SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE—By H. L. Barber
SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE---By H. L. Barber SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
H. L. Barber
It is a distinct pleasure to bring you greetings from Southwestern Christian College; the only college in the world today that is supported by members of the church of Christ and dedicated to the training of negro youth.
More than two thousand years ago the greatest teacher that ever walked on the face of the earth gathered unto himself a small group of men and gave them intensive training so that they might go forth and teach others. They were intensely trained so that they might carry his message to all the world. Through the centuries this principle has remained unchanged. In order to teach others, we must first be trained. We must be familiar, not only with the principles we are to teach, but also wth effective methods of presenting these materials. A little more than half a century has passed since a few forward thinking men among us came to the realization that our young people must be trained in a Christian environment if the church were to prosper and if they were to effectively carry out the great commission.
It is not necessary for me this evening to go into the history of this movement among us. Suffice it to say that many attempts were made to establish Christian colleges. Even though only those probably in the better locations and under the strongest leadership survived, we have today colleges from coast to coast wherein the youth studies and lives under a Christian environment. It would be impossible to evaluate the direct and indirect influence of these col-leges upon the growth of the church in the past half century, but it has been tremendous. Never, since the days of the apostles, has the church of Christ enjoyed such growth nor exercised such influence in the world as today. Certainly we cannot discount th$ great part our colleges have played in this tremendous growth.
Now let me give you another picture. I doubt seriously today in the sight of our great Master that souls are tinted black, white, red, or yellow. When the day of judgment comes, I doubt seriously that our Father will say to those gathered before him, “You that are white approach my throne through the front gate, and you of other colors will be shown through the back door where you will be judged by some of my lesser helpers.” A thousand times no! I do not believe that one soul is more important in the sight of God than another, regardless of the color of the body in which that soul is temporarily housed.
Living next door to us is a race of people twenty million strong. As history goes these people are only a short while out of bondage. They, too, are crying desperately for a Christian education. They have few leaders. Millions of them have never heard from the lips of a gospel minister that there be a God. Realizing the great need for leaders, three times an attempt was made to establish a Christian College by themselves, and three times their efforts came to failure. They are as yet too few in number and their economic status is yet too low to support such an in-stitution by themselves.
Realizing these limitations a few short years ago, a group of the Negro leaders appealed to a group of white leaders in Texas for assistance 'in establishing an institution wherein their young people might enjoy some of the privileges which we as a race are now taking for granted. Through the grace of God and the Christian love of these men such a movement was started. The result was Southwestern Christian College. A board was set up consisting of both white and Negro; a faculty was employed consisting of both white and Negro; both groups joined hands to make Christian education available to a race that had been greatly neglected for so long. The people laboring in this movement have one purpose in mind, and that is to prepare the young men and women with whom they are working in order that they can go back to their homes or to a location of their choice and spread the teachings of Christ before a hungry people.
According to the best information available, and we believe it to be reliable, twenty-five years ago there were eighty thousand members of the church of Christ among the Negroes of America. Today there are forty thousand. During a period when the church is growing by leaps and bounds how could such a situation exist? There have been and still are a few great leaders among this race, such as Brother Keeble, Brother Hogan, Brother Bowser, Brother Miller and others. These men at that time spent most of their time in evangelistic work and baptized literally thousands of people. They were moving constantly, however, from city to hamlet. They established hundreds of congregations, but of necessity they left these newly founded congregations and went on to other areas. In most instances they were left without trained leaders and in time thousands of these people slipped back into the world. Many congregations are no longer in existence. Brother Bowser has passed on. Brother Hogan, Brother Keeble and others of these great evangelists are now devoting most of their time to local work. A new generation of leaders must be trained.
Thirty miles east of Dallas, one block off highway eighty, in Terrell, Texas, is Southwestern Christian College. There these leaders are being trained. It is new; it is unique in that there is none other in the world like it. As is true in most new colleges, it is struggling, and yet it is developing much more rapidly than we have .dared to hope. It is worthy of your interest, support and your prayers.
Never have I seen a group of young people more responsive to these teachings, nor have I seen a group more willing to do anything that is honorable in order to obtain such an education. The total cost of attending this college is less than half that of our average Christian college and yet more than seventy-five per cent of our students are unable to pay fifty per cent of their expenses in cash. They are all, however, willing to work. They must either pay all their expenses in cash or work for these expenses. No student has a free ride. As yet the work opportunities are limited. We now have a modern print shop. Several students pay their expenses by working in this shop. We have a small canning program. Our buildings need much repair. The grounds must be kept. Students work in the kitchen, serve as clerical assistants, library assistants and in many other capacities. We now have ten hogs, we are planting a spring garden; are in the process of setting up to raise chickens for our own consumption and plan to secure a small herd of cattle for both dairy and beef purposes. The future plans for a work program involve a complete woodworking shop where we expect to manufacture moderate priced church furniture, and a sewing room where we expect to manufacture the simple items of clothing. We will not pay students cash for this labor, but rather give them credit toward their school expenses. The college may, however, receive operating cash as a result of their labors. This is not an experiment. It has proven to be successful in several American colleges and under proper direction, it will succeed in South-western. The development of this program will take time. Equipment such as is needed here costs money. In the meantime we have applications from dozens of young people who must work for the greater portion of their expenses. Mouths must be fed and teachers must be paid, therefore, we cannot accept many of them until these work programs are ready to function.
We must not forget the purpose of Southwestern. soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully and he that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly.” This principle surely applies to congregations as well as individuals. It does seem to me sometimes that we are upset when our work brings a goodly measure of success. We think surely we have done a big thing and have gone digressive if our labor brings many souls to Christ.
The Bible is taught daily. Devotional services are held daily. All teachers are members of the church of Christ. A sincere effort is made for a Christian environment. All students must take a course in the Bible. This must have a wholesome influence on the lives of these young people.
Within the few short months I have served as President of Southwestern Christian College, I have been given a much greater insight into the goodness of humanity and the richness of Christian love. I have seen various groups from this college received into more than two hundred fifty church buildings where they plead the cause of Christian education for Negroes through the medium of beautiful songs and speech. More than seventy-five thousand people have heard these young people. Seldom ever is there sufficient seating space in the buildings. I have seen women who have been accustomed to being served, out of Christian love, serve these young people with food they have prepared with their own hands. I have seen them in Christian fellowship received into white homes on numerous occasions. I have seen both Negro and white join hands as many as forty strong and donate their labors at making old buildings serviceable. I saw this work go on for eight weekends until we ran out of funds for materials. I have received on behalf of the college a substantial contribution from the parents of a young man who was slain by a Negro soldier. In their words this contribution was made to assist in a small manner in the development of Christian love and understanding between the races. The first few weeks of my tenure at Southwestern, it was a little difficult for me to sleep. I wondered where the next dollar was coming from. Now I know. Now I lie down and go to sleep. I no longer have any fears for the future of Southwestern. Now I know all we have to do is see enough Christians and carry the message to them and our prayers will be answered. If God gives us the strength, these young people and I will carry the message to the far corners of these United States. We will be heard.
There is no way to measure the great influence this college may exercise during the years to come. At this great lectureship we have thousands of the leaders from among the church people of the Southwest. If you so desire you can do much to further the cause of Christian education among the Negroes of this land. I humbly but earnestly beseech you to remember this great work as you return to your homes. Remember it to your friends. Remember it when you make your individual plans to support benevolent work. Above all remember it in your prayers. Pray that a hungry people who as yet are unable to do too much for themselves may be fed.