Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 10
NEED_DATE
NUMBER 49, PAGE 13a

"Just Plain Nuts"

Cecil B. Douthitt, Brownwood, Texas

In the Firm Foundation of March 3, 1959, Brother Reuel Lemmons says:

"We want to make it plain once again that our opposition is to the newly developed doctrine that elders as elders cannot supervise homes for orphans built and maintained by the church. That doctrine we sincerely believe to be just plain nuts."

The elders must provide homes (shelter) and other necessities for all the orphans, widows and other indigent to whom the local church in which they are elders sustains a peculiar obligation and responsibility, even if such care necessitates the building and maintaining of homes (shelter). "The newly developed doctrine that elders as elders cannot" do this is a contradiction of Acts 6:1-6, and is, therefore, "just plain nuts".

Brother Lemmons himself also preaches a "newly developed doctrine" which I sincerely "believe to be just plain nuts". The "newly developed doctrine that elders as elders", or elders as individual Christians, have a right to launch a project or program of gathering orphans, widows or other indigent from all over the world, to whom neither they nor the church in which they are elders sustain a peculiar responsibility or obligation, with a predetermined purpose and plan of soliciting funds from church treasuries all over the world with which to provide for their assembled poor, is without any scriptural support whatever, and is, therefore, "just plain nuts"; precisely the kind of "nuts" that developed the Roman Hierarchy.