Sharing Our Mail
At present, it appears that papers are really the promoters of the party
spirit If your time, my time, and the time of every other gospel preacher, was spent in
evangelism and taking the gospel to the unbaptized, we would do more to promote real unity and
the first century spirit of the church of Christ. I wonder, if religious papers, outside of those
which are organs of evangelism, are not as bad as institutionalism? --William 1. Hensley
(Indiana).
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I have enjoyed reading the MISSION MESSENGER over a long period.
The articles on fellowship I find very interesting and thought
provoking. I feel that over here, and no doubt it is the same in the states, that while we have the
example of the early disciples turning the world upside down, we seem to have turned each other
upside down. --W. Stanton (England).
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I feel that you were quite illogical in your attempt to draw a parallel
between a citizen of the United States who resides in a foreign country while still keeping his
citizenship, and a member of God's family, who after "the Lord added him to the church, added
himself to something the Lord does not approve. Any person who resides in a foreign country
while still a citizen of the United States is still under complete obligation to the constitution of
the United States. Should such a person join himself to that foreign country, he is deprived of his
right to be called a citizen of the United States.... A member of God's family who joins or adds
himself to something the Lord does not approve, would be deprived of the right to be called a
member of God's family. If not a member of God's family, then not my brother. --Chester
Shearer (California).
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I can sympathize with your ardent desire to promote unity, but am wary
whether your dictum in the July issue will stand the test. Let me put it this way, "Why have all
the divisions occurred in the Restoration movement, seeing there was a time when the
fellowship was one? Anyway, everything possible should be done to promote unity among the
Lord's people, the basis of which is loyalty to the word of God. But can we say that all who
profess to love God are anxious about such a loyalty?... Even in Churches of Christ, there are
those whose interest in, and knowledge of the word of God is restricted, not by an incapacity to
comprehend it, but for other reasons. I am afraid the problem is with us to stay. --J. B.
Kendrick (England).
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It takes a great change sometimes to make people see the light. We may
not have been in accord with your articles on fellowship before we came to France and had some
of the scales lifted from our eyes, but we are now in full accord with the articles you have
presented. We deeply appreciate the paper and are anxious to read the articles by Bro. Zerr so we
may study all sides more closely. --Clayton and Kathleen Klein (France).
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As regarding everything which may appear on man's printed page, I have
always tried to be like the hen with her brood of chickens, when she approaches some wheat
which lies underneath the chaff. She scratches the chaff to one side and gets the wheat. I have
done a lot of scratching and brushing away of chaff in my time, and I think I have been able to
feed on considerable wheat. --Verna M. Gilbert (Iowa).
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The church has been divided by personal differences which have been
allowed to simmer and boil until they erupted and caused congregations to be divided. Other
congregations took up the practice until the church in some localities is hardly recognizable as
the body of Christ. It is my fervent hope that your effort to restore brethren to the understanding
that we must have the love necessary to produce forbearance for the shortcomings of each other
will be a ruling factor which will bring us to salvation. I think people are afraid of the word
"restoration." Personally, I am sure you have the right theme, and may God bless you and yours
for the valiant effort you are making. --Paul A. Mallady (Illinois).
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I really appreciated the articles by Bro. Loney and Bro. Zerr. They were
scholarly in contending for the truth. --Winford Lee (Indiana).
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I enjoyed Bro. Zerr's and Bro. Loney's articles in the last issue. I believe
it to be according to the Book of books. --Harry Powell (Indiana).
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Ellis Crum's article "An Educated Ministry" is worthy of publication in
every journal of the brotherhood. I would some means were available to accomplish that! How
sorely we need to ponder the things set forth, but, sadly, how few seem to do so. --Mrs. H. H.
Stubblefield (North Carolina).
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Your book "The Royal Priesthood" has come to my attention while
engaged in research at the library of Congress. It is a significant work -- interestingly done. I
hope that it may continue to have wide circulation...My regular job is college teaching of
Economics and Business Administration subjects. I have often remarked that the priesthood of
all believers is highly meaningful for our system of government -- it is the religious basis for a
democracy and, too, it is meaningful in economics -- justifying the "consumer is sovereign"
concept and pressing for greater democracy within the large corporation. In fact, I am leaving
graduate study at the University of North Carolina, and going to the London School of
Economics and Political Science this fall for work on the Ph.D. with the hope that I may use the
concept you have written about, as an approach to a study of management authority and
responsibility in large modern corporations...Thanks for having contributed one of the very few
studies on so important a topic -- at least, I found few references in the library of Congress.
--John L. Bass (Washington, D. C.)
I am simply amazed at the outpouring of commendations for my articles
which I am receiving. Every mail brings some. I was at the young people's meeting in Topeka
Sunday evening, and many came to me and gave their commendation for what I had written.
--Roy Loney (Kansas).
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