Reading The Bulletins
News From Here And There
Gordon Ricketts, who has been in Haynesville, Ohio is moving to Columbia, Tennessee to work with the Mooresville Pike church. Bobby Reynolds, who has been at Morrisville Pike for over two years, has moved to Nashville to labor with the Rosebank church. . . . Gene Robinson is now working with the church in Rockford, Illinois.... This is being written in Montgomery, Alabama where I am in a meeting with the Butler Mill Road church. Carroll Puckett, a fine young man whom I have known for sometime,' is working with this church and doing a fine work. . . . L. E. Sloan has announced that he will be leaving the work in Medina, Tennessee within the next few weeks. He has not yet decided where he will move. . . . Charles Hodge writes me that the church in Pontotoc, Miss., did not and does not conduct "Camp Hope, A Christian Camp For Young People." Recently a DIRECT QUOTE was carried in this column from the Gulfport Banner that "the church in Pontotoc, Miss., will conduct a camp for young people. . . ." Three-fourth of the material, along such lines, which is carried in this column is taken directly from church bulletins and other publications. Anyone who THINKS knows that I can not (and indeed I SHOULD not have to) personally verify every quote. We do not want anyone misrepresented thru this column and if such is the case in this instance, the fault is with the publisher of the Gulfport Banner — not with this column. . . . Dean Bullock has moved from Borger, Texas to Sinton to work with the church there. . . . Maurice Howell is now with the Brainerd church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was with Central in Birmingham for several years. . . . G. F. Rains is now laboring with the Vinemont church just out of Cullman, Alabama. . . . Eston Macon has moved from McMinnville, Tennessee to Helena, Georgia.... Lewis Casey has moved from Ozark, Alabama to work with the Herron St. church in Montgomery.. : .Levoy Bivens is now with the Highland Avenue church in Montgomery. Judging by the bulletins from over the country, it looks like the BIG PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN for one million dollars for Manhattan church in New York (which is to be taken up the fifth Sunday of this month — June), will really pay off well. Churches are really willing to be "bled" to get on this big bandwagon! This promotional scheme has about overshadowed all the others in glory, glamour, and size. It will be interesting to see if they make the goal.
Leroy Garrett writes: "Your remarks in a recent 'R. the B.' were interesting to me. I would like to know if you believe all of God's children are cornered off in what you call 'the church of Christ.' Is it your position that you have no brethren among the Baptists or Christian Church? Came any, Charles, do you really believe the modern Church of Christ' is the NT church while all others are apostate, that we have all the Christians, and no one else has any. As far back as FHC I remember how Hardeman would say, 'We are Christians only, not the only Christians.' That is my position.. Do you believe we are the only Christians? If so, I will keep on loving you just as I do any other sectarian."
(Editor's Note: Yes, I believe that ALL of God's children are "cornered off" in the church of Christ) because the church of Christ is the family of God and ALL of God's children are in His family. They are "cornered off" when they are "added" to the church. This is when they are saved — it is all the same thing.. Only those who obey the gospel are thus added, "cornered off" and saved.
Some of these children may go astray and meet with the devil's children in some human institution. These are the only "brethren" that I have among the denominations.
(People do NOT become children of God by obeying the peculiar doctrines of any sect or denomination. Only the gospel makes Christians. Baptist, Methodist and other sectarian preachers DO NOT preach the gospel and, therefore, do not lead people to become children of God. These denominations are not "apostate" churches; they were never true churches to start with. If any of these sects have any "Christians" in them it was NOT the peculiar teaching of any sect that made them such. I know of no denomination (with the possible exception in some instance of the Christian church — which is an "apostate" group!) that teaches the plan of salvation. Some of them may teach some parts of it, but they pervert the order or purpose of some parts or the whole of it.)
Preachers Sure Get It!
While preparing a bulletin for a church, a popular story goes, the editor called the preacher to get his sermon topics for the following Sunday. The preacher replied that he had not yet selected the morning topic, but that the evening sermon would be on the text, "The fool hath said in his heart there is no God." When the announcement appeared here is what it said:
Morning.............. .. Sermon by Minister
Evening ............. What The Fool Said — Christian Servant, Columbus, Georgia
Garrett Is Gone!
In the last issue of BIBLE TALK (May, 1957) Bro. Leroy Garrett gives us his real thinking about instrumental music in the worship. Liston to what he says:
"Personally, there is no 'music question' among my worries, for I have that one figured out to my own satisfaction.... The question with me, therefore, is this — and it is one of my worries — Does our difference on instrumental music mean that we cannot fellowship each other and welcome each other to the Lord's supper?
. To have an organ or not to have an organ may not be as consequential to our heavenly Father as some of us think, but surely it is of great consequence to the Father when his children cannot sit together around the table that commemorates the death of His Son."
Thus in another point does Garrett show that he has slipped away from the "ancient order of things." He has found out that there are Christians in all churches. He seems to be willing to fellowship any and all of the sects and now the matter of instrumental music does not bother him any longer! He has that all "figured out" — but WRONG! Jimmy Glenn, one of Garrett's erstwhile colleagues, says that he can no longer fellowship Garrett because he (Garrett) does not NOW believe in baptism tor the remission of sins and will worship with the Christian church! Well, this comes as no surprise to many of us. Garrett's great learning (he now has his PHD!) has bounced him back from one extreme to another. Again this should serve as a lesson to us as we see so many of our preachers clamoring for "higher education." It is hard to sit at the feet of infidels, modernists and rank denominational teachers, studying philosophy, education, higher criticism, psychology and such matters, without some of this type thinking "rubbing off" on one. Modernism is at the root of much of our trouble today. It is possible for one to be a modernist (there are various degrees of modernism) and not be aware of it. When will we ever learn that "faith comes by hearing ... the word of God." It is in this field that our preachers should be trained: All these other things Paul counted as but "dung" that he might gain Christ. Christ is not gained in the field of "higher education," but through knowing and obeying the simple truth.