PREFACE
"AMEN
WALLS!"
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to Dr. Evans Books]
The
materials in this book, “Amen, Walls!,” are a potpourri of some of
the oral and written works that I have done over the forty-four years of my
ministry in the Lord’s church.
For your reading enjoyment and spiritual edification, the book is divided
into four subject areas: Sermons and Lectures, Classic Speeches, Articles of
Import, and Tributes to Christian Giants.
The Sermons and Lectures were delivered over a period of years at various
gospel meetings or national lectureships.
The Classic Speeches, which include my inaugural address as president of
Southwestern Christian College in November of 1967, were given at various
functions of the church and at colleges and universities.
The Articles of Import were written out of a spirit of constraint to
address some pertinent issues facing the church at the time of their writing.
And the Tributes to Christian Giants have references to men in the church
who excelled in their contributions to the cause of Christ and who have gone
down in the annuls of history of the churches of Christ as “chiefs among
equals.”
While
some of the materials are “dated,” the subject matter is timeless.
And this is because all the materials, with the exception of secular
speeches, are based upon the word of God, which is for all times and ages.
The syntax is easy to follow and the words used are easy to understand.
The purpose of the book is designed to inform, edify, motivate, and
stimulate, and not to pontificate. The conclusions drawn are my own, based upon
my understanding of the Bible, and knowledge of human history and sociological
interactions.
And I stand perpetually ready to defend my conclusions in these areas.
The
title of this book, “Amen, Walls!,” is a euphemistic expression that
I have used in my preaching style for many years.
It
has shades of the old “call and response” type of preaching in the so-called
“Black church.”
The term “walls” is a euphemism for people who are listening to the
preaching of the word and praising of God. Jesus, the Master Teacher, used such
imagery in the following text:
And
when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole
multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for
all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh
in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master,
rebuke thy disciples.
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold
their peace, the stones would immediately cry out (Luke 19:37-40).
The
teaching here is that if the people do not “...say so” (Psalm 107:2), the
stones, inanimate objects, like “the walls,” would bear witness to the
truth. The Bible is replete with people of God’s saying “Amen, amen” in
witness to His truth (1 Chron. 16:36; Neh. 8:6; Psalm 41:13; 106:48; Rev.
22:20). Thus, “Amen. Walls!” is simply an attestation to the truth of
God.
As
I sit at the desk of the late, inimitable R. N. Hogan, given to me by his family
through the urging of his faithful secretary for over fifty years, Bethel M.
Smith, I am reminded daily of the great influence that he had on my life.
Therefore, I lovingly dedicate this book to his beautiful memory.
In
conclusion, I thank my most efficient
and loyal secretary Tracy Gray, for typing the manuscript of this volume.
And
in the words of the great apostle Paul, “And now, brethren, I commend you to
God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and give you
an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).