READER'S EXCHANGE

 

Your readers will be sad, indeed, when Restoration Review no longer shows up in our mail boxes, but we all understand that a lot of effort is required on your and Ouida’s part, and that you deserve a rest and a change of pace. It has been a great work and you will leave a great legacy. It continues to be a challenging and inspiring publication and I am sure it will be through the last issue.—Don Owens, Laguna Niguel, Ca.

I can’t believe that you are on your last two years. I am not worried about you, however, for you have a real facility for making the most out of your life.—Max Foster, Arkansas City, Ks.

I am 84 years old and have been a member of the Church of Christ for 50 years. I have enjoyed your magazine. It has helped me search and understand the scriptures better.—M. T. Fort, Oxford, Fl.

For years I have been struggling to leave the Church of Christ due to a lack of freedom in Christ. We preach that salvation is not by works, but our doctrine and behavior prove otherwise. I can no longer worship with those who believe that a piano is not only a sin but an unpardonable one. I will no longer tolerate those who believe that we are the only ones saved, and that all good Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, and other God-fearing people are bound for hell. I will no longer listen to preachers who have to apologize for preaching salvation by grace. The silly things that divide us are pathetic. In my community of 55,000 there are six to ten Churches of Christ, all divided. One church is known for not eating in the building. One church I grew up in disfellowshipped my sister because she married a divorced man. She never steps in the door of one of our churches. I would have left long ago, but I stayed out of hope for change. It is not for everyone to stay.—Indiana (Name and address withheld)

I am amazed that Freed-Hardeman allowed my friends Bob Randolph from M.I.T. and Lynn Mitchell from the Bering Drive church in Houston even to open their mouths on the subject of women in the church. Change has even hit Freed-Hardeman! It was your alma mater that allowed two men to say that men and women are equal, and men are not more equal than women. You will have to read the book that came out of this, Gender and Ministry, FHU, 1990.—Norman Parks, Murfreesboro, Tn.

I enjoyed your comments on simplicity. They reminded me of a statement made by my homiletics teacher. “Boys,” he said, “don’t try to say anything profound, just try Nor to say anything stupid.”—Paul DuBois, Arlington, Tx.

It is hard for me to believe that I just accepted the things I heard about you and Ketcherside. I am sorry that it took me so many years to get my eyes opened. I praise God that I’m now free in Christ and no longer the judge of others. Thanks to Cecil Hook, Charles Holt, and Leroy Garrett that I and many others freed from legalism can now go to the Word and let it speak to us in spite of our traditions. I have had the privilege of personally thanking Hook and Holt, and I pray that I might one day be able to thank you personally. But if I don’t, please know that I am grateful for the work you have done and the blessings it has brought to so many people, including myself. Praise God!—Doyce Hall, Little Rock, Ar.