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9 Marshall Keeble’s Sons For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ I have begotten you through the gospel. —1 Corinthians 4:15 Marshall Keeble’s greatest legacy may well have been the company of spiritual sons he left behind who perpetuated his work of planting, edifying, and solidifying black Churches of Christ throughout the South. African American Churches of Christ owed their rise not only to the efforts of Keeble, but also to the indefatigable corps of young men whom Keeble baptized , instructed, and charged with an evangelistic mission. Keeble acknowledged as much in 1956. “Hundreds of gospel preachers have been trained and developed into useful servants of our Savior. Among these are John Vaughner and Luke Miller. I have always thanked God for these great men and many others.”1 Keeble transmitted his passion for soul winning to other black preachers who themselves crisscrossed the South, preaching the Gospel and baptizing people into the “one true church.” Some of Keeble’s sons may even have exceeded their father in the work of conversion. Luke Miller no doubt stands as Marshall Keeble’s most influential “son.” Born in Alabama in 1904, Miller moved to Decatur after the premature death of his father, and as a teenager he heard Keeble preach and then he received baptism into Christ. Quickly recognizing the young man’s potential, Keeble “helped and encouraged him [Miller] as a father does his son,” and the youthful Miller often traveled with him as apprentice to the master.2 As his evangelistic load increased, Keeble looked for ways to grasp the growing opportunities. As Miller’s talent emerged Keeble named him to help stabilize black Churches of Christ in the South. Taxed by constant preaching calls too numerous to fulfill, Keeble began dispatching Miller in his stead, and the youthful evangelist soon fashioned his own reputation. G. F. 138 / chapter 9 Gibbs, a white preacher in Greenville, South Carolina, knowing that Keeble was inundated with invitations, invited Miller instead, announcing in 1927: “Brother Luke Miller, a young colored preacher, of Decatur, Ala., is expected to be here on June 4 for a period of effort among his people. Christians of this part will try to make his stay profitable for Christ.”3 Two years later P. G. Millen, a white Florida cleric, reported to Gospel Advocate readers that Miller received an assignment to work with three congregations in Lakeland, St. Petersburg, and Tampa. “The three congregations , with the assistance of many of the churches, have secured the services of Brother Luke Miller, of Decatur, Ala., for the next year, his time to be divided equally between Lakeland,Tampa, and St. Petersburg. Brother Miller is a young man who was converted by Brother Keeble eight years ago.” White Christians came to esteem Miller for the same reason they admired Keeble: He was a man of humility and intelligence, one who grounded his message firmly in Scripture and firmly opposed denominationalism. “He [Miller] is very bright and apparently very humble, and he has the boldness and courage to denounce sin in ‘high places,’ and that is what it takes to show sectarianism that they are wrong.” Millen referred to Miller as a “noble proclaimer of the pure gospel to his people,” and of course Keeble himself endorsed his first apprentice as a “fine young man, and the white brethren are proud to have him here.”4 When Keeble returned to Tampa in the spring of 1930, he commended the maturing Miller for “doing a great work, which is greatly appreciated by both white and colored people. He has been here about seven months and has baptized forty-six precious souls.” Keeble also lauded the young man’s wife, Mattie Lee Miller, as a “wonderful helpmate in the work.” A short time later Keeble remarked that Miller’s evangelistic labor was “making a wonderful impression on both the white and colored brethren,” and after a meeting in Lakeland resulted in 25 baptisms, Keeble referred to Miller as “the young evangelist working in this State. The white brethren are much impressed with his humble, meek, Christlike disposition.” Clearly justifying Keeble’s confidence, Miller baptized 105 people in 1930, fruits of his effective preaching.5 More than a dynamic preacher, Miller often led the singing in Keeble’s meetings. Miller traveled extensively with Keeble as an evangelist and song leader, and Keeble commented appreciatively that “Luke Miller, who con- marshall keeble’s...

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