Watch Out! They'll Take You To Court
Elders are said to be God's shepherds and have the oversight of God's flock. As long as the eldership is strong and sound, all is well and the flock is secure. The flock will become easy prey to wolves, however, if the shepherds are taken cut of the way. Most wolves know this and when they come disguised into the flock, they know the eldership must go or Mr. Wolf will be cut down.
Now the wolf has a distinct advantage, and this is especially so if he happens to be a preacher. He can, more often than not, work under cover and sometimes by subtle means, overthrow the eldership and destroy the flock's will to resist through deceit and through "social service preaching" before the congregation hardly realizes what has happened.
Anytime a member of the church spots a wolf working within the flock (any flock) he should take heed. Jude said he felt constrained to warn us to contend earnestly when such should creep in unawares. (Jude 3,4) Paul warned elders to take heed. (Acts 20)
Yet in spite of these warnings and many others in the Bible we sometimes stand by while a whole string of sheep is being devoured and pretend that it is none of our business. Or have some learned what the consequences may be?
As an example, brother Woodrow Hazelip, preacher for the Cedar Spring church in suburban Louisville, changed over from sound preaching to liberalism and gradually took one of the already soft elders with him. When he saw that the other elder, brother William H. Rogers, was going to be stubborn and stick to the truth, brother Hazelip began a slow, tricky campaign to get rid of him. He brought his preacher-brother, Larry, up from Houston to work brother Rogers over, but they met with stiff resistance and the tactics were changed. Brother Hazelip softened up a host of the brethren with social service preaching and vain deceit and using them as a boot, gave brother Rogers a kick and out he went.
When I found out the details, which I have somewhat oversimplified above in order to conserve space, I exposed brother Hazelip for his evil deed, and his reaction was to take my articles to a lawyer for examination to determine whether or not he had a court case against me!
Brethren, beware! Watch the liberal wolves; when they start, they go. Look at Woodrow's big, big, big preacher-brother, Harold, for example. Five years ago he would fight like Paul for the truth but is now a proven leader in the movement of brethren going to court against brethren. — 815 Hall St., Hazard, Ky.