Make Up Your Mind

By Cecil Willis

For several years the liberal brethren have had a difficult time determining how the human institutions which they have foisted upon the church shall be directed. The Firm Foundation has maintained that these institutions must be under an eldership, while the Gospel Advocate has declared that they must not be under elders, but must be under a Board of Directors.

Some of the institutions have switched from one governing arrangement to another. For instance, the Maude Carpenter Home has been under elders, then under a board, and is now back under elders.

Guy N. Woods used to say, in his early debates, that if one board should attempt to oversee more than one home, it then would be comparable to the Missionary Society. But the Boles Home board has now for several years overseen both Boles Home and the separate Foster Home at Stephenville. But has Woods opposed this arrangement? If he has, his opposition has been overlooked by me.

Boles Home at first was under elders. Then they switched to a board. Then they started a second institution. Now they are separating the Foster Home from Bole8 Home. The Foster Home will now be overseen by a board of directors “approved” by the Graham Street church elders in Stephenville, but these directors live in several different cities.

Indeed, it must be a difficult chore to find a scriptural way to run an unscriptural organization!

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 19, p. 8
March 16, 1972

Responsibility to the Local Church

By Roy E. Cogdill

The New Testament pattern of things evidences that the individual Christian should be a part of a local church of Christ. Paid “assayed to join himself to the disciples” when he came up to Jerusalem from three years of preaching in Arabia. This is essential to fellowship with the saints for fellowship is a congregational matter. When an individual is not a member of a local church, he is not subject, to an eldership (Heb. 13:17); he cannot discharge his duty toward other disciples of the Lord (I Thess. 5:14-15; Gal. 6:1-2; Heb. 10:23-25); he cannot have fellowship in the work of the church for he is not in a position to participate in it and do his part (Titus 3:8-14, 3:1-3, 2 Tim. 2: 21-26; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Eph. 4:14-16). All of this failure means disobedience to the Lord and eventually condemnation in eternity.

There are a good many professed Christians, throughout the country that have no place in the local church. They are members of none. They are not a part of the church where they worship. They are not subject to its discipline and accept no part of its work as an obligation. They have no church home and are a part of no church family. They are religious strays or tramps, responsible for nothing and worth nothing to any congregation of God’s people.

Then there are those ill-humored, selfish, conceited individuals that cannot follow divine instructions to “let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” They get angry at the preacher when they do not agree with him, or at the elders when they do not follow their suggestions, or at other brethren when they are not shown the attention or consideration they think they deserve and are too obstinate to try to adjust such strained relations with others. They swell up and go elsewhere after doing all the harm they can by the nasty, ugly disposition aroused within them and by the ugly things which they say. Then they start visiting around from place to place, if they go to the services at all, and become disgruntled, soured, unhappy and useless in the services of the Lord.

Of course, if all local churches would do their duty and after trying to save such individuals, withdraw fellowship from them, and if all other local churches would respect the will of the Lord and refuse to accept them into their fellowship until they made things right where they came from, not only would such individuals be saved and restored to their usefulness to the Lord, but other churches would be prevented from experiencing the same damage being wrought to them. So many elders are afraid of trouble, if they exercise any discipline, that they allow their fears and their own judgment to overrule the will of the Lord. Then so many others are so anxious to increase their numbers and contributions they will disregard the discipline which has been exercised, when it is, and receive them without any questions asked or demands made. Both evidence a lack of regard for the will of the Lord and confidence in His word.

Of course, again, there are those who remain on the church membership list and count themselves in fellowship with the local body but who are worth nothing to it for they cannot be counted on to do their part. They will not fellowship the local church by regular and devoted attendance to its services. They feel no responsibility toward an effort to preach the gospel in a series of special services even though it is arranged in the interest of saving souls and edifying the saints. They do not furnish their proportionate part of the, resources with which the church can carry on its work. If they come regularly, that is all they do. Such are deceived, if they think Sunday morning attendance will take them to heaven, or if they count, themselves faithful in spite of their indifference to their responsibility to the local church and its program and their lethargy in the service of the Lord.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 19, pp. 7-8
March 16, 1972

Religious Journalism in 1971

By Irvin Himmel

The history, of the church of Christ in America is closely linked to publications in which brethren have expressed thought, preached their convictions, waged battles, explored questions, reported the news, and left a fluent record of their actions and attitudes.

Hundreds of magazines and papers have come and gone. A few have had tremendous influence in shaping thought. In the early days of the Restoration Movement in this country, A. Campbell’s papers, the Christian Baptist and the Millennial Harbinger, along with B. W. Stone’s Christian Messenger, were unusually potent. In the next generation of journalism, Ben Franklin’s American Christian Review, Isaac Errett’s Christian Standard, and David Lipscomb’s Gospel Advocate wielded great power. Moses Lard’s Quarterly, though of short duration, made its mark.

Most religious publications have experienced financial problems. The few that are hoary with age have survived hard times, and most of the ones which have died were killed by the same plague-lack of money.

Only God knows how many periodicals were commenced to propagate someone’s it peculiar views. When a faction arises, a paper will soon be started to voice the heresy. Other papers may be started to counter the influence of that one. As long as brethren take up with false doctrines and promote parties, this trend will continue.

Some brethren are “down” on all religious papers because many of them are not worth the price of the ink with which they are printed. Such a reaction is not justifiable. Shall we downgrade all elders because some are not worthy to be called elders? Shall we refuse to hear anyone preach because some preachers are plain sorry? Shall we refuse to be associated with a local church because many congregations are digressive? Not all religious journals are bad. Like people, they have their faults. The best of papers cannot offer perfection in every issue. The men who write, edit, and publish the papers make them what they are. The folks who have “soured” on gospel papers are doing themselves a disservice by not reading at least some of the excellent material that is being offered.

Every year new periodicals make their appearance and others reach their demise. I think it will be of interest to the readers of this magazine to see a list of some of the papers circulated among members of churches of Christ during the past year, and to know, how widely (or narrowly) they were distributed.

Circulation figures were formerly a deep, dark secret carefully guarded by the publishers. Postal laws governing second class publications have changed that. Brethren who take it for granted that Goodpasture’s Gospel Advocate must have at least 100,000 subscribers are in for a surprise. It is a big and powerful paper, to be sure, but not really as powerful as some suppose.

A few years ago (1965) the Christian Chronicle was printing 37,883 copies each week. In 1971 it became a bi-weekly, printing 6,029 copies. Its circulation has dropped to one-sixth the 1965 level and it appears only half as often. We wonder if this represents a reaction to its more liberal stance?

Searching the Scriptures enjoyed the largest circulation of the papers published by conservative brethren during 1971. The combined circulation of Searching the Scriptures, Truth Magazine, Gospel Guardian, and the Preceptor was 16,787. It is obvious that many of us are much too “conservative” when it comes to spending money on subscriptions for good papers! That figure should be at least 50,000.

The circulation figures reported are the total number of copies printed on the average for a twelve-month period as published in the different papers in accordance with postal laws and regulations. Most of the figures were compiled and submitted in Oct. of 1971.

Name

20th Century Christian

Gospel Advocate

Christian Bible Teacher

Firm Foundation

Voice of Freedom

Christian Woman

Mission Messenger

Searching the Scriptures Christian Chronicle

Truth Magazine

Gospel Tidings

Mission

Gospel Guardian

Minister’s Monthly Christian Worker

Preceptor

Word and Work

Editor

M. Norvel Young

B. C. Goodpasture

Bill Patterson

Reuel Lemmons

P. D. Wilmeth

Ona Belknap

W. Carl Ketcherside

H. E. Phillips

John Allen Chalk

Cecil Willis

Baxter Loe

Roy Bowen Ward

William E. Wallace

Frank L. Cox

Bill E. Freeze

Stanley J. Lovett

Gordon R. Linscott

Location

Nashville, Tn.

Nashville, Tn

Abilene, Tex.

Austin, Tex.

Nashville, Tn.

Austin, Tex.

St. Louis, Mo.

Tampa, Fla.

Austin, Tex.

Marion, Ind.

S. Houston, Tx.

Abilene, Tex.

Lufkin, Tex.

Nashville, Tn.

Wichita, Kans.

Beaumont, Tex.

Louisville, Ky.

Frequency

Monthly

Weekly

Monthly

Weekly

Monthly

Monthly

Monthly Monthly

Bi-weekly

Weekly

Monthly

Monthly

Weekly

Monthly

Monthly

Monthly

Monthly

 

Circulation

46,028*

38,687

27,000

24,616

9,480

8,832

7,573

6,755

6,029

4,453

4,426

3,917

3,517

3,220*

3,200

2,062

1,360

*1970 circulation

 

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 19, pp. 5-6
March 16, 1972

Eloquence

 

A timid moon blushed behind a cloud

As somewhere a coyote wailed aloud

At the lonely loveliness tonight

Framed in its halo of hazy light

The plain spread its tablecloth of sand

At the feet of mountains old and grand

Stars like angels’ eyes blinked serenely

Viewing creation set supremely.

Teasing rocks, playful brooks brushed their banks

Sailing o’er their beds without care or thanks,

But in thanksgiving the blanket of sod

Lifted its red rose and Goldenrod

Stamped with the words, “Handiwork of God”

-Larry Ray Hafley

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 19, p. 4
March 16, 1972