Decline of Factionalism

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     It seems to us that a knowledge of Ezekiel 34 is a must to every member of the fellowship of the concerned. This is especially true if their concern leads them to conclude that the answer to the problem of division lies in a restoration of the spirit of the primitive community of the saints. In this chapter, filled with pastoral imagery, the people of God are regarded, not as a unified whole but as a scattered flock. Two reasons are assigned for their dispersion. One is the selfish indifference of their shepherds, the other the cruel arrogance of some members of the flock toward others.

     The shepherds are accused of feeding themselves at the expense of the flock. They refused to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the crippled, bring back the strays or seek for the lost. They were charged with ruling with force and harshness. There is a significant statement, "So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd." It seems contradictory to condemn shepherds while at the same time declaring there was no shepherd. In verse 8 occurs this statement, "Since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep,..." It must be remembered that shepherding is a function and one who docs not tend the flock is really not a shepherd. However, there are those who assume the title without accepting the responsibility. They regard themselves as shepherds because of position, God disregards them because of their disposition. Instead of such shepherds guarding the flock, the flock must be protected from the shepherds. "Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they be not food for them."

     The entire blame for the scattered condition does not rest upon the shepherds. It is necessary for God to judge between sheep and sheep (verse 17). There are those who regard God's pasture as a private possession and they resent the intrusion of others where they have staked their exclusive claims. In defence of their assumed rights they are callous and brutal toward the weaker ones who are driven off. "I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will save my flock...I will judge between sheep and sheep" (verses 20-22).

     Not all who drive others away are cruel and harsh. Some are merely unconcerned about their needs. So long as they are filled they do not care what happens to those who follow. They are indicted because they feed on the good pasture, then trample the remainder into a muck; they drink the clear water at the springs, then foul the rest with their feet. The spiritual world has frequently become one of

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defiled and corrupted spiritual food and drink, obnoxious to the hungry and thirsty sheep.

     The prophet was not pessimistic about the ultimate result. It was the will of God that the flock be united. He heard the voice of God saying, "I myself will search for my sheep...I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness...I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David and he shall feed them...I will make them a covenant of peace...I will send down the showers in their seasons; they shall be showers of blessing...And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they are my people." The purpose of God will not always be thwarted. This is the hope of the saints.

     The condition which existed in fleshly Israel is today duplicated in spiritual Israel. God's people are now scattered over all the face of the earth. They wander over every sectarian hill and every denominational mountain. Helpless and forlorn, many of them become a prey to evil influences. They have passed through "a day of clouds and thick darkness." Many, viewing their plight and distress, look upon their condition as hopeless. They conclude that the sheep are so entangled in the wilderness they can never be extricated and are doomed to continue in their divided state until they are consumed by fate. Actually this is a symptom of unbelief which ignores certain undeniable facts.

     2. The power of the cross is sufficient to unite the people of God. By it we were reconciled when we were enemies of God. Certainly we can be brought together now that we are the friends of God. The reason for our sectarian division is not that the cross has failed, but we have failed the cross. We have sought unity by conformity instead of community, by organization instead of by personal reformation and consecration. We have not planted the cross as a rallying standard but we have planted churches made after our own image and likeness, and then designated them as the body of Christ. The cross is not so much an emblem of death as an encouragement to life--the life of the Son of God. That life embodied in ours will draw us closer to one another. "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).

     3. God has already demonstrated a power to unify divergent elements much more widely separated than those which today profess faith in Jesus Christ. The Jews and Gentiles were filled with animosity toward each other. They regarded each other as dogs. They did not recognize the same God. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:13, 14). If the barrier existing between Jew and Gentile could be dissolved through the blood of Jesus there is no existing hostility between us which cannot be terminated.

     4. Jesus would not pray for an impossible condition. On the very night before his betrayal, Jesus prayed for the unity of all who believe in him through the testimony of the apostles. He asked for this unity to become a reality for two reasons: first, that the world would know that God had sent him; secondly, that the same world would know that God loved the believers as he loved Jesus. This implied that the purpose of God as

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related to Jesus and the disciples can never be fully exhibited to the world until the believers are a unit. The world will never accept the testimony of the divine Sonship from a divided church, neither will it recognize the divine love for the ransomed ones until they constitute a redemptive fellowship. This state is to be accomplished by recognition and acceptance of a divine gift--the glory of God. "The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me" (John 17:22, 23).

     We have been seeking for unity through means which make it impossible of attainment. We have sought to bring it about by coercion, compulsion, dogmatism and debate. We have been trying to envision it while we had a veil of partisanship over our faces. It is not to be achieved except by that attitude of humility which makes us see clearly the real glory of the Lord. In other words we cannot have the unity of the Spirit until we have the spirit of unity. This can only be produced in us as we are personally transformed by the Spirit. "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18).

     5. Many of us bear in our own hearts the living testimony that the factional spirit can be changed and crucified. God can do for others what he has done for us. Some who were once bitter and contentious can now share in love and bestow it. The spirit of brotherhood pervading the heart can prompt us to yearn and seek for a greater fellowship in Jesus. "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?" (Rom. 8:32).

     Our skepticism about attaining unto unity is an indication of human weakness. Because we cannot see how this will be done we conclude that it cannot be done. Because we doubt that it can be done we oppose any attempt to bring it about. Our unbelief makes us victims of the cynical spirit. The apostles were once confronted by a man who brought his demon-possessed son to he healed. Apparently they tried their customary formula of exorcism with no success. Jesus walked into the crowd, and seeing their predicament, rebuked the evil spirit. "And the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly" (Matthew 17:18). The disciples privately asked why they could not cast the demon out and Jesus informed them, "Because of your little faith." Simply because the evil party spirit appears too strong for us is no indication that it is too great for God.

     The fact that the Holy Spirit is working mightily in the hearts of men in this very generation, leading toward unity and oneness, is amply evident to every one who sees with unveiled face. The signs are evident and manifest to the interested observer. We are standing at the threshold of a new day. Obviously many do not see this because their eyes are closed. Thoreau wrote, "Only that day dawns to which we are awake." Some may ask why this is any more the case now than in the past. The answer is simple. We have been made ready by circumstances and events for this day. Certain factors have combined to prepare us as instruments of the spirit to achieve the divine purpose. Let us list a few of those things which contribute to this state or condition. These are by no means all of the factors and they may not be the most important but they are worthy of consideration because they serve to explain the altered attitude which makes us "vessels fit for use by the Master."

     An American theologian has written, "Disunity in the name of Christ is a scandal and a shame." The Methodist Church in Australia includes in its prayer the statement, "Forgive, O Lord, the hypocrisy of the Church in attempting to reconcile the world when its own life is sundered apart by bickering and bigotry." Before we can have a serious attempt at unity we must have a common base from which to start. We are finding it in the growing abhorrence of the frightening sectarian status quo.

     We should not become discouraged because there are still those who proclaim unity and practice division. The party spirit is subtle and enduring. Satan will release his hold upon us with great reluctance. His greatest weapon has been the divisive spirit and he will not surrender it readily. It can be wrested from his grasp only by humility and confession of guilt. We are coming to the place where we can see the shame and mockery of our philosophy of separation. We are starting to flow together in a recognition of mutual failure to keep the peace and this will become a compelling tide.

     2. A realization of the futility of the policy pursued in the past. All of us are becoming convinced that no one faction or party will be able to absorb and assimilate all of the others. In the past we have split over every matter of difference that has arisen. This has crystallized the party spirit and made it difficult to resolve the problem. The cleavage always became wider with the passing of time and was augmented by the agitation of preachers on both sides. There was no real exchange of thought on a rational basis. The only procedure was public debate in a tension-charged emotional framework.

     There is a growing conviction that such public debates as have been conducted have seldom done much permanent good. These have not really been forums for the mutual search for truth but spiritual gladiatorial combats by chosen champions. We are aware that no faction has all of the truth and that all of us have something to contribute to the others, while all of us can learn from others. We need not sacrifice any truth we hold in order to listen to others. In our divided state no one faction is the loyal church to the exclusion of all others. We are fast giving up the "loyal church fallacy" in our thinking and returning to the concept of one body composed of all those individuals who are joined to the head--our Lord Jesus Christ. Although these are members of the one body they may be divided by unfortunate circumstances which have arisen in the past to plague and trouble the restoration movement. While deploring these differences we can recognize our common standing in Christ.

     3. An increased educational scope with training in the art of thinking. The greatest enemy of parochial and provincial thought is education. Through it, the doors of the mind are opened to greater vistas and nobler heights. The narrow sectarian spirit fears true liberal education more than anything else. Our young people are being exposed to knowledge as never before in our history. The great thoughts of the ages are filtering through and are affecting the consciousness of our generation.

     Men who are enabled to evaluate things properly and look at them in the right

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perspective will not be content to allow the great relationships of life to be disturbed by matters of an inferior or secondary nature. Those factions which desire to maintain their identity should retire behind barricades and refuse to educate their young. The party spirit simply cannot survive under the searchlight of naked truth. Through the medium of the educational process the walls of sectism are being battered down.

     4. The depreciation in value of those things which have been credited with division in the past. One of the favorable by-products of war is the result of uprooting people and transporting them into new areas where they are confronted with varied situations. Soldiers and civilians are sent into other parts of the world where the things which seemed so important at home are unknown. That which formed the chief topic of religious nature in their previous setting seems incongruous in an area where it has never been heard of.

     Ours is an era of greatly augmented travel. People are brought into contact with each other and become convinced that there are many who are sincerely seeking to serve God besides those in the faction to which they belong. At home they would not dare to attend at another congregation of divergent practice because to do so would bring down upon their heads the suspicion and wrath of those with whom they are allied. Away from home they feel a greater sense of freedom and are thus given a better insight into the attitudes and motivations of others.

     The proof that additional contact and exposure is detrimental to the maintenance of the party spirit is found in the extreme attempts of factional leaders to keep their adherents from going to hear those who differ with them. They employ threats, coercion, boycott, and false accusations to hold their members "in line." There is increasing evidence that many are beginning to think for themselves and are coming to resent the dogmatic and authoritarian whip-cracking tactics of preachers who wish to be regarded as the authorized interpreters for the splinter party. As the dignity and rights of the individual are restored and the priesthood of all believers is re-affirmed men will come to realize that we have but one high priest and he is not on earth. Factions are maintained by factional leaders.

     We must not overlook the contribution being made by the mass media for the dissemination of knowledge. The printing press is the modern "gift of tongues." Obviously the press, radio and television, make possible the circulation of a great deal of error but at the same time much truth filters through to the hearts of the honest. It is a fact that many factions which take no part in the drives to stem the flow of harmful pornographic material through the mails go all out in an attempt to keep their members from reading material published by their brethren in other segments. A faction survives only through rigid exclusivism. When barriers are broken down factionalism withers and dies on the vine.

     5. A feeling of urgency relative to the world situation. In pioneer days news was conveyed very slowly. One part of the world might not know for months what had taken place in another sector. A great catastrophe--tornado, tidal wave, or hurricane could devastate an area and the rest of humanity would not learn of it for many weeks. The situation is very different now. All of us have been forced to join the human family. That which affected Burma, Cuba, or the Congo yesterday, is the theme of discussion at our breakfast tables today. As our world grows smaller our hearts must grow larger if we are to survive. Gone are the days when oceans were private moats around our national fortresses.

     There was a time when it was sufficient religious exercise to defend our local party against frontal assaults by traveling preachers who came into the isolated community advocating a divergent view about cups, classes, or colleges. Now the whole Christian concept is being challenged as never before and we are made to realize that we are just a small

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part of the whole. It seems a rather feeble performance to make a great ado about whether Jesus wants the fruit of the vine in the communion of his blood to be fermented or unfermented while the savage forces of atheism surround us crying that there is no God. It is like arguing over whether we shall have tea or coffee for luncheon while an Indian raid is in progress, or like tacking a shingle on the garage roof while the house is on fire.

     In the days of the American Revolution when the various colonies were fiercely contending with each other over their own rights, Benjamin Franklin sought to bring unity out of partisan chaos by pointing out that "we must all hang together or we may all hang separately." There is little hope that a narrow faction will continue if Christianity goes down in our nation under the iron heel of world communism. Surely there must be some area in the realm of the spiritual where we can stand together against the dialectical materialism which threatens all that we hold dear--and that we all hold dear! The world ferment in the winepress of wrath has reduced to the realm of the trivial our little contentions about fermented wine as the cup of the Lord.

     6. Recapture of implications in the language of the Spirit. We are very fortunate to live in an age when much research is being done in the field of spiritual linguistics. We ought never to be afraid of what honest study will uncover. Alexander Campbell in giving a synopsis of reformation goals placed the discovery of the vocabulary of the Holy Spirit first in order. We are convinced that it deserves this distinction since practically all else is dependent upon it. As we see the true import of the spiritual words we can detect the fallacies in our previous reasoning, and we are thus enabled to correct our errors.

     Only eternity will reveal the full import of discoveries related to Greek terms such as koinonia, hairesis, schisma and apostasia--all of which have been transliterated in order to become a part of our English language. What a difference it makes to realize that our fellowship in Christ is not endorsement, that it is not contingent upon unanimity of opinion, conformity in interpretation, or attainment to a specific degree of knowledge. How wrong we have been in branding others as heretics and apostates merely because they disagree with us upon some matters.

     While we are being led to see the significance of these matters we must exercise a great deal of patience toward those who continue to advocate human traditional definitions and positions which we now know to be in error. We must regard with charity those who ridicule and make light of growth and advancement in knowledge, realizing that all such brethren are motivated by fear and driven by fright. Men must have time to mature in their thinking, and the maturation process is always hindered when partisan alliances enter in. We will gain nothing for the cause we love more than life by personal attacks upon those who cannot concur in our thinking. Indeed, such personal attacks are always the resort of weak men with weak causes. One who is Christ-centered in thought seeks neither to elevate men nor to derogate them.

     7. Loss of importance of traditions in the space age. We are being driven into a greater appreciation of the divine power which made the universe and now sustains it. The immensity of the firmament with its whirling galaxies, the potency in each atom which makes it a world in miniature, all of this increases our sense of awe and reverence. It makes us realize that man in his exercise of creativity is truly but a "little lower than God" as a correct rendering of Psalm 8:5 would have it.

     Our scientific discoveries are forcing us to make certain adjustments in our thinking about the material universe. Our frontiers are being extended beyond the planet upon which we live. Instead of this lessening our appreciation of God it serves only to increase our reverence and awe. We dare not leave God out of our meditations now. This is demon-

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strated by a return to religion upon the part of the scientists themselves. But there is a recognition of the fact that if the terrestrial sphere is so much greater than we had dreamed, it is possible that the kingdom of heaven is more glorious than we had suspected.

     The things about which we have fought and argued begin to appear trivial in the light of the eternal purpose. It seems incongruous that God spent thousands of years preparing mankind for the coming of Jesus, that our Lord suffered, bled and died at Calvary, and that he arose from the dead, all for the one purpose of planting a small sect confined to one nation (or to two or three states in that nation) to carry on a constant warfare for a particular way of breaking the bread or passing the fruit of the vine at the Lord's Supper.

     It is not difficult to understand how the "many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands" (Rev. 5:11) are involved in and concerned about the titanic struggle between Light and Darkness, but it is not easy to see how this innumerable host of celestial beings would be greatly exercised about a debate over fermented wine in Texas, or individual containers in California. The perspective of some has become so shortened that " the kingdom of heaven" now consists of a dozen or so small conformist groups in which "the faithful preachers" can be numbered on the fingers of one hand. There are actually some who feel that their demise will cause the church of God to sink into oblivion. They regard Jesus as sitting at the right hand of God to preside over a dying faction.

     In the past some have thought of the church of God as a kind of American institution and have regarded the kingdom of God as one which depends for its existence upon the support of American money, much like "the democratic way of life." We are now becoming increasingly conscious of the fact that there may be a great difference between the church of Christ and "The Church of Christ." The first has always been catholic and timeless; the second is somewhat indigenous to America. It helps us to realize that "the Lord knoweth them that are his," but there is no indication that we know them all. And it does no harm to realize that John saw "a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the Lamb, with palm branches in their hands, and crying with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb.'" The kingdom of heaven is not an English-speaking institution and does not have its headquarters in the United States. Surely many of the things which have caused division in the disciple brotherhood in the United States have little relevance to the universal struggle waged between the Prince of peace and the prince of the power of the air, except as they have engendered feelings and attitudes which have unwittingly placed us in the camp of the latter and made us a part of "The Black Legion."

     Many are sympathetic to the crusade for brotherhood recognition but they dare not express it openly at present. They would only arouse fierce animosity in the

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a party of their allegiance and would be ostracized by those whom they dearly love and cherish. They are secretly thankful for the plea that is being made although they cannot declare this publicly. Their prayers ascend for the ultimate success of the effort to restore the spirit of restoration and these prayers are very essential to our wellbeing. For years there has been a deep surging inward feeling of dissatisfaction with their position in the hearts of the real thinkers in every faction but they have not known what to do to alleviate the condition. It is encouraging to them to know that there are others who cherish and share in the same concern as expressed in this little journal. It is essential that we respect their confidence and keep their own feelings confidential.

     In some sections of our nation brethren are able to do something of a positive nature to implement their desire for unity. Members of the several factions in some communities meet regularly for discussion of the problem. True, there are those who still regard fellowship as endorsement and equate community with conformity, and who thus retard any significant progress toward a closer working relationship. However, the very fact that men have now grown sufficiently mature that they can meet and talk with proper respect for each other is good.

     Men of courage are arising whose thinking transcends the narrow partisanship of the groups with which they are affiliated. These twentieth century pioneers of unity in the disciple brotherhood are willing to go wherever God opens up a door and share their views without dogmatism or coercion of others. The historians of the future who record the events of this age will not be able to ignore the contribution toward kingdom extension made by those congregations which have dared to blaze the way by arranging for rallies consisting of brethren from all the splinter parties who have met in love and mutual regard to open up new vistas of service and sainthood. The sheep on the hills are lifting their heads and starting to come toward each other so that they may, in some future day, form one flock under one Shepherd. The sunlight is dispelling the dark and cloudy day.

     In some of my recent speeches on fellowship I have been listing seven signs of hope for brighter days to come. Since these betoken the decline of factionalism I shall list them here for the encouragement and strength of all the members of the fellowship of the concerned ones in all of our splinter parties.

     1. A restored vision. Every ideal must first exist as an idea. There can be no tangible creation unless it is preceded by a mental image. The finished picture must first exist in the mind of the artist. There can never be a united church unless someone first sees it thus in his heart. The sculptor must see the angel in the rude stone and then labor to remove the mass around it. At last there are those who have the concept of a united church. So long as they can see it they can strive to remove the partisan debris and restore the image in their hearts. The Creator will work with them in this act of creativity.

     2. Dissatisfaction with the status quo. All reformation grows out of discontent with an existing and intolerable condition. We are coming to recognize that division multiplies our problems rather than solving them. It augments our troubles rather than lessening them. We cannot fracture ourselves into fraternity nor fragmentize ourselves into unity. We must purge out the party spirit.

     3. Increasing consciousness of brotherly love which transcends artificial and partisan barriers and makes rational discussion a possibility. We are finding an affinity which pulls us together with greater power than those things which pulled us apart. In the joy of a common Fatherhood we find a common purpose more important than factional emphasis.

     4. A maturity which recognizes public partisan debates on an emotional and personal level as offering no real or permanent solution. There is an increasing awareness that such debates aggravate our problem.

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     5. The favorite climate in the entire religious world which provides increasing opportunities for propagating our plea. Great doors and effectual are being opened up by the Spirit as the hearts of all are turned toward unity of the believers in Christ.

     6. A correct estimate of our problem, rejecting childish oversimplification and slogans on the one hand, and refusing to be daunted or intimidated on the other hand by morbid pessimism created by the gravity of the situation into which we have fallen.

     7. Meetings where representatives of all parties and factions may meet as equals with due respect for each other as brethren, study and reason together about the problem and strive to assist each other in discovering a solution.

     In this more intelligent atmosphere the partisan champion, waving signed propositions, blustering, daring, challenging all comers, is dated as to method. He is clearly behind the times for serious brethren have outgrown the childish partisan method of thrusting a chosen gladiator into the arena to represent a clique. No one can represent another person before the tribunal of minds any more than at the judgment bar of God. In quiet effective ways the leaven of unity is working. The magnetism of the Holy Spirit is drawing the hearts of the concerned ones closer together. Like attracts like! We have lived to see the ebb tide of factionalism. The churning waters of hate are receding. The divisive spirit is being conquered by the love of God and love for the brethren. Great things await the children of God. Look up, take heart, the best is yet to be!

     There remains one fear. It is expressed over and over. By what means do we propose a reformation of the restoration without the effort terminating in a new party or another division. In the light of history no question is of greater importance. We must face this without evasion. In our next issue, God willing, we will detail for you the reasons for saying there will not be another division as a result of this crusade. But in the meantime, remember that you are living in one of the greatest decades of a century. It is your privilege to see the forces of division beat a retreat and those of unity surge forward.

     No longer does the trumpet make an uncertain sound. A great invincible spiritual power is beginning to pass like a shudder over the frame of an inert body. The spiritual eyes are awakening; the spiritual muscles are flexing. The saints are gathering. The sheep are coming home. Eyes fixed on the cross as their goal they are approaching from all directions, getting closer to each other with every step nearer to Him. God bless them and help them! God be with us and help us to help them all of them! They are His and He is ours! Praise be to Him for all things!