Our heroes

Front matter

OUR- HEROES

M

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CHAPTER I. Genesis of the United Brethren Church

It is difficult to find the source of any river. Eivulets run toward a thousand valleys, and the spring in which the remote seems to have its birth may have unseen streams reaching to fardistant fountains. The source of every river is in the clouds; their source is in the ocean, and the ocean a fountain because of the attraction of the sun.

Equally difficult is it to find the sources, from the human side, of those great religious movements which have resulted, in one form or another, in positive benefit to the church of God and the general uplift of the race.

The origin of United Brethrenism may be traced to those sources in all ages and among all religions where it has been insisted upon that spirit is more than form, and that character is more than ceremony* Elements from various sources contributed to the early development of the denomination. Philip William Otterbein, its founder, was a direct descendant of the

Reformation and the great Moravian revival. John George Pfrimnier was of Huguenot devanous scent. John Calvin McNauiar

sources in illustrated those traits of Christian

Development ■, -. . .

heroism and missionary power represented by the Scottish yeomanry; and the ancestry of John Collins Bright reaches back to the Puritan revolution in England.

Otterbein was born in the ancient and picturesque little city of Dillenburg, Germany, on the fourth day of June, 1726. A castle crowning the summit of a hill overlooking the city is the birthplace of an illustrious line of princes, including "William the Silent/' the hero of the Dutch republic. These two names have given that little city its title to immortality.

The Otterbein home was one where religion reigned, where high culture shed its refining influences, where intelligent common sense guided day after day, where mutual helpfulness was inculcated, and where mutual happiness was the constant aim. The example of a scholarly father was ever before the children, and the influence of a cultured mother was always felt ; but, above all, was a spirituality that never waned. Such an atmosphere was favorable to scholarship and religion, and it is not surprising that out of that home came great scholars and great Christians.

At an early age Otterbein entered college at Herborn, an institution of the German Reformed Church, of which he was a member and in which his father was an honored minister. Both in his home and college life he breathed a decidedly Protestant atmosphere. Here the Reformed branch of Protestantism had been firmly established during the period of Home and th Reformation. Not far away

College Life *

^ere the battle-grounds of Luther and Zwingli and Calvin. These conditions were both a preparation and prophecy of no ordinary or uncertain kind.

When twenty-three years of age, young Otterbein was ordained to the gospel ministry. Here it may be noted that the ordination of ministers in the church which he subsequently founded is secured in regular line from the German Reformed Church — a line which is unbroken as far back as history furnishes any records. The Church may therefore take a little pride in claiming one of the purest and most churchly ancestries in ordination of which history giyes a record.

Early in his ministerial life, Otterbein heard the divine call through his church to dedicate his life to evangelism in America. His prompt obedience to the call furnishes a noble example Call te of heroic courage and self-sacrifice.

Missionary it meant the severance of the dearest earthly ties, the turning away from prospects of rich and honor positions, to face the exposures and dangers of a sea voyage, and, if safely landed, the perils and privations incident to missionary work in a new and unsubdued country.

In the meantime, God was preparing the widowed mother for the ordeal of separation.

Had she not already said, "My William will have to be a missionary"? We may wonder if she had any presentiment that her son would plant a church which would become one of the most spiritual and the most admirable in spirit and polity in all Christendom. It is certain she died without the sight, and, it is probable, without the imagination of these coming glories to be started by her distinguished son.

When the time for his departure came and she realized that it was to be a last kiss, a last look, the venerable, saintly mother rushed to her closet and prayed for added grace to make the sacrifice. On her return, she clasped the hand of her devoted son in hers, and, pressing it to her lips, said, "Go; the Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord cause his face to shine upon thee, and with much grace direct thy steps. On earth I may see thy face no more, but go." With what strange and beautiful grace can a mother's love bind its sacrifice to the altar.

Mr. Otterbein came to America in 1752. It

was in the early history of the full group of the

original thirteen colonies, a quarter of a century

before the era of independence.

Arrival in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, w T as the

America " •* 7

scene of his first labors, then a German community of two thousand inhabitants. The six years which followed were fruitful of toils, trials, and conflicts, but also of great spiritual blessings.

The time in which United Brethrenism took its rise demanded a practical theology and a religion of experience. Theory enough there was, but it was cold and dead. During the third year of Otterbein's ministry at Lancaster he was led into an experience which became the "key to his after life." He had preached a great sermon on repentance and faith, when an inquirer came to him for spiritual advice. His only reply was, "My friend, advice is scarce with me to-day." He then sought a secret place of prayer, and

ceased not his struggle until he Exp^rTence obtained the peace and joy of a

conscious salvation. There his spirit came into vital, living touch with the risen Christ, and the darkness and unrest which had hitherto oppressed him fled away. He now takes his place in that heroic company of contemporaries whose lives were a protest against indifferentism, irreligion, and high churchism through whom there came back to the ecclesiastical world, scriptural spirituality, scriptural living, and a simple and scriptural ecclesiasticism. The spirit of the new awakening was contagious. Ministers of other denominations entered into a like experience. The Pentecost and birth of the denomination occurred at Isaac Long's barn near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1767. "The meeting," says Dr. 0. I. B. Brane,

"was appropriately held on Whitonr Pentecost suntide, and the gathering of the

people and the character of the services were distinctively pentecostal. People of high and low degree and representing almost every phase of belief known to the commonwealth of Israel, came from far and near and sat under the spell of gospel unity in that meeting. Kev. Martin Boehm, of the Mennonite Church, was the Peter of the occasion, and preached with such unction and power that souls were swayed like trees in the grasp of a mighty tempest; and when the sermon closed on the high tide of spiritual peace and power, Otterbein threw his arms about the preacher before he had time to resume his seat, and tenderly said, 'We are brethren.' Scores of souls were saved that day, and hundreds wept for joy and praised God aloud."

These two fathers, with George Adam Geeting, an early convert, became leaders in a great revival movement. A distinguished Methodist bishop has said: "If the message of Otterbein had been in the English instead of the German language, he would have been the logical leader of the general evangelical movement in America" ; a movement which saved the new republic to evangelical Christianity and the religion of the Bible.

Nothing could discourage or intimidate those knights errant of the new chivalry. They were mighty men in preaching, and still more mighty in prayer. They exercised a weird thTFaThers fascination and were great evangelists. One of the books we need most is the true story of United Brethren evangelism. That story is at present scattered through local histories, or is perishing for lack of care, or has already perished. But even now

Andrew Zelt.er

John G. Pfkimmer

Jacob Batjxtjs

Geo. Benedum an organizing mind could shape these scattered materials into a narrative of surpassing power and beauty. He must be a chilly United Brethren and a frosty American who can hear the names of these heroes without a thrill of pride and gratitude. They must be counted among the creators of the American nation. "The Germans/' says Dr. A. W. Drury, "largely from Switzerland and the Palatinate, action ° f were to have a place scarcely second to that of the preponderating English population in the civil and religious history of the United States. The Christian missionary among them, therefore, was a builder of destiny." While Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Jay, and Hamilton were laying the foundations of government, and building up a system of free institutions, these heroes of the Cross were devoting themselves assiduously to the culture of the nation's heart. It is of exceeding interest to note the divine methods of training and enlisting human agencies in carrying out His purposes. In the long vista of centuries intervening since the days of the apostles a few men have been called to walk apart with God in special training for these heroic tasks. Otterbein was preeminently of this select class. "His labors were begun with a sublime unconsciousness of the part that was to be performed, but he was not permitted to continue long without a conscious participation in a divine plan." Thirty-three years intervened between the birth of the Church and its official naming at the conference of 1800, which convened at the home of Peter Kemp in Frederick County, Maryland. During this period the founders "unconsciously laid the lines of organized church life; and when they came together in that conference a thousand influences and associations lifted up their voices and said, 'Let this child of Providence be christened.' "

Some one has very wisely said, "We can understand human history aright only as we come to know that it is His history." It is from this point of view that the origin and growth of the United Brethren Church can be correctly interpreted and appreciated. The founoriJ^ cntlal der was not permitted to close his life work without the satisfying prevision of abiding results. A short time before his death, in conversation with two of his close personal friends, Christian Newcomer and Jacob Baulus, he remarked, "The Lord has been pleased graciously to satisfy me fully that the work will abide." This is to-day one of the most cherished convictions of every loyal United Brethren.

In the perspective of a century Otterbein rounds out with still increasing power, symmetry, and grandeur of character. His work abides and his personality abides with it. His convictions were deep and powerful ; a preacher Life of whose words stirred the multitudes

p* we^aifd as win ds stir the ocean, but who is Beauty himself calm, ruling the storm he

had raised. In the gentleness of his nature he may be likened to Melancthon. He was more reserved than Luther and more genial than Calvin. His kindness of heart, his amiability of temper and affability of demeanor made him everywhere a welcome guest. Eev. George Lancing Taylor, in an ode written in 1875, speaks of Otterbein as

"Scholar, apostle, and saint, by Asbury loved as a

brother; Sage in counsel, and mighty in prayer as Elijah on

Garmel; Founder and head of a people, a godly, fraternal

communion."

His death is an exceptional memory. It set a seal upon a strangely noble life, and inspired with new force the gospel which he lived and proclaimed. On the eve of his departure, November 17, 1813, with heaven written upon his face, he said, "Jesus, Jesus, I die, but thou livest, and soon I shall live with thee." To his friends he exultingly whispered: "The conflict is over and past. I begin to feel an unspeakable fullness of love and peace divine; lay my head upon my pillow and be still." "Stillness reigned in the chamber of death; no, not of death — the chariot of Israel had come." His body sleeps beside the church in Baltimore, Md., that bears his name.

CHAPTER II. The Saint Paul of the Church

The history of the heroes of the Cross of the United Brethren Church in America begins with a trio of illustrious characters — Otterbein, Boehni, and Geeting. Of their talents and ministerial graces a discriminating cotemporary and colaborer, who knew them well, gives the following sketch :

"Otterbein was argumentative, eloquent, and often terrible. In the elucidation of Scripture he was very clear and full, few being his equal."

"Boehm was the plain, open, and frank expounder of God's Word, being all animation, all life; often irresistible, like a mighty current, carrying his hearers into deep water."

"Geeting was like a spring sun rising on a frost-silvered forest, gradually affording more heat, more light, until you could hear, as it were, the crackling in the forest and the icy crust beginning to melt and fall away, and like a drizzling shower ending in a clear and joyous day. He was the St. John of the Clover Leaf."

The death of these three leaders marked the close of the first great period in our history, the period of origins and organization. It was followed by a period of expansion and by gradual transformation and development. If these three represent the "inner circle" of the apostolic college, then Christian Newcomer, the fourth in order, represents the great apostle of the Gentiles in missionary zeal and evangelistic endeavor. He was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1749, three years before Mr. Otterbein arrived in America. His father was a

native of Switzerland, having emi- Eariy Life grated to America in his childhood

with his parents. The discipline of young Newcomer's humble home inured him to a life of toil and enabled him to welcome the rough tasks which in the divine plan he was to meet later in life. He was peculiarly fitted both by nature and grace, not only for the work of a pioneer missionary, but to be a master spirit among the pioneers. His father was a carpenter by trade, which trade the son learned and pursued. So it is said of the world's first and greatest Missionary, whose life and work among men marks the beginning of the truly heroic age, "He was a carpenter, and the son of a carpenter."

When about seventeen years of age, Mr. Newcomer became deeply interested in the matter of his personal salvation. His parents were both pious members of the Mennonite Society, "in which were still to be found remains of that ardent piety which two hundred years before had blazed up gloriously under the labors of Menno Simonis." Their piety and devotion had made a deep impression upon his mind. "Often," said he, "I saw them kneeling together in silent prayer. " An incident which shows the strong trend of his conviction and feelings at this time is thus related : "I remember once being in the Early field at work, when the grace of

Religious God wrought such powerful con-

viction in my heart that I went dow T n on my knees in a hollow place in the field, crying to the Lord and saying, 'O thou blessed Savior, I will cheerfully believe in thee, for thou art my Redeemer, and I am the purchase of thy most precious blood." The various experiences through w T hich he passed before fully yielding himself to God were similar to those of James Chalmers, of missionary fame. Twice he had been led into the light, and as many times had fallen back into the darkness, all of which he attributed to his disobedience to the will of God respecting his life work. Finally, after fleeing from duty for several years, the hand of sore affliction is placed upon him, and one night, in a secret place of prayer, there wrestled with him the angel of the covenant until the day was dawning, when he fully surrendered his will to God, and was made a crown prince.

About that time, Mr. Newcomer became acquainted with Otterbein and Geeting, and, finding the doctrines they preached in such perfect harmony with his own expepr^dencf rience, he joined himself to them and to their society. He was peculiarly a child of the hour, and his life was as truly providential in its relation to the formative period of his denomination as was that of Mr.

Asbury to the church he helped to found in America.

He had, in a conspicuous degree, the three qualities which Emerson has said "attract the reverence of mankind — disinterestedness, practical power, and courage." His disinterestedness is shown in his habitual sacrifice of those things which most men count dear unto themselves. This is apparent in every panties of s ^- e p £ j^ s career. There is not

Character r

a single sentence in his journal (which covers the last thirty-five years of his missionary work), or in the comment of a cotemporary, that in the remotest way suggests that he ever put self before the interests of the kingdom of Christ. Not since the apostolic age has the church produced a grander illustration of the power of the gospel to subdue human selfishness and to make Jesus Christ supreme in the life. He belongs to the magnificent army of those who counted not their lives dear unto themselves that they might win souls to Christ. For fifty-three years he was in the saddle almost constantly, bearing the message of salvation to multitudes in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and once visiting Canada.

Newcomer was a born bishop. After the death of Otterbein, Boehm, and Geeting, the infant Church instinctively turned to him as its leader. He was elected active bishop in 1813, again elected bishop in 1814, and with the formation of the General Conference in 1815 he was five times successively reelected. His practical power is shown in the manner in which he organized and controlled the new character ' "societies," "Under his influence, largely, the so-called 'unsectarian' were to become a denomination, and the so-called 'society' was more fully to develop the character of a church." Up until this time there had been noi definite form of government for the little bands of worshipers which had now begun to grow and develop. Organization, and that at once, became an imperative necessity, and Bishop Newcomer, who> was brought to the kingdom for such a time, proved himself equal to the task. Opposition to his work manifested itself in local communities, in annual conferences, even in the General Conference sessions ; but his enlarged view, single aim, and unremitted effort more and more prevailed. He organizer formed classes, and with his own

hands stitched the first class-book and assisted in preparing a manuscript discipline which is still preserved. Power and repose, velocity and steadiness of movement, intensity and equipoise are commingled wonderfully in this man with a, mission from God. He showed great tact in controlling and even subduing opposition. He was the first of the early fathers to gather missionary money in order to do more aggressive work. Bishop Newcomer is sometimes called, and properly so, "the refounder of the Church." "Humanly speaking," says his biographer, "had it not been for the tact and good sense and piety of this man of God, we might not, as a denomination, be in existence to-day."

In a very special sense, Bishop Newcomer was the father of the itinerant preaching system, to which the Church has adhered. He regarded it as an apostolic mode adapted to the circumstances of new and sparsely-settled districts. By his example he illustrated the tremendous effectiveness of the plan. Who can imagine what a failure United Brethrenism would have been in America if the itinerancy had not been established? Otterbein inaugurated it; Newcomer upheld it.

His moral courage is shown in the manner in which he bore the contumely and the reproach of the formalism and unbelief of his times and the opposition of his own people to his plans and progressive views, which he was convinced were in harmony with the purposes of God. His physical courage is shown in the manner in which he faced and subdued ignorant and brutal mobs. He was a hero of the strongest fiber. He was born to do and to dare. ThirtyspiHt^* eight times he crossed the Alle-

ghany Mountains. On these trips he passed through a thousand perils, yet these perils and escapes, which he forgot as soon as over, he referred to simply as the "pepper and salt" which gave zest to his further and greater efforts. Nothing could relax his energy or extinguish his zeal. It is said that he always kept a good horse, kept him in good condition, and when well mounted took but little account of heat, or cold, or distance. On he went, traveling at the rate of six thousand miles a year, until he almost died in his saddle. The secret of Newcomer's marvelous success lay in his love for souls, which developed into a passion that nothing could cool or conquer. No matter where he went or what were his surroundings, this ruling bent of his soul was manifest. His journeys often consumed whole days and nights, amid perils of robbers and wild beasts of the forest, often traveling a wiiole day with nothing to eat. Sometimes he was heard to say, when enduring

privations and facing seemingly to* souis insurmountable difficulties : "One

soul is worth more than the whole world. What if we risk our all, if we venture our lives to gain one soul for Jesus? If successful, we will be amply rewarded for all our toil. Let us go I"

Mr. Spayth, w r ho had the advantage of a personal acquaintance with him, says: "Often he w T as compelled to make forced rides, to expose his person in the most inclement season of the year and the stages of high water; but none of these things could check him in his course. The writer, w r hen traveling Susquehanna Circuit, in the year of 1812, in the depth of winter, all cold and snow, had a meeting in Berks County. While preaching, Brother Newcomer's tall figure made its appearance at the door. I beckoned to him to come to the stand, but, the room being crowded, he remained w T here he was, and, without leaving the door, closed the meeting with a very impressive exhortation, and sang and prayed. I pronounced the benediction. The audience made a move to leave. Now was Newcomer's time ; he shook hands with one and then with another, addressing some by name, exhorting all, young and old, with a voice and visage as spiritual and holy as if he had just come from the court of heaven. Many began to weep, and we had a gracious and powerful blessing. Thus often, when it was thought that he was far away, he would come upon meetings unexpectedly and unlooked for, but his coming was everywhere and always hailed with joy."

Bishop Newcomer was preeminently a man of prayer. Closely in this respect did he follow in the footsteps of his Lord. No part of his journal is of more thrilling interest than the numerous

entries in relation to his seasons of prayer Life prayer. Gnce he speaks of gaining

the summit of a mountain through much difficulty, where he erected an altar of prayer and offered up praises and thanksgiving to God. Then, after making supplications for all his brethren in the ministry, he implored the divine favor and protection on his further journey. Again, he is found kneeling on the banks of a swollen stream in central Ohio, pouring out his heart to God in thanksgiving for delivering him safely over.

No picture of this Church father has been handed down, but he is described as being tall in stature, of commanding figure, somewhat bent, with. Dantean eyebrows, overhanging eyes of a singularly penetrating sweetness when they looked at you. His very presence, like that of Thomas Guthrie, subdued the ignoble and base in those about him, and suggested better thoughts. While conducting a meeting in one of the most wicked towns in York County, Pennsylvania, and where some of his associates had previously suffered bodily injury at the hands of a mob, which opposed their work, the following incident occurred :

One afternoon several women came to the altar of prayer, one of whom was the wife of the leader of the opposition. A spy, who occupied a place at the window, hurriedly carried the news to the man, whoi was working in an oil mill not far away. He immediately dropped his work, and without coat or hat and with arms bare to the shoulders, came running like a demon. Mr. Newcomer said to the people, who wiTh^ien were trembling with fear, "Don't

be alarmed ; I '11 meet him." So he went to the door and greeted the man with the words, spoken in a gentle tone of voice, "I suppose you want your wife." "Yes," answered the man, whose countenance burned with anger, "and I will knock any man down who interferes in the matter." "Well, come right in," said Newcomer, "I '11 show you where she is." The man hesitated as he stepped inside the door, when Mr. Newcomer placed his hand upon his shoulder and escorted him down the aisle. They had made but a few steps when the man was seized with conviction, and, falling upon the floor, began to plead piteously for mercy. That man was Christian Grumbling, who subsequently became one of the pioneer missionaries in the territory now occupied by the Allegheny Conference.

Speaking of his conversion, Mr. Grumbling said : "Before we got far down the aisle, that old man's hand (referring to Newcomer) became too heavy for me to carry, and when I saw my wife down there praying, I fell right down by her side and cried, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner/ and that night wife and I were both gloriously saved."

In the summer of 1810 Mr. Newcomer made his first journey west of the Alleghanies. His previous missionary tours had extended westward as far as Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, which, like Antioch, had become a new center for the extension of the early miswe«t JoMrney sionary work of the Church. Here great revivals of religion occurred in 1803. The following entries appear in Newcomer's journal, bearing dates of November 10 and 11 of that year :

"November 10. Preached at John Bonnet's. I had not spoken long before some of my hearers fell to the floor. Others stood trembling, and cried so loud that my voice could not well be heard."

"On the 11th we had a meeting at Swopes, and here the power of God was displayed in a most marvelous manner. The whole congregation was moved, and seemed to wave like corn before a mighty wind. Lamentation and mourning were very general. Many were the wounded and slain. Some of the most stubborn sinners fell instantly before the power of God. The meeting continued the whole night, and some were enabled to rejoice in the pardoning love of God."

On the first of July, 1810, Newcomer pursued his journey westward from Mt. Pleasant. Somewhere on the summit of a mountain he knelt beside an altar which he had built of stone, where, Jacob-like, he saw the angels of God going up and coming down before him. Then reverently he arose and pursued his lonely and perilous way into the swamps and forests of Ohio. Frequently he was heard to remark while traveling through the Scioto and Miami valleys, "Oh, what a country this will be in a half century hence." How much greater prophet was he than President James Monroe, who, about the same time, made the famous, ludicrous prophecy, "Ohio will never become a habitable country." On this journey Mr. Newcomer attended the initial session of the Miami Conference, the second of the denomination, which convened in Boss County, Ohio, August 13 of that year. He reached his home in Pennsylvania, September 14, at which time he writes: "After being twelve weeks on my journey, I reached home this evening, and found my family well. Praise the Lord, O my soul, for all his goodness and mercy."

These annual missionary tours westward were continued for nineteen consecutive years, which included a journey of from 1,600 to 2,000 miles on horseback. In 1817 this veteran hero of the Cross made his first tour in the State of Indiana. The country was then a pathless wilderness. He was compelled to hire guides to conduct him through the forests. Reaching Clark County, he writes: "Bless the Lord. This morning I am well and determined by grace to do and suffer

his will. I am now in Clark Indiana County, Indiana, more than one

hundred miles from the State of Ohio." One hundred miles from Ohio was considered "far out West" in those days. It is difficult to realize that even seventy-five years ago Ohio was a State on the northern frontier or confines of Christian civilization. Illinois was the frontier State in the Middle West, and Missouri in the far South. Michigan and Arkansas were organized territories, but beyond these States was an unorganized and, most of it, unexplored wilderness and pathless desert, where the buffalo roamed at will and where the savage had his home.