Considering our brotherhood’s abundance of controversies, teamed with an all-too-common sectarian mindset, it’s not surprising that some are beginning to show their true colors. Historically, brethren have revered the sacred axiom of church autonomy in principle, if not in actual practice. We have taught the theory of autonomy for a long time and loudly, but have often felt uncomfortable about allowing churches to make difficult decisions for themselves, especially when we disagree.<\/p>\n
Lately, we have begun to hear the “uncertain sound” of preachers questioning the validity of the autonomy principle in certain cases. It is as if some issues are just too big for an independent congregation to resolve on its own. This is reminiscent of a fundamental, but often unnoticed, error in the early days of the Restoration Movement.<\/p>\n
In his famous Millennial Harbinger, Alexander Campbell published a series of articles on Church Cooperation throughout 1831. For all his strides toward New Testament Christianity, he was never fully able to divest himself of the notion that the aggregate church universal must sometimes be roused to action. His reasoning was flawed. Inasmuch as evangelism is a God-given work for Christians, he assumed that it must also be a work of the church universal. He readily acknowledged the lack of scriptural precedent for such, yet considered it unimportant. He concluded that since the task of evangelism had nothing to do with the “faith and morals” of individual churches, and since the task was larger than single congregations could handle, brethren were at liberty to align themselves into districts and organize annual meetings for the purpose of creating “ways and means” for promoting the gospel in their region. Even a casual student of history can easily see how such reasoning paved the way for the American Christian Missionary Society in 1849.<\/p>\n
But Campbell argued from an incorrect premise. Evangelism is not the work of the church universal, but of local churches and individual saints. The church, the universal collectivity of people saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, has no organization, function, or human leadership. Christ, alone, is the sole reigning Head (Ephesians 1:22-23).<\/p>\n
Because the Bible places responsibility for spreading the gospel squarely on the shoulders of local churches and disciples, worthy brethren over the years have vigorously upheld this vital principle. “Local congregations were the medium through which this work of the church was done in New Testament days. They were the only missionary organizations of the New Testament church.\u05f4 (Roy E. Cogdill, The New Testament Church, p. 25).<\/p>\n
Now, when Campbell concluded that local churches just weren’t up to the task, and that \u05f4annual meetings\u05f4 were necessary to devise \u05f4ways and means\u05f4 for promoting evangelism, what was he doing? Not intentionally perhaps, but by natural conclusion, he was arguing for the establishment of an organized body larger than, and separate from, the local church. He argued that this body should not be vested with \u05f4ecclesiastical authority,” but such was inevitable. This was the seed of sectarianism. Note again what Brother Cogdill wrote, \u05f4If the church of the Lord is sufficient to accomplish what the Lord intended for it to do, it is competent, adequate, and no other organization or arrangement is permitted, much less needed. Any effort made by man to add to or improve upon the Lord’s arrangement for the accomplishment of His purpose through His church indicates dissatisfaction with God’s ways.\u05f4 (Walking By Faith<\/em>, p. 10). Amen.<\/p>\n What was the logical alternative for church autonomy in the work of evangelism? The formation of a separate corporate body, entirely unknown to scripture, to plan and execute the work. Since this body was composed of brethren from churches everywhere, it presumed to speak for churches everywhere. Such an institution couldn’t help but take on a life of its own and eventually evolve into an “adjunct of the church” without the slightest pretext of biblical authority. Such a development was inevitable. Human nature is such that when men are given a sense of authority, however illegitimate, it creates an aura of self-importance and a desire for even greater influence.<\/p>\n The great irony of this sad episode is that, in his early days, Alexander Campbell was a staunch critic of missionary societies and all such humanly contrived arrangements. Yet his powerful teaching and great influence planted the very seeds of what he decried.<\/p>\n But what of our current controversies? Because of a legitimate concern for the universal body of Christ, we have often sought brotherhood consensus in the face of pressing issues. We demonstrated that inclination when dealing with the missionary society, instrumental music, premillennialism, institutionalism, and almost every other topic. We seem to be consumed with knowing where everyone stands on every question, not just for the sake of truth, but so that we may know who to include in the “acceptable brethren” category. We like to know where folks “line up,” and that our select group from across the brotherhood “has the truth.”<\/p>\n Certainly, no one faults a desire to “have the truth.” And no one wants to encourage fellowship with darkness. We all want to be right with God. But look how we’ve defined the term right: on the basis of our group association. That is the definition of sectarianism: that soundness lies in party identity rather than in our individual relationships with the Savior and in fellowship in a local congregation. These two things constitute the full extent of our duties before God. The scope of any disciple’s responsibility is limited to his individual personal life and his participation in the collective work of saints in a local church. Period.<\/p>\n Scripture gives no charge to the church universal. The Lord’s work can only be carried out by local churches and individual saints; questions of fellowship can only be determined by local churches and individual saints; discipline of the unruly can only be discharged by local churches and individual saints; questions of doctrinal correctness can only be determined by local churches and individual saints. Nothing stands between the local congregation and the Lord. There is no organized brotherhood with which to contend, or to which we must answer. The Lord requires our “membership” in nothing larger than a local fellowship of Christians. Our place in the universal body is determined by Jesus alone.<\/p>\n What, then, is the logical alternative to local church autonomy when faced with controversial issues? Scripturally, there is none. But if men believe, as Campbell did, that the universal church has been assigned work and that the task is too great for local congregations on their own, then here’s what we might do. After dividing the brotherhood into various districts and selecting representatives to speak “for the folks back home,” conduct a brotherhood-wide meeting to discuss current issues. Naturally, these delegates will have great status in the brotherhood, but not as much as the one elected President, for every group must have a leader, after all.<\/p>\n The first order of business would be to establish regular meeting times, for any group of men with power must first provide for their perpetuation. Then could begin the “necessary” work of defining the absolute final biblical truth on every issue ever raised. At long last, we could have the definitive answers to nagging questions such as the gift of the Holy Spirit, the covering, Christian and carnal warfare, Sunday night communion, and so forth. Then this august panel could once and for all give us every answer to every facet of every question concerning marriage\/divorce\/ remarriage, to the relief of brethren everywhere. No longer would individuals be burdened by the time-consuming task of private study; no longer would individual local churches have to wrestle with tough questions under the leadership of qualified elders. Once the Church of Christ Doctrine is officially defined, it’s an elementary process to determine who’s “in” and who’s “out.”<\/p>\n Of course, we’ll have to acknowledge a few concessions. Individuals will have to concede their conscience to the Official Church View of things. Local churches will have to forget the old-fashioned concept of autonomy and surrender independence to the Official Church Hierarchy. Local Bible class teachers will have to relinquish any independent thought to Official Church Orthodoxy. Elders will have to water down the work of overseeing to the task of reporting to the Official Church Board. But all in all, it’s not such a bad deal. We’ll never have to wrestle with tough problems again; we’ll just let The Church decide for us.<\/p>\n Sound scary? Welcome to the real world of denominationalism. Admittedly, no brother in his right mind would advocate such an arrangement. But when we begin to question or even speak mockingly of the divine principle of local church autonomy, we’re planting the seeds of sectarianism, just like Campbell.<\/p>\n So, will there ever be any resolution to the endless questions and issues among brethren? No, and thank God for it! As long as men exist, we’ll struggle with darkness and light, right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error. Honest hearts will always hold strong convictions and occasionally lock horns with other honest-hearted folk. But the Creator has endowed us with free will and sufficient intellect to exercise the same. Individual saints and autonomous local churches have always been governed by the King, via divine revelation. Any attempt to seek a “brotherhood consensus,” thus mobilizing and legislating for the church universal, strips away the crown from Christ and hands it to mere men.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Steve Dewhirst via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 1, March 1995 Considering our brotherhood’s abundance of controversies, teamed with an all-too-common sectarian mindset, it’s not surprising that some are beginning to show their true colors. Historically, brethren have revered the sacred axiom of church autonomy in principle, if not in actual practice. We have taught…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1289,448],"class_list":["post-95394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-autonomy","tag-church"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31874,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-support-conscientious-objection\/","url_meta":{"origin":95394,"position":0},"title":"Do you support conscientious objection?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you or your church support selective conscientious objection and conscientious objection? Answer: Registering for the draft is a government law that does not violate any teaching of God. \"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1296,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-boy-girl-relationships-not-advisable-at-a-young-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":95394,"position":1},"title":"Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age Answer: Youth is a time of impatient desires. They want the things available to adults, but adulthood seems so far away. The typical teenage boy enters puberty around the age of 11. The typical teenage girl enters puberty around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-lost-the-surprise-somewhere\/","url_meta":{"origin":95394,"position":2},"title":"We Lost the Surprise Somewhere","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I remember watching Mayberry RFD and related shows most of my childhood. Poor ignorant Gomer Pyle who worked as an auto mechanic was a notable character. 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Answer: We were taught to pray, \"Give us this day our daily bread\" (Matthew 6:11), but God still commands us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-book-of-my-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":95394,"position":4},"title":"The Book of My Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. 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