OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

There is no question but what Churches of Christ are changing, some of the changes being rather dramatic. The bulletin of the Southern Hills church in Tulsa tells of a dedication service for a newly born child. The “prayer of dedication” was given by Waymon Miller, an honored “war horse” that has seen many a battle for the Lord. He is the brother we quoted from recently who found a wonderful fellowship with Baptists and the like on the sea of Galilee. We rejoice that the leopard can change his spots! I must say, however, that I do not quite understand this business of dedicating to the Lord what is already His. Shall we round up the cattle on a thousand hills and bundle up the countless stars and dedicate them to their creator? Maybe a dedication service for a newly born child means that the parents are committing themselves before the church to bring the little one up in the nurture of the Lord. Or maybe it means that we like what the Presbyterians do and want to do something akin to it. But I am not being cranky about it. I am only pointing out that down the road things are going to be different, and I believe most of it will be for the better.

There are few men that I admired as much as I did William L. “Bill” Thompson, who died on Oct. 8, a short time after being a guest in our home, the last of his many trips away from his home in Aurora, Illinois. He was most helpful to me with my history book, and I imposed on him even when he was ill, asking him questions by phone. Hardly anyone understood the innards of the three churches of the Movement as he did, especially the Christian Church and the Disciples. Now and again I was made to marvel at his perceptive mind, and I was always impressed with his charitable attitude toward all. He was truly Christ-like. During his last visit with us we spoke and prayed together concerning the blessed hope. For a long time he was director of the European Evangelistic Society and was the first full-time administrator of the Christian Missionary Fellowship. The present director of the latter wrote of Bill in Impact: “He was gifted with an exceptional mind which he developed through wide reading and deep thinking. With some exception, our Movement was unready for his kind of thinking. He was a mission theologian and strategist whose conclusions were unrecognized and largely unused. Bill knew the nature of the Plea and of essential Christianity. He knew the nature of fellowship and of teamwork.” Yes, our Movement was unready for his kind of thinking, for he was not an “undenominational” sectarian. Bill’s life inspires me to help get our people ready for his kind of thinking.

Leroy and Ouida Garrett are joining David Reagan, who is now an expert in the field, in a trip to Israel, Nov. 8-18 of this year, which is the best time to go. He is allowing me to invite readers of this journal to go along on a joint-sponsorship basis. The cost is $1700 per person from New York. This is a rare opportunity and is worth the sacrifice. Special features: flight is directly to Tel Aviv, which avoids long delay with Arab security; stay in 5-star hotels (the very best), including the famous King David in Jerusalem; cost includes all transportation, meals, taxes, lodging, etc.; a proven Israeli guide that is retained by Dave Reagan for all his tours; Israel is covered from Dan to Beersheba; it is a study pilgrimage as well as sight-seeing, with devotionals at major sites and evening study sessions. Please inform us at once if you are interested, for the number is limited. We will send you a brochure.