USA > Indiana > Historical data and life sketches of the deceased ministers of the Indiana Conference of the Evangelical Association, 1835 to 1915, Volume I > Part 32
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In 1912 the General Conference officers of the United Brethren Church, residing in Dayton, were introduced to Conference in a body, whereupon Dr. Funk, publisher, and Colonel Cowden ad- dressed Conference in a fraternal manner. The chairman re- sponded to the address in a very befitting manner.
The following suitable resolutions were read and adopted :
Whereas, The General Conference officers of the United Breth- ren Church, resident in Dayton, O., have visited our Conference in a body, and have thus manifested a most affectionate fraternal and Christian spirit, to which Dr. Funk, their spokesman, and Colonel Cowden have given voice in most felicitous addresses ; therefore
Resolved, (1) That we greatly rejoice in this unusual occur- rence, which portends a constantly increasing spirit of unity and fraternity among the followers of Him who prayed that we should be one in order that the world might believe.
(2) That we rejoice in the continued prosperity of the United Brethren in Christ, in all their interests and enterprises,
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and sincerely wish them an ever enlarging sphere of influence and usefulness.
(3) That we heartily reciprocate this fraternal spirit and earnestly pray that the spiritual descendants of Philip Otterbein and of Jacob Albright, one in doctrine, one in spirit, one in method, one in polity, practically contemporaneous in history, may more and more foster and promote the spirit of unity and co-operation which is so essential to the highest realization of God's purpose for His church in the world.
In 1915, the Reverends E. J. Maupin, Willard Pell, E. E. DeWitt and O. A. Trabue, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, rep- resenting a fraternal delegation from the North Indiana Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, were introduced to Con- ference.
Dr. Trabue conveyed the greetings of said Conference now in session at Auburn, Indiana. The chairman responded in a few well-chosen remarks.
The following resolution was then adopted :
Inasmuch, As the Committee on Resolutions will not be able to report concerning the visit of the fraternal delegation of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to this Conference in the presence of these visiting brethren; there- fore be it
Resolved, That we, as a Conference, greatly appreciate the spirit manifested by this fraternal visitation. That we have lis- tened with pleasure to the fraternal address of their spokesman, Dr. Trabue, and that we respectfully request him to convey the greetings of this Conference to the Northern Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
A DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
At the session, held in 1897, the following holiness resolution was adopted :
Whereas, The subject of Holiness has been discussed and con- sidered on this Conference floor, and
Whereas, There has arisen a difference of opinion regarding whether or not sanctification is a second work of God in the heart; therefore
Resolved, That we, as members of the Indiana Conference, will stand by the doctrine of holiness as taught by our church fa- thers and as has been explained by our Senior Bishop, J. J. Esher, on this Conference floor, viz., "That entire sanctification is not to
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be considered as a second work, distinct from regeneration, but as an advanced and higher degree of the believer's state of grace, and in the divine life into which he enters in regeneration, where- by he is made a partaker of the divine nature and the divine life, and becomes a temple of the Holy Ghost, by whom he is sealed unto Christ and the communion of his saints, and who dwells in him as the earnest of his inheritance here, in the kingdom of grace, and finally in the kingdom of glory, and by whose gracious work in him he is cleansed from all sin and perfected in the love of God, to keep the commandments of God, and to a constantly increasing growth in divine knowledge, spiritual strength, fruitfulness in good works, and blessedness of this state of grace, all of which has its beginning in regeneration, whereby its elements and potency are implanted in the heart of the regenerate, or the child of God, and to the perfection whereof the child of God attains by walk- ing in the light of God's truth, and by the faith of Jesus Christ. Entire sanctification, then, is not a second and separate work from regeneration, but, rather, the continuation of our renewal and perfection in Christ by one and the same gracious work of the Holy Spirit."
Reminiscences.
BY D. S. OAKES AND OTHERS
In the early days of the Conference, two of the great pioneers from another Conference, and who were now well along in years, were to preach at one of the sessions. These great men from abroad were to be an inspiration and pattern to the young, in- experienced men that formed this new Conference. But, alas! both of them were so badly brushed that no one knew just what they wanted to say! This was an encouragement to the young and timid men of the Conference!
Bishop Jos. Long was not only noted for his extraordinary profundity, eloquence and unction, but, also, for a peculiar brusque- ness of speech which not only caused some to fear him, but, also, sometimes caused himself deep regret. At the Conference ses- sion, held at East Germantown, in 1862, a resolution was passed, requiring the Bishop to go to a certain place to try to effect the ad- justment of a very unpleasant and complicated affair. The Bishop demurred, but the Conference was inflexible. When he saw the inevitable he impulsively exclaimed, "Da möcht' der Hund Bischof sein" (Here the dog might be Bishop). The inconsiderate and
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uncouth expression struck the Conference with manifest astonish- ment, mingled with disapproval, which, of course, the Bishop ob- served, and he realized the impropriety of his undignified exclama- tion. At noon one of the Presiding Elders, boarding at the same place with the Bishop, having occasion to go up-stairs, was aston- ished to find the Bishop sitting on one of the steps of the stair- way with deeply bowed head. He asked: "Ei, Bischof, was machst du da?" (Why, Bishop, what are you doing here?). The reply was : "Ich bin am Busse tun" (I am repenting) .
A certain well-meaning brother in the Conference was dis- posed to have something to say, whether pertinent or otherwise, upon every subject coming before the Conference. It tried the Bishop's patience. One day this good brother again arose, with- out really having anything to say to the point, and began some- what hesitatingly, when the Bishop, adjusting his wig, looked out from beneath his massive eyebrows, said, "Brother, if you don't know anything to say, keep still." This same brother, on an- other occasion, having left the Conference room, returned just as the "ayes" on some motion were being called. Without knowing at all what was pending, he responded with a voluminous "Ja" (Aye). The Bishop looked at him somewhat humorously and asked, "Brother, what did you vote for?" The brother was non- plussed, but not suppressed, and the Conference was amused.
At the Conference of 1865 it was the privilege of D. S. Oakes to share the Bishop's place of entertainment at Dr. B.'s. The doc- tor was very partial to "secret orders," and the Bishop was equally averse. On Sabbath morning the Bishop rose early and, taking his seat in the family sitting-room, was intently studying his Bible, preparatory for his ordination sermon of the day. As soon as the doctor came in he began a strong advocacy of a certain order. The Bishop answered in monosyllables. This was continued until time for family worship. After prayer the doctor again began and resumed his fusillade after they were seated at the breakfast table. Finally the Bishop said very calmly, "Doctor, if I were not afraid of offending you, I would like to say something." "Oh, no, no," said the doctor, in his most suave manner, "you will not offend me at all." "Well," said the Bishop, sternly, "all morning you have been annoying me with your talk about your orders, and you know I have to preach today. I believe it is of the devil. The doctor was most effectually squelched.
D. S. Oakes, in speaking of old pioneer workers, their guile- lessness and unselfishness in their labors with one another for the Master, cites two cases: "Rev. B. was a college graduate and a
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man of courteous manner and gentlemanly bearing. On a certain field of labor, which he served, lived a Brother M., who was illit- erate and who harbored an innate antipathy to the preachers, espe- cially if he was solicited to contribute for any benevolent or re- ligious cause. After Rev. B. had left the work his successor, one day conversing with M., in some way mentioned Rev. B.'s name, whereupon he was greeted with, "Huh! B. don't know as much as a last year's bird's-nest." As a contrast to the above, Bro. Oakes cited a case of a brother who was three years under his pastorate, who called himself "Joe," and by the people was generally called "Honest Joe." He came out of "Babel," as he himself often said, and thanked God publicly that he came to the light. He was con- verted and joined the church some time in the '40's. O. says, "One day he brought me a load of hay ; as he was driving in, a neighbor, an old and prominent citizen, came across the way to look at it. I remarked, 'That is good hay, Mr. I.' He replied, 'If Joe says so it is.' I felt proud of my rural parishioner. His regular sub- scription at the annual renewal of their missionary auxiliary was ten dollars, besides his frequent special contributions for that pur- pose, and yet his farm consisted of but 40 acres. One day I drove out to Joe's house, and while there he asked me if I knew of any- one wanting to buy a good young cow. I said, 'Yes, Brother H. has just lost his cow.' The H. family were poor members of our church in town. Joe looked queer and shrugged his shoulders. I was surprised until he said, in his quaint drawl, 'Yes, I don't like to let H. have her, for I don't like to charge him full value, since he is a poor man, and this is not my cow, but the Lord's, and I don't like to sell her under value.' He then told me how the dam of this cow, when a calf had sickened and he had promised the Lord if he would spare the dam for the calf's sake, he would raise the calf for him." He also told me of an experience he once had with a fine calf which was a gift to the Lord. "One day the butcher came to buy it. He wanted seven dollars for it, but the butcher said he would give but six; so he let him take it. But no sooner was the butcher gone than the devil came and said, 'Ah, ha, Joe, if that had been your calf you would have stuck for your seven dollars, but since it was the Lord's, and didn't affect your pocket-book, you let it go.' 'But,' said Joe, 'I soon got ahead of the old fellow there. I reached into my pocket and put another dollar to it. So now I want full price for this cow.'" Joe also had an orchard in which one tree was the Lord's, and all the pro- ceeds of it that could be disposed of went for some special religious purpose. It was a remarkable fact, observed by many and by me,
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that one year, while all the orchards between B. and M., a dis- tance of fifteen miles, were nearly without fruit, Joe's orchard, the Lord's tree included, was loaded.
D. S. Oakes once related a circumstance about as follows : At a revival, held in Eastern Indiana, a big sinner, possessing a deep voice, came to the altar with other penitents. He bawled out loudly for mercy. But it was soon discovered that he was feigning penitence. The preacher then bowed in prayer, imploring God to save the sincere penitent, and then he asked the Lord to have pity upon this big, bawling bullfrog. This stopped his bawling and mockery. After this he was known as "big bullfrog" in this community.
At the Conference session in Louisville, Ky., in 1898, a witty remark fell from the presiding Bishop. A young brother, who, upon the discussion of some subject, arose and stood in the main aisle, close to the Bishop, said, "I fail to have an understanding," and then hesitated, when, suddenly, the Bishop saw his good-sized feet, said, "It appears to me you have considerable understanding."
At a revival meeting, conducted in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Bippus, Ind., the historian assisted the Methodist Epis- copal pastor. One evening, when the pastor gave the invitation for sinners to bow at the altar, two young men came forward from the rear of the church, knelt at the altar, then, putting their hands before their faces, looked at each other between their fingers and grinned. This was seen by the brother assisting, who determined that it was meant for pure mockery, or a huge joke. Having so informed the pastor, who rather doubted their insin- cerity, he asked a United Brethren class-leader to talk law and Gospel to one, while he would attend to the other. The mockers grew uncomfortable and wished themselves away. But there was no getting away, as both were constantly spoken to with great earnestness to the close of the meeting. When the meeting was out they both broke for the door. The next morning it was learned that the saloon-keeper of the village had dared them out to the altar on a wager of $5.00 and all the beer they wanted to drink that night. They brought evidence to the saloon-keeper that they were at the altar and got their money and beer. Then the saloon- keeper dared them to repeat the act upon a second wager. But they would not for any money or beer. They had their fill of go- ing to the altar. They confessed they had a hot time at the altar and would not venture any more such experiences and be talked to as they were that night.
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An eccentric Brother M. in the city of K. was a general "knocker." He was bitter against organs in church, claiming that the very devil lives in them. He found great fault with preachers who wore whiskers or a mustache. He said one time that preachers with a mustache remind him of a man who tried to swallow a whole fox and could not get the tail down. He was a staunch Democrat, and, having little use for a Republican, when his wife died he carefully chose pall-bearers of his party, but after the funeral was to discover that he had had one Republican !
In '87, P. E. Berger found it necessary to locate, and, there- fore, resigned his office soon after Conference. H. Arlen, who had been appointed to Van Wert, was elected in his place. Some- one would have to be sent to Van Wert, and word came to S. H. Baumgartner from his Presiding Elder that in all probability he would have to move to Van Wert. The people at West Point, now Bippus, where B. was stationed, strenuously resisted, and, moreover, the elder instructed him to wait for more definite in- formation. One card after another came, bringing the same in- telligence. After a five weeks' suspense word was received to get ready to move to Van Wert. Carpets that had been carefully tacked down were just ready to be taken up, when, lo, a telegram came, saying, "You need not move; J. H. Evans will go to Van Wert." It was, indeed, a tedious trial for one just starting out, but a good brother consolingly allowed, "If Brother B. and his wife are gold, they will endure the test"!
General Conference Recommendations
The Indiana Conference has ever been in the forefront in the great work of the church, and has manifested it by active interest in the deliberations of the General Conference. Among the many recommendations that she presented these seem to be of most vital concern :
1854. That the basis of ministerial representation to Gen- eral Conference be one for every seven ministers in the itinerancy instead of one to four, as had been the case heretofore, and that the exhorter's term of office be two years, as is the case of class -. leaders.
1899. That a suitable Quarterly Conference record be pub- lished, wherein the proceedings of the Quarterly Conferences may: be properly and uniformly recorded.
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1907. The Conference voted against the removal of the time limit by a vote of 62 to 9.
1915. Again the Conference, this time unanimously, voted against the removal of the time limit.
LAY DELEGATES TO GENERAL CONFERENCE
Inasmuch as the present law of electing nominees as candi- dates for lay delegates to General Conference (Discipline, para- graph No. 86, page 59) is somewhat cumbersome to carry out, and does not always result in the election of the best and most effi- cient men for lay delegates to General Conference, from the fact that many Quarterly Conferences are unfamiliar with the needs of the church and the ability of men on the different fields; there- fore
Resolved, That we recommend that the present law shall be so amended as to read, "The lay delegates to General Conference shall be elected from among the lay delegates and alternates in the Annual Conference at the annual session immediately preceding the session of the General Conference," thus assuring as lay dele- gates to the General Conference men who have at least some ex- perience in Conference work, and thus also do away with the necessity of electing the nominees for candidates to Annual Con- ference by the Quarterly Conference members, as now prescribed.
Resolved, further, That the secretary of each Annual Confer- ence shall provide printed ballots with the names of such dele- gates and alternates at the time of election of lay delegates to Gen- eral Conference, from which number the members of Annual Con- ference shall elect the required number of lay delegates and alter- nates to General Conference.
REVISION OF CHURCH HYMNAL
Since it is very essential that every church has and use in the public worship a hymnal peculiarly her own, and believing that the Evangelical Hymnal should hold such a place in our denomination, but being convinced that its revision would make it even a greater blessing than it is now; be it
Resolved, That the Indiana Conference delegates to General Conference be instructed to petition that body for an action which will at once effect such revision.
CONCERNING GRADUATES
Resolved, That our delegates to the coming General Confer- ence be instructed to introduce and support the following rec- ommendation from the Indiana Conference:
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Whereas, North-Western College and the Evangelical Theo- logical Seminary, of Naperville, Illinois, and Schuylkill Seminary, of Reading, Pa., are Evangelical institutions, founded by Evangel- icals, for Evangelicals, in charge of competent, loyal Evangelicals; and
Whereas, The requirement that students of these institutions pass the academic and theological studies, provided by the Confer- ence Examining Boards, imposes heavy and needless burdens upon such candidates for ministerial orders who have already completed such studies in the regular curriculum of these schools; and
Whereas, Such requirement serves practically to discount the work of our own institutions of learning,
Therefore, Resolved, That we recommend-
1. That there be framed and included in the Discipline of the Evangelical Association, a provision which shall exempt stu- dents of our educational institutions from examinations in any and all studies properly completed in these institutions.
2. That in order to claim such exemption the candidates must present proper certificates from these schools, attesting the fact that they have passed examination in the studies mentioned.
3. That certificates and diplomas from any other institu- tions, recognized as of equal rank with the above mentioned schools, may be accepted as evidence of the scholarship of the candidate.
4. That any licentiate who has completed the full course of study in the Evangelical Theological Seminary and has passed the examinations entitling him to a diploma from that institu- tion, shall be excused from examination in all the biblical and theological studies in the Conference courses.
5. That the General Conference shall appoint a commission which shall formulate a uniform test as to the licentiate's per- sonal attitude to the doctrines and faith of the Evangelical Asso- ciation.
Lay Delegation to Annual Conference.
The Conference session of 1909 was privileged to have the presence of lay delegates. It was an innovation that was hearti- ly welcomed and more thoroughly appreciated as the years went by. At the session, held in 1910, the lay delegates presented the following resolution that was signed by all of them :
To the members of the Indiana Conference: "We, the lay members of your Conference, desire to express our appreciation
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of the cordiality, courtesy and love shown us while among you during this session, and to assure you that the enlarged under- standing of the Pastors' and Presiding Elders' duties and diffi- culties that has come to us during this session, relation shall be the means of stimulating us to a still closer co-operation in our respective societies. We also desire to call upon our lay mem- bers as a whole to aid with their means, their prayers, and in every possible way the work of their Pastors and Presiding El- ders. Particularly do we feel that we should do all that we can to bring about the payment of a commensurate compensation to the men who so self-sacrificingly serve their God and us, and, further, that we should urge the hearty support of our lay mem- bers to every effort of their Pastors and Presiding Elders in rais- ing funds for the objects of our Conference, the church at large and God's Kingdom in general."
In 1911 the lay delegates presented the following resolution with reference to the reunion of the spiritual sons of Albright:
As representatives of the lay members of the Indiana Con- ference, we, the undersigned lay delegates in attendance at this the fifty-ninth session, desire to express our joy at the prelim- inary steps which have been taken to bring about the union of the Evangelical Association and the United Evangelical Church. We believe this feeling is shared by the lay members generally, and sincerely hope and earnestly pray that in the providence of God this desirable object may be accomplished in the near future, and that it may truly be said that "we are not divided. All one body we, One in hope and doctrine, One in charity." F. H. Hersh, E. G. Eberhardt, J. E. May, Samuel Wise, Noah Barnhei- sel, E. A. Zerkel, N. C. Lehman, E. F. Kimmel, G. W. Frederick, L. Miller, Chas. B. Braitling, E. M. Ray, L. Katterhenry, G. Swartzlose.
At the session, held in 1912, the lay delegates offered the following resolutions :
We, the lay delegates in attendance at the sixtieth session of the Indiana Conference, desire to express our appreciation of the action taken at the last General Conference of the Evangeli- cal Association, held at Cleveland, Ohio, and hereby express our approval of the plan adopted for the care of disabled ministers and their families, and pledge our influence and support to this Superannuation Fund and recommend that the laity of the In- diana Conference respond liberally to this worthy cause.
After these resolutions were read the chairman addressed Conference in the interest of the superannuation fund in an in-
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teresting and effective manner. The address stirred the hearts of the people to such an extent that a number of the laymen in Conference assembled responded with liberal gifts for the sup- port of the superannuation fund, which were very greatly ap- preciated by the ministers of the Conference. (See Donations, Bequests, etc.)
The following men have served as lay delegates: Elkhart District: Noah Barnheisel, of Akron, 3 times; Chas. Rhodes, of Bremen, 3 times; G. W. Frederick, of Elkhart, 7 times; Noah C. Lehman, of South Bend, Mizpah, 3 times; W. S. Easterday, of Culver, 4 times; Geo. Long, of South Bend, 1st, 4 times; D. L. Speicher, of Urbana, 3 times; Geo. Schafer, of Bunker Hill, as alternate, 1 time. Evansville District: Chas. Braitling, of Louisville, Zion, 3 times; Lenhart Miller, of Carmi, 3 times; G. Schwartzlose, of West Salem, 2 times; Chas. Wienand, of Terre Taute, 1 time; Louis Katterhenry, alternate, of Huntingburg, 1 time; O. Unbehauen, alternate, of Mt. Carmel, 1 time. Ft. Wayne District: L. E. Gordon, of Huntington, 2 times; Wm. Mertz, of Ft. Wayne, 5 times; E. M. Ray, of Berne, 7 times; E. A. Zerkle, of Waterloo, 3 times; Frank Hersh, of Avilla, as alternate, 2 times; as delegate, 4 times; Fred Stedcke, of Celina Circuit, 3 times; W. B. Johnson, of St. Peter's, 1 time. Indianapolis Dis- trict : E. G. Eberhardt, of Indianapolis, 1st, 3 times; E. F. Kim- mel, of Dayton, Wayne Ave., 3 times; D. E. Speicher, of Ur- bana, 2 times; Sam Wise, of Bunker Hill, 2 times; W. H. H. Ecki, of Dayton, Wayne Ave., 4 times; Wm. Herman, of Louis- ville, Zion, 4 times; W. L. Miller, of Carmi, 4 times; C. A. New- man, of Olney, 4 times; John May, as alternate, of Ridgeville, 1 time; L. D. Rush, as alternate, of Logansport, 1 time. Those who have been elected as alternates, but have not as yet attended a Conference session in this capacity, are: Elkhart District: J. F. Kumler, of Rochester; Chas. L. Reinoehl, of South Bend, Miz- pah; A. G. Winey, of Elkhart, 1st; Chas. Rhodes, of Bremen; J. W. Weaver, of Kokomo; H. Weiss, of Mishawaka. Evansville District: D. Finkbeiner, of Marshall; Leo Herman, of Evans- ville. Ft. Wayne District: Mm. Maetzner, of Portland Circuit; G. W. Sparks, of Waterloo; J. Trachsel, of Bippus; Dr. H. W. Cook, of Hicksville; J. D. Leininger, of Huntington; W. D. Maines, of Kendallville. Indianapolis District: E. Pfauhl, of Dayton, 1st; P. W. Soltau, of Indianapolis, Grace; E. G. Ender- line, of Indianapolis, Grace; A. Kramer, of Indianapolis, 1st; Ed. Seitz, of Mt. Carmel.
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