David Hester, who wrote the excellent 1994 book, Among The Scholars, recently wrote an article entitled “This is Unity?” which appeared in the March 5th Seibles Road bulletin (Montgomery, Alabama). The article concerns a newspaper story about the Twickenham Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama (the same congregation that made national news headlines by conducting a Bible class based on the Andy Griffith Show). Below is a shortened version of the newspaper column written by the religion editor of The Hunstville Times.
Scott Bogardus was raised in an Episcopal church. His wife, Eileen, came from a Church of Christ background.
Sunday night they worshiped together with hundreds of others at the Festival of Christian Unity for the Great Jubilee in a packed First Baptist Church auditorium that seats about 1,800 people.
“It was very powerful, I loved it,” said Eileen, a member of the Twickenham Church of Christ. “Christians should come together as one, and I hope we do this again.”
The Twickenham Praise Team was one of the featured groups at the service, believed by organizers to be one of the largest ecumenical gatherings ever in Huntsville….
Sunday night’s service not only included the organ and piano, but also featured the First Baptist Church symphony. But that was not an issue for the Bogarduses or others from the church. “…the music isn’t a problem for us,” said Eileen….
The Rev. Dr. Dennis Wiles, pastor of First Baptist Church, welcomed the crowd by telling them, “We’re going to have to do this in heaven, so why not start here on Earth?” which brought applause.
The Rev. Phil O’Kennedy, pastor of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church and the keynote speaker, told the group of Catholics and Protestants that “it is good for us to be here.”
“The past 450 years we have spent hating each other for the love of God,” he said. “Let’s spend this next century loving each other for the love of God.” That also received hearty applause (January 24, 2000).
There needs to be a serious response given to this event, but to show the absurdity of what occurred, let us put the event in a different setting and read the newspaper account of it in The Samaritan Times.
Blott Nebaticus is from the tribe of Ephraim. His wife, Flex, comes from Judah. Last Sabbath they worshiped with hundreds of others at the historic gathering of the Descendants of Abraham (DOA).
“It was very powerful; I loved it,” said Flex. “The descendants of Abraham should come together as one, and I hope we do this again.”
The Judah Taylor singers and dancers performed at the service, one of the largest religious gatherings ever held in Samaria. Several idols were displayed on the stage. There were replicas of the golden calves Jeroboam had made, as well as the idols of Chemosh and Milcom. Technically, the Moabites and Ammonites were not descended from Abraham, but they did come from Abraham’s brother’s son, Lot. Flex commented, “The idols aren’t a problem for us.”
The pastor of the First Golden Calf Church of Samaria welcomed the crowd by telling them. “We all have to live in this land for the next several hundred years; we might as well get used to being neighbors,” which brought applause. “What difference does it make if we worship in Dan or Bethel or Jerusalem or Samaria?” he said to even greater applause. “You have a feast in the seventh month; we have one in the eighth month; what difference does it make? We’re still all brethren. Your priests are Levites; ours are not Levites: so who cares? The fact is we all go to God through priests. Our brethren, the Moabites and the Ammonites, have priests. Good people, God didn’t bring us into this land just to worry about who can be a priest and who can’t.”
The Rev. Dr. Pagan Deluxe, who presides over the human sacrifices to Chemosh in Moab, was the keynote speaker. He told the gathering, “We have hated and fought against each other for the past thousand years; isn’t it time we put our petty differences aside and started loving one another?” This question drew hearty applause. “Unity is the key thing, no matter which side of the Jordan we live on. Believe it or not, we will even be willing to apologize for all past atrocities against you Israelites.” This brought Dr. Deluxe a standing ovation.
Back in December-January of 1976-77 Englebert Humperdinck had a top ten tune called “After the Lovin’.” The key thought seems to have been that, after their physical expression of love for each other, he was still in love with her. In other words, their relationship was not based on physical attractiveness and desire alone (of course, it was not necessarily a moral relationship, either). There was a deeper and more abiding appeal to each other that transcended the physical (according to the song).
As pertains to these unity “lovefests,” what happens “after the lovin'”? The answer is that nothing happens- unless it would be that a future unity meeting is scheduled. Do the various denominations ever merge? Will the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Baptists sell all their properties, disassociate themselves from their denominations and creeds, and worship as one? The fact is that “after the lovin’, nothing has changed. These meetings are little more than a tryst with a mistress. “After the lovin’,” all the participants return to the denomination they will continue to be faithful to and continue to support.
These meetings are less than useless. Do they really think that they are answering Jesus’ prayer for unity by gathering together once or twice a year to slobber all over each other? People in the world may be profane, but they are not stupid. They can see that “after the lovin’,” there is no deep, abiding relationship. What Rush Limbaugh says of political liberals applies to religious liberals: They prefer “symbolism over substance.”
They like to express “feel good” sentiments that are basically worthless. Like the movie star that spends all night on the street with the homeless to call attention to their plight, many engage in unity meetings to call attention to the need for unity.
But what was accomplished? What was done that will actually cause people to be united? NOTHING!! “After the lovin’,” Baptists will still be Baptists, Methodists will still be Methodists, Episcopalians will still be Episcopalians, and the Twickenham Church of Christ will still have betrayed Jesus. If betrayal sounds harsh, it is nevertheless accurate.
None of the religious groups that the Twickenham Church met with teaches or practices what the Bible teaches about the way to become a Christian. How can one who has been baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) have spiritual fellowship with one who has not? One is a Christian; one is not. One walks in the light; the other walks in darkness. One is committed to truth; the other is (whether unwittingly or intentionally) a product of, and an upholder of, error. Where is the basis for fellowship? Perhaps the Twickenham Church can tell us that, when they finish watching all the reruns of Andy Griffith.
What about the practice of false worship? It is just as acceptable before God to use an unauthorized golden calf in worship as it is to use unauthorized instruments of music. [Martin Luther called the organ an “ensign of Baal.”] Does anyone remember the verse that says that true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24)? Not one verse in the Bible from Genesis 4 onward that says human beings may worship God in the way that best pleases them. God rejects will worship (self-imposed religion) (Col. 2:23).
Brother Hester writes:
How can Christians justify vain worship (Mt. 15:9)? My grandfather, the late S. F. Hester, left denominationalism 60 years ago. According to the practice of some, he should have never left!
“But isn’t the word betrayal a bit reactionary and unjustified to use of the Twickenham Church?” The dictionary provides an answer: Betray is defined as: “to give aid or information to an enemy of”; “to be disloyal or faithless to.” Are those in denominations our enemies? They are not personally our enemies; in fact, many of them are our personal friends and family members. We have no hostile feelings toward them whatsoever-as it pertains to them as individuals. But the doctrines they hold, as members of denominations, are incompatible with the Truth. Their man-made plans of salvation contradict the Scriptures. They will be lost themselves for believing a lie, and those they teach shall likewise be lost (consider 1 Timothy 4:16).
There is only one means of, and one plan for, sins to be forgiven-not two, not three, not a dozen. That plan involves faith in response to God’s grace, which prompts repentance, confessing the name of Jesus as the Son of God, and baptism for the forgiveness of one’s sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; et al).
Now how can someone who obeyed the gospel in precisely the way just delineated fellowship those who have never done so? The Episcopalians do not baptize anyone for the remission of their sins. Acts 2:41 tells us that those who were baptized were added. Added to what? Acts 2:47 says that the Lord “added to the church” daily those who were being saved. It is true that some ancient texts do not include the phrase to the church, but it is obviously a correct idea-whether or not the phrase belongs. Those who became Christians on the day of Pentecost certainly were not added to the Episcopalian Church!
Yet in fellowshipping the Episcopal Church, along with the Catholic Church and the Baptist Church, the Twickenham Church validated the existence of the concept of denominationalism in general and these various groups in paricular. Furthermore, fellowshipping them certifies that all of them are equal, thus putting the Lord’s church on a par with a denomination. Jesus is the head of the body, the church (Eph. 2:22); He is the Savior of that body, which contains no Catholics, Episcopalians, or Baptists. Therefore, the Twickenham Church has been disloyal to their head, Christ. They have been parleying with the enemy without authority from their head to do so. THE TWICKENHAM CHURCH IS GUILTY OF BETRAYING CHRIST!!
Judas Iscariot will fare better in the day of judgment than will these “brethren.” This may seem like a bold statement, but consider the two situations. Judas betrayed Christ for money. These brethren betrayed Christ for the sake of popularity and “acceptance” in the religious community. Judas took the money back. Will the Twickenham Church repent before God for their betrayal of Christ, apologize to the brotherhood, and try to “take back” their actions? Judas looks good compared to them.
Judas also experienced remorse when he realized that he had betrayed innocent blood; have these brethren even the remotest clue that they have done anything wrong? Do their consciences bother them at all? Or will they just blithely continue down the broad path to destruction, incapable of feeling any shame whatsoever for their betrayal?
Brethren, if these comments seem drastic, they are in response to drastic actions displayed by “so-called” members of the church of Christ. They have brought shame and disgrace upon the Lord as they have betrayed him publicly. In light of the fact that truth cannot fellowship error, we can only conclude that the Twickenham Church is in error also, thus putting themselves on equal footing with the denominations. We can only pray that faithful congregations in their area will withhold fellowship from them unless and until they are willing to repent.
How sad when those entrusted with the Truth abandon it. They might have converted some of their denominational friends instead of endorsing their errors. Some of them might have become Christians instead of remaining Baptist, Episcopalian, or Catholic. Besides their betrayal of the Lord who bought them, they are contributing to the eternal destruction of those who might have been saved by hearing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:8-9). Many are still coming out of religious denominations, but as more congregations desert Christ and the Truth, fewer people will have an opportunity to find life.
“Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:104-105).