Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 20
March 27, 1969
NUMBER 46, PAGE 1-3,5a

The Underground Church Of Christ (II.)

Leroy Garrett

(Editor's note: The first part of this article dealt with the -Campus Evangelism- meeting sponsored by the Broadway (Lubbock) church, and which convened in the Hilton Hotel at Dallas last December. Simultaneously with the -Campus Evangelism- meeting was a -Holy Spirit Retreat- meeting in Wynnewood Chapel, which was attended by people who were for the most part members, or former members, of the Church of Christ.)

Exorcism

The most amazing part of the retreat was the driving out of demons. This was led by a sister who had impressed me as a most remarkable woman, a responsible Christian eager to help others in their spiritual growth. But on this occasion she both disturbed and frightened me. She was dressed like a priestess of the Buddha, with her decorative kimono reaching to her shoeless feet. After a sermon on the crossing of the Red Sea, she proceeded to tell us that she had talked to God that day as she knelt there (pointing to the Lord's Table) and she had learned that some of us had demons. Moreover if we did not yield our wills to His and allow His power to dispose of them, that she was going to expose us for what we were. She was of an upbraiding attitude, a perfect semblance of a scolding wife, a role I could not have previously assigned to her. Her words snapped with fire as she told us she'd call names, if need be, in order to expose the demons.

This is when I got scared, for as I looked over this group of deeply devoted Christians who were spending their holidays praising God, I figured that the demons were all taking refuge in me. And that is what a lot of brethren have been saying about me all these years. Then too I had some misgivings about some of the things going on in the retreat, along with my appreciation for so much of it. So I braced myself for a dressing down that only a woman can give. I only wondered what demon she would exorcise first.

Already she had told us that we were to see a miracle, something approaching to the wonder of the Red Sea. We were to see the power of God demonstrated in that Chapel in such a way that we would be as amazed as were the Israelites. When she said this, a responsible man sitting behind me, long years one of our respected ministers, closed his eyes and began to praise God for what was to transpire, saying over and over, "Thank God, thank God."

By then I hardly knew what to expect. I was too curious to leave and too scared to stay. Surely she wasn't going to put the Chapel into orbit, but I was prepared for almost anything. I will admit to some praying on my own part, but it was drastically different from the good brother sitting behind me.

She urged all those who wanted to place themselves before the Lord, or some such words, to do so. Nearly everyone in the room went to the front and kneeled around her, praying to the Lord. After a while she began to exorcise the demons, talking to them as one would a dog. "Get out of here in the name of Jesus Christ," she would say with snarled lips, as she addressed the demon of self. She upbraided other demons in the same language, such as demon of self-will and demon of pride. No one cried out nor did any demon go screaming out the aisle. And the demons within me quieted down to their normal leisure. The session trailed out into an extended prayer and soul-searching period, with some of those at the altar remaining a long time.

But the dear sister had put on a demonstration the like of which I had never expected to see among our people. The whole experience jarred me as a glaring inconsistency to all that had gone before. She was exorcising demons from the ones who had for days been manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you drive demons from folk who are baptized of the Holy Spirit? In the scriptures the demons were in control of the persons they inhabited, but this sister was driving demons from folk whose lives are controlled by the Holy Spirit.

This part of the retreat left me disturbed, for there was evidence of the willingness, at least on the part of some, to supplant the gospel message with the exorcising of demons. One of the young men had brought his sinful, drinking father to this particular service, hopeful no doubt that his demons would be expelled. Knowing the man as I did, I welcomed him earlier in the evening, doing all I could to make him comfortable among strangers. Later when the sister put on her performance, threatening to call names if necessary, the man walked out into the night alone, taking with him such demons as he may have had.

I suffered as I saw him leave, knowing something of his problem, and I figured then that that will be his last visit with us. Let us speak tenderly of Christ to men who need to be made well. Never mind about their demons. When they are brought to Christ they have access to the fount of every blessing.

This is one reason why I call this element among us the dangerous underground, recognizing full well that there is much to be commended. It is dangerous because it is working with such terrible explosives.

It was my pleasure to address this underground group when they were guests of Wynnewood Chapel on the Sunday morning they were in Dallas, just as their retreat got underway. I could sincerely express hope for what the Holy Spirit movement might do for the Church of Christ, and yet I went on to name three hazards that must be guarded against. The foremost danger is that the movement will become another sect. I observed that this has been the story of Spirit movements throughout history, from the Montanists to the Moravians. They all end up as another sect. I explained that in our unity efforts the same charge was being made, that we'll build another sect instead of uniting the divided church. I showed that this charge will prove to be false, for we cannot build a "unity party" so long as we do not try to get people to leave where they are and join us. To the contrary we encourage them to remain where they are and work for peace and brotherhood there. I challenged them to find similar safeguards against their own efforts crystallizing in just another party.

I saw several sect-forming signs. One was an announcement that some Spirit-filled family was to move to Dallas, and they were asking, "Is there anyone in Dallas?" Part of what this meant may be all right, but there's part of it that is very dangerous indeed and it alarms me. I saw it too in the subtle use on the part of some of the words they and us. One is not quite in, perhaps, if he has not had certain experiences.

Making It Too Easy

The second danger I referred to was that of oversimplification in the movement's approach to personal problems. It is risky to suppose that a Negro with a Molotov cocktail can be made into a responsible Christian by getting him to speak in tongues, or that a person with serious emotional illness can be made whole by laying hands on him. Christian maturation comes slowly and often with great difficulty. A short-cut by way of the charismatic could prove disillusioning.

If they were not careful, I urged, they would succeed only in stirring up a great brush fire, the enthusiasm of which will grow for a time, only to fade as people discover that their problems are still with them. A log fire of thick oak is what is needed, but it is harder to start and burns more slowly. But it burns through and through and on and on, giving warmth to the entire house. This must be the role of the Spirit movement. Let it fire the kindling of God, which is all of us, that the oaken logs of his kingdom will burn warmly and brightly, and not be a flash fire out in the back yard that flares and fizzles out.

But if the kindling sets fire to the logs, it must be nestled among the logs, not scattered here and there. I urged them to remain with their congregations, for it is here that they are most needed. The church must be reformed from within, and if we do it from within we must be in. Don't leave!

Assumption Of Superiority

The third danger I pointed to was the temptation to presume oneself to have attained a special status in the kingdom of God while relegating all others to second-class citizenship. We must not suppose that our own experiences are qualitatively better than those of others simply because ours appear more dazzling. Tongue-speaking must surely be a thrilling experience, allowing for deep and meaningful devotion. So with the gift of prophecy or the gift of healing, assuming that these are indeed part of the Christian's arsenal for this age. Still the brother whose experience is not in this direction at all, but in a peaceful relationship with Jesus Christ that no tongue on earth could make any sweeter than it already is, may be every whit as glorious as anything experienced in the whole charismatic world. We must not suppose that everyone must have the same Damascus. My road may blaze with fire, but my brother's may be paved with gold. Neither is to judge his as superior to the other.

Some readers may suppose that I am making too much of all this, that it is an overstatement to speak of a Holy Spirit movement among Churches of Christ, one that could easily solidify into a sect. This being the case my only recourse is to alarm you. Is it not significant that an ACC graduate, and a delightful Christian gentlemen he is indeed, could send notices to some of his Spirit-filled friends of a retreat in Dallas and get a hundred of them to come from all over the country during the busiest season of the year?

One of the participants, for many years one of our preachers, told me that he could name hundreds of these Spirit-filled people that are presently in the Church of Christ, meeting in the underground all over the country.

It is a movement all right, and I am telling you here that it is the most significant development in our history as a brotherhood. All the aspects of the underground Church of Christ that I have discussed are interrelated. It is one movement. The simultaneous Dallas seminar and retreat well illustrates this. I bounced back and forth among the two to learn that there was mutual awareness and mutual interest. A number visited each other. One night at the hotel a young brother from the retreat led a discussion on things of the Spirit all night long!

I trust I have made it clear that I am greatly encouraged by these underground activities as a whole, despite some misgivings I have as to what might happen. Anything that is capable of great power is also capable of blowing up in our faces, whether it be atomic energy or a Spirit-filled youth movement.

So it is with a tempered optimism that I view the scene. As I drove back and forth in Dallas, from seminar to retreat, passing those symbols of Church of Christ orthodoxy in between, I reminded myself that all of these people are my brothers in Christ, and as to what becomes of them all will depend a great deal on how we now react to the changing times.

One thing is sure. The underground church has moved out ahead of the rest, underground yes, but ahead nonetheless. Never, never will it return to the doldrums of institutionalism. The only question is whether the rest of us are Christian enough to cultivate the kind of brotherhood that makes room for all those who are in Christ, whether hippie, beatnik, sycophant, prince, rebel or sophist.

We must lovingly accept the underground and even encourage it. Allow that Sunday School class to be far out if they must be; encourage them to read all the stuff and debate all the issues. Permit cell groups to multiply and filter out into more and more homes. Sympathize with the youth in their rebellion; listen to them. Encourage the retreats and seminars, and let the Old Guard keep its distance. Allow place and opportunity for our charismatic folk to express themselves and be with each other, and forbid not the speaking in tongues (I Cor. 14:39). This would not have to be in our assemblies, but in their own cells, but still within the context of our love and understanding, even if not with our full approval.

We must not alienate, for this is sin. We must not be fearful of each other, and we must seek to understand where there is obscurity. We must see the church, not as a community of sameness, but as a family united in diversity. We should be able to explain to our neighbors with a sense of satisfaction, "Oh, yes, we have charismatic's in our congregation, several who speak in tongues and others who prophesy. They are very careful not to impose on those of us who are not of this persuasion, and we in turn allow for meetings where they take the initiative and enjoy their gifts, while we sit in and try to understand it all a little better."

This is the Christian response. Anything else will divide and fracture. The institutional church is going to remain orthodox for years to come, with changes coming slowly. But even now, while it makes no radical change, it can allow underground activity within its own embrace. It doesn't hurt too badly when others are in front of us if they are underground. They in turn are willing to remain a part of us in that they are allowed to grow and move and be different. So they move ahead underground while we trail behind at rather ground-level orthodoxy. But with this arrangement the underground always leaves and enters through the institutional church, thus avoiding segments and parties.

Then, who knows, but after awhile there'll be no underground at all, for differences between us all will grow less and less important, making underground activity unnecessary. The institutional church will by then be transformed, partly because of the underground, and we will all be the family of God together, with grace so abounding that differences will only serve as guideposts as to whom needs to be loved the most.

— the Editor; — Restoration Review, January, 1969