This description vividly captures a meeting of the Church of Bible Understanding (COBU), which was a controversial group founded by Stewart Traill in the late 1960s.
The imagery you described aligns closely with accounts of COBU gatherings and the persona of its leader:
- The Guru: The man with the long white beard, green t-shirt, and work pants is almost certainly a depiction of Stewart Traill, who cultivated a distinct, non-traditional look for a religious leader.
- The Books and Milk Crates: Traill was known for his intense, often rambling Bible studies and his focus on accumulating and distributing literature. The milk crates suggest a makeshift, informal, and potentially overwhelming approach to knowledge.
- The Yelling: Traill’s preaching style was reportedly intense, loud, and confrontational, often directed at perceived errors or worldly confusion.
- The Divided Audience: The segregation of the audience (men on one side, women on the other) and the focus on teenagers points to the group’s strict, separatist practices and its appeal to young, searching individuals.
- The Women in Dresses: The presence of attractive women in colorful, flowing dresses surrounding the guru is a notable detail, as COBU and Traill were often criticized for the distinct roles and expectations placed on female members, sometimes involving attractive young women being placed near Traill.
This scene paints a powerful picture of a high-control group meeting, marked by the leader’s commanding presence and the audience’s visible confusion.
The Role of Grace vs. Works
The meeting’s central theme is a re-evaluation of the role of grace in the believers’ lives, contrasting it with a previous emphasis on works and faith. Stewart, the leader, expresses shock and regret over his 25-year teaching ministry, during which he now believes he was “oblivious” to the true meaning and importance of grace. He admits that he and the fellowship have been operating on a flawed foundation, one that prioritized individual effort, faithfulness, and performance over God’s unmerited favor.
- Stewart’s Confession: He openly declares, “I am not a false teacher. What I am is a poor one.” He confesses that his ministry has been built on “colossal error” and that the teaching is a “house built on sand.”
- The Lack of Grace: Stewart highlights that despite singing “Amazing Grace,” the concept was absent from their teaching. He states, “I have not been acknowledging His grace… I have been oblivious, grace doesn’t exist.”
- Faith vs. Grace: The discussion corrects the group’s understanding of salvation. Stewart argues that they previously inverted the roles of grace and faith. He states, “We are saved by grace not by faith. We’re saved through faith. Faith is necessary. But faith is the basis. Now of course it’s ruined.” He emphasizes that grace is the foundation, and faith is the means by which they receive it and live it out.
- The “Practice” of Faith: Stewart points out that their previous teachings, even if they seemed to have good “practical” elements, were fundamentally flawed because they were divorced from the concept of grace. He notes, “Maximum accuracy minus grace… I wonder how you could do much better? If that were the goal, I don’t think I could have done that well.”
Fellowship, Leadership, and Humility
The meeting is also a raw and emotional exchange about the dynamics within the fellowship, particularly regarding Stewart’s leadership and the brothers’ dependence on him.
- Stewart’s Arrogance: Stewart confesses that his “fervent spirit” and perceived sinlessness created an environment where the brothers relied on him rather than on Jesus. He asks, “Did I ever speak on the subject of my sinfulness? … But somehow my spirit is selling that I’m sinless.” He admits that his leadership became like that of a “cruel father.”
- Shifting Authority: The brothers acknowledge that they came to see Stewart as the primary authority, saying, “So then scriptures aren’t the authority, Stewart is.” Stewart agrees, stating that they “just trusting that you’ll tell us what to do.”
- A New Beginning: The group decides they need to “redo everything… from the bottom up” and return to a more communal, collaborative style of Bible study they had 20 years prior. The goal is to base their lives and fellowship “firmly on grace.”
The Nature of God’s Mercy
The conversation touches on the nature of God’s mercy, especially in light of Stewart’s admitted failings.
- Ignorance vs. Deception: Stewart repeatedly asserts that his errors were not the result of fraud or malicious intent but were due to ignorance. He says, “I’m not a fraud. I’m not a phony… What I am is a poor one.” He finds solace in the idea that his past failures were so “colossal” and “perfect” that they could only have been done in ignorance, not with intentional deception, which he sees as proof of God’s mercy. He says, “It is that I did it in ignorance. colossal… that’s the reason that I have received mercy.”
- Amazing Grace: Lauren Albrecht and other brothers discuss the life of John Newton, the writer of “Amazing Grace,” as a real-world example of someone who experienced a similar revelation. They note that Newton, a former slave trader, came to a profound understanding of God’s grace later in his life, mirroring Stewart’s own experience.
- The Paradox of Grace: The meeting discusses the potential for people to “take advantage” of grace. Stewart agrees that this is a real danger, but he argues that God’s “elect” will respond to grace with thankfulness, not with a desire to sin. He says, “The real ones appreciate and wouldn’t dream of taking advantage and are so thankful for the easy basis.”
In summary, the Grace Meeting marks a profound shift in the fellowship’s doctrine and a humbling moment for its leader. It represents a move away from a performance-based spirituality to one rooted in the sufficiency of God’s grace.