Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

The holiday season is an occasion that some use to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Many who pause to remember Christ’s birth are those who make no time in the rest of the year to pay homage to our risen Lord. Christmas is a time when TV provides live coverage of the Catholic mass on Christmas eve and features those who have made a pilgrimage to Bethlehem. We hear such phrases as “Remember the reason for the sea-son” and “Let’s keep Christ in Christmas.” There are commentaries on the dangers of consumerism and the abuse of credit. We would expect such things from those who have never been taught the difference between revealed and unrevealed religion, but what can we expect from those in God’s house?

There has been a significant change to occur among brethren in recent years. When I began preaching in 1966, the Christmas season was an occasion that brethren generally used to distinguish revealed and unrevealed religion. The Sunday before Christmas was frequently used to distinguish what the Bible teaches about the birth of Christ from the religious trap-pings that have grown up around it. Church bulletins featured articles on Christmas that taught why it was wrong to celebrate Christmas in a religious way. One of the most popular articles was the one reproduced on the front page, “Christmas,” by Ferrell Jenkins. My copy of this article is from the 1968 bulletin of the Plainfield, Indiana church, but it has been reproduced in many other bulletins through the years.

Brethren understood that they should not participate in the religious celebration of Christmas. Some discussed whether or not a Christian could exchange gifts on December 25th or have a Christmas tree. There were no special Christmas services or church-sponsored Christmas parties.

But things are changing in God’s house with reference to the celebration of Christmas. Here are some of them:

1. Some of our liberal brethren participate in the religious celebration of Christmas in their public worship. The Bering Drive church in Houston, Texas, a church on the vanguard of liberalism, announced in their bulletin (December 15, 1991) that the following Sunday would feature a Christmas celebration. The announcement said that they would have a choral presentation of special music, the sanctuary would be adorned with poinsettias, and the worship planned to celebrate the birth of Christ. Their 1994 bulletin (December 18, 1994) said,

Each year, on the second Sunday before Christmas and the last Sun-day before Christmas we celebrate together the birth of Jesus. This Sunday we will enjoy the special gift of the Bering Chorus. For months they have prepared this music to lift our hearts in praise to God for the gift of Bethlehem. Bill will tell a Christmas story or two. We will sing Christmas carols together. After morning service we will fine the Fellowship Hall decked out in beautiful Christmas decor and a feast will be enjoyed by all. There will be violin music with the dinner, and ______________’s singing group will share their wonderful songs with us again this year.

The December 1994 issue of Love Lines, the bulletin of the Woodmont Church where Rubel Shelly preaches lamented that Santa was getting top billing over Jesus at the Christmas season and urged their members to “tell the real Christmas story at your house this year.

I have no way to judge how widespread this is.

2. Many congregations seem to have gotten too sophisticated to preach against the religious celebration of Christmas. They justify not preaching on the subject on the basis that it offends visitors who might attend at that time of the year. They castigate those who preach against the religious celebration of Christmas for being abrasive and confrontational. In the meantime, the rearing of a generation who has never heard these sermons has created a group who is asking, “What is wrong with setting aside a special day to commemorate the birth of Christ?”

3. A larger number of brethren are allowing their children to participate in the choral presentations at school that feature songs teaching that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ.

What Is Wrong With the Religious Celebration of Christmas?

There is only one thing wrong with it. No Bible authority exists for the religious celebration of Christmas. Scripture teaches that one must have Bible authority for whatever he practices, in such texts as the following:

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him (Col. 3:17).

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds (2 John 9-11).

And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another (1 Cor. 4:6).

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Rev. 22:18-19).

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen (1 Pet. 4:11).

The same thing is wrong with the religious observance of Christmas as is wrong with sprinkling for baptism, infant baptism, using mechanical instruments of music in worship, observing the Lord’s supper on Thursday, etc.  there is no Bible authority for the practice. In the absence of divine authority for the practice, one cannot walk by faith in observing Christmas religiously.

No man has a right to dictate to brethren what to preach on the Sunday before Christmas or any other time. No man has the right to demand that brethren publish an article in their local church bulletin on the subject. However, to have a generation to grow up among us who does not know what is wrong with the religious observance of Christmas, Easter, and other unauthorized “holy days” would be tragic. How long has it been since you heard any teaching on the subject?

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 24, p. 2
December 21, 1995

By L.A. Stauffer

(All quotations are from “The Family Circle” and from interviews with Leslie’s children. LAS) Leslie Diestelkamp was a captivating preacher, but not the most eloquent among his fellow evangelists; an interesting writer, but not the best trained and most professional among his fellow editors; a meticulous and accurate student of the scriptures, but not the best educated and most scholarly among his fellow disciples. But as a man of God who looked to the ways of his household he had no superiors and few equals. Surely no man questioned the purity and spirituality of his heart so clearly reflected in his godly demeanor and mirrored in the lives of his children unto “the third and … fourth generation of them” who came from his loins.

This devoted father may be among the last of the “grand old patriarchs” who, like his spiritual forefather Abraham, “commanded his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice” (Gen. 18:19). Few men in modern times leave behind such a long trail of righteous descendants  children and their spouses, grandchildren and their spouses, and great-grandchildren. Like Lois and Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5), this respected father saw the image of his “unfeigned faith” in the lives of 50 or more family members, including in-laws.

His experience and success as a husband, father, and grand-father, along with a careful study of the Scriptures, prepared him well for writing and preaching on what he called “The Family Circle.” It also opened him to frequent solicitations for advice about the “secret” of family life. Be assured that his response was  there is no “secret” or “magic” formula. To him there were “obvious” principles that must be united with hard work. Those fundamentals he articulated well in his writing and preaching and exemplified forcefully in the laboratory of daily family life.

Seed Beds Of The Kingdom

This esteemed father’s view of family life began with the premise that the “home is the cradle of civilization and the bulwark of the church.” He was fond of describing the home as “the vestibule of heaven.” Fathers and mothers, he believed, are to prepare the hearts of their children for the seed of the kingdom. A child, to him, is “like a tender plant” that you are cultivating, grooming, and directing every day. The preparation of children to receive the seed of the kingdom demands three important principles: (1) a child’s heart must be conditioned to “respect authority” and, (2) and (3) every offspring must learn “honesty” and “morality.” If these qualities were indelibly inscribed into a child’s thinking, the child would be adequately pre-pared and open to the message of Christ.

Leslie stressed, number one, in his preaching on family life the importance of parental example, noting that nothing would more quickly undermine the role and work of parents than inconsistency or hyprocrisy. “There is no power you can have over your children that is equal to the influence of your example.” In Leslie’s favorite illustration of this truth he writes:

How well do I remember a cold day in 1945 or 1946 when I lived in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. My second son, Al, who was then just under school age, had gone with me to the Post Office. We crossed the wet street and stepped up on the dry sidewalk Soon Al dropped behind me and then said, “Daddy, do you know what I am doing?” I said, “No, what are you doing?” He replied, “I am walking in your steps.” You see, the soles of my shoes were wet and they left a dark imprint on the sidewalk. He was stretching his little legs as much as possible to try to step in each track I left. The incident left a deep impression on me. I thought, as I go down the street today, and down the pathway of life in days and years to come, here is a little boy following me. He will go where I go, do what I do and be what I am! Ever since then I have been pleading with parents to recognize the power of their example.

Brethren have disagreed with what Leslie taught or, in some instances, with the way he stated his views. But, to my knowledge, no one ever questioned his sincere faith in Christ, his heartfelt devotion to God, his pure life of morality, and his unwavering spiritual focus in life. His family imitated him the way he imitated his Savior  stretching, as it must often have been necessary, to walk in his foot-steps.

Husband/Wife Relationship

Leslie knew so well that the key to success in any relationship was its leadership. He preached that most difficulties in family life can ultimately be traced to the husband, who is the head. “If husbands,” he wrote, “would love their wives as whole-heartedlv and as totally as Christ loved the church, this attitude alone would probably solve most of the difficulties in family circles. Out of his love for her, and as a consequence of his devotion to her, would probably come a reciprocal affection from her.” His children hold no doubt about the love of their father for their mother. While he was always discreet and never improper, he did not hesitate to be “very affectionate toward my mother in our presence.” Leslie taught that a husband should be “the head of the house” taking full responsibility for leadership of the family, financially and spiritually. He considered the wife to be “the heart of the house” giving motherly affection and heartfelt attention to the children. He would quote the old adage: “The hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world.” In his words: “Perhaps no one rises to such a high place of moral goodness, compassionate sympathy and dynamic influence as does the godly mother.”

Fathers . . . “Nurture Your Children”

Leslie observed that children needed more than parents who provided food and shelter  “a guiding hand to lead them” and motivation to direct them. He taught that “success is assured when parents begin to train and guide the tender plant even the very first day you take it home from the hospital.” He would say to mothers: “If your baby is old enough to be taken to the doctor’s office, it is old enough to be taken to church services.” He stressed three practices as important:

1. Teaching. In his own home, he insisted on what his sons refer to as “The Lesson,” when the “family circle” gathered together for a Bible reading followed by discussion of the reading, its applications, and any questions. Occasionally it was varied by the reading of a Bible story from Hurlbuts’ Story of the Bible or by “calling out Bible passages and we would see who could turn to it the fastest and read it to everyone.” Leslie would close every study with family prayer.

2. Discipline. This devoted father, as God’s word so eloquently teaches, knew that teaching must on occasion be enforced by discipline. He believed that “an ounce of punishment is worth a pound of threats.” “Punishment, to him, must `hurt’ enough to get attention and make an impression …and must be immediate, certain, fair and reasonable.” “He believed in spanking . . .was firm and consistent .. . and most discipline was delivered with calm, quiet verbal reproof.” When remorse is shown by a child, the parent, Leslie believed, must carefully and lovingly seek reconciliation.

3. Attention. “He recognized ‘attention’ required time shared as a family in wholesome recreation and play and he encouraged such.” Although Leslie believed children need affection and friendship, he was “not enthused about the idea of fathers becoming buddies to their sons or mothers being pals to their daughters.” He was never the “huggy” type father . . . but he was not aloof and while “he was not an outwardly affectionate man . . . there was never any doubt about his affection.”

Conclusion

My own relationship with Leslie Diestelkamp, on the golf course, in many personal conversations, and in the intimacy of his home during a week’s stay confirm the quality of life described in this article. I have, more than once, been the butt of his rebukes, the recipient of his commendation, and the beneficiary of his daily “Lesson.” I never knew him to be openly affectionate to either men or women, but neither did I ever doubt his genuine love and concern for me and all members of God’s family. Many mentors have influenced my life  as scholars, as preachers, as teachers, as debaters, as intimate friends, etc., but no man touched my soul with the unblemished purity and genuine spirituality that Leslie Diestelkamp did. I mean that sincerely, brethren. And, to me, it was the key to the pervasive, patriarchal influence that flowed so endlessly from generation to generation  down to the youngest of his great-grandchildren.

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 23, p. 18-19
December 7, 1995

Leslie Eugene Diestelkamp died Sept. 12, 1995, in Aurora, Illinois, having suffered a stroke December 19, 1994 from which he was unable to recover. He was born December 24, 1911, in Phelps County, Missouri, thus living 83 years, 8 months and 19 days. His mother died when he was three months old and from then on he was cared for by his grandparents and their daughter Amelia, not yet 16 years old. After his grandmother died and Amelia married Elmer Ferris, their home became his home and their children were like brother and sisters to him. He obeyed the gospel in August of 1925 after having walked with his grandfather the 20 miles to at-tend a meeting of the Oak Grove church near St. James, Missouri. He preached his first full sermon in August 1934 at Oak Grove, no doubt never realizing that that beginning effort would eventually take him to preaching on five continents and Canada, into most of the states and endear him to thousands as he preached the gospel of Christ whom he served so joyfully and hopefully.

Survivors include his wife of more than 19 years Myrtle, of Aurora, IL; two daughters and their husbands, Wanda (Mrs. James) Hodges, Temple Terrance, FL and Lavon (Mrs. Robert E.) Speer, Fox River Grove, IL, three sons and their wives, Karl (Delores Steen), Kenosha, WI, Al (Connie Hennecke), DeKalb, IL and Roy (Mary Sullivan), Thorold, Ontario, Canada; a sister, Nora Pruitt, St. Jamess MO; Ray (Charlene Raker) Ferris, Lockport, IL; Raymond and Velva (Ferris) Breuer, Hallsville, MO and Jack and Darlein (Ferris) Duncan, Dixon, MO; 20 grandchildren and their 17 spouses, 42 great grandchildren (if you include two in the womb – and we do). He was preceded in death by two grandchildren, Timothy and Violet Hodges and one great-grandchild, Ryan Diestelkamp.

On August 3, 1932, he married Sarah Alice Wright, his high school sweetheart. She was his faithful companion and co-laborer for 41 years when she died September 20, 1973. On May 1, 1976, he married Myrtle Benedict, a long-time family friend and sister in Christ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who has been his faithful and loving companion. Al has written, “He was blessed to have known two wives whom he could `praise in the gates.’ Likewise, Dad’s children had both a loving birth-mother and a loving second-mother that we can “rise up and call blessed. I do not hesitate to speak for the rest of Dad’s family in expressing our appreciation and love to Myrtle. I am happy that even though none of his children were present when he died, that Myrtle was there, holding his hand, and that by God’s grace he was eased from the bosom of Myrtle to the bosom of Abraham.”

His widow will continue to live in their apartment just across the street from the Aurora meeting house and she may be written at: 1730 W. Galena Blvd., #102W, Aurora, IL 60506.

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 23, p. 15
December 7, 1995

That which I will miss Dad most for, is his prayers. You did not spend time in his home without knowing that he prayed to God. When Dad prayed he did so often for others, specifically, by name and for their particular situations and needs. I know he did that for hundreds of brethren in Christ, and for his family too. I know he prayed for me, and I found great joy in that. I will miss his prayers, for: “.. . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas. 5:16).

We all have work to do in praying. The prayers of Leslie Diestelkamp, and others too, are stilled. We must be praying people too, and for others, specifically, by name, and for their particular situations and needs. We are urged to “come boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16), and to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Even so, let us pray. -Roy Diestelkamp

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 23, p. 21
December 7, 1995