To All 2x2's With Love.........

I quote one of Irvine Grey’s questions below to specify my topic here:

“I would value your views on what you have perceived to be failures to discipline or adequately control either members or workers who you think acted in a manner contrary to their Christian testimony.”

I have had to think on this question for a while to attempt to narrow my response(s) to a central point.

• And that point will be “What is the gospel?”

From very early childhood I listened to Workers talk endlessly about the ‘sacrifice’ they made in order “to bring the gospel” to people. And when one knows nothing other than what the Workers teach, it is hard to take notice initially that the Workers were praising THEMSELVES for THEIR ‘sacrifices.’

So, without realizing it,

the Workers taught us to worship

THEM.

And as you will know, that comes under the heading of “idolatry,” which of course many of us born and raised 2x2s failed to notice.

Fairly early in my childhood I began to wonder, “What is the gospel?”

I listened closely to Workers trying to find anything that they said that would identify exactly what they meant by “the gospel.” When I had become brave enough to ask a Worker or two, the answer they gave me was, “The gospel is the good news.” And then I had to try to figure out what the Workers presented that was “good news.”

They never told us that clearly either.

And when they failed year after year to clearly define what they meant by the word, I began to search my Bible to see if it would clearly define the word “gospel.” In the mean time, I could only determine that the “good news” presented by the Workers was THEIR “sacrifices in order to bring the gospel to people.”

And every 2x2 in meeting seemed to see this as the good news as they constantly prayed,

and testified how ‘thankful they were for the day the Workers

crossed their path and brought them the gospel.’

I think you can easily see how this confusion just went in endless circles – and as hard as I tried, I failed to find a clear definition in Scripture either – I read 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 hundreds of times, but failed to see Paul’s clear “declaration” of what he preached as ”the gospel.”

And that should give you some idea as to just how BLIND to Scripture I was as a born and raised 2x2.

In 1984-5 I received my copy of “The Secret Sect” by Doug and Helen Parker. At that time I was a long time out of the 2x2 organization already due to the other problems and questions about discrepancies.

But I still had no idea what the gospel is.

However, after two weeks of pondering the information in Parkers’ book, I was finally totally free of 2x2ism – I would NEVER go back into it.

I began college studies on church history via a correspondence course in Regent College on the UBC campus in Vancouver. I was not in the course for credit – I was taking the course to learn (auditing). And right at the beginning of the course, I ran smack up against “wandering ministers” in the Christian church in the first Century!!! I went to see my professor to ask for every detail about these wandering ministers, and he told me that the evidence for them is scarce – primarily only the New Testament.

But that did not satisfy my need for information about them, and I went into the College library and asked the librarian where I could find a book written by the “church fathers” of the early church.

He pointed to a shelf.

And I humbly explained that I had no idea what I was looking for, ‘but could you show me where on that shelf?’

The librarian was so amazed by my ignorance that he forgot to be quiet –

he almost yelled,

“The WHOLE shelf!!!”

For weeks I sat in that library searching ancient books for “wandering ministers.” I didn’t find one mention of them, so I then accepted my professor’s statement. But I had become interested in so many topics from those books and my course materials that I continued to go to the library and sit and read – book after book. My course got so far off track as I acted like a child in a candy store – following up on every interest that came to mind with no direction, that I basically messed up the formal studies long before I was even half way through the course – but I still had no idea what the gospel is.

I became very depressed rather suddenly, with the most intense sense of loneliness I ever experienced. It drove me to contact the only people I knew as trustworthy – my college professor and James Packer. I explained my intense loneliness and why I thought it was so intense – and the professor told me of a man and his wife in my town who would love to have me study with them on a regular basis. And when I met them, we became almost instantly very close friends.

They introduced me to their church and I sat in absolute awe of the pastor’s ability to explain Scripture. The pastor led an adult Sunday School class for beginning Christians that dealt with basic Christian doctrines, and I joined that class immediately.

But still under the blinding influence of a lifetime under 2x2 teachings only, I was arguing a point in about the third session, when the pastor replied to me, “But Lloyd, that’s what God said right here in His word (pointing at the text) and all of a sudden the flood-lights in my mind turned ON.

Here was the good news I had searched for all my life –

the Bible is the word of God and because it is the word of God,

‘how dare you doubt ANYTHING it says!!!’

And with those lights on full blast at home very soon thereafter, I discovered 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 as if I had never read it before – the GOSPEL so clearly detailed that I could only weep in thankfulness with my face smack on the living room floor!!! In fact my old Bible has never been the same old Bible ever since – it is like a brand new book that I never saw before!

And I began to preach that gospel the very next day to anyone and everyone – including 2x2s and their Workers – and I still preach it today – with great joy!

And here it is in all its simplicity,

“how that Christ died FOR OUR SINS according to the scriptures,

and that he was buried,

and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

(1 Corinthians 15:3-4 emphasis mine)

I apologize for the length of this reply, but I want you to SEE the growth out of 2x2 mental blindness just the way it happened – I know that the 2x2s suffer incredible BLINDNESS of mind because I was there far too long myself!

And I can testify to you with all my heart – NO MAN opened my blind eyes, God opened those eyes in a split second in the Sunday School class – and I will never forget the experience, nor grow tired of praising God for letting me experience it.

I hope this reply helps you see the MAIN failure of EVERY 2x2 Worker – they are just as blind as they taught me to be. And from this blindness stems all of their “failures to discipline or adequately control either members or workers who you think acted in a manner contrary to their Christian testimony.”

They do not even have a Christian testimony – i.e.,

they do not understand what Christianity is,

what the gospel is,

or anything about who God is –

they are BLIND leaders of the BLIND.

Lloyd Fortt

9-29-08

 Voluntary blindness does not cure the real truth.