Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 14
June 28, 1962
NUMBER 9, PAGE 1,9-12a

Answering A Modern Ephraimite

James W. Adams

Hosea once described decadent Israel in the following expressive language: "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned." (Hosea 7:8.) The imagery of this description is taken from the ancient practice of baking bread on the open hearth covered with hot coals. A cake not turned would be a cake baked on one side and raw on the other. Nothing is more unpalatable than half-baked bread; in fact, it is disagreeable to the point of nausea. Israel on one hand was seeking to hold to God while on the other hand was adopting the idolatrous practices of the heathen. Ephraim was the largest tribe of the Northern Kingdom. By metonymy, this tribe represents the entire kingdom, hence when Hosea addressed Ephraim, he was addressing the whole of Israel. Bishop Horsely suggests that Hosea thus described a "character that is all inconsistencies." An Ephraimite would therefore be an individual full of contradictions and inconsistencies. Who can deny that the vacillating spiritually schizophrenic editor of the Firm Foundation, with respect to the current issues of "institutionalism, centralized control and oversight, and the social gospel," 1s correctly styled "a modern Ephraimite"? He blows hot and cold, gives forth sweet water and bitter, is for and against, is here today and there tomorrow. The only way one can know what he believes at any given moment is to read his latest editorial in the Finn Foundation. Even then, one cannot be sure, for if the ink is dry, he may have changed.

In the Firm Foundation, April 10, 1962, our Ephraimite brother delivers himself of a slew of venomous sputum against the Akin Foundation and its present Board of Directors. Surely much frustration doth make the noble editor mad! Otherwise, how could one account for so many baseless, willful, malicious prevarications in so small a space? If Editor Lemmons is rational, his eternal destiny (unless he repents) is certain. The road he travels can lead but to one place, the eternal lake of fire. (Rev. 21:8.) This article is a reply to the "Editorial" of Brother Reuel Lemmons in the Firm Foundation, April 10, 1962.

The Akin Foundation

We think it well, while we are on the subject, to explain to brethren precisely what the Akin Foundation is and how it operates. According to its charter, it is a "private non-profit corporation" formed by "Paul L. Wallace, Seymour C. Waggoner, and Bryan Vinson" on the "10th day of May, 1948." It was formed for the purpose of "providing and voluntarily distributing funds and things of value to any church or church congregation known as a Church of Christ, whether one or more, which may now or hereafter be established, in the United States of America; to receive gifts, donations, and legacies from J. W. AKIN and NELLIE AKIN of Dallas County, Texas, and others who may desire to further the purposes of the corporation, and the revenue, income and profit therefrom, and to voluntarily disburse the same, or any part thereof, whether income or principal, or both, from time to time at the will of the corporation, to any such organized Church of Christ, whether one or more, in the United States of America, and not otherwise and to exercise all such power and authority as may be appropriate to carry out the purposes and objects herein provided."

Simply put, the Akin Foundation exists for the following reasons: (1) Brother and Sister Akin possessed a certain portion of this world's goods in the form of oil properties in the great East Texas oil field near Longview, Texas; (2) they possessed much more than their needs required; (3) they desired to use their wealth for the glory of God and the salvation of souls through the propagation of the pure gospel of Christ; (4) they were growing old and were beginning to be afflicted with infirmities of the body that accompany this process, hence they did not feel able to bear alone the load of work and responsibility involved in disbursing their substance; too, the matter of taxation was involved; (5) they, by deeding certain of their properties to a private non-profit corporation such as the Akin Foundation, could remove the burden of disbursing these funds from themselves and transfer it to younger shoulders more able to bear it, and, at the same time, enable churches of the Lord to receive a much larger amount of money by reason of the fact that such corporations are not taxable under the law in certain areas of taxation; (6) also, they recognized the fact that the oil property would be producing income long after they were gone, hence the necessity of making provision for its proper use when they no longer could be present to oversee its distribution.

Let it be observed, at this point, that the Akin Foundation has never received a penny from any source save JOHN W. and NELLIE AKIN, and that any insinuation to the contrary is a vicious, slanderous prevarication. The Akin Foundation asks for nothing either from individuals or churches. It exists for the sole purpose of disbursing, according to the terms of its charter funds and other things of value donated to it by John W and Nellie Akin. The Board of Directors is legally amenable to the State and Federal governments, spiritually amenable to God, and morally amenable to the memory of Brother John W. Akin and the principles for which he stood, to Sister John W. Akin and the principles for which she stands, and to the purposes which motivated their gifts to the Akin Foundation. Each member of the Board of Directors is personally under the oversight of the elders and/or church of which he is a member and to them accountable for his conduct as a Christian. With reference to Akin Foundation matters, we are not accountable to the churches of Christ, to the brethren individually, to any paper published by the brethren, nor to any editor of any paper regardless of what he may feel, think, or say. More will be said on this point when we deal with the misrepresentations of Editor Lemmons.

The Akin Foundation can disburse its funds (with the exception of normal operating expenses allowed under the law) only to churches of Christ in the United States of America. It cannot give to individuals — preachers or otherwise, to colleges, to other institutions, or to papers.

The Akin Foundation through its Board of Directors cannot exercise power or authority over churches. When a gift is made to a church, all control of the funds is released. The money becomes the property of the church to which it is given and is spent at its discretion. The charter provides that "the corporation does not have, and shall never attempt to exercise a single attribute of power or authority over any Church, but it cheerfully recognizes the absolute sovereignty of the Churches, this corporation being deemed a benevolent and charitable rather than a religious corporation. The donation by the corporation to any church shall be without any condition, condition subsequent or covenant." More will be said on this point, also, when we discuss the false accusations of the disturbed editor of the Firm Foundation.

The original Directors of the Akin Foundation were: Paul L. Wallace, Seymour C. Waggoner, and Bryan Vinson. The present Directors are: Bryan Vinson, James W. Adams, and Foy W. Vinson. This point, too, will be discussed later when we deal with Editor Lemmons' insinuations concerning the change in the board.

The original charter did not permit a member of the Board of Directors to profit directly or indirectly from the funds of the Foundation. The charter was amended August 30, 1955, during the administration of the original Board of Directors, so as to permit "any director, trustee, or employee or individual" of the Akin Foundation "to receive support from any Church of Christ for labor or services in the gospel, when and if any such Church of Christ is or may be the recipient of any fund or contribution from the Akin Foundation." This means that a board member may be supported in the work of the Lord by a church which receives funds for this purpose from the Akin Foundation in the same way that any other preacher would receive such support.

The reader will recognize the fact that the Akin Foundation, under both State and Federal laws, operates simply in lieu of Brother and Sister John W. Akin in deciding which churches of Christ shall receive donations from the funds of the Foundation. Other than this, it has no function.

Our Reply To A Modern Ephraimite

We are now ready to take up the false accusations of the "know-it-all" editor of the Firm Foundation. On January 30, 1962, Editor Lemmons made an attack on churches which have sprung up over the country in such places as Cleburne, Waco, and elsewhere as a result of brethren being forced out of existing congregations because they would not stultify their consciences in swallowing the "institutionalism, centralized control and oversight, and social gospel practices" engaged in by those congregations. Lemmons characterized this as the birth of a sect. He charged, also, that many of these churches and their preachers in Texas were being subsidized out of the "vast resources" of the Akin Foundation.

Brother Bryan Vinson asked for the privilege of replying to this charge. It was granted, hence his article in the Firm Foundation, April 10, 1962. In this article, Vinson categorically denied that such churches as described by Lemmons constituted a sect, that the resources of the Akin Foundation are "vast," and that the Akin Foundation was at that time subsidizing "many" such churches and their preachers "in Texas."

Editor Lemmons' April 10 reply to Vinson is a wild, rash, hysterical outburst of vicious, libelous, slanderous charges and insinuations having no foundation in fact. Such a demonstration ill becomes the editor of an old, and what should be, respectable religious journal.

Was Vinson Mistaken?

Lemmons says: "Brother Vinson thinks he and the Akin Foundation 'came under censure' in the editorial. He is mistaken. We simply mentioned a fact No churches were criticized by us, neither was Vinson, or the Foundation. A fact was simply stated that many churches and preachers were being subsidized by the Akin Foundation."

Two outstanding misrepresentations are to be noted in Editor Lemmons' statements. In the original editorial, Lemmons attacked such churches as have been mentioned previously (Cleburne, Waco, and others) charging them with constituting a sect, so he did criticize churches. By necessary implication, he censured Vinson for the alleged support of such an alleged sectarian movement by the Akin Foundation referring to its Board of Directors contemptuously as "his (Vinson's JWA) board." Even a child would have no trouble in seeing that Lemmons did, indeed, criticize churches, Vinson, and the Akin Foundation, all three of which he denies We remember a vacillating judge of New Testament times who said, "What is truth?" It is evident that our modern Ephraimite brother is having like difficulty.

In his April 10 editorial, Editor Lemmons ignores the fact that, in his January 30 editorial, he said the Akin Foundation was subsidizing "in Texas many" churches and preachers such as those which he alleged constituted a sect. The fact remains that, at the time of the January 30 article, only three churches of any kind in Texas were being assisted, and two of them in very small amounts. Editor, you made a false charge; face up to your sin! We do not wonder that he refuses to name churches and preachers!

Guilty Of What?

Lemmons next tries to cover his sin with a puerile dodge. He says: "Vinson's admission that the Foundation is contributing to certain ones is admission enough. By his admission he is guilty." Guilty of what, Editor? Certainly, the Foundation is contributing to churches in Texas and elsewhere. That is the purpose for which it exists. To do otherwise would be to violate its charter. However, and you get this Editor Lemmons, we do deny that the churches to which the Foundation is contributing constitute a sect. Furthermore, hear us, Editor, this writer will meet Reuel Lemmons at any time on the polemic platform, or in the columns of the Gospel Guardian and Firm Foundation on this point or any other involving current issues upon which we may differ. We respectfully suggest that the fractious editor should put up or shut up!

Was Brother Akin A Sectarian?

It will be interesting to the reader to note that Brother John W. Akin was for several years prior to his death a member of a congregation such as those characterized by Lemmons as a sect. Sister Nellie Akin is yet a member of that church. If every dime the Akin Foundation disburses went to churches such as these, the money would be spent in absolute harmony with the views and wishes of those from whom the money came. Editor Lemmons, get out your crying towel and howl to your heart's content, but not one cent of Akin Foundation funds, so long as the present board lives and functions, will go to assist any church involved in the unscriptural, liberal, digressive practices which are the basis of our present troubles. To give money to such a church would be to desecrate the memory and to hold in contempt the principles of John W. Akin, to ignore the wishes and principles of Sister Nellie Akin, his widow, and to violate the sacred trust imposed upon us as Directors of the Akin Foundation, No, Editor Lemmons, this will not occur! Not only did Brother Akin hold membership with such a church, but he contributed liberally from his personal fortune, other than Akin Foundation funds, to other such congregations.

Was Lemmons Presumptuous?

Lemmons says that his request for a financial statement from the Akin Foundation "is neither gratuitous nor presumptuous." If Brother John W. Akin were alive would it be gratuitous or presumptuous for the editor of the Firm Foundation to ask him for a financial statement of his personal income and disbursements? Brother Akin gave of his personal funds to many churches and preachers. The Akin Foundation occupies a position relative to the churches to which it donates no different from that sustained by Brother Akin, when he was alive, to the churches to which he donated. We wonder if Editor Lemmons would think this writer presumptuous if he asked for a copy of the editor's personal Federal Income Tax return for 1961? No doubt the editor makes donations to churches. Think about it, Editor!

The Akin Foundation lays no claim to church support. It does not ask for contributions from individuals. It receives and disburses funds made possible by property given to it for that purpose by Brother and Sister John W. Akin to various churches of Christ in the United States. Certainly your request for a financial statement was presumptuous and gratuitous, Editor Lemmons. More than that, it was contemptible and slanderous! It implies maladministration and dishonesty on the part of the Board of Directors of the Akin Foundation. Lemmons charges that Vinson "affects the church of my Lord by his money pressures." What money pressures, Editor? Name them! Specify events, persons, places, and churches! Support your specifications with evidence! When Lemmons contributes to a liberal church, and surely he does to some, does his gift constitute a "money pressure"? Shades of Aristotle, what reasoning! Hear some more of the slander, Firm Foundation style: "He would not consider It effrontery to suggest such an accounting if everything was as Christ-like as he would make it appear." If Lemmons had any proof of his charges, he would not have to go on a fishing expedition such as his request for a financial statement. No, to the contrary, he makes a false charge against a private corporation, based on his own evil imaginations, offers no evidence whatever to sustain his charge, demands a financial statement from said private corporation to prove his false charge not true, then concludes that there is some sort of skullduggery going on because his egotistical and contemptible demands are refused. Did the editor of the Firm Foundation never read the warning of Jesus, "Judge not lest ye be judged"?

Does The Akin Foundation Interfere With Churches?

Editor Lemmons next charges that the Akin Foundation "injects itself in an unscriptural way (through the use of its money) into the affairs of congregations, some in towns of, and some far removed from the residence of any board member. This injection has reached the point where certain elderships have been compelled to request Brother Vinson and his board to keep their hands off local affairs." This is a willful, malicious, vile prevarication. The Akin Foundation has never, under the administration of the original or the present board, thus injected itself into the affairs of any congregation. In making this charge, Lemmons is guilty of libel and slander. If this had been done, the board would have violated the charter of the Foundation, hence the law of the land. The publishers of the Firm Foundation should warn their irate editor to be careful. Were it not for the fact that we and Lemmons are brethren in the Lord, the Firm Foundation and Reuel Lemmons might even now be answering charges of libel and slander in court. We challenge Lemmons to name places, persons, and churches and present adequate supporting evidence as to the truth of his charge. No group of elders, during the administration of the original or present board, has ever "been compelled to request" the Board of Directors of the Akin Foundation "to keep their hands off local affairs." Lemmons further says: "No board member doubts for a moment that names and places could be furnished." Just a moment, Editor, every board member not only doubts but unequivocally denies your statement. This writer unhesitatingly brands your charge as a gross prevarication. He calls on you, Editor Lemmons, to produce the names, places, times, and churches and the evidence of such ever having occurred. This is not to say that some person of the same character as the editor of the Finn Foundation may not have made such a baseless charge, nor is it [to] say that some person honestly laboring under a mistaken concept of the Foundation's function or relation to some church may not have done so. But, that such a request as that charged by Lemmons has ever been received from an eldership of a church by the Board of Directors of the Akin Foundation is a gross falsehood.

What About "Vinson's Board"?

We should like much to know what Editor Lemmons thinks he knows that would justify his calling the present board of the Akin Foundation, "Vinson's Board."

Only Seymour C. Waggoner, Paul L. Wallace, James W. Adams, Foy W. Vinson, and Bryan Vinson (since Brother Akin is gone), the principals in this matter, know what transpired in the change that resulted. Each knows only that which involved himself, hence none knows all that transpired. If Lemmons knows anything at all, he would have to get it from one of us. He has not talked with any of the members of the present board, hence only Paul L. Wallace and Seymour C. Waggoner remain. Both of these men have been valued friends for many years. Despite the fact that we may not agree on every matter relating to present issues among the churches, we believe both of these men to be honorable and trustworthy. We do not believe that either would consciously misrepresent a matter. We urgently invite Editor Lemmons to make public what he thinks he knows and why he thinks he knows it to be true concerning the selection of the present Board of Directors. Let him document his charge with signed statements from the two principals in this matter who are no longer on the Board of Directors. We challenge him to do it. Editor, give us facts and evidence, the kind you would have to present in court in answering a charge of libel.

Foy E. Wallace And The Akin Foundation

Editor Lemmons' next misrepresentation has to do with Brother Foy E. Wallace (Jr.) and his reasons for severing himself from an arrangement in which his support was supplied by the Norhill Church of Christ, Houston, Texas, from funds contributed to it by the Akin Foundation. Lemmons says: "Brother Wallace was so strong in his objection to the way the Akin Foundation funds were being used that he repudiated the whole set-up and voluntarily refused to receive another cent from it, forfeiting in his act his very living." A more grossly false statement than this could not have been framed. Where on earth does Editor Lemmons get his information? From the garbage can, of course, but who is the can? We cannot believe that Foy E. Wallace, whom we have known so long and loved so well in days gone by and to whom we have sustained, in the past, a great deal closer relationship than that now sustained to him by Lemmons, gave any such information to Lemmons.

This writer has in his files a photostatic copy of the letter written by Brother Wallace to the Board of Directors of the Akin Foundation at the time to which reference is made by Editor Lemmons It contains nothing remotely similar to what Lemmons reports. The facts of the matter are these: When Brother Foy E. Wallace learned that his brother in the flesh, Paul L. Wallace, and Seymour C. Waggoner were no longer to serve as board members, he wrote the letter to the board indicating that, at the end of the year some eight months away, he would no longer be accepting support from the Norhill Church, hence that funds from the Akin Foundation need not after that time be donated to that congregation. However, note this: Brother Wallace specifically requested that the Akin Foundation, at the earliest possible date, contribute into the treasury of the Norhill Church the remaining funds necessary to support him for six months (at the beginning of the year the Foundation had contributed the equivalent of support for six months) that he might have the money to alleviate certain pressing personal obligations. This was done as he requested. So, Wallace did not, as Lemmons reports, "refuse to receive another cent." Since only about four months of the year had passed, Wallace actually received some 350,000 cents from Akin Foundation funds after the present board began to serve. Furthermore, Brother Wallace did not, as Lemmons reports, "object to the way Akin Foundation funds were being used" and, therefore, remove himself from the realm of its support. At the time Wallace wrote his letter, the present board had not had a voice in spending one red cent or gray one either of Foundation funds. The Wallace letter was presented at the first meeting this writer attended. Seymour C. Waggoner will verify this fact; he was present and presented the letter. Wallace did not, contrary to the report of Lemmons, "forfeit his very living." In fact, his request, when complied with, secured for him support for eight months in advance. We think that, even Editor Lemmons, would not affirm that a man of the ability of Foy E. Wallace, with an advance of salary for eight months, could not arrange for his living in that length of time.

The present board has had several reports concerning why Brother Wallace did that which he did. It was first reported that he did it because he was displeased that Seymour C. Waggoner had been removed from the board. It was next reported that he did it because he objected to the two Vinsons serving on the board on the grounds that they would divert funds to projects that would personally benefit them. We next heard that he objected to this writer's being on the board because the Foundation would be run by the Gospel Guardian. Now, Editor Lemmons tells us, and he speaks with the air of having received his information straight from the horse's mouth, that Wallace objected to the way the funds were being used. To this hour, Brother Wallace has never indicated to the present board of the Akin Foundation why he did what he did, except to say that he wished it to be that way. We have no interest whatever in Brother Wallace's reasons for his action. We consider it his own business. The amazing thing to us is this: How in the world do people like Editor Lemmons learn so much that is not true?

The Editor's Son Accepted Support

Another ridiculous aspect of Editor Lemmons' charges against the present board of the Akin Foundation is the fact that his own son, for a considerable period of time, received support that was in part supplied by the Foundation under the administration of its present board — "Vinson's Board" mind you, according to Lemmons, the father. Ah, consistency, thou art indeed a jewel!

Do Akin Foundation Funds "Bolster Papers And Colleges"?

Lemmons charges that Akin Foundation funds are used to bolster papers, preachers, and colleges. This is a falsehood. Not one penny has ever gone from these funds under either board, either directly or indirectly, to papers or colleges or to anyone or anything other than a church of Christ as the charter provides. Even preachers have received support only in an indirect manner — through churches as the charter provides. To have done what Lemmons charges us with doing would have been to violate our charter and the law or the land. This charge is, therefore, libelous and slanderous. It is fortunate for the editor and the Firm Foundation that we have no interest in legal action against them.

Conclusion

Editor Lemmons grossly remarks in closing, "Brother Vinson had best let this rest here for the more you stir it the more it stinks." This is the language of the street and the gutter. We are aware that elegance of manners would hardly by anyone be ascribed to the current editor of the Firm Foundation, but as our small daughter would say, REALLY! Editor, aren't you just a little ashamed of that statement? We believe it to be in order to remark in closing that we think the reader will have no trouble in deciding from which direction the foul odor in this matter emanates, hence we will leave it to his judgment.

— 901 N.W. 10th Street, Oklahoma City, Okla.