Where We’ve Been: Memphis School of Preaching
The event also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the school, which was inspired by N.B. Hardeman, a renowned educator, debater and preacher among Churches of Christ and co-founder of Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn.
Christians peruse exhibitors’ booths at the Memphis School of Preaching lectureship. (PHOTO BY LYNN MCMILLON)
Late in his life, Hardeman said, “If I could start over, I would have a school in which only the Bible would be taught,” according to Roy J. Hearn, director of the Memphis School of Preaching from 1966 — the year it was founded — until 1983.
Hardeman was not opposed to secular education for Christians but was interested “in the purity of the church and the propagation of sound doctrine,” the school’s website states.
The school’s first class included 15 men from seven U.S. states.
The Forest Hill Church of Christ in Memphis, Tenn., hosted the lectureship. (PHOTO BY LYNN MCMILLON)
The school now offers a two-year ministry degree and an Ongoing Spiritual Training Program. The school does not charge tuition and receives support from its overseeing congregation, the Forest Hill Church of Christ, and other congregations and church members.
The greatest highlight of the lectureship is “the opportunity to hear the Word of God preached,” said B.J. Clarke, the school’s director. The event also is a delight for “anyone who delights to hear the saving message of the Gospel.”
WEBSITE: www.msop.org
