The Teacher

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NUGGETS FROM NOEL

In 1976, Brooks delivered the Baccalauete address to the graduates of Oklahoma City Southwestern College, now Southwestern Christian University.

British born scholar and church leader, the Rev. Noel Brooks, spoke to graduates of Oklahoma City Southwestern College (now SCU) on  May 16, 1976. The subject of his baccalaureate address was the life of Daniel (Daniel 1:1-8; 16-21).

"A Christian College is not a "degree mill" where academic standards can be charitably relaxed, or cheap accreditation offered.  A "Christian" College is not merely where  good academic degrees are earned. Rather it is a matrix where young people of Daniel's quality can be moudled and fashioned before being sent out to challenge the pagan culture outside.

I am not speaking exclusively of pastors, evangelists and missionaries. Daniel was not a priest or an official prophet. He was never ordained to the ministry or licensed to preach. He was a layman, a senator, a statesman, a politician in the best sense of the word. And he was a man of profound religious conviction, of strong moral and strong principles, who could not be bent by the world around him.  The grand purpose of a Christian College is to provide a mould in which men and women of Daniel's calibre can be trained for all professions and walks of life.

In order to do this a college must be more than a "Christian" in name. It is possible to have a name to live and yet be dead. A "Christian" College must practice "Christian" principles; it must have a "Christian" atmosphere; and it must have "Christian" leaders, teachers, and staff. Only then can a "Christian" imprint be indelibly stamped on the mind and character of the student body."

NUGGETS FROM NOEL

"I have in my possession some of my father's Bibles. In them are scraps of paper and envelopes on which he had written sermon outlines and thoughts from time to time. For a miner who had scarcely received any education he was a great reader. He owned a fair number of books, and had read many more, some of them deeply theological. But the Bible was supreme of all. He lived in his Bible, and  all his Bibles were marked from cover to cover."

--Brooks, Noel. Out of a Horrible Pit: A family memoir. (Advocate Press, 1971).  Based on earlier edition published by Noel Brooks.

Fight for the Faith and Freedom: George Jeffreys - Revivalist and Reformer

SCU Archives Collection 

In 1948, Noel Brooks published Fight for the Faith and Freedom as a defense of a many and a movement for he had great respect and allegiance.    

Brooks had aligned himself with the Elim Pentecostal Fellowship, which Jeffreys' had formed.  The association emphasized local church autonomy among other points of polity.  In 1938, a group within the Elim Fellowship acquired control of the organization.  In  response, Jeffreys, along with several supporters and churches, disassociated themselves from Elim.  When Jeffreys formed the Bible-Pattern Fellowship, Brooks followed.

Historian Vinson Synan, writing in his history of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, states Brooks had been employed by Jeffreys.  

The fervor of youth enthusiasm tempered in time, and according to historian Desmond Cartwright, despite attempts to have the work removed the book remained in print.

NUGGETS FROM NOEL

"Nothing is more wonderful in the New Testament than the transformation of the apostles of Christ from getters to givers, from the served to the serving. From the self-seeking to the self-denying. From men who were motivated by that spirit of self-interest which would exploit and corrupt event apostolic office and power, to men with a clean heart and right spirit."

--Brooks, Noel, 1914-2006

"Church Reform or Personal Holiness." Advocate, August 11, 1956, pg. 13.

NUGGETS FROM NOEL

"Holiness" cannot be manufactured by man; it must be given by God; man can only receive it."

--Noel Brooks, 1914-2006

Pardon, Purity and Power: The Threefold Ministry of the Holy Spirit.

(Franklin Springs, GA: Advocate Press, 1969, pg.12)

Biblical Basis for Missions

As a young man, Noel Brooks read eagerly the biographies of 19th century and early 20th century missionaries.  As an adult he supported the work of the church to evangelize the world.  As a church leader he traveled to South America, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere visiting first hand with other cultures and the emergent churches there.  The Biblical Basis for Missions was  published in 1976 by Advocate Press, Franklin Springs, Georgia.