Not so long ago, February brought Lectureship to the campus at Abilene Christian. Throughout the middle of the 20th century the lectures drew preachers and church leaders among Churches of Christ from around the world. It was like a big reunion. It was a time for retreat and renewal. It could not escape church politics but theme lectures and classes brought ideas into the spotlight and helped spark positive changes – like integration.
Three years before Martin Luther King led the march on Washington and four years before Johnson's Civil Rights Act one of the Lectureship speakers stood up to say:
I feel certain that Jesus would say: "Ye hypocrites! You say you are the only true Christians, and make up the only true church, and have the only Christian schools. Yet, you drive one of your own preachers to denominational schools where he can get credit for his work and refuse to let him take Bible for credit in your own school because the color of his skin is dark!"
Our moral attitudes are so mixed up that we use the story of Philemon and Onesimus to justify refusing a Negro admission to study Bible in our graduate school of Bible.
A Methodist college will admit our own Negro preacher brethren and give them credit for their work. Baptist colleges in Texas will do as much. Our State universities will admit them.
There is no law of our State or nation that will censor us. The Bible does not rule against it. Why are we afraid? The integrated schools of San Angelo, Texas, ninety miles from
Abilene, are rated at the top in our nation. Are we moral cowards on this issue? There are people with money who will back us in our last ditch stand for white supremacy in a world
of pigmented people. God forbid that we shall be the last stronghold among religious schools where the politico-economic philosophy of naturalism determines our moral conduct.
http://www.bible.acu.edu/crs/doc/mccm.htm
Just a year or so following that lecture by Dr. Carl Spain, the first African-American graduate student enrolled at Abilene Christian. The next year Blacks were enrolled as undergraduates. No one would claim Lectureship made that happen, but it helped.
That seems like a lifetime ago. Okay, it was a lifetime. We no longer live in the 20th century. Church members have been moving into the marketplace and away from farming just like most other Americans. The annual Bible Lectureship doesn't need to work around farm schedules any more. Besides, the weather in Abilene is lousy in February. Lectureship moved to September and has been re-branded as "Summit."
This ain't your father's Lectureship. Under Brady Bryce there has been a solid push to bring the Lectures to the student body. The speakers are drawn from a much larger pool. Social media is used to bring greater participation into the experience. But perhaps one of the greatest differences is the separation from Sing Song. Fortunately Sing Song has its own pull. Almost a third of the student body participates in some way. Parents and alumni make the trek to Abilene to yell for their young ones while spreading welcome dollars to local motels and restaurants.
Sing Song is definitely an experience. Sing Song is hard to describe. I'd say it has to be experienced. The Pitch Perfect movies introduced audiences to competitive acapella singing. But, that's not really what Sing Song is. There is an element of competition but there's more to it than that. Most of the songs are medleys prepared by professionals. Often the lyrics explore the ACU experience. Some of the songs refer to campus events and personalities.Others just re-purpose popular melodies in humorous ways. There is an energy generated by the enthusiasm of a thousand students. Even if you don't have a connection to the clubs or classes it's hard to avoid being drawn into the celebration.
It's coming. In about a week it will be time (February 13 and 14) for Sing Song. Catch it for yourself. Ties are not required but if you're looking for an interesting tie you might like one of mine. Check them out for yourself here.
Three years before Martin Luther King led the march on Washington and four years before Johnson's Civil Rights Act one of the Lectureship speakers stood up to say:
I feel certain that Jesus would say: "Ye hypocrites! You say you are the only true Christians, and make up the only true church, and have the only Christian schools. Yet, you drive one of your own preachers to denominational schools where he can get credit for his work and refuse to let him take Bible for credit in your own school because the color of his skin is dark!"
Our moral attitudes are so mixed up that we use the story of Philemon and Onesimus to justify refusing a Negro admission to study Bible in our graduate school of Bible.
A Methodist college will admit our own Negro preacher brethren and give them credit for their work. Baptist colleges in Texas will do as much. Our State universities will admit them.
There is no law of our State or nation that will censor us. The Bible does not rule against it. Why are we afraid? The integrated schools of San Angelo, Texas, ninety miles from
Abilene, are rated at the top in our nation. Are we moral cowards on this issue? There are people with money who will back us in our last ditch stand for white supremacy in a world
of pigmented people. God forbid that we shall be the last stronghold among religious schools where the politico-economic philosophy of naturalism determines our moral conduct.
http://www.bible.acu.edu/crs/doc/mccm.htm
Just a year or so following that lecture by Dr. Carl Spain, the first African-American graduate student enrolled at Abilene Christian. The next year Blacks were enrolled as undergraduates. No one would claim Lectureship made that happen, but it helped.
That seems like a lifetime ago. Okay, it was a lifetime. We no longer live in the 20th century. Church members have been moving into the marketplace and away from farming just like most other Americans. The annual Bible Lectureship doesn't need to work around farm schedules any more. Besides, the weather in Abilene is lousy in February. Lectureship moved to September and has been re-branded as "Summit."
This ain't your father's Lectureship. Under Brady Bryce there has been a solid push to bring the Lectures to the student body. The speakers are drawn from a much larger pool. Social media is used to bring greater participation into the experience. But perhaps one of the greatest differences is the separation from Sing Song. Fortunately Sing Song has its own pull. Almost a third of the student body participates in some way. Parents and alumni make the trek to Abilene to yell for their young ones while spreading welcome dollars to local motels and restaurants.
Sing Song is definitely an experience. Sing Song is hard to describe. I'd say it has to be experienced. The Pitch Perfect movies introduced audiences to competitive acapella singing. But, that's not really what Sing Song is. There is an element of competition but there's more to it than that. Most of the songs are medleys prepared by professionals. Often the lyrics explore the ACU experience. Some of the songs refer to campus events and personalities.Others just re-purpose popular melodies in humorous ways. There is an energy generated by the enthusiasm of a thousand students. Even if you don't have a connection to the clubs or classes it's hard to avoid being drawn into the celebration.
It's coming. In about a week it will be time (February 13 and 14) for Sing Song. Catch it for yourself. Ties are not required but if you're looking for an interesting tie you might like one of mine. Check them out for yourself here.
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