Table of Contents
Volume 41, Number 4
July - August 2010

Letters We Love
Evangelist Robert L. Sumner

Our love letters will be short this time. We were ready to go on it and our sharp proofreader thought the first letter seemed familiar. A quick check showed the first “bunch” were printed a year ago. Since we were short on time, we just cut the “repeat” part and are only running the remainder.

There was an email from a lady needing help (we, naturally, jumped on our white horse and answered the damsel in distress immediately). She noted: “We have received The Biblical Evangelist for years and never cease to find gems of truth in every issue. Thank you for your perseverance and faith!

“I am fairly faithful to keep past issues, but am having trouble finding a particular issue containing an article about contemporary Christian music that featured an editorial on a book by Dan Lucarini, called ‘Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement.’ I bought the book and found it most helpful. I am now trying to locate the original article to share with my pastor. Is there any way to index the article rather than to have to go through each issue individually? I would appreciate any help you could give … Thank you for your deep convictions to the Word of God.”

It was in our January-February 2003 issue.

As for indexing the articles over the last 40+ years, it would take someone with more spare time than yours truly to do it. Any volunteers, who are not already helping us?

A brother wanting advice on a serious subject also commented, “I am a newly ordained deacon at my local Bible-believing Baptist church. I love your periodical and read virtually every word the day I get it in the mail … I look forward to meeting you in Heaven one day so I can tell you thanks in person for what your periodical has meant to me.”

Wasn’t that a nice note?

A lot of our mail is via e-mail these days and a pastor in Indiana wrote, among other things: “I wanted to write to thank you for your paper that I have received for years and benefit from more than any other publication I read. You really do a good job of presenting a paper that is helpful to ministers. I read your article on the KJV with interest. This has been a subject I too have tried to study ... both sides of the issue ... over the past years.”

For our final letter this time, one we would be remiss if we failed to include it here: “I have been a subscriber to The Biblical Evangelist since I was saved in 1978. I devour each issue that comes. I just had to comment on the article you wrote in the May-June issue on Biblical Preaching. It should be required reading for every preacher and seminary student. My, what better shape our churches would be in if pastors followed the principles you spelled out. This is one of my favorite articles ever in the paper. God bless you and your ministry.

 “I have to say also that your exposure of Jack Hyles helped me. I was on his weekly sermon tape service after I got saved. I was looking to feed as quickly as I could. Even before you brought his preaching shortcomings to light I knew something was wrong. Your exposé just confirmed it to me and I  stopped the tapes.

 “Keep up the good work.”

Now it is your turn to write.