In light of Huntsville First SDA Church's decision to hold worship meetings on Sunday mornings, some have justified this action by saying Adventist evangelists in the past have held meetings on Sunday. Elder C.D. Brooks was asked about this in what appears to be a telephone interview posted on YouTube Feb. 12, 2015. What follows is a transcription of the audio recording posted above. He had this to say:
My friends, this is CD Brooks. You all know me because I’m old. I have been a part of God’s ministry for 63 years.
And issues arise now and then, and they lack clear wisdom and experience. And I have heard [about] this Sabbath experience for Sunday keepers [referring to the Huntsville, Alabama SDA surge church Sunday worship meetings]. It hit me suddenly. And I imagine you tend to jump to some conclusion once you hear it. But the truth is—it is in my judgment, a very dangerous undertaking. In the last days, Sabbath itself will become the key to whether you will obey God and receive the seal, or whether you will obey man and receive the mark of the beast. That will be central in the last days. That’s what the church is looking to, and that’s what God is going to allow.
You have to be easily distinguished. God has always been that way—He told the children of Israel ‘You shall be a peculiar people unto Me.’ The word peculiar means distinctive. You will be unusual. And when people look at you, and when people listen to you, they will not be lost in a mystery, they will know that these are God’s people. And the sign—the sign—is Sabbath. That stands in distinction with the sign of disfavor with God, which is Sunday. Man-made Sabbath.
I am not intending to condemn anybody, but I did hear that some are concerned when they heard that C.D. Brooks conducted Sunday meetings. Well, now [laughs] my dear friends, if you really have followed that closely you will know that God called me and blessed me to evangelism. I’m certainly not the only one, there are many that He chose. And He proved the choosing by the favor of the church and the baptism of hundreds and hundreds of souls. To God be the glory for every one [souls]. As a matter of fact, I have a statement that men don’t win souls. They are won by the Holy Spirit. The man becomes a conveyor.
So...C.D. Brooks ran Sunday meetings. Of course he did! Every evangelist that I know of, began their meetings on Sunday night. But never on Sabbath at eleven o’clock! From what I’ve heard they [Huntsville SDA] are putting the same emphasis on making Sunday morning like our Sabbath morning. Same program, same music and so forth. And then the public...or some reporter or something grabs a pen and he is given the impression that this is a duplicate of their Sabbath morning program. If that’s true, we [evangelists] have never done one program like that, and I would not endorse it. It’s not that it’s wrong....let me tell you something. The devil is called the arch deceiver. That means the leader of deception—the worst of the bunch.
God can only use truth. Satan will use truth and error to deceive. What appears to be good might be indeed harmless, Satan will twist and turn and smile over it until he makes a concoction that kills those who receive the mark of the beast. The last days will hide the seventh day.
I just want to be clear about myself and I want to be clear about my brethren also. We all opened our meetings on Sunday night. In fact when I was a young man we preached every night of the week, God gave us strength to do it. To Him goes all the glory and grace.
That’s enough about it. I just want you to consider it as it was. It was true of all of us [evangelists], the best night for attendance was Sunday night, after sunset (which means you were really on Monday).
And I personally would not venture to do this [referring to the Huntsville Surge Sunday]. And I’m not taking sides and condemning somebody. Men are always trying to do things—trying their best to make something work. But believe me, a lot of confusion is following this one. And God is not the Author of confusion. He blesses men who are innovative, he blesses men who will try new things. But, in my judgment we should probably pass a matter like this off to administration. Somebody said “they did” they asked the president. I’m not condemning anybody—you have to understand that. I’d rather not be saying these things. But when I said administration I didn’t mean just a president or secretary or whatever. It should go before a committee to be discussed, like the General conference. And if the Brethren say let’s do it--lets do it. I’m not a contender but I don’t want to be given credit for things I didn’t do. I have never ever had one single Sabbath morning type service on Sunday morning—which would somehow elevate the whole idea that I had ever done that.
Do a lot of praying in these last days, folk. The devil is going to shake this church and God is going to allow it so He can purify. How else would it be done? And so Satan will do it. Now Ellen White says that thousands will leave us and join the enemy. Other thousands will come in and take their places. This is the comment: ‘The ranks of the Lord’s army will not be diminished.’ So we who expect to go through the end—whether we do or not—we’ve gotta be saved by faith. Faith in what God has said.
It is a real blessing to know that whatever God has said concerning his remnant church I believe. I believe in the SOP. I believe that Saturday is the Sabbath. I believe in an honest tithe being returned to the Lord. I believe in the idea that we are a peculiar people, and that women especially—especially—should gird themselves as women professing godliness—is what the Bible says. Which means dress reform. We had seven reforms when I was helping in evangelistic crusades, and these seven reforms had to be met in the life of every would-be baptized member. Or else we had not completed our work. That’s why we gave so many minutes to questions at the meetings. You ask and we will answer it with Scripture as our authority. And so, if you want to please God you come to church on Sabbath. It is a sign. Church on Sunday is not a sign—and I’m not meaning to condemn anybody—we are all condemned but for the grace of God. And with that grace, God leads people into complete harmony with His will. That makes his people distinctive, or distinguishable. You look at them and can tell....it’s getting harder and harder to do that. And if you say such, you are looked at as old fashioned and ultra conservative. I don’t buy it a’tall! You are right in harmony with God’s expressed and written will. If you have questions that you can’t answer, keep the Bible nearby! And also consider the spirit of prophecy—it is a special guide for God’s people in the last days. Ok? God bless everyone--and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.