The Overflow
Only five percent?
Word comes to us that in a roundtable discussion at the Broadway congregation in Lubbock on Thursday morning, January 27, it was pretty generally agreed by the preachers participating that "only about five percent" of gospel preachers in the land were opposed to the centralized arrangements by which "mission" work and benevolences were being promoted among churches of Christ. Of course the proper treatment for these "troublers of Israel" is the quarantine! The "five percent" estimate was not unanimous. Some thought it would come nearer being fifty percent. Our own guess? Forty percent — and growing every day.
"Come as you are"
We are sent a clipping from California, which relates that one denominational preacher is advertising "come as you are" services at his church. People wanting to spend the day at the beach are urged to dress for the beach, then stop off and attend worship services as they are enroute to their favorite strip of sand and sea. Now if he can just get Marilyn Monroe to come a few Sundays (in a bikini, of course), we predict attendance at that church will even out-strip Madison, Tennessee.
Thanks, friend
"Keep up the good fight. Wish I were able to put the Guardian into every home where the Gospel Advocate goes. I am so thankful that you are exposing the errors that seem to be growing by leaps and bounds in these areas. And all because some will not take time to investigate. Looks like many congregations over here are getting even worse than the sectarians."
— A Nashville (Tenn.) subscriber
Silent prayer
"What's this I hear about a professor in one of 'our Bible colleges' who preached a sermon on prayer and then instructed the congregation to enter into a period of 'silent prayer' — but to be careful that all prayed for the same thing lest they get God confused? (I heard this at a recent lectureship, and was told that it had actually occurred there the Sunday the lectures started 0" — Gene Frost, Las Cruces, N. M.
Brother Lemmons' conviction We have had several letters and inquiries from interested brethren concerning Brother Reuel Lemmons' attitude toward the currently hot "orphan home" issue. To answer all the queries in Brother Lemmons' own words, we quote this unequivocal and positive statement from him, "The fact is I have fought the idea of a home under a board ever since
I have been preaching." This puts the editor of the Firm Foundation in clear-cut opposition to Boles Home, Childhaven, Tennessee Orphan Home, Southern Christian Home, and all others which are so operated. By implication he would endorse Sunny Glen, Tipton, Maude Carpenter Home and the Lubbock Children's Home. We trust this will take care of the inquiries we have received.
Proper incentive Have you been keeping up with the friendly rivalry between Broadway (Lubbock) and Madison, Tennessee, to see which could surpass the other in Bible School attendance? Well, the story is going the rounds that the preacher of the Madison church was promised a brand new Cadillac if he could whip up enough enthusiasm in that congregation to top Broadway's mark. He did! Now, if some of the other big congregations over the land will sort of get on the ball and offer suitable prizes (a mink coat for the preacher's wife? an expense-paid vacation to Hawaii? or two weeks on the Riviera? two Cadillacs? an oil-well in Texas?) maybe they, too, can have 2500 in Bible School.
Reward unclaimed Brother Guthrie Dean of Malvern, Arkansas, sends us a huge ad appearing in the "Malvern Daily Record" and signed by thirteen New Testament congregations in southern Arkansas, offering a reward of $1,000.00 for "acceptable evidence of one case of instantaneous and miraculous divine healing of cancer . . . . active tuberculosis, withered limbs, or paralysis." If brethren generally will make a practice of running such advertisements when "fake healers" put on their campaigns, we believe it will do much to stop this nefarious trafficking in human misery.
A visit to Cane Ridge On April 2 it was our privilege once again to visit the historic Cane Ridge meeting house, a few miles out of Paris, Kentucky. In company with Harold Hazelip, Robert C. Welch, and Wesley Jones, all of Louisville, Kentucky, and Harry Pickup, Sr., of Tampa, Florida, we drove through the beautiful bluegrass region to the hallowed spot. Of particular interest to this writer are the inscriptions on the gravestones in the burying-ground — more than one of which refers to the departed as having been a member of "The Church of Christ." Truly, "the stones cry out" to deny the falsehood of the digressives that the Restoration movement was known as "the Christian Church" and the "Church of Christ" split off from that movement!
Porter-Woods propositions Here are the propositions Brother W. Curtis Porter has submitted to Brother Guy N. Woods for the Indianapolis debate. (At this writing we have no word as to whether Brother Woods has signed):
1. According to the New Testament, congregations as such, are adequate to accomplish all the work God has assigned the church to do — in benevolence, evangelism, and teaching programs; and they should do such work without delegating it by the contribution of their funds to human organizations.
2. Congregations may, by contributing their funds to the agencies scripturally perform their benevolent work through institutional homes for the orphans, aged and needy, set up under organizational boards of directors, and do their work of evangelism through a centralized agency maintained for thousands of congregations, and accomplish their teaching program through Bible colleges founded and operated by Christians.
Quoting
"It takes a mighty conscientious man to tell the difference between when he is tired and when he is just lazy."