Trusting Unsound Teachers
Kerry Duke

Young people are by nature trusting.  This makes them easy to teach, but it also leaves them vulnerable.  By the time they finish high school, they have gained some feeling of independence.  They have been burned enough times to know they can’t believe everything or trust just anybody.  They retain some of their youthful innocence of mind and with it some gullibility.  They are to differing degrees naive at this pivotal stage.  Though Christian upbringing certainly offsets some of  this vulnerability, even the wisest eighteen-year-old has a lot to learn.

One of the most tragic situations in the church today is young, trusting hearts being misled by unbiblical teachers.  Thousands of young Christian minds are being corrupted in universities that are called Christian. They have been told—often by parents, preachers, or elders—that they will get a good Christian education.  Many of these adults graduated from these universities themselves.  So these young souls enter a “Christian” university.  When they go to their classes, they assume that teachers can be trusted to teach them the truth.  They are often unaware that many unsound teachers are in these universities.  They have no understanding of how subtle and deceptive false teachers are.  They are oblivious to their double talk.  They hear strange sounds but they don’t know how to test them with Scripture. They feel their convictions begin to fade, but the teachers reassure them that these new ideas are solid.  These teachers, they think, seem to know so much, and they seem so nice and humble.

In this setting teachers ask hard questions.  In fact, they ask questions that are so hard they themselves cannot answer them.  These are not questions about math or science but questions about the Bible and about matters of heaven and hell.  Students are bombarded by questions they have never heard.  Usually they are left with more questions than answers.  It is good to be challenged in school with questions that take time and effort to solve.  But when the focus is on complex and intricate questions, with no help or attempt to solve them, students tend to become unsettled and discouraged.  When the effect of the questions is doubt instead of edification, students confused by these questions are vulnerable to false teaching.  They begin to wonder about everything: Are unbaptized people lost?  Is instrumental music in worship wrong?  Is social drinking sinful?

Many adults don’t even consider the enormous pressure placed on their young people.  They tell them, “You know the Bible, so stand up for it.”  I wonder how many of those adults, even at their age, would do this.  Remember, we are talking about young people.  I realize there are young people who resist this pressure.  I understand that some of them are strong enough to stand.  But we cannot deny that in youth we are not as able to deal with such pressures.  We are more easily intimidated when we are young.  Jereboam and other Israelites pressured Rehoboam “when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted and could not withstand them” (II Chron. 13:7).  Rehoboam was forty-one years old when this happened!

The culture these young people have grown up with makes them even more suspect to the influences of these unsound teachers.  Many of them have been conditioned by thousands of hours of substanceless television.  They are often impressed with sound more than content, with show more than substance, with feeling more than truth.  To them, a Bible teacher who is funny and intellectual is great.  He actually may be quite shallow in his knowledge of the Bible, but he uses a lot of technical, high-sounding words, and these students think he is brilliant because they equate vocabulary with intelligence.  I have been amazed at listening to college professors regarded as scholars by many.  They throw around Greek terms and complex theological expressions without having much understanding of them.  But this kind of speech impresses those of like mind.  These same teachers know little about the Bible and teach falsely.  Young or old minds who stand in awe of this carnal display are easily deceived.  On the other hand, a teacher who really has a thorough grasp of the Scriptures but is not entertaining or impressive to the carnal side is viewed as a burden.

These young, unsuspecting souls are often open to influences so subtle they do not see them.  Teachers do not simply instill facts in students.  They mold attitudes. When teachers fail to respect or believe the Bible, their attitude affects the people they teach.  Many false teachers, especially those who are college professors, have an arrogant attitude.  This sows arrogance in the students, and intellectual pride will lead them to adopt any false position that serves to display their brilliance. These teachers are also irreverent.  They make sarcastic remarks about authority and tradition.  They crack jokes about elders and preachers they consider to be dogmatic (of course, they themselves are not dogmatic).  Young people who are already being tempted to rebel against authority are then even more tempted to become  resentful of rules.  When a teacher ridicules conscientious God-fearing Christians, calling them “lawkeepers” and “traditionalists,” these young students can become inflamed toward the church of Christ as they have known it.  Even when these teachers teach the truth on a Bible subject, they encourage another attitude that is perhaps the most subtle and destructive of all: the spirit of toleration.  They admit some matters of Bible teaching, but they caution students not to get upset if anyone denies that teaching.  Dialogue is the key, they insist, not debate.  So these young people are taught that unbiblical practices are wrong, but they are told not to make a big deal about them.  Be tolerant, these teachers say.  At the same time, these teachers urge a burning intolerance toward those who disagree with their tolerant stance.

Some parents know there is false teaching in our Universities, but they won’t say anything against it.  Some preachers and elders know about the doctrinal problems at these schools, but they continue to recommend them to young people without a word of warning.  Some churches resent a preacher exposing false doctrine in these Universities because, they say, “We don’t have that problem here.”  They don’t, of course, until these infected students come to their congregation.

Editorial

The men that started our Christian colleges and Universities had a special thing in mind.  They were interested in young people getting an education of the right kind.  These men well understood that they could help Christian parents and the Christian home by making Christian education a reality.  These great and good men that brought into existence such schools as David Lipscomb, Freed-Hardeman, Alabama Christian (now Faulkner University), Harding University, Abilene Christian University, etc., had in mind not just a higher education, but Christian education.

The men that worked so hard and gave so much wanted young men and women to have a special and select Christian association while getting their higher education.  They knew that young men and young women were going to get married and they further knew that in all liklihood they would get married while in the university or college.  These Christian schools would provide such for these young people.

Not only did these founders of Christian schools know that young people would meet and marry but they also knew that out of such schools would come preachers and their wives, elders and their wives, deacons and their wives, Bible school teachers and their wives, along with good Christians.  So these men of vision knew that Christian education would be a tremendous help to furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ and to world missions.

It used to be that the campuses of our Christian Universities were the nearest place to heaven on earth.  Young men and young women learned to dress in modest apparel while on the campus of our Christian Universities.  They learned sound Bible doctrine while on these campuses.  They learned the evil and sinfulness of denominationalism while on these campuses.  They learned the sinfulness of instrumental music while on these campuses.  They learned that the Bible is a trustworthy book while on the Christian University campus. They learned how to worship God in sprit and in truth while on these campuses.  They learned much about true Christianity while on these campuses.

But what about our “Christian Universities and colleges” today?  They have sold out to denominationalism and the world.  Immodest apparel can be seen and is upheld by most of them.  Most of them have teachers who are wrecking the faith of our young people through modernistic teaching and liberal doctrine.  Some of these institutions have teachers that do not believe all the Bible is reliable and that all of it is inspired of God.  Some of the teachers in these institutions teach handclapping, humming, instrumental music, solos, praise teams, choirs, drama, etc. are acceptable in worshiping God.  On and on this list goes and then some wonder why we have the biggest mess in the churches of Christ we have had since the days of the apostles of Jesus Christ!

I have not found a teacher nor a University president that is willing to stand up and defend what is taking place in the Universities they serve.  If one reads this material and is ready to do so, then I am ready to oblige him.  Our campus at Tennessee Bible College is open to any University president or University teacher that is willing to come and lecture then give us the chance to ask questions.  On the other hand, we are willing to go to any University and lecture and then be willing to answer questions from the audience. We have offered to do such in all these directions but until this day no one has accepted nor is willing to come to Tennessee Bible College.  What do you suppose is wrong or doth hinder all these University presidents and faculty members?  The “Christian Universities and Colleges” have sold the faithful Christians down the stream.  We did not leave them, but they have left us.

Members of the church of Christ can go on telling themselves that our “Christian Universities” are still sound and they can go on sending their children to them but they will pay a big price in many cases.  What will the price tag be?  Their children will return to them with a wrecked faith in many cases.  This has already happened in a sizable way and is growing with each passing year.  Many may not like what I have said but it is the truth and I am willing to stand behind it.
—Malcolm L. Hill

Introduced to Unsound Preachers
David Hill

One of the great dangers of sending a son or daughter off to our traditional Christian universities is the contact with false teachers or unsound gospel preachers.  For a number of years Freed-Hardeman, Lipscomb, Harding, Oklahoma Christian, Abilene Christian, Faulkner and others have hosted false teachers for special lectureships, camps and chapel programs.  In fact, with a little investigation one will find that the chapel proram has been a relatively inconspicuous means  of hosting false teachers on campus without the general public of the church knowing.  This accomplishes two things: first, it keeps the door open between the university and the large congregation where the false teacher preaches for the all important cash flow; second, it makes for good politics as the university is playing everyone’s tune (Lk. 6:26).  The result of this activity is that children sent to the Christian college with kids from all backgrounds are caught with their guard down.  They have been told that everything is good and right at XYZU; therefore, they are not on guard for the subtle challenges to their thought and faith.  When the false teacher appears before them, their friends perhaps from his (the false teacher’s) congregation look dreamy-eyed at him in the pulpit and say “isn’t he wonderful?”  Thus, the innocent child is then forced to choose sides whether they want to or not.  To say, “I’m not impressed” will put them out of favor with their new-found friends and will force them against seemingly insurmountable odds on campus.  Plus, in their mind they begin to reason, “who am I (a student) to withstand this big university with all of its smart people.”  So, they retreat to the only solution that seems achievable at the time and that is to keep quiet and compromise, and it’s that decision that starts the spiritual death spiral.  If one halts “between two opinions,” then the devil’s work flourishes (I Kgs. 18:21).  They are listening to the council of the ungodly (Ps. 1:1), and the devil is prepared at that point to escort them comfortably into the seat of the scornful where they can comfortably recline their way into eternal destruction.

A recently received brochure will illustrate clearly the mindset of the educators at the major Christian universities referenced above the exposure risk to our children.  The National Conference On Youth Ministries program for January of 2004 highlights the continued conspiracy against our youth.  Dudley Chancey, youth ministry instructor at Oklahoma Christian University organizes this conference and has invited: Rubel Shelley, Randy Harris, Don and Susan McLaughlin, Jeff Walling, Mike Yaconelli and Doug Fields.  Five of the seven most members of the church will recognize as false teachers in the church, but what about those last two men mentioned in the brochure?  Well, sadly, Mike Yaconelli has now gone to meet his maker as the result of an automobile accident in October that took his life.  But, he was Pastor at Grace Church in Yreka, California.  Where?  That’s right, Grace Church.  Who invited him?  Dudley Chancey, teacher at Oklahoma Christian.  Do you know who Doug Fields is?  He is considered to be one of the country’s most progressive youth pastors at the Saddleback Church in Newport Beach, California.  Is that Saddleback church of Christ?  No, it is a big denominational church in California.  Who invited him?  A teacher at Oklahoma Christian University!  The plans for this program are to have sweet fellowship with these false teachers and you’re invited.  Now you set your sights on OCU, but wait a minute, each of the above-mentioned wayward brethren have been on the campus of at least one of the universities mentioned in the beginning of this article with the possible exception being Faulkner University which has sat quietly by while these men have come and gone in and out of the churches in Montgomery that serve the campus.  This is not an isolated incident, but one example of many such programs in which all of the major colleges among us have been involved with over several years.  Does such activity affect your son or daughter in one of these schools?  You better believe it does.  One way or another it will most likely influence them and could affect them for the rest of their lives (James 1:14,15).

Most people marry while in college or just out of college.  Their field of prospective dates (potential spouses) usually comes from their fellow students.  What is their background?  Your grandson may have been reared right only to take a “strange wife” (Ezra 10) from a large denominational church of Christ.  That is bound to affect him. How will it influence him?  She will temper his response to false teaching and false practices.  She doesn’t believe them to be bad, because she grew up in a home and a congregation where anything has been allowed.   Her parents are certainly not bad people in her eyes, and she will not concede that either she or they have done wrong.  Furthermore, she participated in the activities growing up, so she knows they can’t be bad.  When the newlywed couple goes out to their first job and they begin to look for a congregation, chances are great they will settle on one by compromise and it will lean heavily toward the kind of congregation in which she was reared.  Now your once bold grandson is standing “in the way of sinners” at an unsound congregation and unless something changes he and his family will be found “sitting in the seat of the scornful” (Psa. 1).  All of this occurred because of the introduction to unsound preachers through one of our unsound Christian colleges.

This is a very serious situation facing the church right now. What can a parent or grandparent do?  Well, it may now be too late to turn the colleges around, but at least our children need to be warned, and perhaps its time to make alternate plans.  You can vote with your dollars, and private colleges do pay attention to that!  Seek out schools in which you can have confidence.  Again, your money will count in your child or grandchild’s decision, because someone has to be responsible for the bill.  The Psalmist said; “Blessed in the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psa.1:1); that seems to describe the subject of this article — introduced to unsound preachers.

Meeting a Mate and Marrying
Glenn B. Ramsey

There are many concerns that Christian parents have about their children.  Their physical health and well-being is paramount (I Tim. 5:8).  Their mental and social developments are very important (Luke 2:52).  But the spiritual well-being of the children should be of the greatest concern (Eph. 6:4).

It is because of this concern that Christian parents should be active in teaching their sons and daughters the great importance of selecting the proper mate.  Of equal concern, the Christian parents work to instill in their children the importance of “marrying for life.”  In all of these things parents realize that their children have their own free will and may or may not follow the wisdom of their Father and Mother.  This should NOT keep the parents from doing all that is within their power to influence the children to do right and be right in these life decisions.

It has been, for many years, the thinking of Christian parents that the good influence of Christian schools, along with the fact that Christian young people attend these schools, should help their children in these important decisions.  Indeed, if Christian young people associate together in their young years the probability is that they will marry Christians.  This writer believes that every Christian parent should insist with all his/her might that the young man or woman marry one who is a Christian.  What could be better?  Much could be worse.

This does NOT mean that when a boy meets and marries a Christian girl that she will remain faithful to the Lord.  But the conditions are right for a strong Christian life in this arrangement.  Other arrangements are fraught with danger.

Here is the concern that should be in the hearts of all Christian Mothers and Fathers:  How can we be sure that the Christian school our children attend will teach them properly and influence them best in the selection of a life time married partner?  What if the school uses teachers that do not understand and instruct the Bible teachings concerning the permanence of marriage as taught in Matthew 19:1-9 and Romans 7:1-3?

What if the school uses teachers that do not believe the Bible teaching on the necessity of baptism for remission of sins.”  What if the school has teachers who do not believe in the God authorized headship of the husband over his family?  What if the school has teachers who do not believe in the authority of elders in the local congregations?  What if the school has teachers who do not believe that it is sinful to use instruments of music in worship?  What if the school has teachers who would allow women to take a leading role in public worship?

All of these “what if” situations may be much more real than most Christian parents realize.  I recall a young man telling me that the students that came to the school he was attending were much more faithful to the Word of God, as far as the church and Christian living were concerned, than were many of the teachers in that school!

No longer is there a guarantee that when Christian parents send their children to so-called Christian schools that those children will receive proper instruction and guidance in the pure teachings of the Bible!

What can parents do?  They can accept the obligation of investigating the schools that are being considered.  Who are the teachers?  What do the teachers believe and practice?  What is the policy of the school as to moral behavior of its students?  Does the school court the liberal elements of the church to raise its money?  If it does, the one who “pays the fiddler, calls the tune!”

Parents must not leave anything up for doubt.  They must pray and work and teach and love and help their children find and marry a lifelong companion.  We thank God for parents who instill within their children Christian principles.  We cannot allow anything (apostate schools, churches, etc.) to harm our precious young people.

The Power of Preachers
Malcolm L. Hill

Do preachers make any difference with people and churches?  Show me a preacher that is for a work and I will show you the church or congregation where he preaches is for that work. On the other hand, show me a preacher that is against a work and I will show you elders and the congregation where he preaches to be against that work. To a sizable degree we have a Pastor system in the church of Christ today. This is just as unscriptural as the Roman Catholic pope system or the diocese system in many denominations.

Some churches of Christ do not think this system is a bad and sinful system since they have utilized it for many years. Many elderships cannot do anything until they get the  “holy nod” from their little Pastor. He must have the final say before an evangelist can be accepted for a protracted gospel meeting. He must have the final say before preachers can be selected for the “summer series.” These little Pastors must have the final say before elders can be selected or before men can be appointed to the deaconship. These little Pastors of their own power and authority must pass on who will or will not be fellowshipped.

These little hirelings have much to do with mission work and who will and will not recieve support from the congregation where they preside as the Pastor. They must decide on who will teach the adult class during Vacation Bible School. If they are overlooked and the elders do not seek their opinion and advice, then they often pack up their little suitcase of sermonetts and move to another Pastorate like the denominational preachers do.

It is often the case that these little Pastors fly off the handle and hide behind their pulpits. They vent their anger like a little baby when he does not get his bottle as he wishes. I have often wondered how these little Pastor hirelings get by among the mountain people I have known all my life. Could it be that they know where to get mad and where not to get mad?

These little Pastors know how to hold their coffee cup and to pat the babies. They are exceptionaly good at religious politics. They belong to a gang and will stay with it as long as they are used and noticed. They are exceedingly good at straining out gnats and swallowing camels. Some of them can deny the inspiration of the Bible, but do not dare to reject  “our Christian heritage.” Some of them accept instrumental music in worship to God, but don’t you dare have a set order for worship. These little Pastors want unity of all believers at any cost no matter what the Bible says.

These little Pastor hirelings like to hear their names called in circles of influence. So they write extensively about well known preachers of influence thinking this causes others to notice them and call their name. These little Pastors like big churches and will do almost anything to stay with them except the refusal of being noticed and heard. Big churches can get rid of the little Pastors in a hurry by ignoring them.

Elders that let the preacher serve as a Pastor are a disgrace to the kingdom of God.  A church that puts up with such has already lost its spirituality. It may have a name that it lives, but it is dead. May God hasten the day when elders will rule over the church as God demands (Heb. 13:17; Acts 20:28-31; I Pet. 5:1-5), and get these little Pastors straightened out and turn them into gospel preachers of a real sort. By the way, John the Baptist never went to the beauty salon and got his finger nails filed, but he did have a camel’s hair suit.  His food looked like dried grasshoppers and his dessert was wild honey but could he ever preach (Matt. 3:1-10)!  My prayer is that God will send us some more preachers like John the Baptist who was interested in the kingdom of God more than anything on earth!

Learning Unscriptural Practices
Ronald D. Gilbert

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we lived in a world where all schools public and private, religious and secular taught the truth?  This however, is not the real world in which we live.  As parents many of us are very concerned about what our children are taught in many of our public school systems.  Most of them are taught a steady diet of evolution, situation ethics and that gay lifestyles are not to be looked down upon.  Most of our children are exposed to sex education where they are taught how to have safe sex rather than being taught when to have sex, which is after they are married.  Many of our public schools sponsor several dances each year and encourage the students to participate in lasciviousness.

Two of the greatest influences either for good or evil seems to be schools and brotherhood papers.  Study the Restoration movement and see if this was not the case back then.  Where a man goes to school does not necessarily determine his destiny but surely it has a great impact on him.  Thomas B. Warren went to Vanderbilt Divinity School and in spite of what he was taught there remained a faithful gospel preacher.  However, Rubel Shelly also graduated from Vanderbilt Divinity School and perhaps he was greatly influenced in the wrong direction while he was there.

Last spring, David Hill and I visited in the Northeast part of the nation.  While there we met a gospel preacher who was getting his degree at Yale Divinity School.  In our conversation with him he informed us he would be considered by many as a more progressive Christian than many in the south.  He had no problem with special singing groups in worship and he favored more use of women in worship, leading singing, prayers, waiting on the Lord’s table.  He also informed us that he would have no problem fellowshipping the United Church of Christ brethren, (which is just another denomination).

To show the influence of many of our schools and the teaching and learning of unscriptural practices consider the following.  For many years Florida Christian College operated with many of its faculty believing in and teaching antism.  During that time a great number of men graduated from that school only to go into local work and teach and divide churches over antism.  A great number of debates were conducted in order to keep the church almost as a whole from going into antism.  Did everyone who went to Florida Christian become an anti?  No.  But the majority of men who graduated there did believe and teach antism.

For several years James D. Bales taught at Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas.  Brother Bales was a false teacher on marriage, divorce and remarriage.  He did much writing.  Among the books he wrote was one called Not Under Bondage.  In that book, he took the position that Matthew 19:9 only applies to those in covenant relationship with Christ and not to marriages in the world that is, to non-Christians.  Many students sat at brother Bales’ feet and were taught false doctrine.  Many of them still today believe and teach what they were taught at Harding.

Southwestern Christian College in Terrell, Texas is another example.  Jack Evans, President and James Maxwell, Vice-President at Southwestern Christian College are both on record as a matter of public debate of believing and teaching that baptism makes an unscriptural marriage a scriptural marriage.  Do you believe what they teach is making a difference on their graduates?  If not, contact one of the men trained to preach at that school and see what he teaches on marriage, divorce and remarriage.

Many young minds at many of our so-called Christian schools are learning to go to Winterfest and listen to men like Jeff Walling because they attended Winterfest while they were in college.  At these lectureships they are introduced to men like Jeff Walling, Don McLaughlin, Rick Atchley, Joe Beam, F. LaGard Smith, Randy Harris and others who are leaders in digression.  Then later after they graduate from college, get married, and they are deacons and youth leaders at the local congregations these are the men they look to and bring to the local church.  (If you are an elder or preacher in the Lord’s church and don’t know who the above mentioned men are then you need to do a better job keeping up).

Many of our schools feel they should be above criticism because of the good they have done in the past.  The leaders of our brotherhood schools should be held accountable by the brotherhood for the direction they are taking their schools.  Many unscriptural practices are being learned at our brotherhood schools.  It can be turned around.  However, it takes a brotherhood that loves the truth and is willing to stand for truth and nothing but the truth.

The Kind of Preachers God Approves
Malcolm L. Hill

In this issue of Living Oracles I wrote an article on "The Pastor System."  I now want to turn my attention to THE KIND OF PREACHERS GOD APPROVES. God approves of preachers with a big heart and soul.  God wants the heart of his preachers to be tender, teachable and touchable.  God has always loved those who say, “Speak Lord, they servant heareth, command and he will obey.”  God wants preachers that are men.  They are men of principle, men of good morals and high conduct.  No, this does not mean that God’s preachers are perfect, but they are men that will correct wrongs, repent and do right.

God wants preachers that are selfless and not selfish. He wants men who think of others and take to heart their welfare and wellbeing.  God wants men that will cooperate in that which is right and unconcerned about who will receive the glory.  God wants men that are free of envy, strife, and ill will.  God wants preachers that place righteousness before money and love of God before worldly acclaim.  He wants men that will preach the truth and live or preach the truth and die.  God wants preachers that will stand for truth without flinching when Satan’s darts are hurled and friends forsake.

God’s man does not know what retreat means in times of spiritual battle and war.  God’s faithful preacher lifts up his voice and cries aloud and spares not.  He is never partial in his proclamation of the Holy Bible and never swerves in debate and battle.  God’s preacher never jumps to conclusions but is always a factfinder.  His mind is open to truth from all sides and on all issues.  The man of God would never think of misrepresenting anyone.  He knows and fully realizes that God is the God of truth and as His servant he must be like His Maker.

God’s preacher is full of life and energy.  He preaches the living word and the living way with a living spirit.  He preaches what people like and what they do not like.  He preaches God’s message when people get mad and when they get glad; when they laugh and when they cry; when they rebel and when they obey; when they agree and when they disagree; when they amen and when they condemn; when they love him and when they hate him; when they believe him and when they disbelieve him.  He preaches the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  God’s man is not in the pulpit to entertain but sustain.  His mission is not to tell jokes but to expose the jokers.

God’s preacher is sometimes happy and sometimes sad.  He knows about tears of joy and tears of sorrow.  He knows what it is to stand alone and to stand with a few.  He never considers trading the right for the wrong and truth for error.  He never moves from one position until he sees and knows the right way--the Bible way.  God’s preacher is not directed in teaching and life by what his reputation will be if he follows the Bible.  He is concerned with following the truth and he knows that his reputation will take care of itself.

God’s man is not guided by what others might think of him if he takes a certain stand for the Bible, but he is concerned with what God thinks about him and his stand.  He knows no such thing as being a part of a religious political party.  God’s preacher is not concerned with his friends and family bailing out on him but he is concerned with God’s providence, presence, and love.  The man of God is humble, sincere, and trustworthy.  He would never betray anyone’s trust and certainly not God’s trust of the gospel with which he has been entrusted.  The Book of books for God’s preachers is the Bible and in it he meditates both day and night. God’s man is a man of prayer morning, noon, and night.  He prays for the sick, he prays for the church, he prays for wisdom, he prays for his enemies, he prays for longsuffering and forbearance, he prays for his family, and he spends much prayer for himself to do and be right.

God’s preacher is concerned about happiness for himself, for his family, for his friends, for the church, and for the entire world.  God’s man is forever thankful for all the many blessings received from the great and good hand of God.  God’s preacher tries to make the world a better place in which to live.  His goal is to lift people up and save the lost.