A Growing Army
W. Carl Ketcherside
[Page 109] |
I have been corresponding recently with a number of young preaching brethren whose names I cannot divulge. To do that would be like bestowing the kiss of death in some circles. They are having a difficult time remaining in the places where their lot has been cast because they have outgrown spiritually and intellectually the factional garments issued to them by the party commissary when they graduated from college. They are chafing at the sectarian restraints placed upon them by brethren who claim to be non-sectarian. They want to get on with the job of promoting the bonds of peace in which the unity of the Spirit is to be kept, and, like Jeremiah, they are "weary from holding in."
I suspect that I am of small comfort to some of these "precocious neophytes" as one good brother has named those within a certain segment, because I counsel them to remain where they are and to continue to share with the brethren with whom they have labored. We must not "come out from among them" and start another faction. We have too many factions now and it is hardly the way to prove our faithfulness to Christ by creating an additional "loyal sect." There is not a disloyal sect in the whole lot if we may trust the testimony of each in favor of itself. It is as Solomon wrote, "Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but a faithful man who can find?" (Proverbs 20:6).
It is tragic that brethren get their opinions mixed up with God's revelation, but it has always been so, and those who can tell the difference are always in a predicament when they must work among those who value tradition above truth. Barton W. Stone once wrote, "The doctrines of the Bible, we believe, have never divided Christians, but human opinions of those doctrines without charity have always done the mischief." And Frederick D. Kershner said, "I have lived long enough to know the fallibility of knowledge and the infallibility of love." I like that statement!
The best thing about the current dissatisfaction with the status quo is that it is not limited to one party. If it were this would betoken discontent with some particular point of factional emphasis. As it is, the brethren are identified with every faction. The revolt against the
[Page 110] |
The spirit of brotherhood is proving to be more powerful than the worldly and sensual power of schism. Brethren are no longer being hoodwinked by front men and promoters who peddle division as the prescription for divine approval. In spite of blatant assaults by the guardians of orthodoxy there are those who dare to do their own thinking, refusing either to be bought off or scared off. It is not that they have it in for "the old guard" but that they no longer buy what they are guarding. They realize that the sectarian bill of goods which has been palmed off on men as "the Lord's will" never was the will of God, and is not now.
I predict that more and more men will choose to be free in Christ Jesus and to exhibit their liberty by crossing back and forth over the silly barriers erected by debates over trivia. The day is fast passing when men will be deterred by dogmata directed at them from some partisan headquarters. Many of the "big guns" which have been accustomed to having men lie down and play dead when they have directed a barrage at them will find that fear of their reprisals no longer exists.
Brethren are thinking and acting for themselves and for Christ Jesus without first clearing things with the party "powers that be." We are on our way out of the sectarian swamps in which we have been wading and wallowing and tomorrow will be better than today. Wounds will be healed, schisms overcome, and reconciliation established. When it comes a great deal of credit should go to young men and women who love Jesus more than party popularity!
I owe a debt to many of them. They have strengthened my faith and renewed my courage. Above everything else, they have helped me to form better value judgments, and to put first things first. God bless them!