Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 9
November 21, 1957
NUMBER 29, PAGE 4-5,12b

Professional Beggars

Editor's Note: Within the last ten or fifteen years, the churches of Christ have been increasingly cursed with a growing family of whining mendicants — a motley assortment of professional promoters, confident men, self-seeking and self-opinionated elders who travel from one end of the nation to the other stirring up trouble in peaceful congregations, and a few sincere but misguided fanatics who apparently feel the heavens are about to cave in unless brethren rally to their pet project of the hour. We've had a number of requests to write an editorial or two on the subject. The following article by Brother Wilson M. Coon of Dickinson, Texas, says some things that have needed saying for a long, long time.)

Religious Beggars And The Waste Paper Basket

There was a time when the church of Christ fought against the religious beggars and their schemes for robbing the people. Most of us can remember men like J. D. Tant, Joe Warlick, and many, many other faithful saints of God who preached against the pie suppers, cake walks, carnivals and other Satanic devises to raise money. I am sure, however, that these men have few to follow in there steps.

Hardly a week passes but that letters of every description are sent to the churches of Christ throughout the land, asking for a hand-out. Some brethren want a church house; some want a preacher's house; some want a recreational center; others want a school; others want an old folks' home while still others need a home for the orphans and other unfortunate victims of circumstance. One letter went out over the brotherhood asking for donations to buy a tractor for some farmers overseas. One well known editor, who is now out of the business, asked the brotherhood to subscribe to his paper in honor of his birthday. One year he had two birthdays.

No doubt there are many deserving brethren over the country who need help; however, there are thousands of these beggars who actually do not need the money. Begging has become such a tradition among us that natural resources are forgotten and passed by. It is much easier to allow some one else to make the sacrifices while we sit around and try to figure some ways and means of making an appeal that will outdo the last one.

The last time I was in Dallas, Texas, I sat for some twenty minutes listening to our brother from New York make a speech for a Million Dollars. According to this preacher there was a dire need for a Million Dollar Building in Manhattan so he wasted no time getting down to the issues. Here are some of the arguments he made: (1). People on a vacation, visiting New York, need a fine place to worship. (2). New York is the mission center of the entire world (for Billy Graham said so) therefore we need to evangelize the world by building a Million Dollar Building. (3). A Catholic woman said that we must be a little Texas Sect because we have no Million Dollar buildings in New York, therefore, we need to build a building and prove this woman to be wrong. (4). And of course, this preacher has an associate Minister who needs a fine church house to croon in. (5). Paul went into the large cities to preach, therefore we need a Million Dollar building in Manhattan.

We have one good brother who, perhaps, has been rubbed a little more than some of the others; however, we shall slightly mention one or two things with reference to his finance, such as sending his little boys and girls all over the country, singing religious songs for entertainment, that he might be afforded the pleasure of taking up a collection. One preacher quit his located work and traveled with this choir for several months, making speeches and scooping up the money. After quitting this procedure, he wrote me a letter and said that it was good to get back into the Lord's work, having reference, of course, to preaching the gospel of Christ. Does it not seem strange that a brother would give up his work as a preacher, get out of the Lord's work, to take up collections for a human Institution that even the head of this Institution will not even defend in public debate? Yes, I have the letter for proof.

The question now is: Do these churches, Institutions and Organizations actually need the money? Let me cite a church in Dallas (where I worked for three years) as an example of what I mean. We were cramped for money, class room space, and could not pay the preacher enough to live. From the looks of things we would have been justified in sending out letters all over the brotherhood begging for help. Looks are sometimes deceiving. Did we need outside help? Let us see. At least 35 of the members were addicted to the use of tobacco. If each of the 35 used a package of cigarettes per day, paying an average of $0.25 per package, that would be a little over $3,000.00 per year, or $30,000.00 for a ten year period. Did we need outsiders to help pay for a tract of land and a church house totaling about $27,000.00? The tobacco money, alone, would have more than paid for the property and built class rooms in addition. Brethren have yet to learn whether there is a need in most cases. This church needed just what a lot of others need, the truth of Almighty God and the love for Christ that will jar us loose from a lot of non-sense and lead us into a sacrificial offering.

Some of these men in high places are begging every body in the country for money, while they themselves, are loaning money to other people. One well known head of one of the homes has been known, just recently, to loan a friend of his a considerable sum. I saw the contracts where the same head had paid almost $2,000.00. for a couple of pairs of "Rabbits" not long ago. Perhaps the contributions would come up somewhat if he would drop some of his loose change into the basket. Oh yes, he can call all the brethren who oppose his setup "big mouthed smart alecs" and charge them of splitting the church over whether we should give our money to orphan homes or preachers. According to him, everybody with money should give it to these Institutions and everybody with property should sit down quickly and make out a will for the benefit of some "Clap-Trap" that cannot be found in the Holy Bible.

One church in Dallas was given free time on the K.R.L.D. Television Network; but, this church was not satisfied until she had created another little Herald of Truth, that she might send out letters all over the brotherhood begging for $1500.00 per month to operate another organization. Instead of having 125 members, this church has more than a thousand. Should all the brethren of this congregation pool their tobacco money, they could talk in terms of buying K.R.L.D.!

It seems that some of the biggest beggars among us are the richest people. Nearly all of the begging churches, who cry for money to feed their "pets," are richer than the churches who send in their donations. Nearly every begging campaign is headed by some brother who has more than enough Money to put the program over by himself, yet he stands back and gloats over his money like Ahab in the garden, baring his fangs and daring some humble preacher to say aught against his project. One well known brother, who is pretty wealthy, headed a big advertising program for the church of Christ and started begging for help. This brother seemed to be a bit more scriptural than some of the others for he tried to get the brethren to send him their money before they had time to drop it in the collection on Sunday Morning. One thing can be said about this brother however: He did drop $5.00 into the coffers of an Old Folk's Home not long ago. It may not be long until some brother will have to travel all over the country with a fiddle and a choir to take up a collection for this wealthy brother who may go broke dropping in his HUGE SUMS of money to support the Human Institutions he helped to establish, separate and apart from the church of the living God.

Very few churches today are unable to carry on their works locally. Most of the congregations in this country are able to carry on the work that God assigned them to do without any outside help whatsoever. And incidentally, I don't hear much about honest and good hearts begging for money to support a local work. God has always seen fit to bless those who follow in his way. No, the beggars are usually about their task of taking up money for some Institution that the brotherhood would be much better off without. When the church is not satisfied to carry on the work in a very humble way, in a local sense, under the direction of Godly elders, and goes about crying and begging for money to make her powerful and mighty in the sight of the world, then she is no better than Rome or some Sectarian church that God never was invited to attend.

I wonder how many of these begging brethren are too soft to work? They certainly are not ashamed to beg. One Bible Character even went so far as to pad the bill just a bit that he might take care of his personal needs. Another Bible Character double-crossed his master and returned for rewards that were not his. If some of these begging brethren, who dip their hands into the sack up to the shoulder, should draw back a nub, maybe they would quit some of their meanness and go back to serving the Lord.

Don't misrepresent me, brethren. I have all the respect for brethren who are in need and I love children and I do help support the orphans (I have one in my home who looks to me for protection, support and Love). Furthermore, I am not calling all my brethren beggars, only those who are guilty.

It is my humble opinion that most of the letters sent out should wind up in the Waste Paper Basket to finally be burned that the smoke of their lying pleas may ascend to heaven.