Note: Due to the sensitive subject matter being discussed, the names of the people involved have been changed to protect their identity.

Don't Depart from the Traditions of the Elders

by Peter Chang

"You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" (Matthew 15:6b-9; NET)

Though I would rather not bring up the past, especially when it is full of hurt and disappointment, I decided to share my story in the hopes that it may shed some light for others.

I had attended a "Brethren" church for close to 10 years before being asked to leave. I should remark that the Brethren don't like to be called this, as they claim to be non-denominational and simply trying to follow "NT church principles". However, anyone who's familiar with them knows that they have a set of distinctive beliefs that clearly mark them out as another sect or denomination. There has been a lot of divisions amongst the Brethren, resulting in a very broad classification of Open, Closed and Exclusive, with divisions within each.

I had faithfully attended Napier Avenue Gospel Assembly (not real name) and was active in: teaching Sunday School, preaching in the Sunday evening gospel (evangelistic) meeting , tract distribution, and open air evangelism.

I never finished high school, since I was getting into trouble all the time. There was a good chance that I would have ended up in a gang, if my parents didn't intervene. They sent me away to work in another city, and that seemed to give me pause to think about my life. When I came home a few years later, I found that my brother had gotten "saved". He took me to a Brethren assembly, where at one of the evangelistic meetings, the Lord convicted me of my sinfulness, and by His grace, saved me that very night!

Immediately I noticed a change in my life, as hatred, anger and bitterness gave way to peace, love and joy in the Lord. I hungrily devoured the Word (I was reading the King James version, since that was the version that the Brethren recommended). Soon, verses all over the Bible were marked in different colors, and the pages began to be very ragged from all the usage.

I don't wish to come across as boasting. Don't forget that I never finished Grade 12. Yet, the Lord gave me such a hunger for His Word, that there would be days where I'd spend hours reading the Bible. And as I humbly sought the Spirit's guidance, I began growing in grace and truth.

The Lord also gave me a love for souls and a corresponding measure of giftedness in evangelism. And it didn't hurt that I was naturally outgoing. Soon, I began to buy a ton of tracts, and began giving them out everywhere. Also, some of the brothers from the Woodlake assembly and other affiliated assemblies would go downtown every Saturday night, rain or shine, to pass out tracts and do some open air preaching. I joined them, and began to feebly attempt to preach the Gospel to passing sinners. There was a pub across from us, and we often had some "exciting" encounters with some of the patrons.

Anyhow, some of the brothers saw that the Lord had gifted me to some measure for gospel preaching, so I was asked to preach at Woodlake Avenue Gospel Assembly on occasion at the Sunday night evangelistic meetings.

I also began to read Christian books. Two that really had a powerful influence on me were Arnold Dallimore's biography of George Whitefield, the great English evangelist, and Charles Spurgeon, the renowned Baptist preacher. How I longed to be greatly used to win souls for Christ like these two godly men.

Soon I was invited to preach at other Brethren assemblies that were affiliated with Woodlake. Since Woodlake was a "closed" Brethren assembly (meaning that only members could participate in the meetings, including the Lord's Supper; visiting Christians or non-member adherents sat at the back and could only observe), they only had fellowship with other closed Brethren assemblies.

Since I was publicly proclaiming God's Word both in the open air and at the assemblies' evangelistic meetings, I became convicted that I needed to ensure I was interpreting God's Word accurately. So I read a few books on biblical interpretation, theology, Bible background, and commentaries. Eventually, I decided to learn some Greek, which I did by correspondence through a local seminary. Again, I'm not trying to be proud or arrogant. I remind you again that I used to hate school, and never graduated from high school. But the Lord had given me a desire to know Him and His Word more. All praise to Him!

All my spare time was devoted to reading, studying, and serving God. It was a happy time.

However, I soon began to notice some things that disturbed me. For one thing, there were very few people in my age group (I was in my early 20's by this time). When I spoke to one of them, he said that there was an unfortunate division that resulted in a lot of the younger Christians leaving. Apparently, a brother (let's call him Sam) had begun a Sunday School class for the younger Christians (with the permission of the elders). He was a pretty gifted teacher of the Word, so the class grew as the young people began inviting their friends.

This apparently brought on the jealousy of the "leading" elder of the assembly. In theory, we had 5 elders, but I later found out that the youngest one (who would be in his 40's) was the dominant personality, and that he ultimately called the shots. It didn't help that Sam had begun taking some seminary classes, because the Brethren are opposed to seminary training. So, in the midst of a growing influx of young people, the elder accused Sam of pride, and strongly "urged" him to leave and use his gifts elsewhere. Needless to say, the young people's class fell apart when Sam left.

Other matters cropped up that bothered me as well. A new couple had joined, and on their first Sunday morning, they were stopped at the door by the elders, and the wife was told firmly that she must remove her earrings before she could step foot inside! Eventually she discovered that women had to wear a headcovering, dresses, and no makeup as well as no jewelry.

I had already discovered that men had to be clean-shaven and wear the "proper attire", namely, suit and tie. What I did NOT know was that the kind of suit and tie makes all the difference until one of the elders preached a sermon against colorful ties and loud" suits (i.e. anything other than a dark suit and plain-looking tie). Obviously as I was the only one in the meeting that fit the description, he was directing his tirade against me.

However, I was willing to overlook all these things as I was preoccupied with just serving the Lord. However, after I had preached one night, I was confronted by one of the itinerant preachers who was visiting. He said he had some problems with some of what I had said in my sermon. We arranged a meeting to discuss this further.

I brought my Bible and Greek New Testament to the meeting, where two elders and the itinerant preacher awaited me. They immediately launched an attack on me, accusing me of being a "proud young man". I asked him what they were angry about. The itinerant preacher said he didn't agree with my views on the sovereignty of God in salvation. I invited him to study some passages on the subject and opened my Bible, but he got even angrier and began shouting at me that I should submit to the "traditions of the Brethren".

It became patently clear that they were not going to be willing to give me fair hearing. Why wouldn't they want to patiently "correct" me if I was wrong? What was wrong with Christians discussing their differences in a gracious manner? Why can't we study the Bible together to reach some consensus? At the least, why can't we agree to disagree? My views were nothing new, but were held by such men of God as Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and even good Brethren men that they esteemed (J.N. Darby and George Mueller). So why the vicious attack on me?!

Anyhow, I sadly realized that my future in this assembly would have to come to an end. So with a heavy heart on the following Sunday, I stood up at the end of the morning meeting, and expressed my love for the saints, informing them that for reasons of doctrinal disagreement, that I had no choice but to move on.

However, even after leaving, the matter would not rest there. I was informed months later by a friend who continued to fellowship in an affiliated assembly, that my name was in print! One of the assembly magazines had published a one-sided account of what happened. I was tarred as an arrogant young man who was led astray by heretical teachings. I was shunned by former "friends" and left to wonder how Christians could treat other believers so harshly.

I harbor no grudges against my brothers and sisters, and I pray that they might remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

"I give you a new commandment-to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples-if you have love for one another." (John 13:34,35; NET)