Forgotten Giants of the Faith

I came to know Christ as my personal savior when I was a senior in high school in Clifton Colorado. I was led to Christ by a dear saint who still is alive and still lives in Clifton, now in a retirement home. During the summer of 1957 I went to summer camp to the adult camp and there my life was radically transformed. I gave up a promising career in engineering which included a full tuition scholarship to the Colorado School of Mines. Led by people like Seth Wilson of Ozark Bible College, Leah Moshier of Kulpuhar Children's Home in India, and Erskine Scates, I made the decision to enter the ministry. I really didn't know what I was doing, but I set my course. Today I want to focus on the Scates' family.

When I refer to this family as forgotten giants, I need only to turn to The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement and tell you that the editors never planned to have an article included about Erskine Scates. A dear friend of the family, Tamsen Murray, was asked to write an article about Intermountain Bible College and she submitted both that article and one about Erskine. Fortunately the committee had sense enough to include it.

The patriarch of the family was Erskine E. Scates. His oldest son would be named Erskine E. Scates, and we always referred to him as Erskine Jr. Erskine Scates was born in Oklahoma in 1909 and was raised by two aunts. During the years I worked with E. E. Scates, I met both of the aunts on several occasions. Aunt Merle lived in Durango Colorado and Aunt Nono in Denver and later in Fruita Colorado. They were wonderful women and you could see the influence they had on Erskine.

E. E. Scates attended Phillips University and graduated with a BD and MA degree. During his career he would support himself as an evangelist by working in the mines, farming, and school teaching. He epitomized the concept of a tentmaker ministry. Only in the later years of Intermountain Bible College did he allow himself to be fully funded by the church or organization he served.

Always having a heart for the intermountain west he began his career as a state evangelist for the Disciples of Christ. But doctrinal issues soon arose and he went out on his own no longer supported by the Disciples of Christ. During his career he was responsible for either reopening or starting many of the churches in Western Colorado. At one point he was serving five or six different churches much like a circuit preacher. It was that commitment that brought those churches to life.

Intermountain Bible College began in 1946 as one of his dreams. The school would continue until 1985 when it closed due to financial and accreditation issues. Two years ago we had another reunion of the people involved in the school and around 200 people were at the meeting. The school did not leave a big footprint, but it did leave its mark.

Erskine also led in the establishment of churches in Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Many of those churches are still going. He also encouraged the churches to start youth camps, two of which are still in operation.

The legacy of E. E. Scates is found in the people he inspired to serve Christ. He was a humble man who led a simple life. His only vice was driving a bit fast, but he never had an accident. Those of us who knew him said he must have had a company of angels who watched over him.

The greatest legacy he left behind was his family. Three generations of his family are involved in ministry. One of his grandsons ministers in Tonganoxie, Kansas, about 100 miles from Manhattan.

What spurred this blog was a letter I received from one of Erskine's sons—Harry D. Scates, named after one of Erskine's professors at Phillips. Following is an excerpt from that letter. Harry and Elaine Scates were visiting their daughter Ann who lives in Sweden. The boy David is Ann's son.

"Today we went to David's school.  It was his last day before Christmas vacation.  The children received some recognition awards and then some sweets.  Several of the parents were there. Elaine and I were there with Bo and Ann.  One of the fathers present was a black man from Africa.  He is married to a Swedish woman.  I was introduced to him.  When I told him my name is Harry Scates his face lit up and asked if I knew David Scates.  I told him I was his brother. 

 
 

"We talked for some time.  He told how David would go to Uganda when no one else would go.  How he lived just like them.  "He went where we went and he ran with us when we had to run".  I was really touched.  He said that he taught them great lessons including going out to the small villages and starting churches which they are still doing.  He told me that David's ministry is still bearing fruit.  Julius led the choir that traveled around with the team to the churches.  Of course he knew about David's death.  He spoke of Sarah Sanyu who was like an adopted daughter.  She died but her daughter is alive.  Also, he spoke of Eric Stadell.  I remember David and Peggy speaking of him.  Julius said that Eric lives in Stockholm and he is going to try to get hold of him.  It might work out for us to see him.                     

 
 

"He is going to talk with his wife and I imagine that we will get together before we leave.  He would love to hear from any of you.  I can tell that David made a real mark on his life."

 

Harry and Elaine went to Brazil in the early sixties. Harry had a vision to go to Brazil, but the leadership of the Brazil Christian Mission told Harry he could not come until he was married. So we watched Harry as he feverously tried to find a wife. He dated a lovely young woman who was from the Friends' Church, but she could not give up her faith to join him in Brazil. And then along came Elaine fresh out of Moody Bible Institute. They hit it off and were married.

 

Going to Brazil Harry and Elaine decided to become Brazilian citizens which was a significant sacrifice. Later their children would have the opportunity to declare whether or not they wanted to be Brazilian or American citizens and they all chose to become Brazilians. Harry began a work in Uberlandia which has grown to several thousand. He no longer heads up the church but has trained others who are doing the job. Harry and Elaine now travel around the world encouraging and teaching believers.

 

My heart was deeply touched by the names in the letter—Eric Staddell, a Swede who came with his wife and some friends to serve on the Navajo Reservation for a while. Julius, the brother from Uganda. I'm sure I met Julius when I was in Uganda. But at the top of the list—David Scates. David marked many lives, including mine. I would go to the mission field in Kenya because of the influence of David Scates.

 

Harry noted that in Uganda David became one with the people. David died in 1993 of some bug he picked up in Uganda. I was in Ukraine on a missions' trip when he died, so I did attend his funeral. The family asked me to write a memorial message for him for Christian Standard. With many tears I wrote the memorial for this great man.

 

At David's funeral the Navajos asked Peggy his wife if they could be permitted to handle the services in a Navajo fashion. Peggy gladly agreed and David was accorded the honors of a Navajo elder. The Navajos conducted the entire service including the burial. They prepared the family dinner to which hundreds of Navajos came. When asked why they wanted to do all this, they responded, "He was one of us." I can tell you that this is the highest compliment that a missionary can receive. And David was one of them. He ate their food, slept in their hogans and lived with them day in and day out.

 

David and Peggy had a daughter who was much younger than the rest of the children—Jennifer. David would be out visiting among the Navajos and come home without Jennifer. Peggy would ask, "Where is Jennifer?" David would then remember that he had left her at some Navajo home. Nothing to do but to go and collect her. I have a picture that hangs in my home of Jennifer and her Navajo grandmother, Grandma Clark. Several years ago I met Jennifer in Colorado Springs. She was married and had a daughter of her own. That daughter was the exact image of the girl in my picture.

 

The Scates have no memorials built to them, but those of us who worked with them know that they were giants in the faith.

 
 

Sports and superstars--Charles Colson

Charles Colson had an excellent article today in regard to the sports' drug enhancement scandal. It is printed below for your reading!


Monsters of Our Own MakingUndercutting Human Potential
January 9, 2008
Last month Major League Baseball was rocked by the release of the Mitchell report, which exposed the rampant use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs among players. More than 90 players, including one of my heroes, Roger Clemens, were named in the report.
All those home runs fans celebrated, all those heroes kids emulated: History is now tainted. "I don't think there's any question," said baseball historian Bruce Markusen, "that some of the milestones we've come to respect have been cheapened." I wonder if fewer fans will show up when spring training starts in a couple months.
But do fans really have the right to indulge in righteous indignation over steroid-use in baseball—and in other sports, for that matter?
While "baseball purists" raged over Barry Bonds's pursuit of the home-run record last summer, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson called Bonds "simply a man of his age." Not justifying steroid use, Robinson challenged the purists to look in the mirror.
"We, the paying customers," he writes, "want to see supermen and superwomen performing super feats, and we're willing to pay these gladiators a fortune. Why should they disappoint us?" I would add, how could they afford to?
Indeed, as Leon Kass and Eric Cohen wrote in the Washington Post a few years ago, "we are actually complicit in the growing dependencies of our gigantic heroes. We . . . enjoy the spectacle of greater power and speed." Thus, athletes "become better by no longer fully being [themselves] . . . The performed deed may be superior," Kass and Cohen continue, "but it is less a deed of the particular doer, more the work of his chemist."
Sadly, this trickles down to youth sports as well. The Positive Coaching Alliance released its Bottom 10 List of 2007's worst moments in sports. The number-two incident after the Mitchell report? An Orlando father was "found guilty of supplying steroids and human growth hormone to his 14-year-old son [in order] to improve his speed-skating skills." This is tragic.
As our capacity to reengineer the human body grows, what kind of society will we become? "We might lose sight of the difference between real and false excellence, and eventually not care," Kass and Cohen wrote. "Worst of all, we would be in danger of turning our would-be heroes into slaves, who exist only to entertain us and whose freedom to pursue human excellence has been shackled by the need to perform—and conform—for our amusement and applause."
There is room in the world for true sports heroes. And there are plenty of steroid-free athletes whose skill and commitment to excellence are worthy of our admiration.
I can't help but think of the great Olympian Eric Liddell, portrayed in one of my all-time favorite movies, Chariots of Fire. Refusing to compete in the Olympic 100-meter event because it was scheduled on a Sunday, he trained for the 400-meter race, which required completely different skills. And he not only won, he set a new world record. I never can forget his words in that movie:
"I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."
And that's a pleasure we can all feel when we use the abilities God has given us—when we reflect His image, not the image of our own making or a chemist's.

Epiphany

A church calendar event that goes back to the 2nd or 3rd century is Epiphany. What is it? Well it takes places on January 6 and Britannica tells us this about it: Today: Epiphany Celebrated annually this day, Epiphany is a major feast that commemorates, for Western Christians, the coming of the Magi and, for Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jesus' birth, baptism by John, and first miracle.

The Obscenity of Campaign Spending

We are on the edge of the caucuses in Iowa tonight (January 2, 2008). There is a lot of hubbub over how the vote will go in Iowa. Iowa is seen as a weathervane as to where the candidates will go. My concern is about the obscene use of money in this presidential campaign. How can the candidates justify the money they are spending on themselves? For example, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have $100,000,000 to spend on their campaigns. That represents a great deal of media blitz and other political advertising. $100,000,000. If all the candidates who are pursuing the presidency have similar amounts, we are talking about spending one-half billion dollars.

Several things to consider:

First, how do the candidates justify the waste of this much money? They do not even offer the slightest apology for it. Their goal is to be elected and they will do it regardless of the cost.

Second, this money comes from somewhere or someone(s). How many favors supporters will call in after the election is over? How much pressure can the supporters put on the presidency especially if the person is seeking re-election?

Third, there are thousands of hungry and homeless people in the USA who could benefit from this waste of money. How do you say to the hungry man, "Sorry, Charlie, but I need this money to get elected President? You just go ahead and starve to death. Before you die be sure you vote for me." New schools could be built, research funded for cancer and AIDS. Instead the money will go up in smoke and regardless of how much is spent, only one of these people will be president. That's the way our system works. It means that the other five wasted their time and money in the process.

Therefore, when these candidates talk about their concern for the poor, the unemployed, the uninsured, they are playing the role of the classic hypocrite.

The Shame of American World Politics

The Shame of American Politics

In the news today, another article appeared about the turmoil in Kenya. I lived next door to the slum called Kibera where much of the rioting is taking place. While we were in Kenya from 1985-88 we saw a relatively peaceful country, minding its own business and the most prosperous of the central African countries as well as the most stable. It had come out of colonialism under the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta. When Kenyatta retired, he determined that the next leader should not belong to any of the major tribes, but rather from a minor tribe—the Kalenjin. Moi would prove to be an effective ruler. However, he also followed the pattern of many of the African leaders; he was corrupt and amassed a personal fortune of nearly $100,000,000.

When we asked Kenyans what they thought of such corruption because they knew all about it, they answered in an unusual fashion. They did not resent Moi having all that money. What they would like is a piece of the pie as well. Moi's behavior was classic for African tribal leadership. The Kenyans understood the system and were glad to live with it. The country was stable. Kenya enjoyed a large contingency of tourists and people were satisfied with life as it was.

So what happened? The U. S. government put pressure on Kenya to hold multi-party elections. If Kenya refused to hold multi-party elections then the U. S. government would reduce aid payments, which were important to the economy. However, the Kenyans were not ready for this form of democracy. When tribal conflict took place, the loser usually died. As the country prepared for multi-party elections civil war broke out. Thousands were killed in the conflict because this was the way the Kenyans saw competing parties in the country. The civil war led to reduced tourism and more unemployment and social problems. The mistake the U. S. government made was the lack of knowledge of how Kenyan society and politics operated.

Our government is notorious for being unable to understand the nations with which it deals. An illustration is our ill-fated intervention into Somalia. The big mistake made was allowing the warlords to live. As long as the warlords were alive, they would continue to stir up strife. It sounds horrid to go in and deliberately kill rulers, but in this case, it was necessary. Instead, the warlords were allowed to live and the result was a disastrous and humiliating defeat on the troops of the United States. Failure to understand the mind of the Somalians brought about disaster.

The present situation in Iraq is another illustration of our consistent failure to understand other cultures. Where were the Middle East scholars when the plans were being made to upset Saddam Hussein? Anyone who understood the Muslim world would be able to tell you that when you removed one party from power that had been supported by the previous government, then the oppressed group, usually the majority, would take its revenge. We have Iraqis killing Iraqis for religious reasons. The religious reasons are deep-seated and reach back for centuries. Did we think that the glamour of American democracy would overshadow these religious differences? Only a fool would say yes. Nevertheless, the U. S. government said, "Yes." The transition we envision will take twenty or more years, not just one, or five. I seriously doubt that this was the plan of our government.

These illustrations could be multiplied repeatedly. Our egos tell us that American democracy is the answer to the world's troubles. We call this ethnocentrism—"We are the best people on earth." We will never be successful in the world of politics until we recognize that there are other cultures alongside ours.