Stuff About Things
A printing preacher, who apparently wants to promote inter-congregational activities -- no, scratch that, for he would never get the point -- he wants a lotta churches to send some of their money to one church and let it do some of their work for them -- -- Well, this preacher reprinted my Oct. '66 article on "Church Obligations".
The article questions the individual who says he has no obligation to a local church. It says, "A local church is a 'team' composed of fellow-Christians -- " etc., and advocates "team-work" on the part of Christians according to God's plan -- the local congregation. The only time I even mentioned "churches" was in showing that Paul did churches a service (2 Cor.11:8) and they, in turn, sent him wages. They sent directly to Paul.
The article had nothing what-so-ever to do with the collective action -- excuse me, I mean, a lotta churches sending some money to one church and letting that church do some of their work for them -- like Highland, in Abilene, having a Tee Vee program for a whole churchhood of churches -- -. But that was the way this preacher read my article. His foot-note read, "If you note very carefully Mr. Turner states that we have an obligation to God and it is to be carried out as individuals or we can also do it through team-work which is the church. The same as to say one church can send to help another. This money comes out of the treasury."
The poor fellow doesn't know the difference in saints working as a "team" in a local church -- which God authorized; and churches working together in a super-organization which has not one "dab" of authority. He is also confused on the difference in "helping" or sending aid, alms, to a church "in need"; (2 Cor. 8:14; Acts 24:17) and using a wealthy church as a medium for inter-church work.
Actually, I have little room for complaint. He did reprint my article, and the ones who would take his footnotes as an accurate appraisal of the article are past helping anyhow. I thought I was being very clear in the article -- but this may help me to be more clear, more specific; for I do want to teach -- all people. We must call a spade a shovel.
What gets me is how that preacher failed to see that my article also was dead agin pore starvin orphans.