by Bobby L. Graham
Someone invited a representative from the Herald of Truth to give us a presentation on a program they have for personal ministry. The man had some interesting things to say, but I heard things that gave me pause. Do you know anything about them and their program?
This question was received recently from a brother in Christ who now lives in a distant state. I have known him since he was a small child here in North Alabama. Because I covered the complete nature of a sponsoring church organization in an earlier column, I will not here include much of what I then wrote, only my initial response. I provided enough in my answer so that he might consider for the present. If he has sufficient concern about this matter, he will ask more. From that earlier column, I quote here one paragraph which summarizes what needs to be said:
The Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, and other groups have placed their local churches under some central coordinating agency, some to a greater degree than others. What makes their organizational scheme unscriptural but the sponsoring church scheme scriptural? In both instances, there is a clear deviation from the New Testament model of local church operation, oversight, and autonomy. If one deviation is right, then the others are; if one is wrong, then the others are just as wrong!
My Letter to the Inquirer:
Hello brother, you asked a question that could require several pages to answer. I will spare you the long answer and give you the short one for now. The Herald of Truth started many years ago in the early 1950s as a local radio program, later became a nationwide radio program, and still later became a television program. Sadly, it served to divide congregations of the Lord's people all across the nation.
Its divisive nature is because it is a missionary society, another organization besides the local church serving to do the local church's evangelistic work/preaching the gospel. In other words, it takes the place of a local church in its organization and its function, all the while receiving funds from local churches all over the country.
Many congregations, which once supported it, no longer do so because it has increased in its liberalism. It has come under the control of very far out, liberal, even progressive people. Their convictions concerning truth and biblical authority are quite weak.
I will cite two passages showing that the Herald of Truth cannot function scripturally. Acts 20:28 instructs elders to tend the flock of God among them. 1 Peter 5:4 also tells elders to do the same thing. The set up of this organization is people who are not local elders tending to the work of other local churches (those who send the money). All that the local elders in the sending churches are doing in this particular endeavor is overseeing the money before it is sent. After it arrives in Abilene, its oversight changes from elders in sending churches to whatever staff are set up over this nationwide organization. They make all decisions regarding what to spend, whom to support, what evangelistic efforts to make, etc. As you surely can see, this is not consistent with New Testament teaching. There is no New Testament authority for such a scheme as this. If you can find this authority, you're reading a different Bible than I am.
Brother, I urge you to take a stand against this. If the congregation will not stand for the truth and insists on spending funds on such unauthorized works and you cannot convince them to change, then you need to leave and find a congregation where you can conscientiously participate in full fellowship with the work that is being done.
Author Bio: Bobby actively participates in fill-in preaching, Belize trips, teaching an hour each day at Athens Bible School, and in gospel meeting work. He and his wife, Karen, have three children. He can be reached at bobbylgraham@pclnet.
