Views: 2<\/p>
[Note: <\/strong>This MS is available in a larger font on our Brief Articles 1\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0page.]<\/span><\/p>\n I spent 8 years of my youth (1946\u20131953) in the small central town of Burnet, Texas. My father preached for the faithful congregation there the first 4 of those years and the following 4 years for a strong rural congregation in Burnet County. The \u201ctown\u201d congregation had a series of faithful preachers following Dad for many years. I preached in a Gospel meeting there in 1987. Subsequent years brought incremental but consequential drifts from the \u201cold paths.\u201d In 2002, a godly correspondent sent me the following clipping from a January edition of The Burnet Bulletin<\/em>, the \u201cpaper of record\u201d for the small county seat town. I am reproducing it below and will make a few comments on it because it demonstrates the disastrous end of gradual compromise that an increasing number of brethren seem determined to take. The<\/em> Burnet Bulletin <\/em>announcement is as follows (bracketed material supplied by our correspondent):<\/span><\/p>\n Burnet Ministerial Alliance<\/span><\/p>\n The Burnet Ministerial Alliance will present \u201cEquipping the Saints in Burnet,\u201d a school for laity. The sessions will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 4\u20135, at Our Lady of Sorrows Religious Education Center in Burnet. Each person may attend one course, which will meet for the two nights of the program.<\/span><\/p>\n The courses offered are: \u201cThe Book of Romans,\u201d by Rev. Richard Bremer [Lutheran], \u201cThe Book of Titus,\u201d by Rev. Tim Denton [Church of Christ], \u201cSpirituality,\u201d by Rev. Joe DeVliegher [Catholic], \u201cMusic in the Church,\u201d by Rev. Susan Lijestrand [Presbyterian], \u201cThe Church as Family,\u201d by Rev. Russell Minton [Methodist], and \u201cAbraham, Father of Three Faiths,\u201d by Rev. George Perrine [Disciples of Christ].<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The behavior of many still \u201cidentifying\u201d themselves as part of the church of Christ is blurring the line in various ways between the church and unauthorized religious organizations. The behavior of \u201cRev. Tim Denton\u201d described above does far more than merely blur the line\u2014it totally erases it. I well know that the secular media have for generations commonly affixed Rev<\/em>. to the names of Gospel preachers in their ignorance of Scriptural teaching concerning religious titles. However, given the context in which the name and behavior of \u201cRev. Tim Denton\u201d appear in the foregoing article, who can believe that he has any objection to being so addressed and described? In fact, he would be inconsistent to quibble over such, given his involvement in the described organization and its activities.<\/span><\/p>\n Preachers who join a \u201cMinisterial Alliance\u201d have already surrendered the Truth in their hearts or they would not join such. Alliance<\/em> implies union and mutual support and endorsement of the aims of the members. Membership in any such \u201calliance\u201d is, therefore, a tacit statement of fellowship and agreement with the \u201callies,\u201d whether so intended or not. Elders who support a preacher of this stripe share equal guilt with the preacher. Can anyone seriously picture our Lord or one of the apostles joining any such organization that might have existed in their day?<\/span><\/p>\n One who excuses his membership in such by claiming to seek an opportunity to teach the sectarian preachers is either extremely na\u00efve or self-deceived. By his membership, he has totally yielded the Scriptural ground on the distinctiveness and oneness of the church. He has admitted\u2014with the force of a demonstration\u2014that he sees no difference between denominationalism and the Lord\u2018s church. His membership is in effect a proclamation that he considers the church to be only one more denomination among the others. Preachers do not join ministerial alliances to teach<\/strong> the \u201callies,\u201d but to engage in the back-slapping and glad-handing of each other while ignoring each others\u2019 errors\u2014as if religious Truth and error are nonexistent and\/or inconsequential.<\/span><\/p>\n Read again the news story above. Note that one of \u201cour\u201d preachers taught in this \u201claity school.\u201d Again, this might have been the description chosen by the reporter, but it sounds more like the description chosen by the alliance. Apparently, \u201cRev. Denton\u201d did not mind his name\u2019s being attached to this unscriptural and anti-scriptural terminology. I must also suppose that he did not object to being part of an alliance (and a \u201cschool\u201d) that included acceptance of a woman preacher (Can we doubt what she taught on her topic, \u201cMusic in the Church\u201d?).<\/span><\/p>\n Note the theme of the \u201cschool\u201d: \u201cEquipping the Saints in Burnet.\u201d Since \u201cRev. Denton\u201d taught a class in this school, two things are evident:<\/span><\/p>\n The lineup of teachers and their topics is most interesting. It is nauseating to think that one who claims to be a Gospel preacher would get within ten miles of such a \u201cschool.\u201d Since \u201cRev. Denton\u201d did his class on Titus, I wonder how much attention he gave and what applications he made (if any) to Paul\u2019s instructions relating to Scriptural church polity (1:5\u20139)\u2026<\/p>\n For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge;<\/strong> if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly.For the bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled; holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Or about false teachers (1:10\u201314),<\/p>\n For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision,<\/strong> whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons. This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Or about \u201cthe washing of regeneration\u201d by which we are saved (3:4\u20135),<\/p>\n But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and his love toward man, appeared,<\/strong> not by works <\/strong>done<\/em><\/strong> in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Or about heretics (3:10).<\/p>\n \u00a0A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse; <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n He could hardly have aimed any of the apostle\u2019s strong terminology at his denominational allies.<\/p>\n If he even touched on these strong statements, it isn\u2019t hard to imagine he’s referring to those narrow-minded, moss-backed, judgmental Pharisee types in the \u201cold\u201d church of Christ as those \u201cwhose mouths must be stopped.\u201d Personally, I would take no offense at being referred to as a member of the \u201cold\u201d church of Christ. I certainly do not want anyone to identify me with the \u201cnew\u201d Church of Christ, of which \u201cRev. Denton\u201d is obviously a part. It is lamentable beyond expression that the name and the church of the Lord are being so corrupted and shamed, not by those without, but by those within, in many communities across our land. Elderships and congregations that support such compromisers deserve just what they get, but tragically, many souls will be lost in the process and it is saddening beyond description to faithful saints that the foregoing situation is but representative of many congregations with long histories of faithfulness, which, like Israel of old, have sacrificed loyalty to God and His Word in their lust to become \u201clike all the [denomi]nations\u201d (1 Sam. 8:9).<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong> I wrote this article, and it originally appeared in the April 2002 issue of\u00a0The Gospel Journal<\/em>, a 36-page monthly of which I was editor at the time.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 2[Note: This MS is available in a larger font on our Brief Articles 1\u00a0\u00a0page.] I spent 8 years of my youth (1946\u20131953) in the small central town of Burnet, Texas. My father preached for the faithful congregation there the first 4 of those years…<\/p>\n\n