Issue 1 Summer, 2007 Number 1 “And how shall they hear without a preacher?” – Romans 10:14

Introducing: “The Gospel Preacher”

-Andrew D. Erwin-

The Middle Tennessee School of Preaching and Biblical Studies is pleased to introduce to the brotherhood The Gospel Preacher. Thus far, the school has been blessed with a wonderful student body and faculty and a good reputation for sound scholarship is being established. We trust that this paper will complement the fine work being done by so many teachers, alumni, and students and by those who tell others about the school and those who sup-port it financially and with their prayers. The Gospel Preacher is a literary work that we pray will be known for its standard of excellence in religious journalism. Our hope at the Middle Ten-nessee School of Preaching and Biblical Studies is to provide a valuable service in upholding the faith “once delivered.” Thus, The Gospel Preacher shall be known for presenting valuable restoration themes. Moreover, the reader will find in this peri-odical a very readable and enjoyable paper. We be-lieve The Gospel Preacher will soon become one of your personal favorites. You’ll find pages filled with… • Timely articles covering a wide array of subject

matter; • Classic sermon outlines from yesterday and to-

day; • Biographical and historical sketches of preach-

ers, churches, and note-worthy events; • Help for your church bulletin in the form of

short articles and poems; • News and notes from around the brotherhood

and those associated with the school; • Classified ads of churches looking for preachers

(at no cost, of course); • Announcements of events and classes offered by

MTSP.

We plan to offer all of this material in only twenty pages (at least initially), three times yearly, at the beginning of each fall, spring, and summer term. Brethren, the need for sound gospel preaching and to provide encouragement to all those dedicated to truth should be evident. More than anything, we hope to encourage all who love the Lord in sincerity to be strong in Him “and the power of His might.” The body of Christ will grow in spirit and num-ber through the preaching of the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel. We wish that all preachers everywhere would accept their responsi-bility to “preach the word” and the eternal impor-tance and consequences of the messages they preach. Truly, we can sympathize with the pains and difficulties associated with preaching. But, this is the life we have chosen. We do not simply quit teaching the controversial matters of the faith be-cause some deem them too controversial. Those in darkness have always considered truth to be contro-versial; and, preachers should know that before they ever begin to preach. Therefore, our message to preachers throughout whatever history this paper is able to enjoy is simply and honestly, “preach the word.” Souls are starving for the gospel of Christ and they are looking to you, their preacher, to feed them. In the words of Christ to Peter, “Feed my sheep.” We ask for your prayers of support for the school and this paper. We welcome your news and notes, as well as any names you wish to add to our mailing list. Much work is to be done. It is in the spirit of faithful service that we now embark on this journey. May God be our strength and stay!

7103 Varden Ct. Fairview, TN 37062

TThhee GGoossppeell PPrreeaacchheerr

The Gospel Preacher 2

The Preacher is Not God

-James R. Lewis-

Whoever thought that he was? Why would anyone think such a thing? Obviously, few, if any, really think that a preacher, any preacher, is God. Nonetheless, let us consider for a few moments the work of the preacher and his relationship to others. It is not an unusual thing for the preacher to be present when a family is blessed with a newborn entering into this world. At times of illness, especially hospitalizations, the preacher often visits to offer comfort or encouragement. Weddings are great and wonderful events, and the preacher usually joys in sharing the joyous and solemn occasion. The preacher’s influence is strong in the lives of our children, and our family in general. He preaches and teaches thousands of lessons which impact our lives. He counsels and advises when asked to do so. He visits in our homes and teaches us right and wrong. He baptizes our youth, wives, husbands, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and friends into the Lord Jesus Christ. Precious friendships are made, and much time is spent together, not only in worship ser-vices, but also in other church functions and social activities. Death comes to all; often the preacher is present at the passing from this life, and then is honored to conduct a funeral service to help honor the life of a loved one no longer present and to console and comfort those who are present. The previous paragraph fairly represents many of the rela-tionships which exist between a preacher and those among whom he lives. The present purpose for noting these relation-ships is simply to point out two truths. Number one, the preacher is indeed greatly honored and blessed to be entrusted to share in a very special way the lives of so many precious people. These are the people who support him and encourage him in his life. They trust him and share with him many of the most significant events in their lives. This is a trust which the preacher must never violate or dishonor. Number two, it is manifestly evident that the preacher, providing he has not dishonored or violated the trust given unto him, is usually held in high esteem by those who have made him an important part of their lives. A mutual high esteem and love for the members of the church by the preacher provides an abundantly joyful and effective relationship in working together in the Chris-tian life. However, there is a danger which, at all costs, must be avoided. The preacher is just a man, an uninspired earthen vessel. His first responsibility is to teach and preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully. What he says concerning matters of faith must always be weighed in the balance of scripture. His word is not authoritative, and what he says is true only if God’s word says it is true. (Continued on pg. 8)

The Gospel Preacher The Gospel Preacher is produced by your friends in the churches of Christ. The precepts discussed herein are set forth in the spirit of declaring, defending, and preserving the an-cient faith once delivered. We hope these studies will be of great benefit to you in your growth in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen (2 Peter 3:18).

Editors James R. McGill

jimandmora@juno.com

Andrew D. Erwin andyerwin@bellsouth.net

Free to All The Gospel Preacher is privately fi-nanced and without charge upon re-quest while supply is available.

Thanks! Thank you for your help in pro-ducing this paper and allowing it to be freely given!

The Gospel Preacher 7103 Varden Court Fairview, TN 37062

3 Summer, 2007

Unfinished Prayers

-H. Leo Boles- (Copied from “Boles’ Outlines”)

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 3:7

Introduction: Man is prone to leave undone tasks; perhaps Dorcas (Acts 9:36-40) left some unfinished garment. The artist or sculptor represented the life of man with an unfinished piece of stone. Discussion: I. New Testament Teaching about Prayer

1. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 2. Pray for everything (Philippians 4:6). 3. Pray for each other (2 Thessalonians 1:11; Hebrews

13:18; James 5:16).

II. Some Unfinished Prayers 1. Pray for health; must obey laws of health. 2. Pray for sick; must help them get well. 3. Pray for the bereaved; comfort them. 4. Pray for success in business; must conform to economic

principles. 5. Pray for wisdom (James 1:5); must study. 6. Pray for spiritual growth; must take spiritual food and

exercise. 7. Pray for salvation of sinners; must preach the gospel to

them. 8. Pray for world peace; must work for it. 9. Pray for unity of the church (Ephesians 4:3); must work

for the unity of the church. 10. Pray for enemies (Luke 6:27); must work and do good to

our enemies. 11. Pray for the church to fill its mission; must be a faithful

member of it. Conclusion: We have a part in answering some of our prayers; if we fail to do our part the prayer is unfinished. Editorial Note: According to B.C. Goodpasture who edited Boles’ Outlines, “This was the last sermon brother Boles preached. It was delivered at Grace Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee, January 6, 1946.”

Table of Contents

Page 1 Introducing: “The Gospel Preacher – Andrew D. Erwin Page 2 The Preacher Is Not God – James R. Lewis Page 3 Unfinished Prayers – H. Leo Boles Page 4 Remembering W.A. Bradfield – James R. McGill Page 9 The Public Image of Christ and the Church – Gerald Cowan Page 9 The Living God – Robert L. Waggoner Page 11 Notice of Recent Deaths Page 13 News and Notes Page 17 Classifieds Page 18 MTSP Summer Term An-nouncement Page 18 Who Will Become Your Teacher – Andrew D. Erwin

God’s Plan of Salvation

Hear the gospel (James 1:21) Believe the gospel (John 8:24) Repent of sins (Luke 13:3, 5)

Confess Christ (Acts 8:37) Be baptized (Mark 16:16)

Live faithfully as a Christian (2 Peter 1:5-11)

Have you obeyed the gospel?

The Gospel Preacher 4

Remembering W. A. Bradfield (1910-1972)

-James R. McGill-

W.A. Bradfield was born December 27, 1910, at Wildersville, near Lexington, in west Ten-nessee. He obeyed the gospel when he was fifteen and began preaching in his home community at Christian Chapel when he was twenty-eight.

After graduating from Freed-Hardeman (when it was a two-year college), he received his under-graduate degree from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). He then received the Master of Arts degree from Peabody College in Nashville.

During the next ten years (1939-49), along with his preaching, he was a school principal.

“The Way to Heaven”

July 4, 1944, was a great day in church history. On that holiday, some friends came by and asked Bradfield to go with them to enjoy the day. Declin-ing the invitation, he spent the holiday at home, writing his first tract, The Way to Heaven. He wrote it to use in personal evangelism, including handing out copies on the street. This was the first of a lifetime series of twenty-five booklets. His last one was Why Must All Men Die?

Through all the years, Bradfield never changed the format of his tracts. All were four-page folders, on light-green paper, in outline form. Laycook Printing Company of Jackson, Tennessee, printed all his millions of booklets.

The first reported conversion resulting from that tract occurred at Parsons, Tennessee, where Brad-field was preaching and serving as a school princi-pal. A member of the church who worked in the meat-market section of a grocery on the main street in Parsons regularly wrapped up a copy of The Way to Heaven with each meat order. The tract fell out of one of the packages onto the sidewalk. A man who saw it lying on the sidewalk picked it up. Though it was partly saturated with grease, he care-

fully studied it. He contacted a gospel preacher and, as a penitent believer, he was baptized into Christ for the remission of his sins.

That first booklet was also Bradfield’s first tract to reach one million copies in print. It remains the most widely circulated of all his tracts. He also wrote a book, Bradfield’s Sermon Outlines.

Woods-Nunnery Debate

The first time I ever saw W. A. Bradfield was Tuesday, July 2, 1946. It was the first day of the four-day Woods-Nunnery debate, held in a large, frame Baptist church building a few miles out from Parsons. Bradfield was then thirty-five years old; Guy N. Woods was thirty-seven. Bradfield was Woods’ moderator or assistant, sitting next to him at the table. These two men were to remain close co-workers and friends through all the years to come. Each year, when Woods came to Henderson for the big annual February lecture week at Freed-Hardeman, to conduct the popular daily Open Fo-rum, he stayed in the Bradfield home.

A year later, in 1947, I was surprised one day by a phone call as I heard Bradfields’s unforgettable, booming voice on the line. I had sent out about twenty letters to various churches seeking preaching appointments, with no response – until that day. Brother Bradfield, calling from White Bluff, had a preaching appointment for me!

In 1949, while he was preaching near Nashville for the White Bluff church of Christ and serving as principal of White Bluff High School, doing an out-standing job in both capacities, he received a call from Freed-Hardeman president N. B. Hardeman to join the administration of the college as its Public Relations Director.

At Freed-Hardeman

At a point during the first teachers’ meeting Bradfield attended at Freed-Hardeman, in the fall of

5 Summer, 2007

1949, President Hardeman dismissed the outgoing faculty, including Vice President James R. Cope, Bible instructor Clinton Hamilton, and Jack and Jerry Frost—all leaving to accept positions at Flor-ida Christian College. Cope became Florida Chris-tian College president, replacing the founding president, L. R. Wilson, who was leaving to become the first president of Oklahoma Christian College.

Then President Hardeman brought in the new faculty members. Besides W. A. Bradfield, these included the new vice president, George W. De-Hoff, and E. Claude Gardner who in the years fol-lowing became dean-registrar, vice president, and president.

Driving Many Miles to Preach

Henderson was Bradfield’s home for the rest of his life. Starting from this place, he drove perhaps a million miles to preach in hundreds of gospel meet-ings, baptizing thousands. At Freed-Hardeman he taught Personal Evangelism. He served on the Ex-ecutive Council and the Lectureship Committee. He was chairman of the Financial Aid Committee. He directed public relations, edited the alumni publica-tion, and led in student recruiting. His capacity for work was amazing.

He always drove to his gospel meetings, even if he had to drive as far as California. He never went by plane. He was so careful to observe all the rules of safe driving that if a sign said “Speed Limit 15,” Bradfield would be down to that speed by the time his car got to the sign! He didn’t just start to slow down then. The only accident he ever had occurred when he stopped at a red traffic signal, waiting for the light to change, while driving through a small town. He was hit from behind.

Many Souls Saved

As the years passed, and brother Bradfield kept a record of the responses in his gospel meetings, the number of baptisms and restorations grew into the hundreds and then into the thousands! Beyond these great numbers, however (as Freed-Hardeman University President E. Claude Gardner reminded us at brother Bradfield’s funeral) are the innumer-able men and women, boys and girls, of all ages,

who were made better by his preaching and who resolved to live closer to the Lord.

It is also true that many people responded to the Lord’s invitation, resulting from his preaching, after Bradfield had closed a gospel meeting. To cite just one of many examples, following the close of his 1958 gospel meeting at Clinton, Tennessee, during which there were several baptisms and restorations, there was another response on Wednesday night, and still another on the following Sunday. Only the Lord knows how many souls were saved through his teaching and preaching.

One preparation brother Bradfield asked each congregation to make in advance of his arrival to preach in a series of evangelistic meetings was to prepare a “prospect list.” During the week of the meeting, he would spend much of every day visiting the prospects, usually accompanied by the local preacher. He strongly encouraged each one to obey the gospel or, in the case of an erring child of God, to be restored. He could be gentle, but he could also be quite forceful.

During the day he would work tirelessly, maybe also speaking on the daily radio program, then speaking in the assembly at the local high school. In the evening he would often teach a children’s class before the hour of the gospel meeting. Every-where, too, he would be constantly seeking prospec-tive students and recruiting them to enroll in Freed-Hardeman.

Bradfield’s Sermons

It was a mistake to think, as some may have be-lieved, that he had only a one-week supply of pow-erful gospel meeting sermons. On the contrary, some hearers thought his second, and his third, set of sermons to be superior to the first, when he would return to the same congregation for a second and third time. A lesson on the Prodigal Son, in this third set, some hearers thought was his best sermon.

When he opened a gospel meeting on a Sunday morning, he would often use “Tricks of the Devil” as his subject. Some people thought, perhaps rightly, that this sermon was too harsh.

The Gospel Preacher 6 After hearing this sermon, the elders of one

church told their local preacher that, unless he could persuade Bradfield not to be so rough, they would close the meeting. That sermon did indeed go against the advice L. R. Wilson once gave preachers when he told them “the congregation needs to hear at least a little something encouraging and positive on Sunday morning.”

“Scenes at the Judgment” was the lesson brother Bradfield often used to close a series of gospel meetings. Throughout his preaching years, he seems to have believed it was his most persuasive message. When he had an appointment to speak only once to a congregation, maybe on a Wednes-day night, he would use that sermon, possibly at their request.

The “No Hope” Sermon

As the years passed, however, another sermon became his most famous--his “No Hope” lesson, based on the words recorded in Ephesians 2:12 – “…having no hope…” A portion of that sermon rose to the greatest height of oratorical power imagin-able. Even though the listener was in an assembly surrounded by hundreds of people, he heard this message as though there was nothing else in the world except the words of that speaker. There was no mental distance between the speaker and the lis-tener. The hearer was oblivious to all else.

Bradfield’s most renowned illustration was at the heart of that presentation. It was a dialogue he recited between himself and a man at Bono, Arkan-sas, who was in his 70’s. The man knew he needed to become a Christian, but he would not obey the gospel. Brother Bradfield visited the man one after-noon during a gospel meeting at Bono. This was their conversation:

Bradfield: “You know you need to obey the gospel and you haven’t done it. You don’t believe the Bible!”

The man: “Oh, brother Bradfield, don’t say that!

Bradfield: “You might as well take your Bible and throw it out the window!”

The man: “Brother Bradfield, you shock me.”

Bradfield: “You might as well tear Acts 2:38 out of your Bible. You don’t believe it anyway.”

The man: “I would never do a thing like that!”

Bradfield: “You have no hope!”

The man: “Oh, brother Bradfield, I believe I have a little hope,”

Bradfield: “You have no hope!”

Years later, one Wednesday evening my family had the opportunity to stop at Bono, just north of Jonesboro, to attend midweek meeting. We were very happy to hear first hand ”the rest of the story.” The man in this most famous of all sermon illustra-tions did obey the gospel, we were told, and thereaf-ter lived a faithful Christian life.

Brother Bradfield never got off the message: It was about the love of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the church of Christ, the gospel plan of salva-tion, judgment, eternity, heaven, hell, danger in de-lay, the uncertainty of life, and the urgent need to respond now. He permeated the message with pleading for every lost soul to obey and be saved—now! tonight!

Criticism of His Preaching

Not everyone appreciated Bradfield’s preaching. For some in the church who were more accustomed to hearing preaching in which the speaker calmly and logically reasoned from the Scripture, brother Bradfield was not dignified enough to suit them. There was no criticism of his appearance. He was always very neat, impeccably dressed in a nice suit, white dress shirt, and conservative tie. Nor did anyone say his preaching was in any way unbibli-cal.

Instead, what seemed to bother some brethren was that, when Bradfield extended the invitation, it was the very opposite of the bland, low-key invita-tions characteristic of some preachers. He begged and pleaded. He stopped the song leader between verses and went back to the stand and pleaded some more.

When the song resumed, he often talked over the singing, continuing the “Why won’t you come?”

7 Summer, 2007

appeal. Sometimes he would ask the song leader to sing another invitation song. Then he would go up to the pulpit and make still another appeal.

When the singing started again, he might even go part of the way down the center aisle, still en-couraging sinners to respond. For some brethren this was undignified or, as others said, “overly per-suasive.”

The only response I ever heard him make to the criticism that he “over-persuaded,” was to say, “It would be a lot easier to preach in such a way as to have no responses, than it is to plead for the lost to believe and obey.”

One night during a gospel meeting at Bruceton, Tennessee, brother Bradfield spoke on the subject that was the title of his last tract, “Why Must All Men Die?” As he spoke of death, I thought, “I wonder how he will face death. Will he have the same faith and courage and assurance that he is ex-pressing tonight?” I dismissed the thought. It would be unrealistic to think I would ever know the answer to that. I was wrong. I am thankful that I did get to know.

Bradfield’s Health

In retrospect, the first indication that Bradfield had health problems came in 1971, when he was sixty years old. He said to his fellow teachers one morning at the college, “I don’t know how a man my age is supposed to feel, but I feel terrible in the morning!”

Health problems increased, and the doctor’s ad-vice was for him to watch his diet carefully, avoid stress, get rest, and remain calm. He was always conscientious about rules—traffic laws and other kinds of rules, and, most importantly, the Lord’s rules. Even though practicing all the doctor’s rules seemed out of character for him, he tried.

The Paris Meeting

Next to his last gospel meeting was at the East Wood church of Christ in Paris, Tennessee. He let me drive his car from Henderson to Paris, so he could lie down in the back seat and rest during the trip.

The congregation had a fellowship meal each evening before the meeting. He was very careful about what he ate, avoiding foods that might be bad for him. Consequently, there was very little on his plate.

When he got up to preach on Tuesday night, still following the doctor’s rules, he spoke in a very low, calm tone—totally out of his accustomed style. Responses to the invitation since the meeting started on Sunday had been few, if any.

But then, just about ten minutes into his lesson, actually in the middle of a sentence, everything changed. All the old-time power suddenly re-turned—the energy, the force, the volume, the ges-tures, the genuineness, and the sincerity!

A Greek rhetorician defined oratory as “a good man speaking well.” That described brother Brad-field exactly—his guilelessness, his wholesome-ness, his purity of life—along with his willingness to use his great ability unreservedly to glorify God in saving souls.

When the invitation song began that evening, men and women, young people and older people, without hesitation, started coming down every aisle. What an extraordinary sight!

In the Hospitals

Brother Bradfield spent some time in the Jack-son, Tennessee, hospital. Then he entered Vander-bilt hospital for exploratory surgery.

He had been a member of the Freed-Hardeman Lectureship Committee for years, but this year was his first time to be the lectureship director as the chairman of the committee and, as he wrote in his Introduction to the 1972 Lectureship book, it would be his only time.

Every year each speaker who is selected to speak on the lectureship submits a manuscript of his assigned topic well in advance. They do this so that the lectureship book, consisting of several hundred pages, can be printed and bound and ready for sale from the first day of the lectureship. The lecture-ship draws thousands of visitors and starts each year on the first Monday following the first Sunday in February.

The Gospel Preacher 8 While brother Bradfield was still in Vanderbilt

hospital, B. C. Goodpasture, for many years editor of the Gospel Advocate, asked McQuiddy Printiing Company to call him just as soon as the first copy of the lectureship book was bound. When Good-pasture got the call, he went immediately to the printing company and from there directly to the hospital to present that first copy of the 1972 lec-tureship book to brother Bradfield.

At Home in Henderson

When the lectureship began, Bradfield was back in Henderson but confined to bed at home. He had asked not to go back to a hospital but to be permit-ted to die at home. His wife Hazel, his daughter, Linda Speight, his son-in-law Bill Speight, the Speight’s small children, and other family members, could be with him during the days, and volunteers, mostly Freed-Hardeman teachers, would stay with him through the nights. He grew weaker as the days passed,

I came into his room at 1:00 A.M., Saturday, March 4, 1972, to be at his bedside the second part of the night. The first words I heard from him, di-rected to the brother who had been with him the first part of the night and who was preparing to leave, were “I want you to pray for me that I might die tonight.” I had never even contemplated a re-quest like that.

In the hours that followed, he talked to me about the same subjects he had preached throughout the years, about Jesus, the gospel plan of salvation, and the church of Christ. He believed the very same things in those final hours that he had preached with such powerful effect.

At about 3:25 A.M., brother Bradfield quoted the Lord’s words to Paul who had prayed that his ‘’thorn in the flesh” be removed: “My grace is suf-ficient for thee…” (Second Corinthians 12:9). That was the last Scripture he quoted.

I held his glass and straw for him so that he could drink a sip of water. Then he asked me to word a prayer. I had been thinking, at least subcon-sciously, of the request he had made earlier.

He said “Amen” to the prayer – his last word.

By this time, his brother Luther had entered the room. Luther and W. A. (Willie) Bradfield had en-joyed a very close bond since early childhood.

Luther said, “You’ve been a good brother, Wil-lie.”

109 Holt Hills Rd. Nashville, TN 37211

(The Preacher Is Not God, Continued from page 2) If he preaches contrary to God’s word, he has violated the gospel which has been entrusted unto him. If he advises those whom he loves contrary to God’s word, he also violates the trust they have placed in him. In all matters of faith we must be exceedingly diligent to demand a “Thus saith the Lord.” While it is good and appropriate to trust a faithful preacher we must not determine our faith by a “Thus saith the preacher.” The danger is inherent in exalting the preacher above what the Lord says. Our trust must not be put in man, any man, to be the final word concerning God’s will. The preacher is just a servant of the Lord. The preacher is not God!

3923 Bennett Rd. Chattanooga, TN 3741

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The Gospel Preacher

c/o Andy Erwin 7103 Varden Ct.

Fairview, TN 37062

Subscriptions are free upon request while supply is available.

9 Summer, 2007

The Public Image of Christ and the Church

-Gerald Cowan-

Be blameless and harmless... children of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and per-verse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of truth (Phi-lippians 2:15). We live in an age when many are concerned about their public image. Businesses, politicians, colleges, the nation – and even some religious groups – spend large sums of money with public relations firms in order to be sure of maintaining a good public image. The church of Christ needs to be concerned about the image it projects to the local community, although I do not think we need to hire a publicity agent or firm. The image of the church is only the corporate image of its members. A wise person has observed: No matter how large it may be, an institution is of-ten judged by a person’s contact with one or a few members, employees, or representatives. A world-wide organization with thousands of employees may be judged by the attitudes and actions of any one of its personnel. If one person is rude or ineffi-cient a great deal of kindness, tact, and efficiency on the part of many others may be needed to over-come the bad impression. Every member of an or-ganization in any capacity at all who comes into contact with the public is a “salesman and represen-tative” for the whole organization. The impression that one makes, good or bad, is an advertisement for the whole organization. The image of Christ is the image of the church and every individual member of it. The collective image of the church is very important. The church must “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striv-ing together for the faith of the gospel....being of one accord and one mind” (Philippians 1:27, 2:1-2). But the emphasis has to be placed on the individual if the group is to be right, especially to be Christ-like (Philippians 2:3-4, 5, 10, 12). We need to de-velop more of the attitude and actions of the apostle Paul: “So that Christ will be magnified” (Philippi-ans 1:20b). Christ will be made larger in the mind’s eye, easier to see and understand, glorified, appreci-

ated and praised more, more desirable as Lord and leader if we consciously “magnify him” by our way of life. The only impression of Christ and the church that some people will ever get is the one you and I project to them. The first impression you make is often the most enduring. As some wit has said, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Actually, if the first one is bad you may never get a chance to change and correct it. Is the image of the church in your congregation one that magnifies and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ? Does your personal image as a Christian magnify and glorify Christ?

PO Box 341 Dongola, IL 62926

The Living God -Robert L. Waggoner-

The Bible often describes God by using modi-fying terms. One of the better known expressions is “God Almighty,” which is used eleven times in eleven verses. However, a more frequently used ex-pression in biblical times was “the living God,” which is used thirty times in thirty verses (NKJV). Why God is designated as “the living God” is not always indicated. However, some reasons seem evident. First, God may be called the living God because he is the source of all life. Only God has life in himself (John 5:26) and only God can give life to others. After creating the heavens and the earth and all things in them, God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures . . . So God created . . . every living thing that moves” (Genesis 1:20, 21). “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). God not only gives life, he is the means by which all life is sustained (Genesis 2:7; Psalm 66:9; Acts 17:25).

The Gospel Preacher 10

Second God seems sometimes to have been called the “living God” because he is perceived to be the true God who is alive in contrast to false gods of idolatry (Acts 14:15; 2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:9) which are dead (Psalms 115:3-8; 135:15-18; Isaiah 44:9-20; Jeremiah 10:8-10, 14). Elijah caused Israel to acknowledge the true God when he challenged the priests of Ba’al to produce sacrificial fire from heaven. When they could not, Elijah prayed to God and fire fell from heaven to consume his sacrifice (1 Kings 17-18). Third, to speak about the “living God” is to talk about a God of power. Although idol worshippers may attribute power to their gods, the Bible indi-cates that only “the living God” has power. “The living God . . . made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them” (Acts 14:15). The power of God was recognized by the Persian king Darius after Daniel was not eaten by lions. He therefore made a decree:

“that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and stead-fast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and res-cues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions” (Daniel 6:25-27).

When the Israelites were about to go into the land of Canaan, Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Ca-naanites . . .” (Joshua 3:10). In the Bible, the consis-tent portrait of the living God is that he is the true and powerful God. The living God speaks. The worlds were framed by the word of God (Genesis 1; Hebrews 11:1). Many times God spoke directly to individuals, as to Adam (Genesis 2:16-17), to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), to Moses (Exodus 3:4ff) etc. When the Ten Commandments were given, peo-ple “heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire” (Deuteronomy 5:22, 26). Sometimes God spoke through dreams (Genesis 28:11-16; Matthew 1:19-24) or visions (Ezekiel 8:3ff; Daniel 4:1-18; 2 Corinthians 12:1-4). God spoke in previous times through the prophets, but now speaks to us through his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). When Jesus was baptized – and again when he was

transfigured – God spoke, saying “This is my be-loved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; 2 Peter 1:16-21). Jesus Christ, who de-clares God (John 1:18) is acknowledged as the “Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16; John 6:69). By the word of God we will be judged (Hebrews 4:12, 13; see also John 12:47-48). The living God listens. He heard the prayer of Hannah, who vowed that if God would give her a son, she would give him to the Lord. God granted her request (1 Samuel 1:11-28). God heard the prayer of Solomon who desired an understanding heart that he might rule righteously, God not only granted him wisdom, but also riches (1 Kings 3:5-14). God heard the prayer of Hezekiah requesting that the reproach of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, might be overcome. God assured Hezekiah that Sennacherib’s army would be turned back from de-stroying Jerusalem. And they were (2 Kings 19:15-36; Isaiah 37:15-37). The living God often takes the initiative, as he did in making man in his own image (Genesis 1:27) and designating requirements for Adam and Eve to live in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:28-30; 2:16-17). God initiated a call to Abram to leave Ur of Chaldee to receive an inheritance in another place (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 7:3-4; Hebrews 11:8). At a burning bush, God commissioned Moses to go to Egypt to bring the Israelites from that country (Exodus 3:4-22). At Mt. Sinai, God gave a law through Moses to guide the newly formed Israelite nation (Exodus 19:1-40:38; John 1:17). When the Israelite nation was in the Promised Land, God chose David to become king over his people (1 Samuel 16:1-13; 2 Samuel 12:7). God selected prophets to call the people back to him (Jeremiah 7:21-25; Zechariah 1:1-6). In the New Testament, God sent his Son into the world to redeem humanity (John 3:17; 1 John 4:10; Revelation 5:9). And, God called the Apostle Paul to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:21). The living God reacts toward people to reward and to punish. Because Noah was faithful, he found grace with God (Genesis 6:8). Therefore he and his household were spared when the world was de-stroyed by a universal flood (Genesis 6-8; Hebrews 11:7). Because Joshua and Caleb believed that God would give the Israelites the Promised Land, their

11 Summer, 2007

lives were spared while all other Israelites except those under the age of twenty were condemned to perish (Numbers 14:36-38; Deuteronomy 2:14-16). The living God reacts not only to reward right-eousness, but also to punish evil. When Cain killed his brother Abel, God withheld the earth’s produc-tivity from him, thus making Cain a fugitive and a vagabond (Genesis 3:12-14). When “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” God brought a universal flood upon the earth (Genesis 6:5). When the cities of Sodom and Go-morrah became excessively wicked, God reacted by raining down fire and brimstone upon them (Gene-sis 19:20-25; Jude 7). “God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gala-tians 6:7) “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). The “living God” is “the Savior of all men, es-pecially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). Through Christ, both Jews and Gentiles may be-come “sons of the living God” (Romans 9:26; Ho-sea 1:10). Through the blood of Christ, our con-sciences may be cleansed “from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). Believers in Christ have “the seal of the living God” (Revelation 7:2; 1 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30), are called to “serve the living and true God” (1 Thessa-lonians 1:9), and are commanded “not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). The living God dwells in his temple, the church (2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Timothy 3:15), which is also described as “the city of the liv-ing God” (Hebrews 12:22). How wonderful it is to serve the true, powerful, and living God! Even so, brethren should beware “lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). May we be like the Psalmist who declared, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:2). “My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:2).

Montgomery, AL

Editorial Note: Many more fine articles can be found at Robert Waggoner’s website: www.biblicaltheism.com.

Notice of Recent Deaths

Laura Keeble…

…died at 108 years of age, widow of the late evan-gelist Marshall Keeble. The Keebles were longtime members of the Jackson St. church of Christ in Nashville. She attended the 1986 graduation of the school of preaching at which Thomas Allen, a member at Jackson Street, graduated. That was also the year that Middle Tennessee School of Preaching director Michael A. Stewart graduated, along with MTSP instructor Jerry Max-well and others. Her husband spent two-thirds of a century in evangelism. During this time he converted up to forty thousand people, many white as well as black. He established as many as four hundred congrega-tions.

James Walker

James was on schedule to graduate April 6 from the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching. He died just a few weeks before. His wife, three sons, grandchildren, and other relatives survive him. Members of his family were present at graduation, and a son went up to receive his diploma. He was a co-worker at Nashville’s 7th Avenue church of Christ, with evangelist Frank Johnson, located at 7th Avenue North and Buchanan Street in north Nashville. Johnson is also a graduate of Middle Tennessee School of Preaching. He preaches for the same con-gregation for which his father preached a generation ago, then located on 3rd Avenue North. Even in the 1970’s that congregation had a black and a white evangelist working together. They converted many people. Frank Johnson conducted Walker’s funeral. James Walker meant much to his fellow students at the school, and they and the school meant much to him. One of James Walker’s most memorable ser-mons was the one he preached on the closing night of the gospel meeting last year at the Old Hope church of Christ in Williamson County, where MTSP instructor Dove Wilson has been the regular preacher for the past five years. Other school of preaching students and teachers who spoke during

The Gospel Preacher 12

that gospel meeting included Jeremy Stover Jerry Ladd, Jim McGill, and Milton Stephens.

Harold Baker

Harold Baker began preaching at the age of twelve, when his family moved to Nolensville. He did the preaching there two Sundays each month. When he died at 88, he had been preaching 76 years! Harold won the Founders’ Day Oratorical Con-test as a senior at Lipscomb in 1952. He continued his schooling at Louisiana State University, while preaching for the Convention St. (later North Blvd.) church of Christ in Baton Rouge, as Ira North and Carroll Ellis had done before him. Harold returned to Nashville to teach at Lipscomb. He later at taught at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

Ted Underwood

Ted Underwood was a regular teacher at the Nash-ville School of Preaching in the 1980’s, when the classes were being taught in the William Anderson Preacher Training Center building on the Lipscomb University campus. He honored and benefited the school by coming back as a guest instructor in the 1990’s. His wife Orman preceded him in death. Two sons and his grandchildren survive. Ted was a faithful gospel preacher who spent a number of years effectively working fulltime as an evangelist. About 1970 he became acutely aware of the need for more high quality, sound Bible school ma-terials and more emphasis on teacher training. Ted and Orman worked as a team, traveling widely to lectureships and conducting many teacher-training workshops. He was a very conscientious, hard-working, and effective curriculum editor for Gospel Advocate class materials for more than three dec-ades. Since the early 1970’s Ted had been active in the Bellevue church of Christ.

Dorris B. Billingsley

Dorris was born in Nashville in 1919. His wife, Sadie, his daughters, and his grandchildren survive him. He began preaching in 1946. One of his first sermons was at Central Pike in Nashville, then a rural Davidson County congregation. His father was an elder in the Chapel Avenue church.

He was a teacher in the Nashville School of Preaching, almost from the beginning, in the late 1960’s, at its first location on 12th Ave., South, at the Waverly-Belmont church building. This con-gregation later merged with the University church and moved into the building vacated by the Hills-boro church on 21st Ave. South, when that congre-gation moved out to Tyne Blvd. They called the merged congregation Ashwood. Dorris came back as a guest instructor at the school of preaching in the 1990’s. He spoke on very helpful topics such as note-taking and filing ideas for sermons. He had a strong voice and excellent speech. Dorris did quite a bit of radio preaching. Maybe his most far-reaching work was his writ-ing of five or more very simple, very readable, and very basic tracts on the plan of salvation and the church of Christ. Millions of these tracts have been distributed around the world in a number of lan-guages. The Christian Chronicle recently published an article extolling this part of Dorris’ ministry. The last years of his regular preaching were at the congregation meeting in the H. G. Hill Middle School in Belle Meade – perhaps the most difficult mission field within the city of Nashville. Half a century ago, an earlier effort was made to establish a church of Christ in this community. They built a nice building on Harding Place just off Harding Road. That congregation seemed to flour-ish for a few years, but they gave up the effort, sold their building to Harding Academy, and donated the proceeds to help the Hillsboro church pay off its new building. Probably most of the members went to Hillsboro. To illustrate the pervasive worldliness of Belle Meade – said to be the wealthiest community in Tennessee – when Nashville voted whether to allow the sale of whiskey by the drink, Belle Meade voted yes by an overwhelming margin, a higher ratio than other Nashville precincts. Dorris Billingsley faithfully preached in Belle Meade for a number of years. He was a talented man, with a supportive family, who loved the Lord.

Mary Shires Mary Shires died June 2 at the age of 97. She is remembered as one of the most steadfast members of the church of Christ meeting at the Sycamores

13 Summer, 2007

Terrace retirement center on Lebanon Road in Nashville. She graduated from college in 1930 and began teaching at Lewisburg High School that same year. Willard Collins was a freshman at Lewisburg High School that year. Mary continued her education at Peabody College, earning the M.S. in Library Sci-ence. She returned to Lewisburg High School as school librarian for the next forty-one years. In April 1922, when Mary was twelve years old, she and her brothers and sisters attended the Ryman Auditorium gospel meeting with their parents. This was the first of what turned out to be five area wide gospel meetings in which N. B. Hardeman did the preaching. C. M. Pullias led the singing in the 1922 meeting. Mary attended every session of that 1922 gospel meeting at the Ryman The whole family crowded into the family surrey and rode downtown from their Donelson home. Years later, when Mary saw Hardeman one af-ternoon sitting on a bench at the funeral home in Lewisburg, she related her experience. She said, “Brother Hardeman, I attended every one of the meetings of your 1922 series at the Ryman audito-rium.” To this Hardeman replied: “You know, now that I come to think of it, I believe I did, too!”

News and Notes

The College Grove church of Christ, like many other congregations, schedules its annual gospel meeting series the same time each year – starting on the second Sunday of June. They also try to sched-ule their preachers some years in advance. The Middle Tennessee School of Preaching and Biblical Studies started at College Grove five years ago, in June, 2002. Some of the men who have preached in meet-ings at College Grove in recent years are (1) Ronald Gilbert, an outstanding preacher and a long-time instructor at Tennessee Bible College. (2) Gary Colley who taught at MTSP from its begin-ning and who has had wide experience teaching in schools of preaching, training men to preach, and is a highly effective gospel preacher, and; (3) Rob Whitacre who preaches fulltime for the Hillsboro,

Tennessee, church of Christ, near Manchester. Rob has done an excellent job teaching various courses at Middle Tennessee School of Preaching. The speaker scheduled this year is Virgil Hale. He preached in a previous gospel meeting at Col-lege Grove a few years ago. This year Milton Stephens will be leading the singing for the College Grove gospel meeting. Paul Hosse, a former teacher at the school of preaching, and for many years a faithful gospel preacher, is in Eastern Europe. This is his 15th mis-sion trip to Kalinengrad, Russia, and Kremenchu, Ukraine! He has nurtured and assisted the churches of Christ in these two cities since their beginning. He has supported and encouraged these works through his preaching and teaching and through his personal financial sacrifice. Paul’s wife Doris was a co-teacher with Sarah Nugent during all the years Sarah taught a ladies’ class at the Nashville School of Preaching and Bib-lical Studies. __________________________________________ Cedric Lightner recently returned from his sec-ond mission trip to New Zealand. He was the first student to enroll for classes at Meads Chapel in Nashville in the fall term of 2003, when MTSP classes were first offered at that location. James Lauderdale, Jr., a 2005 MTSP graduate, is now at Freed-Hardeman. James had the distinc-tion of being invited to participate in the Pennington Bend Future Preachers’ Training Camp four times during his high school years! The Pennington Bend church facility is on a hill just across Briley Park-way from the Opryland Hotel. Pennington Bend se-lects and invites about twenty high school students each summer to participate in the camp’s intensive Bible study and preacher training. James started coming to the Nashville School of Preaching with his father. He was making talks in the Spoken English class from the time he was nine or ten years old.

The Gospel Preacher 14

Graduating at age seventeen, he is the youngest graduate of the Middle Tennessee School of Preach-ing.

Special Recognition

Three special presentations were made at the April graduation this year. Edward S. Cothern pre-sented a plaque inscribed to “Michael A. Stewart, preacher of the gospel of Christ, for his outstanding leadership of the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching and Biblical Studies since its beginning in 2002.” Jerry Ladd, now in his seventh year as College Grove evangelist, and a regular MTSP instructor, also received special recognition. Jerry was the one who in 2002 presented to the elders the opportunity to have a school of preaching at College Grove. This April was the fifth annual graduation! Ed Cothern, a College Grove elder, also re-ceived a plaque. No one has had a greater part in the success of the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching and Biblical Studies. In 1969 Dove Wilson came to College Grove as a guest preacher one Sunday. At the time, Dove was a student in Nashville School of Preaching. He encouraged Ed Cothern to enroll in the school. Ed enrolled and went on to graduate. Ed later graduated from the Great Commission School which was then located at Wingate in south Nashville. Since Middle Tennessee School of Preaching and Biblical Studies began at College Grove in the summer of 2002, Ed has been taking classes every school night and every class hour.

Perfect Attendance! Douglas Ramsey, of Woodbury, graduated from the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching April 6, at College Grove, with a perfect school attendance record. He went straight through from beginning to graduation. He was present for four classes every night at 6, 7, 8, and 9 P.M., every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; every school term, summer, fall, and spring, taking classes at Meads Chapel in Nashville and at College Grove. He was also always on time.

Achieving all of that involved driving several thousand miles to and from school. Doug’s wife Sherry is also enrolled, though not for all classes every school night. Douglas is the preacher for the church of Christ in the Temperance Hall community of DeKalb County, where Smithville is the county seat. Matt Yuhas has been the regular preacher for the Cane Creek church of Christ, near Petersburg, since the first of 2007. Prior to that, Matt had for several years been the preacher for the Sharps Corner church of Christ in Columbia. He has been a member of the faculty of Middle Tennessee School of Preaching since its very be-ginning.

Guyana Preaching Trip Roger Phy recently spent several weeks in Guy-ana, South America, in evangelistic work. Upon their arrival in Georgetown, they divided into two groups of evangelists. The group of which Roger was a part went to Lethem. The lady who owns and operates the small hotel in that city, where Roger and his fellow-workers boarded, is a member of the church of Christ. The evangelists had many opportunities to preach, teach, lead in prayer, and lead singing. Forty-nine souls obeyed the gospel during these weeks. Twenty-six of these were baptized into Christ by the preachers in Roger’s team of workers. Roger is a school of preaching graduate who continues to attend classes as a post-graduate stu-dent at the Middle Tennessee School of preaching. Shortly after returning from the evangelistic work in Guyana, Roger went with a group to Vir-ginia and West Virginia, where he had additional opportunities to preach and teach.

One of the men in that group was Elwin Mahan. Elwin has been the fulltime preacher for the church of Christ in Spencer for the past several years.

Elwin taught a class at the school of preaching

one semester, partly based on the research he did on Mormonism in 1989 for his Master of Arts thesis at Tennessee Bible College.

15 Summer, 2007

Spencer was the home of Burritt College, a Christian school where a number of gospel preach-ers received some of their training, including George W. DeHoff and Harris J. Dark. DeHoff was said to have read every book in the Burritt Col-lege library. He seems to have remembered every-thing he read.

James Chessor, a native of Hickman County,

taught at Burritt College a number of years. He wrote a wonderful collection of essays published in book form by the Gospel Advocate Company, enti-tled The Health of the Soul.

Milestones

On Sunday, June 4, 2007, James W. Boyd, the

regular preacher at Leoni, near Woodbury, com-pleted fifty-five years of preaching—and started his 56th year.

He has been a regular teacher at Middle Ten-nessee School of Preaching, both at College Grove and at Meads Chapel, since the school began.

This fall he plans to teach on Mondays at the Chattanooga School of Preaching and on Thursdays at MTSP in College Grove.

Brother Boyd has an excellent website title “A Burning Fire.” You can read as well as listen to his lessons.

James R. Lewis is the director of the Chatta-

nooga School of Preaching. He is also the preacher for the Greens Lake Road church of Christ in Chat-tanooga and serves as one of the elders of that con-gregation.

Also on June 3, Milton Stephens began his

15th year as the fulltime preacher for the Lynnville church of Christ.

Milton is a school of preaching graduate and is a regular teacher at Middle Tennessee School of Preaching.

During this summer term he is teaching in Nashville on Monday evenings and at College Grove on Thursdays.

Lynnville is the congregation for which Artie

Collins was preaching fulltime when he enrolled as a student in the Nashville School of Preaching in 1966. The school started in February, 1966, and Artie enrolled that fall.

Artie was our first graduation speaker at Middle

Tennessee School of Preaching in April, 2002. He has been a guest teacher a number of times. He continues as the fulltime preacher for the Springer church of Christ in Hohenwald, where he has preached for many years.

Jeremy Stover, a 2006 graduate of the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching, delivered his first sermon on Sunday morning, February 20, 2005, at the New Hope church of Christ on River Road Pike, in Nashville. Several friends and members of his family were present for the occasion. He was very well pre-pared. As part of his preparation, he had rehearsed the lesson after school hours (after 10:00 P.M.) on the previous Monday at Meads Chapel in Nashville, and on Thursday night at College Grove. Jeremy continued to show much discipline in his preparation for every presentation. He is now in his second year as the regular preacher for the Gassa-way church of Christ, near Woodbury.

Debate

On March 22 and 23 Ronald D. Griffin of Pa-

ducah, and John T. Polk II, of Dover, debated, first in Metropolis, IL. and the second night in Paducah. The propositions dealt with whether a church of Christ may take money from its treasury to assist non-Christians as well as Christians, as Polk af-firmed, and Griffin denied. The debate is available from John Polk on a CD.

He is the preacher for the Dover church of

Christ. His address is 125 The Trace, Dover, TN 37058. Phone: 931 232-6762. E-mail: jjttII@aol.com

Recent Faculty Publications

Andrew D. Erwin of the MTSP faculty, recently authored and published Each One, Reach One—a book on church growth and personal evangelism. Andy preaches for the newly established East-side church of Christ, Dickson. You can hear him on The Bible Way radio broadcast Sunday mornings from 8:45-9:00 on 1260 AM WDKN out of Dick-son.

The Gospel Preacher 16

Eastside will be holding its first ever gospel meeting August 5-9. Services will be held at 7:00 nightly. They meet at 1406 B Hwy 70 East in the Highland Center shopping center. Andy is also the coordinator of the classes of the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching at Pasquo on Highway 100. He was in the first MTSP gradu-ating class in 2002. He has since graduated from Southern Christian University / Regions University and is continuing there into graduate school. Tim Mitchell and Joshua Pappas co-wrote That You May Grow Thereby—a course for new converts and fundamentals classes. They used this book in the class they taught together at MTSP in Lebanon at Highland Heights. They are co-authoring another book, which they expect to pub-lish soon. Tim preaches for the Science Hill church of Christ and Joshua preaches for the Blackman church of Christ, both in Murfreesboro. __________________________________________ Danny and Stacy Rogers, along with seven other team members from the Owl Hollow church of Christ, where Danny preaches, plan to go on a mission trip to Vera Cruz, Panama, July 27-August 4. Danny says, “Being a part of mission work has been a long time goal of ours. This will be our first mission trip and we feel very fortunate to be a part of introducing God, the Bible, and Jesus to those that are lost and hurting.” Danny graduated from Middle Tennessee School of Preaching in the class of 2005, driving to school from where he was then preaching for the church of Christ in Hartford, Kentucky. The Rogers now live at 812 North Vine Street, Winchester, TN 37398. Telephone: 931 967-6168. __________________________________________ Gospel Advocate publisher Neil Anderson re-cently guided a group from Middle Tennessee School of Preaching through historic Mt. Olivet Cemetery on Lebanon Road in Nashville. He has a very special interest in some of the monuments, in-cluding those of the two men who founded the Gos-pel Advocate in 1855, William Lipscomb and Tolbert Fanning. The class also saw the simple marker at the grave of David and Margaret Lipscomb. David

Lipscomb was the editor of the Gospel Advocate for fifty-one years, from 1866 until his death in 1917. The simple markers of Christians such as David and William Lipscomb, J. W. Shepherd, and Tolbert and Charlotte Fanning, are in striking contrast to the monument Neil showed the class of the flamboyant one-time preacher for the downtown church of Christ—Jesse B. Ferguson—that rises to more than forty feet! Among those benefiting immensely from Neil Anderson’s guided tour were Lee and Fran Avers, Jim McGill, Ray McGowan, Roger Phy, Jeremy Stover, and Don Thornberry. _________________________________________ Michael A. Stewart, the director of the Middle Tennessee School of Preaching, and the regular preacher for the Waycross church of Christ, Good-lettsville, did the preaching recently in a gospel meeting at the Macedonia church of Christ at Mount Pleasant. Macedonia is the congregation where Jimmy E. and Gayle Attkisson are located. Two years ago, on July 18, 2005, Jimmy officiated at the mar-riage of Frank and Janice Johnson, at the Attkis-son’s home. Jimmy and Frank are MTSP graduates of the class of 2005, and Janice graduated in 2007. Another MTSP student with a very similar name, yet not related, Jimmy F. Attkisson, wor-ships with the neighboring Sandy Hook church of Christ. In Mike Stewart’s absence from Waycross, Lee Avers preached and taught the classes on Sun-day morning and evening and on Wednesday night. ____________________________________

GBN at the Ryman

Two men on the faculty of Middle Tennessee School of Preaching are very much involved in the Gospel Broadcasting Network. Denver Horton is a field representative and David Prophater is a fea-tured speaker on the network. The Meads Chapel church of Christ in Nash-ville, where both men are active, and where David has been the regular preacher for a number of years,

17 Summer, 2007

is conducting a second lectureship later this sum-mer. The Gospel Broadcasting Network is a television work that is broadcasting constantly, seven days each week, twenty-four hours a day. Of special interest is the gospel meeting planned for the Ryman auditorium July 1-3. All are invited to attend. For those who cannot be present at the Ryman, the entire event will be nationally televised. Even for those in other parts of the world, the gospel meeting will be available on the internet. __________________________________________

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Nathan and Jaime Knight on the birth of a son, their first child, on Mother’s Day, May 13, 2007. Nathan is a school of preaching graduate and has been a regular teacher at Middle Tennessee School of Preaching at Meads Chapel. He has also been a guest teacher at College Grove. Nathan is the regular preacher for the Buck Lodge church of Christ, near Gallatin, in Sumner County, north of Nashville.

Kevin Wilson has preached recently for congre-gations at Mooresville and Nolensville and near Lebanon. Kevin, Dan Gilbert, and other men and women, are working hard for the growth of the church of Christ in Nolensville. In April, the Nolensville church of Christ hosted a Friday night singing planned by Kevin. The build-ing was filled and every extra chair was used. __________________________________________

The Appalachian Appeal

Jimmy Attkisson is the editor of a fine periodi-cal, the Appalachian Appeal. Jimmy and Don Sisk continue to be zealously involved in evangelism in the Appalachian areas of eastern Tennessee and east Kentucky. Not only have they gone into these areas to preach and encourage; they have also been active in fund raising to help meet the needs of churches of Christ in that area.

Don is a student at Middle Tennessee School of Preaching, and Jimmy is a 2005 graduate who is enrolled for classes as a post-graduate. These two men plan another trip soon to east Tennessee and to Jackson, Kentucky. The Appalachian Appeal is a very attractive magazine, now in its second year of publication. This periodical is very helpful in what it does to as-sist in evangelizing and providing practical teaching in many needed subject areas. The first article in the April issue is the first of a three-part series on The Family by Virgil McIntosh. From the beginning, the editor intended to have the articles written in an interesting and easy-to-read style. The article by Virgil McIntosh is a good example of that writing style. Each issue also contains a beautiful and reverent poem com-posed by east Tennessee evangelist Tim Mefford. The mailing address of the editor, J. E. Attkis-son, is 8539 Enterprise Road, Mount Pleasant, Ten-nessee 38474.

Classifieds

Tennessee Churches

The church of Christ at Gordonsburg in Hohen-wald is searching for a minister. They have a new facility and approximately 75 members. If you are interested please contact John Kirk at (931)379-7150. The Beardstown church of Christ, south of Lobel-ville, is in need of a preacher. They prefer some ex-perience. A Bible degree is not required. For details, contact: Jackie Byrd at (931) 589-5483. The Rockcliff church of Christ in McMinnville is in need of a full-time gospel preacher. Contact Herb Rowland if interested, (931) 668-2740. The Whitwell congregation in east Tennessee is seeking a full-time gospel preacher. They are lo-cated 25 miles from Chattanooga. If interested con-tact James Delk at (423) 658-6991. In Dickson, the West Dickson congregation is seek-ing a preacher. Contact Dennis Daniel if interested, (615) 446-1895.

The Gospel Preacher 18

Located near College Grove, the Allisona church of Christ is in need of a pulpit minister. They prefer a young and energetic man who will help them by preaching God’s word in a pure and simple way. If interested contact Fred Cunningham at (615) 834-3509.

MTSP SUMMER TERM

Nashville at Meads Chapel Monday Classes

Starting Monday, June 4, and continuing through Mon-day, July 23.

6 p.m. – Old Testament Characters – Milton Stephens

7 p.m. – Small Things – Jim Boyd

8 p.m. – Sermon Design and Delivery – David Prophater

9 p.m. – Spoken English – Jim McGill

Nashville at Pasquo Monday Classes

Starting Monday, June 11, and continuing through Monday, July 30.

6 p.m. – Spiritual Growth – Jerry Bishop 7 p.m. – The Dawn of Restoration – Andy Erwin 8 p.m. – Securing a Bright Future for the Lord’s Church – Andy Erwin

Lebanon at Highland Heights

Tuesday Classes

Starting Tuesday, June 5, and continuing through Tues-day, July 24.

6 p.m. – Pearls From Proverbs - (a class for women) – Stacey Grooms 6 p.m. – Power-Point Preaching – Michael Grooms 7 p.m. – Topical Studies – A Different Guest Preacher Teaching Each Week 8 p.m. – Basic Public Speaking – Phil Randolph 9 p.m. – Practical Aspects of Preaching – Mike Stewart

College Grove Thursday Classes

Starting Thursday, June 7, and continuing each Thurs-day through July 26.

6 p.m. – The Book of Daniel – Jim Lewis 7 p.m. – Helpful Principles for Understanding the Bible – Jim Lewis 8 p.m. – The Common Salvation (Jude 3) – Mil-ton Stephens 9 p.m. – Seven Deadly Sins – Mike Stewart

Michael A. Stewart, Director

Telephone: (615) 451-3925

E-mail: jimandmora@juno.com

Who Will Become Your Teacher?

-Andrew D. Erwin-

In wishing to aid fellow young men in their search for a sound institution of higher learning this article is primarily submitted. It is with great sor-row and displeasure that such efforts as this must be made. Nevertheless, any young man wishing to make a life out of preaching the gospel, who is con-sidering pursuing a degree in Biblical studies, must be aware of the doctrine, or lack thereof, that is be-ing taught in some of our “brotherhood” schools. It has been well documented that we have a problem with false teachers in many Bible Depart-ments. Prospective students must take heed of the present crisis and act with wisdom. It could prove costly to rush into any decision that will undoubt-edly affect your knowledge and your ability to un-derstand the Scriptures. Certainly included is the choice you make when you decide to be enrolled in any institution. Choose wisely. Avoid a lackluster attitude to-ward this decision. Deliberately act upon your hope of accomplishing the most possible good for the church and your fellow man.

19 Summer, 2007

Any young man wishing to preach must seek out men like Paul. We need to find those men who will take us beneath their wing and commit to us doc-trine that is not only worth teaching, but worth re-peating (2 Timothy 2:2). The wild ideas being taught by some teachers are hardly worth teaching and the only reason to they should be repeated is to warn others (Romans 16:17). Will your mentors be men with proven track re-cords for teaching and preaching the Bible? Or, will you have some Athenian type nemesis of the truth who is always seeking something new (Acts 17:21). You should also consider how you will eventu-ally look back on your school days. Will you look back with fond memories of beloved teachers who taught truth and were willing to help you teach oth-ers? Or, will you look back with frustration because you had to spend your class time arguing the case for the inspiration of the Scriptures, the true church, or proper Christian worship with an antagonistic professor of error? It is hard to listen to such thoughts for free, and even worse when you pay someone for them. Look at what is being advertised. An untrust-worthy school will not advertise sound doctrine. They do quite the opposite. From placing known menaces of the church in key administrative posi-tions, to hiring notorious misfits of error to teach the Bible, they have made their position known. It is time for men of the church to make their position known. Hit them where it hurts – the ole’ pocket book! For many, that’s all that matters anyhow. They are out for the almighty dollar. And, they are willing to compromise to get it. So, don’t give it to them. Cause them to see that the ways of sin are fruitless and without promise. They scoff at any inquires by the prospective student (or even the student’s parents) concerning whether or not truth will be taught. They will likely reply in the words of Pilate – “What is truth?” – as if truth was subjective to each individual student or teacher. The schools of whom we speak mock their brethren who choose not to follow them into the ditch of sin. They reek of arrogance. Their prize is the perceived scholarship and acclaim of the world, rather than the trust of their brethren. Brethren, and even parents, do you want to give your hard earned money to support such a work as that?

If you choose to be educated by one of these places and become dissatisfied then it is your own fault. Don’t feel victimized. You got what you paid for. You ought to know what you’re getting into before you make such a commitment. The same is true when a congregation hires a liberal preacher and then acts shocked when he says something liberal. Don’t be shocked! You got what you paid for, that’s all. You ought to know better before you hire your preacher, and maybe next time you will. Who among us would pay for a bucket with a hole in it? Why then will we pay for the words of broken cisterns? The prophet Jeremiah cried out, “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). Have we become like the children of Israel in the long ago? What reason could we possibly have for forsaking the opportunity to learn sound doc-trine for the grief awaiting us at the feet of false teachers and hypocrites? Surely such a decision cannot be pleasing to God. Who will become your teacher? What shall be-come your standard in religion? Shall it be the word of God with all authority or the opinions of men? Fellow students, we must not feel like our deci-sion to choose sound doctrine over wishy-washy words will go unnoticed. If we stand together and let our reasoning be known, eventually these ques-tionable institutions will notice, the schools trying to do right will notice their labor is not in vain, the church will notice the better quality of preaching with a renewal of book, chapter, and verse sermons, and most importantly our God and our Father will notice our penitent spirit and bless our future. Our generation can have a great impact on the future of the Lord’s church if we will act as God would have us. We can and must make a differ-ence. Let us learn from, and give our full support to, those institutions and schools of preaching that love and honor truth. Make a statement. All should endeavor to grow spiritually and stronger in the Lord with each passing year. Such growth is developed early by learning to use sound judgment when young.

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