Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 20
March 27, 1969
NUMBER 46, PAGE 4,5b

That "Underground Church Of Christ"

Editorial

This week we present the concluding section of Brother Leroy Garrett's report on "The Underground Church of Christ." Let us caution our readers to keep in mind that Brother Garrett is reporting TWO meetings in Dallas; one the "Campus Evangelism" seminar sponsored by the Broadway Church of Christ (Lubbock), and the other the "Holy Spirit retreat," attended by about a hundred people (members of the Lord's church for the most part) who are convinced they are experiencing some immediate, extra-Biblical, "better felt than told" contact with the Holy Spirit of God. While the two meetings were independent of each other, there was a mutual awareness, a visiting back and forth, and apparently a friendly and interested concern by each group in the activities of the other.

Why do we reprint Brother Garrett's lengthy report of these two meetings? We do it for two reasons (1) to let our readers know what is happening, and (2) for the "shock effect" which we hope it may have. For a long, long time the Gospel Guardian has been crying, "Wolf! Wolf!", and the majority of our brethren have dismissed the warnings as false alarms. They have likened us to the excited shepherd boy who called out his "Wolf! Wolf!" warnings as a practical joke, when actually there was no wolf present. But we saw the "wolf" approaching nearly twenty years ago. When enthusiastic brethren began to "go beyond the things that were written," with flaming and commendable zeal to evangelize the world, but with disregard of Biblical teachings as to HOW the churches might cooperate in this great task; when tender and loving concern for helpless children so aroused the compassion and sympathy of good and gentle people that they were willing to ignore and disregard Bible teachings as to HOW these little ones might be cared for; when great and worthy objectives became so tremendously appealing that they over-rode and overwhelmed clearly established lines of distinction between "church" and "individual" — well, we saw trouble heading our way!! And said so in hundreds of editorials and literally thousands of articles by thoughtful and concerned brethren. Some heeded what was said; others did not.

And now comes the "underground church of Christ." DO NOT DISMISS THIS LIGHTLY!! Brother Garrett is an extremist; he is "far out in left field," to be sure. He is an enthusiast. But let no one suppose for one moment that there is nothing to the things of which he writes. His reporting is factual, we believe, although his interpretation of the facts may be fanciful at times. There IS a "Holy Spirit movement" within the churches of Christ; there ARE baptized believers who actually are convinced they can speak with tongues, miraculously heal the sick, cast out demons, and receive immediate (non-Biblical) communications directly from God. And as the authority of the Scriptures has been eroded and undermined these past twenty years in the tremendous push for SUCCESS in world evangelism, general benevolence, and spiritual growth, it was simply inevitable that, sooner or later, some such movement as Garrett describes should arise.

And more (and worse) is yet to come. Change and innovation are in the very atmosphere. Brethren in every sector of the country are becoming increasingly aware of the growing threat of classical liberalism — the denial and rejection of the Bible as an inerrant, infallible communication from God to man, the reliance upon immediate, non-Biblical revelations of the Divine will. When congregations all over the nation disregarded and trampled upon the conscience of "the conservatives" among them, finally forcing these brethren out of their fellowship and association, they opened wide the gates for the more liberal, radical, and emotional elements to become dominant, giving guidance and direction to the life of the congregation. Bereft of the restraining influence of the conservatives (which, admittedly, was often irritating and exasperating) the great congregations had no dissenting voice when radical departures from the traditional and accepted ways were, suggested.

Little by little, cautiously at first, then ever more boldly and openly, new ways, new ideas, new procedures were introduced. Some churches moved faster than others, naturally. But ALL of them, bereft of the restraining influence of the conservatives, began to drift. Perhaps Wynnewood Chapel is as "far out" as any congregation we might name; but the leaven is at work! Others will follow in due course.

Is there any way to stop the trend? perhaps, even hopefully, to reverse it? Of course there is! And in the months ahead the Gospel Guardian will have a lot to say along that line. All of us ("liberals", "antis", or what have you) are facing a common threat in the advance of classical liberalism. It is time for us to recognize the threat, compose our differences insofar as we can, and unite against a common enemy. In doing this, we must all maintain our own integrity, do nothing which will violate the conscience in any way, yet make every concession possible, yield in matters of judgment or opinion, remove the bitterness of the past years, and earnestly strive together to maintain and defend "the faith once delivered." If anyone is a bit puzzled as to our branding the "Holy Spirit retreat" as a part of classical liberalism (such emotional and ecstatic experiences usually being associated with fundamentalism rather than liberalism) let us remind you that the very heart and core of the meeting Brother Garrett described is a belittling and negating of the clear and positive statements of Scripture, and a reliance upon some "inner light" to guide and direct the worshipper. We shall explore this more fully in later articles.

F. Y. T.