|
 We
are in Texarkana, Texas for a meeting with the Belt Road church,
in their new church building. The structure is brick, well
designed, with a coordinated color scheme that pleases the eye
but is not "showy" nor detracting from its worshipful
purpose. And I remember other meeting places."
A
fellow-student from Freed-Hardeman College accompanied me to a
place where brethren met in an old school. Chicken bones
littered the floor, and "jam-biscuits" were stuck on
the wall. Mud had been packed high about the door, and tracked
throughout. Lamp chimneys were black, and wicks untrimmed yet
brethren whose homes were clean and neat seemed not to see these
conditions. We "worshiped" (the five “items")
and went home to sumptuous dinners spread on white linen.
That
afternoon Vernon Morris and I returned to the meeting place with
rags and broom. We climbed in through an unlocked window and
went to work. Caked mud had to be broken with a poker, and dirt
hauled out in a bucket, but we got it done. We sprinkled and
swept, sprinkled and swept, until we wore down the broom; and
then we dusted, washed lamp chimneys, cleaned the chalkboards,
until things sparkled. We had
| |
to hurry home to bathe and dress for evening
services, but it was worth all efforts to see eyes and mouths
pop open wide as each member arrived that night. I had written
all across the chalkboard: "Let all things be done decently
and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40). We did not chide nor scold.
We preached and sang; and got 50 cents and two safety razors
each for our efforts. I still have my razors, but had to spend
the 50 cents for hack fare to and from the place. I never
returned to that building, but Vernon did, and afterwards told
me the seats had been varnished, new lights installed, and crisp
curtains hung before sparkling windows.
Yes,
some brethren build showy "temples," with money that
should go into preaching the gospel. Some seek to attract the
public with pride-filling opulence. "We could meet under a
tree!" All true. But those who meet under a tree should
trim it up, chop out the weeds, and remove the trash so often
found there. The character of the people who "meet under a
tree" or in their own building is usually seen in the
conditions they tolerate. AND, their pride, crass materialism
and worldliness may be seen in what they demand. Think it over
brethren!!
[Previous
Article] [Next
Article]
|
