Tag Archives: Freebies

The Origin and Growth of the Mayfield church

Adam Miller is a minister at the Mayfield church of Christ in Saltillo, Mississippi.  At one point, this congregation had two ministers working there who were both named Adam Miller (I can only imagine the fun and confusion during that time).

Adam has graciously sent us “The History of the Mayfield Church of Christ, Saltillo, Mississippi,” a paper he wrote, for inclusion in the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary.

It has some interesting backstory, especially of a preacher named B.B. Sanders.  And the growth that the congregation when it first began is simply phenomenal!

To read it or download for future enjoyment, simply click the link below:

The History of Mayfield Church of Christ (Adam Miller)

The National Church of America???

I was quite surprised to read that some people descended from the Restoration Movement actually made the claim that they were the closest thing to a national church in America that there was–and that they foresaw the day when that vision became a reality, where all the denominational groups would join together with them.

Now, some might scoff at that statement and say that the Campbells looked to unite all the denominations into one body, and that I just don’t know my history.

No, there’s a difference.  The Campbells were trying to stop the division among the denominations based on clear teachings of the word of God.  These people I’m talking about took pride in saying that none of the sermons they preached would be offensive in any denomination.  They took pride in saying that they were the only church who weren’t offensive to anyone, and who would accept anyone, so long as they would acknowledge the Bible as the word of God (whether they accepted what was written in there apparently didn’t matter, as we’ll see momentarily), and displayed a Christian attitude.

If they accepted infant baptism, sprinkling or pouring as baptism, or rejected baptism completely, it didn’t matter.  If they used instruments and women preachers, no big deal.  Ignore the Lord’s Supper?  Who cares! As long as you take the word of God and act nice, you’re more than accepted!

We have brethren today who may not be as far gone, but they’re getting close.  In the name of “Christian Unity,” they are willing to ignore anything “doctrinal,” anything to do with worship, leadership roles, and even things the Scripture clearly connects with salvation, and just proclaim to people that their sins are all forgiven and that they have a home eternally with God awaiting them–WITHOUT OBEYING THE GOSPEL!

The people that brought this post about were the early 20th Century descendants of the Christian Connexion.  In 1911, Martyn Summerbell gave a short lecture called “An Address on the Origin and Principles of the Christians,” and in it he made the claim that the “Christians” were the only ones who could bring together all the denominations.

Perhaps they could.  But bringing together all the denominations into one body still doesn’t make them the church if they haven’t come to the Father through Jesus Christ in obedient faith which exhibits itself in repentance, baptism, and a faithful life in service to our Lord.

The address, fully reformatted and corrected (and searchable) can be downloaded below.

Address on the Origin and Principles of the Christians (Martyn Summerbell)

-Bradley S. Cobb

New Additions to the eLibrary

TWO NEW BOOKS!

Chester Estes was a fine man, and perhaps an even better preacher.  In his life, he wrote untold numbers of articles and sermons; and also wrote commentaries.  He even did his own translation of the Bible!

He also wrote some other books, one of which is being added today to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary.  It’s called “What is Truth?”

The eBook that you can download below is a scan of the original book.  I realize that isn’t our normal operating procedure (usually we completely reformat and proofread/correct every book we post), but hopefully you’ll forgive us for giving you the original this time.  🙂

What is Truth? (Chester Estes)

Now, for the people who really want to dig deep on the myth of evolution, we are presenting a booklet called “The Man from Monkey Myth,” written by Douglas Dewar.  This was originally published in a magazine in 1944, and later reprinted by James D. Bales as part of a campaign against evolution.

Dewar speaks the scientists’ language, as he shows their conclusions are unwarranted and untrue.

Fully reformatted and searchable, you can download it by clicking the link below.

Man from Monkey Myth (Douglas Dewar)

 

Division at Henderson, Tennessee

Henderson, Tennessee, is well known for being the home of Freed-Hardeman University.  But did you know that this symbol of conservative schooling was once in the control of those who favored the use of instruments of music in worship?  And that the congregation there used instruments for a time?

It might be hard to believe, but it’s the truth.

Today, we are proud to present to you an unpublished manuscript by Grady Miller (preacher at Pikes Peak church of Christ) which deals with the division in the church at Henderson in January, 1903.  Miller wrote this document while a student at Freed-Hardeman in 1975, and has graciously permitted us to post it here for you to read and enjoy.

Please feel free to comment.  All comments will be passed on to Mr. Miller.

Division in Henderson, TN (Grady Miller, 1975)

David Lipscomb: Child of God, Soldier of the Cross

It’s nice to have friends.

Lee Parish, who preaches in Marlow, Oklahoma, was kind enough to send a paper he wrote in 2013 on David Lipscomb to be placed in the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary.

The paper looks at David Lioscomb’s life in the following headings: (1) His Early Years, (2) Not a Preacher, (3) The Civil War, (4) His Prolific Pen, (5) The Greatest Man on the Continent, (6) “Aunt Mag”, and (7) A Life that Lives On.

He does send a note along with it, that his “works cited” page somehow disappeared.  But the references are scattered throughout the paper.

Enjoy!

David Lipscomb: Child of God, Soldier of the Cross (Lee Parish, 2013)

Great Preachers of the Past

Guy N. Woods, Gus Nichols, Franklin Camp, Batsell Barrett Baxter, Cleon Lyles, David Lipscomb, G.C. Brewer, N.B. Hardeman, H.A. Dixon, G.K. Wallace, Foy E. Wallace.

What do these names have in common?  They are all subjects of chapters in the book, Great Preachers of the Past!

And thanks to the kind folks at the Southeast Institute of Biblical Studies (formerly East Tennessee School of Preaching), we are making it available as a free download in the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary.

And if you’re wondering who wrote this book?  Here’s the list of authors:

  • J.E. Choate
  • E. Claude Gardner
  • Alan Highers
  • Robert Taylor, Jr.
  • James W. Boyd
  • Garland Elkins
  • William Woodson
  • Richard England
  • Carroll C. Trent
  • Bobby Duncan
  • Willard Collins

To read it online, or to download for later perusal, just click the link below!

Great Preachers of the Past

A History of the Christian Connexion

Yes, we are still alive and kicking (though not so high right now, after some of us got badly sunburned on the feet…).  We don’t have any news to report, except that God is taking care of us quite well (as always) while we are trying to figure out where he wants us to be.

Today, I realized that there are some books that I had already prepared to be added to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary, and simply forgot to actually add them.  So, today, you get a short book called “An Account of the Christian Denomination in the United States” by Simon Clough.  Clough was a preacher in the “Christian Connexion,” which boasted Abner Jones and Elias Smith as some of its most prominent early preachers.

In essence, it is a letter written in 1827 to explain their beliefs, history, and practices in response to the inquiry of the General Baptists of England.

It was just four years later that a large segment of the Christian Connexion (the part which worked with Barton W. Stone) formally united with the “Reformers” (including Alexander Campbell, Raccoon John Smith, and Walter Scott,).  Clough, however, was not a party to this union, and actually opposed it.

The book can be read online or downloaded by clicking the link below:

An Account of the Christian Denomination (Simon Clough)

Call Him a Pharisee

Earlier this month, we told you about a bunch of unpublished manuscripts by James D. Bales which we are working to make available to the masses.

Today, we present to you the first one… and it’s FREE.

Bales-CallPharisee

Call Him a Pharisee was written in response to James Woodruff, whose book, The Church in Transition, accused the church of only preaching half a gospel, of being “astray,” and of being Pharisees.  In this short book, Bales shows what a Pharisee is, and debunks Woodruff’s theories  accusations against the Lord’s church.

This book is copyright, 2017, Mark McWhorter, and is being made available as a free digital download, exclusively from your friends at TheCobbSix.com

Just click the link below to download or read online:

Bales – Call Him a Pharisee

-Bradley S. Cobb

A Sketch of the Life of James A. Garfield

JimmieLibraryLogo

Sorry I am a bit late in getting this post up today, but here you have it.  🙂

Today, we are offering you yet another freebie, added to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary.  This one is called, “A Sketch of the Life of James A. Garfield.”  President Garfield, as many of you may know, was a Christian, a preacher, a teacher at a “Christian school,” and helped to create The Christian Standard.

So, without further talking from me, here it is!

A Sketch of the Life of James A. Garfield

The Minister’s Monthly

Beginning in 1955, Gospel Advocate began producing a journal for preachers and elders, called “The Minister’s Monthly.”  It was quite popular during its heyday, but like so many other brotherhood periodicals, it has gone away.

However, we will be making several of these issues available for you in the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary over the coming months (Lord willing).

Today, we’ll start you out with the issue from July, 1956.  It starts off with a biographical sketch of T.B. Larimore (whose picture is on the cover), gives a first-hand account of the power of Alexander Campbell’s preaching style, includes several sermon outlines, many illustrations, and articles as well.

We think you’ll enjoy it!  Like the other periodicals we’ve uploaded the past week, this one is a straight scan of the original, with no tweaking or reformatting.

Ministers Monthly (July 1956)

-Bradley S. Cobb