Part 13

Then our tracts in the church lobby may be used to serve a good purpose. I’m glad that Brother Billingsley has taken the initiative in providing some racks for them, because the truth should be displayed just as effectively as possible. I believe that you will agree that in the past the tracts in the lobby have not been attractively arranged. If I should preach a sermon as ragged in its appearance as that display of tracts has been, you would fire me. You’d say you didn’t want the truth wrapped up in that sort of a garment. We need to look out after details and take advantage of every possible means to make the preaching of the gospel more effective. Paul said, “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you” (1 Cor. 9:19-23).

VI Personal Evangelism

In addition to all these methods, personal evangelism should be greatly emphasized. Here is perhaps the greatest weakness in the method of the churches of Christ today. On this point, we are allowing some advocates of error to run circles around us. Here is a great unworked field which, when properly worked, will bring results of which we have not yet dreamed.

The Bible does not command people to come to our public meetings. If we can reach them by these public meetings, that’s fine. If we can persuade them to come so that we may preach the gospel to a large number at once, that’s fine. But what will we do for those who don’t come? The Bible says “Go.” We have not fully discharged our duty when we invite people to come to us. And we haven’t always invited them! There are, I am sure, hundreds of people living almost in sight of this building who have not received a personal invitation to attend the meetings at this place.

They ought to receive at least a personal invitation. But even then, that’s not sufficient. If they still don’t come, it becomes our duty to go to them. Have we obeyed the great commission, even in reference to East Nashville, until we do so? It will help a great deal if we have a prospect file, both general and individual. Every good insurance agent in this town has a prospect file. He knows to whom he will try to sell insurance in the next few days. And we ought to use the same practical common sense in executing the work of the Lord that men use in selling insurance.

I went to a place one time to hold a meeting where they had made very elaborate preparations. They had appointed many committees. They had an advertising committee, a publicity committee, a parking committee, a flower committee, and an ushering committee, and everything else you can think of except one little item. They had failed to consider who might be saved during the meeting, and when I asked one of the elders whom he expected to be baptized, he hesitated, thought for a while, and finally named one of the boys who had been coming to the services. They expected to have forty or fifty additions, but they had never thought about who these additions would be.

What would you think of an automobile salesman with no prospects in mind, who went in on Monday morning and told the sales manager that he was going to sell five automobiles during the week? The sales manager would probably ask, “Well, to whom?” The agent would reply, “Oh, I don’t know; I just believe there must be five people in town who’ll buy from me this week.” Do you think the sales manager would be encouraged? Why he would realize that the salesman didn’t know what he was talking about. Every congregation ought to have a prospect list, and every individual worker in the Lord’s kingdom ought to have a prospect list. Whom will you try to save during the next twelve months? Every Christian should be a soul winner for Jesus, and you can lead someone to Christ if you are willing to be used by him in so doing. There is much more that could be said along this line if time permitted.

One congregation has used very effectively the method of community Bible classes. When the members could not get people to come to their meeting-house, they carried Bible classes to the communities where the people lived. Some good Christian who had the respect of his neighbors invited those neighbors to his home for Bible study and had the preacher there to help with the teaching. At Richmond, Virginia, most of the additions which they have had during the last six months have come from just such a source. If this little method were put in effect in the city of Nashville by all the congregations, it would revolutionize this town in just a few months.

VII The Case of Mary Doe

The thing I’m trying to impress upon your minds is that we have not been using all the means or methods which God has placed at our disposal. Let me make the point just as concrete and effective as possible by using a definite example. (Maybe it’s indefinite in some respects.) Suppose that we have a young lady brought up here in our own community, maybe not living more than two or three blocks from our church building. We will call her Mary Doe. What are the chances that she will learn the truth from our program of evangelism? We’ll say that she has been reared by parents who go regularly to a denominational church. They’ve been taking her there ever since she was a tiny baby. They’ve taught her to believe in their particular denomination. They have built up within her a denominational pride and a sense of loyalty to the church of her parents.

At that church, she never hears the complete plan of salvation. She hears some nice, moral lectures. She goes to the Bible classes and discusses current events and general social problems. If she’s like many such young people, she does not read the Bible very systematically herself. She may read it occasionally, but not consistently and understandingly. The chances are that Mary Doe will never learn the proper division of the word. She might live in such an environment for fifty years and never learn the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant.

Perhaps she and her mother ride by our building sometime and she says, “Mother, what church is that?” The mother replies, “Oh, that’s the church of Christ” or maybe she’ll say, “The Campbellite church. They think baptism alone saves you.” Well, Mary Doe believes that, even though it isn’t true. Consequently she’ll probably never come to one of our meetings. Very likely she’ll never read any of our literature. How shall we reach Mary Doe?

Probably her best chance to learn the truth is through her contact with our own children in the public schools. That is a common meeting place, and I suspect Mary will be more likely to have an intimate contact with a member of the church at school than at any other place. Had you ever thought about that as an opportunity for evangelizing East Nashville? I wonder if our boys and girls in school are taking advantage of their opportunity. Have you realized what a wonderful opportunity it is, and are you behaving yourself in such a way as to demand respect from your fellow students that you may be able to teach them the truth? Or do you so misbehave that you would be a little bit embarrassed to undertake to show them the difference between truth and error? There is a golden opportunity for personal evangelism that might be used even by a school boy or girl in leading many people unto the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Personal evangelism then may be carried out through personal contact at school, through personal contact at work, and through personal contact at play or in our social relationships.

VIII House To House Calls

And, finally, my friends, it might be possible that before we could reach Mary Doe and the several thousand people whom she represents, we would have to start down the street and go from house to house and call upon every home. It could be possible that Mary would not be thrown with any member of the church, even in her association at school. Do you believe we can claim to have fully and completely met our responsibility, in preaching the gospel to the people of East Nashville, until we have gone from house to house as the apostle Paul did, and as some denominations are doing today, and taken the message to them? That is almost an unused opportunity and method of preaching the gospel to those who have not yet heard it, and yet it is a very practical and a very effective one.

IX Prayer

I would like to climax all of this by saying that prayer should be used in our effort to carry out the great commission. If you have faithfully and diligently engaged in all of these activities mentioned, and any others of like nature that could be mentioned, then you can consistently pray to God to help you in accomplishing your purpose. That’s the reason I put prayer at the end of the list. For prayer should not be used without being accompanied by every possible effort on our part. Neither of these methods, nor any other that might be named, should be used exclusively. They should all be used, working together to help us fulfill our obligation to preach the gospel to our neighbors.

Now I had hoped to have time to talk about the other phase of the first division of our outline—preaching the gospel to other communities—but the clock on the wall says that the time is gone and so we have to close with the promise that there will be more to follow. If you’ll come back tonight, I’ll give you a mimeographed outline of the lessons which are being used both this morning and tonight.

In just a moment we’re going to sing the song that has been announced. That is our means of urging you to accept the Lord’s invitation to come to him and let him save you. If you have been guilty of committing just one sin which has not yet been forgiven, that sin must be forgiven before you can go to heaven, because no sin can enter there, and no sin can be forgiven for those who have never obeyed the gospel by faith (Acts 16:31-33), repentance (Luke 13:3), confession (Acts 16:37), and baptism (Acts 2:38). Those who have turned aside since being baptized may be forgiven if they’ll come back repenting, confessing their faults, and praying for forgiveness. The gospel invitation is yours. While we stand and sing we urge you to accept it.

XIII CONGREGATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES (_Continued_)

I promise you in the beginning that I do not mean to discuss all of this outline (See pages 196-198) at this time. It covers in a general way the entire program of work that God wants His church to do. The scope of this work is so broad that we have to break it down in order to study it practically and effectively. Those who are directing the work of the church need to study it in its separate parts as well as in its entirety. This main list of objectives—evangelistic, devotional, instructional, looking after members individually, practical training, beneficent work, and incidentals—covers the field entirely. Every Scriptural function of the church is included in at least one of these general headings. I do not mean that the lists of activities under the main headings are complete. They are not necessarily so. In most instances they are incomplete. They are _suggestive_ rather than _exhaustive_.

I Use of Outline

I would like for you to take this outline home with you and study it with two or three questions in mind. First, what can you do to help advance the work of the church? Look over this list of activities and write into this outline any others which, in your judgment, would be scriptural in nature and help to make the work of the church more effective. These objectives are Scriptural, therefore, we want to do everything in our power to reach them. In order for the church to attain these objectives, it must have the co-operation of every member. There is something in this general program that _you_ can do! Perhaps you’ll find _many_ places where you can be of service, and you know it is your duty to render whatever service you can to make the Lord’s work as successful as possible.

These objectives being Scriptural, this outline may help the overseers in their work of edifying the church. Please remember that we are engaged in the greatest work in all the world—the work of saving souls! We are undertaking to accomplish a divine task, one which has been assigned to us by the God of heaven. In His work we ought to do our very best, remembering that one soul is worth more than all the material wealth in the world. We should leave nothing undone that will contribute toward our success.

Some constructive work was done in our business meeting this afternoon. A committee was appointed to plan the missionary program of the church for the year. This committee is to give some very careful study to the selection of the most appropriate fields and the amount that should be invested in each. The results of their study, including the program they recommend for the next fiscal year, will be announced at the next meeting of the overseers. This is a very practical step. It is a definite step in the right direction. It pertains to Item No. 2 under our evangelistic objectives as shown on the outline.

Another committee was appointed to study our Sunday morning Bible school program and to make recommendations for improving it. That’s Item No. 2 under our instructional objective. So that makes two items on this list that will be given very careful study by committees that have been appointed for that purpose. We know that our Thursday evening meeting has been very much improved by giving a little more thought to planning the program. I believe that that meeting can be even further improved, and I am also convinced that similar improvements may be brought about in every other phase of the church’s work if the proper study and careful planning is devoted to it. I am hoping that every item in this outline will be given thoughtful consideration by those who are responsible for the work at Chapel Avenue for the sake of improving every phase of our work and worship.

We are told to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. God would not be pleased with a secondary place in our lives, and that means, among other things, that our program of work in the church should be given our best thought, our most careful consideration, and our most diligent support.

II Sending Messages

I want to say a few things tonight under Item No. 2 of our evangelistic program. God tells us to go into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature. We discussed some methods this morning that might be used in carrying out that responsibility in our own neighborhood. Now, the question arises, “What can we do about preaching in communities that are too far away to receive any direct benefit from our local program of services and personal work?”

One method which we have been using recently is that of distributing tracts. We have published 70,000 tracts for free distributions. Bro. Shacklett reported this afternoon in the business meeting that the most of this supply has already been distributed. He probably has enough calls on his desk now to more than exhaust the remainder. If it is not too optimistic to assume that each one of those tracts has been read by at least one person, that’s the equivalent of preaching a sermon to 70,000 people, which certainly is no small consideration!

And I happen to know that those who are selling tracts on a commercial basis, at least some of them best known to me, are making from 100 to 200 per cent profit. The tracts that cost us less than 1 cent each, are being sold by those who are in it for the money at 2½ cents each. That means that by spending less than one penny we can give to these missionary fields a service that would cost them on the market 2½ cents. Therefore, from a financial point of view, by giving away tracts instead of giving the money with which to buy tracts, we are making a great saving.

The response that has been received from this work is very encouraging. If we had time, we would like to read some of the letters that have been received. In addition to the tracts distributed by Chapel Avenue, the church at Madison has made a very wide distribution of one of the same tracts, and is now contemplating publishing 100,000 with which to answer the calls they are receiving. That seems to be one good means of carrying the gospel to those of other communities who have not heard it. And, remember, it is our duty to use every legitimate means at our disposal.

The next item on your outline is radio preaching. There has been some talk of a national radio program, and no doubt that would do a great deal of good. There is some question as to whether the money that such a program would cost might not accomplish more good if spent in some other way. That’s a question which I, personally, would not know how to decide. But we do know that the radio is being used very extensively on a local basis in various missionary fields of our country, and those who are engaged in that work are pleased with the results.

However, trying to whip the devil by using the radio is somewhat like trying to whip the Germans by fighting them from the air. A great deal can be accomplished but the battle cannot be completely won until we go in person. Radio work, to be as effective and fruitful as it ought to be, must be followed up by personal contact. Those who become interested by means of radio preaching ought to be contacted and encouraged to render complete obedience to the commandments of the gospel.

III Sending Money

A third way in which we can help to attain this objective of preaching the gospel to the entire world is by sending financial support to missionary fields and to preachers working in those fields. In that respect the church at Chapel Avenue has been very active and no doubt will continue to be. In fact, we have just about gone as far as we can go with the present means at our disposal, and I think it would not be out of order to tell you that in the business meeting this evening another man was put on the payroll at $200 per month, on a temporary basis, hoping that when the congregation learns about it, they will increase their contribution enough to cover this cost. Those who are managing the financial affairs believe that the present income is not sufficient to warrant this additional expense, but they have acted upon their faith in you, upon their confidence in you, that your knowledge of this increased need will bring about an increased response. I do not believe that you will betray that confidence!

The man added to the payroll has a family of six children and recently resigned a job paying him several hundred dollars per month as district manager for an insurance company in order to devote his entire time to preaching the gospel. With a charter membership of about ten souls, twenty-four people were present for the initial meeting last Lord’s Day. This man seems to be well qualified for the task which he has undertaken, and we believe he will accomplish great results.

There are certain items listed in your outline which we believe should characterize our work of supporting missionaries. It is my conviction that regular and complete reports should be received from those who are being supported. Brother Estevez made a fine talk along that line here last Sunday afternoon. Brother Gregory gave us a splendid report of his work this morning. I believe that one reason the Chapel Avenue church has continued to be so vitally interested in the work at Kingsport is that one of our elders is on the job there and keeps the congregation here acquainted with what is being done.

Furthermore, the workers to be used in these fields should be selected very carefully. You ought to be just as careful about selecting some man to preach for you in North Carolina as you are about selecting some one to preach for you here. It seems to me that the two cases are exactly parallel in that respect. We ought to be just as much concerned about who preaches for us over there as we are about who preaches for us here. If such a policy were followed by all the churches it would bring about a distinct improvement and prevent considerable embarrassment.

In addition, the man selected should be well supported. It’s worth just as much to preach in Kingsport or North Carolina or Louisiana or some other place as it is to preach in Nashville, and when the men have equal responsibility and equal qualifications, it seems to me that they ought to be equally well supported. Certainly the man in the field ought to be supported well enough that he will not be cramped in his work or distracted by concern about how he will meet the next month’s grocery bill.

Remember that it is _our_ work when we send a man out to a field like that, and it would be inconsistency and folly on our part to send one without supplying him with the resources necessary for the success of his work. Something in addition to his bare living ought to be provided. He should have funds with which to operate. Think about how much it costs to carry on a program of work here, by way of advertising, maintaining a meeting place and supporting a radio program and all that sort of thing. In some ways it is more expensive in those fields than it is here. For instance, we have fifty other congregations in Nashville to help us advertise the cause of Christ in this city. In those fields the little mission church has to take all this responsibility by itself. It has to bear all the cost of supporting a radio program, publishing articles in the daily paper, and of carrying on all of these varied activities that are listed under our local program of evangelism.

No business concern would send a man to some field to represent it and work for it without furnishing him with the support necessary for success in his work. I am convinced that it would be wiser and better in the long run to have a few men in the field fully supported than to have several that are but half supported, and therefore handicapped and unable to accomplish what should be accomplished.

It is also my conviction that the church which furnishes the money is also obligated to supervise the use of that money. I do not suggest that we dictate to churches at other places, for there is no one who believes more firmly in congregational autonomy than do I. Every congregation must be entirely independent. But, surely, if you have a man preaching for you in the state of North Carolina, or some other place, it is your duty to know what he is doing, what he is accomplishing, and whether it would be well for him to continue there or to move to some other community.