Dear Sisters and Brothers,

In 1960 only the Christian Chronicle among journals of the white Churches of Christ takes any notice of the moving plea of Carl Spain at the Abilene Christian College Lectureship. But on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, R. N. Hogan can read the signs of the times: in Abilene, at last, the days of official segregation are coming to an end. In recognizing white allies, Hogan reaches back to DL, noting that David Lipscomb College does not share its founder's regard for all Christians without partiality; it will, indeed, be among the very last to bow to the inevitable.

Hogan the evangelist here continues his crusade against sin, the besetting sin of the Churches of Christ. He can see the moistening eyes, the uneasy posture, the shifting of position along the back row. He knows that this is no time to let up; he's going to pour it on. This is the moment he has waited for all of his life. "When people are taught better they will do better."

Thank God for this pioneer gospel Minister who had the intestinal fortitude and the love of God so inbedded[sic] in his heart that he spoke out in no uncertain terms in exposing the soul damning sin of racial prejudice and segregation in the Lord's church.

It is indeed regretable[sic] to know that the school that bears his name and calls itself a Christian school is among the worse, if not the worse of all schools where prejudice, racial hate and segregation are concerned. I know that these brethren who know the Bible so well are in full knowledge that their practice of segregation against the Negro is a sin. But, like King Saul of old, they are more interested in pleasing the people than they are in pleasing God. Paul said in Gal. 1:10, "For do I now persuade men or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." The apostle John calls attention to a group of people who loved the praise of men more than the praise of God and therefore, refused to confess Christ, John 12:42, 43. If only these men would stop claiming to be gospel ministers, stop calling themselves christians, stop calling their schools christian schools, and stop calling their churches, churches of Christ, we would all understand why their hearts are so filled with hate for the Negro. Why they are so prejudiced against him and why they don't want him in their schools and churches, even to teach him the word of God. I am wondering when these skin worshippers are going to come to themselves and start worshipping God.

The Holy Spirit said through James, "If ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin." Jas. 2:9 The only reason for the ungodly practice of segregation that is so prevalent among our Caucasian brethren is the color of the Negro's skin. These brethren should stop shouting condemnation to the denominational people until they themselves decide to obey God, for one disobedient group is just as saved as another. According to Brother Lipscomb's article, the church in McKinney, Tex. refused a Colored man membership in their congregation. These brethren and all like them are respecters of persons and therefore sinners, Jas. 2:9. Too bad that such brethren are going to allow the color of another man's skin to cause them to lose their souls. The breaking down of the middle wall of partition, the reconciling of both in one body, the fellow-heirs and of the same body, the reprimanding of Peter by Paul, the God is no respecter of persons, the there is no respecter of persons with God, the if ye have respect of persons ye commit sin and the "hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" Eph. 2:6 are all divine condemnation of the present day segregation in the church of our Lord.

There is no such thing in the Bible as a white church of Christ and a Colored church of Christ. I hope the time will soon come when my brethren will not allow the sign, "church of Christ (Colored)["] to be erected on their buildings, for God has no church of Christ, Colored. Neither does he have a church of Christ, white. However, I want all to know that all the white brethren are not guilty of this sin. All of them are not more interested in pleasing the people more than pleasing God, for we have men like Brother Carl Spain of Abilene, Tex., Brother M. T. Tune of Pleasant Hill, Calif., and Brother James Willeford of Abilene, Tex. These men are men of integrity who are not afraid to speak up for the truth that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Bro. Spain did it at Abilene; Bro. Tune did it through his paper and Bro. Willeford did it over the Herald of Truth program when he presented the sermon on "Call No Man Common." I predict that Abilene college will be the first to stop the ungodly practice of segregation and admit Negroes in their school where they can be prepared to help in leading the millions of the dark races to Christ. The reason I make this prediction is because we have these men in Abilene who are not afraid to teach the people the truth regarding this matter and when people are taught better they will do better.

When other preachers start teaching people against the ungodly practice of segregation and stop practicing it themselves, you will see christianity at work. Talking christianity is one thing and living it is still another. Prejudice, hate and segregation have no place in the true church of Christ. I hope that God will hasten the day when [3] all church of Christ preachers will preach the whole truth and stop leaving off part of God's truth because of the people. Inasmuch as they are refusing the Negro admittance into their so-called christian colleges, they are holding back the work of the Lord, hindering the spread of the kingdom of God's dear Son among "all nations" and giving the denominations weapons with which to prove that there is nothing to the claim that we make that we are the true church of Christ.

My Race can attend the denominational colleges, but not certain so-called Christian Colleges. What a shame! In Christian Love, R. N. Hogan

Brother John Barton, whose doctoral research focused on James D. Willeford's Herald of Truth sermons, has identified the text cited here by Hogan, and Mary Barton has keyed it so that it may be added to this collection of documents on the WorldWideWeb. It seems likely that Willeford's 1955 sermon may have encouraged Spain's effort in 1960. Willeford and his close associate James Walter Nichols deserve close historical scrutiny for their early visibility and influence in this and other areas of concern among Churches of Christ in the 1950s and 1960s. Both died young. Both were instrumental in the foundation of the Fidelity Enterprises empire.

Apartheid in the institutions of the Churches of Christ will soon begin to break down--more perhaps because of pressure from federal agencies administering grants and loans than the force of any prophetic word. This is another area where historical research should begin before all the participants are dead. Apartheid in the churches will persist after all official barriers have disappeared in the colleges. As Hogan well knows, he is struggling for the soul of the church that he believes is the only true church.

May God have mercy.

dhaymes, his mark +