News
John W. Wilson, 1355 Roxbury Drive, San Bernardino, California: "For Four Nights (Feb. 3-6) Brother Bob Melear Of The West Culver City Congregation, Culver City, California, Met Ben Crawford, Landmark Missionary Baptist Preacher In The Baptist Building In Keyes, California, Near Modesto, In Public Debate. This Was Brother Melear's Third Debate With Baptist Preachers. He Conducted Himself Like An Old Veteran And Gained A Complete Victory For Truth. They Debated The Plan Of Salvation And Apostasy. It Was My Pleasure To Keep Time For Brother Melear. The Sad Thing To Me And To Brother Melear Was The Absence Of Our Brethren. The Local Preacher For The Church Did Not Attend One Night. Only One Man And His Wife Did Attend One Night From The Local Church And They Told Us That Their Preacher Did Not Believe In Debating. Although There Are Two Congregations In Modesto (Only 8 Miles Away) Neither Preacher Attended And Only One Member From The Westside Congregation Attended At All. Not One Member Nor The Preacher Attended One Night From The Congregation Where Brother Sherman Cannon Preaches. Though There Are Many Congregations And Preachers In That Immediate Section, Only One Gospel Preacher Was Present For One Night. Did You Think You Would Live To See The Day When Such Would Be True Of Gospel Preachers And People Calling Themselves Christians Only? Did Brother J. D. Tant Say "Brethren We Are Drifting?" If He Could See Us Today I Am Certain He Would Say We "Have Drifted."
Luther G. Roberts, Amarillo, Texas: "Scoggins — W. D. Scoggins Was Born May 30, 1892 In Birmingham, Alabama. He Passed From This Life January 24, 1958. He Had Made His Home In Amarillo, Texas Since 1918. He Was Married To Jessie Grabener October 15, 1911. In Addition To Sister Scroggins, A Daughter, Mrs. Charles Delashmitt, Tulsa, Oklahoma, A Son, Cleddie Scroggins, El Paso, Texas, Three Grandchildren And Two Great Grandchildren Survive. There Are Also Three Brothers Who Survive His Passing. Brother Scroggins Was A Faithful Member Of The Church Having Obeyed The Gospel At About Age 15. At The Time Of His Passing He Was Serving As An Elder In The Olsen Park Church Of Christ In Amarillo, Of Which He Was A Charter Member. He Had Served As An Elder In The Central Church In Amarillo For 12 Years. He Was Not Only Present At Every Service Of The Church Possible For Him To Attend But He Was A Willing Servant In Doing Every Thing He Could For The Cause He Loved. He Knew What He Believed And Why He Believed It. He Was Sound In The Faith. He Was "A Lover Of Good Men." He Appreciated Gospel Preachers Who Were Faithful To "Contend For The Faith." Brother Scroggins Was Kind In His Dealings With Others And Was Hospitable And Pleasant In Disposition. He Meant Much To The Cause Of Christ In Amarillo And Surrounding Communities And He Will Be Sorely Missed By The Olsen Park Church Which He Helped To Establish And In Which He Was So Interested. "Blessed Are The Dead Who Die In The Lord From Henceforth: Yea, Saith The Spirit, That They May Rest From Their Labors; For Their Works Follow With Them." This Writer Tried To Speak Words Of Comfort, Truth And Soberness At The Funeral Service. Burial Was In Llano Cemetery In Amarillo, Texas."
Frank E. Roberts, 310 N. Second Avenue, Walla Walla, Washington: "The Church At Walla Walla, Washington, Is Embarking On A Building Program In The Hope Of Meeting In A New Building Before The End Of 1958.
The Building In Which The Church Now Meets Is An Old Structure, Located In An Industrial Section Of Town. In The Immediate Vicinity Are A Railroad Freight Depot, A Grain Elevator, Two Storage Warehouses, Two Automobile Repair Shops, And Various Other Business Establishments.
Lots Have Been Purchased In A Good Residential District, And Architect's Drawings Have Been Secured And Approved For A Modern, One-Story Building Which Will Cost Approximately $25,000 To Construct. With The Building Fund And The Sale Of The Present Building And Land, The Church Will Have About One-Half Of The Amount Needed.
Present Plans Are To Borrow The Remainder Of The Amount Necessary To Complete The Building. The Opportunity For Growth Of The Church In Walla Walla Is Tremendous. In This City Of Nearly 30,000 People, The Church Numbers 76 Members. Frank E. Roberts Is The Local Evangelist.
Although The Churches Of Southeastern Washington And Northeastern Oregon Are Small, Their Enthusiasm Is Great. With This Zeal, And With The Prayers Of Christians Everywhere, The Lord's Church Will Grow In This Mission Area."
Voyd N. Ballard, P. O. Box 707, Ventura, California: "The Church Here In Ventura Closed The Year 1957 With A Gospel Meeting In Which Bro. Roy E. Cogdill Did The Preaching. In Many Ways This Was The Most Successful Meeting Ever Conducted By This Congregation. Attendance And Interest Was Good Throughout The Meeting, And The Preaching Was The Very Best.
Ventura County Is Filled With The Spirit Of "Softism" And Compromise, And The Other Congregation Here In The City Endorses Modernism And Institutionalism And Does Her Best To Influence All Of The Nearby Congregations And Preachers In The Same Direction. They Have Their "Youth Forums" "Youth Meetings," Entertainment, Etc. And Are Regular Contributors To Herald Of Truth And Ontario Orphan Home. Their Preacher, W. W. Allen, Knows The Truth, But He Also Knows That He Cannot Preach It And Hold His Job With Them. He Attended Only One Service Of Cogdill's Meeting.
Bro. Cogdill Preached The Truth And Exposed Error In And Out Of The Church In Such A Way That The Preaching Could Not Be Misunderstood. Bro. James Gailbraith Who Had Been Preaching For A Nearby Institutional Congregation Publicly Took His Stand For The Truth, And Of Course Was Immediately Branded And Barred From Their Pulpit. There Were Others Who Saw And Were Honest Enough To Accept And Take A Stand For The Truth. During The Meeting And The Sunday Following We Had A Total Of Eight To Become Identified With This Congregation. Our Attendance Since The Meeting Has Run Better Than 80 Per Sunday And Contributions Are Around $150.00 Per Week. This Is A Good Increase For This Place, As Our Attendance Was Around 36 And Our Contribution Around $75.00 A Year Ago.
The Lord Willing, Yater Tant Will Conduct Our Meeting In 1958 And Bro. Cogdill Will Return In 1959." Dallas Singing Normal
Brethren Everywhere Are Invited By The Elders Of The Church Of Christ At 2306 Overton Road, Dallas, Texas, To Attend The Third Annual Singing Normal To Be Held In Dallas. The Normal Will Be Held In Our Building This Year And Will Begin Monday, June 16 And Run Through Friday, June 27; Two Sessions Daily, One At Night And Closing With A Great Singing The Last Night.
Tuition Will Be Free; The Only Expense To Each Pupil Will Be Room, Board, Books, Paper, Etc. We Will See That Out-Of-Town Pupils Are Placed In Christian Homes.
This Is To Be One Of The Finest Schools Of Its Kind, With Such Teachers As Tillet S. Teddlie, Palmer Wheeler, George Cheairs And Fred Tidwell — These Men Are Well Known Gospel Song Writers, Preachers And Teachers. For Further Information, Write George Cheairs Or N. J. Lucas, Church Of Christ, 2306 Overton Road, Dallas, Texas. Murray Marshall Is The Local Preacher There.
Ward Hogland, 8602 Lupton Lane, Houston 24, Texas: "At Present I Am In A Pleasant Meeting With Paul Foutz And The Cresent Park Church In Odessa, Texas. Next I Go To Texarkana (March 31-April 9Th). From There To The Walnut Street Church In Greenville (April 21-30Th). Then To Bridge City, Texas In May. I Will Leave In June For Meetings In Santa Ana And Brea, California And Will Be Back Home In July. The Work Here At Spring Branch Is Encouraging. Our Attendance Has Been On The Increase And Eleven Have Responded To The Invitation The Past Month. Please Note My Change In Address."