The Ohio Independent Baptist, July 1966

• axing or By Dr . Earl G. Griffith Few men have the a bility to write a doe our brother , D r. Earl G. G ri ffith ice– Pre ident of the Piedmont Bible Colleg'e Wi n- ton- alem, .C. Brother G riffith i well known throuJ?houf the tate of Ohio. Your editor counts it a Jlr ivilege to be numbered as one of Dr. Gr if– fith ' many friend . Few men h ave had greater influence on our mini try. We hold for him onlv the highe t e teem and Jove. Perhap in reading thi article, you l\ ill not agree 'ftith all he ays. One thing i certain, it will cau e you to top and erious– ly coo ider hi words. In the light of such an article, how do we tand before the Lord? This editorial may seem to be a hazardous venture. T o evaluate one person h onestly wou]d be an achieve– ment. To correctly appraise a calling that boa t a registry of t en of thousands i tight-wire walking. The excu e for it is that it is a pastime with everyone. Mo t people venture a serious opinion , however wide of the mark, on whether preach– er s of our day gain or lose by com– parison with their predecessors, or those of a distant generation. We must concede the r ight of all to hold and voice opinions about the level of Christian leader s, hi gh or low, while at the same time insisting that they are few who h ave adequate knowledge temming from resear ch , or direct contact, to express a valid judgment. Many opinions are abou t a good as a "city slicker's' ' comparison of the egg production of Iowa with the orange crop of F lorida. Prefactory to what fol lows we need to tread softly. Christian can easily be en oared into the folly of el f– measurement, instead of elf-efface- 1nent; into cr11pty plat1dits for favorite 11r clai r11ers instead of giving utn1ost }1 r1or to J lin1. he apostles were vu111erallle here. l ... uke 2.2: 24. We l'"now that Jol) and Daniel were great becau e i11spi1 ation dccla, es it. Co n ideri ng the Que stion • J .... il Jy tl1 ~ 1110 t objectiv xa1111na- tion 1 Ille Jact would lea l1ris- till r ting for JJ1 eferr d J> r- tl i11g c uld I en the ' . . : ,1 ,t 1 1a11, .'' 1 t i n, ,, l> )1e 1-4 pl1 i n r l>l,J - pr cJai 11 d hc:r , 1 irtt1 an \ r . ~'11 tl1 r "''t; d t , r T E OHIO INDEPENDEN BAPTIS • an1ng? weaken the mi t let u look at th i que tion: ' I Pulpi t Quality \Vaxing or Waning?' ' We believe Solomon would be cau– tio11 in ubmitting a f inal verdi ct. The ta k of answering fi nd mo t people with ]e than a per fect gauge or weighing cale. Gener alizations are worthle s ince they overlook many fac t . It must be r emembered that many per ons who enjoyed eminence in days gone by eemed like giant becau e they of ten lived among and led pigmie . A frog i a colo us to an amoeba. In the day when the mas e were depr ived of rudimentary knowl– edge, anyone with a n1odicum of in– fo rmation and ome power to com– n1unicate wa a geniu or a tellar performer. The li fting of the ma se ha leveled the 'kni gh t of King Arthur. " Preacher once faced illi ter– ates. They often face their equal or uperiors. It tip the cale. F ew preacher erve in multiple ro ll a they did in New England in the 17th Century. Other carry the load too. Distance Lends Enchantment We should prefer to upport the qualifying view that there are more preacher of e traordinary power and pre t ige than i commonly bel jeved. T ho e who travel and meet men in thi hi ghe t calling hould be better judge . God true ervant today are not "ca t off weakling ." They are to be reckoned with . The number of the e i not near the vani hing point. Nan1e call ing here would be vain and damaging. But they are arot1nd and hit ting ledge han1n1er blo\\. , jt1st a~ their elders did. I t r11tt t l1e re111e111- hc1 etf that ''dista1ce le11tl~ c11chanl 111cnt ." l !.ive1 y gene1 altt)n t(1ok. tt) the past for 1 1odcls of e. ccllc11ct.= ' '\ c J1a c Allr~than1 to ottr futhet ," "' ,ts the sp1ncles , boast of the first centt1ry Jew, but .. behold a greater tha11 Ahra l1a111, ' (}f ··\, olo111on" \.Vas a111ong the111 . rl ime effac'>s tit:f\:cts ' lll l (fi– rect co11 tact 111agn ifie tl1 111. J .... ittle 111orc tl1a11 011e )'ear ago, rt J ol1n J f OJ)ki11s .._ tJrget 11 of \.\' Llrlll re- 11 c ,v11 a11d a irgi11in l t:111 rat . aili t Ille : '\ llH\' 11 t }1 d ,t gr at I re icl 11l i11c l lerl) rt 11 11 d ct 0 1 Ji \•cd a sh()J't J ri \ 1 \\ 1 l1it I Jot1 c;. l Jt1t i11 J 9 11 t r a I tile tl1 r111 111 tcr r )J 11 Clllr 1)1 liLl tll, t \\' )' . Dr. Earl G. Griffith Time ha a refining and eliminating power that both elevate and lower . It would pell ome difference if every theological tudent and candi– date for ordination elected to read Charle Edwin Darga n' ~ H i tory of Preaching. ' T he book give a por– trayal or ometin1e bt1t an etching, of e e1 tiall y every en1inent proclain1- er fron1 the apo tolic day to th morning of the 20th Century. Herc are n1ore than one thou and page of enchanting material that will rebuk and in pire and help to cull out well meaning but ineffective, inept men f ron1 the pulpit. Edgar DeWitt Jone produced a real yard tick in: "The Royalty of !he Pt1Ip.it . ' ' All too lightly n1en n1a) JU t begtn preaching. While on the wire, have you read: " . . tt1dd ,, • or "Borden of Ya1e," or John Paton? ,1 cn1pty cranit1111 and a 1 e ]O\ver j~tw do not 11ak.e frt11tft11 cla roon1 and pt1lpit reprc, entative of the King of lory. ... It \\Ould l)e high)} ~1rofit,1blc t :1t least glance at ~0111e of the t1b, 1ot1" cau e f tht clcitdl, cJccli11c l 'hc "'C w1ll hear C<)n'iitlcr~ttit)Il A Voice f rom Within 1() '-iOlllC J)Ieachi11g l"i lll~l lll)C l)f 111ttn) t1plitti11g .. llll ",l\l)r ~ It ,, a \Cl\ ICC , a l)l'l)lC\\lL)f), ,l ~l)Ctill ~llllt .. llllr– al tl)l1 f 1cltl. ''] l11~ , 1e,, te,11 lht: l1e,\rl Ollt l)l ,l tf i\ irle Slllllllll)l1 anJ lt)cllf-., tt\ ,, 1tl1 \\ e,tk.l111gs. los s a11tl J>at1I are 1l1l! l11l1le 1ll{>t1ntai11-pc,tl l ..ad rs. rl llC\ \\ t;f tlriv :.11 l a \lice \\ ilhi11. l cl ' Ill .. n, \\ e i>r~I\.:: r l ) thi11k \\ itl1- )lll intc11cli11g t ftl it , 1 t1sl1 I)r .. , t1 rs i11to st1cl1 ft111 tit 11s, as rg 11iznti" 11 l>r 111 n, t <1gt: 111 11 ,g r~ , 11 I r1, 11") l)l) s. 1\ 1 ru11l1 t oft gt1 rll \\ ill l) - >111 a l'llJ J t. l ,,11 111i11is t e r 111ar1 s i le I ll tlt 1}1 111t1 t 11 t l1 tJ . k ll. (Continued on p ge 1 ) JULY, 1966 PAGE 9