West Point Christian Church

05/03/2026

Disciple History Moment
May 3, 2026

“Have an Alexander Campbell cigar?”

So, with the recent rise in popularity of smoking ci**rs numerous fancied names have been given them to promote their purchase: “King Edward”, “White Owl”, “Muriel”, “Dutch Masters”, “Romeo y Julieta” (favored by Winston Churchill), “William Penn”. Then why not “Alexander Campbell” ci**rs? Indeed!

In the March 1937 issue of the Christian-Evangelist periodical it was reported that an Alexander Campbell cigar was touted and sold for “two for a nickel.”

The stogie came to the attention of P.H. Welshimer, a well-known Ohio pastor at the time who led the largest Christian Church in the world with over 5500 members! He wrote a letter to the vendor registering his disapproval. The letter he received back offered a solution to the issue.

April 6, 1937
Reverend P H Welshimer
First Christian Church
Canton, Ohio

Dear Sir:-
Your letter of April 2nd has been called to my attention, and it is with regret that I learn that we are causing consternation to you and yours by the sale of our Alexander Campbell ci**rs. Although we are but distributors for this cigar, the label has been copy written in our name. The picture and name [w]as selected, among many, for the quality of the features, and had we but known of this feeling some two years ago we certainly would have never used either the name or the picture. Although we fail to see any objection to its usage as a cigar label. All the great; kings, presidents, statesmen and even other religious leaders, after their death, have had ci**rs named after them.
However, we can say this, we have some Fifteen Hundred Dollars in labels, bands etc in our possession, and if you can see fit to have these taken off our hands, we will gladly transfer title to you, and you can control usage of this label. In our efforts in promoting this brand of ci**rs, we will gladly “chalk” up to good will.
We will be glad to hear further from you.
Your very truly yours,
HALPER CIGAR COMPANY
Irving B. Halper

Therefore, the end came in 1937 at a cost of $1500. No more Alexander Campbell ci**rs . . . no more “Campbell-Lites”.

References: The Christian-Evangelist, March 1937, Discipliana, Jan 1946.

05/03/2026

May 3, 2026
Rev Les Hastings
Scripture: .John 14. 1-14
Serrmon: "I am the Way"

Permission to Podcast/Stream the music in this service obtained from One License #401211-M. All rights reserved

04/26/2026

Disciple History Moment
April 26, 2026

The Southern Christian Institute (1875-1954): An Outreach for Vocational & Ministerial Training to African Americans

I first learned of the Southern Christian Institute while living in Phoenix, Arizona and setting next to a fine Christian couple in worship at First Christian Church in Scottsdale, AZ. While talking to Winston and Ella I learned about their time attending the school in the 50s and how they had met there and were very fond of their time at the school.

The Southern Christian Institute was established, in part, by Congressman James A. Garfield who encouraged a gifting of land of 160 acres near Edwards, Mississippi. In 1875, The Home Mission of the Disciples of Christ received a charter to begin the school. Following the Civil War, most education was unequal in the South often only providing, at best, former slaves an eighth grade education. SCI instead provided a quality education for elementary, high school, and college students. Courses included Bible, teacher training, music, farming, carpentry, and home economics. Students could pay their tuition often by working at the school’s farm, sawmill, dairy, blacksmith shop, and building construction.

SCI educated many of the leading Black pastors and missionaries at the time. Jacob Kenoly, went to Liberia in 1905 as a missionary until his death in 1911. Numerous graduates of SCI filled the pulpits in Jamaica indicative of its quality and influence but after WW2 and as free and improved education for blacks became more available, recruitment of all students to SCI decreased. Additionally, later, Southern sentiments and resistance to the Civil Rights Movement mitigated against the school. So, in 1954, SCI merged with Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS a black liberal arts college and now with SCI provided it a strong department of religion and a Disciples college. SCI, now merged with Tougaloo, educated many prominent preachers and leaders while playing an important role in the Civil Rights Movement by using the SCI former campus for training in Edwards.

Due to its 79 long years of service, Southern Christian Institute is considered the Disciple’s most important and successful educational venture to former slaves and later black leaders. It served as a model for another Disciple college, Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, TX and strengthened the development of Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi.

Winston and Ella are justifiably proud of their education and work on behalf of the Disciples in part due the faithful work and education they received at the Southern Christian Institute.

References: The Disciples Colleges: A History, Cummins; Three Souls in One: A History of Southern Christian Institute, Campbell College and Bonner-Campbell School of Religion, Evans; Southern Christian Institute, National Registry of Historic Places, Dept of the Interior; The Stone-Campbell Encyclopedia

04/26/2026

April 26, 2026
Rev Aaron Todd
Scripture: .Psalm 23 and Acts 2.42-47
Serrmon: "Sharing Hope , Sharing Life"

Permission to Podcast/Stream the music in this service obtained from One License #401211-M. All rights reserved

04/19/2026

Disciples History Moment
April 19, 2026

The Living Oracles: Alexander Campbell’s New Version of the New Testament

On April 19, 1826 Alexander Campbell published his first New Testament translation known as The Living Oracles. The King’s verson (KJV) of the Bible was well ensconced in America but Campbell knew that living languages are always changing—new words added, invented, or redefined like, “bingable,” “woke”, “tradwife”, “nepobaby”, etc. So, the King’s version needed updating (besides, Campbell was not fond of the 1611 version). Changes needed to be made by eliminating archaic words like “thee”, “thou”, and “thine. He changed “repent” to “reform and “preach” to “proclaim” and of course, “baptize” to “immerse.” And Campbell was aware that the ancient Greek text was not free from errors of copying manuscripts.

He did not translate the whole NT by himself but based his Living Oracles on a work by Scottish scholars. Yet, he made edits and included extensive critical notes and explanations.

When Campbell was representing western Virginia at the 1829 in Richmond a fellow delegate opposed Campbell with this remark: “Mr. Chairman, even the God of heaven cannot please this man, for he has a Bible all his own.” While The Living Oracles were modestly received, changes he made were not popular to many who were wedded to the KJV.

Today, Campbell’s translation stands in the line of the KJV, the Revised Standard Version, and now, The New Revised Standard Version Update Edition (NRSVue). Campbell’s thought then and translators today wanted to make a good translation even better for the reading public.

Resources: The Stone-Campbell Encyclopedia; Alexander Campbell and His New Version, by Thomas; The Millennial Harbinger, 1833.

04/19/2026

April 19, 2026
Rev Aaron Todd
Scripture: Luke 24.13-35
Serrmon: "Back on th Road"

Permission to Podcast/Stream the music in this service obtained from One License #401211-M. All rights reserved

04/12/2026

Disciples History Moment
April 12, 2026

Itoko Maeda: the First Japanese missionary

Itoko Maeda was the first Japanese missionary commissioned by the United Christian Missionary Society (UCMS) but not the first missionary to Japan which was in 1883. She also served in Japan, Bolivia, Brazil, and the United States, concluding her ministry as the Director of Interpretation for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Division of Overseas Ministries.
Maeda was born in Tokyo, Japan, on September 4, 1918 and was raised in a non-Christian family. She encountered Christianity when she entered the Margaret K. Long Girls’ School, a Disciples of Christ mission school in Tokyo. Upon her graduation, she worked at the school as an office helper and teacher for several years. She continued teaching in World War II, but worked in a factory from 1944 to 1945. After the war, she found a position as a counselor in a factory dormitory. She returned to teaching in 1948, and came to the United States to study in 1953. She earned her Bachelor of Religious Education from Eastern Mennonite College in 1954 and her Master of Religious Education from The College of the Bible (now Lexington Theological Seminary) in 1956.
In 1956, Maeda applied for missionary service with the UCMS. In 1957, she began working with Christian women’s organizations on the island of Okinawa, Japan; in 1965, UCMS commissioned her to work with the women of the United Church of Christ in Okinawa. During her ten years of service on Okinawa, she helped establish the Okinawa Christian Institute.
In the early 1970s, Maeda was missioned to San Paulo, Brazil to further the work of the Federation of Japanese Churches in Brazil. She visited and preached at Japanese churches in Brazil, and she developed ecumenical programming throughout South America. She also developed Sunday school curricula. In 1976, she worked at a rural Bolivian Christian school that served indigenous children.
After Maeda returned to the United States in 1977, she took up work supporting global missions. In 1983, she became the Director of Interpretation, assuming responsibility for engaging and educating congregations about mission work. Maeda also taught Japanese language at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis and provided spiritual guidance to Japanese Americans living in Indianapolis. She died on July 24, 2008.

References: Disciples Wiki, Disciples Historical Society, https://discipleshistory.org

04/12/2026

April 12, 2026
Rev Les Hastings
Scripture: John 20. 19-26
Serrmon: "Hope"

Permission to Podcast/Stream the music in this service obtained from One License #401211-M. All rights reserved

04/06/2026

Thanks, Mayor Holt for your kind words this Easter!

Happy Easter, OKC! Easter is a day of resurrection, redemption and new life. May your Easter bring celebration and renewal!

(Pictured is the steeple of what is likely the oldest church in the city limits of OKC - West Point Christian Church in far Southwest Oklahoma City on Richland Road, built in 1899.)

04/05/2026

Disciple History Moment
April 5, 2026 Easter

They celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus rather than Easter

Today is Easter and we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, neither Alexander Campbell nor Barton W. Stone said much about Easter, Christmas or any religious holiday for that matter. They took seriously “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak. Where the Scripture are silent, we are silent.” The Bible never addresses “Easter” or “Christmas” explicitly. Of course, the nativity of Jesus and the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection three days later are central to the story of Jesus and central to Christian faith.

Easter, as a holiday, did not become popular in American until sometime after the Civil War (officially called “The War of the Rebellion”). Many of the religious groups who emigrated to America, such as the Puritans, did not recognize Easter or other religious days. While some of them condemned the practice, Campbell and Stone did not. Instead, Campbell and Barton W. Stone focused on the event. In the case of Easter and Christmas they encouraged Christians to think and reflect in their private devotions on the glorious sacred events of the incarnation and resurrection.

Disciple tradition has been to celebrate every sabbath (Sunday) as a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That was to be the focus rather than calendar holidays and the commercialization of the resurrection.

Christ is Risen!

03/29/2026

Disciple History Moment
March 29, 2026

The Christian Association of Washington (PA) becomes Brush Run Church: First Church of the Campbell Movement

On August 17, 1809 a group met at Buffaloe, VA (later West Virginia in 1863) and formed The Christian Association of Washington (PA). It was not a church—they insisted on that-- but a group of like-minded friends and individuals in the local area. Some were members of other churches and some not. They all met as independents with Thomas Campbell to gather for preaching, communion, and to promote Christian unity. Campbell proposed a “rule” for them all to interpret the Bible. It came from his “Declaration and Address”: “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; and where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.”

As time went on, Thomas Campbell realized the Association was becoming a church. So, on May 4, 1811 it organized itself in to a church which they called, “Brush Run” church. The church existed until 1828 when it moved into Bethany, VA (now WV) and a brick church was built and over the front door was engraved, “Church of Christ.” It still stands today in Bethany, WV and you can visit it there in “Historic Bethany” where Bethany College stands.

Initially the church called for members to affirm a credal statement but that was quickly dropped.

The only elder Brush Run had was Thomas Campbell and the only person ordained to ministry was Alexander Campbell on New Year’s Day in 1812.

Not wanting to erect another church among the many other churches, Brush Run united first in 1815 with the Redstone Baptist Association but that relationship soured. Alexander Campbell organized another church at Wellsburg, VA which joined the Mahoning Baptist Association of Ohio which was more sympathetic to Campbell. By 1824 most of the members at Brush Run moved to Wellsburg and the original Brush Run church was sold.

References: The Memoirs of Alexander Campbell by Robert Richardson; Alexander Campbell: Adventurer in Freedom, by D. Duane Cummins; “Historic Notes on Our First Church” in Restoration Review by Leroy Garrett; The Stone-Campbell Encyclopedia, D. Foster, et. al.

03/29/2026

March 29, 2026
Rev Kevin Adams
Scripture: Zechariah 9.9-10 & Matthew 21.1-11
Serrmon: Two Processions

Permission to Podcast/Stream the music in this service obtained from One License #401211-M. All rights reserved