"Follow God -- Follow The Bible -- Always"
As a sequel to "History Triumphs Over Time," the present article is written. Due credit is given to Brother Logan Buchanan for the caption of our article. In his defense of "The Herald of Truth" published in last week's Guardian, he closes with the thought that we should follow God — follow the Bible — always. Upon this point, there is no controversy between him and me, hut upon the matter of that which constitutes following God and the Bible in the matter of congregational cooperation there is a wide divergence of views. It is significant, I think, that Brother Buchanan wrote an article of nine and one-half pages in defense of "The Herald of Truth," and used less than two and one-half pages of it in presenting proof from the word of God. However, it is readily granted that the Bible must say a thing only once to make it so, hence if his arguments from the scriptures are conclusive, they will suffice. We shall get to them in time.
The Network Program Is A Brotherhood Project
Is there one so "naive" as to believe that it is the work of Highland Church? I have heard that some so contend, however, Brother Buchanan recognizes the fact that it is not the work of one church but of many churches. Hear him: "One thousand churches giving $27.00 per week will make the two networks a possibility, and each church will be teaching 10,000 persons per week, with plain, simple sermons." (The Gospel Broadcast, Dec. 10, 1953, pg. 1) "The Herald of Truth" proposes to preach the gospel in the very localities where its contributors exist. That it does preach in some localities where its constituents do not exist would not change this fact. If a church has any responsibility with reference to preaching the gospel, it certainly would involve its own locality, so we have the spectacle of congregations uniting in delegating the responsibility of preaching the gospel in their own localities to a church and its elders foreign to the same. More about this later. Surely, it cannot be denied that "The Herald of Truth" is a brotherhood project, the program of the churches of Christ. It would be utterly impossible for Highland Church to sustain a $1,400,000.00 radio and television program. Such is neither her work nor her responsibility in the sight of God. Let us not deceive ourselves. This is a brotherhood project under the eldership of a single church. In the September report of "The Herald of Truth" is found the following: "One thousand eighty-eight churches and numerous individuals comprise (emphasis mine, JWA) the Herald of Truth." "Comprise" means "to include, to embrace, to contain." Here is "The Herald of Truth's" own definition of the work. Could that which embraces one thousand churches be a work of one church? I hear that this is explained by laying the blame upon a poor little secretary employed by Herald of Truth. It is said that one of the preachers on the program had to leave on urgent business and turned the writing of the foreword of the September report to the churches over to a little girl secretary. If this is true, may I respectfully suggest that those preachers are too busy. We have been assured that the elders of Highland Church will check and double check all the utterances of Herald of Truth. Did anyone proof-read the copy on the foreword? Who, please? Poor little secretary. Don't you cry, honey child, you just told the truth about the situation out there. As far as the principles involved are concerned, "The Herald of Truth" does comprise its contributors.
Two Logical And Scriptural Sources Of Objection
Since "The Herald of Truth" is a brotherhood project, one may logically and scripturally oppose it on two grounds. If it were the work of Highland Church only, those not members of Highland Church could oppose it only from one standpoint; namely, the scriptural. Being a brotherhood project (assuming for the time being that such is a scriptural work) it may logically and scripturally be opposed on the ground of the merits of the thing itself and its mode of operation.
We shall take the last first. Brother Buchanan assumes complete acceptability of the work, and its modus operandi. Our brother is entirely too optimistic. Thousands of brethren just as capable, loyal, and fervent as he, have from the beginning of the work seriously questioned its advisability. The concentration of power, the centralization of funds, the expenditure of such vast sums, the relative possibilities of such work per dollar expended as compared to placing men in destitute fields have all been seriously questioned. Then, since the activation of the program, there has been widespread criticism of the quality of the preaching (much of it is not considered representative by the majority of qualified observers), the manifestly immature treatment of most themes, the Billy Grahamish approach, the obnoxious publicity that has emanated from the headquarters such as the releases carried by Time Magazine (the publicity is, I believe, under the direction of a commercial advertising agency with Brother Orville McDonald their employee serving as the publicity agent for Herald of Truth), the attitude of "trouble-shooter" for the churches of Christ manifested in the trip to Italy, and the duplication of effort that is involved in the entire South, Southwest, and great portions of the Western United States there is hardly a community in which "The Herald of Truth" is broadcast that is not adequately covered by programs equal and superior 'n merit as far as gospel preaching is concerned to Harald of Truth. If this be true, then it is requiring entirely too much money to raise funds to put Herald of Truth on the air in the fields where there is not adequate coverage via radio. These and other legitimate criticisms form the basis of opposition apart from the scriptural considerations.
Time Magazine pictured Brother James Nichols as a sort of young Moses leading the churches of Christ out of a wilderness of confusion, inertia, and ineptitude and pointing the ruggedly independent, but inoperative groups to the promised land of cooperation via "The Herald of Truth." All the writer of Time's article knew (and I met him personally and talked with him after the writing of the article) was what he was told. The truth of the matter is, however, that the idea of a network program had been discussed by the brethren for several years and always discarded for several good reasons; namely, concentration of power, necessity for a questionable means of accomplishment, duplication of effort, and the unwillingness of any brother, growing out of commendable modesty, to go before the brethren and ask them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to put him before the people of the nation as a preacher of the gospel. Few men think that highly of their own ability and the merits of their own work. Most gospel preachers consider it highly irregular for preachers even to write churches and ask to be allowed to conduct their gospel meetings much less to become the official spokesman for all the churches to the whole nation and the world. Brother Buchanan speaks of two evangelists being "selected to do the work." The fact is, according to Brother J. M. Patterson, an elder of Highland Church, Firm Foundation, July 14, 1953, they were not selected; hear him: "Some ask, why did the Highland elders pick Nichols and Willeford instead of older preachers to do the speaking? The elders were on the wrong side of the table to pick. The whole idea was a 'brain child' born out of the minds of Nichols and Willeford."
Speaking of publicity and remembering that one thing leads to another, a few weeks past some enthusiastic brother wrote in the Firm Foundation suggesting that every church should advertise "The Herald of Truth" in its local newspaper. This made us wonder just how long it will be before some well-meaning soul suggests that we do as the Lutherans. They erect before their buildings this sign, "The Church of the Lutheran Hour." Who will be first to tell of some church of Christ erecting a sign reading as follows, "The Church of Herald of Truth."
Another brother writes and "The Herald of Truth" gives the letter publicity in their T V brochure; "How many times when we have told people that we have no denominational headquarters or super-organization have they asked, 'But how do you do mission work?' Now we have your program to which we point." Brethren through, lo, these many years have gone to their New Testaments to show people how the Lord's church did mission work. It is enlightening, indeed, to learn that our brethren in the mission fields have quit the New Testament and gone to "The Herald of Truth." One wonders how all of the churches in the last one hundred years have been established with no Herald of Truth to which one might appeal. These things are what is meant by "obnoxious publicity" and the examples could be multiplied.
Brother Buchanan spends much space giving us the figures on salaries of paid workers for "The Herald of Truth." As far as this writer is concerned, the Lord's will is that "the laborer is worthy of his hire." If the work is scriptural and expedient, the workers should be adequately compensated for their labors. It should be remarked, however, that Highland Church probably does not contribute enough to this work to pay salaries and office expense much less sustain the work itself, hence that it is a brotherhood project. With reference to the support of workers, criticism has been directed at Herald of Truth because of the type accommodations some of its workers occupy at the expense of Herald of Truth on money raising tours. Too, it is reported that Brother Nichols (in the name of a relative) is part owner of the Christian Chronicle Publishing Company, which printing establishment has many of the printing jobs for "The Herald of Truth," hence that he draws a salary and participates also in the profits from the printing and dissemination of his own sermons preached on "Herald of Truth." If this is true, and the source of our information is reliable, it is exceedingly questionable. Brother Buchanan is, indeed, too optimistic in assuming that the scripturalness only of the operation is involved.
There is an alarming attitude everywhere manifested among the churches of today. Some brother has a dream. He sells his dream to some group of elders. They sponsor him and his dream. He solicits the brotherhood. If his brotherhood project is opposed by some, they are immediately castigated, bemoaned, and put on the "black list." They oppose the work of God, because they oppose his dream. What makes it imperative that I endorse and support that which I believe to be fundamentally unsound, dangerous, and unwise even though it might by a process of ratiocination and rationalization seem to be scripturally permissible? And who has the right to condemn me, discriminate against me, and make a test of full Christian fellowship my attitude toward my brother's dream? I should like to examine the scripture that teaches such. If one today does not endorse the care of orphans in an institutional orphan home, he is to all intents and purposes disfellowshipped by many, yet, all agree that this method of the care of orphan children is purely a human arrangement. If one today does not endorse the sponsoring church method of doing mission work, he is likewise disfellowshipped, but no one would profess to be able to find an example in the scriptures of such procedure. Wither are we tending?
In our next article we shall discuss the subject, "Brother Buchanan's Defense of the Herald of Truth." In this article, Brother Buchanan's reasoning on the scriptures will be reviewed. Watch for it!