Sponsoring Church
Robert H. Farish , Lufkin, Texas
There isn't any such thing as a "sponsoring church" according to the editor of the Firm Foundation. He says that "sponsoring church" is one of "those 'loaded expressions' for which this new movement is famous," and that:
"There isn't a man in the brotherhood who believes in or champions the cause of either sponsoring churches, benevolent societies or centralized control. In the sense these brethren use the terms, there is no controversy over these things. The divided opinion comes over whether our present practices are what these fellows call them. For them to call our practices by these bad names does not make the charge true."
The editor makes arbitrary assertions and seems to feel that they should be accepted, simply upon this authority. He doesn't seem to feel any obligation to prove that these terms are "loaded expressions." He doesn't define the "sponsoring church" which "no man in the brotherhood believes in or champions." With him it is enough just to say, "In the sense these brethren use the terms, there is no controversy over these things." Why not define the "sponsoring church" which no one in the brotherhood defends? Then after clearly defining the perversion, show why it is a perversion. What brother Lemmons needs to do is to quit his erratic lurching from one side to the other in his frantic search for the "middle of the road" and "search the scriptures" to see if it is right for the elders of one congregation to plan and direct any program which is larger than the work which the church, over which they have the scriptural oversight, can perform. When brother Lemmons starts searching the scriptures and presenting what he finds in the scriptures, he is going to be forced to get out of the middle of the road and become "anti" some other things. He will be unable to just continue as an anti "anti."
The scriptures teach that the elders are to "Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight ...." (1 Pet. 5:2) and "Take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops." (Acts 20:28) Now let brother Lemmons take these passages and affirm in his paper that the elders of the Broadway church in Lubbock, and the 5th and Highland elders in Abilene (to mention two of our famous "sponsoring churches") are "exercising the oversight" that this passage authorizes; that they are "taking heed" to nothing more than the "flock in which the Holy Spirit hath made (them) bishops." Now here are some loaded expressions. The Holy Spirit loaded them with significance and they carry weight with good and honest hearts. Yes, there is controversy over these things in the sense that we use the term, sponsoring churches. When I talk about a sponsoring church, I am talking about a church whose elders have perverted the function of the divinely given organization. Will the editor undertake to defend the 5th and Highland church in its capacity as sponsoring church for Herald of Truth? Now I am not appealing to the editor to find authority for Herald of Truth in the "middle of the road." I know that he has a fondness for the "middle of the road" but I urge him to cultivate a fondness for authority. Find authority in the Scriptures for Highland's elders to oversee a work so large as to require a combining of resources from over a thousand churches.
The "sponsoring church" is a perversion of the New Testament church. As those false teachers of old perverted the gospel and succeed in getting some to remove to another gospel — a perverted gospel — even so there are those today who have lured many from the divine organization by reviving the old sponsoring church idea which was supposed to have been killed back in 1910. Those today who trouble us have retained the scriptural form of the divine organization in that they still have men in the organization who are called elders. The "sponsoring churches" have elders, deacons and saints composing their organization but the elders do not function as overseers of the local church. They have perverted their function; they are "exercising the oversight" far beyond the scriptural bounds. They are acting as "brotherhood" elders, despite all their denials.
We are using the term "sponsoring church" to describe a church which, although it still calls itself and its officers by scriptural names, is yet unscriptural in its function. The function of the New Testament organization has been perverted in that it has undertaken a work of such extent as to demand that the elders reach out and bring under control the resources of churches over which other men are supposed to be exercising the oversight. The divine pattern provides for elders in every church. (Acts 14:23) The elders in every church are responsible for the church over which the Holy Spirit has made them bishops. (Acts 20:28) They are limited in their oversight to that church of which they are members. (1 Pet. 5:2)
Six years ago, brother Yater Tant wrote:
"So far as the Herald of Truth is concerned, the Highland elders sustain no relationship to the Highland church that they do not sustain to every other church supporting the program. Their relationship as directors of Herald of Truth is quite distinct from, and other than, their relationship to Highland church as elders. What obligations or responsibility do these good brethren have to Highland church (in respect to this work) that they do not have toward every other church sending money for this work? Can one single thing be itemized?
"It is obvious, or should be, that in all their activities in behalf of Herald of Truth they are NOT functioning in the capacity of elders of Highland church, but ARE functioning as a board of directors or trustees, rather, for the funds entrusted to them by a thousand or more congregations. What distinctive, specific, peculiar relationship do they have with Highland church here that they do not have with every other church?"
(Editorial in Gospel Guardian March 18, 1954)
Now let brother Lemmons get busy and tell us "what distinctive, specific, peculiar relationship" the elders of 5th and Highland have with the 5th and Highland church with reference to Herald of Truth "that they do not have with every other church" which has Herald of Truth as its work of radio evangelism.