OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

Ouida thought she was in for a boring time when she saw all the old folk that had gathered for the golden anniversary of my graduating class at Abilene Christian University, but she found out that they weren’t so old after all. The first old classmate we met was a dear sister who has been reading this journal for years and rejoices over every issue, and we didn’t know it. That got us off to a good start. We had a great time reminiscing; no one seemed to remember what a rebel I was back in those days. We all had fun telling each other that we had not changed a bit! Walter Adams, now 94, who was dean of the college back in those days and a long time afterward (He handed out 10,000 degrees as dean!) met with us and handed out diplomas to us as he had done 50 years before, this time inducting us into the ACU Golden Anniversary Club. The all-male quartet that sang together back in 1942 sang together once more. It was all a touching experience. Ouida is glad she went along.

We also had a good time together in Austin where I spoke at the Westlake Church of Christ on our heritage, and stayed in the home of old friends Dot and Max Watson. Max, a roommate of mine at ACU, is an elder at Westlake and Dot works for the state. We were impressed with Westlake’s rented facility, adequate in every way and they don’t have to worry about owning property, and they can move when they please. Not a bad way to do it. We also visited the Institute for Christian Studies and had a delightful time with the faculty at lunch, a faculty that is so qualified that it appears over-qualified for an undergraduate institution, though it will soon offer a graduate program. It may well be the most favorable place to get an academic biblical education among Churches of Christ. Being a ministry of the University Church of Christ it also has the advantage of being closer to the churches. Ann Grey, a secretary at ICS, was our gracious hostess for the trip. Ouida and I see her as nothing less than angelic.

Church of Christ leaders appear to be joining other denominational leaders in recognizing that the church in general is “Dying for Change,” as the title of one concerned book puts it. Flavil Yeakley, Jr., director of the Center for Church Growth at Harding U., recently addressed a seminar at Harding on the subject of change. He said the barriers to change are more psychological and sociological than they are theological. He indicated that our elders in general are negative to change in their desire to preserve stability, while ministers are generally open to change. He sees this as a possible cause of much of the tension between elders and ministers. He advised that change must be implemented in a way that promotes unity. He thinks the way to do this is to maintain stability in essentials of the faith while effecting change in matters of method.

I am presently reading with great interest William Martin’s A Prophet With Honor, which is an authorized biography of Billy Graham. I am pleased that the most definitive study of this century’s greatest evangelist should be done by an old, respected friend, a graduate of both ACU and Harvard and a professor at Rice. It is more than a portrayal of Graham. It is rich in Americana and is in part a study of Fundamentalism/Evangelicalism. Graham appears to hold on loosely to both an yet be ecumenical, and he thinks of himself, probably rightly, as a world evangelist more than an American evangelist, actually a world evangelist-statesman. Mar-tin is impressed that after 40 years as a televangelist Graham remains scandal-free, both financially and sexually, a prophet with honor. This is because Graham exercises fastidious caution to avoid any appearance of evil. Martin also sees him as a pious man with uncommon sincerity. He tells how Graham reads both Psalms and Proverbs as part of his daily devotions, the Psalms to relate better to God, the Proverbs to relate better to man. But William Martin’s wit and humor also shines through. He tells how Graham hates being late for an appointment (Who doesn’t?) but says he doesn’t mind waiting on others. Martin ad libs that visitors should not take that statement seriously! And I delight in such Martinisms as “sobersided midwest Evangelicals”!

Some members of the Richardson East Church of Christ in Dallas, including minister Larry James, went across town to meet with the Gladewater Missionary Baptist Church, a black congregation, on a recent Sunday morning to pray for unity between their people and for peace in our troubled country. Even though the meeting, part of a project sponsored by the Greater Dallas Community of Churches, was planned before the Los Angeles riot that tragedy was felt at the gathering. The black church is located in a seamy part of south Dallas near a crack house and a bootlegging operation. The black minister spoke of the appropriateness of such a gathering “seeing that the forces of evil are taking their toll.” The white minister referred to the King verdict and said it had taught him “how tenuous life is in America, how fragile justice is, and how much we need each other.” The white Church of Christ in north Dallas has 1,000 members, the black church in south Dallas only 30. A Dallas newspaper carried the story in a four-column spread along with a picture of the combined congregations in prayer. Here is an instance of “our going to them,” which is the way to do it. Don’t you suppose this is better than gathering for a big debate?

Roman Catholic authorities are fearful that “two churches” may emerge in Europe, dividing Catholicism, one progressive and the other traditional. The seed of the possible rupture is that the “tough” bishops of the ex-Communist nations, some of whom have only recently emerged from “underground,” distrust the western church and consider it decadent. While the secular press gave it little attention, the pope recently convened a synod of Europe’s bishops to deal with the problem.