Month: January 2016

Today I post the final chapter of the audiobook version of The Sun Will Shine Again Someday by Ronny F. Wade. Chapter 10, “Among the Churches,” features four congregations with long and rich histories—Burkhart (Near Joplin, MO), Harrodsburg, IN, New Salem (Brookhaven, MS), and Mozier, IL. This chapter is one of my personal favorites. Along with important history, Ronny relates some humorous and charming stories about these churches. Following chapter 10 is the closing section “About the Author,” also part of the audiobook, which brings this project to completion. I wish to thank Ronny again for granting permission to make the recording and I only hope that my efforts have proved worthy of the task.

https://restorationaudiobooks.com/audio-books/the-sun-will-shine-again-someday-1986/

What of the Future? –Chapter 9 of the Sun Will Shine Again, Someday, by Ronny F. Wade. This chapter discusses the status of the one-cup, non-class churches of Christ as things stood in 1986 and demonstrates how this brotherhood of people has been woefully misrepresented by church of Christ historians. The first sentence in the chapter is a good summary of its contents. “The group of people who oppose the modern Sunday-school and a plurality of cups in the communion have gained the status they now enjoy by hard work and diligent perseverance.” May this “hard work and diligent perseverance” also characterize the church of today! This chapter is a shorter one; the audio is only 14 minutes in length. https://restorationaudiobooks.com/audio-books/the-sun-will-shine-again-someday-1986/

“Shadows”—the title of chapter 8 of the Sun Will Shine Again Someday, by Ronny F. Wade. This chapter leads the reader through some of the “shadows” that fell across the brotherhood as the decade of the 1960, 70s, and 80s unfolded. These “Shadows” include the deaths of Homer Gay, J.D. Phillips and Homer King; the departure of J. Ervin Waters; and H.E. Robertson and the divorce and remarriage controversy. These men are pictured below (in order): Homer Gay, J.D. Phillips, Homer King, H.E. Robertson, and J. Ervin Waters. To listen click on “Audio Books” above, then “The Sun Will Shine Again, Someday,” and scroll down to chapter 8.

 

 

The Sun Will Shine Again Someday, by Ronny F Wade, Chapter 7.

The 4^th of July meeting formally held at Lebanon, MO (now in Springfield) began in 1981. Long before that, there was a “Camp Meeting” held for a few years at Bennett Spring state park about 11 miles from Lebanon that began about 80 years ago—in the mid-1930s (see announcement below). Clovis Cook, in his latter years, lived near Bennett Spring and one day in 1995 he and I took a little drive down to Bennett and he showed me the general area where the meetings took place. The photos of the area below come from Google Maps. These photos don’t look like much, I know, but I thought some might enjoy seeing them. For those of you who are local to Lebanon and Bennett Spring, the area Clovis showed me is just north, northeast of the Church of God building that has stood for years in the north-central area of the park. The building is partially visible in the photos below. Although the Church of God structure has been there a long time, Clovis told me that he did not remember it being there in the years when the meetings were held. The whole area was a “wilderness,” I believe he called it.

This meeting is just one of the things that Ronny F. Wade highlights in chapter 7 of his book, “The Sun Will Shine Again, Someday.” The chapter is titled, “Years of Growth and Progress: 1940-1960.” In chapter 7 the time-line begins to emerge from the early decades of the 20^th century, into the 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond. The brotherhood described here begins to take on a more familiar “look and feel” to today’s reader. Chapter 7 audio is posted here: https://restorationaudiobooks.com/audio-books/the-sun-will-shine-again-someday-1986/

 

 

A very sad period for the one cup, no class brotherhood occurred when division came over Acts 2:42 and the “order of worship” question. The event that marked the break was the resignation of J. D. Phillips (far right below) from the editorial staff of the OPA in June 1939 (image below). Chapter 6 of “The Sun Will Shine Again Someday” by Ronny F. Wade relates the behind-the-scenes story that surrounds the tragic situation. The story is told through personal letters between Homer L. King, Homer A. Gay, and J. D. Phillips (pictured below, left to right). Although a sad story, you will want to know the story if for no other reason than the lessons it can teach us as a people who strive for unity. https://restorationaudiobooks.com/audio-books/the-sun-will-shine-again-someday-1986/

PS: I have been informed of a misreading in the “Dedication” at the beginning of the book. I have now corrected it. In making an audio recording of an entire book, mistakes are inevitable and I know I’ve made others beside the one in the Dedication (misreading names, omission of words etc.). This mistake in the Dedication is easier to correct and less significant, however, than others I’ve made in the book, so the correction has been made. Any others will have to wait.