The Overflow

Teaching and preaching Brother J. Early Arceneaux told us the other day of an interesting little incident that happened more than forty years ago, and has a bearing on the present day contention of some that it is impossible to "preach" to the church and impossible to "teach" the unsaved. He said that N. L. Clark (who held the above bit of inanity) was riding one day with R. L. Whiteside and C. R. Nichol. Clark was advancing his pet theory when Whiteside interrupted to ask, "Brother Clark if you were 'teaching' the brethren some Sunday morning and an alien sinner who happened to be present arose and asked, 'What must I do to be saved?', what would you do?" The conversation ended.

Concerning names Brother Arceneaux (who was in a fine meeting with the Timberland Drive congregation in Lufkin at the time) and the editor got to comparing notes on names. The best we could do was to tell of the fellow in California who sent a money order addressed to "Fanning. Water Tank"; but Brother Arceneaux went all the way from "J. Early Arsenal" to "J. Gurley Arzengaugh." And some of the sectarian preachers with whom he has debated probably think it ought to be "J. Early Arsenic."

Battle Street Brother Kenneth Fielder who has fought the liquor crowd to an unmerciful beating in Franklin, Tennessee, and who has been sued, slandered, and slobbered on in the process, is an ex-G.I. Although a mild and inoffensive sort of person, Fielder has shown the liquor crowd that there is a certain appropriateness in his address. He lives on Battle Street.

Doubts his sincerity Brother James Lacy Lovell is one of the Directors of George Pepperdine College. In a recent issue of his West Coast Christian Brother Jimmy picks out about a dozen men in the church from Alexander Campbell on down and gives his opinion of each of them. Among the number thus honored is E. W. McMillan; and Jimmy says that he has long been convinced that McMillan is "not sincere" in what he advocates. Thus we have the interesting spectacle of Pepperdine College employing a man to teach Bible who is publicly charged with insincerity by one of Pepperdine's Board of Directors! If Brother Mac takes Jimmy seriously (which he probably does not, as nobody else does) that ought to liven things up a bit on the campus this fall.

Still united Sixteen months ago when in a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, we wrote that not a single one of the twenty or more congregations in the Birmingham area was a contributor to Childhaven, the mammoth benevolent institution up at Cullman which a few Alabama preachers and others have promoted in Alabama to the disruption of the peace of the churches in the state. At this writing we are once again in Birmingham, and able still to report that not a single church in this area in supporting the institution — and that in spite of every kind of pressure and persuasion. It looks like somebody has been doing a first class job of sound Bible teaching back in this country!

"Our little preacher"

Childhaven News, official publication for the institution, reported in the March issue that "our little preacher," 6-year-old Tommy King, "stays busy preaching the word." It goes on to say that little Tommy's favorite color is red and his favorite sport is horse-back riding. The digressives and faith-healers have long since run this "child evangelist" racket into the ground. It is more than a little nauseating to sensible Christians. No doubt this is one contributing factor in making forty-four of the forty-six churches in Walker County (where Childhaven is located) refuse any contribution whatever to the organization. Two churches in the county have made an occasional contribution; the other forty-four regard the set-up about like they would a particularly aggravating case of poison ivy.

Remove one, insert other We received an article the other day accompanied by a note saying, "Please let me know immediately whether you will publish this or not; I have other plans for it if you don't, as I have lots of irons in the fire." That was too much for a slightly irascible editor who was feeling a bit grumpy that day anyhow. We struggled manfully with temptation, but finally yielded to the devil's urgings, and returned the article with the time-worn advice: "Suggest you remove one of the irons from the fire and insert article."

Dunne-Pickup The discussion between Harry W. Pickup, Jr. and the noted Jesuit priest, George Dunne, will begin in the Gospel Guardian this month. This will be one of the most unusual and highly instructive debates on the question of Catholic authority to be found anywhere. If you have Catholic friends who are at all open minded toward truth, by all means see that they receive these issues of the Guardian. Why not send in a club of subscriptions?

"In my Father's house", That reminds us of the statement of a certain well-known big preacher in the brotherhood who was expiating on Jesus' words to Mary when she found the twelve year old boy disputing with the doctors of the temple. "How is it that ye sought Me? knew ye not that I must be in my Father's house?" Explaining this, the big preacher said, "From I Timothy 3:15 we learn that the Father's "house" is nothing more nor less than the church. Thus we have Christ so early in life in the church, setting the example for us all."

Explanation Readers of Lard's Quarterly have often been puzzled by some articles in the 1864 and 1865 numbers in which Brother Lard stoutly defends the old sectarian idea of Holy Spirit baptism, and urges this as the proper interpretation of 1 Corinthians 12:13. J. W. McGarvey replied to the articles showing their weaknesses and fallacies. There is no real indication in the Lard articles that they did not represent the writer's real convictions on the matter. But thirty years later (1897), long after Lard's death, in answer to a question in the Christian Standard, McGarvey wrote: "Brother Lard and I agreed as to the meaning of the passage; but he had some misgivings about it, so he made the proposal that I should write a defense of our interpretation; that he should make under an assumed name the strongest objections to it that he could, and that I should then make a short rejoinder." We've seen some of Lards' statements and arguments used even in our day in defense of Holy Spirit baptism, and Lard has been claimed as a champion of the idea. It is not so. Lard did himself an injustice not to have explained more fully what he was doing in the articles he wrote. We're always dubious about these "phony" debates, and especially so when they are put into print and so permanently preserved.