W.G. McCartney - His Life And Labors

W.G. McCartney: His Life and Labors (Feb. 2, 1901 - Mar. 15, 1982) by Willard Rodgers. Waynesboro: Christian Missions Press, 1985.

CMP note

The following is a note clipped to the pamphlet, "Please accept this complimentary copy of W.G. McCartney, His Life and Labors, in tribute to his 84th birthday. It is especially appropriate in lieu of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of INTEREST magazine which he founded in [1934]. Our prayer is that the truths his life and labors were found on may continue to be upheld."

Foreword by Leonard E. Lindsted

Ever so often, God sends a man who has singular vision for his times and pertinent ministry for the people of his day. Anyone who has known Brother W.G. McCartney will recognize him to have been such a man.

This brief biography does not begin to touch the extent of his influence for Godly living and service for God which he effected in scores of lives, my own being one of them. Nor does this biography touch the inner depths and springs of this man's soul, the tears, the trials, the testings and the triumphs waged in the arena of faith. Sufficient is said, however, so that the words of Hebrews 13:7 may well apply: "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: WHOSE FAITH FOLLOW, considering the end of their conversation."

Brother McCartney lived what he preached and preached what he lived. "Buy the truth and sell it not", were not cliche statements from a preacher's arsenal. They were the spiritual bone and fiber of his whole life. As I look back to my first encounters with Bill McCartney, as a teen-ager newly saved, the principles he taught, loved and practiced from the Word of God were as vibrantly precious in his last days as they were at his first.

No changing standards to placate changing Christendom, nor a watered-down theology to amuse the saints from this man of God. Deeply devoted to the Person of Christ and unflinchingly loyal to His Word, he pursued both to the end of his days. For those who pause to hearken and reflect, it may be said of him, as it was said of one of old, "...God testifying of his gifts: and by it, he, being dead, yet speaketh." (Hebrews 11:4) Leonard E. Lindsted

Bio by Willard Rodgers

"In all things preserve integrity; and the consciousness of thine uprightness will alleviate... disappointments and give thee a humble confidence before God, when the ingratitude of man, or the iniquity of the times may robe thee of other reward." (William Paley)

William George McCartney, born on February 2, 1901, in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland, was the seventh of ten children born to James and Sarah McCartney. (It is interesting to note that years later his wife, Mary, quaintly remarked that the significance of the number "seven," as seen in the Scriptures to represent perfection, was singularly apropos in respect to her husband's being the seventh child of his parents. Whether rightly or wrongly, how many wives would say the same of their husbands?)

William McCartney was a twice-born man. The expression, "born again," has been popularized in recent years, and made to mean no more than an awakening of interest in any given subject, or the adoption of a way of life. What happened to young "Bill" McCartney was far more than a passing attraction. At the age of eighteen, while walking home from a meeting where the Gospel had been faithfully preached, he felt the claims of Christ pressing upon his soul. He yielded his stubborn will, acknowledging his need of salvation; and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour he was born again, "not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (1 Peter 1:23). From that day until the day the Lord called him Home, the chief business in life for Bill McCartney was to bring others to know that blessed One Who had captivated his heart and to teach them "to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20).

In the year 1919, William McCartney left his native Ireland and came to America where he settled in the Chicago area. This ambitious young man soon obtained employment, and saved enough from his earnings to enable him to bring to this country other members of his family.

Not surprisingly for one who loved the Lord as he did, Bill sought the company of fellow believers. He found a warm-hearted group of them meeting in a unpretentious building on Laflin Street, on the south side of Chicago. Without formal liturgy, nor "ordained" minister, these believers met solely in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to remember Him in the way He, Himself, had appointed. They met regularly, also, for prayer, the study of the Word of God, and the proclamation of the Gospel. Into this company William McCartney was warmly welcomed, and immediately felt quite at home among them.

Never a "pew warmer", Bill very soon became active in furthering the testimony of the local assembly at the Laflin Street Gospel Hall. His God-given gift for preaching the Gospel was recognized by the elders, and he was encouraged to minister the Word of God, not only in the Gospel Hall, but wherever he was given opportunity. Not content to wait for opportunity to strike of itself, Bill and several other young men who, like himself, loved the Lord and desired to serve Him, made their own opportunities by undertaking a "pioneer" effort in various neighborhoods of the great metropolitan area of Chicago.

As a result of their efforts, assemblies sprang up and prospered. Later, due to population growth, and resultant movement into suburban areas, most of those early assemblies changed their locations, and also their names to identify them with their new locations. William McCartney became so active in carrying the Gospel into various parts of Chicago and its environs, and in promoting the establishment of local assemblies, that he became known as an "assembly builder".

In connection with this "pioneering" in the Gospel, it should be noted that the work involved not only "preaching the Word", but also "laboring in the Word" (II Tim. 4:2 & I Tim. 5:17).

An early example of this labor, and its results, is seen in young Bill's practice of going out on a Sunday afternoon in the neighborhood of the Washington Heights assembly and literally "rounding up" boys whom he brought to the Sunday-school. To persuade a gang of Chicago teen-agers to leave their baseball game and attend an afternoon Sunday-school would appear to be so unlikely a prospect as to discourage even the thought of it. But the thought of difficulty did not deter William McCartney. Not with a Pied Piper's whistle, but with his Irish charm and the irresistible appeal of his evident love for the boys, he led them to a place where they heard, most of them for the very first time, that God loved them, and that Christ died for them.

Let it not be overlooked that the one who manifested such missionary zeal was, himself, a young man. Might he not have enjoyed an afternoon of baseball, or other sport or recreation? He had been working hard all week. Might he not have argued that he deserved a bit of innocent pleasure? He might have... if he had been like many of us who pamper ourselves, gratifying our languid desires, and finding plausible excuses for doing so. But, as a matter of encouragement for other young men who sacrificially give of their time and energy to the work of the Lord, let it be known that some of the boys who were recruited from the streets of south Chicago are now actively serving the Lord as elders in their respective local assemblies.

(A note from one of these boys received while this manuscript was being typed... "Bill was instrumental in my salvation as a boy of 12 years. I appreciated him very much." B.P.)

The above story is worth the telling because here is revealed in the young Bill McCartney those qualities of energy, purpose, persuasiveness and determination which presaged the greater achievements yet to come.

On March 12, 1932, William McCartney married Mary Gibson, of Detroit. To those who knew them it soon became evident that this was a union which was formed with the blessing and approval of God. There was never any doubt that in the home thus established the Lord was Lord indeed. To the many who were privileged to enjoy its hospitality, the experience was unforgettable. The atmosphere of that home was love... a love which united the family, and spread its benign influence over all who entered its doors. Happy the guests; happier still the children who were welcomed into the family circle with love, nurtured with tenderness, disciplined with fairness and sheltered with strength. William Jr., Gibson, Marianne and Linda, I salute you. You have a rich heritage; and with it a solemn responsibility, "For unto whom much is given, from him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48).

Sources

• gifted from Fred Kosin in July 2024, transcribed by Doug Engle