Bishan church

Phil4:2 I plead with Euodia and Syntyche to have the same mind in the Lord….Part 2

January 30th, 2007

1 Corinthians 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

Are you of Ira Rice? Are you of Harding? Are you of Memphis School? Are you of Lucado? Are you of Sunset School? what camp are you?

Divisions abound among the sisters churches of Christ.  

How did we get ourselves in such a mess?It is true that people have different personalities, views, approaches..   This is true regardless of what business we are in, secular or our Father’s business.    

My prejudiced view is the underlying cause of division points to us not being true to what we claim. One such area is autonomy.

Autonomy of each congregation is mentioned often as a biblical characteristic of a true church, yet in my 29 years as a Christian, I do not recall having been taught what it takes to be autonomous. Associated with autonomy is that we do not have a headquarters and we are all priests thus there is no separate priesthood. Even elders oversee the congregation that installed them. They are not elders of multiple congregations. Are we true to what we claim?  

The churches in Malaysia and Singapore have been around for more than 30 years. Yet we show behaviors of dependency on US brethren. This I believe is the crux of the problem of division among the churches. Learning from US is not the same as dependent on US. We can learn from any one including pagans, nature, newspaper, including other people’s mistakes etc. This does not mean we are dependent on or require approval from them before we dare to act within our own autonomous congregation in another country.  

The fault does not lie with the US brethren. The fault lies with our dependence on US. We do have a headquarters! The emotional and psychological headquarters is USA. We do have a separate priesthood. It is the priesthood of "scholars and the educated" from US. Without their blessings and confirmation you may be in danger of disfellowship. Without inviting them, we are unable to hold a gospel meeting. We are tied to the apron string which really is a purse string thus the local minister sponsored by US must toe the line and he has to prove to them their money’s worth. We look for "brotherhood " teaching materials. Is there a headquarters that vet through the materials with a stamp of approval? Is the bible not self sufficient until and unless this "brotherhood" body approves? Why do we still need a US missionary in Malaysia and Singapore? When are we going to grow up after more than 30 years in this region? If we are not ready now do we want to make an effort to cut the apron string from Mama USA so that in a couple of years we are truly autonomous?

Every seed produces its own kind. Its own divisive kind has been reproduced locally and has reared its ugly head for many years in the matter of disfellowship. Ponder on these questions:

1. How is it a brother from a small town Malaysian congregation, dictate sister churches to disfellowship a brother from another congregation? Who appointed him to lord over others?

2. How is such a brother given free rein with the audacity to dictate what congregations in Singapore ought to do when it is different country? Since when is he the authority to oversee his perceived diocese of Malaysia and Singapore?

3. Such a brother depends on the latest news from US when he can easily travel to any congregation in Malaysia and Singapore to check his facts. How did he get away with slandering a brother who lives close to him based on assertions from some US Pharisees living several thousand kilometres away? Are they his headquarters? Are they his separate priesthood who approve his action?

What do you do with such a brother? Should such a one who lives by the sword die by the same sword of disfellowship by sister congregations?   

We must worship God in sprit and truth. John 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

 

Notice it says spirit AND truth. We harp a lot on the truth portion but we emphasise little on the spirit part. We also forget that it is an AND statement meaning both are necessary. If someone who is perceived to be teaching something not truth but with the right spirit, he is in danger of being disfellowship…..so…. someone who is doctrinally correct yet divisive in spirit should be disfellowship as well. Right?

What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Since denomination means division, thus such a brother who is divisive is denominaionalist too, a son of Satan the Accuser?

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Matthew 23:3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Such a brother is denominationalist based on his spirit of division which manifest itself as such

1. Having US as his emotional and psychological headquarters

2. Depending on US as his source of information to disfellowship local brethren without speaking with the accused from another congregtion within and outside his own country as well.

3. Lording over other congregations as if it is his diocese and he is a local representative of the US headquarters.  

I repeat, the issue is not learning from any one including US brethren, but the dependence on US as manifests in our behaviour.

So what do you think? As I said in my Part 1 on this topic, I am not seeking your agreement to my views. If I have provoked you to work towards unity even if you disagree with me on approach, I think we are starting the journey of rebuilding after so many years of tearing each other down.

How then do we move forward? 

Watch out in Part 3 for some suggestions for us to fast and pray.   

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