Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the sponsoring church idea of congregational cooperation and organization was born among the churches of Christ. Since then, it has been partially responsible for a rupture in the body of Christ which has completely divided brethren. From time to time, we need to recall what were the issues which separated us, lest we forget.

Someone might ask, “What is a sponsoring church?” It is true that one could read his Bible from cover to cover and never know what a sponsoring church is, for there is certainly no biblical example of one having existed in apostolic times. A person must study present day churches to find out what a sponsoring church is. By looking at what liberal churches are doing, a man can determine that a sponsoring church is a church which receives funds from another church or churches to oversee the spending of them in preaching the gospel. The sponsoring church, therefore, receives funds from many churches and forwards them to areas for evangelism. Hence, it is a church in which funds from several churches are centralized; it is a church which oversees the spending of funds received from other churches.

The Origin of the Sponsoring Church

Following World War II, many American churches decided to evangelize Europe. Their desire to evangelize these areas was commendable; however, in their zeal to do the work, they perverted the organization of the church. The method which they chose for evangelizing Europe was the sponsoring church. A church would pick a field, for example Germany, for evangelization. It would then call upon its sister congregations to send funds to it. The sponsoring church would then oversee the preaching of the gospel in Germany. Frequently, the sponsoring church not only supported the preacher but also owned the property of the churches meeting in Germany.

Another better known example of the sponsoring church is the Herald of Truth operation in Abilene, Texas. The Highland Church of Christ assumed oversight of the Herald of Truth program. Highland has called upon her sister congregations to send contributions to her in order to preach the gospel over radio and television. Thousands of churches have responded, sending their contributions to Highland for her to oversee and distribute.

Today, some of the sponsoring churches are not only overseeing the funds for evangelism of other congregations, some sponsoring churches are overseeing the entire program of work of another congregation. Hence, the sponsoring church oversees the contributing church in such an arrangement.

What Is Wrong With The Sponsoring Church?

Someone might ask, “What is wrong with the sponsoring church?” I have several objections to the sponsoring church arrangement which I would like for you to consider.

1. It is unauthorized in the Bible. There is neither general nor specific authority for a sponsoring church in all of God’s book; there is neither command, example, nor necessary inference of any church becoming a sponsoring church. Hence, in the absence of positive divine authority, the sponsoring church stands in exactly the same relationship to God’s word as does instrumental music in worship, sprinkling for baptism, baptism is an outward sign of an inward act, burning candles in worship, and any other innovation introduced into the work, worship, or organization of the church for which there is no Bible. A person does not have to find a scripture which says, “Thou shalt not have a sponsoring church,” in order for it to be sinful; the absence of positive divine authority for a sponsoring church is sufficient evidence that it stands condemned.

If I write not another line, the sponsoring church would stand condemned on this basis. Until positive divine authority can be produced authorizing the sponsoring church, the sponsoring church arrangement stands condemned as a sinful departure from God’s revelation.

2. It violates the limits of the elders’ authority. The authority of elders is either limited or unlimited. If it is unlimited, a group of elders could become the legislative and executive head of all of the churches. I know of no one who would state that the authority of the elders is unlimited. If the authority of elders is limited, we must turn to the pages of divine revelation to find out what limits are imposed on them. In addition to noticing that all authority resides in Christ (Matt. 28:18) which prohibits any legislative authority being given to the elders, the scriptures also reveal that the elders’ authority is limited to the congregation over which they were appointed. Notice these verses:

Take heed therfore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28).

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not be constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind (1 Pet. 5:2).

It is no accident that the Holy Spirit revealed that Paul and Barnabas ordained elders in every church (Acts 14:23). That is the scope of authority which elders have; they have no authority outside of the local church.

One church cannot voluntarily allow the elders of another church to oversee any part of their work without violating the limits divinely imposed on the authority of elders. A given church cannot approach the elders of another church and request them to oversee that church, as some liberal churches are presently doing, without violating the limits of authority divinely imposed on elders. Furthermore, a local church cannot send a portion of its resources to another church, sometimes called a sponsoring church, for that church to oversee the spending thereof without violating the limits of the authority of elders.

Actually, the principle of church organization which is utilized by the sponsoring church brethren is exactly that which is used by Catholics and Christian Scientists. In the Catholic Church, all of the churches work through the church at Rome under the pope; in the sponsoring church, about 20% of all churches of Christ work through the Highland Church in Abilene under its elders. In the Christian Scientist religion, all of the local congregations work through the Mother Church in Boston. Each of these methods. of church organization can be diagramed as follows:

If a person can see that the pattern of church organization used by the Catholics and the Christian Scientists is wrong, he can also see that the sponsoring church pattern of church organization is wrong. It gives the sponsoring church oversight over more than God intended.

3. It destroys the equality of the churches. In the sponsoring church arrangement, the equality of the churches is destroyed. The churches fall into two categories: contributing church and sponsoring church. The contributing church can only do one thing – send money to the sponsoring church. The contributing churches have alsolutely no say in how these resources are spent. On the other hand, the sponsoring church has total authority over the spending of the resources of all of the churches. Hence, it is in a position of greater authority than that of the contributing congregations. The equality of the church is, therefore, destroyed by the sponsoring church arrangement.

4. It destroys congregational autonomy. When one congregation oversees another, the congregation which is being overseen has lost its autonomy. In some sponsoring church arrangements, the entire program of one church is voluntarily surrendered to the oversight of the elders of another church. No one could question that the autonomy of such a church is lost. In other sponsoring church arrangements, the deeds of property of the overseen church is held in the name of the sponsoring church. Even in the sponsoring church arrangements in which only funds are transferred from one congregation to another, the transferred funds of the contributing church are overseen by the sponsoring church. The fact that they are voluntarily surrendered does not change the fact one church is overseeing at least a part of the program of work of another church. Hence, congregational autonomy is destroyed.

5. It denies the all-sufficiency of the local church. The sponsoring church idea of congregational cooperation was born out of infidelity. Brethren lost faith in the ability of the local church to do the work which God gave the church to do. Here are some statements which indicate the kind of infidelity which gave birth to the sponsoring church:

. . . In sponsoring a missionary, a church simply underwrites his support. It is, therefore, responsible to the missionary for the amount that it takes for his maintenance, and it is also responsible to any brethren, who may be willing to help support the missionary, for the missionary’s soundness, for his Christian character, and for his qualifications as a missionary. This whole idea was born because of a very sad condition that existed in the brotherhood forty or fifty years ago (G.C. Brewer, Gospel Advocate [27 August 1953], p. 544).

If a sad condition existed because churches were not doing what they should, churches should have been admonished to do the work which God gave them to do. However, instead of this having occurred, the sponsoring church was created.

The absence of an organized missionary society among churches of Christ created several unique handicaps in selection and preparation of qualified missionary workers. Since no official board existed, congregations were free to select and send (William S. Banowsky, The Mirror of a Movement, pp. 273-274).

Notice that Banowsky describes the condition prior to the establishment of the sponsoring church as a “unique handicap.” God’s divine arrangement is described as a “unique handicap”1 This is the type of infidelity which gave birth to the sponsoring church idea of congregational cooperation and organization. Brethren became convinced that the local churches alone were unable to evangelize the world; consequently, they set out to devise programs which would work better. The result was the sponsoring church.

6. It seeks to activate the universal church. The Lord, in His divine wisdom, provided no organization for the church universal and no program of work was commited to it. The Lord only provided for the organization of the local church and gave a program of work only to the local church. Hence, the Lord has provided for no church organization greater than, smaller than, or other than the local church.

Brethren have not been content with the Lord’s divine arrangement, however. In 1849, brethren created the American Christian Missionary Society through which all of the local churches could work. The ACMS received contributions from local churches; their program of work activated, or sought to activate, all of the local congregations. It was an attempt to activate the universal church. The sponsoring church program does exactly the same thing. It seeks to get all of the local churches contributing to a given sponsoring church in order to present a nationally televised radio and television program.

God has given no program of work to the universal church. There is no pattern of organization for the universal church and no program of work committed to it. As a matter of fact, the universal church is not composed of all of the individual congregations; it is composed of all saved individuals. Hence, any attempt to activate the universal church is born of a misconception of the church. We simply must remember that the universal church has no organization, no officers, and no mission. If God had intended for the church universal to function, he would have described its organization, named its officers, stipulated the limit of their authority, defined their responsibilities, and. given their qualifications. He did all of these for the local church and none of them for the church universal. Hence, He must not have intended for the universal church to function.

Conclusion

Perhaps others would bring other indictments against the sponsoring church pattern of cooperation and organization. However, these are sufficient to clearly identify the arrangement as sinful. Whether we are discussing the sponsoring church program of the Herald of Truth, World Radio, or one church overseeing another, the sponsoring church arrangement stands condemned by the word of God.

Those who are seeking to walk by the Book, will not participate in things for which no Bible authority can be given. Hence, they will abstain from participation in sponsoring church programs of work.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 43, pp. 691-693
October 30, 1980

By John McCort

Recently a test was given to a group of Bible class teachers who were taking a teacher training class. The test covered some basic fundamentals of Christianity such as the plan of salvation. The results of the test were very revealing.

The test was given with closed Bibles to test the true knowledge of the teachers. (Very few tests in school are open book tests.) The average score on the test was 58%. One man scored 98% and one woman scored 92%. The rest of the class scored below 80%.

Here are some of the questions and the results. Fourteen teachers took the test. Only four of them could find verses on the five steps in the plan of salvation. They were asked to supply two passages which imply that baptism is immersion. Only four of them could supply those passages. One teacher could not even write the plan of salvation in its five steps. They were asked to match up the cases of conversion with the corresponding chapters in Acts. Only two could do that. Only four could list a passage which stated that the Bible is inspired. Two of the teachers could not tell who preached the first sermon on Pentecost in Acts 2.

Five of the teachers did not know how many men wrote the Bible and three did not know how many books were in the Bible. Two did not know that Luke wrote the book of Acts and only eight of the teachers knew that Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. Only five could supply a verse that says there is only one church. Only three could supply a passage which states that Jesus is the head of the church. Only two teachers could supply two verses which state it is wrong to add to God’s word. Four of the teachers were unable to tell that Job came before Psalms. Only six of the teachers knew the passage that says that salvation is by faith only. One of the teachers stated that a pastor was an evangelist.

The results of this test point up some very fundamental weaknesses in our teaching program. We are not requiring enough recall from our adult classes. Many of our adult classes require nothing at all but a very few general comments from the class. The students are not required to learn anything or to remember anything. Thus, our Bible class teachers are very ill equipped to teach because very little intensive training is done. We never test our teachers to test their competency to teach. It is little wonder that our younger classes learn as little as they do at times.

These test results probably reflect a widespread and fundamental problem in the church. Our teachers need to be given some concentrated classes on Bible fundamentals and should not be allowed to teach until they know these fundamentals. We also need some special classes on teaching techniques.

I do not believe that our teachers need to be scholars. I do believe; though, that all teachers need to know the fundamentals of Christianity. We all need to know the plan of salvation and be able to supply verses which will substantiate what we claim. How can we teach the little children the books of the Bible if we do not even know them ourselves.

Students ask a lot of questions it. class. We do not always have the luxury of hunting through our Bibles for 15 minutes and using our concordance to find the answers. We need to know some of these fundamental answers by heart. We ought to be able to supply a passage which says that baptism is immersion and that sin is not inherited and yet most of our teachers are unable to do so.

If you think that your teachers are more knowledgeable than that, then write and ask for a copy of the test and give it to your teachers. I will venture to say that the percentages will be about the same. I am not trying to paint a negative picture of our Bible class teachers. I am, though, trying to point out the need for special intensive classes on Bible fundamentals for our teachers.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 43, p. 690October 30, 1980

Correction

The October 30, 1980 issue of Truth Magazine, Vol. 24, no. 43, page 2 (690), article entitled “I Would Not Have You Ignorant Brethren” had the following error. The fourth paragraph has the sentence, “Only six of the teachers knew the passage that says that salvation is by faith only. It should read, “Only six of the teachers knew the passage that says that salvation is not by faith only.”

Note appeared in Truth Magazine XXIV: 48, p. 776
December 4, 1980

By Fred Holthouser

Before telling why I left the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization (better known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York and elsewhere), let me warn everyone not to let this Society become your master. It used to be my master. Although most Witnesses will deny the fact, they are governed by a board of directors of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society headed by a president who is elected by this board. The only ones who can be elected president are members of the board of directors. The only way that one can become a member of the board of directors is to be what they call a member of the one-hundred-forty-four-thousand class (to be taken up in another article).

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society operates with its dictatorial structure organized from the top down. Everything that the President says for them to believe, they must believe. Otherwise they face probation or disfellowshipment. This needs to be brought into the open in order that so many people will not be misled by these false teachers. A later article will deal with the way the organization is set up and how it is along the same lines as the Roman Catholic Church. The Society is a dogmatically ruled organization in which no interference or sincere difference is tolerated. From the very start, I plead for everyone to refuse to let these men become the masters of your life as they did of my life!

Now to get back to the title “Why I Left the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” I will write the truth of the matter and not just something to hit`,back at them for what they did to me. I am qualified to write these articles because I spent over twenty years as a stave to this group of people. I was asked by them to do many things that a child of God has no business doing or even attempting to do, things which are clearly against Bible principles and even the laws of the land in which we live (0m. 13:1). The Bible tells us to obey the laws of the land in which we live. One of the reasons I left this organization was that after many hours of study and prayer, using nothing but the Bible, I saw that a person could not keep doing the things that I was doing and still be pleasing to God. I did not leave for monetary gain as the Witnesses accused when I gave some lectures at Waverly, Tennessee. They charged that I left them to fill my pockets with all kinds of money. I used my liberty in Christ at Waverly and went there at my own expense and did not receive anything from the church there in the way of any financial support (as brother Steve Bobbitt will verify).

The reasons that I did leave this false organization are numerous. These several articles giving the reasons have been written so that maybe someone will read them and by so doing bring themselves out or to stop someone from getting tangled up in this organization. If they once get into it, it will take them a long time to get out, if they ever do, just as it took me a long time.

Investigation Breaks the Chains of Slavery

When I was first asked why I left, there was only one way I knew to answer. That was to show from a study of the Watchtower books that what we were told to believe was not what they had taught in the past. Yet the Bible says that God’s word is the same or what is the truth today is still the truth tomorrow. This is not so with the Witnesses. Their doctrine changed so much and so fast that one was hard pressed to keep up with what we were supposed to teach from one day to the next. Jude 3 tells us that the faith was delivered to the saints one time and for all time. There will be no new light added to the Bible because it was perfect when given to us; we have the complete, revealed word of God in our day.

Most Witnesses, when they come to your door at your home, will ask you if you have investigated your religion. Ask them if they have ever investigated theirs; most cannot tell you one thing about the past history of the so-called New World Society. They have been blinded so badly that, as the old saying goes, “they cannot see the forest for the trees.” Also, if you try to tell them about the things that some of us are asked to do, they will not want to listen to you. In fact, they will call you a bigot or hard head or some other name that cannot be put in this article. Some of these things I will relate to you; you make up your own mind as to whether a person should do these things in the name of God.

There was a trailer park in West Point, Kentucky that did not want the Witnesses to go door to door in this park. We were told to go through it anyway. If the owner tried to stop us, then we were to create an incident in order to get a bunch of us locked up. They would then send the Society’s lawyer, who at the time was Hayden C. Covington, and we could cry religious persecution. Any time you want the American people on your side, just claim someone is denying you your right to worship as you see fit and the public is behind you then. But the police chief was a little too smart for us; he did not fall for the game we were trying to play on the town. Can you see Jesus doing something like this?

Witnesses consider themselves just like the old nation of Israel that spent 400 years in bondage to Egypt. They are the Israelites in bondage to you, the Egyptian. So whatever it takes to get the upper hand over you is fair. As the old saying goes, all is fair in love and war, and they are at war with you, the Egyptian. This they consider till you buy one of their books. Then you become a person of good will and they will treat you with kindness until they find out that you do not intend to become one of the Witnesses. At that point, it is back to war with you. I just wish that the Witnesses knew as much about their own organization as they want others to know about theirs.

To do full justice to this article, I am going to have to give you some of the things that I found out by studying the background of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. This helped me to come out of that false organization as much as anything did. This organization is just like any other human organization and is built upon the sand (Matt. 7:26). Although the Witnesses will tell you that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is not in control of them, take them to their book Let God Be True. On page 221, it states, “In 1884 the legal servant body of this international association was incorporated under Pennsylvania law. That nonprofit corporation (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society) and the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been inseparably associated ever since.” Let the Witnesses deny that men govern them, but a rose by any other name is still a rose. The Witnesses do have a human hierarchy with its head, just like the Catholic Church. If they think they do not, just let them try to buck the organization one time and see how fast they are put on probation or disfellowshipped.

Waiting In Bed Sheets for the Lord’s Return

The Jehovah’s Witnesses religion was started in 1872 by a man named Charles Taze Russell; the followers were first known as Russellites. In his book The Studies of the Scriptures (Vol. II, p. 2), he prophesied that the times of the Gentiles would end and God’s kingdom would be established in the fall of 1873. This would bring about the end of the world and start the millenial or thousand year reign of Christ. Because of this proclamation about the thousand year reign of Christ, followers were known as the Millenial Dawnites, which name they wore until the death of Russell in 1916.

In volume seven of The Studies of the Scriptures (p. 217), this prophecy was changed from 1873 to 1878. In their book of Religion (p. 336), this same prophecy was changed again to the fall of 1914. This was the date for God’s kingdom to start rule over all mankind. A Witness friend of mine who is now deceased was a Witness back in those days. She told me that all of the Witnesses in 1914 cut holes in their bed sheets and draped them over their shoulders. They climbed on top of their houses and lifted up their hands to heaven waiting for the Lord to come and take them to home to heaven to be with Him forevermore. When He did not show up as was expected, the organization started loosing members by the thousands. This is when they started saying that He did come but that He was invisible. They had to come up with something to save the members that they had left. The reason for the bed sheets was so that they would be in robes of white for the Lord. As for His coming being invisible, Revelation 1 :7 says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and, every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, Even so, Amen.” In the book of Prophecy (p. 73), they claim that by force Christ took authority over the kingdom, which took Him from 1914 to 1919 to accomplish. Matthew 28:18 tells us that all power or authority was given to Christ at His resurrection in the first century and He did not have to take it by force nineteen hundred years later.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 43, pp. 689, 699
October 30, 1980

By Irven Lee

In speaking of the people of Crete Paul quoted one of their own poets as he said, “One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretans are always liars, evil . beasts, slow bellies” (Titus 1:12). Goodspeed’s translation says, “savage brutes, lazy gluttons.” The American Standard Version has, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.” The Amplified Bible, which can be used more as a brief commentary than as a translation, has “Cretans are always liars, hurtful beasts, idle and lazy gluttons.” The New Testament in Basic English has “evil beasts, lovers of food, hating work.” Knox has “venomous creatures, all hungry bellies and nothing besides.” Vine, in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, lets us know that in Titus two words were used which, when used together, signify a glutton, or an idle glutton. Webster’s Student Dictionary defines a glutton as one who eats greedily or to excess.

Excess in eating was one general characteristic of the people of Crete. Lying and idleness were traits also found among them. We know that these two last things are wrong. Our study is of gluttony. Is it a sin to be gluttonous? If it is a sin we need to know it and to avoid doing that which the Lord does not approve. The word keeps bad company in the passages where it is used. The enemies of Christ thought they were making a charge of sinfulness when they falsely accused Christ of being a wine bibber and a gluttonous man (Matt. 11:19).

Let us now read from the old law. “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shall thou put evil away from among you, and all Israel shall hear, and fear” (Deut. 21:18-21). The gluttony was only par( of the story in this case, but it could hardly be included in this if it were not evil. We do not live under the same law, but we do live under the same God who gave this law. Would you suppose that He now approves excessive eating?

Let us again read from the counsel given to Israel. “Be not among wine bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: -and drowsiness shall clothe a man in rags” (Prov. 23:20, 1). The glutton is here mentioned with the drunkard. Poverty, drowsiness, and rags art mentioned as his part in this life. What if a glutton began drinking alcohol? Would he almost certainly drink to excess? The lack of self-control in eating would be evident in his drinking. The one habit may be a cousin to the other. I am not saying that one habit is as bad as the other. The drunkard would be more harmful to others. The gluttonous person may harm himself to the extent that his life expectancy may be no more than that of the alcoholic.

Is excessive weight harmful to the body which is fearfully and wonderfully made? Is there any doubt? “Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Cor. 6:20). “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23). We can, at least, say that the Lord is interested in the proper care of our bodies. If we all stop to consider, we may decide that almost every one of us have been guilty of over indulgence through some period of life, if not always.

The active young person may have a big appetite, but his great amount of activity uses the excess amount of food. The period when he settles into office work or quiet years in college may not see a corresponding cutting back on food consumption, so weight may rapidly increase, and there will likely be high blood pressure and other dangers to the body. I am no doctor, but we all need to inform ourselves of dangers and then buffet our bodies and bring them into subjection. We have much food, and many kinds of food are available in our country. Are we able to eat sensibly? There are evidently many that think it is great fun to eat ridiculous amounts where a restaurant offers “all you can eat” for a set price.

The Libscomb-Shepherd Commentary comments on Titus 1:12 and on the words “idle gluttons” from the American Standard Version, which it uses, as follows: “Their gluttony made them dull, heavy, and indolent. These sins were true of the Cretans generally in their unregenerate state; but sins prevalent among a people before they become Christians will possibly be their besetting sins after they become such. The sins of lying and gluttony seem to indicate a ferocious and vindictive spirit, and that they were lazy and given to gluttony.” These sins are not all usually listed together.

Gluttony and sensuality are examples of using animal appetites as means of gratification rather than relief. Evidently we should not glory in the things of which we should be ashamed. Self-control, dignity, refinement, and courtesy do not fit into the same picture as “lazy gluttons” or “idle gluttons.” Is there no regard for etiquette and good manners? One who consumes a ridiculous amount of food at an extraordinary speed may be repulsive to many who observe his behavior. Is this the proper behavior for a Christian? A great teacher in the days of my youth had a definition of temperance, which he stressed very often. He defined the word as meaning “the total abstinence from things harmful and the right use of things helpful.” Do not cut the length of your life in half by excessive use of good food.

The proper eating habits may be more easily formed by young people. It is very hard for the glutton of many years to come back to wise eating habits. It is not so difficult for the thoughtful and careful young man to develop good manners and avoid the loss of self-control in eating. It is so much easier to learn self-control early than to overcome the weight problem and the evil effects that come with obesity.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 42, pp. 682-683
October 23, 1980