The Overflow
"Ain't it so!"
Brother Ben F. Taylor, out of his rich storehouse of personal experiences, tells us the amusing story of an incident that occurred several years ago in Wheeling, West Virginia. Brother Taylor was invited to preach one Sunday afternoon for the colored congregation. He took his place on the pulpit at the appointed time, and began his sermon. On the front seat was a large colored woman who sat looking straight ahead and would frequently mumble a loud "Ain't it so!"
After a period of time, brother Taylor began to be annoyed and some of the congregation could see that he was disturbed. Finally one of the colored brethren called out, "Sister Jones, when a white brother preaches, you ain't 'sposed to speak out, 'cause nobody pays any attention to what he says." The old colored lady looked sternly ahead and mumbled, "Ain't it so!"
—Irvington (Indianapolis) News)
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"There Is A Better Way"
Under this caption some months ago we quoted a few paragraphs from David Lipscomb advising against "general public appeals" for the support of missionaries. We said that "a better way" would be for each congregation to plan its own work and support its own man. Brother Jim Bales, our friendly critic from over in Arkansas, apparently constitutionally incapable of letting a statement from us go unchallenged, now comes forth with a couple of pages in the Firm Foundation, defending the idea of "general public appeals." Very well. If that is his judgment in the matter, it is simply a difference in judgment between him on the one hand and Lipscomb and us on the other. We see nothing in it to get excited about. We still aren't convinced, however; and we still agree with Lipscomb that such a program will create a "jargon." Further, we are pretty certain it will reach the point of "diminishing returns." We'd like for brother Bales to take note of the response given to the second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds of such appeals (those to be made by workers from Italy, Holland, Japan, etc.) with the response to the initial appeals by brother Gatewood. Let him compare both crowds and contributions.
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Key and Hardeman We call your attention to the articles in this issue by brother Roy Key and brother Pat Hardeman. Modernism in subtle guise is making inroads into the church. Every Christian needs to be alert and on guard. Read these articles, and others that are to follow.
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The worth of a wife
"Every man ought to have a wife. If a man is happily married, that one rib is worth all the other bones in his body."
— Gospel Advocate, 1890
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"Cousin Joe"
It was the year 1894. J. D. Tant was debating with a Baptist preacher named Joe Lockhart. Tant kept referring to his opponent as "Cousin Joe." Lockhart finally took exception to it, and demanded to know why Tant kept using the appellation. Tant replied, "Why, everybody knows that Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were cousins. I follow Christ and you follow John. That makes us cousins, Cousin Joe."
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Volume Two ready soon Volume Two of the Gospel Guardian is now at the bindery, and will be ready soon for delivery. It is exactly twice as big as was Volume One, and the price on it will be a little bit higher. Only a limited number (about 150) are being bound, so if you want one, you should order at once. Volume One is sold out, and no more copies are available.
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"Young editor Yater"
Comes now brother F. 0. Howell solemnly and seriously avowing that he can't see any difference between "young editor Yater" selling subscriptions to the Gospel Guardian and several hundred churches turning over their funds to a centralized "board of elders" to spend for them. This is pretty discouraging to said "young editor." He is flattered, of course, by brother Howell's and brother Showalter's references to his youth (what balding, graying fatso wouldn't be?), but, honestly, does brother Howell, a teacher in Israel, insist that he is mentally incapable of making any distinction between a business enterprise and a church? If that be a true index of his mental prowess, we wouldn't be at all surprised to see him come out some day with a declaration that there is no distinction to be made between the church of Jesus Christ and the Ku Klux Klan!
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Arizona "Sonlight"
Brethren Harry Pickup, Jr., and J. D. Rothwell of Phoenix, and Robert F. Turner of Prescott are starting a monthly paper slanted particularly toward the needs of the Arizona field. Name of the new paper will be "Sonlight," and subscription is $1.00 per year. If interested, you may order from Harry Pickup, Jr., 2128 W. Earn Drive, Phoenix.
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Tucson While we're on the subject of Arizona, we'll say that this page is being written while the editor is in the home of his father-in-law, L. A. Gotto, of Tucson. This is our sixth meeting in Tucson within the past fifteen years (five at Mabel and Santa Rita church, and the present one at the new Country Club congregation), and we have many friends in all the congregations here. Tucson Christians have had much unrest through the years, but in spite of these troubles of the past and some deep animosities of the present, there is real hope for a brighter day ahead. With faithful gospel preachers (both local and visiting) refusing to align themselves with the old cleavages, and with a considerable number of new converts who know nothing of the ancient problems (there is no doctrinal issue involved), we are confident that peace will eventually come.
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Quotable quote
"Some of the brethren are complaining that they want to give money to some foreign field, but don't know how to go about it. It's a dead sure cinch that if a person doesn't even know enough about a foreign work to be able to send money to it, he doesn't know enough to give intelligently! If he is that ignorant of the situation, how can he know what is being done with his money once it is on "the field?"
John C. Whitehead
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