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Faith on the March
A.H. Macmillan
Copyright 1957
| CHAPTER 11
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| BUILT ON A PRIMITIVE FOUNDATION
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| PAGE 150
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BIRTH OF THE New World society in 1919 Brought changes in our thinking and in our activity. The period that followed was a time of constant change and development. Strengthened by our trying experiences during World War I, we were beginning to take firm root among people of all nations. But we were not a part of this present system of things. Therefore, this world could not understand our position or our aims.
Even though we had been cleared of an illegal judgment of seditious conspiracy, we were viewed with suspicion and distrust from all sides. The systems of this world were well established and set in their own pattern of activity. They viewed us as "new," as an "upstart" society, and our doctrine as "radical" and "impractical." The chasm which separated us was of their making. They wanted it that way and resented any interference.
J. F. Rutherford, however, was not a man to "pull his punches." He spoke as simply and directly to the people as he
knew how, and he was an extremely forthright man. He was thoroughly convinced that what he had to say was the truth and that it was a matter of life and death. As was the case with Russell it had not taken Rutherford long to realize that the religions of Christendom were drifting further away from the principles and truth of the Bible. Many of the Protestant religions were turning to higher criticism of the Bible, and in a quiet, underhanded way were destroying the confidence of the people in the inspiration of the Bible as the guide for daily living. To many it had become a book of philosophy. Catholicism had always taken the view that the Bible was not sufficient to guide people in worship or in the affairs of life, and had to add tradition to it. Expensive church buildings, the collection plate, high-salaried clergy, church bazaars, raffles and bingo parties--none of which were employed in early Christian worship--all smacked of materialism and strengthened Rutherford's resolve to emphasize a simple form of worship that involved individual dedication to God and to his service. Rutherford repeatedly charged the leaders of Christendom: "You are commercializing religion and making salvation just a business proposition, a matter of money, rather than a matter of devotion to Jehovah in covenant relationship with him." It was not just condemning someone else's religion. God's name was involved and so was the individual destiny of everyone on earth. So he was justified in his position and he was fired with enthusiasm in proclaiming it. Of course, his plain unvarnished speech made him many enemies, and when his slogan, "Religion is a snare and a racket," began to appear their teeth were bared in earnest. What our enemies had failed to accomplish in 1918 some of them now determined must be done. A well-organized campaign was set in motion to discredit, undermine and completely destroy our work of preaching the good news of the Kingdom.
| page 152
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| RUTHERFORD BEGINS TO UNIFY OUR WORK
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Meanwhile, Rutherford realized we were too loosely organized for any concerted effort of our own. With the birth of the New World society in 1919 a new spirit had come into us and we were eager to carry our message of Jehovah's established kingdom to the ends of the earth. This meant we must close up our ranks and unify our efforts. Russell had left it much to the individual as to how we were to fulfill our responsibilities. When we were sent out as speakers to visit the congregations we had our own way about it. We selected our own subjects for our talks and, as a result, there was considerable confusion as to what was said. Rutherford wanted to unify the preaching work and, instead of having each individual give his own opinion and tell what he thought was right and do what was in his own mind, gradually Rutherford himself began to be the main spokesman for the organization. That was the way he thought the message could best be given without contradiction. At the same time we began to realize that each one of us had a responsibility to go from house to house and preach. We were shown that it was a covenant-keeping arrangement. We had a duty to God, as well as a privilege and a duty to our fellow-men to see that they were informed of God's purposes. God's favor and approval was not to be won by developing "character." In 1927 we were shown that the way each individual was to serve was to go from door to door. Sunday especially was stressed as the most opportune day to find the people at home. What a furor that started! Even within the organization a few objected. "I couldn't go to the door on Sunday morning and offer someone literature," they said. "People would think I was breaking the Sabbath. I'll stay home and I'll prepare a nice sermon in the morning and in the afternoon or evening
I'll dress up in my frock coat and wing collar and I'll come up and give them a good talk and that will be serving the Lord." That was the position a few of the elders took. The majority, though, recognized it was the way Jesus and the apostles did the work and took it up gladly.
| PREACHING THE LORD'S WORD ON THE LORD'S DAY
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The reaction of some of the householders whom we approached was interesting, to say the least. One of Jehovah's Witnesses I had known for some time was a prominent businessman and well known in the community where he lived. On Sunday morning he appeared at a lady's home with some Bible study aids, offering them for a small contribution, and the lady of the house took him to task.
"Mr. Cuppett," she said, "I'm astonished to see a man of your standing coming to people's homes on Sundays trying to sell something. There are six days in the week that you could do this selling and not today."
"Well," he said, "Mrs. Knox, if you can show me from the Lord's Word that it's wrong to do the Lord's work on the Lord's day, I'll quit and go home."
That took her by surprise and she stopped and reasoned with him on the matter. He reminded her of the fact that Jesus performed works of healing on the sabbath day and it seemed to the Pharisees looking on that he was desecrating the sabbath. Cuppett opened his Bible and read to her:1 "There was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen
into a pit, and will not straight way pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things." Then Cuppett said: "I'm calling on you for a good purpose. Like that poor son of Abraham that Jesus cured, most of the people in the world today are in a worse condition than the ox or ass that falls into a pit. We're not performing physical cures today, but the spiritual healing that is available through these Bible study aids I am offering you is far more important. This information will show you and your family how to find lasting security for the future." Mrs. Knox was like a number of people we used to meet, more so in the past than in recent years. She had become so used to thinking of religion only in connection with a certain type of building and service that she could not understand how someone could call at her home with anything truly religious. If it wasn't done the way it was done in her church, then there must be something wrong with it, she argued. She thought nothing of her minister passing the collection plate on Sunday to pay his salary and otherwise finance her religion, but when Cuppett offered her a printed sermon at her door for a contribution just to cover the printing cost, it became something commercial to her mind. She didn't realize that Cuppett wasn't even being paid for his work. In fact, it was actually costing him money to visit her home. But when he explained how Jesus carried on his work, then she was willing to take some of his books and look into the matter. While this extensive house-to-house ministry met with an immediate response, a small minority seriously objected. Most of these were influenced by their clergymen and determined to put a stop to our work. They stirred up the police and within a few months after our special Sunday activity began, the first arrest occurred at South Amboy, New Jersey. That was in 1928.
| page 155
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| DANGERS SEEN IN DEMOCRATIC CONGREGATIONAL GOVERNMENT
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Expansion and trouble went hand-in-hand. With it we soon saw the need to strengthen the organization and readjust its structure in accordance with the arrangement of the early congregation in the days of the apostles. It was becoming more evident that with the growth of the organization, the democratic method of electing "elders" and class "officers" would lead to serious difficulties, besides being out of harmony with Jehovah's way of doing things. The electing of elders and other officers in the congregations, which was our practice before the present theocratic arrangement was introduced, was a carry-over from the congregational pattern Russell had been used to in his youth. But there were grave dangers present with the system. In many of the religious organizations, such elections were a regular political caucus. Some "sister" would like to have one of her sons or her husband put into a prominent position, and she would make a party for all the "sisters" so that they might come together and have a lovely time. They might discuss a few Scriptures and one thing and another, and then she'd bring up the question in an offhand sort of way: "Who do you think should be elected as elder? Who should be so-and-so, wouldn't my husband--?" and so on. After Rutherford became president he was not long in seeing that the democratic arrangement was not the proper procedure for the Christian congregation at all. He had been a lawyer and a politician in his youth, and he saw the corruption that was possible in such method. So he turned to the Bible and studied carefully the procedure followed by the disciples of Jesus. What he learned was revealing and certainly ruled out any democratic arrangement if the modern organization was to follow the primitive pattern of the apostles.
| page 156
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| THE PRIMITlVE CONGREGATION WAS THEOCRATIC
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The original congregation was theocratic. It was ruled by Jehovah God through Jesus Christ. The apostles were selected by Jesus,2 not elected by the disciples. Every member of the body of Christ was to be set in place by God himself.3 It was his organization, and he was directing its affairs.
Jesus organized the congregation with various ones performing different responsibilities, so that the entire arrangement would be complete.4 This didn't mean that the governing body at Jerusalem ruled the others and held their power over them as an arbitrary hierarchy. True, the governing body at Jerusalem were the ones that finally decided certain matters regarding doctrine and practice. As I've mentioned, when the question arose about Paul and Barnabas going to the Gentiles with the message, it caused a furor among the old-fashioned Jews. They said, "No, you can't accept a Gentile into the body of Christ until he first becomes a Jew. He must become circumcised and practice the keeping of the law as the Jews do, then he may be received." Finally the difference became so sharp that Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem where an assembly of the governing body was held as recorded in the Fifteenth Chapter of Acts.5 After considerable debate Peter reminded the assembly that God had sent him to the first Gentile, then Paul and Barnabas told how the Lord blessed their work amongst the Gentiles. James, who was the brother of Jesus and the presiding minister of the Jerusalem congregation, finally summed up the matter that the Gentiles should come in on an equal footing with the rest if they would accept Christ. This decision was based on the written word of the prophets and so recognized as directed by God. It was not an arbitrary decision by the governing body.
As the apostles and others went around preaching the Kingdom message, they did not tell the various groups to elect
servants or make elders out of those that were put up for office. The apostles and a few others were authorized by the governing body to appoint men who were already elders, that is, who were mature and well- established in the faith.6 They were appointed to positions in the various congregations as servants to carry on the work.7 And this was generally supervised by the governing body at Jerusalem.
Besides taking the lead in the preaching work8 the governing body was responsible to make reproofs and corrections and direct the conduct of the organization.9 This could not be done unless those in responsible positions in the congregation were representatives of the governing body, being appointed by it. These appointments were not made by an organization of men, but by the power of God's holy spirit.10 Hence, those who opposed or resisted the theocratic arrangement were not opposing or resisting men; they were striving against the spirit of God.
| THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE RESTORED TO THE CONGREGATION
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Now, we argued, if that is the way Jehovah God arranged the congregation in the first place, what authority do we have for a different procedure now? It was recognized too that the Scriptures foretold the theocratic organization would be restored again when the time for Jesus' second presence had arrived.11 "And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." These prophets foretold the improved condition that would prevail and the amazing increase that would result: 12 "For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and twine exactors righteousness.... A little one shall
become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time."
When these points on organization were cleared up and published in The Watchtower in 1938 13 a further cleansing of the organization was provided. From the days of C. T. Russell there were those who were called "elders," who wore frock coats and black ties; a few spent their time studying and looking up ideas that were not published or printed in the old Watch Tower. Their thought was to attract attention to themselves by telling something new, and at times they were doing exactly what Paul warned against in Acts 20:29, where he said, "After my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
When the time arrived for Jehovah to gather together those that would make up his spiritual temple, that was the condition he found, and he proceeded to cleanse the temple from such a group. As I've already told you, he permitted severe trials to come upon the entire Society and the result was that many of these old-time elders were not able to survive and move forward in the expanding service privileges.
Those who refused to swallow their pride and follow the example of Jesus and his disciples in the door-to-door ministry soon found themselves out of the organization entirely. They soon found that all the others of the respective congregations were participating in the witness work which developed them mentally and otherwise brought them along to maturity. These active ones became true "elders" by reason of their loyalty and zeal in the Lord's service. They were not elected to an office of "elder"; but they became elders by their own service activity; then they were appointed to positions of responsibility and service in the organization because they had shown the proper qualifications.14
As a result Jehovah's witnesses now prosper under the Theocratic
arrangement. Without it we never could have had the phenomenal increase we now rejoice in. But all those associated with the Society recognized the necessity for this theocratic arrangement and appreciated the fact that it was laid on the primitive foundation of the apostles. Immediately all the congregations all over the world voted to uphold the arrangement and asked the governing body at the Brooklyn headquarters to appoint those in respective congregations who would serve as overseers. Today there is no confusion and there is no argument about how we proceed or who will have the responsibility for the oversight in each congregation. It is all settled through the theocratic arrangement, exactly as the apostles had it in the days of old. The New World society is being developed and built up and the arrangement that went into effect in 1938 will continue into the new world and for a thousand years of Christ's reign.
| THE PRIMITIVE FOUNDATION PROVIDES MATURITY
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As in all other features of development, the theocratic structure of the Society was a gradual process. Russell wanted to destroy the pagan idea of the clergy-laity distinction. Rutherford saw that the democratic procedure would inevitably lead to political haranguing. Now we can see it as the Lord's direction. It certainly solves many of our problems. It provides a unity and closeness world-wide that could not be maintained if all congregations acted independently. Besides, continued expansion could not be accomplished with the ease it now is. Let's say we have a congregation of two hundred ministers, or publishers of the good news. How simple it is to start another congregation. Two groups of one hundred each are divided off into adjoining territories and each group recommends that certain men of their number would be suitable overseers or servants. These names are sent in to the theocratic
headquarters and if those recommended meet the requirements, then the Society may appoint them. True, those who remain at the original location miss the association of those in the other group for a time, but in a little while empty seats are taken by new ones coming in, and the congregation grows up again to be two hundred, and there will be another division. Everything is handled in an orderly way and no serious problems interfere. The same doctrine is taught and the same procedure of operation is carried on in each new congregation. This theocratic arrangement has carried us through a period of intense opposition. Without the unity of action it has brought us, enabling Jehovah's spirit to move and direct our course, the growing New World society would never have survived to maturity. While this full development in organizational structure did not come until close to twenty years after the New World society had begun to operate, we were still in the midst of severe persecution. In fact, our struggle for survival as a new nation had really only begun.
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