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
