"That The Brethren May Know"
When you begin the perusal of an article by a brother in a high place, with the expectation of finding his statements accurate, wise, convincing and dependable, and then you come to a paragraph of inconsistent, incorrect and careless utterances which make the writer sound like a tyro, you feel disappointed and disillusioned and let down. I experienced such a feeling while reading a discourse by Brother H. A. Dixon, president of Freed-Hardeman College, Henderson, Tennessee, on the subject, "Overcoming Denominational Tendencies." The following is a paragraph in that article.
"One church, by simply turning its funds over to another for handling, would surrender its autonomy, and place the other in control. That does not prove, however, that it is wrong for the church in Henderson to send a donation to the elders of the church in Abilene, asking that it be used specifically toward preaching the gospel by radio to a nation-wide audience. The fact that we can direct the place and person to be benefited shows that the authority is with the donor."
The first sentence in the above quotation is so true and self-evident that no reasonable man will deny it. What he says in the other two sentences is wrong; it is contradictory to every known fact relating to the control of the Herald of Truth radio program; it is contrary to every claim the elders of the Highland Church in Abilene have made concerning the oversight, direction and control of their radio and television projects.
Why does Brother Dixon think that the church in Henderson "can direct the place and person to be benefited," and that "the authority is with the donor," when it sends "a donation to the elders of the church in Abilene" for preaching the gospel by radio? Where did he get such an idea? He certainly did not get it from the elders of the Highland Church.
When the church in Henderson sends "a donation to the elders of the church in Abilene," "asking that it be used specifically toward preaching the gospel by radio to a nation-wide audience," the church in Henderson has no more control or authority over the money after it gets into the hands of the Highland elders, than it would have if it sent the donation to the United Christian Missionary Society, asking that it be used specifically toward preaching the gospel by sending preachers in person to a nationwide audience. The literature that the Highland elders are distributing makes that fact as clear as any fact can be made, and it is lamentable that President Dixon did not learn that before he wrote his unfortunate piece to the contrary.
Brother Dixon evidently has not read the eighteen page brochure entitled, "That the Brethren May Know," issued and circulated by the elders of the Highland Church in Abilene. I should like to suggest, as kindly as I know how, that he get copies of this booklet for himself and for all the students in Freed-Hardeman College. It contains some things that everybody in the brotherhood ought to know. It shows the weakness and unscripturalness of the defense of the Herald of Truth enterprise more plainly than all that has been written in open opposition to it. If he cannot obtain copies from the Highland Church in Abilene, I will loan him my copy for the next school year, if he will promise to make it accessible to all his students and return it to me next spring.
Since Brother Dixon believes and has stated so plainly that "One church, by simply turning its funds over to another for handling, would surrender its autonomy, and place the other in control," and since he believes it is wrong and unscriptural for any church to surrender its autonomy and place the other in control, and since he is an honorable man who loves the truth and will oppose publicly and widely any practice that he thinks constitutes a surrender of church autonomy; I shall undertake here a review of the booklet, "That the Brethren May Know," compiled and distributed by the elders of the Highland Church, in order to prove to Brother Dixon, by the Highland elders themselves, that the Henderson Church does simply turn over its funds to another for handling, that it has no "authority" whatever over the donation, that it cannot direct the place and person to be benefited, that the donating church does surrender its autonomy and place another in control, when it sends a donation for the radio program of the Highland Church in Abilene.
1. The Reasons For The Pamphlet.
On page one of the brochure, "That the Brethren May Know," the elders of the Highland Church say that they are publishing the booklet because they "have reason to believe that a booklet such as this will bring the truth to more brethren in the shortest amount of time than by any other means."
In the light of this expressed purpose, all thoughtful readers naturally will expect to find the eighteen pages of this document crammed full of scriptures setting forth "the truth to more brethren" regarding the Herald of Truth radio work of the Highland Church. But the minds of such readers soon will be disabused of that false expectation; for only one scripture reference appears in the entire document, and not one of the elders of the Highland Church, or anybody else, thinks that the passage supports, in any way whatever, the actions of the Highland elders in their management of Herald of Truth. That passage was not quoted to prove the scripturalness of Herald of Truth, as will be shown later in this review.
The Highland elders used freely articles, letters; institutions, oral conversations and charges and counter charges of uninspired men as testimony in presenting "the truth to more brethren"; but one fact stands out like a sore thumb: they did not employ one line of inspired testimony in their endeavor to "bring the truth to more brethren." Brother Dixon and all other college presidents and many who are not college presidents, if they know anything at all about churches of Christ, know full well that elders of a church of Christ will cite Bible passages in support of any of their religious practices that may be under attack, if such passages exist; especially when they begin their defense with the declaration that they are using the testimony which they think will "bring the truth to more brethren" than any other means known to them. Brother Dixon is not ignorant of this reputation and custom, established among the brethren, of employing scripture quotations when trying to "bring the truth" to anybody; and he will know why the Highland elders did not resort to the scriptures for support of their practice, if he will read their pamphlet.
2. Autonomy Surrendered.
On page two of their pamphlet, the Highland elders present thirteen numbered declarations which no man on earth can reconcile with Brother Dixon's claim that "the authority is with the donor," when the Henderson Church turns a donation over to the elders of the church in Abilene for radio work, under the present sponsoring church system.
Three times in these thirteen pronouncements the Highland elders tell Brother Dixon and the Henderson Church whose work it is. In Item I, they say, "The Herald of Truth radio program is a work of the church of Christ at Fifth and Highland, Abilene, Texas." In Item VII, "it is a work of the Highland congregation." In Item XII, "this is a work of the Highland congregation." Since the Highland Church considers Herald of Truth a work strictly its own, how did 'Brother Dixon ever reach the conclusion that the Henderson Church has authority to direct or control the work of the Highland Church?
If Brother Dixon still thinks the Henderson Church can "direct," at least, the place and person to be benefited, he surely will change his mind when he reads Item I of the 'booklet, and finds this: "The elders of this congregation direct and oversee every phase of this work." Now, if the Highland elders "direct and oversee" every phase of this work, what phase of "this work" is there left for Brother Dixon or the Henderson Church to either "direct" or "oversee."
If Brother Dixon should contend still that the Highland elders do not exercise this "authority" as a "unit" within themselves, but give to the Henderson Church the "authority" to "direct the place and person to be benefited," he surely should read this under Item I of the pamphlet: 'The Highland elders have never delegated any authority to any person, but as a unit have directed this work." How can any man on earth reconcile that pronouncement with Brother Dixon's claim that "the authority is with the donor"?
I do not mean to imply that Brother Dixon is an obstinate man, but I do want to say, if he persists in the claim that the Henderson Church can make the "decisions" as to the place and person to be benefited, he should read this in Item XII of the booklet: "Since this is a work of the Highland congregation, to maintain its autonomy or independence the elders must make the decisions." If all this does not convince Brother Dixon that donors to Herald of Truth have no more authority to direct or oversee or control any phase of that radio work than they would have if they sent money to a missionary society.
I do not know what the Highland elders could say that would convince him.
The Henderson Church cannot "direct" the place and person to be benefited by its donation to the Herald of Truth. It certainly can ask that its donation "be used specifically toward preaching the gospel by radio to a nation-wide audience; but the "decisions" to do that had already been made by the Highland elders long before the Henderson Church ever asked anything of them. The Henderson Church's "asking that it be" so used does not change one thing in Abilene; the same thing would result, if they sent it without "asking that it be" so used.
If the Henderson Church sends a donation to the United Christian Missionary Society, it certainly can ask that the society use it "specifically toward preaching the gospel" by sending preachers in person to "a nation-wide audience"; but the "decisions" to do that had already been made by the missionary society long before the Henderson Church asked anything of them. The Henderson Church's "asking that it be" so used would not change one thing in the society; the same thing would result, if they sent it to the society without "asking that it be" so used.
Brother Dixon may think the Highland elders are under compulsion to use the money received from the Henderson Church in the way specified by the donor. Others once thought the same thing, and they claimed that the Highland brethren could not stop the program, if they wanted to; because they would be bound to continue the radio program and use up all the contributions in the specified way. But the Highland elders have come right back in Item VI, page two, of their booklet, and declared in certain and unequivocal terms, "The Highland elders can and will drop this program at any time they see fit." In the light of that statement, what does Brother Dixon think that he or the Henderson Church could do about it, if they send one thousand dollars to Herald of Truth, and the Highland elders should "see fit" to "drop this program" before they spend that money? What would they do with that money? That would be decided by the Highland elders, and not by anybody in Henderson; for the Highland elders say they "must make the decisions" or surrender their "autonomy or independence" (Brochure, page 3, Item XII).
If the Highland brethren should "see fit" to "drop this program," I think their "decisions" would be to send the money back to Brother Dixon and the Henderson Church, and I think a missionary society would do the same thing, if the society should "see fit" to go out of business. But since all decisions "must" be made by them, they could make a decision to use that money to build a new office building, or pay off old debts, if they chose or decided to do so.
I do not believe that all the evils of the missionary society and all the evils of Highland's sponsoring church system of radio work are identical; but I do believe that the Highland pamphlet proves they are identical in their exercise of control and oversight of funds and work of contributing churches that ought to be exercising oversight and control over their own funds and work.
I do not believe that Herald of Truth is an "organization of its own," or a separate organization from the Highland Church, or "a machine over the churches," as it is operated now; some changes have been made. But I do believe that the Highland booklet proves beyond reasonable doubt that the Highland Church itself is a machine over the churches, making "decisions" that "one thousand and eighty-eight churches" ought to be making for themselves.
I do not question Highland's scriptural right to conduct a nation-wide radio and television program; but I do believe that "a congregation has no right to build anything larger than it is able to support." I believed that in 1938; I believe that in 1954. Does anybody in Abilene believe that Highland is able to support its radio and television program which it has built?
I agree heartily that "Highland did not create the problem of the lost of this earth"; neither did the missionary society create that problem. But I do believe that Highland, in its centralization methods of trying to convert the "lost of this earth," is violating the same New Testament principle that was violated by Constantinople, Alexandria and Rome in their centralization method of trying to convert "the lost of this earth." Abilene means well in this centralization of control and authority; so did Constantinople, Alexandria and Rome mean well in the beginning of their apostasy; but their good intentions in trying to convert "the lost of this earth" by a centralization of authority and control did not prevent the final and inevitable development of the Roman monster — the Hierarchy.
3. Scriptures Violated.
The Highland brethren are exercising the oversight and control of resources of one thousand and eighty-eight other churches in, violation of the restrictions placed by the Lord upon the elders of every church, as set forth in 1 Peter 5:1-3; they are not respecting God's limitation of an elder's oversight to "the flock of God which is among you"; they have assumed a "charge" which the Holy Spirit never "allotted" to them (1 Peter 5:3); they have gone beyond "the things which are written" (1 Cor. 4:6); they are not abiding in "the teaching of Christ" (2 John 9); they have compiled a booklet which convinces me and a few others, as thoroughly as any document ever convinced me of anything, that they are violating the autonomy of other churches, and that they are sowing the seed of the precise species which produced "the son of perdition" and a great apostasy which gave the "lawless one" a free hand. (2 Thess. 2:3-8.)
The whole spirit, soul and genius of the New Testament are against this concentration of authority, control and oversight of resources in one man or one group of men; and those who know church history best, know full well that this sponsoring church system of centralization is an exact duplicate of the apostasy that led to Rome.
4. Men Of Pure Motive And Worthy Intention.
If any man should charge the Highland elders with intentional violation of the scriptures, or with deliberate infringement on the autonomy of other churches, I gladly would testify in their defense against that charge. I know these men well, and they are my friends. They are men of high honor and noble purpose.
(To be continued)