Jefferson Tant Beliefs

Ministering to the church of God requires two traits: sacrifice and commitment. Few men possess either of these things, and even fewer are willing to work toward them. Yet, there is a rare breed of individuals who innately have these traits. One such individual went by the name of J.D. Tant. Throughout his entire life, Tant happily committed himself to the Lord and sacrificed earth’s treasures to labor on His behalf. Even 75 years after his death, his contributions to the Lord’s church still remain as a testimony to his dedication to the truth and his love for God’s people. Examining Tant’s life is certain to prove this assertion. The date was June 28th, 1861. On this day, Jefferson Davis Tant was born to William and Mattie Tant of Paulding

From the beginning of his ministry, Tant sought to proclaim the truth and defend it from all assaults. When the Missionary Society division arose in 1886, Tant was one of the few Texas preachers working to stem the tide of its influence (Tant 65-70). When the “re-baptism” issue sprung up between Austin McGary and David Lipscomb, Tant worked to preserve peace in the brotherhood despite their disagreements (Ibid. 219). And when sectarians attempted to attack the pure gospel, Tant was always willing to refute them with boldness, integrity, and honesty (Ibid. 120-21; 303-06). In short, Tant constantly desired to protect the Lord and His Word from whatever aimed to pervert it, regardless of the

The missionary society and instrumental music were quickly seeping into the Texas congregations, and it was only a matter of time before the drift would become official. In 1886, the Austin State Meeting was held by the churches of Christ in Texas (Tant 57). This event marked the implementation of the missionary society into the mainstream Texas congregations at the time. A handful of faithful gospel preachers firmly resisted this innovation, but they were outnumbered and defeated by the progressive element in the Texas congregations (Ibid. 67-70). The year after this fateful meeting, the faithful congregations and the progressive ones held separate meetings from one another, establishing the unfortunate fact of a division (Ibid.