water of the penitent believer. No immersed believer should be
subjected to question relative to his opinion or view of anything else as a requisite to enjoyment
of the fellowship. Whether he believes in the pre-millennial or post-millennial coming of our
Lord, or in colleges, institutional homes, missionary societies or instrumental music; whether he
holds to some opinion regarding sinless perfection or perseverance of the saints, he is not be
grilled about these as a test of fellowship.
"For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ." To set up other foundations or bases of fellowship is to originate creedalism with
all of its sad aftermath of strife and division. Let the congregation of saints which desires to be
non-sectarian reject all grounds of fellowship except Jesus Christ. Let the Lord's table be set for
all immersed believers whose lives are in harmony with the moral and ethical code of Jesus. Let
announcement be made that all such are invited to participate in the communion (fellowship) of
the body and blood of the Lord. By no other means can a congregation grow out of the factional
spirit. When all of the congregations so teach and act, and not before, we will have restored the
body intact with all of the breaches repaired.
- Are there any indications of congregations practicing this non-partisan attitude?
Yes, there are. Of course any progress in this direction will be slow. It
represents a reversal of attitude in most places. The drift has been toward the sectarian spirit and
it is difficult for most places to alter their course. There is something about the narrow partisan
viewpoint which provides a sense of security. Men feel safer behind walls of their own
construction. They fear to submit their position to open combat in the field. So long as they
convince themselves that they are the only children of God and all others are apostates and
pagans they have a natural sense of pride in their organization.
Obviously many will prefer their own structure. They believe that it is the
church. They feel called upon to defend it until death. Many preachers will find it especially
difficult to cultivate a nonsectarian view. Some of these are regarded as party champions. They
will not want to relinquish their reputations. Economic interests will keep others from asserting
a conviction on these issues even after they conclude their former stand is untenable. Too, we
must recognize that there are differences in temperament and ability. All men are not equally
adept at grasping original thinking. We must be patient, kind and charitable toward all, never
forgetting that all of us have been tainted with the party spirit in the past.
It is gratifying to know that in some areas brethren are awakening to a
greater sense of destiny. These are manifesting a degree of knowledge which they did not have
five years ago. We have been reared in factional backgrounds. All of us are averse and resistant
to change. We must be cautious, for many in the past, have veered from the word of God. None
of us want to make shipwreck of the faith. In our zeal to leave Babylon we should not run past
Jerusalem and down into Egypt. While being thankful to see brethren adopt a more loving and
cheerful disposition in some areas we must not allow ourselves to think or
speak evil of those in other sections who do not yet agree with us in our ideas. Love will answer
our problems!
- How do those brethren with whom you have always labored regard your present
writings?
I was fortunate when I left the Lutheran party and espoused the
restoration plea that I grew up in a segment of the disciple brotherhood where brethren had a fair
outlook on some of these issues. In many respects we constituted a restricted and exclusive party
and were no doubt arrogant toward others, but in a few respects there was a charitable viewpoint
toward the sectarian world about us. I suspect we treated those who were nearest to us worse
than we did others. This is generally the case.
Since I no longer allow myself to be regarded as a party defender or
champion, the brethren react as all brethren do under such circumstances. Some have
investigated and agree that my position is more in harmony with the will of God. Others regard
me as a traitor and would do all they could to ruin my influence and wreck my opportunities of
answering our Saviour's prayer. They feel that I am dangerous to the peace and safety of what
they regard as "the brotherhood." A few have attacked me openly and personally from the pulpit
when I was hundreds of miles away. Some have used the Mission Messenger as a text.
None of these things move me. I do not grow discouraged because of
them. I anticipated such 'reaction and prepared myself with months of prayer and meditation
before I began to write my thoughts on fellowship. I have arrived at the place where I can truly
love and pray for those who disagree with me. I am resolved that when any man presents what
commends itself to my heart to be the truth I will accept it and will amend my thinking to
conform to it. I have an earnest desire to reach heaven and I know that I must be honest with
truth in order to do so. If I know my own heart I am willing to make any sacrifice for truth. But I
cannot afford to indulge in hate for any of the brethren. I do not want to pay the price exacted for
such indulgence.
- How have your present writings affected the circulation of the paper?
Strangely enough, the circulation figure has not varied a great deal. It
does not fluctuate appreciably, but has been on the upgrade recently. It has altered in
constituency. A goodly number who formerly read it no longer do so. A few have cancelled
their subscriptions. But others who have been attracted by the tenor of our plea and who are
sickened by the symptoms of the partisan attitude about them have subscribed for, and sent the
paper to, other interested students until there are more readers than before. There is one
difference in our readership. The majority of those who now receive the paper are students of
restoration. They tend to think for themselves and are not frightened by challenges to their
minds. Many former subscribers took the paper out of a sense of party loyalty. They regarded it
as a sort of factional mouthpiece. They felt that they could depend upon it to parrot the party line
and deny all others access to its columns. We should not judge them harshly for this. They
merely reflect the conditioning that all of us have received through the years.
I am not so vain as to think that the purpose of God, in this time of crisis,
is dependent upon the continuance of this little journal. I have no Messiah complex. So long as
we can hold our heads above water we shall make the plea which we think God wants us to
make as our testimony to this generation. But if my tongue is silenced by death or my fingers
paralyzed by affliction, or if the paper ceases through economic necessity, others with greater
ability and more ample means will rise up and carry on. The cry for peace on earth to men of
good will and for unity among brethren is in harmony with the will of Him who notes even the
fall of a sparrow. And when He who watches over our destiny sees fit to culminate our appeal
we will submit without murmur. If we can face
the sunset glow in the glad knowledge that we have plucked up but a few thorns of hate and
planted the fragrant blossoms of fraternal love we will be content.
- Do you think you went about presenting what appears to be revolutionary teaching in
the proper manner?
Apparently many feel that I did not. This question is asked repeatedly. I
am not sure how I would proceed if I were suddenly set back ten years in time. I might approach
the problem of restoration from an entirely different angle. I am fallible and finite. My judgment
is far from perfect. I have made a lot of mistakes and still make many. My presentation may
have been faulty in many respects. No doubt it still is. I have to do the best I can at any given
time and hold myself in readiness to admit my errors and to amend my thinking as I learn
more.
I was reared in a strictly factional background as most of us have been. I
beheld the inconsistencies of those who call themselves "The Church of Christ," and saw how,
while they made an appeal for unity to the divided religious world, they were themselves
fractured into more than two dozen parties. This caused me to review the history of the
movement to see at what point we forsook the original purpose of restoration and what factors
contributed to our arrival at our present divided state.
Examination revealed that neither of the current factions could lay
exclusive claim to being the one body of our Lord. From that I went on to discover that the
restoration movement had crystallized into a new party (or parties) in Christendom, and that this
movement in its totality does not now, nor did it ever, constitute the church of God on earth
exclusively. I became convinced it was merely another exhibition of the sectarian spirit to
contend that it did.
It was while I was away from the United States in 1951 laboring with the
devoted saints in North Ireland that I had time to catch up with my own thoughts. At the time I
was quite popular in the partisan alliance in which I had been groomed and my meetings were
planned for many years in advance. The Mission Messenger was regarded as a "safe and
sound" party organ which could be trusted to echo what we had traditionally taught, and to
exclude from its pages any thing which might be contrary to the partisan tests.
When I came face to face with myself and was convinced that I was
actually laboring against God's purpose, rather than for it, an inner struggle began. I did not want
to hurt those with whom I had always labored and whom I loved but I could not ignore the tug of
the Spirit on my heart. I fought a personal battle all the way across the Atlantic. By the time the
ship docked in New York the die was cast. I had crossed my personal Rubicon. Before going
home I was scheduled to speak at a gathering of brethren in New Castle, Indiana. I selected as
my theme "The Name of the Church" and proved from the scriptures that the ekklesia of
God had no official title and we had sectarianized the expression "Church of Christ." Those
present, not realizing at the time where the non-sectarian attitude would take them, were highly
commendatory in their comments on my discourse.
For four years I plunged into study and research. With every discovery of
truth I saw how far we had drifted from our original moorings and how deeply we had imbibed
the sectarian spirit. I asked permission of the brethren in my home congregation to conduct
Saturday night forums. I proposed to speak for an hour and then submit to open questioning
from the audience. All brethren in the Saint Louis area were invited to attend. The reaction
from the first was characteristic of all such gatherings. Brethren were divided in their opinions.
This was good because it provided opportunity to show that fellowship in Jesus is not contingent
upon uniformity of opinion. It served to stimulate serious and sincere questioning of my position
and thus provide for me an opportunity to re-evaluate my own thinking and to eliminate the
flaws from
it. It also demonstrated the power of love and patience in our striving toward harmony.
Having a desire to share our views on a wider scale I began to write
"Thoughts on Fellowship" after first giving several months advance notice of intention. I
resolved to open up our columns to those who dissented. I did so, publishing freely their critical
examinations of my position and my replies to these. Not being possessed of prophetic insight I
have had to do the best I could to encourage the thinking of the brethren. I have not been too
concerned as to whether or not my viewpoint was accepted. Not having a desire to enroll
partisan followers I am content to plant what I believe is the seed furnished by the Spirit. Any
increase will have to be given by the Creator.
Other brethren convicted of the futility of the course they had been
pursuing and finding themselves in the grip of the same great moral compulsion I experience,
might go about their presentation in another manner. I do not say my approach is the only correct
one, nor even that it is the best one. It seemed to be the only one open to me with my limited
ability and I pursued it because I owed it to God to do what I could to alleviate the sad and tragic
state into which the heirs of the restoration movement had fallen.
I readily concede that I may have been guilty of the mistake of
proceeding too rapidly. I am also convinced that for some who ask this question, the right way
would have been to say nothing and do nothing except to maintain the party status. They do not
so much resent the manner of my procedure as they do the fact that I proceeded at all. One must
pay a price for rising above partisan littleness. He must expect to be sniped at and shot at by
those who aim their shafts at any one who does not conform. One who is not willing to endure
misrepresentation and even maligning of his motives should not attempt reformation, for there
can be no reformation without change. The very word "reformation" betokens alteration.
- Are there any specific indications that the factional spirit is being quenched?
Yes, indeed! Brethren are recognizing a spiritual kinship in many places
where an attitude of hate and exclusiveness formerly flourished. Those who differ with the
interpretations and views of a congregation are frequently given recognition and called upon to
lead songs or direct prayer when they visit meetings. In some areas where opposition to Mission
Messenger is very bitter the brethren are actually practicing what we advocate. In some instances
they go even farther than we would be disposed to go.
It is also observable that in some congregations which would not think of
calling upon the editor to speak, other brethren present virtually the same teaching and are
accepted. This is good because the problem is not one of recognizing or honoring the persons of
men but of receiving the teaching which will lift us out of the doldrums into which partisan
thinking has led us. It is to be expected that those who first break with tradition must bear the
brunt of reprisal. Some day when clouds of doubt have been dispelled by the sunlight of a
greater love men will see more clearly. We need not be distressed now if we are rejected and
refused for this is the expected lot of those who blaze the trail. We seek not sympathy but study;
not acclamation but reformation.
Many in the past have felt uncomfortable because of the inconsistency
into which they have been betrayed by their partisan alliance. They do not wish to appear
unmerciful or inconsiderate. It has been difficult for them to justify to their inner selves the
recognition of those in the party whose lives have been out of harmony with their profession, and
the utter rejection of those whose moral conduct is spotless although their opinions do not agree
with the party position. Now that we can see that brotherhood is not, and cannot be, based on
absolute conformity in opinion, a more charitable attitude is being shown. We thank God and
take courage because of this fact.
Better days are in the offing and will be hastened by those who are committed vessels of the
Spirit, meet for the Master's use.
- What can we do to help in the crusade for unity of all believers in Christ?
There are many things for all of us to do. Community circumstances
differ so widely and our personal talents and abilities are so divergent that it would be unwise
and presumptuous to dogmatically set forth an approach which must be followed. This would be
impractical because the same approach will not be equally effective in every region. We need to
allow freedom for brethren to work in the way best suited to local needs and conditions. God can
use us all, but not always in the same way. We need to be less critical and more understanding of
each other. Too often we confuse motives and methods.
We should pray for the accomplishment of God's purpose and for all who
are interested in and concerned about the problem of disunity and division. We should petition
God to grant leaders who will not be swayed from truth by love of money, ease or popularity.
We must extend the outreach of our plea. We must not selfishly hug it to our bosoms and
conclude that we fulfill our responsibility if we cherish but refuse to share it. Nothing is more
needful for winning the world to belief in Jesus than the unity of those who believe in Him. This
message must be heralded far and wide. The blessed and joyous day when all of God's people are
one will not come merely by singing about it. Someone must first envision it as an attainable
reality, then strive for it with labor and sacrifice.
We hold that every child of God is an agent of reconciliation. You are
personally charged with responsibility to help bring to fruition the prayer of Jesus. If you deem
our own meager effort worthy of support, we urge you to implement your thinking. Practice what
you profess. We need your help to send forth this message. We labor under the constant
handicap of restricted material resources. Many would hear who do not if you could help a little
bit. Here are some practical ways to aid.
1. Pass the MISSION MESSENGER to your friends, relatives and brethren in Christ. Ask them
to read portions of it which you feel will help them.
2. Send in a list of subscriptions from your area. Do not think that unity will come by wishful
thinking. Peace must be waged by peacemakers.
3. Many of you are earning the most money you have ever received in your lives. How much of
this is really being invested in a better world for your children and your children's children? If
you would allot but a small amount each month to help, new names could be added from our
mailing list.
Not one cent of subscription money or of that which is sent to help
circulate the paper is used for personal need or gain. Every penny goes into the ministry of the
printed word. We invite you to become a sharer in this service. Why not include the crusade for
unity and fellowship in your personal budget for the months ahead? Let us labor together to
usher in the peace for which Jesus prayed. Are you satisfied with what you are doing to promote
His cause?
- What plans do you have for future issues of the paper?
The issue for next month will contain a re-statement of our purpose and
position in simple language. In June we will have a challenging article entitled, "Only One
Church"; and in July a very important and timely presentation on the topic, "Analysis of Heresy."
At present we are doing research on Agape, the only power which can ever unite us all
and hold us together. We expect to present the material on it before the year is out, and follow
with a thrilling, thought-provoking series of studies on "The Rise of Factionalism." In this last
we
shall attempt to show just where we detoured from the path of restoration and we predict that it
will cause a great deal of comment and study. There are many good things ahead for all of us!
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