TO PREACHERS WHO WOULD LEAVE, ETC.

(Sometimes we editors best express ourselves in the letters we write, not for the public necessarily, but to those who write to us about their problems or their complaints. Here are two letters that I "saved back" from recent correspondence that may prove helpful to our general readership. A common problem among our churches is disillusioned and discouraged preachers. One reason for this, especially among Churches of Christ, is the sectarianism they have to put up with. It is common for our more "open" ministers to seek liberation by finding a more "open" church. The first letter was to such a minister. The second letter is quite different from the first in that it is to an older minister-professor from whom I purchase books. When he scribbled a personal note on the bottom of an invoice expressing regret that I was no longer "one of us," I thought a response was in order. It did not keep me from paying what I owed! While the parties involved probably would not object to my identifying them, I will not do so, not only Out of deference to them but also because it is not necessary for the purpose at hand, your interest and edification. —the Editor)

LETTER 1

Sometimes it helps for us to realize that the problem that is bugging us is a common one. That may not ease the trauma of the problem, but it helps us to see that if others along the way have either worked their way through the problem or have found grace to bear it then we too can handle it.

You have something important going for you in that you know how to count your blessings in spite of your problem. You have your wife, friends, and above all the Lord on your side. And therein will be part of the answer to your problem: think positively about life, keeping your blessings before you, and don't allow yourself to become sour or bitter.

It also helps to realize that there are no jobs without problems - not even in the White House! And probably no job that does not have some frustration.

But once all that is said the fact remains that you have a frustrating ministry and you are looking for an answer. One answer is that there is no answer, for as long as you are dealing with people and especially church folk, you will have frustrations galore. Jesus himself had your problem, especially Jesus, for he was stymied at every turn in his efforts to make people whole. He found his answer in losing himself in his Father's will - by completely being absorbed with "not my will but thine be done." And when it comes down to it that is the only answer there is.

You can say with full assurance that the Lord knows all about it, and you can lay it all before him. You are, after all, his bondservant, so in one sense the problem is not yours but his.

Take the days one by one and do not be too concerned about what may lie down the road. Make every day a thing of joy, learn to appreciate the little things, take time for children and the aged, give attention to those that others ignore, take people into your confidence and share with them the joys of simple living. It may help to think of Jesus being at your side in all these things, for he is indeed with you and in you.

Resist worry and downheartedness as you would resist Satan himself. Keep saying yes to life and to your job. You will find that you have no problem that cannot be transcended by your resolve to do God's will, let come what may. Victory comes to those that hang tough amidst tough times.

As for the sectarian spirit, which can be so depressing if we allow it to be, we can take heart that Jesus had the same problem, and he faced it by praying, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." In the end this is your answer and mine.

To liberate our people from sectarianism we have to be there with them amidst their sectarianism, and seek to understand it and to respond to it with forbearing love. Nothing is gained by running from it.

Finally, you will find your answer in the house of prayer, as you move from room to room, praising God, thanking him, praying for those who are not yet liberated, calling by name those who would abuse you. There can be no defeat for one who lingers in the house of prayer.

LETTER 2

Your note on the invoice, "Wish you had stayed with us," caught my eye, and I wonder what you could mean by that. It sounds sectarian, but I don't believe you intended that.

Where, dear brother, do you suppose I have gone? Along with my parents and grandparents before me I am a life-long member of the non-instrumental Church of Christ, and that is the only denomination I have attended in the 25 years I have lived in Denton, Texas. I am a graduate of not one but two Church of Christ colleges, and for 35 years I have been editor of a journal that circulates primarily among these people, and it deals with the life, faults, virtues, and hopes of these people, along with the larger fellowship of those within the Stone-Campbell heritage. How can one be more Church of Christ than that?

Now if you mean I have changed my mind about some things through the years and no longer believe, for instance, that those in Churches of Christ are the only Christians or that we are the only true church; and believe that we have been less than faithful to our great historical heritage and that we have been wrong in making instrumental music a test of fellowship, and that we have in fact been sectarian about a lot of things - and have said so - then you are right about my situation. I am no longer with you if that is where you are.

But how about others, such as Reuel Lemmons and Rubel Shelley, who are saying similar things? Would you drop them a note expressing regret that they are no longer with us?

Surely you are not implying that we are not to have critics among us or that we all have to toe some party line in order to be "in," whatever that is made to mean. If we are all in Christ and are seeking to follow him to the best that is within us, is that not ground enough for common acceptance?

So, good friend, I am where you are, in Christ Jesus, and until conviction persuades me otherwise I will continue to be a member of a Church of Christ, which I consider part of the Body of Christ at large. But I reserve the right, particularly as an editor, to commend our people when I believe they are right and exhort them to change when I believe them to be wrong.

I thank God that for all these years, even since Freed-Hardeman days, we have shared the common faith and glory in a common hope. So long as that is the case it is not necessary for either of us to go anywhere.