Cooperation Of Churches And A Good Letter
The following letter was addressed to Brother Tant. He sent it on to me for answer in the Gospel Guardian.
Here is the letter:
In the beginning I want to say that I do not feel worthy to contend with scholars. I try humbly to serve in the capacity of elder in the church at Adamsville, Alabama. I feel my littleness in the presence of God, and I want to ask a question in this spirit.
1. Would there be any difference in the mind of God, if two congregations cooperate in an effort, or if there were a thousand congregations cooperating in a like effort?
2. In Birmingham several congregations have cooperated in a weekly newspaper ad. One congregation at a time has charge of the work, and the others send the money to the elders in charge. Now the question: Why that preaching the gospel a certain way on a small scale is right, and preaching it on a large scale the same way is wrong?
Sincerely, H. H. Billingsley
Answer
The spirit of humility manifested in Brother Billingsley's letter is admirable and worthy of imitation by every person who would be a follower of the meek and lowly Jesus. Everything in his letter indicates that he loves the truth, and that he wants to understand and obey it. It is a genuine joy to answer letters like this, and to study the Bible with men who show such a sincere desire to know God's will.
I shall answer Brother Billingsley's questions by number.
1. As far as the scriptures show, whether the cooperating churches are two in number or a thousand, makes no difference at all in the mind of God.
In any work and in any way that two churches may cooperate scripturally, a thousand churches may cooperate scripturally. To state it negatively, any way in which it is wrong for a thousand churches to cooperate, is wrong also for two churches to cooperate.
"Other churches" (whether two or a thousand makes no difference in principle) cooperated in sending money to Paul for his support while he preached the gospel in Corinth. (2 Cor. 11:8.)
Churches of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and other places cooperated in raising and sending contributions to the churches of Judea for the relief of poor saints during famines in Judea. (Acts 11:27-30; Rom. 15:25-26; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8 and 9; Acts 24:17.) Two churches or a thousand churches may cooperate scripturally in the same kind of work and in the same way today. The number of churches participating would not affect the principle involved.
2. Concerning the way the Birmingham churches are cooperating in preaching the gospel through a newspaper ad, Brother Billingsley did not reveal enough of the facts for one to know whether or not the New Testament principle of local church autonomy is being violated. They may be cooperating scripturally; I presume they are. I lived in Birmingham for five years (1930 - 1935), and I know that all the churches of Christ in the city cooperated scripturally during that time in the publication of weekly announcements in the newspaper.
However, if one of those churches has become the "sponsoring church" of that newspaper work, and its elders are saying to all the other churches involved: "This is OUR work — the work of this one congregation of which we are the elders. WE direct and WE oversee every phase of this newspaper program from the preparation of the ad to mailing out the papers. WE select the man to write the ad. WE decide what shall be preached in the ad. WE have never delegated any authority to any person. As a unit WE are directing this work. To maintain OUR autonomy or OUR independence WE must make the decisions. WE can and will drop this newspaper program at any time WE see fit. Send US your money now, and WE will do the rest"; then that newspaper ad cooperation among a few churches in Birmingham would be just as sinful, wrong and unscriptural as the Herald of Truth system of cooperation among a thousand churches.
The elders of the church that is sponsoring the Herald of Truth radio program have compiled a booklet entitled, "That the Brethren May Know." (I reviewed that booklet in the Gospel Guardian of September 2, 9 and 16.) In that pamphlet they have made the following declarations:
"The Herald of Truth radio program is a work of the Highland Church of Christ at Fifth and Highland, Abilene, Texas." They repeat this affirmation three times on pages 2 and 3 of their booklet.
"The elders of this congregation direct and oversee every phase of this work from preparation of 'sermons to mailing printed copies of these sermons. The Highland elders have never delegated any authority to any person, but as a unit have directed this work."
"Since this is a work of the Highland congregation, to maintain its autonomy or independence the elders must make the decisions."
"The Highland elders can and will drop this program at any time they see fit."
"The proposed television work will be conducted in exactly the same way."
All the above quotations are copied from the Highland booklet. Brother Billingsley and all other qualified elders know that the New Testament contains no counterpart of such an assumption of authority over the work or resources of two or a thousand other churches. When two or a thousand churches thus turn their funds over to another for handling, they surrender their autonomy; they place another in control; they violate the scriptures; they sin against God.
Brother Billingsley's second question assumes that the number of churches participating is the only difference between the cooperation of a few churches in Birmingham and the cooperation of a thousand churches in a system of centralized control as exemplified in the Herald of Truth radio program. He is wrong in this assumption, unless the elders in one church in Birmingham have become the sole authority over that newspaper ad program. I doubt that the elders of any church in Birmingham have done that.
Churches in various cities all over the country are cooperating scripturally with others of their area in radio work. They all are of equal authority in the oversight of the program, in selecting their preachers, in determining what shall be preached, in making decisions relating to it, and in determining when it shall be dropped. But in any city or any area where the elders of one church have become the sole authority over all these things, and the other churches are merely turning their funds over for handling in radio work by the one centralized authority, then and there the word of God is being violated in the same way that it is being violated in the operation of Herald of Truth.
In the Gospel Guardian of August 5, 1954, I wrote an article on "Church Cooperation" in which I tried to show how New Testament churches cooperated and how they did not cooperate. I suggest that Brother Billingsley read that article again.