Truth Magazine

By George T. Eldridge

The great potential for Christ at Perkins Rd., the attitude of the Tolles, which is seen in their letter that follows, and the crying need for a gospel preacher there influenced my wife and me to move to Baton Rouge by the end of June, 1972. We fully know that no money has been promised or indicated by any Christian or church for my wages, but we are going to Baton Rouge. I will do the work of a faithful proclaimer for our Lord and Savior in that city. The Perkins Rd. Church is not able financially to contribute anything toward my wages yet, but I believe the brethren and churches will respond to my need for wages and money to cover my moving expense.

The Building

The money collected presently by the Perkins Rd. Church pays the $255.36 monthly payment on her building, which only has a $6,300.00 remaining debt, the building utilities, and the cost for some teaching material. Two families (5 in att6ndance) are doing their best to handle these absolute costs.

The building is located in a growing section of Baton Rouge. It will seat comfortably 160 to 175 people and would conservatively have a replacement cost of $40,600.00 to $50,000.00. The building has 4 classrooms, the auditorium, an empty space for another classroom, an adequate preachers study, and a nursery.

The Money Future

At least five years must pass before the church will even be close to what is called self-supporting. By Gods help, much work, much prayer, and declaring “unto all the counsel God,” we will be self-sustaining and a tower of spiritual strength. Peace and fellowship does exist between this church and the church where Brother Bill Crews preaches.

What Happened?

The Tolles described well the attitude seen in “certain actions” which started the church where Bill Crews works, and slowly diminished a 70 plus attendance down to two families, now numbering five in attendance!! Digesting such unscriptural “certain actions,” weak pulpit preaching, unscriptural leadership, and the ideas of Brother W. Carl Ketcherside, where else could the Perkins Rd. Church go but to hobnobbing with the liberals? The congregation also compromised truth, lost a few members to the new sound church and more to churches in error, and then had an attendance of about zero.

The teaching of Brother Ketcherside is many sided, but please read his own written word to an admirer of his at Perkins Road.

“When we arise above the artificial walls and barriers and begin to love all of the brethren, God can give us a whole new dimension of service and he will. We must simply ignore the divisiveness and factionalism of the past and refuse to be trapped inside the narrow enclosures which men have built. . . A great door has been opened to witness to Baptist folk, sincere, eager, and seeking!”

Even with Brother Ketchersides “speech of Ashdod” and having gone to “the plain of Ono,” what conclusion is drawn from his writing? You do not love the brethren when you point out their rejection of Bible authority by their practices, for example, of instrumental music, centralized control, sponsoring church co-operation, churches building and maintaining man-made organizations, one container in the Lords Supper, or pre-millennialism.

This admirer of Brother Ketcherside and the two young preachers of Perkins Road, who were Ken R. Durham and Lynn McCauley, attended the A-C. C. lectures together and heard his unity speech, “Authority of the Word.” He then wrote Brother Ketcherside March 2, 1971 these words.

“You really impressed Ken and Lynn. They have already been to see Max Goins at Calvary Christian Church and he invited Lynn to speak there on a Sunday evening. They are also swapping pulpits with two of the other ministers of churches of Christ in town. They were very impressed with the black minister and he is going to swap out with one of them this month. When I told our “double-trouble” team they were not letting any grass grow under their feet, Lynn said, – Weve got to put all this trivia aside and get on with it. How about that?”

The “double-trouble team” of Ken and Lynn had the right environment at Perkins Rd. to make certain no grass grew under their feet. The church was soft. She would tolerate error. She wanted unity at any price. Men of the stature of B. Hall Davis and Thomas Smitherman had left. These false teachers (Ken and Lyn) could view “make all things according to the pattern” as “trivia  (Heb. 8:5). Imagine so called preachers calling the pattern for (1) music in the church, (2) church work, (3) church worship, (4) church fellowship, or (5) church co-operations as “trivia.” The false teachers got on with their work and destroyed the church more, but the Perkins Road Church had asked for it!!!

The church kept going down and down before the Tolles awakened. When they did get scripturally aroused, it was too late. The congregation was in shambles! The church now has seven in attendance, counting my wife and me.

Churchs Present Attitude

She will now “hold fast the form of sound words … in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1: 13). We know we are small in number, but we want all faithful Christians coming to Baton Rouge to work with us. The lazy, the unconcerned, and the indifferent person should not want to come our way because we need workers to labor with us in filling our present building with saved sinners. Our location is easy to find: 1-10 & College Drive; 4270 Perkins Road; near Colonel Sanders; less than four minutes off 1-10.

The City

Baton Rouge is called the “Growth Center of the South.” Her population is a growing 200,000. She has four main pillars to her economy: She (1) is the state capital of Louisiana, (2) is the center of me of the worlds largest petrochemical areas, (3) is home of two large state universities: Louisiana State University and Southern University, and (4) has a major world port.

Industrial Complex. The petrochemical center of the South, the growing industrial development along the Mississippi River is based on petroleum, but it claims chemicals, rubber, plastics, fight and heavy metals and other products. At least one hundred fifty manufacturers employ 18,500 people.

Port of Baton Rouge. It is the seventh largest port in the nation. It is the farthest inland deep water port on the Mississippi. It serves both deep water and river transportation. Vessels from many countries berth here.

Need

Brethren, pray for me. I need your financial assistance for my wages and to pay my moving expense (2 Cor. 11: 8; 2 Tim. 1: 16-18). Also, tracts are needed. I know you will respond because we serve the same God, are guided by the same Bible, are interested in the lost souls of men, and want to go to Heaven together.* Also, you answered the call when I authored an article about the new church in Monroe, Louisiana, which concerned H. Tom Swilley. I await your answer.

Letter

TO: The Elders and Brethren________Greetings in Christ Jesus our Lord!

We want to write you personally and let you know how we stand on the truth of God. About 2 or 3 years ago, certain actions led many brethren to believe my wife and I were no longer Biblically opposed to (1) the centralized control and unscriptural church co-operation seen and taught by the Herald of Truth; (2) churches of Christ building and maintaining human institutions (man-made organizations) such as old folks homes, orphan homes, and colleges; and (3) churches of Christ providing entertainment and recreation for Christians.

Examples of these certain actions were: 11) the meeting with the elders from North Baton Rouge and their preacher on November 10, 1970, (2) Bob Hendren, the preacher from North Blvd. church of Christ preaching in a meeting at Perkins Road church, and (3) brothers Ken R. Durham and Lynn McCauley and others who they got to preach at Perkins Road church of Christ including Lynn Cook of the North Baton Rouge church who believe and practice the actions mentioned above.

We have repented for any participation we had in the aforementioned actions. God has helped us to see the error of the direction in which we were headed … liberalism … away from the old paths revealed in the Scriptures for the pattern and practices of the church Christ built.

God has forgiven us for the error of trying to hob-knob with the “Weighty works” brethren. We now stand on the Scriptural pattern for the church of Christ as revealed in the New Testament and exemplified therein. My wife and I will examine the Scriptures more and more, pray more and more, and work more and more for our precious Lord and Savior so that we may grow steadfastly in grace and knowledge of Him who was crucified in our place.

We are ready at all times to give an answer as to why we are now opposed to the above named unscriptural practices, which cause division among brethren and mark the promoters as being “liberal” or going beyond the things which are written. We also are positive that the Perkins Road church of Christ with her preacher, George T. Eldridge, will be of the same mind, speak the same thing, and be of the same judgment; will hold forth sound doctrine by advertising, debating, and publicly proclaiming the unscripturalness of such yokes of bondage being placed on Gods church by the “big promoters” in the church today.

A debate with North Boulevard or North Baton Rouge churches in defense of these practices they are glorying in will do much good to show if they really believe these things are Scriptural and sound. When one is right scripturally, he has the courage and will uphold what he believes is right.

We have remained members of the Perkins Road church of Christ which is one of only two faithful congregations in Baton Rouge standing for the truth of Christ and exposing and condemning error in the church -and out. Let us remind you that it took a long, long time for us to awaken, so we dont expect you to change overnight; but, remember when you let down on one little point of Scripture, it is not long before you are compromising on all others. If we can assist you in the work of the Lord, do not hesitate to call on us … but, we will not fellowship error.

Your brethren in Christ,

Albert and Evelyn Tolle

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 39, pp. 10-13
August 10, 1972

By Leslie Diestelkamp

For three decades I have been pleading for more mature men to go into the new and destitute fields for gospel work. Many have done so. Many others admit a desire to go but they never fulfill that urge because they do not want to ask for support. Some have told me, I refuse to beg. Please consider the following:

1. It would seem wonderful if churches would become so thoroughly awakened that they would beg preachers — no, not to bid for them to come and work locally, but to beg them to accept support and go into the needy fields. But perhaps this would not actually be good. A preacher who had to be begged would probably not be spiritually suited to such work anyway.

2. But why should a preacher decline to ask for support? If the work he plans to do is indeed the real work of an evangelist, and if the work he asks churches to do in supporting him is indeed the very mission of the church, then why would he hesitate? After all, be is not asking for personal gain but he is really asking that the church participate with him so that fruit may abound to your account (Phil. 4:17). Actually it is only a false sense of pride that would prevent a worthy preacher from asking for support for work in new fields.

3. A few churches still do not want to support men in distant fields. Usually this is because they have not been taught to do so. Their local preacher may have delivered profound lessons from the scriptures but he may have failed to emphasize the scriptural mission of the church.

4. Modern transportation facilities and abundance of money in the church treasuries have enabled some preachers to go abroad for a few weeks of evangelism. This is wonderful. Yet this produces two dangers: (1) Preachers may feel that a few weeks in a distant field thereafter excuses them from any such work. The great and crying need is still for men to go out into the fields where truth is unknown and commit themselves to a sacrificial labor of love there. (2) And churches may supply funds for short-term work from their reserves and fail to really make a commitment to support again and again the world evangelism that is so dependent upon them. So, let us send more and more, even on short-term trips to distant places, but let us not mistake this for our total obligation. Father, let such become a motivation for fuller, greater and wider use of men and money in the various fields of the world.

5. A few years ago when a preacher determined to go abroad he had to spend many months raising support and travel funds. But today this is not longer true. There is no need for men to advertise far ahead for funds to travel. Churches will not want to tie up funds for so long in advance. Let those who want to go make their plans and two or three months before departure they should write a few churches, describing their necessities, and they will get the money. Brethren will not let them down. And if you want to get money easily, go to those churches that are already deeply involved in such work. They know its worth and they will find ways to help you too. But if you want to do a greater service to the cause of Christ, prevail upon the churches that have not done much of such work. It may be more difficult for you, but it will awaken them. Soon they will be enthused and will seek such work to do. And some of the otherwise greatest churches in this land still need to learn that lesson.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 39, pp. 9-10
August 10, 1972

By A. A. Granke, Jr.

The work among the faithful who assemble at Angeles City, near Clark Air Base, Philippines is progressing well, we are pleased to report. The diligent efforts of the members have resulted in thirteen souls being added to Christ, from the first of January until the end of April of this year. Attendance is also increasing, and fifty-two were present for the morning worship Sunday, 30 April 1972. We are striving to become a self-supporting congregation and have recently undertaken partial support of Castorio F. Gamit, the regular preacher. Vicente P. Lintag recently resigned his secular employment to enable him to fully devote his time and energies to the cause of Christ. This is a courageous step, indeed, because the employment situation in the Philippines is critical, and it could be difficult to regain such a position at a later date. We believe the combined abilities of brethren Gamit and Lintap will be a valuable asset to the work here. Our program also includes plans for Juan S. Cunanan to begin a new effort in nearby Mabalacat with the help of other members here, in the near future.

How You Can Help

We need the help of our brethren. We will be grateful to you for remembering us in your prayers. The Filipino people are very religious in nature, and many are receptive to the Truth. With the Lords help we can reach more souls. There is another way you can help. Many American brethren receive periodicals published by Christians, and after reading them, discard them in the trash can. Most of these readers probably pay a commercial trash hauler to remove their refuse for them. Do you realize that for about the price of having a bundle of such journals removed to be burned, buried or otherwise disposed of – just a few cents – brethren in the Philippines could be reading and distributing your used materials? Most Filipinos cannot afford a subscription of their own. As an example, a $5 subscription, which costs more here due to international mail rates, costs the average Filipino almost a weeks pay. I recommend placing a box in a convenient location such as the church house vestibule, or having a member collect your bulletins and journals to send to Filipino brethren. If you send your bundles to me, I will be glad to see they are distributed throughout the Philippines.

My address is considered domestic mail, as the APO at Clark Air Base is an adjunct of the San Francisco Post Office.

Philippines – Bound Servicemen

If you are in the U.S. Armed Forces and are being reassigned to the Philippines, or if you know a Christian who is, I may be of help. If the destination is Clark Air Base, I will be happy to help you locate our meeting place, and arrange transportation for you, and help you become adjusted to your assignment here. There is a faithful congregation here, but there is also a larger, better known, digressive group near the base. If you are being assigned to another installation in the Philippines I will assist you in making contact with the faithful in that place.

There are faithful churches near most U.S. installations in the Philippines, but in many cases there are apostate congregations slightly more conveniently located, and usually having more Americans attending them. For these reasons many faithful brethren assigned in the Philippines identify and assemble with these latter groups. It is important to remember that while a Christian is in fellowship with error he is not a faithful child of God. Even if your unfaithfulness is just for the short time you may be stationed here, your growth as a Christian will be stunted, and you cannot expect to leave here as strong in faith as you would have been if you had been faithful. Faithful service to God is not so difficult that you must consider endangering your soul by serving Satan. Faithful brethren are willing to help you while you are here. Since we have no way of knowing you are coming, and when to expect you, please write us in advance.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 39, pp. 8-9
August 10, 1972

By Dudley Spears

After a week in Baguio City we returned to Manila and made our plans to go to Mindinao. We left Manila at 5:50 a. m. on Saturday, April 15. Davao City was our destination which we, reached in a little less than two hours flying on Philippine Air Unes Coach. There were about 10 or 12 brethren there to meet us. They had rented a jeepney and traveled some 60 miles to meet us. The trip home made their journey over 100 miles. Those who have never ridden over the roads of Mindinao in a jeep cannot appreciate how much was involved in these brethren making such a long trip. The roads are barely passable in some places and in others very dangerous. Gangsters and bandits still roam the countryside in Mindinao.

We rode for a little over six hours in the jeepney, stopping often for repairs and water. At one point we all had to dismount and walk across a weak bridge. All along the journey the roads were hot and dusty, but we finally arrived in MLang, Cotabato. Due to the early rising and the length of our trip we were exhausted. We stayed in MLang at a hotel that Saturday night and worshipped with the brethren in M*Lang the next morning. About 60 were present for both Bible study and worship. I taught the class and Brother Needham preached.

 

After dinner we rented another jeepney for the trip to Lambayong. We were scheduled for our first series of classes and speeches in Lambayong. Lambayong is about a three hour ride from MLang, over the same kind of roads just described. It is in the center of a large Muslim population. The brethren there live in the constant expectation of an outbreak of hostilities between the Ilongo tribe and the Muslim tribe. It is an age-old feud that is being politically exploited today, but nonetheless, a very present danger to many of our brethren. Some of them have had to evacuate their homes as a result of hostilities breaking out. Within 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) of the new building in Lambayong where the brethren worship, thirty native houses were burned out during hostilities and violence. A Muslim was ambushed in his house on the first night of our stay in Lambayong. Brother Needham was speaking at the time we heard the gunshot. It is a place of violence and danger at the present time. In the face of this our brethren are still carrying on New Testament Christianity though sometimes faced with great danger.

We arrived at near 5:30 p. m. Our trip was greatly delayed by some repair work that was being done to a bridge along our way. The storms last year had swollen the streams to the point that many of the bridges were weakened. We waited at least and hour and a half for the repairs to be made. Needless to say, our patience got one of its many workouts.

The journey from MLang to Lambayong takes one through the heart of the Muslim territory. While many stories of violence may be somewhat exaggerated, we observed that there is at least quite some basis for such stories. Every Muslim male we saw on the way was armed with a knife-a long knife. We were told that all of them were also armed with firearms. I did not doubt a word of it. Just here let me clarify something that is often reported in our newspapers. The news media often refers to the “Muslim-Christian” wars. Actually they mean the “Muslim-Ilongo” wars. The Ilongos are a tribe and so are the Muslims. The word “Christian” is erroneously used by most reporters.

In Lambayong, we had the largest assemblies gathered for our lessons. Both of us confined ourselves to teaching about preachers and their work during the day sessions. Each session, like everywhere we taught, was followed by a question and answer forum. Again, we found that the preachers present were very well read and studious. Some of the questions they asked were quite difficult to deal with. Jim and I tried to deal with their problems in the light of the Bible. We feel that much good was the result. Several preachers confessed to wrong-doings. Lest there be some speculative embellishing of that statement, let me hasten to say that there are some irregularities, but most of them present were the result of a lack of knowledge rather than rank dishonesty. There are (or were) some problems of dishonesty we found but these have, for the most part, been exposed and remedied. This is not to excuse such, but by way of explanation it should be remembered that many times American congregations have been remiss in checking closely into the work they support. It is no comfort, but the conservative brethren are certainly not alone in this problem. Should any of our institutional brethren want to make much ado out of this, they will find they are living in a glass house.

After several (20, I think) baptisms, we went back to MLang for our last series of lessons. Many of the brethren who attended in Lambayong came for the classes at MLang. Again we stayed in the hotel in MLang. We had stayed in a native house in Lambayong and were graciously treated by the aunt and uncle of Brother Virgilio Villaneuva, local preacher in Lambayong. They gave us every kind consideration they knew how to give and treated us in the very best possible way.

There were new faces that greeted us in MLang. Brethren who were not able to come to Lambayong came to MLang. The lectures began on April 21 and closed the following Sunday afternoon. While the largest assemblies gatheredat Lambayong, we probably had more preachers at MLang then we did anywhere in our trip. There were at least 70 present for the entire series of lessons. We baptized several in MLang, including two preachers from the Christian Missionary Alliance. In all, there were 63 baptisms dining our trip, five of them being preachers of denominational groups. Having done the work we wanted to do, we left a day or so early for our return to Manila and our trip back home.

We left Manila on April 27. 1 cannot tell you what emotions filled me as I left. It was a great experience. For the most part, in fact the greatest part by far, the preachers who stand for the truth in the Philippine Islands are the most dedicated and sincere people you will find anywhere in the world. I have no way to adequately express my gratitude to all concerned, but here goes a try. First I am thankful to God that our long trip was both successful and safe. I am thankful to have a family that could do without me for over a month. I am thankful for a companion like James Needham. He is, in every way, a devoted worker for the Lord and His cause. I am thankful to all who helped me sending finances with- which to make the trip. I am thankful to Rodi Tan, Victorio Tibayan and Andrew Gawe who more or less took the lead in looking after us while we were on Luzon. I am thankful to all who met us at the Davao airport and to Romulo Agduma for the same treatment while we were on Mindinao. To all who had a part, prayer or interest in the work, I am eternally grateful.

Next week will be my last installment in this series of articles. In it I want to make a small evaluation of the work here and offer a few suggestions to all that are interested in the work among Christians in the Philippines. I hope you will be looking for the article.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 39, pp. 6-8
August 10, 1972