ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER
A Look at The Community of Believers

by Ed Havaich and Don & Joy Veinot

The late 1960s and early 1970s was a time of rebellion against authority and “the establishment.” Many young people became involved in the “hippie” movement. They thought society was too confining and that the churches were irrelevant and dead.

Out of this anti-establishment environment grew a new kind of evangelism; indeed a new kind of church, as men of God tried to find ways to reach out to these disenchanted young people. Individuals such as Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel sought out and witnessed to the hippies on the beach. As hippies came to Jesus Christ, the “Jesus People” movement was born. In keeping with the radical times, a new radical Christianity appeared.

Groups of Jesus People roamed the country in buses painted with Jesus slogans and participated in communal living. Those who had “dropped out and turned on” to drugs now turned on to Jesus, but they did not return to traditional ways of worship as practiced by their parents.

In keeping with the simple lifestyle ideals that had gripped them before their conversion, these radical “Jesus freaks,” as they were sometimes called, often glorified an austere lifestyle as more “true” to the early Christianity of the first century. As often happens with new movements, these young Christians believed that they were conforming themselves more completely to biblical practices than former generations had.

Since a very large part of the Jesus movement’s appeal was the rejection of the hierarchal structure and organization of the member’s former church experience, one problem that often arose was the lack of accountability and structure in the lives of individuals. “Do your own thing!” was the hippie motto, but the budding Jesus movement came to realize that such a view made for too much of “everyone doing what was right in their own eyes,” a view condemned by Scripture. Concern for moral purity and biblical discipleship led to many books about the undirected and undisciplined lifestyle of those times. These books called for discipleship, shepherding, and radical commitment, not only to Jesus Christ but, in some unfortunate cases, to the group leaders, pastors and “shepherds.” Many people read these works and saw a need for true discipleship and accountability, not fully realizing what evils could result from too much leadership control over the lives of the people. Many leaders within the “Jesus Movement” took these works almost as Gospel.

Armed as they now were with a mandate and an “apologetic” for shepherding arrangements, these radicals often displayed a zeal that seemed lacking in mainstream Churches, which led to a greater commitment to shepherding. The appeal of such a radical departure from the status quo eventually led young people to leave home and family for the “true biblical” settings of communes.

Unfortunately, with no outside “reality checks” to counterbalance the peer influence, some communal groups fell into bizarre excesses of leadership control. The elders of these communities became arbiters of the way that “true” Christians were to look and act, often going outside boundaries of Scripture. Often extreme groups teach that they have now become the true family, and members often leave their natural family behind if the group or its teachings and practices are criticized.

Therefore, the very hierarchal structure these young people had rejected in their former churches returned to the extreme within some of these groups. The freedom to have a relationship with Christ “in the Spirit,” which had empowered the Jesus movement in the first place, in too many cases gave way to dead legalism.

Before moving on, PFO wishes to emphasize that it is not necessarily right or wrong to participate in Christian communal groups. Let every Christian make up his own mind on the matter. However, any such group must guard itself against the type of radical shepherding of which such groups seem especially susceptible. Of course we take issue with the most radical of these groups who teach or imply that such an arrangement is a requirement for salvation.

WHO IS THE COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS?

Radical communal groups have come and gone. However, one that remains consistent and continues to grow is the one started by Elbert (Gene) Spriggs and his wife, Marsha. The Encyclopedia of American Religions, Third Edition, says of this group, now known as The Community of Believers or Messianic Communities¹, which originated in Chattanooga, Tenn.:

“It was originally called the Vine Christian Community. The community first grew out of a ministry that developed for youth and young adults, as well as homeless adults in the area. The group, which worked in a restaurant called the Yellow Deli, formed during the spreading Jesus People revival. Those who received the Gospel preached by these people gave up all their own possessions and moved into households together, sharing all things in common following the pattern set by the early Christian disciples as recorded in Acts 2:37-47 and 4:32-35. Eventually, six Yellow Delis emerged, and a restaurant and meeting house, the Areopagus, was opened in Chattanooga.

Other centers and restaurants developed in Dalton, Ga., and several nearby communities. By 1978, there were approximately 150 members.”

PFO called two Community centers. We spoke with an individual named Yonathan from the Boston community and someone who called himself Boaz in the Providence Community. Both have been involved in the group for about 9-10 years. Boaz had been raised as a Baptist and attended Bible college in preparation for a career as an independent Baptist pastor. Both individuals were very likable and seemed to be sincere about their beliefs. Of course, sincerity is no measure of truth.

RECRUITING PRACTICES

The Community primarily recruits at Grateful Dead Concerts and Billy Graham crusades. Members arrive in a fairly well-appointed bus, distribute magazines and talk to anyone who will listen. One of the primary attractions is the commitment members show to one another. The Community starts each day with morning services called “sacrifices” during which members pledge to lay down their lives for each other and to place each others’ needs above their own desires and ambitions. This commitment appeals to people in a society obsessed with “looking out for number one.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

The Community, like other aberrant, heretical and cult groups, fosters elitism in its membership. Community members do not call themselves “Christians,” and point out that the term was only used three times in Scripture, by nonbelievers, in a pejorative way. They prefer to be called believers or disciples. They do not have an “official” name because, according to them, the “true church” would naturally be called after the city or town in which it is. After all, didn’t the Apostolic writers address their letters to the “church in Rome,” the “church in Galatia,” etc.? There is no “Baptist Church” or “Presbyterian Church,” etc., in the Bible, which makes these only manmade institutions. Only The Community of Believers follows God and the Scriptures; therefore, they are the only true believers.

It is a common claim by members of aberrant groups that they are the only true Christians because they are the “only ones doing things the biblical way.” It is easy for any group to crown itself as such when it is the one establishing the criteria. The International Churches of Christ and many other elitist groups make this claim. How could such a thing be a criterion or a sign of true Christianity? Does the Bible list “proper name” as a fruit of the Spirit? Jehovah’s Witnesses would say that they are the only true Christians based on their pacifism and political neutrality, citing Jesus’ statement that He was “not part of this world.”

The Mormons though, lay claim to being the true Christians because they are the only ones practicing the biblically mandated — in their view — “baptism for the dead.” It’s easy for groups to play this game to their own advantage. All it takes is a Bible and the will to distort its message, elevating the unbiblical and trivial to the status of the essential and losing the message of God’s Grace through Christ.

The Community teaches that it is the restoration of the Nation of Israel. New members usually are given Hebrew names. It is a Sabbatarian group (keeping the Jewish Sabbath) and has adopted Messianic Judaism into twentieth-century culture. Of course the “we are the restoration of Israel” chorus is sung by many elitist religious organizations, but this does not deter any of them from making this claim.

WE GAVE UP EVERYTHING!

The Community claims that its members have given up everything to follow God. For example, one of its booklets,² under the subheading “RESPONDING TO HIS LOVE,” suggests that all those in The Community collectively shared the frustration of not being able to give everything to Him. “Forsaking all to follow Messiah is indisputably a command.” Further along they write, “This community was the perfect environment for all the disciples since they had given up their lives and their possessions to be baptized into Messiah.”³ It also suggests that because Peter left literally everything to follow Christ, that a would-be follower of Christ today must also literally give up every possession.⁴

A proof text often used by the group is Luke 14:33. The Community calls that the first essential requirement of becoming a disciple.⁵

It is easy to see that divesting oneself of all earthly possessions is not a requirement for salvation. Since the disciples and early church members owned possessions without being rebuked by fellow disciples or the Master, one can infer that giving up everything was different from deferring all goods to a community of believers for use by the group.

For example, Matthew 8:14 says:

“And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever” (KJV).

Peter possessed a house. Since Peter was obviously following Jesus with possessions, it is logical to conclude that either: a) Peter had not really given up everything and was not a true follower of Jesus, b) the text is wrong, therefore we can’t trust the Bible, or c) The Community’s understanding of the text is incorrect, which would mean Peter and all Christians who came after him can possess things and still fulfill the command to forsake everything to follow Christ. We believe that “c” is correct and that interpreting “forsaking everything” to mean that one cannot own any possessions, but must defer all ownership to the group, is unscriptural.

Another example is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Peter confronts Ananias, who tried to deceive the apostles. Acts 5:3-6 says,

“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him” (KJV).

Peter did not rebuke ownership or affirm that having personal possessions was out of line. Lying and self-righteous posturing were wrong, and cost Ananias his life. However, property ownership was not even mildly rebuked. Rather, Peter reinforced the idea that Ananias’ possessions were his own, and under his own discretion to keep or dispose of.

The Community declares that the Christian’s life must be unhindered, and then interprets “unhindered” to mean not having possessions or holding conventional jobs, and being “separated” from families and friends.⁶

Let’s look at the job aspect. If working at a conventional job is undesirable and all followers of Christ were meant to live in a “community of believers,” then John the Baptist shouldn’t have told the soldiers in Luke 3:14 to be content with their pay.

According to Yonathan, Yahshua (Jesus)⁷ does not deal with people individually, but only as part of a nation or community. Many extremist groups practice this “organizational salvation” as well. It grants enormous power to the leadership of these groups, since God’s dealings with the group are naturally filtered through them.

Yonathan said that Evangelical Christians are sincere but divided, while The Community enjoys complete unity. The fact that they live together, hold all things common, have love for one another, and have no doctrinal divisions, etc., manifests this unity. This often is mistaken for “unity” but is easy to attain when members and adherents do not have the freedom to do anything else.

DID THEY REALLY GIVE UP EVERYTHING?

The statement often made by devotees that they “have given up all their possessions” is a peculiar one. They do have possessions, and they benefit from and enjoy them. To say that no one actually owns them is misleading, for the group owns them and controls them. Community members are part of that group and therefore have possessions. They have just deferred individual ownership to the group. They tell us that they have given up cars, furniture, and homes⁸ and, as noted above, buttress their argument by quoting Luke 14:33, “No one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his possessions.”⁹

Yet we note that a group of Community devotees jumped off a very attractive and comfortable bus at a Billy Graham Crusade, and then declared that they had given up everything. Like other aberrant groups, they simply take the verse out of its context and isolate it to decide for every Christian expression. Interpreting that verse in its absolute and literal form would result in Christians going naked because they had given up their clothes.

The Community also writes, “He commanded that they abandon absolutely everything that possessed them — homes, farms, parents, relatives, friends, children, brothers, sisters, jobs, and ambitions, and set out with Him on His mission.”¹⁰ They quote Mark 10:29-30. These verses, if interpreted literally, make The Community members guilty of the very thing they accuse others of. Pictures of The Community life include one of a man holding a child and one of a woman with a child.¹¹ Bearing children requires a spouse, unless one goes outside the biblical boundaries. Members of The Community apparently haven’t given up their husbands, wives or children.

Mark 10:29-30 is not a command to give up everything. Jesus is saying that if anyone did give up everything, they would be compensated a hundredfold. This verse also creates a contradiction in Community theology. Private possessions that hinder us in our relationship with God, as The Community teaches, should be given up and forgotten. Thinking that God would give them back one hundredfold is illogical if they are bad for us.

WHAT SAITH THE SCRIPTURES?

According to Community literature, most of the world’s ills can be blamed on the “pagan,” apostate church. Martin Luther, Adolph Hitler, Billy Graham and others are tied in as facilitators with liberals and occultists. According to The Community, these will be used to bring the Anti-Christ to power.¹² Those in The Community are the only true believers since they are the only ones who properly practice communal living.

The Community does believe in the Trinity and that Yahshua, as the God-Man, died for our sins and that we must receive Him by faith, yet there are strings attached. It is by faith, God’s grace, and total obedience to the Law. Community literature says, “As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:19, ‘Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.’”¹³

The Community teaches that the commandments we must keep are: water baptism, manifesting the sign gifts, giving up everything that it counts as everything, becoming part of The Community, keeping the Sabbath, observing dietary laws, and so on.

Paul said of such people in Romans 10:2-4, “they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

REQUIREMENTS FOR BAPTISM

With its emphasis on works righteousness, The Community naturally rejects trusting in Christ alone for salvation. They have taken their communal lifestyle and have made it a spiritual mandate for the Church, going so far as to make it a requirement for baptism:

“This community was the perfect environment for all the disciples since they had given up their lives and their possessions in order to be baptized into Messiah.”¹⁴

Nowhere does the Bible say believers must give up their possessions to be baptized, nor are any examples given of people who did.

Acts 2:37-38 does say:

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost’” (KJV).

However, it says nothing about surrendering all possessions before baptism.

Citing Acts 2 to support the doctrine of baptismal salvation is a distortion of Scripture. The listeners were not told they would receive salvation, eternal life, or similar words, but that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the promises (Acts 2:39) and the manifestation of the sign gifts as promised (Acts 2:16-21). Baptism cannot be part of the Gospel, because Paul makes a distinction between baptism and the Gospel, saying that he was sent to do one but not the other (1 Corinthians 1:17).

CONCLUSION

Cults and aberrational groups are on the rise. They are all different in some respects from the others. Nevertheless, we find that whatever legalistic or peculiar dogmas that they may use to separate themselves from others, one trait is amazingly consistent within all of them: the idea of “salvation by association.” Whether the defining attribute is giving up possessions or baptizing for the dead or selling magazines door-to-door, since they are “the only ones” practicing it, they are the only true saints, believers, or witnesses of Jehovah, Elohim, or Yahshua. Therefore, the only people saved are those within their little group. That makes membership in their group the real qualification for salvation, doesn’t it?

Aberrant religious groups are not and never have been passive or ashamed of what they believe. However, one notable difference is that they are coming at the Church with a renewed fervency. Many are bewildered by all of this. Some say just love them, others simply ignore them. The biblical response is to be armed with the Gospel and be ready to show them what the Bible teaches in contrast to the false message they have come to believe. This takes time, preparation, prayer and patience.

Editor’s Note: Don Veinot is president of Midwest Christian Outreach in Lombard, Ill. He and his wife, Joy, have been involved in apologetic work since 1987.

Endnotes:

1. Bringing in The New Age; Daniel’s Vision — The Stone, pg. 63.
2. This booklet has no title but has a picture of Billy Graham on the cover with the title on page 2, Who We Are. We will use this title to refer to this booklet.
3. ibid., pg. 9.
4. ibid., pg. 28. This is implied although not specifically stated.
5. ibid., pg. 44.
6. ibid., pg. 2.
7. The Community views the name “Jesus” a corrupt English understanding of the Lord’s name. They reject the transliteration “Yehshua” but instead use the name “Yahshua” when referring to the Messiah.
8. ibid., pg. 3.
9. ibid., pg. 44.
10. ibid., pg. 46.
11. ibid., pg. 2.
12. Bringing in The New Age, pp. 44-57.
13. Faith That Works, pg. 24.
14. Who We Are, pg. 9.

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