ARKANSAS PREACHER: ANDY T. RITCHIE
Dennis Gulledge

Recently I was the glad recipient of two photos of the old time Arkansas
preacher, Andy T. Ritchie. Both photos are from the early 1900¹s, including
the one shown here. Lori Douglas was kind enough to bring these pictures and
present them to me. When I saw the handwriting on the back, "A. T. Ritchie,
Preacher" I knew immediately the subject of these photos. I suppose I was
more acquainted with the Ritchie name through his son, Andy T. Ritchie, Jr.,
the late long time choral director at both Harding and David Lipscomb
colleges in years past. The name Andy T. Ritchie evokes images of those
types of preachers who were aristocratic in appearance, dignified in action
and powerful in the preaching of the Word.
Andy T. Ritchie was born on June 9, 1877, near Ash Flat, Arkansas. His
parents, Jessie B. and Tima Ritchie were the only members of the Lord¹s
church in Ash Flat in 1895 when Andy obeyed the gospel. There was no meeting
place for the church at that time. Andy and his sister Rosa Alma attended
denominational services in Ash Flat because there was nowhere else to attend
religious services. When the Ritchie children were nearly persuaded to
believe and follow Methodism, their parents became alarmed and secured the
services of W. W. Oldfield to conduct a gospel meeting in the summer of
1895. This meeting resulted in Andy and his brother Harve being baptized
into Christ. This was the beginning of the church meeting in Ash Flat. The
following year Alexander Douglas held a gospel meeting and Rosa Alma was
baptized.
Andy Ritchie was possessed of a great desire to preach the gospel. Since
there was still no meetinghouse of the saints in Ash Flat, he arranged to
use the Methodist church building and preached his first gospel sermon in
1901.
After a couple years of preaching by appointment, Andy Ritchie decided to
better prepare himself for preaching, and in 1903 entered school at the
Nashville Bible School (now Lipscomb University) in Nashville, Tennessee.
Upon graduation in 1905 he took a trip to the Bible lands. A trip of that
kind was a rare thing at the turn of the 20th century. After returning from
his tour in 1906, brother Ritchie was in high demand as a speaker on the
lands of the Bible. He authored a book entitled, "Travels to Bible Lands."
He married Fannie Mae Cobb that same year in Nashville, Tennessee.
These lectures, and the resulting book, made Andy T. Ritchie a household
name in the early 1900¹s. Brother Ritchie began holding gospel meetings in
those places where Christ was not named. His preaching was so strong that he
was openly opposed by the denominations. In 1909 Andy Ritchie and his wife
left Ash Flat and moved to Madison, Tennessee where he lived the rest of his
life. The Gospel Advocate in the early to mid 1920¹s carried numerous
reports of his gospel meeting work. We should be ever thankful for great
gospel preachers of the past like Andy T. Ritchie.

VOLUME 39 NUMBER 31
August 5, 2002

OUR SICK

Opal Snow had back surgery on Tuesday (July 30) at St. Vincent. She went
home the next day.
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THANK YOU

My birthday will be remembered for you making it special. The cards were
beautiful, the veggies were good and all the flowers were wonderful. It is
very nice being 90! Pearlie Baldwin.
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POINT SOUTHWEST

Harold Pigue on behalf of the elders reported to the congregation on Sunday
morning that Point Southwest Church of Christ had purchased the Woodhaven
Baptist Church building at 9200 Chicot Road. They will hold services there
on Sunday, August 11th. Mabelvale donated $25,000.00 in cash and a parcel of
land in Shannon Hills to their building fund.
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100th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Everyone is invited to join in celebrating C. Y. (Papo) Blakeney¹s 100th
Birthday on Saturday, August 10th from 2 till 4 in the multipurpose room. No
gifts please.
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SERMONS FOR AUGUST 11

Morning
Marriage Is Not For The Immature (Luke 2:52; 1 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians
4:14)

Evening
The Dangerous Philosophy Of Calvinism
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SEARCH
Week of August 11
MORAL AND NATURAL EVIL
The word "evil" appears 612 times in the King James Version of the Bible. A
study of the use of the word in different passages reveals that there are
different kinds of evil, and evil is used in different ways. Sometimes even
God is said to use evil forces to bring about His will. Examples of that
might be the universal flood and the destruction of Sodom. If God does so,
may we? Is all natural evil punishment for moral evil?

EVENTS OF INTEREST

August 11..............Bible Bowl Practice
August 16..............Area Wide Singing at Mabelvale
September 8-11....Our Gospel Meeting

OUR RECORD AUGUST 4, 2002

A.M. WORSHIP 167
SUNDAY BIBLE STUDY 134
P.M. WORSHIP 122
WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY 149

CONTRIBUTION 5060
BUDGET 5570
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MEN TO SERVE
August 11, 2002

Eddie Black Phil DePriest
Johnny Boyd Bill Boyd
Cliff Boyd Wally Davis
Richard Butler Henry Brooks

Evening Alan Caudle
Ray Bryan
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WEDNESDAY SONG DIRECTOR

August 14 Cliff Boyd
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USHERS FOR AUGUST

Morning Ken Sullivan
Evening David Moore
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GREETERS FOR AUGUST

Bette Hendricks & Emma Brown
Thelma Blythe
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ELDER CHAIRMAN

August Bill Boyd
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