| READERS' EXCHANGE |
Worthy
of Attention
There
are three publications among us, all relatively new, that deserve a
wide circulation. We thought you would like to know about them, and
perhaps lend a helping hand to the efforts. Abide is edited by
Floyd Mackler, now a teacher at Southeastern Christian College, who
may be contacted at 40 Fitch Ave., Winchester Ky. 40391. He is
definitely one of our most perceptive writers and always writes stuff
worth reading. There seems to be no subscription rate as such, but I
suspect a dollar bill would bring it to you for a year
Integrity,
Box 1205, Flint, Michigan 48501, also has no sub rate, so a small
contribution, or none at all, would bring it your way. It is issued
by several young princes among us who have definitely crossed their
Rubicon, and they show no intentions of turning back. Black and white
make up the editorial staff. They mean business, those fellows do,
and their writings show that they have fire in their eyes and love in
their hearts. You are missing something.
More
substantial in size and resources than the first two is Communion
Quester, which also publishes no sub rate. The address is Caixa
Postal 2610, Bela Horizonte, M. G., Brazil. Its masthead carries its
purpose, as does the name, “A Move for Unity in the Body of
Christ.” Its editorial policy says it “provides an open
forum for testing ideas and expressing convictions without
prejudice.” It is especially concerned for the unity of all
Restoration groups, about the only journal among us with such a
precise and noble intention.
So
if you are sometimes discouraged and suppose there is no hope for a
more Christian tomorrow for the Restoration Movement and Churches of
Christ, I suggest you let these journals recharge your battery. These
fellows are not leaving, and they are in the thick of the fight for a
more spiritual and responsible brotherhood.
Campus
Evangelism Passes
News
media of Churches of Christ are telling of the demise of Campus
Evangelism, the avant garde organization that aroused almost
as much antagonisms from the right as it did hope and encouragement
on the left. Its most important work was in communicating with our
young people through various means, one controversial way being
annual seminars in hotels where Church of Christ religion took on a
new look. We gave our favorable reaction to these episodes in these
columns at various times.
Well,
Campus Evangelism is dead, and various ones are lined up, not to
deliver a dirge or eulogy, bur to claim credit for its passing.
Finances and opposition are the reasons given, and this must be
correct; bur surely some will say that God in his wrath brought it to
a bitter end. Even after its death, some diatribes against it, late
in being published, were calling upon parents to keep their children
away from the hotel meetings. Ah, death can be sweet, bur what will
they fight now?
To
those who chose to lay away the most controversial work among
Churches of Christ in this decade we would like to give a word of
congratulation for a job well done. You caused many of our people to
think as they never did before, and you showed our young people what
can be done when people act freely in Christ. The war in which
Campus Evangelism died will be and is being won. All great victories
come only after sacrifices are made and casualties occur. It is an
honor to fall in battle. Too, it is more noble to die while alive and
kicking than to be embalmed and kept propped up by party machinery.
The scriptures speak of folk who are so given to pleasure that they
are dead even when alive. Papers, colleges, churches, and
organizations can all be dead even when in circulation. So on the
tomb of Campus Evangelism we nobly inscribe Died in Action. The
tombs of others will deserve no better than At Last Dead Without
Ever Really Living.
Want
a Challenge?
Occasionally
someone writes us who wants to do something different and daring for
the Lord. Not often, but sometimes. If you are such a one, then you
should investigate the work of the Ridgewood congregation in Toledo,
ministered to by Floyd Rose and others. They are cooperating with the
Shiloh program that brings whites and blacks together in Christian
work in the slums of Brooklyn and elsewhere. More than that (and here
is where you might come in) they are encouraging white families to
move to Toledo and help desegregate a black congregation and help in
the work among the deprived in that city.
So,
you would pull up stakes, move to Toledo, identify with a black
congregation, get yourself a job, and go to work for Jesus—”black
and white together.” Write to Floyd Rose, Ridgewood Church of
Christ, 1818 Ridgewood Ave., Toledo, Ohio 43608. Young people
interested in working in the ghettoes and camps should write Rick
Kilgore, Box 627, Mendham, N. J. 07945.
Unity
Meet in Lubbock
The
Fifth Annual Unity Forum will be held in Lubbock, July 2-4, on the
campus of Lubbock Christian College. Sponsored by a committee of
brethren of the non-class Churches of Christ, it is a continuation of
unity gatherings that began at Bethany College in 1966. Last year it
was conducted in West Islip, New York. Each year thus far it has been
sponsored by a different group of the Restoration Movement. The theme
in Lubbock will be Unity Now! The list of speakers is still
tentative, but representative men have been invited. Emphasis is
being placed on panel discussions and audience participation, with a
free and open atmosphere. There will also be sharing services in
which anyone will be free to express his views and concerns in a
context of love and understanding.
Housing
information and other data is available from Thomas Langford, 3703
48th St., Lubbock 79409.
Lubbock
makes a good vacation spot, so why not plan for the time of your
life?
Matters
of Interest
A
booklet will be appearing soon, published by Full Gospel Business
Men’s Fellowship International, entitled The Church of
Christ and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which will contain
testimonies from spirit-filled Church of Christ men such as medical
doctors, college professors, missionaries, ministers, industrialists,
merchants, teachers, actors, executives, architects, etc., men of
such stature that they cannot be dismissed casually. It is becoming
such a momentous movement that any review of restoration will have to
deal with this full-throated attack on the walls which continue to
separate the Church of Christ from first century Christianity. Seven
days around in silence, but then the trumpet! God’s will be
done to bring us all to Him.—a Reader
The
booklet referred to is one of a series. There is one on the Baptists
and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, one on the Episcopalians,
Presbyterians, etc. We didn’t think it would happen to us, did
we? It is true that the list of those among us who have been so
blessed by the Spirit is a pretentious one, and for the most part
these people have not left us. They are staying to see if they cannot
love us around to a more spiritual way of life. Good for them! The
booklet should make interesting reading, and we will try to make it
available to our readers. But the reader may be over-indulging when
he suggests that such distinguished folk cannot be dismissed
casually. I am afraid that that is exactly what will happen to them.
They will be “dismissed,” casually or otherwise. But we
are finding it increasingly difficult to run people off that won’t
leave!
You
notice that he raises the question as to whether we really want to be
a first century church. Really, we don’t fit the first century
any better than the twentieth. Somebody has suggested we are second
century!
It
seems that the Churches of Christ are growing while becoming unglued.
Several preachers have joined our free and open discussion group. One
has been fired, not for speaking in tongues, but because he has
restudied his former position. I hope you continue toward positive
contribution in the confusion we now find ourselves in.—Ohio
We
had a sign up not too long ago on our highway billboard that read,
“The church of God is the church of Christ,” and “The
church of God meets here.”—Tennessee
I
have never met you, but I appreciate you far more than you will ever
know. When I read your periodical each month, I am heartened again
that maybe there is hope for the Church of Christ after all. May God
bless you and yours.—Houston
There is a positive ring about these letters, which are similar to numerous others, confirming the conclusion of the last excerpt that “There is hope for the Church of Christ after all.” Things are changing with us, and for the most part it is for the better. We are becoming unglued, even when getting unglued means getting fired. And how about our folk erecting a sign reading “The church of God meets here.” That is surely a first even for these changing times.
|
Four
bound volumes of Restoration Review are now available.
These are: Resources of Power (1966) Things That Matter Most (1967) The Quest of God (1968) Renewal
Through Recovery (1969) These
are 3.00 each while the supply lasts. The present volume will
also be put in a matching volume under the title The New
Humanity, which you can order for next year to be assured of
getting a copy. Subscriptions
remain only 1.00 a year, but we urge you to subscribe or renew
two years at a time. The bonus rate of 6 names for 3.00
still goes, and we encourage you to make use of this inexpensive
way of getting this journal to those who need it. RESTORATION REVIEW, *1201 Windsor Drive, Denton, Texas 76201 |
* Current Contact Information:
Leroy
Garrett, 1300 Woodlake Drive, Denton, TX 76205
leroy.ouida@worldnet.att.net