HISTORY OF LEE CARTER MAYNARD

Lee Carter and Nellie Maynard, 1957

I wrote the following in 2001 while a student at St. Louis Christian College. I knew of Mr. Maynard from his weekly meditations, "Memories of the Master," which appeared in The Christian Standard issued by Standard Publishing Company. But there is much more to tell about his life than that.I attended church with Mr. Maynard's grandson and his wife.

History of Lee Carter Maynard,

a Latter-Day Restoration Movement Leader

By Becky L. Wall

           

Lee Carter Maynard’s name was a household word among the members and leaders of the Christian Churches and the Instrumental Churches of Christ during the years 1952 to 1985. He was known best through his weekly column in the Christian Standard, “Memories of the Master” and through his widespread, dynamic preaching. His column ran weekly for 33 years, his preaching spanned 60 years, and he authored ten books. But the best that can be said about him is that he loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, strength and mind and his neighbor as himself (Matt. 22:37-39).

His many “neighbors” included readers of the Christian Standard column. The Christian Standard is a Christian Church/Churches of Christ magazine that has been serving the nation’s Christian Churches and Churches of Christ since 1866 (North 238). Maynard would have had much influence writing a weekly column for this publication for thirty-three years. It was established long before the non-instrumental Churches of Christ split from the collective church body in 1906 and before the Disciples of Christ later did the same in 1926 (North 323). The periodical’s influence covered all three brotherhoods: The Christian Church (conservatives), the non-instrumental Churches of Christ, and the Disciples of Christ (liberals). 

           

Lee Carter Maynard’s weekly column, “Memories of the Master,” was scripture-based and the outpourings of a loving heart. Those readers who maintained their subscription to the Christian Standard would have been blessed by the content--no matter what brotherhood they came from. His readers came to love and respect him through his column.  L.C. Maynard’s communion meditations all display two common aspects: his own devotion to God’s Word and his desire to help others understand the glorious riches he had found there.

           

Most people who read the Christian Standard prior to Maynard’s death in 1985 still vividly remember his column. L.C. Maynard’s grandson, Steve Maynard, says of his grandfather, “He never seemed to run dry of inspiration” and his communion meditations were “also a service to the countless churches that used the column as devotions before their communion services." Lee Carter Maynard has a book by the same name that keeps his “memories” alive.    

                                                                                                                                

Because Maynard “rubbed elbows” with and captured the interest of other Restoration leaders such as James Deforest Murch and Carl Ketcherside, and because he occasionally preached for the non-instrumental Churches of Christ, his column and his preaching crossed the great divide that had occurred with “the split” of our once unified churches. But his greatest contributions to the Restoration Movement is that he won hearts with his loving approach and built spiritual bridges anchored in God’s Word. He never paused to think that he was living out the plea of the Restoration Movement. Yet he was familiar with its principles. He once commented in an interview that “Any right-thinking man is embarrassed that the restoration movement is so sadly fragmented--not over what the Bible declares, but what men have done contrary to peaceful assembling. Our divisions are caused more over works than because of grace and faith” (Hess 6).

           

In the same interview he was asked what elements of tradition in the movement needed to be challenged and modified. His answer was, “Some of us need kid gloves, not boxing gloves. Let’s never get the idea that it is our duty to correct, criticize, and contradict those who might not quite see things ‘our way’” (Hess 6). Maynard was just a few weeks short of his eighty-ninth birthday when he participated in this interview, yet his wisdom was not lacking.

           

Maynard was indeed a bridge builder between denominations. His first challenge in bridging the gap between the Christian Church and non-instrumental Churches of Christ came when he went to his future father-in-law, Edward Schlieper, to ask for Nellie Schlieper’s hand in marriage. Her parents were from a non-instrumental congregation. When Maynard asked Nellie’s father for his daughter’s hand, Schlieper’s response was that they should not be unequally yoked. Maynard replied, “Mr. Schlieper, I’m a believer.” That reply suited his father-in-law, so Lee Carter Maynard and Nellie Schlieper were married February 10, 1918 (W. Maynard interview). Ironically, Nellie served as pianist for many revivals that Maynard conducted (S. Maynard interview).

           

Lee Carter Maynard’s speaking spanned sixty years, many states, and over a hundred churches. He baptized many into the kingdom of Christ. His most rewarding experience came at his first revival in a small Christian Church in Loraine, Illinois. He preached his most successful revival at a Christian Church in the 1920’s. The sanctuary overflowed with people and thirty were baptized (Hess 5). He was not drawing a salary, but he was doing what he loved most, and God rewarded him for it.

           

William Maynard says his father’s preaching theory was that more people could be won with love than with browbeating. This may explain why Lee Carter Maynard was welcomed as a visitor and occasionally as a substitute preacher in non-instrumental Churches of Christ. When he served in these churches, usually on a one-time basis, he would simply follow Paul’s plan to “do as the Romans do.” He would adapt to each church’s form of worship so the doctrinal message would not be lost to differences in worship styles. 

           

Maynard had attended the Christian Church from age 15 until he got married, but he became a member of his wife’s non-instrumental church in Pearl, Illinois, because he thought she had more religion than he did (autobiography 29). He began to realize his calling while teaching an adult class at the non-instrumental church. He would at times preach at instrumental churches who asked him to “fill the pulpit.” 

But word got back to their home church that he was preaching and baptizing in the Christian Church and his wife was playing the piano (Hess 5). The preacher blocked their entrance into the church, then sent the Maynards a letter saying they had been “churched,” meaning they had been excommunicated from the church. Maynard’s response to that was recorded in the Christian Standard: “No longer welcome ‘in our own country,’ we moved and attended a Christian Church” (Hess 5). The piano issue was not an issue to them. Their focus was on weightier matters. The congregation did not agree with the preacher’s actions however, so when the preacher left, the family returned to the non-instrumental Church of Christ. This time it was not the preacher but the congregation who made the Maynards feel unwelcome because they were continuing their service to other churches.                                                                                                                                               

Ironically, their son, William, would one day be baptized at a non-instrumental Church of Christ by a Church of Christ preacher, but only by chance. He had gone forward to be baptized at the Loraine Christian Church in Loraine, Illinois, but the baptistry was not ready. So William Maynard was baptized down the street at the Church of Christ where the baptistry was ready. Lee Carter Maynard maintained a long friendship with his non-instrumental Church of Christ ally Carl Ketcherside. This friendship dated back to the one-room schoolhouse where Maynard taught and Ketcherside was a student. They visited each other’s churches frequently. Steve Maynard says, “Grandpa would tease Mr. Ketcherside about his refusal to sing when a piano was used during worship--but he would hum!” From 1967-1975 Maynard penned fifteen articles for the Mission Messenger, a non-instrumental Church of Christ publication edited by W. Carl Ketcherside (Mission Messenger website).

           

The greatest influence L.C. Maynard had on the Disciples Movement was to lead the Angola Christian Church, which was technically a Disciples of Christ congregation, into the more conservative views of the Christian Church/Church of Christ. On another occasion he joined with a Disciples professor from Phillips University in Enid Oklahoma to field questions from the audience in an open forum before and after revival meetings in Wichita, Kansas. (W. Maynard interview).

           

Understanding the Bible and how to apply it to one’s life was Maynard’s focus in his ministry. It was not focused on controversies or divisions. By Providence or by chance, his path in life allowed him opportunities to cast his influence through his writing and speaking gifts, and that path occasionally crossed denominations. Before his contribution to the Restoration Movement can be fully appreciated, the man must first be known.

Lee Carter Maynard’s life began on January 12, 1893, in Pearl, Illinois, which was in Pike County. He was the first of three sons born to William and Emily Carter Maynard. Maynard was first influenced by his grandfather, a circuit-riding preacher who was, by L.C. Maynard’s description, “an old-fashioned restoration preacher who never preached without his long, black preacher coat” (Hess 4). William Maynard says his great-grandfather rode a white horse and sported a long, white beard. L.C. Maynard described his grandfather as “being against more than he was for.” Lee Carter took a more positive approach in his preaching style without sacrificing the theme of obedience.

           

A prominent Christian Church evangelist named Jesse M. Bader immersed Lee Carter Maynard when Maynard was 15 years old. As was mentioned before, he married his wife, Nellie, on February 10, 1918. Shortly thereafter the army drafted him to serve during World War I. He could not do active duty because of a lame foot and was in the service less than a year.  William was born in December of 1918, and Robert was born in 1921.

His working career began at the Third National Bank in St. Louis, Missouri. After earning a teaching certificate by passing a teaching exam, he taught five years of elementary education, all eight grades, in a one-room country school south of Pearl, Illinois. He taught two additional years, 5th and 6th grades, in town. As mentioned before, one of his students in the country school was Carl Ketcherside. Maynard began to successfully sell Metropolitan Life Insurance in 1927, which he did for several years. But he wasn't happy in the business; his heart was in preaching. 

           

He began his ministry in 1932. Even before he took a located ministry, he preached wherever the insurance position took him. He and his family moved from Pittsfield, Illinois, to Quincy, Illinois. They then spent one month in Hannibal, Missouri. During this time Maynard held meetings all over western Illinois. 

           

His first revival in which he got paid was at Loraine, Illinois (autobiography, “After-thoughts” 4). His first located ministry was from 1934-36 in Bowen, Illinois. It was there that he was ordained (Pike Press). He received an average of $13 a week from offerings as his salary. From Bowen he went to Colchester, Illinois, where he served seven years. He served three additional years at Camp Point during World War II (autobiography 31-32). In the fall of 1945 he took his family to Angola, Indiana, where he ministered for four and one-half years. His final located pastorate was in Astoria, a small town in west central Illinois. He retired from there and went back to evangelistic work for about seven years. Sometimes Maynard preached in meetings or at camps, homecomings, and civic organizations. Other times he served as interim minister for a longer period of time (W. Maynard interview).

           

After his retirement in 1961, L.C. Maynard became a circuit preacher in his own right, preaching his way from Illinois to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he spent the winters, and preaching his way back again to Illinois for the summers. His “circuit” included over 70 churches. He authored ten books in thirty-four years (Pike Press). The Christian Standard said of him, “He knew that the best way to destroy your enemy is to make a friend out of him. Regardless of what people might have done to him he wouldn't stop loving them” (10/27/85). Maynard had no known enemies, but he did preach in churches with opposing ideas. He avoided the dividing issues and simply preached the gospel in love.

In 1964 he went to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he continued evangelistic work until 90 years of age. He never really retired until his death. His column continued until the end of the year even after he died in September, since he always submitted his writings ahead of time. He spent much time in prayer and Bible study especially in his later years of life. He died in St. Petersburg on September 2, 1985, at the age of 92 where he had been in the Veterans Administration hospital for six months. His entry into the hospital ended his 60-plus years of ministry. The Christian Standard revealed in its October 27, 1985, issue his dying words, as recorded by his daughter- in-law, Harriet, who is Robert’s widow: It went as follows:

            “Good night, precious Lord. I love you for all you have done.”

            “I am thine, oh, Lord!”

            “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.”

            “Good night, holy Father.”

            “Turn me loose, Father.”

            “Come, Lord Jesus.”

            “Oh, what a victory.”

            “There’s a sign, Harriet . . . do you see it?”

            “It’s a sign board.”
            “What a victory, what a victory--Amen, Amen!”

            “There’s a bright light, hallelujah!”

            “The light is in my eyes.”

            “I love you, Lord, and I love the fellowship.”

            “Am I all done, April?”

            “Yes, Gran-Paw.”

            “Well, let’s go!”

Lee Carter Maynard was buried in the Greenpond Cemetery near Pearl, Illinois, where he grew up (Pike Press). Nellie Maynard died a year after his death.

Maynard had enjoyed a close relationship with his wife. She not only contributed to his ministry by playing the piano or leading the singing at revivals, she served as his memory for details. She was always quick to recall names and places when her husband drew a blank. Lee Carter considered his wife his “best friend, companion, and encourager” for the 60 plus years they were married (Hess 6).

He had lived a full and spiritually productive life, but his life was not without tragedy. A traumatic experience in his life compelled him to go into the ministry. He had broken his ankle and gangrene set in. The doctor wanted to amputate the lower portion of the leg. Maynard prayed that he would not lose his leg, and vowed to God that if he were allowed to keep it, he would enter the ministry. God granted the prayer, and Maynard kept his vow.
  
A great tragedy occurred when Maynard’s son, Colonel Robert Maynard, was killed September 26, 1969, at the age of 48 in an airplane crash while on a mercy mission delivering food and medicine to Biafra (Pike Press). He left behind a devoted wife, Harriet, and three children. Robert had held the distinguished title of Colonel in the Air Force, the branch of service from which he retired. One of his greatest honors was to accompany President Eisenhower to South America. He was the chief meteorologist on the presidential jet and was with the presidential entourage for four weeks (Pike Press).                                                                                                            

By God’s mercy, Bob’s body was found by a young priest who witnessed the crash and gave him and the four other pilots who also died in the crash a Christian burial. The family was able to meet with the priest a year later when he was sent to the town where they lived, St. Petersburg, Florida. Lee Carter Maynard’s daughter-in-law, Nadine Maynard (William’s wife), with tears in her eyes and a choke in her voice, reminisced that when her father-in-law was told by his minister, Curt Hess, of his son’s death, he simply turned to him and said, “We must give thanks in all things. We need to pray, Curt.” Curtis Hess served at Central Christian Church in St. Petersburg, Florida (Christian Standard 10/27/85). He authored an article about Maynard that was published in the December 20, 1981, issue. The article was called, “An Hour With Lee Carter Maynard.” 

L.C. Maynard was called by some the “Will Rogers of the pulpit.” He was a good story-teller, used many illustrations, and never used notes. He had a quick wit and was very animated and demonstrative in his delivery of a message. His daughter-in-law, Nadine, says that he waved his Bible around in his left hand so much that she wondered how he kept from throwing it away. She also remarked that he had so much scripture memorized that he would appear to be reading from the Bible and would, after reading a while, find he had been holding it upside down. By Maynard’s own confession in his autobiography, this was a technique he used to keep people’s attention. He was very humble about his calling and always felt he was without sufficient training, so he compensated by memorizing scriptures and poems and using such attention-getting techniques to make his sermons more interesting (autobiography, “Afterthoughts” 7). L.C. Maynard’s grandson Steve Maynard says, “He had a folksy, affable way of presenting the Gospel to an audience that both encouraged and admonished listeners.”

The statement was made to Maynard, “Would you share with me your favorite part of the Scriptures?” Maynard’s response was: “I once took a course in Genesis and found it so interesting that it became my favorite book. Then later I fell in love with Matthew, then Ephesians. But now, I have no favorites. It’s sort of like asking a father of six children to name his favorite child” (Hess 4).                                                                                                                                           

Lee Carter Maynard was not only remarkable because he wrote a weekly article for thirty-three years, but that those years extended into his 90’s. In addition to "Memories of the Master," he wrote a booklet during World War II called The Helping Hand and a book with doctrinal subjects called Leaves of Life. Maynard retired in 1961 and had three more books published after that. A book of Old Testament Quizzes was published in 1969, and two other books were published in 1973. One was called Points that Emphasize and the other was a book of 52 Worship Services with Sermon Outlines. He also authored little thoughts called “The Church Mouse” that he included in the church bulletin. He is credited as the author of “Fireside Fun,” but family members are not aware of whether it is a book or a series of articles. He wrote a book called Musings from the Margin which was about what the title suggests--his own musings from his own marginal notes from Bibles, books, journals, and other writings he kept through the years.

His legacy continues through his son William and through other family members. “Bill” had a pulpit ministry for 26 years in Columbus, Illinois. During those years he served as Principal of Augusta High School; Augusta, Illinois, and as Superintendent of the Brown County Schools in Mt. Sterling, Illinois. He considered his ministry to be his primary job. He thought of himself as a “tentmaker” who earned a living so that he could be free to preach and still support himself and his family.

Bill Maynard served as Dean of Students at St. Louis Christian College for seven years and acted as interim president for one year. He then became Vice President for Business Affairs for seven years and taught classes. After serving the college for a total of eleven years, some of his jobs having overlapped, he retired on June 30, 1986. At the current age of 81 he remains active in “taking his turn” teaching Sunday School at Halls Ferry Christian Church in Florissant, Missouri. William’s son, Steve, chose to carry on his grandfather’s legacy by setting up a writing scholarship in his name at St. Louis Christian College. Steve too enjoys writing. Among his many recognitions, Lee Carter Maynard received an Honorary Doctorate from Atlanta Christian College in 1973 and was honored as Churchman of the Year at the North American Christian Convention in 1984.

   

The December 20th, 1981, issue of the Christian Standard that featured an interview with Lee Carter Maynard said in the Editorial of the same issue, “It is appropriate that we feature an interview with Brother Maynard in this issue of Christian Standard. . . For many of our readers, the 'Memories of the Master' column can truly be described as 'Precious Memories'.” 

Ironically, one of Lee Carter Maynard’s last published “memories” contained scripture from Luke 10:25-27 that begins with the question: “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Throughout his life Lee Carter Maynard had done just that. Another of his last articles ends by saying, “. . . there’s a great day coming by and by.” For Lee Carter Maynard that day has come and will continue forevermore.

Becky Wall

Thank you to Steve Maynard, grandson of Lee Carter and Nellie Maynard, who provided the photos of his grandparents.

Works Cited

Hess, Curt.  “An Hour With Lee Carter Maynard.” Christian Standard.  Dec. 20, 1981:  3-6.

Maynard, Lee Carter.  Mission Messenger.  “Author Index, Vol. 32,” 1967-1973, 29 April 2000. 
www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/wcketcherside/mmm/authors.html

“Lee Carter Maynard” obituary.  Pike Press.  3 Sept. 1985 (day estimated).

“Lee Carter Maynard” obituary.  N.A.C.C. Update, Vol. 11, No. 6.  June/July 1983.

Maynard, Lee Carter.  Autobiography, never published.

Maynard, Lee Carter.  “Christmas 1969.”  Personal letter.  Dec. 1969.

Maynard, Nadine.  Personal interview.  19 April 2000.

Maynard, Steve.  Personal question-and-answer interview in written form.  26 April 2000.

Maynard, William.  Personal interview.  19 April 2000.

SLCC News.  “Maynards Retiring."  1986 (month and day unknown).  p. 3.

Christian Standard. “Memories of Lee Carter Maynard” editorial.  27 Oct. 1985.

“Son of Lee Maynard Assigned to Pres. Eisenhower’s Plane.”  Pike Press.  Sept. (day             unknown) 1969