The Christian Chronicle (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 31, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 6, 1954 Page: 2 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Christian Chronicle and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
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JANUARY 6, 1954
Fbflo Two
CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE
JANUARY 6, 1
Article of the Week
romclc
No. 31
Vol.
Abilene, Texas, January 6, 1954
others also.”
Editor
OLAN L. HICKS
1
Wholesale Religion
see
a
JAMES F.
RICHFSON TO
(Continued fro
is
responsibility
church.
■
V
sanctity of the home, which is the basis of society.
li*
are suf-
that God ever said under
r
wouid not solvo
?■
Each week the article adjudged
the moet timely will be publlehed
on this page.
na-
we
Published Wednesday of each week except the last week in June and the
last week in December at Abilene, Texaa
13 00 Per Annum in Advance — 13 60 Outside the United States
Send all communications and articles to Box 1113, Abilene, Texas
Entered as second class matter October 18, 1844, at the Post Office at
Abilene, Texas, under the Act of March 3, 1878.
to
This
anti
own
The
train-
prorn-
Blble
hast
the
shall
2:2.
A & M Bibl<
To Lecture C
K'
J
program
that she
We have
attitude l
i says,
our
we hold
this
I Hiring tiie
our
and those who showed promise
to
had
gram
vited
program
tion of
CbwreA g*v*
>M*l»tMp
and «*• world
rphi« left
1 meat, m
by the Knig
bu*, tofocwv
the truth de
winter of 1948 and 1949 we
first year of this Bible training pro-
were in-
stay and study longer. A three-year
of study was outlined with the inteh-
helping tho young men who proved
worthy to lay a thorough foundation for future
service in the church.
Therefore it is necessary for one who
would teach or preach to concern himself not
only with the message, which of course is of
primary importance, but also with means and
methods of teaching as well as with human
nature and human circumstances. This Idea
has been often stated In simple language.
To teach, one must know what to teach, how
teach, and those whom he would teach.
Just as true of preaching
The fear of a developing "clergy” is actually
the fear that preachers will dominate the church-
es.. This is a real danger, but here again, it Is
not a matter of training, but a question of recog-
nition of the plan of God for the organisation, of
o the church. To eliminate men of great ability from
preaching or to limit the amount of preparation
ton, D. C. that wd
in all th ngs thatl
Korea. Life is hard!
all reports. We I
that now is the tl
Korean people neel
dergirding. I
Brother S. K Del
^min factor in thel
wRrenn churches tn
hop'ng that the god
by Bro. Dong and
carried on until thJ
rea will have bed
and that New Tes
tianity will be as
there as it is in ou
We urge all w
ci lurch officers toj
steps to see a fine
scriptions Is sent
congregation. See
person or epers<d
tbjs Job and let th
gregation know al
K,.
■ i
... <
thou
witnesses,
men, who
2 Tim.
ten young
are now
people In
first group
three years
th€ Christian^
fMCim
I'gSTj? "S'asA<
of work
has a
i some-
that if
have
heard from
same commit
be able to
in her
the fact
regard.
the
Bible
When i
what
course,
Brother Fowler I
ly for his successl
of church work. I
his past experiencl
process of compil
information gathel
churches throughol
Manv elders, I
teachers, and otn
in vacation Biblq
w 11 want to attel
which will be tau
part of the lecture^
WHEN WRITING ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION alwaya <1v« yowr name
*ad complete »<ldre»» Jest as It appear* on oar addreea label. Batter ■ Uli,
encloae with your latter the label from your latest copy of the CbrlaUan
Chronicle.
I heard a much older preacher than I once
say that in his observation "professionalism” was
a much greater danger among "untrained”
preachers than among those who had had more
formal education. It should be remembered just
here, that formal education is by no means the
deciding factor whether a man is "trained” or
educated or not. Many have prepared themselves
far better by self discipline and training, than
others' have been prepared through much formal
education.
Throughout tq
there is a growl
vacat on Bible scl
of the A.C.C. led
James Fowler, 1
structor and Min
Station, Texas, wi
on ‘‘Conducting
ble School”.
No faithful gospel preacher wants to
"pastor system" or "pofesslonalism" grow In the
church of our Lord But to plan a course of
study lor young men to help them acquire the
tools tor doing the Lord's work is certainly our
privilege ami our obligation as the church of
Cod.
Our program of study has been conceived
from the beginning as a work of the church
it.self Although it became increasingly dlfs
fault to find young men of character willing
to spend three months or longer studying, we
have had between 15 and 20 studying each
year Most of these boys and girls stay four
and one half to nine months and then return
to the congregation from which they came to
help m teaching Bible classes, etc., and will
take up their jobs which they left, or get new
ones.
Training Preachers
Roy V. Palmer
But fhe church
should not overlook
responsibility in this
iimes a .limed,, I think,
we tell i topic what the Bible says, we
fulfilled cur obligation. When our desire goes
no further tnan to fulfill what we hold to be
our 'obligation”, th» n of course, this attitude
is natural. But Christ expects us to do all that
we can, and not as little as possible, in carry-
ing the Gospel to the world.. Jesus did not send
the apostles out merely to tell, but to teach,
to make disciples, i.e. learners of all nations.
Teaching can only occur where learning is
in process.
TRADING THEIR SOULS?
w By LVTHEB BLACKMON
San Diego, Front Beview
me young ladies have traded their souls for a husband. They
love with some boy who doesn’t care a thing on earth about
urch, ■■ ■■ ~-t....... ' •■•vi'-.ci
ban folks got in lovt, youknow that entitles them to trample
htag that God ever said under ttMpr* feet . . Christianity,
rjDe^ttiaoiM»'moraM knd eYwytMng alia *‘Fm in love
Wflt MMTy htfh, no matter what. On, I will convert him Tm and stu<ly and breadth a preacher might acquire 1
•
t
sv-
"The things which
me among many
thou to faithful
teach others also.”
As the church of God, the salvation of
the souls of men is our chief aim. In God’s
plan the Gospel is the power to save, and
only where that Gospel is taught and preached
by faithful men, can others be won to Christ
and built up in him. One of the most important
tasks of the church, therefore, is to prepare
men "who shall be able” to preach and teach
the word of God effectively. Of course, the
responsibility to prepare oneself for larger ser-
vice in the church rests in a great measure
with each individual. Moreover, every Christian
lias p resposibility wherever he is, in the home,
in a Christian college, or elsewhere, to do all he
can to help fellow Christians develop into more
effective servants cd God.
It has been recognized for a long time that
in the mission fields especially, the future of
fhe church and the spread of the gospel depends
upon our ability to win to Christ and help de-
velop "faithful men, who shall be able to teach
In the beginning of the work In
Ge rmany, therefore, we began making plans for
program to fill this need. We were thrown
unique situation here, which offered a
>pportunity. The economy had collapsed,
young men were seeking some possi-
to continue their study beyond high
but opportunities were scarce. Wq
About ten young men have studied three
years and are now preaching the gospel to
their own people In various cities In Ger—
many. The first group of seven young mefl
to complete three years of study finished
shortly after 1 returned to America in 1951. It
has been a wonderful inspiration to return
to Germany after two years and to observe
the great progress which-they, along with some
of the boys who studied In America, are mak-
ing We have about 12 young German preach-
ers who arc* capable and zealous and well-pre-
pared to preach the gospel. One of our young
preachers has just completed a tent meeting
here in Frankfurt. I have heard many preach-
er- in many meetings, but I have heard only
a few 1 think did any better in preaching the
truth. This was a real thrill to experience.
In our Bible training program we have
tried to give the students an opportunity to
study those things which would serve as tools
in doing the work of the church. The Bible,
turally, has been our main study. In addition
have studied church history, Greek and Hebrew
which are fhe original languages of the Scrip-
ture. Bible geography, singing, sermon prep-
aration and delivery, personal work, etc., world
religions, apologetics, ant 'Hnglish.
In the church work here English Is a very
valuable tool since our brethren have no body
of literature In German, and with this tool th*
German leaders can have a bridge to the rea^R
toration movement, Its history and llterature.^^
We conceive this work as a work of the church,
and we have offered courses in only those
things which would contribute directly to prep-
aration for the work of the church.
The church in Germany has made gr***
progress In six year*. There are sixteen Ger-
man congregations spread out in many riH—
There are eight assemblies of American breth-
ren for worship in English. Our .ability to con-
tinue the spread of the Gospel and WThold
our ability to commit to —T tht
By JIMMY WOOD
In the January issue of the “Readers’ Digest” under the caption
of "Life in These United States” is the amusing story of a Rotary
Club that wanted two of the preachers in town in the club, but had
only one classif cation for them, Religion. Finally, they solved the
problem by classifying one, "Religion Wholesale”, and the other
“Religion Retail”. From the way some are acting in the religious
world today, we are wondering if there is not more truth than
m’rth in this anecdote.
Many of the denominations have let down the bars of morality
to such extent, that we are wondering if both preachers ought not
to have been classified, “Religion Wholesale”. Time was when
most religious groups frowned upon dancing, gambling, drink ng,
etc.
However, today we find that many of them have built dance
halls into their church buildings, and have in other ways opened
the r doors to all the vices and sins of the world. In fact the ma-
jority of preachers and churches today seem to be more interested
in getting members than they are in upholding moral principles,
regardless of how much their religion might be “marked down.”
Even in the church of our Lord, we see this danger cropping
out in places. Some of us seem to be more interested in numbers
than we are in conversions. This is not only true of certain preach-
ers among us, but also is true of many Christians.
They don’t seem to want the world to know that Christ re-
quires morality as well as baptism, and when the preacher preaches
a sermon on dancing where there are non-members present they
are afraid that certain ones might be driven away from the church.
All of us need to realize that sinners need to be converted against
sin, as well as to Faith, Repentance and Bapt sm.
Then of course, there are those in the world who seem to be
waiting for a mark-down in religion. They do not obey the gospel
now, because they feel that some day their obedience will be easier,
cheaper for them. Literally they seem to be waiting for “wholesale
religion”.
The B ble teaches us that we all must pay the same price for
our Salvation. Peter declared in Acts 10:34 “That God is uo respec-
ter of persons.” Paul tells us in Gal. 3:28 “That their is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
not female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” These and other
passages in the New Testament teach us that the Lord regards all
men equally, and that he expects us all to do the same things. No,
there w 11 never be any mark-down in Christianity.
True, we can find cheaper religions than Christianity, but they
offer only pseudo?happiness here, and eternal destruction in the
after while. Christ’s statement in Matt. 16:24, “If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up h s cross, and follow
me is for all men. We must regard Christianity as “the pearl of
great price,” and be willing to sell all in order to purchase it.
The responsibility of the church is af
fected by these facts. A systematic program of
training for young men and young women to
prepare them as Bible teachers or uh preach-
ers of the word lies, therefore, within the scope
of scriptural activity of the
Any discussion of training young men
to preach, of “training preachers” evokes in-
evitably the fear of a developing “professional
clergy”. The term “professional clergy” is often
used loosely to designate a variety of evils,
which are real indeed. It should not be used
to stigmatize that which is part of the plan of
God for His church. It is quite clear from the
New Testament Scriptures and the example of
Apostles that God Intended for the church to
support men that they might “give themselves
wholly” to the Lord's work. The danger of “pro-
fessionalism” is real, but the real factor invol-
ved is not training, but insincerity. That a man
who has had opportunity for systematic study
Is more likely to be insincere than another who
has not had such an opportunity has never been
proved.
WHAT CAUSED THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO FAT.T-?
The tall ot the great Roman Empire was by Gibbon, the ta-
mous historian, attributed to five failures upon the part of the clt-
irens of that empire. As you look upon these, measure the conduct
of our own nation beside them. How long can America stand?
1. Rapid increase of divorce, with the undermining of the
sanctity of the home, which is the basis of society.
2. Higher and higher taxes; and the spending of public
money for bread and celebration.
3. The mad erase for pleasure; sports becoming every year
more exciting and more brutal.
4. The building of gigantic armaments, when the real enemy
■ - was within; the decadence of the people.
5. The decay of religion; faith fading into mere form. Losing
i L touch wlth lif«» “d becoming impotent to guide.
? « • T!1?® re®sons for the fal1 of the great Romtfn Empire aie auf-
ucifent to make people of the twentieth*century stop and think —
or ar^'they?
■ s-
Z ■■ 1
■
a
into a
grc.lt I
Many
tnlity
school,
able to contact many of these young men with
an offer to attend a three-months Bible
ing program. These boys were made no
ises except the possibility to study the
for three months.
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Hicks, Olan L. The Christian Chronicle (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 31, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 6, 1954, newspaper, January 6, 1954; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1306371/m1/2/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.