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Epilogue The Church Marshall Keeble Made The gospel at its best deals with the whole man, not only his soul but also his body, not only his spiritual well-being but also his material wellbeing . A religion that professes a concern for the souls of men and is not equally concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them, is a spiritually moribund religion. —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While this work has sought to answer the questions raised in the prologue, certain questions must remain unanswered. Some, such as exactly how many white people Marshall Keeble converted, went uncharted due to the lack of exact record keeping. Others, involving the spiritual daughters and granddaughters Keeble sired across the United States and the roles they played in the maturation and expansion of black Churches of Christ, fall beyond the scope of this manuscript. While recognizing its limitations, this book maintains that from 1931 to his death in 1968 Marshall Keeble clearly stood unchallenged as the most effective and renowned preacher in the history of African American Churches of Christ, a “Godsend to his people,” in the words of a white believer in 1931. James L. Cothron, a black Keeble convert from Georgia, succinctly captured his spiritual father’s significance in exclaiming that “Brother Keeble is a blessing to us all.”1 Keeble not only powered the rise of African American Churches of Christ in the South, but through his practical preaching and down-home wit, he also strengthened and enlarged the memberships of white congregations as well. White leaders often “called” Keeble to bless their black neighbors, but at the same time his efforts in their southern cities endowed them with the same blessings. Almost uniquely did this singular 174 / epilogue black evangelist mesmerize both African Americans and Anglos in an era of all-encompassing segregation. Yet any gifted preacher requires monetary support if he is to reach the widest possible audience. As a black man whose natural constituency invariably lacked disposable income, Keeble could turn only to white sources to maximize his reach. Keeble’s humble disposition, which included the quiet acceptance of segregation’s canons of behavior, attracted white philanthropists , chiefly A. M. Burton and B. C. Goodpasture, whose largesse enabled Keeble to traverse southern communities, leaving behind black congregations in his wake. If God empowered Keeble, then green dollars from white hands served as the means. In a curious sort of religious reciprocity, Keeble helped shape white congregations even as white leaders in Churches of Christ helped make Keeble what he became. White Christians gave both their money and their doctrine to Keeble, who in turn transmitted the latter to his myriad spiritual sons and daughters whom he organized in black Churches of Christ in the South. Had Keeble deviated from the doctrinal line generally reflected in the Gospel Advocate’s pages, funding would certainly have ceased. Keeble never revealed whether or not this simple reality played any role at all in the formulation of his own theology. Certainly white supporters never had reason to doubt Keeble’s commitment to the same principles they themselves championed; and of course both Keeble and his supporters drew on the same theological source, the Stone-Campbell Movement. Following their mentor’s lead, then, Keeble’s sons tended to read the Bible through the lens of the Gospel Advocate. Like their father, they ordinarily espoused a theological posture leaning toward legalism and exclusivism . In addition, through the Nashville Christian Institute, white instructors joined Keeble in molding the minds of his grandsons who similarly preached on a theological platform that extolled members of Churches of Christ as the “only Christians,” although some of the grandsons such as Floyd Rose have, of course, challenged this position. And Keeble’s spiritual descendants have at times found it difficult to reconcile their heritage with the evolving perspectives on race which have come to characterize many in black and white churches and certainly the growing number of racially mixed congregations. Racial strife and doctrinal discord have at times troubled black Churches the church marshall keeble made / 175 of Christ since the late twentieth century. Black preachers who acknowledged the religious legitimacy of those outside of Churches of Christ, such as Billy Graham and Martin Luther King Jr., were often deemed heretics; white leaders who exposed flaws and inconsistencies among black ministers were tagged as racists. To alleviate the racial tension that lingered among black and...

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