Anyone who has ever been about Mr. Baptist will soon lea one thing about him, HE IS A PREACHER'S FRIEND. Through ministry scores of young men have been called to the ministry, many. | many have been ordained to preach the gospel in the A. A. B. Church The kindness, love, help and understanding counsel which Brother Walker has given to hundreds of young preacher boys have resulted in countless young lives dedicated to the Master's service. I shall never forget in the early days of my own ministry the blessing and inspiration of being around Brother Walker.Because of the tender spot which he has in his heart for preacher boys, the Lord was destined to use him for the organizing of the Lexington Baptist College and the Lexington Baptist Bible Institute. These two great institutions grew out of what was originally called the "Monday Night Preachers' Class." It was a group of preachers that would gather at the Ashland Avenue Baptist Church to give their reports each Monday night of the activities in their churches the day before, then after reports would be Bible preaching, with Brother Walker leading it.
Here is how the Lord took this small beginning and led in the opening of the Lexington Baptist College and Bible Institute:
BIBLE SCHOOL OPENS AT A. A. B. April 7, 1950
WE ORGANIZED A PREACHERS' SCHOOL"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth." (II Timothy 2:15.)
I have been reporting each week in the AAB the gracious revival the Lord is giving us at Ashland Avenue. We praise God that this Spiritual Awakening continues. Brother W. B. McNealy, the great Southern Baptist Missionary, is preaching. We rejoice in the souls who are being saved and the deepening of the Spiritual life of the people.
The Lord continues to call out from our midst those whom He has chosen for special service. I reported we felt led to organize classes to teach these young preachers the Bible, Sermon Building and English. Some of them are in the University, Georgetown College, some work. Therefore we have the classes in the late afternoon and night. We want these young men, not only to know how "To so speak that many shall believe"; but to know the messages revealed in God's Holy and Inspired Word.
We had our first class Monday Night, 5 to 6 o'clock. The Pastor taught "Sermon Building." As the revival is going on, the Monday Night Bible Class was given over to the revival, Tuesday night 6 to 7 o'clock, the lesson was "Old Testament." The hour for New Testament study is to be 7 to 8. This was given over also to the revival. Wednesday 6 to 7 p.m., English, taught by Brother J. B. Daley. This is just the beginning. We do not know just where the Lord will lead us in this matter. We are following Him "Step by step." When the revival is over we hope to add some more classes. There were 24 in the Sermon Building class; 14 in the Old Testament class and 13 in English.
Iam asking all of God's children, everywhere, to remember this new "Work of the Lord" in prayer. I can not go on with the tremendous load I have and continue teaching these classes. We do not have the finances to compensate other helpers as yet PRAY.
"BOOKS" In answer to my appeal for books, a number of God's dear children have sent books to help us build a good library for our young preachers. If there are any who have goods books I'd appreciate, so much, if you would send them to this school.
Then in the Fall of that same year the Lord began to enlarge the work and led the workers out into a greater field of service. Brother George T. Moody, working with Brother Walker, has been a source of inspiration to all connected with the school. By August. 1950, the "Preachers' School" had been approved by the Veterans' Administration:
OUR PREACHERS' SCHOOL
Session Begins October 2 Day and Night Classes Approved
by Veterans' Administration"All scripture is inspired by God . . . that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished for every good work." (II Timothy 3:16-17.) "A thorough knowledge of the scriptures will, the blessing of the Holy Spirit, equip one for every work to which God calls one." (Worrell's Translation and Comment.)
It is with profound thanksgiving to Almighty God we are aleb to make two very, very important announcements concerning our Preacher School. The first is The Lord willing, the classes have been conducting for preachers and Christian workers become a regular Bible Training School. The first session will begin Monday, October 2nd. The second announcement is our school has been recognized and approved by the Veterans Administration and as the following letter indicates any veteran entitled to the benefits under the GI Bill of Rights can attend our school under its provisions.
LETTER OF APPROVAL Dear Mr. Moody:
"We have received your application for the approval of your Bible Training School and the recommendation that it be approve to offer training to veterans.
"We note that your class work will begin on Monday morning, October 2, 1950, and that the school year will run for 36 week. About the last day of September we will write the official approval letter to the Manager of the Veterans Administration approving the program of instruction, effective October 2, 1950. You will receive a copy of the approval letter.
Sincerely. WATSON ARMSTRONG, Director Vocational Education, and Chairman State Approved Committee." But God had destined that the "Preachers' School" was to more than just a handful of preacher boys gathered together ir Bible School. There was needed in central Kentucky a real New Testament Baptist Bible Institute where the Word of God would be taught in its entirety. Doors began to open, and walking step by step with nothing but faith to go on, Mr. Baptist encouraged people to launch out by faith for the organizing of a four year regular Bible College. Here is how it all came about:
Ashland Avenue Adopts Resolutions to Secure
Charter Creating
THE LEXINGTON BAPTIST COLLEGE
to Open September, 1952
Pastor Asks for Prayer and Co-operation"Have faith in God." (Mark 11:22.)"
"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24)
"As thou goest, thy way shall be opened up STEP by STEP before thee. " (Proverbs 4:12 l.t.)
Before I tell about our wonderful meeting Sunday morning and the adoption of the resolutions, I want to relate this incident of my boyhood days:
"HAVE FAITH IN GOD" (Mark 11:22) I can never forget the spot where my Heavenly Father used my earthly father to teach me one of the greatest lessons I have ever learned. The lesson is to depend entirely on God to supply the means to do the work of the Lord. Before I tell the story I want to say to the praise of my Savior, He has, He is, He will, supply our needs to do His work. If we are doing his work, in His way, for His glory. To do this you must be God's man in God's place. You must, as a Christian, be in the center of God's will for your life.
The day's work was done. My father and I were walking home from the factory talking about my call to the ministry and the need of an education. I was nearly sixteen years old. All else has faded from my memory what he said and what I said, except he stopped, and with the utmost sincerity, said. "Clarence. I have always wanted to see what God could do with a man who will depend entirely on God to supply all his needs why don't you become that man?"
Perhaps no other thing, save my conversion, has so burnt itself into my soul. I went to the Lord that night in prayer, laying everything I had at the Savior's feet and asking Him to open up the way for me to go to school.
That fall I went to school. The Lord supplied the means. My father was a laboring man with fourteen children. It took a lot to keep and raise such a family but my mother and father joined me in prayer AND THE LORD OUR GOD HEARD AND ANSWERED. Friends arose who loved thhe Lord and helped me. Many of them are with Jesus today. Those who read this who are living will join me in praising God for His goodness.
I have tried to follow this rule throughout my life never to ask any man or woman for a cent to do the Lord's work. Just, as in this work I have taught God's Word, I have done my best to stay in the center of His will, I have refused to let any unjudged, unconfessed sin stand between me and my Savior. I have taken the work to Him and asked for the means to supply the need. I have told the church and the people about the work, about the need, and never has God failed me.
Sunday morning. March 23. I presented the resolutions, printed elsewhere in this issue of the A.A.B., prepared by Judge Chester D. Adams and Judge Lasserre Bradley which were unanimously adopted, instructing the trustees to apply for a chapter from the Commonwealth of Kentucky creating THE LEXINGTON BAPTIST COLLEGE with authority to grant degrees both earned and hon¬orary.
Everybody can understand my joy and delight and the praise to Almighty God which arose in my soul when the vast congregation voted without a dissenting vote to adopt what I called "THIS MOST HISTORIC DOCUMENT." I had waited upon the Lord in prayer and explained the meaning of it all to the church, and how I hoped each one would join with me in obeying - what I firmly believed was the voice of God saying. "GO FORWARD." After the vote had been taken and everybody seemed to be so happy, I remembered again the scripture, "As thou goest, thy way shall be opened up STEP BY STEP before thee." (Proverbs 4:12 l.t.)
AN OLD MAN'S DREAM One of the marks of every genuine revival is "Your old men shall dream dreams." (Acts 2:27.) It has pleased the Lord to give us a perpetual revival in Ashland Avenue. (Some of the sisters in our church who are about my age dislike for me to speak of myself as "an old man." They say, "Why you are just 61. That is not old.") Years ago, I saw the need of more Bible training. Out of this need came our Monday Night Bible Class to teach our young preachers and others the Scriptures and how to do Christian work in God's way. About 2 1/2 years ago. the Lord began to call more young men from our midst into the ministry, and young ladies into special service. One night, a group of these young preachers came to my study and requested me to enlarge the Monday Night class by having more studies and meeting more often.
Then I dreamed a dream a school where young preachers and others would be taught the Word of the Lord, and the way to do the Lord's work in His way. Out of it came our preachers' School. The Lord has certainly blessed us.
In the Preachers' School, we found that many of the students had the necessary requirements to enter college and I felt they ought to have a college course while studying for their God-called work.
Now, the dream is enlarged not only the Preachers' School for those who are undergraduates and need training, but a full-fledged college giving both earned and honorary degrees.
The dream is enlarged I see a real Baptist college a hundred five hundred even a thousand young men and women gathered in classes being taught the Word of the Lord with reverence and acknowledging it is divinely inspired, that it has God for its author, truth without any mixture of error for its matter and is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should be tested. From this school shall go forth men with such scholastic training that they shall be recognized anywhere. But more than this, that while they shall be the equal of any in scholastic attainments, their spiritual life and power will excel.
To do this, the Preachers' School and the College must teach and practice A SEPARATED LIFE a life dedicated to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
From that early beginning until now there has been a marked progress in the school step by step, trusting the Lord to open the way. It is amazing how a school like this carries on without any visible backing. The students do not pay one cent tuition. Them have not been any outstanding endowments for the school. Week by week, month by month interested friends throughout the nations and many, many churches respond with their love gifts for the school.
At the present the school has eleven teachers, and an operating expense of $30.000 yearly. They have dormitories for the students, modern class rooms and facilities. There are 152 students enrolled in the school this year.
FACULTY 1954-55
Lexington Baptist CollegeWALKER, CLARENCE, President. Pastor, Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, Lexington, Ky.
BRONG, ROSCO. Dean and Ancient Languages. A. B., Georgetown College. 1950. M. A., University of Kentucky. 1952. Further graduate work. University of Kentucky and University of Michigan. Twelve years pastor of Baptist churches in Kentucky.
MOODY. GEORGE. Registrar and Christian Education. A. B., University of Kentucky, 1948.
ALEXANDER, DENZIL, Bible and English. A. B., Lexington Baptist College, 1954. Pastor, Red House Baptist Church.
BRATCHER, HAROLD, Bible. A. B., Georgetown College, 1950. B. D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1955. Pastor, Newby Baptist Church, 1947.
FANN, T. U., Library and English. Th. M., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1912. A. B., Morehead State Teachers College, 1934. M. A., University of Kentucky, 1937.
FIFE, MRS. JOHN C., Music. A. B.. University of Kentucky, 1938. M. Mus., Northwestern University, 1942. Instructor, Georgetown College 1949-50. Instructor. Transylvania College. 1949-51.
KAZEE, BUELL H., Bible. A. B., Georgetown College, 1925. Teacher of Bible and voice, Cumberland College, 1927-28. Pastor, Morehead Baptist Church, Morehead, Ky., 1930-52.
MAHANES, LLOYD, Director of Night Classes. Pastor, Boones Creek Baptist Church.
STEVENS, C. D., Bible and Theology. A. B., Georgetown College, 1908. Th. M., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1912. Pastor at Burnside and Harlan, Ky., and State Evangelist until 1920. Pastor at 22nd and Walnut St., Louisville, until 1925. Pastor at Hazard and missionary of Eastern Kentucky until 1954.
WALTON, MRS. WARREN, English. Bethel Woman's College, 1939. A. B., University of Kentucky, 1941. Instructor, Bethel College, Dramatics, Speech. Five years teaching in Kentucky high schools.How Christians everywhere ought to pray, encourage and support these great institutions, as they train young men and women in service for the Master.
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