Why I Opposed the Guardian of Truth Lectureship

Donald Townsley

            I was asked to speak on the Guardian of Truth Lecture-ship program, but turned them down — out of conviction. Brother Mike Willis has asked me to write this article concerning why I opposed the Lectureship; I thank him for giving me this opportunity. The issue of a human organization preaching the gospel centers around Bible authority just as every other issue does. The issue of institutionalism has been one of the main battles over which brethren have fought down through the centuries. Brother W.E. Brightwell said in the November 29, 1934 issue of the Gospel Advocate: “The next religious war will be fought around the issue of institutionalism.” He was right! The war began to heat up in the forties, and by the fifties it was fully waged. We saw great bitterness, families divided, churches divided, friendships ended and preachers were “quarantined” — brethren were driven from buildings they helped build into store buildings, schoolhouses, and other places in order to start over. My heart aches as I remember the casualties of that war! So, it frightens me to hear the “bleating of the sheep” and the “lowing of the oxen” of a new institutionalism in our ranks. Brethren, Satan will use any or all of us (if he can) to accomplish his purpose (Eph. 4:27; 1 Pet. 5:8). He always brings apostasy by degrees. He plants his “tares” (Matt. 13:27-28) through good men with pure motives — men who only want to do good, but are blinded as to where their new venture could lead (2 Cor. 4:4). In time the “tares” will produce after their kind (Gal. 6:7-8). Trends away from truth, if not stopped and rooted up, will always mature into apostasy. 

            First, let me point out that I have no objection to the Truth Foundation as a publishing company (a secular business enterprise). A publishing company may publish Bibles, workbooks, and other aids and sell them, but the publishing of aids is not teaching (for example, the World Publishing Company publishes Bibles, but it does not teach Bible). The Guardian of Truth Foundation is a human organization that operates under a board of directors made up of ten men. It is an “entity” that has existence all its own — distinct existence separate and apart from the existence of its individual board members. My objection is that the Truth Foundation has moved into a dual role — no longer is it functioning just in the realm of a secular business; it has now moved into the realm of the spiritual, and in planning and overseeing this Lectureship has become a “gospel preaching organization.” It is now usurping the function of the local church (1 Tim. 3:15)! Its action in having this Lectureship is the action of the legal entity (G. of T. Foundation) and not the action of the individual members. Thus, the Lectureship is the action of a human organization (G. of T. Foundation) and is not parallel in any way to the action of individuals teaching the gospel. When God specified the local church as his functional organization to make known divine truth (1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Thess. 1:1, 8; Phil. 4:15-18; 2 Cor.11:8), that eliminates any other organization (just as the command to “sing” eliminates the instrument-Eph. 5: 19).

            My second objection is this: many have assumed because the individual Christian has many duties and activities which are the result of his relation to this life (domestic, economic, civil and social) where God has left him free to form organizations to carry out these duties, they are also free in the realm of the spiritual to form any kind of organization to carry out their spiritual duties. But, in the realm of the spiritual God has not left man free to form any kind of organization. He has specified the organization Christians are to work and worship through, the local church (Acts 9:26-28; Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; Acts 20:7; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Thess. 1:8). When God specifies a thing, man is limited to that thing. When God specified gopher wood to build the ark, Noah was limited to gopher wood (Gen. 6: 14). When God specified the local church, man is limited to the local church (1 Tim. 3:15). In apostolic days we only read of individual Christians teaching the gospel to other individuals (Acts 8:4; 11:19-21; 2 Tim. 2:2; Eph. 5:4; Tit. 2:3-4) and local churches teaching and supporting the preaching of the gospel (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Thess. 1:8; Phil. 4:14-18; 2 Cor. 11:8-9; Acts 11:22-26). There is no scriptural evidence that first century Christians individually did their work of teaching through any organization but the local church. This is God’s exclusive pattern for carrying the gospel to the lost world. In about thirty years from Pentecost, individual Christians and local churches carried the gospel to the lost world without the help of any other organization, and it is still God’s way (Col. 1:23). The local church is not an “optional” organization which provides the individual Christian with a choice of either teaching the gospel through it (the local church) or through a human organization. 

            My third objection is that using human organizations to do the work God built his church to do denies the completeness and sufficiency of God’s plan. Many fail to appreciate the all-sufficiency of Christ, the church and his Word. The New Testament teaches that Christ is a sufficient Savior (Col. 2:9; 1:19; 2:3, 10), the gospel is a sufficient revelation (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and the church is a sufficient relationship and institution; the fulness of Christ is summed up in the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 1:3). The church originated in the mind of God from eternity; it was established on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose (Eph. 3:9-11; Acts 2). It has the deity of Christ as its foundation (Matt. 16:16-18; 1 Cor. 3:11); Christ as its Head and Savior (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:23) and the New Testament sealed by the blood of Christ as its rule of faith and practice (Matt. 26:28). The divine origin of the church shows us that God has a divine purpose and mission for it in the world — that mission is to support the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), and he has given that mission to no other institution in the world! Why can’t men be satisfied with the church designed by God, built by Christ, and revealed by the Holy Spirit? 

            It seems some have opposition to a human organization preaching the gospel only when it involves contributions received from churches, but the concept of a human organization functioning in the realm God ordained for the local church is wrong! It shows a dissatisfaction with God’s appointment — the local autonomous church (Eph. 3:9-11; 1 Tim. 3:15; Acts 14:23). I do not understand why brethren want a human organization to preach the gospel and deal with vital issues when they have a perfect divine arrangement to do this — the local church! Brother W.W. Otey said: “The seed of the Kingdom — the word of God — unmixed with the doctrines of men never has, and never will, produce any other institution, organization, association, great or small, than the church of our Lord.” (Taken from Vanguard [July 14, 1977]). And, brother Roy Cogdill wrote the following in the June 16, 1966 issue of the Gospel Guardian: 

Human societies to take over and do the work of the church which the Lord built His church to do are spiritual forgeries for they are unauthorized in the scriptures. The only thing that God ever built in the way of religious organizations is the church. He gave it order and arrangement that it might accomplish His will. In the New Testament days the local “churches of Christ” (Rom. 16: 16) did the greatest job of propagating the truth and furthering the borders of the kingdom of Christ that has ever been done. The maze of Missionary Societies, Educational Societies, etc., did not exist and the man does not live that can find authority for their existence today in the scriptures. They are human and not divine. They are spiritual forgeries and those who promote them will stand condemned. 

            If individual Christians can build a human organization to preach the gospel (have a gospel meeting), why can’t they build one to sponsor a radio program to preach the gospel, or one to send men into the world to preach? If individual Christians are not restrained by the authority of Christ, then there is no end to the organizations they could form! The Christian is restricted to the only organization that God has authorized for him to carry out his spiritual duties of public worship and teaching the gospel — the local church (Acts 9:26-28; 2:42; 20:7; 1 Tim. 3:15; Acts 11:25-26). Brethren, this issue needs to be studied with the utmost care, with an open mind, believing hearts, and a great respect for the word of God. 

First published in
Truth Magazine
September 16, 2004