Garth Young: Lost and Found, Part Two

Last Sunday, Garth Young began telling his story about being a member of the Oregon City Followers of Christ Church. Today, Garth continues his story of seeking biblical answers. Please come back Sunday to read the rest of the story.

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There were problems but problems are a part of life. From today’s perspective, I know the problems of life come from living in a fallen world. We are all born with a tendency to be self-centered which is sin and contrary to being Holy. The problem with sin is it stains. Afterward we decide to do better and move on, but the stain is still there and our record of wrong doings cannot be erased. The only thing the natural man can do is cover it up. 

I remember one time as a teenager, a friend told me he was speeding down the highway and a police car pulled him over, my friend jumped out of his truck threw open his hood and exclaimed the gas pedal was stuck and the truck would not stop, of course there was nothing wrong with his truck but he was so convincing that the officer let him go. My friend justified his actions by saying his dad told him to do whatever you can to get out of a speeding ticket. On the other hand there are some people that would never tell a lie – or at least not a big lie like that – because good people have standards to meet. Good people come to the erroneous conclusion that doing what is right will make them righteous people; these are the same people who are thankful they are not like the sinners, like the Pharisee praying at the temple (Luke 18:10-13). Being good and doing the right thing in an attempt to become righteous is just another way of covering up sin, but the stain is still there. I thought that I was better than my friend who lied to get out of a ticket, because I lived by a different standard when it came to telling the truth. The problem is I had lied in the past, and that made me a liar.

Serious questioning about the destination of my soul became very burdensome by the time I was thirty.  I read that the greatest commandment is - And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30) This was a problem because the love I was supposed to give God had been given to other things. I’ve come to realize now that loving anything more than God is not small - it is a crime against God and he will not sweep it under the rug. The biggest fear for a sinner like me was that accounts will be settled.

It’s hard to recall a more difficult time in my life than this. Discontented best describes my overall state of mind. Every time I tried to succeed in an area of my own personal righteousness, I would fail in another area, it seemed I could do nothing right. Going to church wasn’t helping me; I felt like a foreigner who didn’t speak the language, there were no answers. I was isolated in my thoughts and wanted out of the confines of this torment that seemed hidden from everyone’s perception of reality.

My dad died when I was 10 and my mother died when I was 21. Chances were, physically speaking, that I would not live much longer. Listening to people outside of our group for answers was not easy but it seemed a reasonable alternative.  If you would have asked me what I was doing at the time there is no way I could have articulated it as clearly as I can now. There was definitely a fear of the unknown because I had been told my whole life that people outside of our church were worldly, and there was for sure a fear of being alienated from everyone I had known all my life. Often I listened to Christian radio programs and sometimes would call in to ask questions. There were at least five different Christian speakers that I listened to regularly from all around the country, they all had different styles and techniques of communicating but what they all had in common is the gospel.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle, I understood what the bible said. Before this, the truth of the gospel was foreign and unseen, everything that was important to me was only about me and was incompatible with the holiness of God; I didn't see how great He is. Everything I had stood for was wrong. I said I believed in God and no doubt he was real but it wasn't a belief that pleases the Lord, it wasn’t a belief that propelled me into worshiping God, and neither did I see Jesus as glorious and loving. There had been a complete focus on my righteousness.  This new understanding of who I was and who Jesus was broadcasted in my heart and mind that I was catastrophically stained, unable to pay my debt, and without hope. But Jesus is the great and mighty Savior, as we often praised His name in the following classic hymn: 

Not the labors of my hands

can fulfill thy law's commands;

could my zeal no respite know,

could my tears forever flow,

all for sin could not atone;

thou must save, and thou alone.

Rock of Ages by Augustus M. Toplady

The words “thou must save, and thou alone” had come out of my mouth hundreds of times in the last thirty years.

Toplady wrote such profound biblical truth that he has blessed the church for centuries – even though he himself had none of the essential qualities my group considered necessary. From 1740-1778 Augustus M. Toplady lived his brief life in England, attended Westminster School, London and Trinity College, Dublin. He preached God’s word without any recording of being called through prophecy, tongues or dreams and was never a member of the Followers of Christ Church and yet had a profoundly accurate theological understanding of God’s word. How is that possible? But perhaps the bigger question is how could I have mouthed those words so many times and not really understood what I was saying? The answer is that I was blind, I was dead, and I was an enemy of God. And there was nothing I could do to cure myself because only God can give life to the dead.

Having my dead eyes opened to see biblical truth, I was about to enter into becoming a disciple for the first time.

Garth Young: Lost and Found, Part One

It’s not easy to find former Followers who are willing to speak publicly about their experiences in the church. I am grateful, therefore, that former member, Garth Young, has agreed to tell his story on this forum. Please check back on Wednesday for part two and the final section next Sunday.

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My name is Garth Young and I grew up in the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City. I am 41 years old, and am married to Elaine whose maiden name is Moore. We have five children, three of whom were born while we were attending the Church in Oregon City.

For those of you who are curious, this is the first time I have ever written anything about the Oregon City Followers of Christ Church - anonymous or otherwise.  This is a brief recounting in my own words of what happened to me ten years ago, when I led my family away from the church that had been our life.

Being born and raised, and starting a family within this group has meaning. It means this is my life; these are my people, my family and my friends. We had a common bond not just because of the close relational togetherness, but because we were different from those outside because of what we practiced and how devoted we were to the assignment of following Christ.

Dedication to being a member by attendance and belief in the church held out great potential for escaping the wrath of God and going to heaven. This makes complete sense because nobody wants eternal punishment and even the simplest mind can grasp the idea that good people are rewarded while bad people are punished. As a young person I was taught from the pulpit to get my good works in early and that would make me prepared. I still remember a time as a boy helping stack firewood for an older couple in our church, my friend brought up the fact that we were doing it; we were getting in our good works.

The last elder died when I was fifteen and there was no more teaching from the pulpit. The potential hope for salvation now came down to attending church twice a week and singing hymns – and of course, being a good person was still a huge part of the equation. Helping people within the group (especially when sick) was highly promoted, as was prayer and fasting, greeting with a holy kiss, and abstaining from the services of a physician. Along with these I had heard from an older and seemingly wise man that drunkenness, sexual sin and killing a human would greatly hinder my chances of finding favor with God, but most of all stay in the church.  As a result of this, a pattern began to develop within me; everyone makes mistakes, but if I can do more good than bad, it should work out in my favor, especially if I remain part of the church. This was my understanding of what God wanted his people to know and to do.

There were opinions within the FOC that considered some of the essential teachings of the church to have been radically softened over the last twenty years. The hard lines that made up the earlier church had been restructured as a remedy for our missing parts. Baptism, Lord’s Supper, preaching and leadership were areas of contention because they didn’t exist anymore. These practices disappeared due to a lack of leadership (Apostle or Elder) to implement them. At nineteen, I was well on my way to becoming an obstinate hardliner. Not only did I think salvation was achieved by going to the right church and following the prescribed actions, I also believed the bar of earning salvation needed to be raised.     

I was familiar with the bible and considered myself in agreement with the teachings of scripture. My reading however, centered on me. My understanding of the bible was always filtered through the lens of what I must do, and how I must continue in my own strength. I prayed for help, I prayed for a preacher, I prayed for understanding, but really I had the idea that faith was self mustered. There were many deficiencies in my character like pride and anger, just to name a couple.  My assessment of the continual behavior and desires that proceeded from my heart and mind fell far short from the calling Jesus gave to be perfect as the father is perfect (Mat 5:48). If perfection was the requirement for entering the kingdom, then I was disqualified at every level and so were all of my family and friends.  But if perfection was just a target to aim at in hopes of an occasional hit, all the while knowing I was safe because I’m part of the right church that does the right things, I could rest. The burden of perfection was relieved because I did what I was supposed to do. Or did I? Was it really possible that my actions could somehow erase all the condemnation that my sin had accumulated?

Little did I know, my life was about to radically change. 

C.C. Smith: A Letter of Condolence

This letter was written to Brother Ralph and Sister Minnie Young when their house burned.

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Gerber, California

October 31, 1935

My Dear Brother and Sister in Christ Jesus our Lord,

I wish to extend to you my heartfelt sympathy in your bereavement in the terrible loss of your children.

Remember they will come again and inherit their own border and again God has said to weep not as those who have no hope. David said, I cannot call him back but I can go to him.

Let us be patient in our tribulations. Let us say as Paul in days of old, I am persuaded that neither heights nor depths nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May God’s richest blessings ever be with you and yours is my earnest prayer that God will preserve you unto his heavenly kingdom.

Amen.

Your brother till death,

C.C. Smith

C.C. Smith: Divorce

The issue of divorce is tricky in the Christian belief system. There are certain rules in which a person may be released from marriage - if their spouse cheats, if the marriage was never consummated, or if a spouse denounces God (or in this case, the specific Oregon City FOC church) and leaves of their own accord. The problem with this is that the OC Group only allows men to be released from a cheating spouse. Also, the only people who know what really goes on behind closed doors are the husband, wife, and God. Another problem in this system is that, in order to be free, the spouses must prove themselves   innocent by trashing their spouse - who is, in most cases, the mother or father of their children. Who suffers most from this? The children. Does God hate divorce? The bible tells us that He does. God hates all sin. And we have all sinned.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

James 2:10

Please read these two letters from the preacher C.C. Smith on the subject of divorce.

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Gerber, California

March 11, 1933

Greetings:

I read Brother George’s letter and was surprised that he would teach as he did. I think he needs a little teaching himself. Let us turn to the Sermon on the Mount: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth and taught them saying. This is very plain that where man and wife are both in the faith there is but two reasons for them to marry again, namely fornication or death of one or the other.

Now let us see what Paul was talking about 1^st Cor. 7-15, he was talking to one that was in the faith which had an unbelieving companion in other words unequally yoked together. Now Paul says if the unbelieving depart let them depart: a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. And he didn’t say if the other has committed fornication.

First Cor. 5-5. This speaks of the spirit that was in the man when he was born into the world. The flesh would return to the earth as it was and the spirit return to God that gave it. If there is any in that body who wants to turn someone over to Satan., tell them to be sure there is not a beam in their own eye.

I believe it would do those good who are always contentious if they would read all of the sermon on the mount. Matt 5-6, in the prayer he taught his disciples to pray: and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

I was glad to hear that Brother Walter had been preaching. I trust God will reward him. And now I charge you that this epistle be read among all the holy brethren.

May God bless you and yours, my earnest prayer.

Pray for us.

C.C. Smith

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The following letter was undated, but also addressed questions about the circumstances in which divorce is permitted in the church. Smith also exhorts the church not to remove members from their body, a practice the Oregon City group has taken up in recent years, by means of shunning and pressuring others to shun.

Dear Brother and Sister in Christ Jesus,

I just received your letter asking for information concerning certain scriptures. You did not mention any names. I have guessed that you refer to old sister Rogers as we used to call her.

Now Mr. Rogers left her. Answer: if the unbelieving depart, let them depart, a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. If she was not under bondage she was free to marry.

Then she married an old soldier who seemed to me to be faithful. This brother died, she was no longer his wife but his widow. If her husband be dead she is at liberty to marry who she will only in the Lord. First Cor. 7-39.

The last man did not marry his father’s wife but his father’s widow, and one that was free because of his death.

As far as putting one out of the church is a Pharisee error. If our names are on the Lamb’s Book of Life, no man can take it off. Each one can take his own name off by evil conduct or disobedience. Remember the wheat and the tares must grow together until the harvest and God’s angels will separate them.

I charge that this epistle be read to all the Holy Brethren.

May the richest blessings from on high reside and abide with you all. Amen.

Pray for us,

C.C. Smith

C.C. Smith: Deacons, Elders, and Bishops

On Sunday, I posted a letter from Charles Calvin Smith, written in 1910. The letter posted below was written in 1932 in response to a question about the callings and roles of Deacons, Elders, and Bishops.

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Gerber, California

January 28, 1932


My dear brother and sister in Christ Jesus Our Lord. I was truly glad to get a letter from you this morning. And inquiry concerning a Deacon and his duties. I have always looked out for Deacons and ordained them where I deamed them of use to the body. Simply ordaining a man does not make a Deacon, neither does ordaining a man make an Elder.


Paul told Titus to ordain Elders. He did not say ordain men and make Elders out of them. If a man was not an Elder before he was ordained he would not be afterward. Ordain simply means to set apart. That is the reason Paul said to ordain Elders. He told him just how he would know an elder. The same way he told just what qualifications a deacon should have and in Luke’s writing the Acts of the Apostles, he tells you in Acts 6 just what a deacon’s work is.


A bishop is not ordained as a Bishop but when an Elder is called into the ministry after being an Elder it makes him a bishop. Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good.


Brother Earnest Paul was called after he was an Elder, and the Spirit said, “Thou are a Bishop chosen of God. Preach the word while you live in the world and you shall wear a crown of everlasting life.”


I was never satisfied what a bishop was until I heard Brother Earnest’s calling. Now I trust that by reading the scripture you will be able to understand just what these three offices are and just what their work is.


We have a wonderful little body here of 22 with but little discord. All seem to try to live the faith. As it is easy to see, the fullness of Christ and the prophets words fulfilled. Jer 46-40. Hab 1-8. Fly as an eagle that hasteth to eat. Then we see the Automobile in Nahum 2-3.


I exhort you never give up the race for we shall reap if we faint not. Amen.

Pray for us.

C.C. Smith

I charge you that this epistle be read among all the holy brethren.

A Letter from C. C. Smith

I have come accross several hand-written letters from the preacher Charles Calvin Smith. I thought they would add to the historical record of the FOC. One thing I noticed about this letter is his allusion to predestination.

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November 22, 1910

My Dear Brother Johnie & Family,

Love to all

I suppose I owe you an apology for not writing sooner but you know how it is when one is trying to get settled on a new place. I moved down in the valley this Fall and have had to get ready for winter. It is starting to show today about half snow and half rain which makes it sloshy under foot. I just got back from preaching a sermon over at Canby. I had a very good crowd but it rained and made the roads so sloshy that they won’t come out so I came home. It seems like the people in general want anything else but the truth. A lie suits them fine when the preacher charges them for lying. I get discouraged but I suppose God will draw the ones that are ordained to Eternal Life.

Do you ever think any more of selling out and coming over or have the “Mexico Brethren” got you going South? I see by the paper that the Spaniards are making some trouble for the settlers. I don’t think I want any of it in mind. I had rather have a biscuit with quietness than both hands full with strife. Godliness with contentment is great gain.

I heard that Brother Oliver Eels was coming over here with his new bride. Well tell them we will all be glad to see them and we all wish them a long and happy life in this world and in the world to come. Life everlasting.

Brother Robert Conley did not seem very well satisfied until they was offered their money back for their place after they got the crop gathered since that I don’t hear any complaints. Some of the brethren in Oklahoma is talking of coming out here.

I am well pleased with the brethren that are here. They all seem to want to worship God in spirit and in truth. Well Brother John don’t wait as long as I did to write. I would love to hear from you. I love to read your letters.

Pray for me and mine with best wishes. I desire to remain your brother till death.

May God bless you all

C.C. Smith

No Mother's Day

It was the mid-1980s when the Followers lost their first laboring mother. For so many generations, the maternal mortality rate was zero. Then it happened again. In some families more than one young lady died in this way. We were told that it was a noble way to die. A sure way to heaven. Many young women were terrified of giving birth.

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Have you heard about former super model Christy Turlington's call to boycot Mother's Day this year?

Here is a blurb from her organization's website (www.everymothercounts.org):

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Whether you are a mother or you just love one, you can educate people about this issue and help prevent it. Here are some important facts about maternal health around the world.

1. Approximately 358,000 women die each year due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. That's one woman every 90 seconds.
2. For every woman who dies each year in childbirth, 20-30 more suffer from lifelong debilitating disabilities.
3. Pregnancy is the number one cause of death in women, ages 15-19, in the developing world. Nearly 70,000 young women die every year because their bodies are not ready for parenthood.
4. Over 200 million women who would like to choose when they get pregnant don’t have access to family planning.
5. The United States ranks 50th globally in maternal mortality, even though it spends more on health care per capita than any other nation in the world. African American women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than Caucasian women.

Almost all of these deaths are preventable.

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How do you remember those mothers who have died in labor and delivery? Do you have a story to telll? Please join the conversation below.