nlt@macbeth.cs.duke.edu (N. L. Tinkham) (11/10/89)
Almost exactly a year ago -- the last time the Catholic Chronicles
came up on the net -- I posted a statement from Last Days Ministries, Keith
Green's organization, explaining why they had chosen to stop distributing the
Catholic Chronicles.
Hasty and ill-advised words sometimes, even if retracted, return to haunt
their author; such is the case with the Catholic Chronicles. It is fitting,
in a strange way, that it is at Halloween that this spectre has been making
its annual appearances.
In hopes of giving rest to the ghosts, I am re-posting the Last Days
Ministries' statement, together with some paragraphs from Green's newly-
published biography.
In her biography of her husband, Melody Green describes Keith as a person
with wholehearted, unstoppable enthusiasm for whatever he set his hand to,
including his Christian commitment. In some ways, this trait served him well;
from that purity of commitment came hard-hitting songs like "Asleep in the
Light" and "To Obey is Better than Sacrifice"; from that "impractical" purity
came also Last Days Ministries itself, which gave shelter to many dozens of
people in need of a stable home. At other times, this forcefulness of
personality meant that wisdom and healthy caution were lost.
From the book's description, the genesis of the Catholic Chronicles seems
to have been such an instance. Keith found some books about Catholicism, and
in his desire to fix things *right now* he overrode the counsel of some of his
associates and failed to do the necessary research to discover whether what he
was reading was true and to understand the doctrines he was criticizing at more
than a superficial level. Melody tells the story this way:
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As Keith kept studying the Bible, he continually examined every
doctrine he came across against the Word of God. He was also avidly reading
many Christian books on a broad range of topics -- some issues that he felt
needed to be addressed in the body of Christ. In Keith's zeal, both the
Protestant Church and the Catholic Church got caught in his line of fire.
One day, Keith was reading a book about the Catholic Church. He came
flying into the kitchen looking very upset. "Mel, can you imagine this?
Catholics are really *devoted* to Jesus -- right? They build big churches,
with beautiful statues and everything. But this book claims that some of
them don't realize they can really *know* Jesus. Imagine -- loving Jesus,
but having no assurance of heaven."
Keith read more books about Catholic doctrines, and as he did he started
to feel that he should write something about it. He prayed for a long time
-- and got counsel from Christian leaders. But the counsel was divided.
Some of the leaders Keith talked to said, "Yes, the Lord is leading
you to do this." But others counseled Keith not to write anything, saying,
"It's not the Lord. What you're reading in those books isn't totally
accurate." Keith was torn, but in the end he believed the Lord wanted him
to go ahead and write something.
[ From _No_Compromise:__The_Life_Story_of_Keith_Green_,
by Melody Green and David Hazard. Sparrow Press, 1989.
pp. 235-236. ]
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In the last year of his life, partly through the counsel of older and
wiser Christians, Keith came to see that, while speaking the truth strongly
is a good thing, speaking one's own opinions in a harsh and abrasive manner
can injure people and can even prevent people from being open to hearing the
truth at later times. Accordingly, he began to revise or withdraw several
of the Last Days Ministries tracts.
In 1987, Last Days Ministries withdrew the Catholic Chronicles, making
this announcement in their newsletter:
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An Announcement About The Catholic Chronicles
After much prayer and counsel, the other leaders and myself have come
to a decision regarding the Catholic Chronicles tract series that was not
made lightly or without the fear of the Lord.
Shortly before Keith died, he started having concerns about these
tracts. He even started crossing out parts he felt were inappropriate or
had "too much of him" in them. After his death we made his changes -- but
we now feel God has given us further direction.
Proverbs 3:3 says, "Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them
around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Kindness and
truth go hand in hand. Kindness without truth is weak and ineffective.
And truth without kindness can be harsh and wounding. Keith had concerns
about the latter. Of course there's no way to know for sure, but knowing
Keith's heart, we feel that if he were here he may have "pulled" these
tracts long ago.
We are not in agreement with all the teachings of the Catholic Church,
however we no longer have a peace about dealing with those issues through
these tracts. Therefore, we cannot in good conscience continue to
distribute them. Some Catholics have been deeply wounded by them. And
other people have become critical or self-righteous towards those in the
Catholic Church. To these two groups of people we want to say we're very
sorry. You've both been hurt and we ask for your forgiveness. We also
encourage you to seek the Lord for restoration in any area where it may be
needed.
Our desire is to please the Lord and we believe we have His word on
this. Our part is to simply obey Him. We love you and appreciate your
patience as we grow in grace and understanding.
In Christ,
Melody Green
[ _The_Last_Days_Magazine_, Fall 1987, p. 30. ]
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"As you're growing, you must remember Nancy Tinkham
that nothing lasts except the grace of God" {decvax,rutgers}!mcnc!duke!nlt
- K. Green nlt@cs.duke.edu