Introduction (I) by John Mark Hicks, Ph.D.
Introduction1
Thirty one years ago, in 1962, the editor of the Firm Foundation feared that a major shift was underway among Churches of Christ. If we do not "keep [our] heads" and "stay on [our] feet," he counseled, we will be swept away by the "changing current." That current, as he identified it, was the "liberal left." Lemmons noted that the coming "battle" would be with the "liberal left." It would involve polemical discussions over whether any apostolic examples are binding, whether "fellowship should embrace all those who have the new birth," whether there are "Christians in all the churches," and whether it is biblical "to partake of the Lord's supper on Thursday night." A new group was emerging within Churches of Christ which, while rebelling against legalism, was overreacting by embracing "liberalism."2
These words by Reuel Lemmons reflect a shift in concern by the editor. While the previous decade was spent defending the center against the right in the institutional controversy, Lemmons now believed the focus of attention for the coming years would be the left. He predicted that it would be "a far more terrible struggle, and the wounds and scars will show it."3 History, I suppose, has demonstrated the wisdom of his words.
This general "liberalism," however, was only a remote cause for Lemmon's editorial. The immediate cause was a circulating brotherhood-wide controversy over whether one should preach the man or the plan. Should one preach the person and work of Christ or the plan--the steps--of salvation? Lemmons was disturbed by young preachers who were saying "I used to preach 'faith in a plan'; but now I preach 'faith in a Person--not faith in a plan'."4 He laid the blame for this shift at the feet of educated professors teaching young, impressionable minds at Christian institutions, and insisted that both the man and the plan should be preached.5
The "Man or the Plan" controversy became acute in 1962. Apparently it was the talk of the lectureships. Several articles in the Firm Foundation reflected the disgust that some had for these young preachers. One minister complained that current lectureships accuse brothers of "preaching faith, repentance, confession and baptism to the exclusion of 'Christ, love, mercy and kindness'."6 Another wrote that "if we are to support these annual brotherhood gatherings, we should be permitted to hear something besides 'scholarly papers' and charges of 'legalistic preaching' hurled at hundreds of faithful brethren who can do nothing except sit in the pew and listen."7 In particular, he was tired of listening to "sarcasm, ridicule and insults" hurled at the "plan of salvation."8 The topic was so "hot" that Lemmons devoted a whole issue of the Firm Foundation to the subject.9
Among those who responded to Lemmon's April 17 editorial was a lone voice who cautioned that the charge of legalism should not be quickly dismissed. Waymon Miller believed that the "gospel system" was often understood as a "modified law of Moses" where the intent of the system is "legalistic justification." As a result, salvation rested upon "strict compliance with a code" rather than being clothed with the "perfect righteousness of Christ." "In our effervescent zeal to convince all of the true terms of pardon," he wrote, "we have perhaps erred in selling a plan rather than a Person!"10
An elderly, retired minister who lived in Oklahoma City wrote Miller an encouraging letter. He knew firsthand the ferocity of a brotherhood's displeasure. His name was Kenney Carl Moser. In his reply, Miller reminded Moser that it was during a lectureship sometime during 1939 or 1940 in Idalou, Texas that Moser introduced grace to him when he spent the night in Moser's home. Miller affectionately noted that he had "recalled [that conversation] numerous times through the intervening years" and that he "very much" valued Moser's book The Way of Salvation.11 But times had changed. "The preponderant majority of letters and phone calls," Miller stated, were "sympathetic with what I wrote." But it was not so with K. C. Moser in the 1930s.
Moser was born on January 23, 1893 on a farm near Johnson City, Texas. His father was J. S. Moser (1860-1923) who was a relatively well-known preacher/farmer in Texas and Oklahoma though he never pursued full-time ministry.12 K. C. was baptized at the age of nineteen by his father and preached his first sermon when he was twenty-two. At first he was a public school teacher in a one-room schoolhouse for five years.13 But in 1915 he entered Thorp Springs Christian College as a preacher student, and was listed as a faculty member for the 1918-19 academic year.14 He began full-time, located preaching at the age of 26 in Normangee, TX (1919-20). For forty-five years he preached for nine different congregations in Texas and Oklahoma.15 In 1964, at the age of 71, his life-long friend F. W. Mattox, President of Lubbock Christian College, invited him to join the faculty as a Bible instructor. Despite his age, he was a popular, well-known and influential teacher at LCC. He retired from teaching in 1972, and died in 1976 at the age of 84.16
His ministry was a rather controversial one. As a preacher, he was hounded by others for his views on grace. As a lecturer, he was persona non grata at various church events. As a writer, he was either attacked or ignored. As a teacher, he was known as the "Baptist preacher" on the Lubbock faculty.17 Nevertheless, his ministry is an important one for contemporary Churches of Christ.
Recently, Moser has been identified as a starting-point, or at least, an early reflection of a theological shift among Churches of Christ on the doctrine of grace and the practice of kergymatic preaching. In 1990 alone, four authors pointed to the significance of Moser. The first to notice his impact and importance was Richard Hughes. According to Hughes, "the theological face of Churches of Christ began to change" through the work of Moser and his influential friends.18 C. Leonard Allen, drawing on Hughes' information, note that Moser saw a "displacement of the cross and God's grace" among his contemporaries and sought to correct it.19 Mike Casey wrote that Moser was "one of the first to direct us back to the evangelical center of the gospel."20 Finally, Jim Woodroof argued that the present awareness of grace is but a "second wave," and the "first wave" was "initiated" by the publication of K. C. Moser's The Gist of Romans in 1957.21 The most recent and extensive discussion of Moser is Allen's chapter "What is the Gospel?" in his new book Distant Voices.22 After briefly surveying Moser's writings, Allen summarized his contribution. "The efforts of Moser," he concluded, "stand directly behind some of the theological shifts occurring among contemporary Churches of Christ."23
The purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of K. C. Moser in the light of these recent historical judgments and to provide a theological analysis of his concerns. As a result, I have divided this paper into three sections. First, I will follow the polemical development of Moser's doctrine of grace as he published it from the 1920s to the 1950s. Second, I will place his theology in the context of the wider historical and theological setting of the time. Third, I will then attempt to understand the nature of the controversy between Moser and his opponents as a way of illuminating contemporary discussions grace.
ENDNOTES
1 This lecture is dedicated two individuals. It celebrates the centennial of the birth of K. C. Moser. My hope is that my efforts here will honor his memory and celebrate his struggle for the doctrine of grace. Further, this lecture celebrates the life and work of W. B. West, the founding Dean of Harding University Graduate School of Religion. He has been a continual encouragement to me throughout my teaching career, beginning in 1982 when he was Academic Dean of Alabama Christian School of Religion and continuing to the present in his role as Dean Emeritus of Harding Graduate School. These lectures are named in honor of him. My efforts seek to honor Dr. West as I pursue the goal of self-understanding. My task today is to provide a framework for understanding our theological history concerning the doctrine of grace. Hopefully, such an framework will not only illuminate present discussions of grace, but constructively move us toward a greater appreciation for and understanding of the biblical doctrine of grace.[back]
2 Reuel Lemmons, "The Shifting Current," Firm Foundation 79 (17 April 1962): 242.[back]
5 Towards the end of his life Lemmons attitude changed on this issue. See, for example, "Our Theology," Firm Foundation 99 (6 July 1982): 418 where he comments on the negativism of "our theology": "Another example is our attitude toward grace and forgiveness. Our historical background has produced a theology of uncertainty on the one hand and a too simple three-step plan on the other. The cardinal doctrines of Scripture demand that we have a better theology. Substitutionary atonement and even imputed righteousness need to be more completely defined. Salvation by faith can stand more study. Our polemic approach to these and other problems often do not do credit to our cause." [back]
6 L. W. Mayo, "Are you a Legalist?", Firm Foundation 79 (17 April 1962): 247. [back]
7 Glenn Wallace, "The Man or the Plan," Firm Foundation 79 (22 May 1962): 326. [back]
9 Firm Foundation 79 (3 July 1962). This issue contained fourteen articles on the "Man or the Plan" controversy. [back]
10 Waymon Miller, "What is Legalism?," Firm Foundation 79 (22 May 1962): 327. Miller's article was written in response to both Lemmons, "Shifting Current," and Mayo, "Are We Legalists?". Lemmons' "Faith in a Person: Not Faith in a Plan," Firm Foundation 79 (22 May 1962): 322 was a response to Miller, and Miller replied in "Clarifying the Issue," Firm Foundation 79 (12 June 1962): 375, 383. Due to the immense interest in the topic, Lemmons addressed it again, "The Man and the Plan Again," Firm Foundation 79 (12 June 1962): 370, and devoted the July 3, 1962 issue of the paper to the topic. [back]
11 Letter to K. C. Moser, Oklahoma City from Waymon Miller, Fort Worth, Texas, dated June 18, 1962. I obtained a copy of this letter from Mrs. Francis Winkles of Abilene, TX, the daughter of K. C. Moser. [back]
12 See Gospel Preachers Who Blazed the Trail, ed. by C. R. Nichol (Austin: Firm Foundation Publishing House, reprint of 1911 edition, n.d.), s.v. J. S. Moser. [back]
13 Interview with Francis Winkles, August 27, 1993. [back]
14 M. Norvel Young, A History of Colleges Established and Controlled by Members of the Churches of Christ (Kansas City: Old Paths Book Club, 1949), 77, n. 196. According to F. W. Mattox, interview on August 2, 1993, he was self-taught in Greek and Hebrew. His rise to a faculty position and his self-education are indicative of his intellecutal abilities. [back]
15 The churches he served were: Normangee, TX (1919-20), Longview, TX (1920-21), Wewoka, OK (1921-23), Tenth and Frances in Oklahoma City, OK (1923-26), Frederick, OK (1926-33), Ardmore, OK (1935-37), Morton, TX (1937-40), 12th and Drexel in Oklahoma City, OK (1940-47; 1950-64), Enid, OK (1947-50). The years 1933-35 were a time of severe illness for Moser. He contracted ulcerative colitis, and was on the verge of death in 1935. After a trip to the Mayo Clinic and restful time on the farm, he was able to return to full-time work. Cf. C. Leonard Allen, Distant Voices: Discovering a Forgotten Past for a Changing Church (Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 1993), 168-169. From 1937-40, Moser worked part-time for the church in Morton while he supervised his farm and lived in Lubbock. That was a time of recuperation for Moser. [back]
16 This biographical information is pieced together from the first two volumes of Preachers of Today, edited by B. B. Baxter and M. Norvel Young (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Co., 1952, 1959), H. Leo Boles, "K. C. Moser," Gospel Advocate 84 (6 August 1942): 746, and personal interviews with relatives and friends of K. C. Moser. See also his obituaries in Gospel Advocate 118 (11 March 1976): 175 and Firm Foundation 93 (23 March 1976): 190. [back]
17 Interview with Jim Massey of Melbourne, FL on July 6, 1993, who taught with Moser at Lubbock. [back]
18 Richard T. Hughes, "Are Restorationists Evangelicals?" in Varieties of American Evangelicalism, edited by Donald Dayton and Robert K. Johnston (Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee, 1990), 125. [back]
19 C. Leonard Allen, The Cruciform Church: Becoming a Cross-Shaped People in a Secular World (Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 1990), 123. [back]
20 Mike Casey, "Preaching in the Worldly Church: Where Have We Come From? Where Are We Going?," Leaven 1.3 (1990): 18. [back]
21 James S. Woodroof, The Church in Transition (Searcy, AK: The Bible House, Inc., 1990), 19.[back]
22 Allen, Distant Voices, 162-170. [back]