OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

The United Presbyterian Church had its General Assembly in Hartford, Ct. during the summer. On hand was a renewal group known as Presbyterians United for Biblical Concerns. These “evangelicals,” as they call themselves, are seeking spiritual renewal among Presbyterians. They showed a film on “Stirrings of the Spirit,” which depicts renewal at some seminaries and churches. For 20 years this group has hung in, seeking “to fire spiritual awakening in the denomination.” They work from within, peacefully, and do not cease being Presbyterians. They may get discouraged, but they stay with it. Twenty years!

We regret to report that one of our leading ministers in the Church of Christ, Wes Reagan, longtime minister of one of our renewal churches, Burke Rd. in Houston, is now a member of the First Methodist Church in Pasadena. Wes suffered long with our people, urging them to hang in and work and hope for a better day Since he himself did not stay and continue the struggle for a freer and more responsible Church of Christ, some of his people are confused and discouraged. We must remember the Biblical principle To each his own. Wes will be a blessing wherever he is, and we will keep on loving him and accepting him. The rest of us, who cannot go that direction, will stay where we are (like the Presbyterians above!) and continue the work for renewal where God has planted us. In time God will grant the harvest in his way, not our way.

William S. Banowsky, another eminent Church of Christ minister, has not left the Church of Christ, but he has left the University of Oklahoma, where he has been president for several years, to become president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Bill is about the only preacher among us that ministers ecumenically, to various denominations as a guest lecturer, and is still accepted (sort of) by the powers that be in the Church of Christ. But then again, how many are there that dare to be that free? With time this will change. More and more of our leaders will break the bonds of exclusivism and become a part of the church at large (and will they love it!), and it will become acceptable, even welcomed. We must believe! So Bill Banowsky may be a pathfinder as well as president of this and that, which he must find boring.

Through the years Harding University has gained the reputation of being somewhat “right wing” in economics and politics. But what they do they do well. Their economics team came to Dallas recently and won the national championship in the 1982 Students in Free Enterprise competition. They also won in 1981 and were co-champs in 1980. Harding faculty and students also did mission work this summer, 300 of them, in nations all over the world, by passing out literature and knocking on doors.

There are two stories about animals that we must share with our readers. David Vanarsdall in Wasilla, Alaska writes of a bear rattling the door of their church during Sunday services. But the poor thing was denied entrance and was chased away by a brother. Dr. Bob Lane of Calico Rock, Arkansas tells how his little dog was at death’s door due to an invasion of ticks. Testing his blood and finding him far short of red corpuscles, the doctor put the family’s larger dog to sleep and performed a blood transfusion, saving the little fellow’s life. We agreed that Bob’s children would probably remember that bit of surgery more than all the others the doctor will ever perform.