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The Immutable Kingdom – Appendix II
By Scott A. Klaft
(More Great Men of Century’s Turn)
F. D. Srygley
While David Lipscomb’s articles in the Gospel Advocate provoked deep thought and E. G. Sewell’s were flowing and elegant, the front-page editor, F. D. Srygley’s words lent a light-heartedness that earned him the moniker, “the Mark Twain of the reformation.” His ability to combine reverence with humor added greatly to the paper’s influence and circulation.
The relationship between Srygley and T. B. Larimore was deep and abiding from the day they met. Srygley, still in his early teens, stood outside the meetinghouse where a congregation of seven members were about to assemble. Larimore’s reflection thirty years later was that he was likely waiting to see the preacher as he passed by, probably never hoping to be any closer to him than he was that day. Instead, Larimore grasped the young man’s hand, put his arm around his small shoulders, and lead him into the building. There were never closer friends from that moment to the day of Srygley’s untimely death of heart disease in 1900.
During his forty-four years of life, he wrote for several papers, battled extremists on both sides of controversies, and was heavily involved with evangelism. The majority of his time in preaching was spent in the less fortunate and impoverished areas with the explanation that the larger, wealthier congregations can secure the best preachers adding that Jesus spent His time among the poorer people while on the earth. His illness was kept secret, but upon receiving news of his passing, there were many a heavy heart, and as many sent prayer to God for more men of his making.
James A. Harding
Although the work of the church was barely functioning through the paralysis of the Civil War, Moses E. Lard went to Winchester, Kentucky to help a preacher carry on a Gospel Meeting. That preacher was J. W. Harding, whose eldest son, in the course of the meeting, being only thirteen at the time, came forward to be baptized.
Having watched his father hold Gospel Meetings in which it was not unusual to baptize from fifty to one hundred before its end, James A. Harding was thoroughly impressed and had determined to be a preacher at a young age. He paid his way through college by teaching on the side, entering Bethany College only a few short months after the death of Alexander Campbell in 1866. Finishing in the spring of 1869 and returning to Kentucky to teach school, he preached only on occasion after a popular local preacher gave him a push. It was while recuperating from malaria in 1874 that an elderly brother came and spoke harshly to him, berating him for not preaching protracted meetings with all of his training and talents.
By 1882, Harding’s name had risen to prominence and Lipscomb made him a corresponding editor for the Gospel Advocate. His quick mind and speaking skills made him quite adept at evangelism as well as dealing with controversy and debate. He was quite pleased to be involved with several schools and colleges, particularly the Nashville Bible School established with the help of David Lipscomb in 1891. After the school’s tenth session, they wondered how they could house all of the students who had desired enrollment for the next session.
In Bowling Green, Kentucky, a couple had dedicated a potion of their farm to start the Potter’s Bible School, which would support itself by the one hundred forty acre farm’s profits. The Potter’s wanted to memorialize their son who had died without children and proposed this plan to Harding: that they would build the school if he would structure the faculty. Lipscomb, never intending to monopolize the education of youths, gave his approval by stating his desire that schools would be built everywhere. This school eventually failed, but Harding was buried in Bowling Green, KY in 1922 with his advocation for education felt throughout the brotherhood.
(Next Week: Other Great Men continued)
