"I Pray for Your Movement Every Day"
Published: January 23, 2006
Hi there,
My name is David Yasko. I am a mainline church of Christ evangelist and I enjoy your website very much. I am also a subscriber to DisciplesToday. I want you to know that I pray for your movement every day, and am saddened by the turmoil of the past few years. I have genuine love and care for brothers like Scott Green in Seattle and Mike Hammonds in Boston and pray for them by name on a daily basis. Back in the 80's I was a youth minister with the Fairlawn church of Christ in Muncie, Indiana. There were two campus ministers while I was there: Sheridan Wright, who moved to New York, and Bob Harpole, who later moved to Ohio. I was youth minister there when the first remnant was called out of the mainline church. I remember it like it was yesterday. There were two immediate feelings.
The first was disbelief. I mean, we all knew the campus ministers felt the church wasn't being the church she needs to be. We all knew the relationship between the campus ministers and the elders was tenuous. But we never dreamed we would divide. The attendance of the Fairlawn congregation went from 400 one Sunday morning (the call to go to Indianapolis came on a Sunday afternoon) to 150 the next Sunday morning. At that time the Fairlawn church had dealt with quite a bit of hassle from other congregations for embracing the campus movement. Our answer was that people were being baptized. Lots of people. People were growing and maturing in Christ, lots of people. And oh my, was it exciting. Young men and women were giving their lives over to Jesus Christ, lots of young men and women. And we honestly couldn't believe they were gone. We thought, "there must be some sort of misunderstanding. We know these folks. We've had these folks in our homes. We've opened our lives to these folks. There must be a way to talk through the issues." But the deal was done. There was already a place to meet in Indianapolis, there was already a lead evangelist in place. A lot of stuff had been thought through. And there was disbelief that on the Sunday before the call to leave, we were brothers and sisters in Christ and the Sunday after the call to leave, we were not.
The second feeling was sadness. Sadness at seeing people who had stood up and defended the work on the campus who were told they weren't sold out enough, and mega sadness at those in the campus group who were not asked to accompany the main group to Indianapolis. When they asked why they weren't invited to be a part of the new movement they were told, "you didn't have what it takes to be a disciple." To this day I have never seen a group of people as devastated as that particular group.
My goodness, that's been 20 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.
And I guess I'm writing to tell you not to lose heart.
It's hard when somebody you look up to, or looked up to, starts viewing you and the movement you love as an enemy. It hurts when something you sacrificed so much for is called "dead and dying" by the man who drove the dream for so many years. When the movement you worked so hard to build has its unity threatened by someone you love and trust it rattles your heart. Because you want to say, "wait a minute, we're on the same team, aren't we? And you want to think the answer to that is "yes" but stuff keeps happening that seems to suggest the other alternative.
Stuff like Brother Kip, when spoken to in love by men who love him and who would die for him, promises to not be divisive, and the promise is intact until the next issue of the bulletin comes out and you find out that you are now the "dead and dying." Disciples who want to be part of the remnant of the faithful are encouraged to move to Portland so they can belong to a souled out group.
In Phoenix, a couple breaks away from the church and form a new group. They invite all those who feel as discouraged as they are with the direction of the Phoenix church to be a part. The elders and evangelists warn members about them. But people go anyway.
In Toronto, a couple breaks away from the church and form a new group. They invite all those who feel as discouraged as they are with the direction of the Toronto church to be a part. The elders and evangelists warn members about them. And people go anyway.
In Georgia, a much loved evangelist with a heart overwhelmed with guilt walks away from those he has been charged to lead and moves to Portland so he can be a part of the new movement.
An article promising silence followed up by a webpage full of letters from people without names being anything but silent.
And it's painful. Because you expected more. Maybe we didn't know what we expected but it certainly wasn't this.
And through it all, we are still called to be the Body of Christ. We are still called to go about the business of teaching the lost about Jesus and baptizing them into the Kingdom. We are called to be soldiers of the cross and and belong to the army of God. We are called by Paul to share in the fellowship of sufferings. We are called by Jesus to take Christ to the culture and the Word to the world. We are told to run with endurance the race that is set before us. We are told there will be defectors. We are told there will be detractors. We are told there will be those who preach with impure motives. And still we are called to be ministers of the Gospel of Christ. We are told not to look to the right or to the left, but to keep our eyes on the goal and do our best to get to the finish line still running for Jesus. To get to heaven by God's grace and with God's grace take as many people to heaven with us as we can.
Pardon me for my catharsis. I would not wish the hurt, pain and uncertainty that is in your movement now on anyone. Please continue praying for the movement I am a part of and I will always keep the movement you are a part of in my prayers.
Thank you for your time and my God help all of us be what He wants us to be.
David Yasko
Houston, Texas
