Provisions for Survival

One of the marks of the divine origin of the Bible is that it anticipates departures from the faith that would arise and provides the antidote for them beforehand. In this same vein, we note that God made prior provisions to save His church when waves of apostasy threatened her existence. As the 21' century church faces the assaults of a determined band of liberal change agents, she has within her very nature the "survival gear" needed to save those who are determined to follow Jesus in all things.

Christ made each congregation to be autonomous, i.e., independent and self-governing. As the tentacles of apostasy spread through the brotherhood, each congregation is free to decide if they will remain loyal to Christ or embrace the alluring gospel of change. In denominational churches, with their central governing bodies and denominational control of local property, if interlopers can capture the ruling authorities—the headquarters—they can impose their will on all the congregations of that group. We have witnessed this gradual usurpation of control in the experience of many of our neighbors, particularly in the Disciples of Christ. If the forces of change prevail among us, they will have to capture each separate congregation, one at a time. If nine out of ten congregations in a given town elect to abandon the old paths of the faith and one congregation alone holds to the gospel way, they can and will survive as the faithful remnant of the Lord's church. No one can despoil them of thei