''The Sword of the Lord'' is a

Christian fundamentalist Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

Independent Baptist Independent Baptist churches (some also called Independent Fundamental Baptist or IFB) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse af ...

biweekly newspaper. ''The Sword of the Lord'' is published by Sword of the Lord Ministries, a non-profit organization based in

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, which also publishes religious books, pamphlets, and tracts from a fundamentalist Christian perspective, as ''Sword of the Lord Publications''. In 2012 the newspaper was a 24-page, biweekly tabloid with a circulation of "just over 100,000."

History

''The Sword of the Lord'' was first published on September 28, 1934, in Dallas, Texas by John R. Rice, who edited the publication until his death on December 29, 1980. At first it was simply the four-page paper of Fundamentalist (later, Galilean) Baptist Church of Dallas, where Rice was the pastor. The paper was handed out on the street, and Rice's daughters and other Sunday school children delivered it door-to-door. The ''Sword of the Lord'' moved with the Rice family to Wheaton,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 1940, and then to its present location in 1963. Upon the ''Sword''s move to Tennessee, Rice co-edited the paper with his brother Bill (1912-1978) until Bill's death. Curtis Hutson replaced Bill Rice as co-editor, and he became the sole editor two years later when John Rice died. Hutson died in 1995, and editorship passed to

Shelton Smith Shelton Smith (born December 4, 1942) is the current editor of ''The Sword of the Lord'', a Christian fundamentalist publisher, based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He is involved with the Independent Baptist movement. History Shelton Smith was a lo ...

, former pastor of the Church of the Open Door/ Carroll Christian Schools,

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greate ...

. The name of the ministry and publication is taken from a phrase in

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

7:20: "...and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." The verse is featured in the banner, as is the newspaper's stated purpose: Family members of the editors often assumed integral roles at ''The Sword of the Lord''. In 2009, the approximately fifty employees of the Sword of the Lord Foundation included editor Shelton Smith; his son, Marlon, executive vice president; and Shelton Smith's son-in-law, Guy King, vice president of publishing.

Emphases

Soul-winning

''The Sword of the Lord'' emphasizes soul winning, the belief that Christians should actively seek to convert others to faith in Jesus Christ. It promotes fulfilling the

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain i ...

by publishing books and materials on the topic as well as sponsoring annual "School of the Prophets" seminars.

King James Bible

Consistent with the

King James Only movement The King James Only movement asserts the belief that the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is superior to all other translations of the Bible. Adherents of the King James Only movement, mostly members of Conservative Anabaptist, Conservativ ...

, the ''Sword of the Lord'' believes:

For many years ''The Sword of the Lord'' has published sermons of contemporary Independent Baptist preachers who are part of its circle. It also publishes sermons from a wider spectrum of evangelicals of past generations (not all of whom were Independent Baptist), including Hyman Appelman,

Harry A. Ironside Henry Allan "Harry" Ironside (October 14, 1876 – January 15, 1951) was a Canadian-American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor, and author who pastored Moody Church in Chicago from 1929 to 1948. Biography Ironside was born in Toronto, O ...

, Bob Jones, Sr.,

R. A. Torrey Reuben Archer Torrey (28 January 1856 – 26 October 1928) was an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. He aligned with Keswick theology. Biography Torrey was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the son of a banker. He graduated from ...

, Robert G. Lee,

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

Billy Sunday William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American outfielder in baseball's National League and widely considered the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Bo ...

, T. De Witt Talmage, and George Truett. ''The Sword of the Lord'' is strongly anti-

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

and as such does not publish sermons by Calvinist preachers, although an exception has been made for the noted nineteenth-century Calvinist

Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

. Nevertheless, Spurgeon's sermons have been edited to remove Calvinist-leaning passages. The paper usually includes "Editor's Notes," a column by Smith commenting on his recent travels and upcoming events; "Noteworthy News," brief descriptions of events involving Christians or matters related to Christianity, with occasional editorial commentary; columns on church planting and bus ministries; and advertisements for independent fundamentalist Baptist churches and

Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...

s.Before her death, the paper usually included a column by Viola Walden (1915-2007), who was first employed by the paper in 1934 and served for over 72 years until her death. See Lauren Hamblen, "Lady of the Sword: The Ministry of Viola Mae Walden at The Sword of the Lord," MA Thesis, Bob Jones University, 2009.

References

External links