Famous people born in 1916

Nearly 106

What do Gregory Peck, Betty Grable, Kirk Douglas, Walter Cronkite, Jackie
Gleason and Cecil Wiggins all have in common?

They were all born in 1916.

Many of these became household names due to their appearances in movies and
on television. Cecil Wiggins was not as well known as the others, but she
outlived them all. She passed from this life on February 25, 2022, at the
age of 105, just one month shy of her 106th birthday on March 20.

She didn't live as flamboyantly as the others listed above who were born the
same year as she. She lived a quiet but profound life. She is worthy of
much honor.

Cecil's life was characterized by faith, love, and fortitude.

She grew up very poor. But she worked hard, saved money, and never wasted
anything. Shortly before World War II, she began employment at Brookley Air
Force Base as a secretary. After the base closed, she worked 10 more years
for the Mobile County (AL) Tax Collector.

She cared deeply. Much of her life was spent caring for others. She helped
care for her uncle, her grandmother, her mother, her two sisters-in-law who
both suffered with cancer, her husband, and her brother. She cared for
women who were staying in the YWCA and came to visit the Government St.
Church of Christ (where Cecil was a member) which met across the street.

She was a Christian. Her life and legacy are a part of the heritage of
churches of Christ in Mobile, AL. She was baptized into Christ in 1933 by
A.H. Maner, preacher for the Church St. Church of Christ. She remained
faithful to the Lord, to the church, and to her quest to serve the Lord for
the rest of her life.

Cecil was a member of the Government St. Church of Christ for many years.
She attended services there regularly and was very active in all church
functions, including teaching Bible classes and single-handedly writing,
mimeographing, sorting, and mailing the weekly church bulletin for several
years following her retirement. Due to declining numbers, the Government
St. church disbanded, and its remaining members assimilated into other
congregations in the area. That's when Cecil and her family became members
of the Creekwood Church of Christ. Cecil was present for the last worship
service of the Government St. church in December of 1990. The last hymn
that was sung was, "There Is a Habitation."

There is a habitation Built by the living God, For all of every nation Who
seek that grand abode O Zion, lovely Zion, I long they gates to see; O Zion,
lovely Zion, When shall I dwell in thee?
- J.H. Rosecrans

That habitation is prepared for those who place their faith and trust in
Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31),
confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into
Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). The habitation awaits those
who continue to follow Jesus faithfully for the rest of their lives
(Revelation 2:10).

Cecil Wiggins lived nearly 106 years. Because of Jesus, 106 years are just
a few drops of water in an endless sea, for those who, like Cecil Wiggins,
love Jesus and follow Him all of their days.

-- David A. Sargent

* In loving memory of Cecil Toland Wiggins (March 20, 1916 - February 25,
2022), until we meet again in the habitation built by the living God.

How the churches of Christ grew so quickly

 

HOW DID WE GROW?

 

(Note: The following article is from the pen of Alan E. Highers, a close friend since our college days. Alan is a man of deep Bible knowledge who does not speak or write rashly or intemperately, but with due thought to what he says, backed up with decades of experience in preaching, teaching, writing, and combatting false religious teaching. For over 30 years he has been the editor of The Spiritual Sword and  the article is from the January 2022 issue of that publication.  I previously published it in four parts on my Facebook page, and now—by permission of The Spiritual Sword—I use it as this week's edition of Hugh's News & Views.  I believe the article deserves wide distribution and that its message needs to be thoroughly digested. Please give serious consideration to brother Highers' words below).

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About 1965 the United Press International (UPI) listed churches of Christ as the fastest growing religious body in America, based upon a fifteen year survey.  In our modern secularist society, of course, no religious body is growing as it once did.  We live in a time when people do not read the Bible as they once did, people generally are not as religious as they once were, and many people have lost their hunger for the truth.  The challenge for New Testament churches to excel and rise above our worldly atmosphere is greater than ever before.

 

Things We Did Not Have

 

There are several things we know that did *not* cause the phenomenal growth that churches of Christ once enjoyed.  Think of things we lacked during our greatest period of growth since the first century.

 

1. An educated ministry.  In our fifteen year history from 1950 to 1965, we did not have many highly educated ministers.  There were few doctoral degrees (such as Ph.D and Th.D.), yet our rate of growth was far greater than today when we have many such men.  This is in no wise a criticism of education or educated preachers.  It is simply an observation that this is not the cause of our growth.  We experienced great growth when we did not have men who were graduates of Harvard, University of Chicago, or Westminister Seminary.  Many men went out to preach who were self-taught, or who were trained by an older preacher, or who had two to four years at Freed-Hardeman, or Harding, or David Lipscomb (as it was then known).  Yet those men could meet the giants of error on the polemic platform and answer their arguments and give book, chapter, and verse for their positions.  Preachers knew the Book, and they preached the Book without theological sophistication.

 

2. Elaborate buildings and sanctuaries.  The Catholics had their cathedrals, the Mormons had their temples, but churches of Christ met in simple structures and emphasized the message.  They offered Bible classes, gospel meetings, and an informed pulpit.  The drawing power was in the gospel, not in comfortable surroundings and fashionable trappings.

 

3. Formal or liturgical worship.  The Catholics had their statues and images, their holy water and stations of the cross, others had their pipe organs and musical instruments, some had full bands and dramatic venues of entertainment, but churches of Christ grew without these artificial attractions.  Churches of Christ were content to duplicate the worship practices of the New Testament church—singing, praying, giving of our means, partaking of the Lord's Supper, and preaching the word.

 

4. No human creeds.  The Catholics had their catechism, the Baptists had their manual, the Methodists had their discipline, but churches of Christ had only the New Testament.  There was an emphasis on speaking where the Bible speaks and remaining silent where the Bible is silent.  Preachers cited book, chapter, and verse in their preaching.  They urged members of the audience not to accept their word, but to search the scriptures to see whether the things being taught were so (Acts 17:11).  Sermons were Bible-centered and doctrinal.  Warnings were issued against those who "cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned" (Rom. 16:17).  The men in the pulpit definitely were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16).

 

5. Faith only and "the sinner's prayer."  Some religious groups have grown because they offer cheap salvation and easy grace.  Many have been led astray by their empty promises.  "Just believe on the Lord," they tell their listeners; "that is all you have to do." They forget to tell their followers that they must repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).  They urge people to pray, "I am a sinner.  Lord save me from my sins."  Again, they forget to mention that Jesus said, "Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).  Some of the same religious bodies that offer cheap grace for salvation also teach an easy road to heaven; it is called "once saved, always saved."  They contend that  once a person is saved, he cannot do anything to lose his salvation.  So he can live in sin every day once he is saved by "just believing," and still go to heaven when he dies.  No wonder people have been drawn to these churches in large numbers.  It is a fact that churches of Christ do not teach this cheap salvation and freedom to sin.  Our growth was not based on cut-rate commitment to the Lord.

 

Scriptural Growth

 

If we did not grow because of an educated ministry, or elaborate sanctuaries, or liturgical worship, or human creeds, or ease and comfort in religion, what caused the substantial growth which churches of Christ once enjoyed?  The answer ought to be obvious.  In speaking of the work at Corinth, the apostle Paul stated: "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase" (1 Cor. 3:6).  If we will plant and water, God will give the increase!

 

Paul clearly declared how he planted at Corinth.  He stated: "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1-2).  Paul knew that "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1 Cor. 3:19).  The world has tried too long to understand God by human wisdom, but we must acknowledge that "the world by wisdom knew not God" (1 Cor. 1:21).  God has ordained preaching to save man—not proclaiming human wisdom, but the word of God pure and undefiled (Mark 16:15-16; 2 Tim. 4:1-4).  We are making a mistake if we are not preaching the doctrine of Christ (1 Tim. 4:16).  We grew because of the stand we took and the doctrine we declared.  Have we drifted away from that emphasis?  If we will plant and water with the word of God, God will give the increase.

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Words of true wisdom! 

Hugh Fulford