Foy E. Wallace
Foy Esco (Foy E., Jr.) Wallace (30 September 1896 – 18 December 1979) was an influential figure among American Churches of Christ in the early and mid-20th century. Through his writing and speaking, Wallace gathered a considerable following among that autonomous group of churches. His skilled use of logic, combined with his charisma, propelled him to the forefront of at least three major controversies in the Churches of Christ. Biography Early life Foy E. Wallace Jr., was born September 30, 1896, on a farm south of Belcherville, Texas in Montague County, Texas. His father, Foy Edwin (Foy E., Sr.) Wallace (1871–1949), was a prominent preacher within churches of Christ in Texas, having been at the forefront of debate with the Disciples of Christ over mechanical instrumental music in Christian worship and missionary societies. Charles Ready Nichol (1876–1961) and Robertson Lafayette Whiteside (1869–1951) were also very influential in Wallace's thinking as was his older brother Cled Eugene Wallace (1892–1962). He was baptized by his father in 1909 and preached his first sermon in 1912 at Stephenville, Texas. While his initial appointments derived largely from his shared name, within a short time he had made a name for himself as a preaching prodigy. Wallace would carry the nickname of "The Boy Preacher" even into early adulthood. Wallace very rarely preached as a local minister. While he lived in a progression of Texas towns (Lott, Temple, Vernon, Wichita Falls, and Fort Worth), these cities usually served him simply as bases for his "gospel meetings" (commonly called "revivals" outside churches of Christ). One of Wallace's few significant works as a local preacher occurred from 1928 to the middle of 1930 with the Central church of Christ in Los Angeles, California. In the middle of 1930 Wallace was called from Los Angeles, California to Nashville, Tennessee by Leon B. McQuiddy to serve as editor of the Gospel Advocate Wallace continued in this role until 1934 when severe financial difficulty of the Great Depression combined with a series of family medical problems led to Wallace's resignation as editor of the Gospel Advocate in an attempt to recover financially. However, late in 1934 Wallace declared bankruptcy while affirming his debts. In 1937 Wallace returned to Nashville and with the assistance of longtime family friend John W. Akin (1873–1960), satisfied all debts. Premillennialism On February 11, 1909, Robert H. Boll (1875–1956) became the front-page editor of the Gospel Advocate. After several years of work widely acceptable to his readership, his premillennial views were expressed within its pages, to the dismay of most of the Advocate's management, including J. C. McQuiddy (1858–1924). After considerable friction, Boll was dismissed, re-hired and dismissed again in 1915. In 1916 Boll became the editor of The Word and Work, a paper formerly edited by Stanford Chambers (1876–1969), of New Orleans, Louisiana. The paper Word and Work, was founded in 1908 by premillennialist Dr. David Lipscomb Watson. Especially under Chambers' ownership after 1913 Word and Work took an explicitly premillennial view. Boll moved the