In the 26^th chapter of Acts we have a face off between men of different character. Paul is engaged in a battle for his life. But not only was his life at stake, but so was his faith and the souls of all who heard. Let’s listen in just a little so that we might learn:

And Paul said, I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds." (Acts 26:22-29).

To know the life of Paul is to understand the point. Paul had undergone a complete overhaul to get to where he was. He was a mirror image of the "rich young ruler." He had been young when Stephen was stoned (Acts 7:58), yet he took the responsibility for it. His power was seen in that he took many Christians captive and authorized their deaths and imprisonment, all contrary to Roman law (Acts 26:9-11). He had been educated at the most exclusive of all Jewish schools over a thousand miles from his home (Acts 22:3-5). He had the attention and respect of all his countrymen, in that he was chief among them. Yet they had put him in these chains and were making an effort to put him to death. Why?

Paul’s answer: "Howbeit what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:7-8). Paul discovered that he had been wrong and changed. It is hard for us to imagine the change. He didn’t just change sides, but he accepted and proclaimed the guilt of having been on the other side. That took courage.

Agrippa, when faced with the truth, would not change. He made light of the reasoning that he could not refute. There was no repentance, no acknowledgement, just a light hearted statement of rejection.

The difference between going to heaven and not going there sometimes involves a willingness to change to conform to the teaching of the truth. I think that all preachers who are loyal to God have had to change their teaching as they have grown and discovered where they fall short. I would not want to be in the position of Agrippa on the day of judgment, who would not change his position when the truth demanded. I would rather, if need be, be more like Paul who was honest in his heart and loyal to God.

In the past, remote and recent, I have found it necessary to make such changes. When I first started out, I will – and have in the past – confess that I preached error on the marriage question and the Holy Spirit. I found it necessary to preach the truth and tell those that I had mislead that I had been wrong. There are other areas where I have been in the dark, but I came into the light as soon as I saw it. God has promised his forgiveness to those who do that while confessing their sins to him. "If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:6-7). "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (vs. 9).

One thing that prevents so many from doing the right thing is loyalty to a group. There are some who are overly influenced by family, friends, brotherhood papers, and even the members of the local congregation where they attend. Our loyalty should not be to these things, not even to the church. Our loyalty should be to God and his Son, to them alone.

Obedience should be a test of love for the Christ. Jesus said, "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Hopefully my brethren, family, the publications, or the church will encourage loyalty to Jesus above themselves. If not, then they serve not the Lord.

If this is the case, when these institutions depart from God’s way, my loyalty to God will demand that I separate myself from them. I know those who have left congregations, cut off subscriptions, left father and mother (Luke 14:26), and even forsaken old friends for the love of God. It must be done if we would get to heaven (Gal. 1:10).

As most of you know, I have had to make such a change with regard to my relation to Florida College. I have avoided public mention of this because of certain circumstances, one of which is that I don’t believe FC should be so important to us as to be an issue in the local congregation. It has been a significant factor in the lives of some of us, but most of us have only heard of it.

I first heard of Florida College when I was a junior in high school. Homer Hailey and some of the students came to Phoenix to advertise. After my first year in college, my dad sent me to FC to reform me, and I guess it worked. If it were not for the influence of men like Brother Hailey, Harry Pickup, Jr., Roy Cogdill, and James Cope, men who taught and worked at the college, I shudder to think how I might have turned out.

My second year at FC I joined what has become known as the Friends for the Spring Break Tour. We saw a lot of country and met a lot of people in that week and a half. We also talked a lot of kids into going to FC. I am not ashamed at all of that.

Upon leaving Florida College I said so long, but not good-bye to some of the best friends a person could have, and I made up my mind that, if possible, I would share with my children the "Florida College Experience." I looked for ways to encourage others to go and was delighted when I was asked to help start the FC camp in Arizona. Don’t get the wrong impression. Most of the work was done by David Curtis and Marcie Mann. I was just a counselor the first two years. When David decided to move to Arkansas, I moved to Prescott where he had been preaching, and someone – not me – decided that I should direct the camp. For 21 years I held that position through trials and tribulations. I have made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun, but the most important thing – I had a role in helping young people do better in their lives in more than one area. I didn’t do anything special, I was just there to do what I could.

When the recent controversies concerning FC came up, I was concerned at first, but as more and more was made known, I knew that my association with FC had become a test – a test of loyalty. I cannot see how my association with the school serves in my efforts to be loyal to Christ. For the last several years I have watched as different ones have pleaded with the men who are "in charge" to make things right at the school only to be ignored. This caused me to not only rethink my association, but to examine my beliefs with reference to the propriety of the school itself. So I have made the change.

The charges against those who administer at Florida college are well documented. We see in their hiring policies a loose attitude toward those who teach error in several areas such as the marriage question and those who have something less than a fundamentalist view of the Bible account of creation. An open letter was written by some of the brethren after many private attempts were made where some of the charges against the school were spelled out. The open letter was ignored, then scorned and ridiculed. But it was never answered.

Others who have voiced concerned have been labeled and ostracized, but they have remained loyal to God. And that makes the point.

We don’t need a college, Florida College or any other. But we need God, and my need for God has necessitated this change. I cannot support the college.

I will write more on this later.

For information about the Creation controversy at FC go to these websites:

http://truthmagazine.com/cc.html

http://www.watchmanmag.com/0204indx.htm

http://www.watchmanmag.com/0309indx.htm