Al Maxey, Ray Downen, and Some Family Reflections

I recently received Al Maxey’s December 2 email, “To Obey Is Better than Sacrifice.” It fits well with the study our adult Bible classes are conducting on 1 Samuel. And it has this interesting note:

Thank You to Ray Downen

There is a very good, and often fairly lively, Internet discussion group, sponsored by the College of Biblical Studies at Abilene Christian University, known as the Stone-Campbell Discussion Group [Click Here to learn more about this group, as well as how to join, if you are interested]. On Monday, November 22, Alan Highers posted some thoughts on “Blogs and Bloggers.” Brother Highers, if this is the same Alan Highers I think it is, is a well-respected leader within Churches of Christ, a speaker for many years at university lectureships, editor of The Spiritual Sword, and a judge for many, many years on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, as well as a past president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference. In his remarks, he spoke of both Jay Guin (an attorney and writer) and me, and of our efforts to reach people via our writings. Highers wrote, in part, “Jay Guin’s father was a good friend of Guy N. Woods. Jay’s grandfather, if I remember correctly, served on the board of Childhaven, a home for orphans that was part of the Non-Institutional controversy. I surmise that Jay’s father and grandfather were somewhat more conservative than he is. Interestingly enough, Al Maxey is some distant relation to G. C. Brewer. G. C. Brewer’s mother was a Maxey. I have been to the graves of Brewer’s parents in Florence, Alabama. Al probably would not agree with much that his kinsman G. C. Brewer had to say, but anything Brewer said or wrote is worth consideration. He was an immensely able man. Guin and Maxey both have their constituency, and they serve them well, but I doubt they are influencing many others who are not already part of their pep squad.”

Alan Highers voiced the personal opinion that people were probably not really being reached via such Internet blogging and email mailing lists, but the evidence of independent web tracking services paints a much different picture, as do the responses from around the world that both Jay and I each receive on a daily basis (as do a good many other writers, such as Edward Fudge). For a number of years now, my Reflections and Edward’s GracEmails have competed with one another (something he and I talked about at The Tulsa Workshop this past March) for the distinction of being the #1 Church of Christ blog site on the Internet. The “hits” on these two sites from around the world number into the many hundreds of thousands, and the demographic is well beyond the borders of our own faith-heritage. These efforts, and others, are most definitely and verifiably reaching people, and, by the grace of God, they are touching people’s hearts and lives. Ray Downen, a friend and writer who lives in Joplin, Missouri, and who is a leader within the Christian Church, challenged Alan’s assessment on that same discussion group about four hours later. Following is what Ray wrote, in part, and for which I extend to him my appreciation  … .

Some writers use email to great profit … Al Maxey reaches new readers every week. He and I both started emailing about the same time. I soon gained 120 members on my mailing list. About five years later, I still have 120 or so members on my list. Al Maxey sends a Reflections article every week. His readers now number many thousands, and the number keeps growing! And most of his studies are as true to the Bible as anyone else ever writes. I say, “Good for Al Maxey!!” Edward Fudge, also a non-instrument teacher, began sooner. His email list matches that of Al Maxey. Both reach a good many, and certainly have changed many hearts and minds over the years through their email ministries. Both are younger than I and more willing to change. I plead guilty to being one of those who reaches only those persons who already agree (to some degree, at least) with me, and a very few others. That charge is simply not true of either Edward Fudge or Al Maxey, however!

Several months ago, Jay Guin began blogging, and he has gained many hundreds of “fans,” with that number constantly growing. The charge that only those persons “already convinced” will read blogs is not provably true. That charge may fit other publications, perhaps, but it most surely does NOT fit the blog of Jay Guin, or the email ministries of Edward Fudge or Al Maxey. All three are to be highly commended for wanting to spread gospel truth, and for doing so in a way that is attractive to a great many readers!! Only other “old fogies” might have no interest in what these young Christian writers have to say!! And yet I, as one of the “old fogies,” like a great deal that they are saying!! … although I also see an error or two. The latter, however, doesn’t blind me to the good they are doing, or to the fact that their goal is to honor Jesus as Lord.

It always nice to be noticed. Al has a massive mailing list and large Internet following, as does Edward Fudge. My numbers pale compared to theirs, but the most recent study shows that my site is the third most popular theological site in the Churches of Christ (most popular among those running in a true blogging format). Matt Dabbs was close behind and may have passed me by now. I don’t know.

The blog gets 2,000 or so page views a day (via Internet, email, Facebook, Twitter, or RSS feed), and so that’s maybe 700,000 a year, very, very approximately. The little world map in the left column shows how many countries have been touched by the blog.

Regular readers will be well aware that there are many conservative readers of this blog, because many of them comment — and disagree. What readers don’t know is how many emails I receive from readers from the conservative camp thanking me for my work. As a rule, I don’t post them. I’m just very grateful for every expression of appreciation — as the work can be, at times, a bit discouraging.

You’d think it odd that Judge Highers would be so interested in my relationship with my father and grandfather, until you learn that he knew my grandfather and knows my father personally. So I need to tell a couple of stories.

First, my grandfather lived at the time when the orphan’s home controversy was raging, and with my father, helped found the first institutional church in my hometown (Russellville, Alabama) (that is, not non-institutional). Both were heavily involved in Childhaven, an orphan’s home in Cullman. (I also served on their board of directors many years ago. I learned a lot.) He was, of course, branded a “liberal” by the other Churches of Christ in town because he believed a church could support orphans out of its treasury.

Second, I’m a third generation lawyer and elder. Both my father and grandfather have served as elders, and both are famous for their Sunday school teaching. Unfortunately, my grandfather died when I quite young, and I never got to hear him teach — but for many years, people would walk up to me at church and tell me how much his teaching had helped them. The same is true of my father. And that’s in a church 100 miles from my current hometown.

Finally, when I wrote The Holy Spirit and Revolutionary Grace, I sent it to my parents, both for input and to find out whether I could still eat Thanksgiving dinner with them if I published it! My father spent hours proofing it and making suggestions, adding a note encouraging me to oppose legalism!

I realize that many readers have difficult relationships with their parents and home churches because of their progressive views. I have no such problems — a blessing that I deeply appreciate because so few share it. This puts me in the extraordinary position that I don’t mind being marked as a “change agent” or “liberal,” because such labels do me no injury, draw fire from those who would suffer if so labeled, and indicate that my work is being noticed where it needs to be noticed. So, please, write me up!

Oh, and one more story, this one about my great aunt. She was a Methodist. When she married her husband and moved to his hometown, she found that his Methodist church had a custom of women sitting on one side and men on the other. But she was a newlywed and wanted to sit with her husband. And she did. The next week, a few more women sat with their husbands. A week after that, several more crossed the aisle. Soon the tradition was forgotten.

She’s my hero. Sometimes you just need someone to go first.

And so, a big thanks to Ray for his kind note at the Stone-Campbell Discussion Group and to Al for publishing it and making the other comments that he did. It’s nice to be noticed.