Reflections on Theology
Recently, I finished reading G.C. Brewer’s autobiography. For those who may have never heard of this church leader, Grover Cleveland Brewer (1884-1956) was an influential author, gospel preacher, and teacher of the last century.
Recently, I finished reading G.C. Brewer’s autobiography. For those who may have never heard of this church leader, Grover Cleveland Brewer (1884-1956) was an influential author, gospel preacher, and teacher of the last century.
Of him, Guy N Woods (1908-1993), another influential gospel preacher wrote:
“His pen was as potent as his tongue, and greatly extended his influence through the years. No man among us has been more widely followed or wielded greater influence than G.C. Brewer... It is our conviction that the stature of G.C. Brewer will increase with the passing of the years; and, that he will take his place, in the final estimate of history, among the greatest of recent generations.” (Autobiography of G.C. Brewer, 155.)
High praise, indeed!
There is a passage in Brewer’s final work that really struck me. It is found in the very last chapter entitled, “Facing the Sunset” and was written just a few months before the author’s passing. As he was reflecting on some of the songs and hymns that had meant much to him, he wrote:
I have frequently said that we sing a much better Gospel than we preach. I believe with all my heart that this is true. Too many of us do not preach Christianity; we preach ‘Churchanity.’ Too many of us instead of preaching Christ, preach a creed. And too many of us instead of trusting Christ, depend upon working out our own salvation as though this means that we should achieve it by works of merit in this life. If we believe the songs that we sing, none of us would have this kind of a hope which practically amounts to no hope at all. If we believe the songs that we sing, we will never be doubting our salvation. We will be rejoicing because our names are written in the Book of Life.” (Autobiography of G.C. Brewer, 151.)
There is much in this excerpt that is worthy of discussion, don’t you agree? But, for this post what struck me at the time was the assertion that too many preach “churchanity” instead of Christianity and a creed instead of Christ. That’s quite a charge! Of course, I wondered: Might this be said of us today?
Within a few days of reading that troubling claim, I came across the following from the pen of Elisha E. Sewell, the son of Gospel Advocate co-editor, E.G. Sewell. The junior Sewell taught at David Lipscomb College and was an elder at the Russell Street church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee. In the November 13, 1923 edition of the Advocate, Sewell wondered if “we need to change our emphasis from that of loyalty to the cause (meaning, ‘our plea’) to loyalty to Christ.”
Sewell must have seen in his day what Brewer saw in his.
But, back to us and the present. Might there be any truth to the charge that we might be more church-centered than Christ-centered? Or, that we place more emphasis upon a creed or set of beliefs than we do upon the Lord Jesus? Or, that we tend to prioritize loyalty to the Restoration Plea over loyalty to Christ?
Let me reframe the above questions:
- To what or to whom are we trying to draw people?
- Are we trying to draw men and women to Jesus, or to a certain religious tradition?
- Is our primary message about our Lord or about what makes us different from our religious neighbors?
- What is our core message to the world today? What should it be?
I think these questions are worthy of consideration. What do you think? I’ll plan to offer more reflection on these questions in future newsletters.
—Kerry