The devil went down to Georgia
Check out our latest stories on a church's play about Satan, 19 baptisms at Jóvenes for Christ and three new board members for The Christian Chronicle.
A HOWDY HELLO from Oklahoma City. In my nearly four years working with The Christian Chronicle, this is only my second time visiting the office where a majority of my colleagues work.
I’m catching up with my friends and enjoying some local cuisine, such as the “world-famous” Swadley’s Bar-B-Q. (Strangely, I’d never heard of it before.)
But mainly, I’m learning some of what goes on behind the scenes during press week — when we put out our monthly print issue — as I prepare to take on new responsibilities as managing editor. You’ll soon see a more formal introduction from me and farewell from our outgoing managing editor, Audrey Jackson.
For now, I hope you’ll appreciate some of our latest stories:
The devil — played by Bouldercrest Church of Christ member Tony Noel — visited the Atlanta church to explain how he so easily manipulates us.
Nineteen campers were baptized at this year’s Jóvenes for Christ in Texas less than a year after its founder, JuanRaymon Rubio, died in a car crash.
And the Chronicle board of trustees welcomed three new members, including legendary journalist Jerry Mitchell.
The devil went down to Georgia
By Calvin Cockrell | Media Editor
ATLANTA — Christians at the Bouldercrest Church of Christ invited the devil into their midst.
This time, he went down to Georgia not for a fiddle-playing contest, as the famous Charlie Daniels Band song goes, but for an interview.
That was the premise of a recent play the church hosted, “The Art of Influence: An Interview with the Devil,” written and directed by church member Sheri Gilbert Wilson.
Her story asks the adversary of Scripture to explain how he so frequently wins battles against Christians.
“I find this (question) almost comical in nature, because you constantly call it a battle — when in fact, there are countless times you fight horribly, ignorant, without true purpose at all,” the devil says in an opening monologue.
“You are constantly learning, reading, praying, yet you rarely apply it — nor do you exclusively trust in the one who can protect and rescue you from me,” he later adds. “Simply put, your problem does not originate with me. Your problem originates with you.”
The devil then shows the audience four scenes to illustrate how he manipulates and exploits people’s everyday lives.
Jóvenes for Christ grows despite founder’s death
By Cheryl Mann Bacon | Contributing Editor
ABILENE, TEXAS — More than 240 campers gathered at Abilene Christian University June 16-19 for the first session of Jóvenes for Christ since the tragic death of its founder, JuanRaymon Rubio.
Nineteen campers were baptized in the outdoor baptistery at Jacob’s Dream on the campus.
The record number of attendees this year included Rubio’s parents, Raymon and Norma Rubio, and his 5-year-old nephew, Elias Zavala, who has attended five years in a row.
Pronounced HO-ven-es, the name means Youths for Christ. Since 2016, with a year off during the pandemic, Jóvenes for Christ has provided a summer camp for English-speaking teens from bilingual and predominantly Hispanic Churches of Christ.
Three new trustees join board of The Christian Chronicle
By Bobby Ross Jr. | Editor-in-Chief
OKLAHOMA CITY — In a legendary journalism career that stretches back 50 years to his high school days, Jerry Mitchell has earned dozens of the profession’s top awards.
In 2009, his intrepid reporting earned him a $500,000 “genius grant” — a fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Now, the 1982 graduate of Harding University in Searcy, Ark., and longtime member of the Skyway Hills Church of Christ in Pearl, Miss., has accepted an appointment to the The Christian Chronicle’s national board of trustees. Mitchell joins Josh Kingcade, senior minister for the Preston Road Church of Christ in Dallas, and Paul Maynard, chief growth and strategy officer at Harding, as the Chronicle’s newest governing board members.