WHAT IS A CHANGE AGENT?

Dear Bro. Waddey:

What is a "closet change agent"? William

Dear Bro. William:  
A change agent is a false teacher within the brotherhood of Churches of Christ who is not content to follow the faith and practice of Christianity as sets forth in the pages of the New Testament.  He or she therefore works to convince our brethren that they should adopt changes in their faith, worship and practice that will be more acceptable to the world of the 21st Century. The adjective "closet" means they operate undercover, or covertly to accomplish their evil purposes.

Among the things they are trying to change are:

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Our commitment to restoring the faith and practice of the church of the Bible. They argue that such an approach is no long practical or needed.

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Our praise worship.  They think we are wrong in opposing the us of instrumental music and should change to at least be tolerant of those who do so.  many of them are already using musical instruments in their worship.  They also think we are wrong to insist on congregational singing and thus they want us to accept the use of soloists, choirs, etc.

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The way we commune.  Some of them think we are wrong in observing the Communion as a sacred memorial to Jesus' death. They would turn it into a "joyful celebration" and combine it with a regular meal for the belly. Also they wish to be able to commune on other days than the first day of the week.

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The role of women in the church. They think we are wrong for not allowing women into leadership roles, and are willing to allow them to serve as preachers and teachers of men.

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The nature of the church.  To them the Church of Christ is a denomination of the same worth as the hundreds of other denominational churches founded by men. They would have us not think or speak of the church as the exclusive body of Christ.

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They think we have been wrong in not fellowshipping the Christian Churches and other denominational bodies.  They wish to change us so that we will do so.

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They say we have not understood the Bible properly.  So they would change the way we read and understand it. This is to allow them to impose their unauthorized changes.

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They argue that we have misunderstood the way men are to be saved. They believe we are saved by grace through faith, and that baptism is not an essential aspect of our salvation.

There are other particulars that could be sited but these are sufficient to show that these brethren are proposing changes that are foreign and contrary to the doctrine of Christ.  We must not stand silent and allow them to impose these changes of the Lord's people. Where they are successful the church will be corrupted and destroyed.  I do hope you will want to work with us in mounting an offensive to defeat them and drive them from our midst.

 

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