"A Sideline Effort"
The March twenty first issue of the Gospel Advocate carried another gigantic proposal for reaching the lost. The article, in which the plan was found, was written by brother A. H. Maner of San Antonio, Texas. His title was "Millions for Christ". And, it is a fact well known, that not too many years ago such an article with it's anti-scriptural approach would never have seen the light of day in any well known publication among us. But alas! how times have changed in certain quarters. Brother Maner began by stating that we have something like 14,000 congregations with a membership of one and one half million. He later, after giving some good thoughts as to our responsibilities of taking the gospel to the world, comes to show how this task can be accomplished.
Here is a way to handle a part of our duty in carrying out the commission. If one million of our one and one half million members will send one dollar a month to some group of elders or a congregation interested in getting the job done, we can raise one million dollars a month for working the world fields. That is fantastic. Well, that is possible and within our ability and can be accomplished on the side, without affecting other work already planned in our budgets — just a sideline effort. Do you imagine that an omission at this point will come up against us at the judgment? If we can do this — we can do it on the side — and we make no effort to do it, then we are not doing our best as a church or as individuals. Do you imagine that one million of our members spend foolishly one dollar a month or a fraction over three cents a day? It is certainly possible we are forfeiting our own salvation by negligence at this very point."
In the next paragraph brother Maner talked of raising this money in the various congregations and checks from these congregations being sent. Sent where!!?? Hear him! "There are several alert and forward looking congregations, with knowledge and acquaintance with the fields, that could handle this sideline work." Just before this he wrote "That is why a congregational-sending-set-up would be the part of wisdom, and would also be more inviting to the average member.
Since the New Testament does not give us the "how" of things like this, we would be responsible for choosing the most economical and effective course."
Surely the apostles must turn over in their graves when brethren come forth with such concoctions of error. And I am all too well aware that to oppose such error within the church of the Lord today is to be marked by such promoters as one who should he marked, avoided and condemned by the "grapevine". Yet if brethren do not awaken to what is happening to "us" it isn't going to be Ions until the innovations of the Christian Church are going to pale into insignificance compared to the efforts of some brethren. Brother Maner, with the endorsement of the Editor of the Advocate, talks about sending a million dollars a month to some congregation, for its elders to use in preaching the gospel, and he calls it a "sideline effort". Why did you know that we have grown so fat on our own wisdom that now we have time and money for' "side line" jobs! Now this is really jumping ahead of other promoters. Notice if you will that the proposal is not for an eldership to receive one million a year but for each month. Boy, that is really going to be some sponsoring church. Recently a preacher that has preached for several sponsoring churches was telling me how it works with the sponsoring church putting very little into the work but always ready to receive monies from other churches with which to carry out their projects. Well here we are told that there would be alert and forward looking congregations that would be willing and able to receive such monies. NO DOUBT, BROTHER, NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER! We have witnessed such eagerness and we would not question your believing that others would like to be on the receiving end of such huge sums of money. And, the day may not be far off when these alert, eager and capable congregations will be fighting among themselves as to which one will be the "missionary society" for the churches of Christ.
The lack of respect for God's will is a shocking thing. Brother Maner wrote "That is why a congregational-sending-set-up would be the part of wisdom, and would also be more inviting to the average member.". Now where is the teaching that allows the congregations to be joined together in such a congregational-sending set-up? Such is said to be the part of wisdom. Whose wisdom? Surely not God's wisdom was in mind for it, "the wisdom of men," is stressed by saying that it would also be more inviting to the average member. It is further stated "Since the New Testament does not give us the how of things like this, we would be responsible for choosing the most economical and effective course." Brother Maner tell us how you would go about condemning the Missionary Society?
This idle and fallacious talk about the "how" of doing what God has commanded not being given has been shown in its erroneous place so many times that one almost feels reluctant to mention it again. God has been pleased to make each local congregation autonomous with no connection with any other congregation other than by faith in the truth binding them together spiritually. Therefore, for one eldership to set itself up as the agency through which other elders and congregations are to work is wrong and violates every divine principle of truth with regard to such matters. May I pose a question? What if each congregation under its elders was to start this "sideline" idea of work and the elders use the money to send a preacher or preachers to the "mission fields", would that be all right and should it meet the approval and be interesting to the members? Would that contain any wisdom? For instance for the last seven years and better, before recently moving, I worked with a congregation that supported men on the field. The work started in a small way and each time the elders added some more work away from home they received enough "sideline" money from the members to take care of that added work. The church here is doing the same thing. Now are such churches carrying out God's plan? Take your Bible and show us God's wisdom directing the churches to have a "congregational-sending-set-up "with some Eldership on the receiving end as the agency through which the brethren are to carry out a gigantic effort. When Philip preached to the eunuch a gigantic work was done — a soul was saved. Our ears are too attuned to the applause of the world. We must somehow impress them. God's way has never done that so we must use our own wisdom. We are fast becoming of all people the most pitiable.
Our generation is fast slipping away from us and we have not as yet appealed to the churches with passion and skill for evangelizing it." Amen. But why indict God's wisdom ? These fantastic schemes will never get the job done. It is just so much sound and fury. When we as preachers, elders and members fall in love with lost souls, then we won't have to put preaching the lost on a side line basis but each church will in its own locality and then in accord with its ability reach out its hand with the gospel of Christ. I repeat, the schemes of men won't work. God's way is right. (Matt. 28:1820; Phil. 1:5; I Thess. 1:8; I Peter 5:1-4) Inter-con- gregational 'arrangements are not scriptural. They are without scriptural authority. They have neither principle nor precedent in the Word of God. "If any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God." (1 Peter 4:11.) This will settle. the question. The wisdom of men breeds only trouble and an anti-scriptural position among brethren,