For His Glory: A History of the Development of North Tenneha Church of Christ 1935 -2010

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isbn: 978-1-4669-6730-4 (sc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012922118

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction: A Prelude to North Tenneha’s History & Development

Chapter 1: That 1935 Gospel Meeting

Chapter 2: Elders and Deacons

Chapter 3: Evangelists

Chapter 4: Developed and Organized Ministries

Chapter 5: The Bulletin

Chapter 6: The Preacher’s Pen—1970s

Chapter 7: From Pulpit to Pew—1980s

Chapter 8: Personally Preaching—1990s

Chapter 9: A New Millennium

Chapter 10: From the Minister’s Desk—2010

Chapter 11: Faithful. Obedient. Blessed.

Chapter 12: Photo Album

Appendix A: Establishing Black COC Congregations in Texas 1923-1956

Appendix B: NTCC Elders 1967-2010

Appendix C: NTCC Deacons 1967-2010

Appendix D: NTCC Evangelists 1935-2010

Appendix E: Membership List (through 2010)

Appendix F: Deceased List (through 2010)

Appendix G: Timeline to the U.S. Economy featuring North Tenneha Evangelists

End Notes

Bibliography

To my husband Carver Cobbins who introduced me to the church of Christ, my beloved offspring Savannah Myles and Austin Myles who obeyed the Gospel on the same Sunday as I, and the elders of the Lord’s church at North Tenneha Donzell Brown, Leonard Morgan and Artis Newsome who desired and supported the completion of this work.

History balances the frustrations of ‘how far we have to go’ with the satisfaction of ‘how far we have come.’ It teaches us tolerance for human shortcomings and imperfections which are not uniquely of our generation, but of all time.

Lewis F. Powell, Jr.

Foreword

Acts Chapter 2 explains the foundation of the church. If you have not read it, you should. Christians learn early in life that the church was established on the Day of Pentecost. The church that Peter spoke about in Acts Chapter 2 is the same church Christ is coming back to get. The church of Christ at 1701 North Tenneha Avenue is one of those churches Christ is coming back for. The doctrine taught in North Tenneha is the same that Peter spoke about on the Day of Pentecost. That doctrine is what converted those members who attended and attend the North Tenneha congregation. The doctrine is the same as on the Day of Pentecost, but the people are different. The doctrine is always perfect, the people are imperfect. Christ died for our imperfections.

The North Tenneha congregation is diverse. This book is a history of some of the significant members of the congregation that helped to shape the personality of North Tenneha. Each congregation is a reflection of the people that make it. This book allows you to meet some of the key members that organized the congregation in 1935 and fostered the growth until 2010. Through this book, you can learn about the people and the organization of the church at 1701 North Tenneha Avenue. This book reveals the ministries that help the aspiring Christians to work out their soul’s salvation.

This book was also written to be helpful to other congregations that may need ideas for their body of Christians. Over the 75 years, the North Tenneha congregation has worked through many of the problems associated with developing a congregation. Why reinvent the wheel with programs? Just follow the pattern established by North Tenneha Church of Christ. It is all for the boarding of the Lord’s Kingdom.

Lastly, I would like to thank Jennifer Cobbins for accepting the challenge of putting this book together. If she had not agreed to write this book, it probably would have never been written. God has blessed her with a talent she has been able to use to make a living. Now she has chosen to use her talent for the Lord. What kind of church would this church be, if everyone used their talent for the Lord?

Artis E. Newsome, Elder

75th Anniversary Chair

Preface

What you hold in your hands is the final product of a project introduced to me May 2009 by Elder Artis Newsome, chair of the 75th Anniversary Committee.

The project was to write a complete history of the congregation using available resources. The history was to include the establishment of the Lord’s church at North Tenneha and information about past and present elders, deacons and ministers interspersed with relevant parts of the congregation’s history that occurred during a given minister’s tenure. Information about significant leading brothers, who served prior to getting scriptural-qualified leaders, was to be included as well. The writer was to decide the format and make recommendations on how to bind the work.

For His Glory: A History of the Development of North Tenneha Church of Christ 1935-2010 is a first effort to tell the comprehensive story of what God has done in the Lord’s church at North Tenneha since 1935. The project puts the first 75 years of the congregation’s development into a single source. If you are a seasoned saint, a developing new convert, a member of another COC congregation or a non-believer, this book has something expressly for you!

This book can take a seasoned saint on a nostalgic journey, help orient a new convert, serve as a program guide for a COC congregation, help a non-believer learn about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His church, and finally it can help the North Tenneha congregation preserve its cherished history. Not long ago, the congregation had members who were added to the Lord’s church as early as 1935, the year the congregation was planted. Unfortunately, those members took with them to their grave valuable stories about this congregation’s early beginnings which are now forever lost.

Motivated by the leadership’s desire to have the congregation’s history and development documented, I answered the call to complete the project. I am forever grateful that I had God’s word to meditate when I needed to get unstuck—I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). I thank God for perseverance and release to you this final product—For His Glory: A History of the Development of North Tenneha Church of Christ 1935-2010.

Acknowledgements

A heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed to making this work a reality including: Elders Donzell Brown, Leonard Morgan, Artis Newsome and the 75th Anniversary Committee for envisioning and supporting the project; Brother Choice Dudley for explaining the past and lending books and other materials during the research phase; Sisters Harriet Broughton, Gwen Holman, Bobbie Reddic, Mary Welch and Myrtle Young for entrusting to me their old church bulletins, anniversary booklets, church directories, photos and other historic keepsakes; Sisters Tricia Billington, Berdine Craddock, Greta Moore-Dixon, Zanell Cain and Opal Washington for contributing background information for the evangelist profiles; The leadership for submitting written profiles in a timely manner when requested; Sisters Rose Daniels and Josephine Wallace for providing background for profiles of their late husbands, past Elders Willie Daniels and Freddie Wallace; Sister Daisy Woods, daughter of the late Bobby Guthrie, Sr., for input concerning her father, one of the first elders of the congregation; Also to past Elder Homer Davis for answering questions for the writing of his profile; Sisters and Brothers Dorothy Taylor, Anna Drawhorn, Bernice Booker, Harriet Broughton, Myrtle Young, Eugene Drawhorn, Eric Broughton, Choice Dudley and Tim Banks for their personal interviews and oral histories; Sisters Ruth Wilson, Evelyn Morgan, Dorothy Taylor and Brother Choice Dudley for proof reading manuscripts; Sisters Neversia Winkfield and Stella Sherman for submitting special material; Sister Te’Juan Hewitt for placing messages in the church bulletin and providing copies of the church roster and record of deceased members through the year 2010; and finally, thanks to the following Sisters and Brothers for gathering, scanning, cropping and converting photos to a digital format for use in this book: Ruth Wilson, Mary Carr, Greta Moore-Dixon, Dorothy Taylor, Billie Candy Choice, Te’Juan Hewitt, Phillip Easton, Clavin Taylor, Choice Dudley and Carver Cobbins.

Introduction

A Prelude to North Tenneha’s History & Development

This introduction provides a solid backdrop to begin reading this book. It provides brief histories about the New Testament Church, the Restoration Movement in the United States, the development of black Churches of Christ in Texas, and Marshall Keeble, the evangelist responsible for planting the North Tenneha congregation. The content of this chapter should answer some of the questions you may have about Churches of Christ, or it could just be considered useful information. Feel free to skip this introduction if you do not believe it will be beneficial to you.

The New Testament Church

Christ founded the New Testament Church in Jerusalem A.D. 33 (Matt. 16:18). Jesus is the head of the church (Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18). God’s holy word, the Bible, is the sole authority for the faith and practice of the New Testament Church. The church that Christ established is organized. Elders, evangelists, deacons and members are all a part of that organization.

The New Testament Church is identified by two elements: The plan of salvation found in the Bible, and a standard of worship given by God. The plan of salvation teaches that all should hear the gospel, believe in Christ as the son of God, repent of sins, confess faith in Christ, and be baptized in water for the remission of sin. When Christians assemble to worship, they teach the word of God, sing praises to Him, pray, observe the Lord’s Supper, and give of their means which is done all according to the standard of worship given by God. North Tenneha Church of Christ is a replica of the New Testament Church.

The Restoration Movement

The Restoration Movement began after the Revolutionary War in the late 1700s in the United States. From 1793-1809, four separate movements started independently and later merged into one advocating not the start of a new church, but rather a return to Christ’s church as described in the Bible. The early 1900s was marked by a push to expose African Americans (more greatly) to New Testament Christianity.

The pioneers of the separate independent movements included James O’ Kelly, Abner Jones, Elias Smith, Barton W. Stone, Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell.

The first movement occurred in 1793 when James O’Kelly, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, withdrew from the Baltimore conference of his church and called upon others to join him in taking the Bible as the only creed.

The second movement came in 1802 when two Baptist men in New England, Abner Jones and Elias Smith, began a movement similar to O’Kelly’s. They were concerned about denominational names as creeds and decided to wear only the name Christian, taking the Bible as their only guide.

The third movement occurred two years later in 1804 when Barton W. Stone and several other Presbyterian preachers took action declaring they would take the Bible as the only sure guide to heaven.

Finally, in 1809 Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander Campbell took similar steps in what is now the state of West Virginia. They contended that nothing should be bound upon Christians as a matter of doctrine which is not as old as the New Testament.

The effort in the early 1900s to restore New Testament Christianity to African Americans had as its pioneers: Alexander (Aleck) Campbell, S.W. Womack, George Phillip Bowser and Marshall Keeble.

Black Churches of Christ in Texas

Throughout segregated Texas between 1923 and 1956, black evangelists and white church of Christ (COC) congregations worked in concert to save black souls. Together they made it possible for blacks to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and have a place to meet and worship the first day of the week. By the end of the year in 1956, there were 63 black COC congregations in the state. Twenty-one evangelists planted the local churches with massive growth occurring during the decades of the ‘30s and ‘40s (see Appendix A for details).

In 1935 North Tenneha became the first black COC congregation in Tyler, Texas, and the second COC congregation known to the city. Marshall Keeble, the most sought after evangelist of the Great Depression era, planted the church with the help of West Erwin COC, Tyler’s oldest COC congregation established (in 1885) 20 years after the end of the Civil War. Because Bro. Keeble and West Erwin COC had significant roles regarding this congregation’s beginnings, it is befitting that we focus first on them.

A Great Man of God—Marshall Keeble

Marshall Keeble was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee, Dec. 7, 1878, to former slaves Robert and Mittie Keeble. The family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, when Keeble was 4 years old. Keeble attended school in Nashville but was not able to go beyond the seventh grade because he took a job to help support the family.

In 1895, at age 17, Keeble was baptized into the Christian Church by Preston Taylor. Taylor is the preacher who later led the Keeble family and others out of the Gay Street Christian Church. In 1896, Keeble married S.W. Womack’s daughter, Minnie Womack. The Keebles and the Womacks were next door neighbors and members of the same congregation.

As early as age 18, earning a living for Keeble included working at a soap factory, owning a grocery store, and later, a huckster wagon. But Keeble’s life’s work was that of a gospel preacher. He learned how to preach by sitting under Joe McPherson’s preaching and by listening to Aleck Campbell and S.W. Womack. It is said that McPherson was one of three men who stood out as the foremost champions of the black Christian in the 20th century. Aleck Campbell is said to have been the first black Christian to withdraw from the Disciples of Christ because of unscriptural innovations. He and Womack are two of three men (Alexander Aleck Campbell, S.W. Womack and G.P. Bowser) credited with starting the New Testament Christianity among blacks. A.M. Burton, owner of the Life and Casualty Company of Nashville, encouraged Keeble to preach the gospel. Burton also financed the work of Keeble from the early 1920s and helped Keeble in both his travels and his work for the rest of his life.

In 1897, Keeble began preaching in Nashville, Tennessee. He preached at The Jackson Street Church of Christ, his home congregation. He preached in many places and did not involve himself in located work. In other words, he was not the ministering evangelist of any given congregation. In 1914, he gave up all his business interests to preach the gospel only. He held gospel meetings in brush-arbors, tents, barns and church buildings. Over the next 60 years of preaching, according to reports, he established more than 200 congregations and sometimes baptized more than 100 people in a single gospel