Document Type

Finding Aid

Publication Date

2-16-2022

Inclusive Dates--Span

1948-2012

Inclusive Dates--Bulk

1950-1956

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of 16 reels of audiotape sermons by R.H. Boll, Victor Broaddus, and others, sermon outlines by R.H. Boll and various other periodicals. It is composed of three series: Series I includes all reel tapes that have been digitally recorded. Series II consists of handwritten sermon notes (two outlines and one full sermon) by R.H. Boll and series III includes print materials. The Broaddus reels were retained in this collection, rather than separated into a discrete collection, because of the close association he had with Boll and due to the uncertain date and provenance of the reels.

Biographical Note

Robert Henry Boll was born in 1875 in Badenweiler, Germany. His family emigrated upon the remarriage of his mother when he was 14. The family moved to Ohio around 1890 and he later migrated to Tennessee as a farm laborer. There, near Nashville, Tennessee, Boll was baptized by Sam Harris of the Churches of Christ in 1895.

Boll was admitted into the Nashville Bible School (later David Lipscomb College, now Lipscomb University) and his first sermon was preached at the Nashville jail. After school, Boll became the minister at Portland Avenue Church of Christ in Louisville where he stayed until his death in 1956, with the exception of the one-year period from 1910-1911 in which he was the Bible teacher at a high school in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He continued his education at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary studying Latin and Greek while in Louisville. Boll is best known for his premillennialist eschatological views. He was one of the most influential advocates for the premillennial point of view, and was opposed most singularly by Foy E. Wallace, Jr. Articles advocating his premillennial views were published during his editorship of the Gospel Advocate from 1909-1915 and after 1915 in Word and Work. These articles and views created a significant source of division within the Churches of Christ. Boll died in 1956, but the rifts he had helped bring about in the church were present until the end of the 20th century. In the 2000 edition of the directory Churches of Christ in the United States, published by Mac Lynn, no longer separately listed congregations with premillennial views.

Donor Note

Larry Miles from Louisville, Kentucky donated this collection.

Arrangement

The materials are arranged in three series:
Series I: Reel tapes
Series II: Sermon notes
Series III: Print materials

Content List

See PDF finding aid for inventory.

Subjects

Churches of Christ--Texas

Language

ENGLISH

Extent of Collection

1.5 linear feet (1 box)

Manuscript Number

Center for Restoration Studies Manuscripts #84

Physical Location

Center for Restoration Studies

Use Restrictions

Open to researchers. Contact Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives to make an appointment.

Processing Status

Processed

Finding Aid created by

Audrey Schaffner, Mac Ice, Amanda Dietz, Brianna Mullins, and Avery Reinoehl

Subjects--Personal Names

Boll, R.H., 1875-1956; Broaddus, Victor; Patton, John G.; Harrison, E.M; Fuldan, John; Myers, Stanley; Needy, Oscar

Comments

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