OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

J. C. Reed, longtime missionary to Guatemala, reports that he and his wife Mim delivered a baby one night in a home in Santa Elena. J. C., whose son Ralph serves as a Wycliffe translator in Mexico, runs a ranch and does radio evangelism in Flores, Peten as part of his diverse ministry to the Guatemalans, which sometimes includes being a lay doctor.

About twenty Church of Christ families have settled in at the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Chattanooga in recent years. This took place gradually and from more than one Church of Christ, and the response from one of these, an old-line preacher family, indicates that all is well: “Such happiness and enthusiasm you’ve never seen, or at least we have not!”

Jerry Jones, who has become even more famous recently by being fired by Harding University, was at the unity conference conducted last month by the University Church of Christ in Conway, Arkansas. Jerry told those gathered from all three churches of our Movement that many in Churches of Christ would leave if they had to, even if it meant a sacrifice of doctrine, and go where they can hear Christ preached. He said he based this upon extensive contact with our churches in recent months.

At that same conference, which we hope to say more about in our next issue, Alan Hicks told of a Church of Christ in Nashville, where Rubel Shelley ministers, that became so repentant of its sectarian past that they went out into their neighborhood door-to-door and apologized for being sectarian through the years. Don’t you know that blew people’s minds: Church of Christ folk in Nashville knocking at their door and apologizing for being sectarians! Who can say our world isn’t changing?

I have letters from two participants of last fall’s lectureship conducted here in Denton by the Pearl St. Church of Christ, one of which explains why he did not appear on the program after being scheduled, while the other indicates that it might have been better had he not appeared. When the first one was told that he could use only certain versions of the Bible, he opted not to appear personally. But his manuscript was read in his absence, with the statement made, so he was told, that he could not substantiate his position no matter what version he used! The other brother supposed he was to be part of an objective study of prophecy, but found himself in an atmosphere of debate. He at last filed this complaint with the brother who turned out to be his antagonist: you are more interested in refuting my position than in understanding it. We have all been guilty of that, and this may be the root of many of our problems. And sometimes we do not understand another’s position because we don’t want to understand it. That is hardly being teachable, which is essential to being truly Christian. As for the Pearl St. church, where I have sat many, many hours listening (with appreciation) to others, I will be pleased to set forth my position on unity and fellowship at one of their lectureships and use only the King James Version, which I dearly love, though I agree with the brother referred to above that we should not pontificate about versions. Perhaps we should not pontificate at all!