| John Burgess
Gaither 1901-1980 |
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J.B. Gaither was in every sense a true servant of the Lord.
Though all of his fulltime work in the ministry was in Tennessee,
he preached in many other states and held a part time position with a
church in Ohio. He loved
every aspect of the work of the church.
His fifty-four years as a Gospel preacher were spent teaching,
preaching, serving, raising a family, all to the glory of God.
He loved singing and teaching others to read music and to lead
singing. He took great pride in
creating informative and attractive church bulletins, having them bound
each year for preservation of history of the local congregation.
He ate, drank and slept his passion for serving the Lord.
His motto was “Do all you can do….and then some,” and he lived it
in every part of his life.
The Early Years
John Burgess Gaither was born May 1, 1901 on a farm near
Lawrenceburg, in Lawrence County, Tennessee to Wiley Thomas and
Margaret (Gibbs) Gaither. He
was the fourth of nine siblings, two of which died as infants.
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In
the early nineteen hundreds, providing for a large family with eight
children did not come easy.
To help with the cost of daily living, Burgess, as he was then called,
had to drop out of school to teach school!
It was after teaching in Lawrence County Elementary Schools at
Deerfield for seven years that he finally graduated from Lawrence County
High School in 1924.
JB
was brought up in the church and obeyed the Gospel under the preaching
of J.E. Thornberry October 25, 1916.
At the age of sixteen (1917), he made his first talk during a
Prayer Meeting at his home congregation in Lawrenceburg.
A few years later, his first real preaching “appointment” was in
a log meeting house at the Midway congregation near his birthplace
November, 1926.
A Move to Ohio
When the summer of 1927 came around, JB went north to visit his
brothers, Joe and Jim and their families, then living at New
Philadelphia and Dover, in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
His two week visit turned into five years.
When he arrived on his “vacation,” he found work as an office
clerk at the Iron Foundry (where one of his brothers worked).
When he went to church services, he met a Tennessee family that would
become his family for the rest of his life.
Tom and Nora Campbell had moved to that area from Hohenwald,
Tennessee back in 1916 looking for work.
Not
long after his arrival at that congregation, JB was asked to preach. His
sermon was well received, and from then on, he was often teaching and
preaching for the church there.
As word of his ability spread throughout the area, he began to
get calls from various congregations to come and help them out.
At that time, there were few churches of Christ in Ohio.
JB assisted in a number of mission meetings in Ohio, establishing
two new congregations. Some
of the places he preached in Ohio are Tippecanoe, Beach City,
Birmingham, Alliance, Uhrichsville, and Newcomerstown.
The Campbell’s daughter, Mary, was seventeen years of age when
JB met her. He was twenty-five. About a year later, they began
to date, and on her twenty-first birthday, November 11, 1930
they married in Malta, Ohio.
Mary often told that the first Sunday JB came to worship at their
congregation; she fell in love with him.
After he taught the class that morning, she knew he was the
best teacher she had ever heard.
She told him later that she knew right then that she would
marry him someday.
Her deep love and devotion never waned, nor did her opinion
of him being the best teacher/preacher she ever heard, even as she
survived him for nearly twenty-six years.
JB held his first protracted meeting for his home congregation in
New Philadelphia in September, 1930.
It was here that he held a part time position with the church
that met at 119 Seventh Street NW.
It was June 28, 1932 when JB and Mary moved to Gainesboro, Tennessee to work on a “half time basis” with the church there. While the economy was a challenge to most, JB rose to meet the occasion. His job might be part time, but there was nothing “part time” about his passion for preaching and being involved with people’s lives. He knew just how to supplement the income with extra speaking engagements, mainly in the form of gospel meetings.
At a church business meeting on December 23, 1934, it was decided to
hire him “full time” for 1935.
The remaining time at Gainesboro found him preaching about
250 sermons each year.
JB and Mary started their family in 1934 with the birth of a daughter, Mary Frances in 1934 and Patricia Jean in 1937.
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 JB, Mary, Mary Frances & Patricia (baby) |
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While living at Gainesboro, that JB began his college education in the
fall of 1934. He attended
Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (TPI) in Cookeville, which is now
Tennessee Tech. In 1938, he
received a Bachelors Degree in English.
In
September 1938, there was a business meeting at which they decided to
build a preacher’s home there in Gainesboro.
JB was busy nearly every day working on every aspect of the
project from the dirt work and foundation to the papering and painting.
Two months after the business meeting about building the house,
the Gaithers moved into that house, November 29!
In
addition to all the preaching, teaching and singings, he still found
time to be a community man.
Nearly every school or community function found JB in the audience.
Involvement in this small town’s schools, politics and community
affairs was the beginning of a habit he would possess in all the small
towns to come.
The
work in Gainesboro continued for seven years, during which time he
engaged in more than eighty protracted meetings, most of them in Jackson
County. Little did he know
that after leaving the wonderful area of Jackson County, he would
continue for the rest of his life to return there to preach and baptize,
marry their children and bury their dead.
His records indicate he conducted 291 funerals in Jackson County
alone. Right at half of that number was during the seven years he lived
there, and the other half was during the forty years to follow.
In
his lifetime, he conducted 133 gospel meetings in Jackson County, with
number 100 being at Gainesboro.
He often stated, “If
heaven was on earth, it would be in Jackson County, Tennessee.”
His
final meeting in Jackson County was at Burristown, August, 1978.
That was number 133.
Springfield, Tennessee 1939-1946
Many blessings came to the Main Street Church of Christ in Springfield
when they hired J.B. Gaither as their first fulltime evangelist.
From their church history written about 1980:
In
1939, Brother J.B. Gaither became the first of only twelve full-time evangelists in Main Street's ninety-one year history. Within a
few years elders and deacons were appointed and the church progressed
rapidly. In March 1940, the first issue of the church bulletin, the
“Reporter,” was published and in the next decade repairs were made to
the building, new song books were purchased and book racks built for
them, a Ladies Bible Class was organized and the church made plans for
getting the gospel message out to others. |
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 Main Street Church of Christ, Springfield, TN About 1940 |
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Shortly after moving to Springfield, JB made his radio “debut,” with a
thirty minute sermon over “WHUB” in Cookeville, Tennessee August 18,
1940. This was just
the beginning of four decades of radio preaching, a part of his ministry
to which he was dedicated.
The
year of 1943 was bittersweet.
The Gaithers were blessed with a third daughter, Ruby Elizabeth,
born on April 13. Less than
a month later, on May 11, JB’s father, W.T. Gaither, of Lawrenceburg,
Tennessee, passed away. JB
conducted his funeral service. |
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 JB, Frances, Ruby, Patricia at home in Springfield |
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The
church there at Springfield became involved in mission work in
Jamestown, Tennessee in 1943.
JB worked diligently at establishing a congregation there.
A history of the Jamestown Church of Christ written in 1992 by
Dan L. Smith states:
A
tent meeting 1943 marked the beginning of the Church of Christ in
Jamestown, Tennessee. The first service was held on September 26, 1943.
A large tent was erected near the public square at the present
site of Wright’s Store.
This was a twenty-six day meeting conducted by J.B. Gaither and A.J.
Veteto.
JB
visited several congregations, obtaining financial backing for a
building, and on September 30, 1943, the church in Jamestown began
meeting in their own church house.
JB and C.W. Davis finalized the signing of the deed on October
21, 1943. The auditorium
was on the first floor with classrooms upstairs. Ben Anderson was the
first preacher for this congregation 1943-50.
JB held six additional meetings there over the next ten years.
In
1960, they built a basement building.
February 7th was their first Sunday to meet in the new basement,
and JB was invited to preach both services that day.
He was very happy to do so and noted that there were 143 present
at the morning service. In
1963, the building was completed.
Another mission effort at that time was in Whitley City, Kentucky.
JB
had helped establish a congregation of the Lord’s church in September,
1946. Whitley City is in McCreary County.
A twelve day mission meeting in which he preached and Ralph Kidd
led the singing resulted in the beginning of that congregation.
The gospel meeting produced three baptisms, five restorations
from the Christian Church and one who placed membership; a congregation
of nine. The church met in
a house in Dixie which is a “suburb” of Whitley City.
Oneida, Tennessee 1946-1948
The Gaithers’ last Sunday with the church in |
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 Oneida Preacher’s Home 1947 |
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All the time he was in Oneida, he was still involved
with the church at Whitley City and at Jamestown, often preaching at
Sunday afternoon services or any other way they needed assistance. Another family member arrived on April 6, 1948 with
the birth of a son, John Burgess, Jr.
About the time John B. Jr. was born, Mary’s mother, Nora
Campbell, fell and broke her hip.
It was then that Nora and Tom moved from their home in Ohio and
made their home with JB and Mary.
JB had committed to go to Oneida as a mission effort
for a year, but as it turned out, he was there two years until December,
1948. Gallatin, Tennessee 1948-1966 December 20, 1948 found the Gaithers calling another
place “home” in Gallatin, Tennessee which is in Sumner County.
JB began what would be an eighteen year ministry with a
congregation at the edge of town in the Number One Community.
His starting salary was $300.00 a month. We are told that this little community was called
“Number One” because it was the first stop on the street car route from
Gallatin to Nashville The Gaithers moved into their home in Gallatin, and
nine days later, on December 29, JB began a radio program at the local
station, WHIN. He was
one of the pioneer preachers on that station.
He began a thirty minute radio program two days a week and the
program lasted more than twenty years.
The broadcast reached into Macon, Smith, Wilson, Davidson,
Jackson and even as far as Putnam and Clay Counties.
After he moved away, he continued that program for three years by
the request of the elders who supported it.
WHIN Radio The first year JB was with the congregation, many new
and exciting works began.
By February, 1949 the church had purchased an old school bus in order to
pick up people from all the surrounding area for worship services.
JB often drove the bus, along with other men of the congregation.
In March, a mid-week service was started on Wednesday nights.
It was also March of 1949 that JB began the first Sunday singings
in Sumner County which have continued now for 60 years. Shortly after the Gaithers’ move to Gallatin, their
fifth and final child arrived.
Sandra Lee was born April 4, 1949.
The “Walton” like family now numbered nine, including Mary’s
parents, Tom and Nora Campbell. A new and larger church building was one of the first
things accomplished after JB began his ministry there.
The old church house was auctioned off on October 21, 1950 for
$1,200.00 and moved to another location.
No. One Church: Old Building
No. One Church: New Building
The church owned a preacher’s home at 656 West Main
Street. The family moved
into that residence. About
four years later, the Gaithers decided they would like to purchase the
house from the church. The house was in need of extensive repair, so the
family moved out to a beautiful farm house on Woods Ferry Road while
some major remodeling took place.
Gaither Home in Gallatin, TN Number One was blessed in many ways by two of its
members, Guy and Mary Comer.
Guy was Chairman of the Boards of Washington Industries,
Washington Manufacturing Company and National Stores Corporation and
owned the downtown hotel in Gallatin, Cordell Hull.
In 1946, Guy Comer and his brother, M.B. Comer, founded the
Church of Christ Foundation for the purpose of providing financial aid
to small churches of Christ throughout the world.
The Foundation supported hundreds of congregations. Brother Guy
Comer made an arrangement with JB to supplement his preaching salary.
The plan was that if JB wanted to fill four appointments each
month with sister congregations in Sumner County, Comer would see that
he was compensated $100 ($25 for each appointment).
JB gladly took on the work.
Brother Comer also asked JB to let him know of needs of these
congregations such as song books and benches, etc.
He also took care of those needs as they arose.
The elders at Number One were generous, as well, with
the struggling congregations in the county. They allowed JB to hold
about fourteen meetings from April to October each year, most of which
were in Sumner County.
These meetings averaged fourteen days.
JB did not necessarily preach every Sunday at these meetings.
Sometimes it was turned over to the local preacher so that JB
could be at Number One on Sunday.
Over the eighteen years he was in Sumner County, he held 247
meetings. “Cooperative
Meetings” were another effort in which JB spent much time.
For several consecutive Monday nights, different congregations in
the county would host a preaching service.
Then it might be concluded with a week long meeting using a
different speaker each evening.
Sometimes they would meet two nights a week. This might go on for
three to four months. This project that started in Sumner County was
something he continued in his remaining works at Bells (Crockett County)
and Fayetteville (Lincoln County).
He loved to see the brethren in the county not only know one
another and share in fellowship, but also to learn to work together in a
cooperative effort for the broadening of the kingdom. He also conducted many Singing Schools at the
different places he where he lived.
He believed that good singing aided the worship, and he wanted
song leaders to know how to lead, and others to know how to read music
so they could sing the parts.
JB & Mary’s 25th Wedding
Anniversary, 1955 Back: Mary Frances, Patricia, Ruby Front: John B. Jr., JB, Sandra, Mary Through the years, many well known and not so well
known gospel preachers found themselves at the Gaither home for a meal
and/or lodging. One of the
well known was Foy E. Wallace, Jr. who held a meeting at Number One in
1967 and later put those sermons in book form called “Number One Gospel
Sermons.” N.B. Hardeman also held meetings at Number One in
1955, 1956 and 1958. The
sermons from his 1955 meeting were published in a book called “One Dozen
Sermons.” Hardeman’s “One
Dozen Sermons” and Foy E. Wallace’s “Number One Gospel Sermons” are both
dedicated to Guy Comer, who likely funded the publications. N.B. Hardeman often preached in Lawrenceburg where JB
grew up. In fact, it is told that he preached at the church in
Lawrenceburg fifty-nine consecutive years in meetings and fill-in
appointments. JB’s dad,
W.T. Gaither, and N.B. Hardeman were both horse traders.
Hardeman was a McNairy County native, and the Gaithers were in
Lawrence County, both southwestern counties in Tennessee.
With these connections, the Gaithers were friends with Hardeman
as long as JB could remember. The Ralph Kidd family moved to Gallatin January of
1952, and Ralph became the Associate Minister and Song Leader at Number
One. Other song leaders at
Number One that the family recalls were Bob Winstead, Hayden Miller,
Robert L. Brown, Vernon Boyd, Bob Scruggs, and John Brasel who was there
from 1955 until 1973. Berea, Kentucky was the recipient of much mission
effort and fundraising by J.B. Gaither in the 1950’s.
He held other mission meetings in Kentucky (Madisonville 1952 &
Pine Knot 1948); in Tennessee (Palmers Chapel in Sumner County &
Saundersville 1950, Winfield 1945, Ocana 1953, Bellwood 1953, Williams
at Lafayette 1966); and in Virginia (Harrisonburg 1962). It was in Gallatin that JB really got serious about
his hobby of clock collecting.
The old garage was converted into the “Clock Shop.”
His collection at that time numbered around 200, and by the time
he stopped collecting, he owned over 500.
He hosted “Open House” several times while in Gallatin and took
great pleasure in showing his clocks to any and all from far and near.
The Clock Shop at the Gaither residence in
Gallatin
JB inside the Clock Shop On February 10, 1956, JB had his first experience of
“giving away” a daughter and performing the wedding ceremony.
Patricia married Sam Green at the Number One church building, and
the reception was held in the Gaither home.
They made their home in Gallatin where Sam owned Green’s TV Shop.
They later moved out onto a farm in Portland.
Sam passed away in 1993. The Greens have three sons, Cullen, John
Jeffrey (Lisa), Lionel Gaither (Karen), and four grandchildren. Mary Frances graduated from David Lipscomb College in
1955 and went to work for Martha White Mills in Jackson, Tennessee.
On August 10, 1957, JB united Mary Frances and Victor Sullivan of
Jackson, in the Gaither home. Victor was a widower and had a teenage
daughter, Barbara Jo. They
made their home in Jackson where Victor was co-owner with his brother of
“Mrs. Sullivan’s Southwestern Pies.”
Victor passed away in 1992.
The Sullivans have a son, Randy (Beth), a daughter,
Lana (Brent) Beard and four grandchildren.
Frances married Bill Jones of Winter Haven, Florida in 2005, and
they reside in Jackson. In 1959, Mary’s mother, Nora Campbell, passed away
and not long afterwards, Tom suffered a heart attack.
His health deteriorated over the next five years, and he passed
away in 1965. On June 30, 1961, Ruby married Jim Williams in the
Gaither home. They resided several years in Gallatin.
Jim worked for Cummins Diesel in Nashville. In 1972 they moved to
Dickson, Tennessee where they still reside.
The Williams have three children: Robin Nelson, Ted (Sharon),
Troy (Traci) and seven grandchildren. JB’s mother, Maggie Gibbs Gaither, of Lawrenceburg,
Tennessee, passed away in 1962.
Much love and happy memories were left in that old
house in Gallatin. It was
the only house and congregation that the whole family could ever call
“home.” Bells, Tennessee 1967-1975
Bells Church of Christ about 1970 The downsize of house, possessions and family was
found in the small west Tennessee town of Bells in Crockett County.
JB’s new work began there on January 8, 1967.
Besides the many friends and two married daughters, sons-in-law
and five grandchildren left behind in Gallatin, they also allowed their
youngest daughter, Sandra, to stay behind.
She was a senior in high school with only one semester left of
twelve years in the Gallatin school system.
Ruby and her husband, Jim, agreed to keep her for a semester,
thus making JB and Mary’s nest empty for the first time in thirty-three
years! There were two
consolations with the new location at Bells.
Frances and her family were only a few miles away in Jackson, and
Sandra was planning to attend Freed-Hardeman College at Henderson which
is just the other side of Jackson. Sandra graduated from Gallatin High School in May,
1967 and began her college work at Freed-Hardeman that summer.
It was nice having Sandra closer to “home” for one school year
and two summers before she transferred to Harding College in Searcy,
Arkansas. There she met her husband and graduated in 1970. On July 18, 1969, Sandra married David Pitchford at
the Nashville Road church building in Gallatin.
JB and Mary’s nest was finally truly empty.
Sandra and Dave settled in Mountain Home, Arkansas 1974 to
present. The Pitchfords have three children: Mary Allison (Russell)
Epperson, Landon (Kendra), Alan (Tiffany), and five grandchildren. When John B. Jr. returned from Army duty in Germany
and Viet Nam, he married Connie Baskerville of Portland, Tennessee,
1970. They made their home
in Gallatin where John B. made a career with Bell South Telephone
Company. The Gaithers have
three children, Shane (Amber), Shelley (Buster) Mincey, Trey, and six
grandchildren. In spite of the fact that JB was already 65 years of
age and into retirement age, he started up his new work in a big way.
One of the first things he accomplished after moving to Bells was
getting a county wide singing started.
The Crockett County monthly Sunday singings are still being
conducted. JB began a radio program in nearby Humboldt,
Tennessee while he was still sending tapes back to WHIN in Gallatin for
about three years. From the Bells church history: During 1969, four nice classrooms were finished in
the attic of the church building. The church cooperates with the nine
sister congregations in the county in monthly singings and a fellowship
dinner each month. In February, 1970, we broadcast our monthly singing
from Bells over the Humboldt Radio Station. This was the first radio
program to originate with the Church of Christ in Crockett County.
In March of 1970, we cooperated in a Central Meeting
at Alamo with brother Alan Highers preaching and brother Jack Forbis as
singer. It was the greatest effort ever to be experienced by churches of
Christ in Crockett County. Average attendance for the six nights was
592, or a sum of 3,551 for the six nights. JB and Mary had always been generous with a little,
but at this time in their life, they were able to be generous with more.
Mary became a member of the Crockett County Associates, a ladies’
organization in support of Freed-Hardeman University.
Their interest in the college increased even more since Bells was
not far from the campus and since they had a daughter attending there.
JB donated his pay from at least two gospel meetings to the
college in 1974 and 1975.
JB & Mary at Preacher’s Home
in Bells, 1968 At about that same time, Frances and her husband,
Victor Sullivan, in nearby Jackson, were very instrumental in the
founding of Jackson Christian School.
The Gaithers contributed generously to that effort, and the
library there has a plaque that reads, “In Honor of Mr. and Mrs. J.B.
Gaither.” Mary did her part
by creating and donating many craft items to various sales and fairs and
also donating personal sales to the Christian school. Just before leaving Bells, JB sold his clock
collection to a young man, Davis Watts of Cookeville, Tennessee.
Davis was a Jackson County boy whose family JB had known for
years. When JB was seventy-four years of age, he thought it
was time to make a change before he got too old to find a job!
He had been at Bells for eight and a half years and felt like he
might not be able to stay there five more. He told Mary and the family, “If the Lord will give
me five more years somewhere, I’ll probably be ready to lay it aside.”
It wasn’t long until he had a job opportunity, and he left Bells
to start in a new congregation for what would be the final time. Fayetteville, Tennessee
1975-1980 Liberty Congregation
Liberty Church of Christ In searching for a new job, JB had found that not
many congregations wanted a seventy-four year old man, even if he did
have forty-five years of experience in located work and seemingly good
health. He didn’t have to
search too long though, to find new employment with the Liberty
congregation in Lincoln County, Tennessee at Fayetteville.
It was a congregation where he had a long term relationship,
having held five meetings there over the past twelve years.
The folks at Liberty knew exactly what they were getting.
JB and Mary began their work with the Liberty congregation on
August 15, 1975. One of his first tasks, so characteristic of JB, was
to establish the Lincoln County First Sunday Singings. Those singings
are still carried on each month. Another typical project was to make improvements at
the preacher’s home. At his
suggestion, the brethren there decided to enclose the garage, converting
it into a bedroom, bath, dining area and laundry room.
A carport was then added to the house.
In 1976, JB forfeited four paychecks and donated two meeting
checks to help pay for central air conditioning for the preacher’s home.
He also did a lot of landscaping on the property, taking pride in
the yard and the home.
Liberty Preacher’s Home It was at Liberty that he celebrated his 50th golden
year of preaching with a gospel meeting November 7-11, 1976.
He counted the fifty years from the time of his first preaching
appointment which was November 7, 1926 at the Midway congregation near
Lawrenceburg. How fitting
that in 1976, November 7 also fell on Sunday.
JB & Mary – 50 Years of Preaching JB mailed out three hundred eighty letters of
invitation to the anniversary meeting.
The Golden Anniversary turned out to be a success.
The attendance was a record 313.
There was a good representation from each of the churches where
JB had labored before coming to Liberty.
There were also many visitors present from places where he had
held gospel meetings. In 1979 at the age of 78, he suffered a heart attack
in April that led to the implanting of a pacemaker. He was back in the
pulpit by June. Then on May
21, 1980 he died suddenly, without warning in the back yard of the
preacher’s home there at Liberty. JB always said he looked back with no regrets about
his life; that if he had it all to over again, he wouldn’t change a
thing! In his 54 years of
preaching, he was never asked to resign from any of the six
congregations where he labored.
The gospel meetings he held carried him to many locations in
eleven states and the District of Columbia.
The Funeral The funeral for J.B. Gaither was held at the Liberty
Church of Christ on May 25, 1980 after a visitation at the building the
night before. Brother E.
Claude Gardner, President of Freed-Hardeman University conducted the
service, assisted by Brother Eugene Peden of Fayetteville. The body was
then taken to Gallatin where another visitation took place at the
Nashville Road Church of Christ.
Burial was on Saturday, May 26, at Crestview Memorial Park just
outside Gallatin. His
grandsons served as Pallbearers. About a year after JB’s passing, Mary Gaither moved
to Jackson, Tennessee to be near her daughter, Frances.
About 2001, after breaking a second hip, she moved in with
Frances who was then a widow.
Shortly after that, the other daughters took turns caring for her
in their homes until her passing on May 15, 2006 at the age of 96.
Mary’s funeral was in Gallatin at Family Heritage Funeral Home on
May 19. Her ten grandsons
conducted the service and served as Pallbearers.
Her four granddaughters and one great-granddaughter served as
Honorary Pallbearers and a great-grandson conducted the graveside
service. She is buried
beside JB in the Crestview Memorial Park near Gallatin.
Gospel
Advocate September 18, 1980 Obituary
written by E. Claude Gardner President, Freed-Hardeman College Henderson, Tennessee John Burgess Gaither, Sr., who preached for the
Liberty Church of Christ, Fayetteville, Tenn., passed away on May 21,
1980. He was born on May 1, 1901. The writer conducted his funeral
services at the Liberty Church of Christ at 10:00 a.m., May 23, and his
body was interred at the Crestview Memorial Gardens, Gallatin, Tenn. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Mary Campbell
Gaither; four daughters, Mrs. Ruby Elizabeth Williams, Dickson, Tenn.,
Mrs. Mary Frances Sullivan, Jackson, Tenn., Mrs. Patricia Jean Green,
Gallatin, Tenn., Mrs. Sandra Lee Pitchford, Mountain Home, Ark.; one
son, John B. Gaither, Jr., Gallatin, Tenn.; two sisters, Mrs. Mary
O’Neal, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Mrs. Magabelle Barnes, Monteagle, Tenn.;
and one brother, Mr. Earl Gaither, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and also 13
grandchildren. During his time of preaching the gospel, over a
period of about 50 years, he served a number of congregations and in
local work. In addition, he engaged in several hundred gospel meetings.
He devoted a considerable amount of time in mission areas and in
preaching over the radio and promoting good singing. Truly, he gave his
life in preaching the gospel and thousands have been blessed by reason
of his earnest endeavors. Brother Gaither was sound in the faith,
powerful as a preacher, dedicated to the work of the Lord, and loved the
brethren everywhere. He enjoyed doing local and evangelistic work and
demonstrated a wonderful love for his family. We shall miss him and we
shall cherish his memory. We shall ever be thankful for his friendship
and the wonderful good that he accomplished upon this earth.
The
Gospel Advocate Paul, in 2 Tim. 4:2 gave a charge to a young
preacher: “Preach the word.”
We shall attempt to study two things regarding this definite
charge.
1.
What
is the word to be preached?
We hear much said about it, but what does God, through the Scriptures,
declare it to be? “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.” (John 1:1.)
Then, in preaching the word, we must preach him, who was even
from the beginning. We must
preach him, who was a companion of God and who was and is even God
himself. Again, we learn
from verse 14: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full
of grace and truth.” Then,
in preaching the word, we must preach the only begotten Son of
God—Jesus Christ. But, one
says, the Word in John 1:1 is capitalized and the word in 2 Tim. 4:2 is
not; hence they cannot be the same.
That is logical, I will agree; but let us consider another case
found in Acts 8. In verse 4
we learn: “Therefore, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere
preaching the word.” Philip
was one of those preaching, and verse 35 says: “Then Philip opened his
mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”
Thus we learn the word that was preached in verse 4 was Jesus in
verse 35. To keep Paul’s charge is to preach Jesus Christ to
the world. What does
preaching Jesus include? We
may say that man’s life is divided into three parts: (1) thoughts, (2)
works, (3) deeds. Man never
does more than think, speak, and act.
Therefore, we are to preach the thoughts, the words, and the
deeds of Christ. But how
can we know the thoughts or the mind of Christ?
Words, we are told, are symbols of ideas.
Ideas are conceived in the mind and symbolized in words.
We can know the mind of Christ by the words he spoke.
We are commanded to preach the things Christ has commanded (Matt.
28:20): “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you.” Therefore, we can
understand why the Ethiopian eunuch, though a heathen, who had known
nothing of the teaching of Christ, demanded to be baptized in water when
Philip had only preached unto him Jesus.
Jesus said: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”
(Mark 16:16.) Jesus had
been preached, and he understood that he should be baptized and that
water was the element. How
plain matters become, even to a heathen, when Jesus is preached in the
simplicity of the gospel!
We can also see the need of preaching the things Jesus did while upon
the earth, as in John 20: 30, 31: “And many other signs truly did Jesus
in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God: and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
We find the word referred to in other terms, and in 1 Cor. 15,
when Paul was preaching Jesus, he said: “I declare unto you the gospel.”
Yet, Paul said in 1 Cor. 2:2: “For I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
Again, in 2 John: 9 it is called “the doctrine of Christ.”
We, therefore, conclude that “the word,” “Christ,” “the gospel,”
and “the doctrine of Christ” are all used interchangeably in this
connection, and that to “preach the word” is to preach Christ in
thoughts, words, and deeds, of which the gospel or doctrine of Christ
declares.
2.
Why preach the word?
Why should Paul, the apostle, give such a command or charge to a
preacher of the gospel?
Why
were not preachers sent out to preach what seemed good to them or
popular in certain communities, as many preachers take the liberty to do
today? My friends, the
commission not only says preach, but includes the substance to be
preached—“the gospel”—“whatsoever I have commanded you.”
By the Scriptures let us see of we can find the reason for
preaching the word. (1)
It
is the begetting power. We
learn that Jesus said, “Ye must be born again,” in John 3:7.
But we know, too, that in order for there to be a birth there
must of necessity be a begetting.
Now we hear James in his epistle when he said: “Of his (God’s)
own will begat he us with the word of truth” (James 1:18.)
Paul says: “For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the
gospel (word)” (1 Cor. 4:15.)
As a child has never been born into the fleshly family without
being begotten, so has a child never been born into the spiritual family
of God unless begotten, and that by the word.
(2)
It
(the word, or gospel) is God’s power to save: “For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16.)
Then without the word God would be powerless in the salvation of
sinners. It is not said to
be one of the powers, but the power of God’s salvation to believers. (3)
It
saves. “Receive with
meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James
1:21.) “And that from a
child thou hast known the holy scriptures (the word), which are able to
make thee wise unto salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15.)
(4)
It
is food to children of God.
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow
thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2.) “Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of God.” (Matt.
4:4.) “I commend you to
God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up
(nourish thee and cause thee to grow), and to give you an inheritance
among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32.)
Temporal beings live and exist by temporal food, and so it is
that spiritual beings live by spiritual food.
God’s word is spiritual food for his spiritual family.
Without it there would be no growth to a child of God.
(5)
It
is the word that produces faith.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”
(Rom. 10:17.) Then, no
word, no faith. Faith is
that which pleases God.
“Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6.)
By faith we are justified (Rom. 5:1.)
By faith we are saved. “But we are not of them who draw back unto
perdition; but of them that believe (have faith) to the saving of the
soul” (Heb. 10:39.) Then
without the word there would be no faith, no pleasing God, or salvation.
(6) It
is evil to preach anything else.
“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth
him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 10, 11.)
“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (word) of God” (1
Pet. 4:11.) “Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine (word) of Christ, hath
not God” (2 John 9.) “But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel (word) unto
you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8.)
“Woe is me, if I preach not the gospel (word)!”
(1 Cor. 9:16.)
“Which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the
other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16.)
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the
prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall
add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the book of life.”
(Rev. 22:18, 19.)
The Gospel
Advocate About 1940 “AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER?” (Gen. 4:9) J.B. Gaither First question on record ever asked by man. Cain was the first, but not the last, to ask it. To what extent am I responsible to and for my
brother? 1. That there be no strife between us (Gen. 13:8). (a)
Abram’s motto was: “Peace at any reasonable price.” 2. That
we love one another (1 John 3:11). (a)
With brotherly love (Rom. 12:10; 1 Pet. 3:8). (b)
As Christ loved us (John 13:34; 15:12). Many are too weak to live of their own life. The recipient of a blood transfusion lives by the
life of the donor. I must give my life as service to others (Matt.
25:31-46). (c)
That we take no account of evil (1 Cor. 13:5). Love does not hunt faults, but covers them (James 5:20; 1 Pet. 4:8). That I restore the fallen (Gal. 6:1). Help the destitute (1 John 3:17). Forgive (Matt. 18:22). To preach the gospel (Acts 20: 26-27). The Gospel Witness - November, 1940
“Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3).
The subject of conversion is one of great controversy among men.
Let us study it in the light of the Bible, then we can be sure. Not Needed By Children
Christ taught the older ones that they were
to become as little children.
Here little children are examples of the kingdom of God.
(See also Mark 10:13-16).
Little children have no sins of their own; neither are they
responsible for the sins of others.
They need no conversion, but we as older ones need to be
converted. Needed Because of Adam
Adam’s transgression has come down to all
accountable people of today--“so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned” (Rom. 5:12).
Since all men have sinned, and no sinner, as such, can enter the kingdom
of God, it follows that all men should be converted to become such as
God wants them to be. Needed to Enter the Kingdom
The kingdom of heaven and the church are
one and the same thing. The
church is also the family of God.
Before one can get into the kingdom, the family of God, he must
be converted or changed from what he is in sin.
Jesus said, “Except ye be converted…ye shall not enter the
kingdom of heaven.” No one
can enter the kingdom, the church, the family of God without conversion;
no one can be converted without entering the kingdom.
Conversion and entrance into the kingdom, the church, are
equivalent according to Jesus.
(See Acts 2:37-47). What Is
Conversion? The word convert primarily means “to turn.”
When one is turned from any position of belief to believe and
practice something else, he is converted.
But, to be converted in such a way as to please God--to enter the
kingdom, one must be turned from sin and sinful practice unto a life
with Christ. Until one’s
life is what Christ would have it to be, he is not truly converted to
Christ. The act of conversion is one of several steps.
Let us study and see when one’s life actually accords with
Christ. 1.
We are taught to believe--have
faith (John 8:24). But,
faith alone is not sufficient (Jas. 2:24).
Faith is not conversion but merely a step toward conversion.
2. We are commanded
to repent (2 Pet. 3:9).
While repentance is necessary, it does not put us into Christ.
It, too, is a step but not conversion.
3. Christ teaches us
to be baptized (Mark 16:15, 16).
In Rom. 6:3 and Gal. 3:37, we are taught that baptism puts us
into Christ---“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ.” Baptism is
the consummating act or step that puts us into Christ, but it (baptism)
alone did not do it.
Therefore, baptism is also a step and not conversion within itself.
It has to be preceded by other steps--- faith and repentance.
Before one can be converted to enter the kingdom, he must believe
(have faith), repent and be baptized--“buried with Christ by baptism.”
He then is prepared to walk the new life with Christ (Rom. 6:4).
Dear reader, have you been converted to the Lord?
If not, read the New Testament and see what is required, then do
it. “The gospel of
Christ….is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16).
Was printed in the Gospel Gleaner, April-June 1997 Are We Saved Out of the Church? J.B. Gaither
The church is built upon Christ as the
foundation. When Peter had
confessed Christ as “the Christ the Son of the Living God,” Christ said,
“Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:15-19).
The rock of which Christ spoke was the great truth that He was
the Son of God. Christ is
referred to repeatedly as “the stone (rock) which was set at naught of
the builders” (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:6-8).
In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul refers to Christ as the foundation.
(1) The church is
the institution built upon Jesus Christ.
It is defined as (2) the kingdom of which Christ is King (Matthew
16:18-19). Paul writing to
Timothy said, “These things write I unto you hoping to come to you
shortly; but if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to
behave thyself in the house of God which is the church of the living
God…”(1 Timothy 3:15). (3)
The church is the house of the living God.
Paul, in speaking of Christ, said God “gave Him to be head over
all things to the church, which is His body…” (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Thus we learn that the church is the very (4) body of Christ.
Jesus came to save the world, but Paul said: “Christ also loved
the church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25; Acts 20:28).
(5) The church is the price of Christ’s blood.
Again, Paul to the church at Rome says: “…ye should be married to
another even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring
forth fruit unto God” (Romans 7:4).
Here he is saying (6) the church is married to Christ -- His
bride, His wife. In
Ephesians Paul again says, “For the husband is the head of the wife even
as Christ is the Head of the church….Therefore as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything…For no
man yet hateth his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as
the Lord the church” (Ephesians 5:23-29).
Here Paul shows the church to be the wife of Christ whom “He
nourisheth and cherisheth.”
The same relationship exists between Christ and the church that God
would have to exist between husband and wife.
(7) The church is
also that which Christ nourisheth and cherisheth (Ephesians 5:29).
In Acts 2:47, we learn that “the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved.”
(8) The church then is
saved. Also (9) those that
glorify God “Unto Him (God) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without end” (Ephesians 3:21).
God is glorified only in and by the church.
Now let us reason on the nine definitions
of the church given above and see if we can be saved out of it.
1.
If Christ is the foundation of the church and salvation can be
had outside the church then Christ is not the foundation of salvation.
See Hebrews 5:8-9.
Christ is the “author of eternal salvation.”
2.
If the church is Christ’s kingdom and salvation can be had out of
the church, one can be saved without being a servant or subject of
Christ. Christ is “the
author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9).
3.
The church is the house of God.
If salvation can be found outside the church, God need not have a
house. “In my Father’s
house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2-3).
4.
The church is the body of Christ.
If one can be saved out of the church, Christ is not his Saviour.
“Christ…is the Saviour of the body” (Ephesians 5:23).
5.
Christ gave Himself for the church.
If one can be saved out of the church, Christ’s blood was not
necessary, but was shed in vain. We know that this is not true “…the
blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7; Hebrews
9:13-14).
6.
The church is Christ’s bride.
God had declared that if a man cleave into his wife the two
become one (Ephesians 5:31).
Therefore, to this extent, Christ and His church are one and
inseparable. For salvation
to he had out of the church would be like a child coming into life by
means of only one parent.
This cannot be! One might
as well try to claim relationship to his father and deny any
relationship to his mother as to claim salvation through Christ separate
and apart from the church.
7.
Christ cherisheth the church.
To be saved out of the church would mean salvation without being
loved or cherished by Christ. See Galatians 2:20.
8.
The saved are added by the Lord to the church. Therefore it would
be impossible to be saved and not be a member of the New Testament
church. To do so would be
for the Lord to fail to do His duty.
He adds the saved to the church daily (Acts 2:47).
9.
The church constitutes or includes those that glorify God.
If one could be saved out of the church, one could be saved
without glorifying God. “He
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31).
“Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are
God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
We must glorify God, but it can only be done in and through the
church. We are taught in the New Testament to believe (Mark
16:16 and Hebrews 11:6); to repent (Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9);
and to be baptized (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 22:16).
When we have completed this primary obedience, we are saved, and
the Lord adds us to the church.
Proof: We are
baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27).
“If any man be in Christ he is a new creature”
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
We are baptized (buried) to be raised into a new life (Romans
6:4). This new life is in
Christ; it is in His body, the church.
The Gospel Witness Gainesboro, Tennessee June, 1941 SINGING AS WORSHIP By J.B. Gaither We are commanded to worship God “in spirit and in
truth” (John 4:24). For our
worship to be “in truth,” it must be prescribed in God’s word for “thy
word is truth” (John 17:17).
Paul commanded the church to “let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the
Lord” (Col. 2:17). In Eph.
5:19 there is a like passage. Singing is definitely a part of the
worship expected by our Father.
All Christians should sing hymns and praises unto God when we
meet to worship.
But one may ask, “Can we not also have mechanical
instruments of music, too, in our worship?”
NO. That is the
plainest way I know to answer that question.
But the question comes again: “Why can’t we use that kind of
music?” Answer:
The Lord didn’t authorize it; the apostles didn’t teach it; the
early church didn’t practice it.
That should be sufficient for any who want to obey the Lord.
Too, Paul teaches that “we must walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7).
“Without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6).
“Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom.
10:17). “Whatsoever is not
of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).
Such music cannot be found or heard from the word of God; hence,
it cannot be by faith; therefore, it is sinful to use mechanical
instruments of music in our worship unto God.
Again, let us worship him “in spirit and in truth.”
“Genesis to Revelation” J.B. Gaither had a well known sermon he called
“Genesis to Revelation.” It
was displayed on a large sheet he hung up on the wall.
Many congregations requested this sermon for their gospel
meeting. He usually
preached it on the closing night, and it took more time than the usual
sermon. Thanks to JB’s nephew, Tom Gaither O’Neal, we have a
copy of this sermon chart.
He drew it off as he sat in the audience at the Downtown Church of
Christ in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee in 1953.
If you have an audio tape of this sermon, the family would love
to have a copy. That chart
is shown below.
This is a part of a much more detailed story written
about the life of J.B. Gaither.
His daughter, Sandra Gaither Pitchford, in November 2008,
published a book entitled, “J.B. Gaither – His Place in Time.”
Listed below is a copy of the Table of Contents of
that book: Table of Contents... iii Dedication & Gratitude…... v John Burgess Gaither – A Man of God.... 1 The Early Years – Lawrenceburg, Tennessee…... 3 New Beginnings – From Tennessee to Ohio..... 11 Full Time Ministry – Gainesboro, Tennessee..... 25 Years of War and Peace – Springfield, Tennessee…...
37 Mission Years: Oneida & Jamestown, Tennessee...... 47 Whitley City & Berea, Kentucky The Full House Years – Gallatin, Tennessee…... 63 The Empty Nest Years – Bells, Tennessee…... 89 The Golden Years – Liberty at Fayetteville,
Tennessee…... 99 “I Have Finished My Course” – The Funeral…... 109 Obituaries…... 123 Mary Gaither – Years of Widowhood …... 131 The Gaither Family Today – Our Traditions…... 139 Lasting Influence on the Gaither Family…... 149 Lasting Influence on Friends – Past and Present…...
181 Sermons, Articles and Christian Education…... 197 Church Bulletin Excerpts & Favorite Songs…... 233 Stories, Jokes &
Quotes.....
249 Taking Time for Clocks…... 263 Talents & Tidbits…... 279 Historical & Political Notes…... 291 His Contemporaries…... 299 Old Paths Revisited – His Children Journey Back in
Time…... 309 With All This in Mind…... 393 Index..... 396 The 408 pages are packed with photos, and many
inserts straight from his daily diaries.
Copies can be purchased from the author at
jbgaither@centurytel.net.
Paperbacks $20 and Hardbacks $30 Add $3.00 shipping please. Send check to: Sandra Gaither Pitchford 122 South Dodd Creek Road Mountain Home, AR 72653 Shortly after JB’s death in 1980, the brethren in his
beloved Jackson County decided to establish a fund in his memory that
would benefit preacher students.
In 1990, the funds were transferred to the family, and a
grandson, Ted Williams, maintained the funds for about ten years.
In 2000, an endowment was set up at Freed-Hardeman University,
named the “J.B. & Mary Gaither Scholarship Fund.”
Anyone interested in donating to Christian education
and keeping alive the memory of J.B. and Mary Gaither, may contribute to
this account by sending a gift to: Office of Development Freed-Hardeman University 158 E. Main Street Henderson, TN 38340-9899 On check memo write:
“J.B. & Mary Gaither Scholarship Fund”
Location Of The Grave Of J.B. Gaither J.B. Gaither is buried in the Crestview Cemetery. The cemetery is located at 1620 Hwy. 109N. in Gallatin, Tennessee. North of Nashville on I-65 take Exit 96/ Vietnam Veterans Parkway/Hwy.386 toward Gallatin. Go to the end of the parkway and continue NE on Hwy. 31E/6 to Gallatin. Get on Hwy 109 bypass north about 4 miles and Crestview Cemetery will be on the right. Enter the cemetery to the right and go until the drive slits. Head to the right and begin looking to the left as you drive around you will need to look for the DRAPER monument. The next one will be the KEEN monument. Between and behind these two is the GAITHER monument.
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