For 20 years, and at a cost of $84,000, we have published The Angelus. Twenty-one years ago, the first edition rolled off our press. The name was taken from the painting by Jean Francois Millet that bears that name. It depicts a farmer and his wife pausing in their work to pray. It is now painted on each edition.

Our motto,

That a bell it may be; calling to thee

To Awake and Arise, And to Christ lift your eyes...

expresses our purpose to make each edition informative, inspirational, and evangelistic. In March 1974, we mailed 300 copies. We currently mall over 2300 copies.

During the same period of time, we have published 32 gospel messages in our local newspapers at a cost of $20,000. This is in addition to writing 150 newspaper editorials. We have written 30 tracts, 4 books, and compiled e songbook, in addition to republishing 2 Christian classics of the past.

Nineteen of these years, we have taught National Baptists at the Augusta Extension of the American Baptist Theological Seminary out of Nashville, Tennessee.

Both our sons are students at. Bob Jones University in Greenville, So. Carolina. Timothy Dwight, Jr. will graduate in May; John Wesley will be a rising junior. Anna Judson is a junior at Curtis Baptist School here in Augusta. Our children have never attended public schools. Catherine and I made a vow before God that if we were reduced to bread and water, we still would not allow anti-Christian educators to have our children.

We could have had our own home and a handsome automobile, but in my youth, I came under the powerful conviction of two gospel songs. One was by E. Margaret Clarkson. She wrote,

So send I you to labor unrewarded,

To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,

To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing -

So send I you to toil for Me alone.

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,

O’er wandering souls to work to weep, to wake,

To bear the burdens of a world aweary—

So send I you to suffer for my sake.

So send I you to loneliness and longing,

With heart a-hungering for the loved and known,

Forsaking home and kindred, friend and dear one,

So send I you to know My love alone.

So send I you to leave your life’s ambition,

To die to dear desire, self-will resign,

To labor long and love where men revile you –

So send I you to lose your life in Mine.

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,

To eyes made blind because they will not see,

To spend -though it be blood- to spend and spare not-

So send I you to taste of Calvary.

The other was by Mary Thompson. She wrote,

Give of thy sons to bear the message glorious;

Give of thy wealth to speed them on their way;

Pour out thy soul for them in prayer victorious,

And all thou spendest, Jesus will repay.

Any good we have been able to accomplish is certainly to be equally shared with my loyal and sacrificing wife, and with the 20 May our Lord Jesus Christ be pleased to multiply our feeble offerings as He did the loaves and the fishes so long ago.

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NOTE: Catherine Walcott, age 16, is a member of the junior class at Curtis Baptist School in Augusta, Ga. Last December, her father died of cancer. She wrote the following as an article for the school newspaper. We asked her permission to print it here.

1. GRIEVE ---John 11:35, "Jesus wept" (for Lazarus, a friend of His who died). Jesus understands our suffering. He suffered, and for us.

2. CLING TO GOD -Psalm 73:26,28, "...God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.... But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God..." I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge.

3. CLAIM A VERSE – Memorize a verse that gives you comfort for you specific need. John 14:27; Philippians 4:13; Matthew 11:28-30

4. PRAISE THE LORD—When you’re hurting, praise the lord. It changes the hopeless situation into hope in the lord because of his loving character.

5. SHARE YOUR GRIEF—Tell someone who will understand your pain. Talking about your situation will help get the burden off your shoulders.

6. HELP OTHERS—Look for someone else to help while you’re in pain. It will help you to take your mind off of your problem, and it will help you to feel better.

"...He is one of the saddest persons I have met. He has never married, and lives only for the present. When he lies down in death, he will leave nothing behind; nor has he anything pleasurable to look forward to. How sad! How sad it is that any man would have no love for the Lord; no love for the people of God; no love for the truth of God! He is as most are: he is spiritually dead. His portion is only in this life. He is a man of the world, a child of the Devil –Lost! We have attempted to leave gospel truth with him, but we are impotent to make him drink it in. God must awaken him if he is ever to gain spiritual consciousness..."

To SS, a Dear Charismatic Friend--

"...I have delayed writing you for over a month because I did not know whether on account of my love for you I should let the issue of the Holy Spirit drop, or whether as friends -brothers in Christ, I should be frank, and not be expected to ‘walk on eggs.’

"Don’t take this as a personal attack, but I have nothing but contempt for the modem charismatic movement. Nothing about it is holy. There is within the movement little regard for obedience. It is empty, frothy, emotionalism. While the charismatics profess to follow the Holy Spirit, they reject all standards of separation from the world. Their men have no convictions about wearing their hair long, and often are effeminate. Their women demand to have the pre-eminence, and wear that which ’pertains unto the man.’ Their families are ruled by a spirit of permissiveness, and their children nearly always go to Hell.

"Their music is theatrical, sensual, and causes men to judge things emotionally like women; and they use the name of Jesus like an incantation. I love people too much to entertain them –to play with spirituality and pretend we are honoring the Lord, even though we have no desire to please the Lord. S, ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend,’ and I am a friend. ‘May God Smile On You.’"

In the last six months, I have received letters from two law-firms that were drumming up business using the issue of copyright. The first wrote,

"To: Pastors and Church Board Members

"An Encouraging Update -Here is some news that should encourage you. For the past five years, my practice has specialized in church legal matters. During that time I’ve seen a growing number of lawsuits against churches and church leaders. Christian education, employment issues, even counseling methods are all subject to increasing legal scrutiny.

"There is one area of church activity, however, where progress has been made to help alleviate the threat of legal entanglements. That is the area of music copyright infringement. As you are probably aware, copying music --whether transparencies, song sheets, printing songs in church bulletins, even recording songs for a tape ministry -without prior written permission from the song owner is strictly prohibited by law.

"Fortunately, legal permission to copy most music for congregational use can now be easily attained through a special ‘blanket’ copyright license available from a company called Christian Copyright Licensing Inc., ‘(CCLI)’ The license—called the Church Copyright License --allows a church to legally copy over 100,000 songs from more than 1,200 publishers. The vast majority of songs being used in churches today are covered by this license.

"Currently, over 60,000 churches are utilizing the Church Copyright License to help them comply with the copyright law. If your church is involved in copying music without the proper authorization, you should consider taking steps to reduce the risk of music copyright infringement claims. These could include: 1.) Purchase all music. Do not copy anything. 2.) Obtain written permission from the copyright owner of each song you want to copy and pay the required fees. 3.) Purchase a Church Copyright License. The License provides blanket permission to copy over 100,000 songs from over 1,200 cooperating publishers, for congregational use.

"Many churches have found the Church Copyright License to be ethical, beneficial and practical. The annual fee is based upon regular church attendance. For example, a church with just under 200 people attending its largest weekly worship service would pay $140 per year.

"To receive more information about this valuable license, simply complete the enclosed information request form and drop it in the mall. You may also call CCLI’s toll-free number at 1-800-234-2446. In either case, the staff is well informed and courteous and there is no obligation.

"I hope this information has been helpful. Warm Regards,

(signed).

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the legal morass that lawyers have brought into the church! It is utter nonsense! The purpose of copyright laws is to protect the work of one person or persons from being seized by another for profit or credit as if it were his own. For instance, if this editor were to write an article, a book, a song, or paint a picture that another sold as his own work, it is simple robbery. However, if another was inclined to use his work, so long as he acknowledged the source, is this not an honor and a blessing to the workman? Here was my response.

"Dear Sir: I received your letter regarding the ‘Church

Copyright License,’ and I have two thoughts. First, it is true that

Christians ought to practice good ethics, but the Bible forbids Christians to take other Christians to court. All who do so are disobedient to the Word of God (I Cor. 6:1-8).

"Second, for just such entanglements of law, Gen. James Oglethorpe did not allow lawyers into colonial Georgia. He called them ‘the pest and scourge of mankind.’ The Apostle Paul wrote in the above passage, ‘I speak this to your shame’ (5a). I would urge you to awake to righteousness, lest the Lord be again heard to say, ‘Woe unto you, lawyers’ (Lk. 11:52). ‘May God Smile You.’-J.S. Bach"

FROM READERS: "I just finished The God Who Is, and can only say as I heard a young boy say when he was amazed with a new-fangled toy: ‘Totally awesome, man!’ I had already had a basis of belief on these truths, but it was strengthened and fixed in order by your book, and has been well presented so that there is no room left for doubt." -Norm Bedew, Fayetteville, Ga. –Send for your free copy.

"...I am also re-reading your wonderful book God Hath Spoken. It is more of a blessing the second time than it was the first." --Janice Williamson, Norcross, Ga.--Send for your free copy.

"I greatly appreciate your book, God Hath Spoken. It is the best treatment of the subject for lay people that I have read."

--Cad Graham, Anglers, N.C.

"I enjoyed your book God Hath Spoken. I use it a lot to get my points across to my adult Discipleship Training Class. If you ever put out another book like this one, please send me one." -Leo Ringgold, Holdenville, OK

Is the person to whom you give your ear worthy of your attention? That person whose advice you follow -is he or she the type of person you want to be? Will the Lord be pleased, and will He bless you if you listen to them and follow their advice? Is that person a godly man or woman, or do they talk against the people of God with a vengeance? Do they speak passionately, and with a spirit of bitterness?

Reader, you will become like the person whose advice you follow. Is your counselor vain and profane? or, is he or she prayerful-and walking humbly before the Lord? Does their advice help you on your earthly pilgrimage? or does it drive you farther and farther away from the things of God?. Reader, beware!

THE MILITARY CHAPLAINCY INSIGNIA

A Moslem has just been admitted Into the U.S. military chaplaincy. Since he would not want to wear the cross denoting a Christian chaplain, or the tablets and the star of David denoting a Jewish chaplain, he might have been allowed to wear the sign of the crescent. Instead, all chaplains now will have to wear a sun with its attendant rays to denote the presence of God in nature.

It will be interesting to see if there is any Christian chaplain who will refuse to wear the pantheistic emblem. In this Laodicean age, even the heathen have more convictions than most Christians do!

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