The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1973

(Concluded from page 8) umor into the service of theology. his Essex man drove bullock wag– ns through ecclesiastical aisles. His ulpit gown was a smock-frock. Yet now he stands on the top. He lants both feet upon the giddiest minence. Men speak of his vivid yle, his simple Saxon, his unadorned nglish, his dramatic force. The hange is in his critics - not in him– !lf. And he cared as much for the raise as he did for the ridicule. His ead was never turned. Never did 1an carry such infinite fame with 1ch sober modesty. He was ever simple, loving, gentle, nd boundlessly kind, except when he as stung by the nettle of "modern iought". Then he became almost apal; he excommunicated whole as– ~mblies ; he issued manifestos; he arkened the whole chapel sky with ,under. HIS PRAYERS Mr. Spurgeon's prayers were not 1e least remarkable part of his minis– y. They were crude, direct, definite, 1d determined on being answered once. Sometimes too, they abound- 1 in quaint expressions and odd 1rases. In his first London pulpit I !ard him pray thus, "O Lord, may any souls be converted tonight that tall shine forever as gems in the racelets of Jesus!" In praying for Mr. >nn B. Gough at the Tabernacle, he d not take the usual round about >Urse of describing Mr. Gough as fhy servant who has come from a stant but friendly country, in order at he may," etc., etc., but stretching Jt his right arm in a characteristic titude, he bluntly said, "God bless 1r friend Gough". To Mr . Spurgeon ·ayer simply meant asking; it seldom >Se to spi ritual contemplation, or lost e business-like petition in entranced 1d ecstatic communion with God. Mr. Spurgeon's career has settled veral important points. He has ·oved that evangelical preaching can ·aw around itself the greatest con– ·egation in the world, and hold it for lifetime. He has also proved that it possible to draw and hold the great– t congregation without organ, band - choir, or painted window. He has !mon~trated beyond all doubt or LJest1on that the voluntary principle tn be so worked to sustai n the grea t– ,t religious and benevolent institu– ons in the fullest vigor, and he ha(' vidly, almost sublimely, illustrated iE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST Subscribe to: $2 .00 per year The Ohio Independent Baptist FOR A FRIEND Sox 160 Xenia, Ohio 45385 E M M AN u 1:- 1 BA P 11 s r ( "' H R c•• of Wc\t Shore Rev . We l ey 811 \ , Pa,tor M <J vi n1,: or T ra \•el inu th rough the Harr, <;hu rg, Pa. area? top a n<l visit n1n1 anucl Bapli '> t Church at 4681 E. Trindle R()ad , Mc– chan tc\hurg, Pa., JU\l five n11n off the Penna . Tpk . E-x1t 17 . Beautif ul new building completed Lo cated in the cen ter o f Harri sbu rg 's West Shore MOVI NG or TRAVELING PLAN A VISIT Phones (7 17) 737-1131 (717) 737-6529 Harrisburg Area Now Has A Christian High School the Divine election which chooses its own instruments, protects them in the face of all hostility, and bri ngs ob– scurity to the point of world-wide re– nown. Mr. Spurgeon was ordained "in a n1ountain apart,'. ABSENT FROM THE BODY The great voice has ceased! It was the mightiest voice I ever heard - a voice that could give orders in a tem– pest, and find its way across a torrent or through a silent aisle. Very gentle, too, it could be, sweet and tender and full of healing pity. That voice has ceased to sing those lower hymns - the rugged presence is withdrawn. - Life's fight has closed in victory, and weariness has dropped asleep. Let us look quietly upon the image of rest, and look upon it through tears of thankfulness. The great unimagined vision has dawned on the translated soul. Away yonder in heaven's eternal morning he sees all things in their right proportion and their true colour, and l1is soul, always responsive to sunshi ne and music, rises to a new exultancy of Jove as he meets and accosts in the City of Light, many whom he had unwittingly mi sjudged and wronged. ( Parker disagreed with Spurgeon in the matters of the "Down– grade Controversy". Ed. U.B.) - Meanwhile the stress is greater on thoc;e who remain , and each mt1st further tax his strength so as to lessen the Joss that has come upon the whole church. Lancaster Church Duly Recognized On March 8th, a company of bc– licver5 in l anca5tcr, Ohio, h~ving or– ganized themselves into a Baptist Church and desiring to have fellow– ship with other churches of Jike pre– cious faith, invited a group of OARBC pastors and laymen to sit in council to consider the propriety of recog– nizing them as a Baptist Church. Al– so invited to sit on the council was OARBC State Missionary Earl Um– baugh and 018 Editor Don Moffat. After a word of greeting and testi– mony by Rev. William Moser , pastor of this group, the history, constitution and articles of faith were examined. The examining cou ncil then voted unanin1ously that this body of be– lievers, known as the Faith Baptist : hurch of Lancaster, be recognized as a duly organized Baptist church. Special Lecturer At Cedarville College Students of Cedarville College greatly appreciated hearing pastor, author and professor , Dr. John L. Davis, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Grace Theological Seminary. He mini stered at Cedarville College February 12- 16. His topic for the week was "Mod– ern Archaeology and Biblical His– tory''. Dr. Davis' visit to the Cedarville campus was sponsored by the Staley Distinguisl1ed Scholar Series, a lec– tureship project of the Thomas F. Staley Foundation of New York. This foundation is fi rml y persuaded that the message of the Christian Gospel is always contemporary, rele– vant and meaningful to any genera– tion. It is for this reason that the foundation seeks to bring to the col– lege campus distingui shed Christian scholars who can communicate to students. ' 'With the Lord'' Mrs. Helen Miller Allem, wife of Rev. Harold A. Al]em, former pastor of the First Baptist Church, New London ( 1952-1956) went home to be with her Lord January 29, 1973 at Tucson, Arizona, where her hus– band pastors the Coronado Baptist Church. Mrs. Allem was a dedicated Chris– tian, a song writer, talented n1t1s1cian and friend . She \Vas a true Hhelp– meet,, to her htisband in the work of the n1inistry. "The All cn1c;" ha\e n1any friends in ot1r OAR BC' f ellO\\ c;hip Rev. Allem i now re 1d1ng ttt J 635 West Huc)\on Drive, Tuc~on. Ari– zona - 85704. APRIL, 1973 13 I i I i