What Lack We Yet?
W. Carl Ketcherside
[Page 75] |
This is the title of a book compiled by J. D. Thomas, and consisting of forty-seven manuscripts presented by invitation of the editor. The "we" in the title designates what Brother Thomas in his preface refers to as "the brotherhood," and the brotherhood embraces only Churches of Christ which do not use instrumental music in conjunction with the public praise in song. However, that brotherhood is obviously composed of various factions, parties and segments, since men representing divergent groups who regard each other as apostates, liberals, traitors, and other things too numerous to mention, appear within the same covers.
I hail the attempt of Brother Thomas to provide a forum for men of various views to express their opinions. It is refreshing to see someone with such a degree of fairness. And it is great that men who would not sit upon the same platform with one another can appear between covers of the same volume. It is interesting that every person, without exception, would be branded as a "brother in error" by someone else in the book. And they would all be right! So the book may be a little more revealing than was intended by the editor.
There must be a lot wrong with a "brotherhood" if it requires 320 pages to tell what it yet lacks. And if it can be a "brotherhood" with such widely divergent views as are expressed, it is obvious that unity in diversity is the "in thing" at last among a people who have always practiced it as ardently as they have denied doing so. I have another question. If we are the people who "speak where the Bible speaks" how does it happen that we lack so much? How much can we lack
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It is quite apparent that our lack does not involve mere "spiritual peanuts." A respected brother who taught eight years in Lubbock Christian College, and who has preached extensively in Texas and Oklahoma, writes that we lack a proper understanding of sin, of the person of Jesus, of how Jesus saves, plus some other pretty basic things. If he is right, we are not much better off than "the denominations" as our brethren tag other folk who hide behind "unscriptural signboards" but may not lack as much as we do.
Unless we read such volumes merely to re-arrange our prejudices I think they ought to make us a little more humble. Of course, a lot of brethren will not read the whole book but will only turn to the "loyal brethren" to see what they have to say. Those who do that lack a lot more yet than they realize. I suggest that some of our gung-ho radio performers tread lightly. If they get the dander up on some Baptist preachers, they are liable to get up and read this book on the air and show how far off we are by our own admission.
We have been challenging, debating, attacking, going to Christian colleges, attending lectureships, reading brotherhood journals, and generally bragging that we are the one and only "New Testament church," established in 33 A.D., with Jesus as our head. If we still lack a book full of things, we probably should be a little more charitable to other honest folk who also lack a few items. This is part of the theme of Roy Osborne in the volume. As usual, he gets the real message across.
I am part of the "we" of Brother Thomas, but I am also part of a bigger "we" than that. I no longer confine my concept of the body of Christ to the fragmented non-instrument "Church of Christ." The latter does not have the former in its organizational box. Every person on this whole wide earth who has been born again is in the "we" I am in, and we all lack a lot. That is the reason all of us need the grace of God in order to make it. Praise His name!