| OUR CHANGING WORLD |
Gary Cummings, formerly a Church of Christ minister and a pacifist, joined the
Quakers sometime back and enrolled in their graduate school in Earlham, In. He
now ministers to a Quaker church (the type that has a settled pastor) in West
River, In., which is 155 years old, dating back to 1825. He sent us a brochure
that pictures the elegant old meetinghouse and a description of their service:
"Most of all we seek to worship our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In the
singing, the silence, and the spoken word we are confronted by Christ." The
surprise in the brochure is that the church has a "cry room." We supposed that
Quaker children did not cry, especially at church! We are wondering if Gary's
case might be the first time ever that a Church of Christ minister, educated at
Abilene, became a Quaker minister.
Kenneth Pries, First Christian Church, 725 Jay St., Colusa, Ca. 95932, announces
a "Restoration Roots Rally" that includes Frank Pack of Pepperdine University,
Robert Fife of Westwood Foundation, and Karl Irvin, Jr. Northern California
Disciples regional minister. The dates are Oct. 29-Nov. 1, and you should write
to Kenneth for further information or call him at 916-458-4270. You should
attend this significant event if possible, and we hope to carry a report of it.
During the summer Time ran an article on Karl Barth, drawn from the
publication of his Letters 1961-1968, which you can order from us
at 18.95. The article tells how Barth once wrote to a German prisoner
contemplating suicide: "Regarding your prayers. How do you know they are in
vain? God has his own time, and he may well know the right moment to lift the
double shadow that now lies over your life."
Nelson Page, 12504 Lamp Post, Austin, Tx. 78758, is willing to share information
with you about the Prison Fellowship program. They are conducting studies in the
new Federal prison in nearby Bastrop, and they plan to bring in gospel music
groups and conduct seminars.
ACU is conducting its 15th annual preachers' fellowship day on Sept. 17, during
which the featured speakers will present their favorite sermons.
M. E. Gray, 30 years in the ministry, wrote a letter to the elders of the East
Main Church of Christ in Tupelo, Ms. commending them for hiring a preacher who
"teaches more Bible truth and more unpleasant historical truth about our
mounting problems than we have cared to face up to." He goes on to say: "Our
Church of Christ traditions have been a veil of vanity and ignorance over our
eyes to hide many Bible truths from us. We need to decide whether we intend to
be Christians only or continue to be Pharisees, legalists, Campbellites, or
sectarians, as we have been, while saying that we were none of these."
Talmadge McNabb, amused by our article on the Church of Christ being for sale,
sent us a newspaper clipping, the heading of which read HOLY SPIRIT WINS TROPHY.
He thought maybe the churches had capitulated and had recognized the Spirit's
mission in the life of the believer, bestowing a trophy, only to learn that it
was a report on a sports event at the local Catholic high school. Talmadge
knows, of course, that it is the Holy Spirit that gives the trophies!
Ouida and I have kept up through the years with a Church of Christ defector,
Curtis Lydic, an old friend who has gone into metascience religion and now has
his own university of metaphysics. We are impressed with the subject offerings,
such as planetary healing and metasexuality, but the one that really tempts me
is out-of-body travel! Another of our defectors, Warren Lewis, a Tubingen,
Ph.D., went to the Moonies, to teach at their seminary at least, though he never
really joined the sect. Anyway, the Rev. Moon has summarily fired him, but we do
not yet have the details on why. But should he want to "Come back home," to use
Editor Lemmons' terminology, I should think he has taken the first big step.
Fired by Moon! Only a lunatic would not be impressed by that.