An example of the social gospel being implemented among institutional churches of Christ appeared in my email inbox the other day. It is from India, and is being bankrolled by numerous sponsoring churches in America.
The author of the email is Mani Padigipalli, an Indian preacher and doctor. He reports the following: “After four years of hard work and difficult inspections from the federal government, we are all set to send bi-vocational workers into different countries in the world. Yes, you read it right—we are all set to send workers into the world from India.” (Note: their initial efforts will be in several Arab countries. They have targeted workers that speak Hindi and Urdu, and are familiar with Islamic culture.
To this end they have established a “Trade College”, and are seeking money from churches to support the work. The purpose set forth in the email is three-fold:
- To develop self-supporting workers and self-supporting congregations.
- To develop self-governing congregations
- To develop self-propagating/replicating congregations.
To accomplish their goal, as mentioned above, they have established a “Trade College.” The College will supply IT and Computer training, Electrician training, a Fitter workshop, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning training, Sewing technology, and Welding training. In addition, for the future they are exploring other “opportunities for our students” including Nursing, Printing Press, Law Academy, etc.
So, the Lord’s money, taken from the treasury of local churches, is being used to train Indians in various vocations to make them employable in foreign countries. In doing so, they are hopeful that the gospel will be spread.
The approach is typical, though some examples are more egregious than others. The simple objection to the program is found in one thought: there is no Divine authority for their programs and efforts.
The unadorned gospel is sufficient to spread the word to good an honest hearts. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
The establishment of a man-made organization, supported out of the treasury of local congregations is not authorized by God. The work of the church is not to train men vocationally, but to evangelize the world and edify the saints. The lack of confidence in the gospel alone is evident from such pursuits. We must remain true to God’s word!
