FAIR PLAY
W. NEIL GALLAGHER

I voice nothing new in this essay, only something freshly made apparent. In my few years as a member of the contemporary church of Christ, I have been deeply moved by the attitudes and acts of its members: I have been impressed by the respect for Scripture, lifted by the kindness and generosity, strengthened by the spiritual vigor, encouraged by the academic excellence, galvanized by the displays of sacrifice, and discouraged by the lack of fair play.

It seems that, on occasion, we current members of the church of Christ—in our well-intentioned drives to be keepers of orthodoxy—itch with the temptation to be unquestionably defensive, readily suspicious, or impulsively condemnatory of those brethren to the right or left of us. Each of us seems to tacitly believe that he stands in and stands for the balanced and true middle position, each seems to possess the proper mixture of liberalism and conservatism. From my particular pontifical position—perched squarely and infallibly in the middle—I find my pride teased and my energies excited to lash the incorrigible brethren to the right of me as "backward," "narrow-minded," "hard-hearted," and "legalistic," and those who reprehensibly stand to the left of me as "arrogant," "libertine," "social gospelers," and "intellectual snobs." I find that as current defender of the faith for the Ft. Worth-Dallas area, I naturally and sincerely have to personally pass on, publish, or preach my estimates on the brother in question. I feel earnestly compelled to keep the doctrinal dossier in order. The problem is, however, that my sense of mission is so burning, my sincerity so captivating, my motives so unvarnished, and my anxiety so uncomfortable that I sometimes fail to check out the facts. Exit fair play.

Henceforth, I publish or preach about the brother, institution, or church which scored poorly on my cursory but sure-fire tests for orthodoxy. If the public disclosure proves to be accurate, it will probably never become apparent that I did not check out the facts. If the rumors and hear-say I picked up and passed on later prove to be grounded in fact, it will probably never become apparent that I dodged the New Testament way of approaching my brother—to wit, eye-to-eye and heart-to-heart. If my thin guess later proves to be correct, it is conceivable that in spite of my discourteous methods and unverified information I may have even done the brotherhood a service by exposing someone who needs help and correction.

But if I'm wrong . . . if I'm wrong, what does fair play require then? How do you re-establish the solid reputation of a brother, institution, or church you've demeaned? How do you restore the truth about one whom you've publicly and persuasively maligned? Just how do you get the brotherhood to trust him (or them) again? –Minister, Maypearl Church of Christ, Box 275, Maypearl, Texas 76064, and graduate student at Texas Christian University.