Source Notes
The Story of The
Wesleyan Church
_____________________
Chapter 1
Page
12 For
a description of the service of merger and the merging general conference, see The
Minutes of the First General Conference
of The Wesleyan Church: Uniting Conference for the Pilgrim Holiness Church and
the Wesleyan Methodist Church into The Wesleyan Church.
See also The Wesleyan Advocate,
July 15, 1968.
12 The bodies they represented had met to
adjourn for the last time: Minutes of
the Thirty-third General Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of
America, 1968; Minutes of the Twenty-sixth International Conference of the
Pilgrim Holiness Church, 1968. See also The
Wesleyan Advocate, July 15, 1968, 14-15.
15 There
are many lives of John Wesley in print.
A sound treatment can be found in Kenneth Collins’ A Real Christian: The Life of John Wesley (Nashville: Abingdon
Press, 1999).
17 For Charles Wesley, see Assist Me to Proclaim: The Life and Hymns of
Charles Wesley
by John R. Tyson (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007).
19 For Francis Asbury, see John Wigger’s American Saint: Francis Asbury and the
Methodists
(New York: Oxford
University Press, 2009).
21 Tuesday
meetings: Melvin E. Dieter, The
Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth Century,
Second Edition (Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 1996), 22-23.
21 The
Shorter Way: Ibid., 23-32.
22 The
Methodist Episcopal Church was the largest in the nation: John Corrigan and
Winthrop
Hudson, Religion in America , Seventh
Edition. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004), 142.
22 By 1860 every third church member in America
was a Methodist: David Hempton,
Methodism: Empire of the Spirit (New
Haven, CN: Yale University Press, 2005), 109, says that was true by 1850. Among evangelicals, Methodism accounted for
more than half (Nathan Hatch, “The Puzzle of American Methodism” in Church History 63 [June 1994], 178).
Chapter 2
25 In 1791 he wrote to William Wilberforce:
John Wesley, Works, Third Edition
(Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1978 reprint of the 1872 edition issued by
the Wesleyan Methodist Book Room, London), 13:153.
25 Buying
or selling the bodies and souls: Lucius Matlack, The History of American
Slavery and Methodism (Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press,
1971 reprint of an 1849 publication), 33.
26 Methodist
leaders reluctantly reversed themselves: The steps of compromise are
discussed
in detail in Donald Mathews, Slavery and
Methodism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 11ff, 26, 52, 62ff.
27 I do not wish to think, or speak, or
write, with moderation: The entire article is reprinted in Wendell Phillips
Garrison and Francis Jackson Garrison, William
Lloyd Garrison, 1805-1879: The Story of His Life, Told by His Children, I
(New York: The Century Co., 1885), 225.
27 A presiding elder (district superintendent)
from New England named Orange Scott: His biography, The Life of Rev. Orange Scott (Freeport, NY: Book for Libraries,
1971 reprint of an 1847 publication), was written by his abolitionist colleague
and fellow-seceder from Methodism, Lucius Matlack. For a summary treatment, see “Orange Scott: A
Church is Born,” the first of eight biographical pamphlets of Wesleyan leaders
written by Lee M. Haines for a denominational heritage emphasis.
28 Many expected that he would one day be a
bishop: the statement about Scott in Mathews, Slavery and Methodism, 122, is typical of many others.
28 He subscribed to The Liberator: Lucius
Matlack, Orange Scott, 75.
28 A
reckless incendiary: Ibid., 99. See
also 103.
28 His
amendment was voted down: Ibid., 99.
29 The
bishop removed him from his post: Ibid., 109-110.
29 He
accepted an invitation to become one of The Seventy: Scott spent 1837-39 as
antislavery
agent/lecturer for Garrison’s American Anti-Slavery Society (Ibid.,
121ff). When Garrison later went so far
as to reject the U. S. government itself and to refuse to work for change
within the political system, Scott was passionate in his disagreement and broke
with Garrison over the controversial new approach.
30 It
would be a sin for them to remain: The comment was made by Scott at Andover
and
quoted by Luther Lee in Matlack, Orange Scott, 212.
31 The
self-described seceders: Luther Lee’s Wesleyan
Manual begins, “The Wesleyan
Methodist
Connection was at first comprised primarily of seceders from the Methodist
Episcopal Church.” Wesleyan Manual: A Defence
(sic) of the Organization of the Wesleyan
Methodist Connection (Syracuse, NY: Samuel Lee, Publisher, 1862), 7.
31 We
take this step after years of consideration: True Wesleyan, January 7,
1843, 1.
31 Scott also published a book: The rather full title of the later edition was
The Grounds of Secession from the M. E. Church, or Book for the Times: Being an
Examination of Her Connection with Slavery, and Also of Her Form of
Government. By O. Scott. Revised and Corrected. To Which is Added
Wesley Upon Slavery (New York: Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America,
1848).
31 The
separating congregation in Utica, New York: True Wesleyan, March 18, 1843,
44.
31 There appeared an announcement of a
convention: True Wesleyan, January 14, 1843, 7.
32 They issued the expected call for a second
convention: True Wesleyan, April 22, 1843, 62.
Chapter
3
33 Pegler’s background is described in Autobiography of the Life and Times of the
Rev. George Pegler, Written by
Himself (n.p.: published for the author, 1875), 17-22, 194-209. On
Pegler’s acceptance of the Utica pastorate, see p. 400.
34 Smith ‘s suspension is recorded in
Matlack, History, p. 277, and
referenced on p. 319.
For
the full “ecclesiastical guillotine” letter, see Matlack, 281.
34 Prindle, who offered the first prayer in the
denomination’s history: True Wesleyan, June 10, 1843, 90. Prindle’s years of service as publisher and
editor are recorded in Ira F. McLeister and Roy S. Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment (Marion, IN:
The Wesley Press, 1976), 325. (See pp.
50ff for narrative.)
34 Utica’s
rudimentary Discipline: Pegler, p.
419. Pegler implies that Utica’s Discipline was “in a crude condition”
because the “mass-convention” tended to function as a
committee-of-the-whole. Time constraints
hindered quality in that initial effort as well.
35 For
description of the attendance at Utica, see Pegler, 406-07. The actual roster of delegates is listed in
Matlack, History, 334-35.
35 On 6,000 charter members, see Matlack, History,
338, 344.
35 The range of denominations at Utica is
described in Pegler, 407.
36 On
Scottites, see Mathews, “Orange Scott: The Methodist Evangelist as
Revolutionary” in Martin Duberman, ed., The
Anti-Slavery Vanguard: New Essays on the Abolitionists (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1965), 96. One example of name-calling was in Zion’s Herald, where the editor said the
“True Wesleyans” were actually representatives of a “false Wesleyanism.” The slur is mentioned in Jotham Horton’s
reply in The True Wesleyan, Nov. 16,
1844, 182.
36 Our
moral rules distinguish us most: Lee, Wesleyan
Manual, 156.
37 Wesley’s antislavery commitment was
stressed in The True Wesleyan, January 7, 1843, 2.
37 Luther Lee explained his concept of a
“connection” in his Wesleyan Manual,
155-56.
He
emphasized the congregational slant of the design, even though it didn’t follow
a true congregational model (157).
37 Orange Scott’s expressed preference for
“Wesleyan Methodist Church”: Ira F. McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 34.
38 Elementary Principles – Compare the 2008
Discipline of The Wesleyan Church (Indianapolis,
IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2008), 27-28, to the 1843 Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America (Boston:
O. Scott, 1843), 9-10. (Future references
to the Discipline will be identified
only by the year.)
38 Historical
roots of the Methodist Protestant Church
are summarized in the “Brief Historical Preface” to the Constitution and Discipline of the Methodist Protestant Church, Third
Edition (Baltimore: 1839), iii-ix.
38 Documentation
of the sweeping changes instituted at Utica can be found in the 1843 Discipline, passim. See also True Wesleyan, July
1, 1843, 101ff.
39 For
a discussion of equal lay representation, see William Warren Sweet, Methodism in American History (New York:
Abingdon, 1954), 317. Sweet called this
“the Americanization of Methodism.”
39 The first denomination in America to make
abstinence from alcohol a test of membership: Lee M. Haines, “Radical
Reform and Living Piety: The Story of Earlier Wesleyan Methodism, 1843-1867” in
Wayne E. Caldwell, ed., Reformers and
Revivalists (Indianapolis, IN: Wesley Press, 1992), 51.
39 Anti-Masonic
fervor in America at the time is well documented in histories of the period. For religious opposition, see William Henry
Brackney, “Religious Antimasonry: The Genesis of a Political Party,” an
unpublished Ph.D. dissertation (1976), passim. See also A. T. Jennings, History of American Wesleyan Methodism (Syracuse, NY: Wesleyan Methodist
Publishing Association, 1902), 60-65, and Pegler, 420.
39 Edward Smith pushed for a general rule
banning participation in secret societies:
Pegler, 420-422.
40 Antislavery, anti-intemperance,
anti-everything wrong: September 27, 1842 letter from Scott to Cyrus
Prindle cited in Matlack, Orange Scott,
202.
40 Boundaries
of the initial six annual conferences: True
Wesleyan, June 17, 1843, 93.
41 14,600
members – McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 41.
41 Cyrus
Prindle even proposed splitting the denomination: Pegler, 421.
42 Many New England Methodists were threatening
to join the Wesleyans: Timothy Smith, Revivalism
and Social Reform (New York: Abingdon, 1957), 185. For confirmation by a
Methodist historian, see Douglas Strong on the “Wesleyan Methodist Church” in Charles
Yrigoyen and Susan E. Warrick, eds., Historical
Dictionary of Methodism, Second Edition (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005),
328.
42 Wesleyan Methodism had grown to an estimated
twenty thousand – The American
Almanac of 1845, cited in Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers and Revivalists, 87.
43 The first Wesleyan Methodist school was
opened at Leoni: Haines, “Radical
Reform,” Reformers and Revivalists, 74-76.
43 Worship in the Wesleyan Methodist
Connection: 1845 Discipline,
67-68. (The general conference was
held in October 1844, but the Discipline is
dated 1845.)
44 Rev. Orange Scott is no more: see The True Wesleyan, August 7, 1847 issue
for Scott’s obituary.
45 (Scott)
more than any other came to symbolize
Methodist abolitionism – see Mathews, “Orange Scott: The Methodist
Evangelist as Revolutionary,” 121.
Chapter 4
46 Disappointed in the churches . . .
especially his own Methodist Protestant Church: Elizabeth Willits Crooks, Life of Rev. A. Crooks, A.M. (Syracuse, NY: Wesleyan Methodist
Publishing House, 1875), 10-11.
47 When their pastor condemned the pamphlet
from the pulpit: Ibid., 23-24.
47 Forty of them formed an independent
congregation: Ibid., 25. See also
Nicholson, Wesleyan Methodism in the
South (Syracuse, NY: Wesleyan Methodist Publishing House, 1933), 26-29.
47 Brother Crooks arose: E. W. Crooks, Life of A. Crooks, 13-14.
47 The conference ordained Adam Crooks at that
session: Ibid., 14.
47 On October 1 he set out: Ibid., 15.
48 His road would be rough: Nicholson, Wesleyan Methodism in the South, 31.
48 A Quaker named Richard Mendenhall: Ibid.,
31-32.
48 The Quaker Belt: “North Carolina and the
Civil War: The Home Front,” a website of the North Carolina Museum of
History. http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/exhibits/civilwar/about_section4c.html
48 The small congregation…began construction: Nicholson,
Wesleyan Methodism in the South, 35.
49 Wesleyan Methodist ministers Jarvis Bacon
and Jesse McBride: Ibid., 39ff, 44ff.
49 In their first camp meeting: E. W.
Crooks, Life of A. Crooks, 38-41.
49 At least eight Wesleyan Methodist churches:
Ibid., 36, 41.
49 Two dozen preaching points: Nicholson, Wesleyan Methodism in the South, 51-52.
49 Wesleyan Methodists in the region numbered
five hundred: Ibid., 115. In a
letter to the American Missionary Association, McBride said he and his
colleagues left almost 600 members when they were forced from the state. See Clifton H. Johnson, “Abolitionist
Missionary Activities in North Carolina” in The
North Carolina Historical Review (1963), XL, 301.
50 Among the outreach efforts subsidized by the
AMA: Johnson, “Abolitionist Missionary Activities in North Carolina,” 301. For more on the
American Missionary Association and its funding of antislavery missions, see
Clifton H. Johnson, “The American Missionary Association, 1846-1861: A Study of
Christian Abolitionism,” an unpublished dissertation (1958), and Bertram
Wyatt-Brown, Lewis Tappan and the
Evangelical War against Slavery (New York: Atheneum, 1971), 287-309.
50 Crooks was dragged from his pulpit: E.
W. Crooks, Life of A. Crooks, 76ff.
50 Twice he and McBride were poisoned:
Nicholson, Wesleyan Methodism in the
South, 58-59.
50 Crooks survived an assassination attempt:
E. W. Crooks, Life of A. Crooks,
73-74.
50 McBride was almost strangled to death: Nicholson,
Wesleyan Methodism in the South, 63.
51 Micajah McPherson: Ibid., 107ff. Lee M. Haines has sketched his life in a
historical pamphlet entitled, “Micajah McPherson: A Layman with Convictions.”
51 The Hulen family: Ibid., 111. See also Victoria Bynum, “The Inner Civil War
in Montgomery Co., N.C.,” June 19, 2009, http://renegadesouth.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/the-inner-civil-war-in-montgomery-co-n-c/
51 Can you give your life for the cause: E.
W. Crooks, Life of A. Crooks, 14.
52 Specifically prohibited by law from speaking
on public property: Nicholson, Wesleyan
Methodism in the South, 56-57.
52 Except those notorious fanatics commonly
called true Weslians (sic): Church
deed shared with the authors by Mary Louise Stancil.
52 George Pegler was invited to pastor the
church: Pegler, 408ff.
52 A very plain style: Ibid., 409.
53 Frederick Douglass: Judith Wellman, The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and the First Woman’s Rights Convention (Urbana, IL: University of
Illinois Press, 2004), 170.
53 The Great Lighthouse: Historical marker
erected by the National Park Service reads in part, “Home to progressive
thinkers and welcoming to reformist speakers, the Wesleyan Chapel was known as
the ‘Great Lighthouse.’”
53 A notice in the local paper: Wellman,
189.
54 It was almost certainly an oversight:
see Women’s Rights National Historic Park: Special History Study website,
Chapter 2. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/wori/shs2.htm
54 At least seven Seneca Falls Wesleyan
Methodists were present and signed the Declaration: Wellman, 206.
54 The old building became a concert hall:
NHP website, op. cit.
54 Despite some initial confusion: Haines,
“Radical Reform,” Reformers and
Revivalists, 58.
55 Holiness is not an abstraction: True Wesleyan, January 28, 1843, 15.
56 What may we reasonably believe . . . :
Wesley’s Works, VIII, 299.
56 For the
Holiness Revival see Dieter, The Holiness
Revival of the Nineteenth Century, passim.
56 We
intend . . . that the subject of Christian holiness: True Wesleyan, January
7, 1843, 2.
56 The first religious body to publish a formal
theological statement on sanctification: Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers and Revivalists, 95-97.
Chapter 5
58 The denomination gave notice that it would
continue to help escaping slaves: True
Wesleyan, October 19, 1850, 166.
58 Luther Lee minced no words: Autobiography of
the Rev. Luther Lee (New York: Garland, 1984 reprint of an 1882
publication), 336.
59 For Laura
Smith Haviland, see her autobiography, A
Woman’s Life-Work: Labours and Experiences of Laura S. Haviland (Cincinnati:
Walden & Stowe, 1882),
passim. See also Lee M. Haines’
historical pamphlet, “Laura Smith Haviland: A Woman’s Life Work.”
59 Wesleyan Methodist churches operated as
stations on the Underground Railroad: see Leslie Wilcox, Wesleyan Methodism in Ohio (no
publication data given), 7; Autobiography
of Luther Lee, Chapter XLII, “Work on the Underground Railroad”; Jim and
Lois Watkins, “LaOtto Wesleyan Church History” (unpublished pamphlet); “History
of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Fountain City, Indiana” (unpublished
pamphlet); Wilbur H. Siebert, The
Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom (1967 reprint of 1898
publication), 205-220. Most books on the
Underground Railroad reference the Wesleyan Methodists.
60 Hiding escaping slaves inside a hollow log: Bobbie
T. Teague, Cane Creek: Mother of Meetings
(n.p., 1995), 74.
60 Luther Lee assisted as many as thirty slaves
a month to freedom – Lee,
Autobiography, 331.
60 Faces fashioned in the clay of an underground
passageway; “’Faces’ of the Past,” passim;
see also http://www.pacny//freedom_trail/wesleyanchpl.htm
61 William Lacy, a Wesleyan circuit rider: McLeister
and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
586; Lee M. Haines, “The Story of Wesleyan Methodism in Indiana, 1843-67”
(unpublished manuscript, 1959), 7.
61 A representative and a senator in the
Indiana legislature: Nicholson, Wesleyan
Methodism in the South, 79.
61 Bacon died three years after returning home,
and McBride survived him by only two years: Ibid., 76.
62 He was
sixty-two when he began his ministry in North Carolina: ibid., 82. Daniel Worth was among the ministers
subsidized by the American Missionary Association; see Johnson, “Abolitionist
Missionary Activities in North Carolina,” 305ff.
62 His first cousin Jonathan would be North
Carolina’s governor a decade later: Nicholson, Wesleyan Methodism in the South, 77.
62 He was arrested in December 1859: For
detailed examination of his case, see Michael Kent Curtis, who devotes an
entire chapter to it in Free Speech, “The
People’s Darling Privilege”: Struggles for Freedom of Expression in American
History (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000), 289-99; Noble J. Tolbert,
“Daniel Worth: Tar Heel Abolitionist” in The
North Carolina Historical
Review (1962), XXXIX, 284-304; and Johnson, “Abolitionist Missionary
Activities in North Carolina,” 305-320.
62 His $3,000 bond: Tolbert, “Daniel
Worth,” 300. The amount of the bond is a matter of some dispute. Lee M. Haines and Paul William Thomas put it
at $3,400 in An Outline History of The
Wesleyan Church, Sixth Edition (Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House,
2005), 72. Johnson has $2,800 in “Abolitionist Missionaries,”
319. An article in the May 8, 1860, New York Times reports it as $3,000.
63 One of the first pulpits where he spoke:
Nicholson, Wesleyan Methodism in the South,
102-103.
63 True Wesleyan Methodist Connection of
Canada: Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers
and Revivalists, 82.
63 Several Wesleyan Methodists went to Kaw
Mendi: Ibid., 86-87.
63 Original home of the Amistad slaves: Wyatt-Brown,
Lewis Tappan, 205-220.
64 They tended to lean instead toward Salmon
Chase or Gerrit Smith: Abolitionists were disappointed that Lincoln was
open to compromises on slavery; Lincoln, on the other hand, saw abolitionists
as idealists who were making emancipation more difficult to achieve because of
their refusal to negotiate. See Allen C.
Guelzo, Abraham Lincoln:
Redeemer-President (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1999), 125ff, 189,
207, 219-220, 331, 393, 408. See also
Stephen B. Oates, With Malice Toward
None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Harper & Row, 1977), 38.
64 For them it was a continuation of the
American Revolution: See, for example, the title of James M. McPherson’s Abraham Lincoln and the Second American
Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).
64 Some may think the proclaimation (sic) too
mild and restricted: The American
Wesleyan, October 1, 1862, 154.
64 Lucius Matlack, for instance, entered the
war as a chaplain: American Wesleyan, October 23, 1861, 170.
65 The Illinois Conference ordained Mary A.
Will: Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers
and Revivalists, 59.
65 We think it can no longer be said that a
church cannot be well governed by a woman: American Wesleyan, June 12,
1861, 94.
65 Mary Will’s ordination was, so far as can be
determined, the second for a woman in American history: Olympia Brown is
often cited as the second; in addition, her 1863 ordination has been called the
first to be recognized by a full denomination, since Antoinette Brown was
ordained by her congregation. But Mary
Will was ordained in 1861, two years before Olympia Brown, and although Will
certainly faced opposition, her ordination was recognized by the denomination.
65 When her Congregationalist colleagues
declined to preach the sermon: Beverly Zink-Sawyer, From Preachers to Suffragists: Women’s Rights and Religious Conviction
in the Lives of Three Nineteenth-Century American Clergywomen (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), 69.
65 She had spoken at a Liberty Party convention
in his church in Syracuse: Paul Leslie Kaufman, “Logical” Luther Lee and the Methodist War against Slavery (Lanham,
MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000), 165.
65 Perhaps the first ever in all of Christian
history: See Beverly Zink-Sawyer, From
Preachers to Suffragists, 70, n. 1.
67 Hiram McKee was included with Scott,
Lee, Prindle, and others in a list of leaders hailed by George Pegler as “as
great an array of intelligent men . . . as could be found in any denomination
of equal numbers, in any part of Christendom” (Pegler, 422-423). President
pro-tem of the Wesleyan Methodists’ second general conference in 1848, McKee
served until balloting for officers was completed and then passed the gavel to
newly-elected president Daniel Worth (McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 49). For his
political influence, see Michael J. McManus, Political Abolitionism in Wisconsin, 1840-1861 (Kent, OH: Kent
State University Press, 1998), 83. Thanks are due Mark Wilson for source
material on Hiram McKee in Wisconsin.
67 The New England roots of the connection were
weakening: Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers
and Revivalists, 66-67.
68 For the
Wesleyan Methodist roots of Wheaton and Adrian colleges, see McLeister and
Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
480ff.
Chapter 6
70 Jotham
Horton . . . returned to Methodism in 1851: True Wesleyan, July 5, 1851,
106.
71 During the war, Lucius Matlack decided to
return to Methodism: Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers and Revivalists,” 90-92.
71 The Methodist Protestants . . . became the
first denomination to give the vote to laypersons in annual and general
conferences: Charles W. Ferguson, Organizing
to Beat the Devil (New York: Doubleday and Co., 1971), 199-200.
71 Wesleyan Methodists considered merger with
the Protestant Methodists in 1859: Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers and Revivalists, 88.
71 A conference of non-episcopal Methodists . .
. actually called for merger in June 1865: Ibid., 89.
72 It
was soundly defeated by the annual conferences: Ibid., 90.
72 They
set a timetable for certain financial goals: Ibid., 76.
73 Methodist
Protestants . . . were awarded the college: Ibid., 78.
73 Wesleyan Methodists made two promises to
themselves: Haines and Thomas, The
Outline History, 75-76.
73 Something under a hundred Wesleyan Methodist
ministers led perhaps two thousand members back into the Methodist Episcopal
Church: In “Radical Reform,” 92-93, Lee Haines cites higher estimates of
those leading the return effort but compares their figures on ministers to
lower totals in annual conference reports.
Later the figure of approximately two thousand members is asserted in a
letter to The American Wesleyan from
L. C. Matlack, Luther Lee, Cyrus Prindle, and John McEldowney (October 22,
1873). In his reply, Adam Crooks does
not dispute the head count. This edition
of The American Wesleyan is missing
from the denomination’s archival collection, but Joel Martin quoted both the
letter and the reply in full in his Wesleyan
Manual, 152-57.
73 Icons like Luther Lee, Lucius Matlack, and
Cyrus Prindle: Haines, “Radical Reform,” Reformers and Revivalists, 91-92.
74 All left because they honestly believed the
connection had finished its work: In a letter to the readership of
denominational periodical, the leaders of the movement to reunite with the
Methodist Episcopal Church wrote, “Our work as a separate body is finished.” American Wesleyan, February 13, 1867, 25.
See also the preceding issues dated January 16 and February 6 of the
same year.
74 Crooks
had spent an entire night in prayer: E. W. Crooks, Life of A. Crooks, 152-53.
75 Women were ordained in at least the
Champlain and Michigan conferences as well: Maxine L. and Lee M. Haines, Celebrate Our Daughters: 150 Years of Women
in Wesleyan Ministry (Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2004), 18.
75 When resistance arose, the denomination
limited women: Ibid., 17-18.
75 All
limitations were removed twelve years later: Ibid., 18.
75 God wants and the age demands an intensely
reformatory Christianity: American
Wesleyan, October 22, 1873, 3. Even
though their return to Methodism had occurred six years earlier, Luther Lee and
his colleagues were still pressing Wesleyan Methodists to follow their example when Crooks wrote
this in 1873.
77 She belongs to humanity: http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Fl-Ka/Haviland-Laura-S.html
77 The American Wesleyan stood resolutely for equal rights for all:
American Wesleyan, January 10, 1866,
6.
77 North Carolinians invited Crooks back to the
state in 1872: Nicholson, Wesleyan
Methodism in the South, 118.
78 Adam Crooks died in 1874: E. W. Crooks, Life of Rev. A. Crooks, 254.
78 Two years earlier Laura Smith Haviland had
returned to her Quaker roots: S. C. Stanley, “Laura Smith Haviland” in
Daniel G. Reid et al., eds, Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 513.
79 Twenty thousand people attended the first
holiness camp meeting: Melvin Dieter, “The Post-Civil War Holiness
Revival,” Reformers and Revivalists,
164.
79 Two Free Methodist women led D. L. Moody
into the experience: Dieter, “Post-Civil War Holiness Revival,” Reformers and Revivalists, 177.
80 But
the chief aim of the American
Wesleyan: American Wesleyan, February 6, 1867, 23.
80 Most churches were still east of the
Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon Line: Haines and Thomas (Outline History, 86) make that statement
about the year 1867, but it was still true in 1877.
80 For
quarterly conferences, revival campaigns, and camp meetings, see Haines and
Thomas, Outline History, 77-78.
80 Families
opened their homes: Haines and Thomas, Outline
History, 76.
81 They were beginning to appreciate the
potential of the Sunday school: Lee M. Haines, “The Grander, Nobler Work:
Wesleyan Methodism’s Transition, 1867-1901,” Reformers and Revivalists, 141-42.
Chapter 7
83 Attendance was equivalent to almost half of
the nation’s population: http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/; www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-1.html
84 It is a compromise of Christianity: Wesleyan
Methodist, September 20, 1893. The parliament’s motto was taken from
Malachi 2:10: “Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us?” John Corrigan and Winthrop S. Hudson, Religion in America, Seventh Edition (Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004), 293.
84 Her great-grandfather was converted when he
heard John Wesley preach: “Life of Clara Tear Williams: Spiritual Heritage
of Kindness” (unpublished manuscript), 1.
See also Haines and Haines, Celebrate
Our Daughters, pp. 24-26.
85 The song . . . was written when she was
eighteen years of age: “Life of Clara Tear Williams,” 5. Curiously the song was not included in the
new 1897 denominational hymnal, even though it had been written six years earlier
and Mrs. Williams was on the hymnal committee.
It first appeared in the hymnal of 1910.
85 Frank Graham wrote . . . after experiencing
an earthquake: Nicholson, Wesleyan
Methodism in the South, 256.
85 Frank
Graham refused to copyright any of his music: Ibid.
86 Adam Crooks had purchased land in downtown
Syracuse: Haines, “The Grander, Nobler Work,” Reformers and Revivalists, 139.
87 It added a third fulltime general official: McLeister
and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
102-104.
87 The Book Committee . . . became more a board
of administration: Haines, “The Grander, Nobler Work,” Reformers and Revivalists, 138.
87 Papers of incorporation . . . identified the
denomination as “The Wesleyan Methodist Connection (or Church) of America”:
Ibid.
88 The Dollar Plan was an attempt to fund
ministries on the general and annual conference levels: Ibid.
88 The denomination’s first campgrounds:
Robert Black, “Becoming a Church: Wesleyan Methodism, 1899-1935,” Reformers and Revivalists, 195.
89 Founder
Willard J. Houghton secured eleven acres on a hill – Kenneth L. Wilson, ed., Consider the Years: 1883-1983, Houghton
College (unnumbered pages).
89 Holiness evangelist Mary Depew . . . was
widely-known for the well-attended prayer meetings she held in her home at 4:00
a.m.: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 487. Her life is
profiled in Lee M. Haines’ historical pamphlet entitled, “Mary Depew: The Holy
Spirit’s Evangelist.”
90 Wesleyan Methodism took its first step
toward that goal in 1889: Norman N. Bonner and Alberta R. Metz, “The
Wesleyan Church in Africa,” Reformers and
Revivalists, 452.
90 Young Irwin Johnston was the first to die: McLeister
and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
383.
91 They had packed for their voyage . . . in
coffin-shaped boxes: Paul Shea, “From Houghton to West Africa and Beyond,”
an unpublished paper delivered at a faculty forum at Houghton College in
2002. The story had been passed down
through generations of Wesleyan Methodists.
91 At the conference he suffered an attack of
African fever and died: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 109.
91 Among
his papers was found this declaration: Ibid.
91 Twelve Wesleyan Methodist missionaries had
died on the field, most of them in that region: Bonner and Metz, “The
Wesleyan Church in Africa,” Reformers and
Revivalists, 455.
91 Despite
the losses the work continued: Ibid., 452-467.
92 Wesleyan missionaries set out to follow
Christ’s pattern of preaching, teaching, and healing: Ibid., 452. Variations on this “mission statement” are
found in much of the early Wesleyan Methodist missionary literature, including
George H. Clarke, American Wesleyan
Methodist Missions in Sierra Leone, West Africa (Syracuse, NY: Wesleyan
Methodist Publishing Association, 1911).
92 The work . . . was consolidated into a new
West Tennessee Conference: McLeister and Nicholson, 632.
92 South Ohio was authorized as a new
conference: Ibid., 568, 571-72.
Chapter 8
96 Two of these holiness evangelists . . . met
in Cincinnati: Paul Westphal Thomas and Paul William Thomas, The Days of Our Pilgrimage (Marion, IN:
The Wesley Press, 1976), 6, 13. See also
Lee M. Haines’ pamphlet, “Martin W. Knapp and Seth C. Rees: Two Pilgrims’
Progress,” one of a set of eight historical profiles of Wesleyan leaders.
97 Probably a much smaller crowd gathered . . .
to hear his first sermon: Paul S. Rees, Seth
Cook Rees: The Warrior-Saint (Indianapolis: The Pilgrim Book Room, 1934),
10ff.
97 Rees . . . formed a close connection with A.
B. Simpson: Ibid., 23-24. See also Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 12.
98 By age forty, Rees was pastor at the
independent Emmanuel Church: Paul Rees, Warrior-Saint,
36-40.
98 A thunderous pulpit presence that earned him
the moniker, “The Earth-Quaker”: Ibid., 46.
98 Physically, Knapp was Rees’ polar opposite: A.
M. Hills, A Hero of Faith and Prayer, or
Life of Rev. Martin Wells Knapp (Noblesville, IN: Newby Book Room, 1973
reprint of 1902 publication), 38-41; Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 9.
98 Knapp auctioned off some of his household
goods to finance the publication of his first book: Hills, Hero of Faith and Prayer, 80.
99 The periodical he founded, The Revivalist,
soared to a circulation of 25,000: Ibid.,
80-83.
100 Both agreed that day to organize a new
venture they called the International Holiness Union and Prayer League: Paul
Rees, Warrior-Saint, 54ff; see also
Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
13-17.
101 The organization did have a constitution:
Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
14-15.
101 Come-outers: For come-outism, see Melvin
Dieter, “Primitivism in the Holiness Tradition,” Wesleyan Theological Journal,
30:1 (Spring 1995), 78-91.
102 Wesleyan Methodism suffered some losses to
the anti-denominational brand of come-outism in Michigan, Indiana, and Kansas:
Haines, “A Grander, Nobler Work,” Reformers
and Revivalists, 132-33.
Chapter 9
105 Holiness
that is not missionary is bogus: Paul S. Rees, The Warrior-Saint, 142.
105 Knapp was a spiritual entrepeneur: For
Knapp’s cluster of inter-related ministries, see Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 6-9; see also
Haines and Thomas, An Outline History of
The Wesleyan Church, 137-43, and Hills, Hero
of Faith and Prayer, 132ff, 233ff, 279ff.
106 He founded God’s Bible School: Thomas
and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
31-33. See also L. R. Day, “A History of
God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, 1900-1949” (unpublished thesis), passim.
107 Boldness and creativity for the sake of the
gospel: Well-told through photos and text in the GBS anniversary volume, God’s Clock Keeps Perfect Time (Cincinnati:
Revivalist Press, 2000), edited by Kevin Moser and Larry Smith.
109 The Cowmans . . . took the path of faith
missions: Lettie B. Cowman, Charles
E. Cowman: Missionary Warrior (Los Angeles: The Oriental
Missionary Society, 1928), passim; Thomas
and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
31, 36-39.
109 Together these couples founded the
well-known Oriental Missionary Society: Ibid., 38-39.
109 Streams in the Desert: Thomas and
Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 256.
See Mrs. Charles E.
Cowman, Streams in the Desert (Los
Angeles: Oriental Missionary Society, 1931).
110 Round-the-world missionaries: Thomas and
Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 26-28,
33.
110 The ordination of Charles and Lettie Cowman:
Haines and Thomas, Outline History,
139-40.
111 You could not tell the difference between a
sanctified Quaker and a sanctified Baptist or Campbellite: Thomas and
Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 30.
111 Among the early missionaries who went out
from the Union were . . . Wesleyan Methodists: Ibid., 29.
111 All religious denominations are connected
with this work: Ibid., 44.
112 Martin Wells Knapp contracted typhoid fever
and died: Hills, Hero of Faith and
Prayer, 291-314; Thomas and Thomas, Days
of Our Pilgrimage, 39-40.
113 World-wide Holiness Missions Fund: Thomas
and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
46.
113 Rees resigned as general superintendent: Ibid.,
51. Seth Rees’ son and biographer simply stated, “Other tasks were calling” (Warrior-Saint, 63).
114 Nathan Wardner had served the denomination
as president in six consecutive general conferences: McLeister and
Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 112. Wardner’s obituary appeared in The Wesleyan Methodist December 28,
1898, 8.
115 The Young Missionary Workers’ Band:
Black, “Becoming a Church,” Reformers and
Revivalists, 194.
115 The general conference of 1903 authorized a
Woman’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society denomination-wide: Ibid. See also Charles Stephen Rennells, History of the Michigan Conference, Wesleyan
Methodist Church, and Women’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society: Centenary
Edition, 1840-1940 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1940), 101.
116 Free Methodist Bishop W. T. Hogue,
addressing the body as a fraternal delegate, suggested . . . that the two
holiness denominations consider merger: Black, “Becoming a Church,” 193;
Wayne E. Caldwell, “A Merger Envisioned: Formation of The Wesleyan Church,” Reformers and Revivalists, 617-18.
116 North Carolina . . . was able to report only
220 members and a mere $123.56 raised: Nicholson, Wesleyan Methodism in the South, 135.
116 The only corpse he’d ever seen that refused
to be buried: Ibid., 138.
117 God bless every Wesleyan Methodist who is a
Prohibitionist: Wesleyan Methodist, July 18, 1900, 1.
117 The denomination officially endorsed the
Prohibition Party: Minutes of the Sixteenth Quadrennial Session of the Wesleyan
Methodist Connection (or Church) of America, 1903, 34.
Chapter 10
118 Kulp replaced Seth Cook Rees at the helm of
the Union in the pivotal year of 1905: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 51-53. See also “George B. Kulp and Eber Teter: Teen
Soldiers, Church Leaders,” a pamphlet by Lee M. Haines which compares the contributions
of those men to their respective denominations..
119 Kulp issued no denials about the Holiness
Union moving toward denominational status: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 56ff.
119 The Manual was significantly expanded:
Ibid., 53ff.
119 The Union now added a new objective:
“Apostolic Holiness Manual,” 1905, 2-3.
120 The new Manual included a series of covenant
questions: “Apostolic Holiness Manual,” 1906, 17-19.
120 A new corps of leaders: Thomas and
Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 51.
121 The International Apostolic Holiness Church:
Ibid., 56-57.
121 Creating more Bible schools was the fastest
way to provide a steady stream of pastors: Ibid., 60-64.
123 The entrepreneurial spirit affected
publishing too: Ibid., 64-67.
123 The leadership established an official
mission board: The board became independent in 1922. Ibid., 68.
126 The legacy of Eber Teter: See the Lee Haines
pamphlet, “George B. Kulp and Eber Teter: Teen Soldiers, Church Leaders.” See also the memorial issue of The Wesleyan Methodist, August 15, 1928,
1-5, 14-15, which salutes his achievements and his influence in the
denomination.
126 The southern school: Robert Black, How Firm a Foundation: Southern Wesleyan
University, 1906-2006 (Indianapolis: Southern Wesleyan University, 2006),
7-46, 59.
127 The western school: John P. Ragsdale and
Wayne E. Caldwell, “Ministerial Training and Educational Institutions,” Reformers and Revivalists, 385.
128 Marion College: Marjorie J. Elder, The Lord, the Landmarks, the Life: Indiana
Wesleyan University (Marion, IN: Indiana Wesleyan University, 1994), 61ff.
128 New Wesleyan Methodist fields in India
(1915) and Japan (1919): Virginia Wright, “The Wesleyan Church in Asia and
Australia,” Reformers and Revivalists,” 509-12,
518-19. See also Black, “Becoming a Church,” Reformers and Revivalists, 199.
130 The Fundamentals: Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People
(Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1975 edition of a classic work originally
published by Yale University Press in 1972), II, 286-87.
130 Benjamin Hardin Irwin was a popular preacher
in holiness circles: Vinson Synan, The
Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States (Grand Rapid, MI:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), 61-67.
130 The rise of Pentecostalism: Ibid., 55ff.
Chapter 11
132 Aaron Worth preached a memorable sermon: McLeister
and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
153-54. See
The Wesleyan Methodist, July 9, 1919, 8, for emphasis on antislavery, Prohibition,
and women’s suffrage.
134 The Great Reversal: David O. Moberg
popularized the phrase even more with his The
Great Reversal: Evangelicalism versus Social Reform (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott,
1972).
135 Sunday school numbers had exploded,
registering 50 percent larger than the membership totals: McLeister and
Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
159.
135 The general conference authorized creation
of the Wesleyan Young People’s Society: Ibid., 164.
136 The tobacco question . . . was settled at
last in 1927: Black, “Becoming a Church,” Reformers and Revivalists, 210.
136 Wesleyan Methodists adopted Hephzibah
Orphanage: Alberta Metz, Touching
Tomorrow: The Story of Hephzibah Children’s Home , Second Edition
(Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 1998).
138 The Holiness Christian Church: Thomas
and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
86-90.
138 Pentecostal Rescue Mission of New York: Ibid.,
90-92.
139 The Pilgrim Church of California: Ibid.,
92-95.
140 The World Wide Missionary Society: Ibid.,
95-96.
141 The Immanuel Mission: Ibid., 97.
141 Bible Home and Foreign Missionary Society:
Ibid., 97-98.
141 The Pentecostal Brethren in Christ: Ibid., 98.
142 People’s Mission Church: Ibid.,
98-104. “Paul Westphal Thomas:
Missionary Statesman” is profiled in a historical brochure by Lee M. Haines.
144 The 1922 General Assembly elected two
general superintendents to replace him: Ibid., 107.
144 One of the chief mistakes: Ibid., 139.
145 The story of the Solteros: Ibid.,
116-120.
146 They then elected Seth Rees as the third
superintendent: Ibid., 115.
149 It was certainly a golden age for the
Pilgrim Holiness Church: Ibid., 104-105.
149 They found the answer in storehouse tithing:
Black, “Becoming a Church,” Reformers and
Revivalists, 196-97.
Chapter 12
151 Both denominations moved ahead through
difficult days: There is an interesting analysis of the churches during the
Depression in Jerald C. Brauer, Protestantism
in America (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1953), 266. In his analysis of the churches during the
Depression, Brauer noted that it was not the mainline churches that grew during
those tough times but rather two more countercultural religious movements:
those who majored on the Second Coming as the ultimate relief from the losses
of the economic collapse (like Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses) and those
whose focus was a transformative conversion experience and a life of holiness
with freedom for emotional expression (a category in which he placed the
holiness churches and Pentecostals).
151 Pilgrim consolidation and centralization: Thomas
and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
124ff.
152 Seventy-six-year-old Seth Rees was elected
as the sole general superintendent: Ibid., 131.
153 Finch was removed from office: Ibid.,
140-42.
154 The new plan of 1930 proposed unifying
general church finances into a single budget: Ibid., 130-31, 133-35.
155 Seth Rees died on May 22, 1933: P. Rees,
Warrior-Saint, 122ff.
156 Rees’ successor as solo general
superintendent for the Pilgrims was . . . Walter L. Surbrook: Thomas and
Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 140,
147-48.
156 The denomination observed its centenary in
1943: See the Centennial Edition of The
Wesleyan Methodist, January 6, 1943, passim.
157 They appointed a committee of one – Roy S.
Nicholson, Sr.: Virgil A. Mitchell, “The Wesleyan Methodists Chart a New
Course, 1935-1968,” Reformers and
Revivalists, 273.
157 Church growth: For Pilgrim statistics,
see Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our
Pilgrimage, 146; for Wesleyan Methodist statistics, see McLeister and
Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
175, 214.
160 As many as five thousand in attendance on a
Sunday (caption): Riverside Camp
in Maine, founded by the Reformed Baptists, was actually a stop on the B &
O Railroad. In 1919 the official
Reformed Baptist paper, The King’s
Highway, announced an expectation of “4,000 or more” gathering on the
grounds for Sunday services that year.
The camp’s website reports that Sunday attendance at times reached as
high as 5,000. See Maryella Kimball
Banks’ account in God’s Little Acre.
160 In 1943 five hundred Pilgrim churches held a
common rally day: Thomas and Thomas, Days
of Our Pilgrimage, 160.
162 Card Call was established to raise money for
new churches: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 181, 376.
163 The Home Missionary Department opened yet
another Bible school: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 166.
163 Wesleyan Methodists provided eleven
(chaplains) during the war: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 218.
For the first Pilgrim chaplains, see Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 263-64.
164 Wesleyan Methodist missionaries in Japan
were forced to come home in April 1940: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 191.
164 A number of Pilgrims serving . . . in
Japanese-occupied China were imprisoned: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 213.
164 The R. K. Storey family was trapped: Ibid.,
213-14, 217-18.
165 Daisy Buby and Flora Belle Slater are prime
examples: See their
biographical files in the Wesleyan Archives and Historical Library. Fields of service are listed in Thomas and
Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 348,
352. Buby and Slater are also profiled
in These Went Forth: Short Biographical
Sketches of Pilgrim Missionaries, Revised Edition (Indianapolis: Pilgrim
Holiness Church, n.d.).
Chapter 13
168 It passed overwhelmingly: See McLeister
and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
209ff., for a breakdown of the entire reorganization package. Virgil A. Mitchell looked back on the same
momentous general conference with interesting perspectives in “Wesleyan
Methodists Chart a New Course,” Reformers
and Revivalists, 271ff.
169 Nicholson was the first southerner elected
to general office: For a capsule description of his service prior to
election to the presidency, see McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 181-83, 188, 197.
171 In 1949 Graham held a series of tent
meetings in Los Angeles: See Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy
Graham (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco/Zondervan, 1997.
171 A special jubilee edition of The Pilgrim
Holiness Advocate: The Pilgrim Holiness Advocate, June 19, 1947.
172 On this benchmark birthday: Ibid.,
10-11.
172 The conference turned to L. W. Sturk: For
Sturk and the rest of the new slate of officials elected in 1946, see Thomas
and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage,
222ff.
173 The Holiness Church of California: Ibid.,
229-33.
174 A. L. Luttrull’s holiness Gospel Tabernacle:
Ibid., 248.
175 There was even talk of a Pilgrim-Wesleyan
Methodist merger in the 1940s: Ibid., 236; see also McLeister and
Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 204-205.
175 Wesleyan Methodist-Free Methodist merger
talks: Ibid., 231-33.
175 Hephzibah Faith Missionary Association: Ibid.,
224-25.
176 Its size and reputation grew significantly
under the leadership of Stephen W. Paine: See Miriam Paine Lemcio, Deo Volente: A Biography of Stephen W. Paine
(Houghton, NY: Houghton College, 1987).
176 The Pilgrim Holiness Church would have a
liberal arts college: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 248-49, 264-65.
178 The Pilgrim Holiness headquarters (moved) to a “respectable” building on East Ohio
Street in Indianapolis: Ibid., 157-58.
178 A Pilgrim controversy: Ibid., 247.
Chapter 14
182 Identity crisis: McLeister and
Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
230 (and corresponding explanatory note 9 on p. 270), 245.
183 He led the church to adopt its first written
constitution: Ibid., 255-56.
183 The Pilgrim Holiness Church found itself
embroiled in a comparable controversy: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 287-88.
184 The two denominations grew closer
geographically with the decision to relocate the Wesleyan Methodist
headquarters: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 239ff.
185 Fire broke out in the historic old building
in downtown Syracuse: Ibid., 335-40.
185 The size and complexity of the work prompted
them to return to that model in 1958: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 260ff.
186 Wesleyan Methodists also chose to distribute
the ever-increasing load of leadership among three general superintendents in 1959:
McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 250ff. See also
Mitchell, “Chart a New Course,” Reformers
and Revivalists, 291ff.
186 Instead of the installation man planned, God
planned his coronation: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 251.
186 Pilgrim missions were strengthened by a
merger with the Africa Evangelistic Mission: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 282-83.
187 Jamaica and a second mission in India were
introduced as a result of the addition of Vivian A. Dake’s Missionary Bands of
the World: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 242-43.
187 The postwar work in Japan was . . . led by
David T. Tsutada: Virginia Wright, “The Wesleyan Church in Asia and
Australia,” Reformers and Revivalists, 521-23.
187 Eastern Pilgrim president R. D. Gunsalus
went so far as to suggest multiple mergers: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 270-71.
188 In a series of steps, Wesleyan Methodism
established an official relationship with Asbury Theological Seminary: McLeister
and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
529-30.
188 The Wesleyan Young People’s Society gave way
to Wesleyan Youth in 1955: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 474.
188 The Pilgrims added “and Youth” to the name
of their General Department of Sunday Schools: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 228-29.
189 Youth camps proliferated: McLeister and
Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment,
471.
189 The first mid-quadrennial Wesleyan Youth
convention: Ibid., 477-78.
189 CYC was an activity-oriented program
patterned after Scouting: Ibid., 465; Armor D. Peisker, “The Pilgrim
Holiness Church Maturing and Expanding, 1930-1968,” Reformers and Revivalists, 353; Mitchell, “Chart a New Course,” Reformers and Revivalists, 310.
191 Wesleyan Methodists had already issued their
own statements in 1955 and 1964: Minutes of the Twenty-ninth General Conference
of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 1955,
42; The Wesleyan Methodist, April 29,
1964, 2.
192 The Pilgrim Holiness Church also issued a
declaration of support for civil rights in 1964: The Pilgrim Holiness Advocate,
June 13, 1964, 2.
193 The merger proposal was defeated: Wayne
E. Caldwell, “A Merger Envisioned,” Reformers
and Revivalists, 630ff.
Chapter 15
195 One matter that proved unexpectedly
difficult to settle was the name: Caldwell, “A Merger Envisioned,” Reformers and Revivalists, 637ff.
196 A devastating tornado struck the new
Wesleyan Methodist headquarters in Marion: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 288-92.
196 Tornado aftermath (caption): The headquarters employee whose reply,
“We still have God,” inspired so many was Ruth Bowman – not to be confused with
the Pilgrim missionary of the same name who is mentioned on p. 108.
197 Should the denomination hold off on
rebuilding and wait for merger: Caldwell, “A Merger Envisioned,” Reformers and Revivalists, 642.
198 On June 14, 1966, the conferences convened
simultaneously: Thomas and Thomas, Days
of Our Pilgrimage, 332; McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 293.
199 A financial fiasco: Thomas and Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 288-89.
200 They organized the Reformed Baptist Alliance
as a holiness denomination: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 301-04.
Leader and co-founder George W. MacDonald is the subject of another of
the brochures by Lee M. Haines in the series entitled “Our Wesleyan Heritage.”
200 In 1901 they ordained the first woman
minister in the Dominion of Canada: Vesta Dunlop Mullen, The Communion of Saints: Ordained Ministers
of the Reformed Baptist Church, 1888-1966 (private printing, 2006), 338-41.
201 The Alliance joined the denomination as an
annual conference: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience and Commitment, 301-04, 554.
202 The two documents in the hands of the
delegates . . . were the proposed constitution and the basis for merger: See
Minutes of the Thirty-second General
Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 1966, 145ff.
203 Plans called for the Wesleyan Methodists to
vote first: Caldwell, “A Merger Envisioned,” Reformers and Revivalists, 647-48.
203 Pilgrims approved the merger by a similar
margin: Ibid. See also Thomas and
Thomas, Days of Our Pilgrimage, 305ff.
204 The conference placed Allegheny under
discipline: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 296-97.
204 The delegates voted 141-0 to reorganize the
Tennessee Conference: Haines and Thomas, Outline History, 119.
204 Allegheny . . . cut its last ties with the
denomination: McLeister and Nicholson, Conscience
and Commitment, 310.
204 In Tennessee, separating congregations
formed a tiny denomination: Ibid.
204 In Ohio, eleven churches joined with
twenty-two churches in Alabama to form the Bible Methodist Church: Ibid.
204 Representatives of the separatist groups met
in Knoxville, Tennessee: The Wesleyan Advocate, February 1, 1967, 17.
205 The combined boards of the merging
denominations began final preparations: Caldwell, “A Merger Envisioned,” Reformers and Revivalists, 649.
205 324 from each: Ibid., 652.
Chapter 16
208 The Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Wesleyan
Methodist Church of America had their common origin in the Wesleyan Revival:
Minutes of the First General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 1968, 66.
208 The churches were also comparable in size in
1968: The worldwide membership figures at merger (more than 65,000 for the
Wesleyan Methodists, just under 57,000 for the Pilgrims) are taken from the
final statistical tables of each antecedent denomination. See Minutes
of the Twenty-sixth International Conference of the Pilgrim Holiness Church,
1968, 31; Minutes of the Thirty-third
General Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 1968, 109 (for North
America) and 121 (for world missions).
The statement on p. 15 of the Wesleyan Methodist minutes which gives the
“home and overseas membership total” as 48,362 is in error. That figure approximates the North American
membership only.
209 Co-conveners Walter L. Surbrook . . . and
Roy S. Nicholson: Black, “The Emerging Synthesis: The Wesleyan Church,
1968-92,” Reformers and Revivalists,
667.
209 The conference approved a resolution from
the Joint Polity Committee: Minutes of the First General Conference of The
Wesleyan Church, 1968, 67.
210 Bernard H. Phaup, Melvin H. Snyder, J. D.
Abbott, and Virgil A. Mitchell were chosen: Black, “The Emerging
Synthesis,” Reformers and Revivalists, 667.
211 The delegates proceeded to elect a balanced
slate of general officers: Ibid.
215 In the first issue: The Wesleyan Advocate,
August 12, 1968, 2.
216 Two Historic Traditions (poster art): Beneath slaves in chains on the left,
Ed Wallace depicted (in descending order) Orange Scott, Eber Teter, Mary Lane
Clarke, O. G. Wilson, and Roy S. Nicholson.
A contemporary couple (or at least contemporary for 1977, the year this
superb poster was created for a denomination-wide Heritage Year emphasis)
anchors the Wesleyan Methodist side on the bottom left. The Pilgrim legacy on the right is headed by
an anonymous evangelist; beneath (again, in descending order) are Martin Wells
Knapp, Seth Cook Rees, George B. Kulp, Hazel Kilbourne, and Walter
Surbrook. At bottom right stands a
couple in period attire from the early days of the movement. A dove,
representing the Holy Spirit, hovers over all.
217 The new United Stewardship Fund would take a
different approach: Minutes of the First General Conference of The Wesleyan
Church, 1968, 48, 55, 58.
Chapter 17
219 Christianity Today reported on the Pilgrim
Holiness-Wesleyan Methodist merger: Christianity Today, July 19, 1968, 52.
220 Their choice was certainly properly
qualified: Minutes of the First General Conference of The Wesleyan Church,
1968, 49, 74; Black, “The Emerging Synthesis,” Reformers and Revivalists, 667 and accompanying n. 11, 687; and The Wesleyan Advocate, August 26, 1968,
15.
221 The Miltonvale-Bartlesville merger was
especially sensitive: Black, “The Emerging Synthesis,” Reformers and Revivalists, 670.
221 The greater losses were suffered by the
Pilgrim side of the family: Ibid., 669-70.
222 The general board selected the former
Wesleyan Methodist headquarters in Marion, Indiana: Ibid., 669.
222 In 1972 the building was sold for $220,000: Ibid.
223 By 1972 the fifty-nine districts had been
reduced to forty: Haines and Thomas, Outline
History of The Wesleyan Church, 183.
223 Local congregations were asked to change
their names and church signs: Minutes of the First General Conference of The
Wesleyan Church, 63.
224 The new Discipline introduced an age limit
of thirty on membership in Wesleyan Youth: Discipline of The Wesleyan Church,
1968, 409.
225 They had called for the creation of a new
position: Minutes of the First General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 1968,
70-71.
226 A church-wide conference on evangelism: See
The Wesleyan Advocate, January 26,
1970, 11; February 9, 1970, 2-3, 5.
226 The 1970s were designated as the decade of
evangelism: The Wesleyan Advocate, July 27, 1970, 5-6.
226 The Department of Youth sponsored its first
denominational convention at Dayton: Haines and Thomas, Outline History of The Wesleyan Church, 189.
228 Both denominations were taking a step back: Black,
“Emerging Synthesis,” Reformers and
Revivalists, 672.
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231 Key 73, a cooperative interdenominational
evangelistic campaign: See “Key 73 Guidelines for Wesleyans” in The Wesleyan Advocate, July 10, 1972,
20.
231 The Wesleyan Hour, a weekly radio program
with a national audience: Black, “Emerging Synthesis,” Reformers and Revivalists, 678.
232 A denominationally-sponsored evangelism
effort featuring John Maxwell: The Wesleyan Advocate, August 29, 1977, 12; Minutes of the Fourth General Conference of
The Wesleyan Church, 1980, 291.
232 GRADE: In his report to the 1984 General
Conference, General Secretary of Extension and Evangelism Joe Sawyer noted that
almost half of all Wesleyan churches in North America were using the GRADE
program. Minutes of the Fifth General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 1984,
311.
235 The St. Louis convention was a turning point
for Wesleyan youth ministry: Haines and Thomas, Outline History of The Wesleyan Church, 189.
235 The next three youth conventions . . .
averaged 7,500 in attendance: Black, “Emerging Synthesis,” Reformers and Revivalists, 676.
235 That figure was topped by the 1990 convention:
Ibid.
235 YES Corps . . . and LIFE CORPS: Ibid.
237 The last year Sunday school attendance was
larger than worship was 1979: See attendance appendices in The Story of The Wesleyan Church.
239 A group of denominational scholars had been
gathered to study the matter: Twelve Wesleyan scholars produced No Uncertain Sound: An Exegetical Study of I
Corinthians 12, 13, 14 (Marion, IN: Wesley Press, 1975).
240 The general superintendents’ statement was
upheld by a decisive voice vote: Minutes of the Third General Conference, 1976,
46. The general superintendents’
ruling may be found on pp. 161-62 of the same Minutes.
240 The Caribbean provisional general conference
was organized in 1974: The Wesleyan Advocate, May 27, 1974, 10-12.
241 In 1975 the Philippines provisional
general conference was established: The Wesleyan Advocate, June 9, 1975, 5.
242 The number of larger Wesleyan churches, and
the size of those churches, began to increase significantly during those years:
See “Twenty-five Largest Churches” appendices in The Story of The Wesleyan Church.
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245 In 1980 . . . the new church approved a
major revision of their articles of religion and constitution: Minutes of the Fourth General Conference of
The Wesleyan Church, 1980, 47-59.
247 The general board voted in 1986 to relocate
to Indianapolis: The Wesleyan Advocate, June 16, 1986 and December 15,
1986. For a report to general
conference, see Minutes of the Sixth
General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 1988, 224-26.
251 The youth department launched the Fellowship
of the Called: Minutes of the Sixth General Conference of The Wesleyan Church,
1988, 291.
252 PACE ’86 . . . focused on soul-winning: Ibid.,
286-87.
253 A special urban/ethnic study conference was
established: The Wesleyan Advocate, January 7, 1985, 16.
254 The Wesleyan Church in the Philippines
became an independent body: Minutes of the Sixth General Conference of The
Wesleyan Church, 1988, 44, 55-56, 105-06.
See also The Wesleyan Advocate, June
5, 1989, 19-20.
255 In the same year, the church’s presence was
established in West Germany: The Wesleyan Advocate, October 17, 1988, 5.
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259 The Standard Church . . . and the
Evangelical Christian Church: Minutes of the Tenth General Conference of The
Wesleyan Church, 2004, 158.
259 The general conference decided not to fill
his position: Minutes of the Seventh General Conference of The Wesleyan Church,
1992, 34, 98-99.
260 Also in 1996 the issue of church membership
was addressed: Minutes of the Eighth General Conference of The Wesleyan Church,
1996, 47, 52-54, 105-08. The
Membership Study Committee report is on pp. 354ff of the same Minutes.
261 In 1988 the church outside the North
American general conference launched 2,000 by 2000: Minutes of the Sixth
General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 1988, 272.
262 In Russia, Wesleyans joined other
evangelicals in the massive CoMission project: Wesleyans were among
eighty-three evangelical organizations and denominations who accepted the
invitation to teach morality and ethics in Russian schools. The invitation also opened the door for
evangelism and church planting, although with some restrictions and, as it turned
out, for a limited time. See Minutes of
the Eighth General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 1996, 312.
264 Indiana Wesleyan University . . . has become
the second-largest evangelical university in the United States: See the
university website, www.indwes.edu.
265 United Wesleyan College closed its doors in
1990: For a report, see The Wesleyan
Advocate, November 1989, 26.
265 The creation of World Hope International as
a compassionate ministries partner of The Wesleyan Church: The ties between
World Hope and The Wesleyan Church were recognized and celebrated at the 1996
General Conference. See Minutes of the Eighth general Conference of
The Wesleyan Church, 1996, 53.
266 Could World Hope help with the complicated
medical and organizational logistics: Correspondence from Jo Anne Lyon,
October 25, 2011.
268 The most challenging campaign has been the
fight against human trafficking: For more on World Hope’s on-going campaign
against human trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced labor, begging
networks, armed conflict, or body parts, see their website – www.worldhope.org.
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269 They would be on a Leadership Development
Journey: The Wesleyan Advocate, January 2002, 8; October 2002, 8-9.
271 In 2003 more than 8,000 attending the youth
convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, focused on the subject of servanthood:
Minutes of the Tenth General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 2004, 238.
272 Earle Wilson retired in 2008 after twenty-four
years as a general superintendent: Minutes of the Eleventh General Conference
of The Wesleyan Church, 2008, 39, 193.
272 Jo Anne Lyon became a general superintendent
of The Wesleyan Church: Ibid., 42.
274 A denominational Center for Women in Ministry
was established: Official launch was April 11, 2007. The organizational meeting of the Board of
Directors was held September 10-11 of that year.
276 12Stone Church: As calculated by Outreach Magazine, September 15, 2010
and September 15, 2011.
276 newhope
church . . . is also one of the nation’s fastest-growing churches: Ibid.
277 World Missions became Global Partners:
Minutes of the Eleventh General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 2008, 38-39,
166.
277 Caribbean Wesleyans achieved full general
conference status: Minutes of the
Tenth General Conference of The Wesleyan Church, 2004, 43-44, 48, 99-100.
The ceremony of induction is in the same Minutes,
pp. 270-77.
278 During this period the Wesleyan-sponsored
radio program, The Wesleyan Hour, would also end: Wesleyan Life¸ Summer 2008, 8.
278 By the fall of 2009 The Wesleyan Church had
its own denominational seminary: Wesleyan Life, Summer 2009, 31.
279 A new headquarters building was constructed:
The Wesleyan Advocate, April 2004, 5-7.
280 In 2010 the general board approved a pilot
program: Minutes of the One Hundred Sixteenth Session of the General Board of
The Wesleyan Church, May 4-5, 2010, 510-11.
282 Billy Graham once told a Wesleyan
congregation: Old Fort Wesleyan Church, Old Fort, North Carolina. The church is near his home in Montreat,
North Carolina.