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“I DIDN’T THINK YOU WOULD”
Somewhere I came across a story which kinda took me
by surprise. It’s the story of a man who was being checked by
the Internal Revenue Department concerning his income tax
return. And in that respect he had something in common
with many of us. For occasionally our Uncle Sam wants to
see the proof that we did what we said we did with our money.
It seems as though this particular gentleman was
being asked to produce records which substantiated some of
his claims made when he filed his income tax return. The
fellow who was doing the questioning was rather short and
rude with the man, and was actually treating the man as
though he had told a lie about every deduction made on his
return.
When questioned about his travel expenses, the gentleman
produced records which showed that he had spent exactly
what he had said he spent. Then the Internal Revenue agent
asked him to produce records concerning his medical
expenses. The gentleman reaching into this file, pulled out
his medical expense statements, and laid them on the table
before the agent. Upon close examination the agent found
that the man had had extremely high medical expenses that
year due to the illness of his wife. But the records were in
order and it was evident that he had spent exactly what he
had said he had spent on medical expenses.
Going on down the line of deductions, the agent came
upon the gentleman’s gifts to his church. “All right,” said the
agent, “let’s see your records on what you say you gave to the
church.” The comment was made in a rather derogatory
manner and carried with it a suggestion that it was at this
point that the gentleman had lied abut his tax deductions.
The fellow again reached down into his file, pulled out his
cancelled checks made out to his church, and laid those on
the table.
One by one, adding them as he went, the agent
examined checks. Upon adding the total amount, the agent
found that the gentleman had given to the penny that which
he had said he had given. Half apologizing and half angry
because he had not found an error, the agent explained: “I
had to check your records. I didn’t believe you had given that
much to your church. That’s more than ten percent of your
total income. Lots of folks say they give a lot to the church
but when an examination is made it’s a whole lot less. I
didn’t believe you had given that much to your church,” the
agent concluded. “I didnt think you would,” was the
gentleman’s only reply. The agent didn’t know exactly what
he meant by it, but let it slide.
The following Sunday, that tax agent felt the need to
attend church. He didn’t attend much but felt, since he was in
a trying period of problems, that he would give it a try. As the
offering plate passed, he dropped a dollar bill. As he did, he
saw a check in the plate written by the man he had
questioned just that week. Looking up, he saw the gentleman
sitting in the pew in front of him. Looking back down at the
offering plate again, he saw his dollar beside the man’s
check. Suddenly the full impact of the gentleman’s closing
statement dawned on him. “I didn’t think you would.”
We have a terrible tendency to judge others by our own
stinginess.
Rev. Smith Of
Americus Is
Buried Sunday
Funeral services for the
Rev. Jim Riley Smith, 61,
pastor of the Bethel Church
in Sumter County, were held
from his church Sunday
afternoon at 3 o’clock. Burial
was in the Oak Hill Cemetery
in Griffin.
Rev. Smith was the
father-in-law of Thomas
Amstrong, of Allentown, N.
J., formerly of Jackson.
A native of Clearmont. he
had served churches in
Mcßae, Boston, Keystone
Heights, Fla., Hawkinsville,
Jeffersonville and Marshall
ville.
Survivors include his
wife, Mrs. Flossie Parham
Smith of Americus; two
daughters, Mrs. Thomas
Armstrong, of Allentown, N.
J. and Mrs C. W. Williams,
Jr., of Griffin; a son, M. R.
Smith, Jr., of Cincinnati,
Ohio; four brothers, Donald
Smith of Clearmont, John
Smith of Gainesville, Col.
Ralph Smith of Heidelberg,
Germany; and Norman
Smith of Gainesville;
Two sisters, Mrs. J. B.
Stringer of Clearmont and
Mrs. Inelle Brody of College
Park.
CARD OF THANKS
1 want to thank all those
friends who were so kind and
thoughtful at the time of my
sorrow upon the death of my
son, Leon Helton, in Gads
den, Alabama on August
25th. For the beautiful
flowers and other kind deeds
! am grateful. A special
thanks to Rev. A. L.
(Rubber) Price and the staff
at Sherrell’s Funeral Home.
May God richly bless each of
you. -Margie Webb.
‘Whatsoever
Things'
By Donald E. Wildmon
Women were vital fighters
in the American Revolution,
and continue to be essential
in the Bicentennial Revolu
tion Against Arthritis. Find
out how you can join. Write
for “Arthritis The Basic
Facts,” available from the
Georgia Chapter of The
Arthritis Foundation at P. O.
Box 7865, Atlanta, GA. 30357.
THANK YOU
for the splendid support you gave me last Tuesday,
giving me the victory in the race for Probate Judge,
and leaving me forever in your debt.
It is certainly a heartwarming and humbling ex
perience for a man to discover he has so many friends
with that much faith in him.
As we move into the future determined to make
our county an even better place to live, I assure you that
my actions will always be governed by your demonstra
tion of faith and that I will always strive to merit your
respect and friendship.
To those of you who supported my opponent, may
I take this opportunity to request that you join hands
with me as 1 will need your support in the years ahead.
W. E. (GENE) BLUE
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARCUS. JACKSON. GEORGIA
Macedonia Baptists Celebrate
150th Anniversary Sept. 9-12
Elaborate plans have been
made for the celebration
September 9-12th of Mace
donia Baptist Church’s ses
qui-centennial.
One of the earliest church
es established in Butts
County. Macedonia’s record
of Christian service extends
back 150 years to its founding
in 1826.
Pastor R. W. Jenkins and
the sesqui-centennial com
mittee have arranged an
attractive program for the
three days of the celebration
including some of the top
secular and church speakers
of the day.
Lieutenant Governor Zell
Miller will be the guest
speaker at the Thursday,
September 9th, meeting at
7:30 p.m., when the emphasis
will be on the nation’s
Rev. Billy Ring
To Conduct
Nazarene Revival
The public is cordially
invited to attend Homecom
ing Revival services at the
Jackson Church of the
Nazarene beginning Sunday,
Sept. 12th.
The chruch’s 39th anniver
sary will be observed Sunday
with a special morning
worship service followed by a
covered dish lunch. Guest
speaker for Homecoming
will be District Superinten
dent Jack H. Lee of Decatur.
The service will begin at
eleven o’clock.
Beginning Monday, Sept.
13th, at 7:30 each evening
Rev. Billy H. Ring of
Asheville, N. C. will fill the
pulpit as guest speaker.
Services will continue
through Sunday, Sept. 19th.
Rev. Ring, a former pastor
at the local Nazarene
Church, has a wide host of
friends in this area where he
served some three years. A
native of West Virginia, Rev.
Ring is a graduate of
Trevecca Nazarene College
in Nashville, Tenn. and also
holds a M. Ed. degree from
bicentennial celebration.
Friday, September 10, at
7:30 p.m. Dr. Louie D.
Newton will fill the pulpit.
Dr. Newton for over 50 years
has become one of the most
popular Baptist speakers in
the nation and a former
president of the Baptist
World Alliance. The empha
sis for Friday night’s service
will be on Georgia Baptist
history and Macedonia
Church history.
On Sunday, September
12th, at 10:30 a.m. Dr. Grady
Cot hen, executive secretary
of the Sunday School Board
of the Southern Baptist
Convention, will be the guest
speaker. Special emphasis
will be focused on the
Southern Baptist Convention
and Bible preaching.
State Baptists
To Dedicate
Baptist Church
Georgia Baptist will ob
serve an historic occasion
September 14 when their new
$6 million dollar Baptist
Center will be dedicated.
Several hundred Baptist
leaders from across the State
are expected to attend the
formal dedication service
planned for 2:30 p.m. on the
Plaza level, according to Dr.
Searcy Garrison, Executive
Secretary-Treasurer of the
Georgia Baptist Convention.
The 200,000 square foot,
five story center is the first
building Georgia Baptists
have constructed for deno
minational offices and meet
ings since the Convention
was organized in 1822.
Modern and attractive, the
Georgia Southern College.
Mr. Ring entered the
pastorate full time in 1960 by
chartering the Swainsboro,
Georgia Church of the
Nazarene. Other pastorates
include Jackson and Tiftop,
and he is presently serving as
pastor of the First Church of
the Nazarene in Asheville,
North Carolina.
He is married to the former
Jennette Griffin of Waycross
and they have five children.
Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth
Partain of Jackson will have
charge of the music during
these special services.
Rev. E. Ray Savage,
pastor, invites the public to
attend these services and a
special invitation is issued to
all friends of Rev. Ring to be
present each evening at 7:30
o’clock and Sunday at 11:00
A.M. and 6:00 P.M.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9. 1976
Following the morning
worship service, at 12:15
p.m. dinner on the grounds
will be served. All vistors at
the service will be special
guests for the noon meal.
The celebration will con
clude Sunday afternoon at
145 p.m . when former pastors
of the Church will speak on
their ministry while at
Macedonia.
Former members, friends,
and the general public are
cordially invited to attend
any, or all, of the special
services held during the
sesqui-centennial celebra
tion.
R. W. Jenkins is pastor at
Macedonia Baptist Church
and Donald W. Thurman is
minister of music and youth.
WE WANT TO
WIPEOUT
CANCER
’IN YOUR „
LIFETIME *
l AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY S _
Baptist Center houses the
Executive Committee, and
the Convention’s State Mis
sions Program as well as
offices for agencies and
institutions of the Georgia
and Southern Baptist Con
ventions.
The dedication program
will feature as principal
speaker for the occasion Dr.
James L. Sullivan, Nashville,
Tennessee, President of the
Southern Baptist Convention.
The invitation is extended
to all Baptist and other
interested persons, accord
ing to Rev. Donald L.
Folsom, pastor of the First
Baptist Church of Jackson,
who is a member of the
Georgia Baptist Executive
Committee.
“The policy of Avondale is
to provide an overall program
of wages and benefits that
qualifies us in the top brackets
of the industry. DonaldComenJr.
Chairman Mllllllllll
mizDim
ZERO DEFECTS OUR GOAL
PERSONAL
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Smith,
John and Brent, of Gunters
ville, Alabama spent the
weekend with Mr. and Mrs.
Larry Fletcher and visited
other relatives including Mr.
and Mrs. J. B. Settle, who
were visiting here.
Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Settle
left Sunday for their home in
Camp Hill, Pa. following a
week’s visit with Mrs. Hugh
Mallet, Mrs. E. S. Settle, and
other relatives. While here
the Settles stayed in the
Smith guest house in Jasper
THANK YOU
I want to thank every person who voted for me
for School Superintendent on August 10th and August
31st.
To those who worked in my behalf, a very special
thank you.
My congratulations go to Mr. J. M. L. Comer on
winning the election. I pledge to Mr. Comer and the
people of Butts County my best efforts in promoting
good schools for the students of this county through my
position wth the Griffin CESA and as a citizen of Butts
County.
Lee Roy O’Neal
County.
Dinner guests Sunday of
Mr. and Mrs. J. R.
Carmichael at the Elder
Hotel, were Miss Julia Keyes
of Atlanta, sister of Mrs.
Carmichael, and Mrs. Doyle
Jones, Jr.
Mrs. R. H. Osgood, Mrs. C.
D. Thomas, Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Walker, all of Atlanta, were
guests at the Elder Hotel for
the Labor Day weekend.
While in Jackson they visited
Mr. and Mrs. J. R.
Carmichael and their guest,
Miss Julia Keyes.
Miss Nancy Settle, student
at Emory University Law
School, visited Wednesday of
last week with her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Settle, Mr.
and Mrs. S. J. Smith of
Monticello, and Mr. and Mrs.
William Mitchell and child
ren.
Mrs. James Goltman of
Memphis, Tennessee was a
recent guest of Mr. and Mrs.
James Payne.
R. F. Armstrong and his
sister, Mrs. Thomas G. Price
of Wynne, Arkansas, who is
visiting her brother, attended
funeral services for Rev. Jim
Riley Smith in Americus on
Sunday.