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  • IDENTIFYING THE FACTIOUS MAN
    • (no login)
      Posted Sep 5, 2004 3:01 AM

      IDENTIFYING THE FACTIOUS MAN


      Dear Brother:

      I am seeking your advice and biblical insight in the following. How do we recognize and determine a heretic or divisive person (Tit. 3:10), and how can we best show others that flaw? Randy



      Dear Bro. Randy:

      A factious man is one whose attitude, speech and conduct causes sinful division in the family of God. Problems within a church can be caused for various reasons:
      1. Because of some false teaching that is being promoted.
      2. Because of someone's opposition to the truth that is being taught and practiced.
      3. Because of selfish personal interests; i.e., a determination to have one’s way in some or all situations.
      4. Because of personal antagonisms with other brethren.
      5. Because of ignorance. Even a good person can in ignorance and misguided zeal be guilty of causing conflict and division in the church.
      A factious person can be recognized in several ways:
      1. By their conduct. If they are actively trying to recruit a clique or party, if they are hostile and antagonist towards fellow-Christians. Factious people often are seen having private meetings with their sympathizers to plan their strategy, or secretly circulating petitions or letters to effect their agenda.

      2. By their speech. Such people often express openly their intent to "drive out" those who oppose them or to "lead a group in starting a new congregation."

      3. By their teaching. Often a factious person is a teacher or preacher. The manner, tone and content of the message he delivers can be designed to create unrest and unhappiness within the congregation. It can be critical of the elders and a challenge to their leadership and authority.

      4. Factious preachers can sometimes by identified by the content of their sermons. They present lessons that are designed to undermine the doctrine of Christ. Sometimes they ridicule past Christians and those who are clinging to the Bible way. Often they float new controversial ideas and opinions that can only cause dissension within the body.

      5. The person who gathers together a small group and begins to separate them from the rest of the congregation by his teaching and leadership is factious. This might be a campus worker. It might be a person who appeals to younger adults and families within the congregation. It might be the preacher. Slowly they indoctrinate their group with their faulty views and alienate them from the leadership of the church.

      6. Factious people will often use smooth and fair speech to deceive the innocent (Rom. 16:18). Rarely will they admit what they are about.
      Given all of the above, we must make a distinction between those who cause divisions "contrary to the doctrine ye learned" from God's book (Rom. 16:17) and those who stand up to and resist the false teacher who has disrupted a congregation. It sometimes happens that the false teacher is able to deceive and gain control of the majority of the congregation...even the elders. When such is the case what shall the faithful brother or sister do? We must mark or take note of them and turn away from them (Rom. 16:17). We must refuse them (Tit. 3:10). We must resist them (Eph. 5:11-12). We must contend against them (Jude 3). When the faithful do this they will often be accused of causing division by the very sinners who have invaded and corrupted the church. The fact is they are not the ones causing the trouble. It is the false teachers and their followers. When Elijah resisted the corruptions of Ahab and Jezebel, they called him "the troubler of Israel" (I Kings 18:16-18). In reality the corrupt rulers were causing the trouble.

      As we face the juggernaut of change, may we never be guilty of promoting faction in God's church, but may we always be steadfast, and unmovable in our faith and convictions (I Cor. 15:58).

      _____________________________________
      John Waddey, Editor
      Christianity: Then and Now

      E-Mail: johnwaddey@aol.com
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    ...........................THE BOOK

    What Happened At the Madison Church of Christ?


    There are thousands of churches being taken over across America.

    This book is only about one of those churches. It's about the Madison Church Of Christ. By studying the methods used here along with the resource references you might be able to inoculate your church. At the very least you will recognize the signs early on.

    Many of the current members of the Madison Church of Christ still don't know what happened.
    Some never will know! This book is for them as well.

    Madison Church of Christ was a 60 year old church. At one time it was one of the largest churches in the US, and the largest Church of Christ.

    It thrived for many years on the vision of it's elders and those of it's ministers. Those visions undoubtably came from the the inspired word of Jesus Christ.

    At sometime in the last 10 years there was a deliberate plan by a majority of the elders to take the Madison Church of Christ into a more worldly realm.

    They used secrecy, covert planning, and outside sources to scheme and to change the format and direction of the Madison Church of Christ.

    The Elders knew that the membership would never approve such a plan. Using the tools of the "Community Church Movement"(consultants, books, seminars, meetings,planters,seeders) they slowly started initiating change so it was never noticed by the members until it was too late.....

    At the heart of the plan was the fact that old members were going to be driven off so new techniques could be used to go out and reach the unchurched through new "Contemporary Holy Entertainment" methods developed by the "Community Church Movement"

    Old members had to be kept on board long enough to get their plans ready, or the funds would not be there to pay for the new building. So by the plans very nature, it had to be secret.

    The church had no plan in effect to renew or approve elders. There was never any need. The elders had always been "as approved by God". 10 of the last 15 elders would begin to shed some doubt on that.

    The Elders did not even need a majority at first, because some of the elders went along unwittingly.

    This edition starts shortly after some of the members begin to smell something strange in January 2001. Later editions may go back and fill in some of the timeline.

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    Here is the list of players;

    5 Godly Elders
    10 Not so Godly Elders
    120 "Deacons" (allegiance unknown)
    2,800 - 4,000 church "members"
    2 "teners" (people who have publicly confessed to have broken all ten commandments)
    Unknown number of "sinners" (This is what the 10 elders call us.)
    Unknown number of "demons" (Flying everywhere, to many to count)
     

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