Thoughts on Moving Forward
Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?” Joshua 18:3
(Before I continue, I want to be clear who I am writing this to. It’s not to people who are just now learning about the CSA crisis. If that’s you, take some smaller nibbles elsewhere and come back to this later. Education takes time, so by all means proceed at a pace you can handle. This is directed to people in the fellowship who have learned the facts, realize something needs to be done, and are waiting for someone else to do it.)
Aren’t we in agreement that scripture is authoritative?
Do we not believe that the true ministry is the one that matches the Bible, and the true Church is the one that matches the Bible?
Do we need man’s permission to learn and do what the Bible says?
I hope that these questions sound rhetorical. Of course, we believe the Bible. Of course, we want to follow Jesus’ teachings exactly the way he and the Apostles taught them. Of course we have permission, from Christ himself, to follow him no matter what other people think. That’s who we believe ourselves to be.
So why do we hesitate?
The New Testament sets precedent twice for how we should handle money donated to the church – Acts 6 describes one instance, and the other is described in 1 Cor 16 and 2 Cor 8. In both cases, men were chosen from the church, by the church, to steward the money transparently so that it was apparent to everyone that it was being used appropriately. Go and do thou likewise.
The New Testament repeatedly and explicitly states that the ‘overseer’ position belongs to the Elders. The word Bishop is literally taken from the Greek for ‘overseer’. Paul specifically instructs the Elders of the church in Ephesus to be overseers in Acts 15, and Peter addresses the Elders in 1 Peter 5 and commands them to take the oversight. The Overseer title and role belong collectively to the Elders. Go and do thou likewise.
The New Testament has dozens of warnings against false teachers, and as I wrote extensively earlier,* the responsibility to test and reject those false teachers lies with ALL of us. Members of the church in general are commanded to watch out for them, try their spirits, keep away from them, don’t allow them into our homes, and don’t even bid them godspeed. Brethren, go and do thou likewise. Elders are commanded to be especially vigilant, to oppose false teachers, and to teach sound doctrine. Elders, go and do thou likewise. Paul describes himself, as an apostle, as “strenuously contending” for the Colossians, so that they would not be deceived by false teachers. Workers, go and do thou likewise.
The New Testament not only mentions married workers, it specifically defends the right of an Apostle to marry and remain an Apostle. Both Jesus and Paul specifically state that celibacy is only for those who are able, and Paul says that it is a matter of convenience, but it is better to marry than to burn. The New Testament church recognized and supported the Apostles’ right to marry if they so choose. Go and do thou likewise.
In addition to married Apostles, the New Testament also mentions many preachers and evangelizers who were not Apostles in the strict sense. Some evangelized in their own hometowns, some brought the gospel with them when they left to flee persecution, some went on mini-missions without first consulting with the Apostles, some went alone, some went in company, some went to the synagogues, some went to the roadside in the desert. Some were single, some were married. Some were Deacons, some were prophets. Some were men, some were women. Teaching the full doctrine of Christ was entrusted to the Apostles and the Elders, but people from all walks of life participated actively in sharing the basic message of the Gospel. Go and do thou likewise.
The New Testament church met in homes on the Lord’s Day to break bread, this is true. Whether this was by choice or by necessity is a topic for another day. But they also met in the synagogues on the Sabbath, both to hear the scriptures and to share their faith. They attended prayer gatherings to share their faith. They held impromptu prayer meetings among themselves when there was something big to pray about. They met in the Temple while it still stood. In Ephesus, they met daily in the school of Tyrannus for two years to dispute with the other students. In short, they met whenever and wherever they could, attending many other religious or philosophical gatherings to share their faith and maybe learn something. Go and do thou likewise.
Again, we believe that we ought to follow the New Testament very closely, do we not? Why do we hesitate to do these things? Who hath bewitched us, that we would fail to obey the plain teachings of Christ and the Apostles?
I don’t ask any of you to take my word for this. The New Testament isn’t that long. Get a modern-English translation with big print, and you can read it in a weekend (about 18.5 hours on average). Or you can download an app that will read it to you.
Perhaps it is hard for some to picture how 21st century problems can be solved with 1st century writings. So here are some specific proposals. I’m sure some of you can come up with better ideas than I can, and more power to you. The point is to take Christlike, scriptural action without further delay. Some may call it rebellion, but God will call it long-awaited obedience.
CSA: Property owners have the right to decide who is and isn’t allowed on their property. Homeowners can immediately announce that their homes and properties are not open to anyone who would harm God’s little children. Elders especially can announce that the meetings in their home are a safe place for the vulnerable, and that those who would harm them are forbidden. A couple of us are putting together a contact list of Elders who are willing to enforce a true Zero-Tolerance policy in their meetings, so that we can help people find meetings that are safe for them to attend. If you have a meeting and would like to be added to the Zero-Tolerance contact list, DM me on CCF or AFTT. The list will be confidential to everyone except the Elders listed on it, and the handful of volunteers helping maintain it.
Complicit Overseers, Workers, or Elders: The short answer is go seek spiritual leadership from someone who has the fruit of the Spirit. If it is necessary to formally cut ties, consider using the following template or something like it:
“[Complicit Person], As Jesus Christ our Lord taught us in Matthew 18, we have brought [problem] and you did not repent. We sought witnesses, and still you did not repent. Now the matter has been brought openly before the church, and still you do not repent. Any words of apology have been nullified by your stubborn refusal to change your behavior. Therefore, in obedience to Christ, we now regard you as a pagan and a publican. Since we love even our enemies, we grieve for you and hope that you will come to repentance in the future. But we can no longer consider you as a fellow Christian.
Sorrowfully, [name]”
In the US, the simplest way to set up transparent finances is to create a 501(c)(3) public charity. This is literally why the 501(c)(3) exists. It doesn’t require us to write a doctrinal statement, or hire a clergy, or become an institutionalized church in any of those ways. All it takes is a board of directors, and a set of bylaws to govern the charity itself. Having a transparent, legal bank account doesn’t compromise the fellowship or its beliefs any more than me having a bank account compromises my beliefs. It’s a 21st century digital bag to hold money. I’m in favor of starting many small charities on the local/regional level, for more direct participation and transparency.
Doctrine: All of us are instructed to watch out for false teachings, but Elders are especially instructed to teach sound doctrine and oppose false doctrine. All of us getting online for the first time has revealed major, major discrepancies of very fundamental doctrines. Elders, workers, and anyone with the ability to chew on the strong meat needs to educate themselves and speak much more freely amongst ourselves, so that we are better prepared to oppose heresies and to safely guide those who do not yet have a firm grasp of the scripture for themselves.
Honest workers: Do the honest workers among us know that we will support them if they choose to marry? Do they know they could stay in one place for a few years in a rented house and that Paul did so in Rome? Do they know that they could work a part-time job like Paul and Barnabas did? Let’s have those conversations.
Meetings: I think it is beautiful and scriptural that when we meet on Sunday morning, we meet with quiet reverence in the presence of the Bread and the Cup. But if we’re going to follow the New Testament precedent, then we need to work on other meetings. Bible studies should be a place where we can ask questions and really dig into whatever passage we’re studying. Visitors should be welcome to participate. If other ‘outside’ Bible studies are being held by other groups or other churches, we should be going to those like the 1st century Christians went to synagogue. We should hold prayer meetings. We should hold hymn meetings. We should eat meals together. Gathering around the emblems is the most important meeting, but it’s far from the only one.
Exclusivity: Jesus said the thief on the cross was saved. He never professed, he was never baptized, he probably had no clue who the Apostles were. All he did was recognize who Jesus was, and humbly ask to be remembered. If that man is my brother in Christ, according to Christ himself, then I have some brothers and sisters in Christ in other churches. Will they come to meetings someday? Maybe. Are they saved now anyway? As far as any human can tell. There was no test or criteria for being accepted into the church in the New Testament, except faith in Christ and repentance. I will accept any person demonstrating faith and repentance as my brother or sister, as we all should.
Baptism: If a person has faith in Christ, and shows repentance, then according to the New Testament they should be baptized without delay and be accepted into full communion.
I could probably come up with a few more, but that’s more than enough to get started. This is what it would take to practice what we preach and follow the New Testament teachings. There will be people in meetings who hate us for it. People will talk. People will slander. People will accuse us of rebelling, of starting a false church, of disregarding “God’s Anointed”. Some of them might go to the futile lengths of excommunicating us. None of that matters.
Jesus warned us it would come. Sell it all, buy the pearl. Go into the land God promised us and possess it.
Michael Ford
SE Alaska
October 2, 2023
On Nov 4, 2023, Michael and family took their own advice and broke fellowship with the Overseers and the structure they control.