All Things Change

"I don't give a damn how we used to do it, if it's not the way we ought to do it now, we'll do it differently tomorrow!

"As long as we can continue to change, I have hopes that we may survive!" [98]

David was a great proponent of change, attributing it in part to his upbringing. He observed,

"I enjoy change! All my life we were always moving and always traveling." [99]

"I was accustomed to change. I think maybe that was good for me, because I got used to it and accustomed to it and I adjusted readily to new situations.

"I don't think it hurt me any! ... It taught me that everything in this world is transitory, changeable. No place was ever permanent! I was always having to leave things behind, and I would always be going someplace new, meeting new people, staying new places and maybe finding new toys.

"There was only one thing I could always take with me that never changed. ... The Lord!" [100]

"Everything, everybody, every place, everything else changed but God, and He was always with me." [101]

David knew that one of the greatest dangers facing the young movement was that it could eventually cool down and solidify and become just another denomination, following a rigid doctrine and set procedures. He was determined to avoid that, regularly exhorting his followers to remain flexible and adaptable and willing to embrace change.

"I'm a world-changer, I'm not satisfied with the way things are!" [102]

"[God's] Word never changes, the Lord never changes, the Gospel never changes, Salvation never changes, Christ doesn't change, but God keeps moving every day! ... It may be the same message, but it is varied every day to suit the need and adapt to the situation." [103]

"Every movement has to have constant change, revitalization, movement, action, to stay alive. [104]

"A movement is no longer a movement if it stops moving!

"Every new day we need to know and learn and find out how to do it today!" [105]

"I don't give a damn how we used to do it, if it's not the way we ought to do it now! And I don't care how we did it yesterday, if we should do it differently tomorrow!

"If we're not going to constantly keep changing our tactics and methods and modes of operation just like God does, to what He knows will work and what won't with a new day and new situation and new people, then we're going to become ... just like the rest of the churches! Well, you can if you want to, but I am not!

"Paul said, 'I became all things to all men!' (1Corinthians 9:22)." [106]

"We are very adaptable! We can adapt ourselves to any country, any situation. One of the most needed abilities in the [Family] is adaptability, as well as availability. ... We can be anything to anybody, and become all things to all men.

"We can be God's children in any country under any government with any religion! We are the most ecumenical body on the face of the Earth! We belong to no man but Jesus, but we can become anything to all men." [107]

This willingness to adapt, change and regularly reassess policies and practices enabled David and The Family to mature and successfully survive growing pains that overwhelmed other young Christian groups.

One area where this was most apparent was in David's views of churches and organized religions. At the outset of the COG, David knew that God was calling him to create a missionary movement that would operate outside the confines of the mainstream churches. To succeed in this, a complete break with the churches was necessary. David accomplished this, and the group prospered. However, as the years went by and the movement matured, David affirmed that there was much good in the churches that they could learn and benefit from.

In 1979 he wrote:

"Now that you ... have the right emphasis on witnessing, I think you could probably stand to go to church! A lot of churches would be glad to have you, and you could really do them a lot of good.

"You could really appreciate fellowship with other Christians. ... It might do you kids good, and we could certainly do them good!

"It ... particularly might benefit your children, especially in sunday School and vacation Bible school. -- Our kids could learn the songs and hymns, use the study materials, enjoy the fellowship, participate in needed leadership, and their kids would sure learn a lot from ours about really serving the Lord and others!

"You'll enjoy the old hymn singin' and Gospel choruses, prayer and fellowship. I was reared in church! -- And I believe it did me a lot of good! I learned a lot there. ... If they really love Jesus and souls and have the Spirit, it'll do you good! -- And you them!" [108]

He wrote more on the subject in 1981:

"We have gone the full circle in the [Family] and we have come back now to where we feel ... our members are sufficiently established in the faith and strong enough that, although they were once extremists like me and couldn't tolerate the church, ... we're trying now to teach'm that there were some real Christians in the churches ... some real saints ... who were outstanding witnesses and missionaries for the Lord!

"There are a lot of things the church had which were very good and which we can dare now to imitate, emulate and even maybe assimilate and absorb and do ourselves without being afraid of becoming like the churches.

"There was some good in the church ... which we can emulate and still imitate ... like Sunday school, and the fellowship and the sweet old Gospel hymns of praise to the Lord and the cute little kids' choruses and the vacation Bible school type of training for our children." [109]

In 1992, David again addressed the subject, his comments revealing how much he and the Family were changing.

"Although we have blasted the church system for its sins, failures and hypocrisy, the fact of the matter is that we do not categorically hate the churches and the church people! While we are critical of their failures, I think some churches are necessary and do a lot of good. -- And where would the Christians be without'm? I don't think it's wise to attack the churches to the point that we show a total opposition to them.

"There are many wonderful people within the church system who are very sincere and doing the best they know how to serve the Lord.

"I know I've blasted the churches pretty severely myself because I'm angry about some of their failures, and I'm still very strongly critical of some churches. But not all churches are so bad; there are lots of good Christians and good Christian churches, and you've got to differentiate.

"I don't hate the churches! I love the church people who are sincere Christians. When you have to come out of something, you usually go to the opposite extreme and take a strong stand against it ... but they do have their place and their good points. I'm thankful for the work the churches do -- much good work, even missionary work. And a lot of them do witness. So thank God for the churches!

"We've got to get out of this spirit of bad, bitter, total condemnation of Christians and churches." [110]

David acknowledged that Family members were not able to effectively pastor the thousands of converts that they won each month. He encouraged his followers to refer many of them to local churches, where they could receive the Christian fellowship that they needed.

"We cannot take care of all our converts ourselves! Wouldn't it be better if we recommended that some of them go to church? We've got no place to invite them!

"This is something I've thought about and been concerned about for years, and that is, where to put our sheep, where to put new converts who are saved but can't join the Family, can't move into a Home. ... I still think it's better to have those converts join some Christian church than have nothing and have nowhere to go, no fellowship." [111]

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