LONG SLEEVES ON PREACHERS REPRIMANDED IN 1798
INTRODUCTION
This is a re-titled and slightly revised re-send of a message I first wrote and published on Friday, September 14, 2012. It was then titled "Why Can't We Be United." The facts and truths I endeavored to bring out in the original 2012 message are every bit as pertinent today as they were then.
TO GRAB YOUR ATTENTION -- here is a quotation from the original message, telling of how when "The Wesleyan Connection Conference" of 1798 met in Bristol England, "A FEW PREACHERS WERE FOUND GUILTY OF LONG SLEEVES, CROPPED HEADS, AND STRINGED SHOES (THE BUCKLES CAST AWAY!), AND SEVERELY REPRIMANDED . . ." OF ALL THINGS! -- Ministers in the English Wesleyan Connection were severely reprimanded for having "LONG SLEEVES, CROPPED HEADS (SHORT HAIR), AND STRINGED SHOES WITH THE BUCKLES CAST AWAY!"
Today, May 8, 2015, I re-send this, my retitled and slightly revised message of September 12, 2012, which was titled,
WHY CAN'T WE BE UNITED?
"O MY SOUL . . . BE NOT THOU UNITED. . ." (Genesis 49:6).
"O LORD. . . UNITE MY HEART" (Psalm 86:11).
Today during my time of prayer, I asked the question, "WHY CAN'T WE BE UNITED?" and I asked the Lord to show me THE MAIN reason why we can't be united.
First, I thought of all of the new electronic inventions that have come onto the scene in recent times: -- In the late 40s and during the 50s Television came, and with it came division from the Church of the Nazarene Church by those forming the Bible Missionary Church. Then, in the 1980s we entered the Computer and Internet Age, and with the plethora of these inventions have come more divisions in the Holiness Movement.
But divisions among the sanctified date back to the very earliest days of the Church -- a la the division of Paul and Barnabas. "Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God." (Acts 15:37-40). THE ISSUE: -- QUALIFICATION TO EVANGELIZE VS. FAMILY LOVE. What? I thought it was merely that Barnabas was, by nature, more loving! No, it went beyond that, you see MARK WAS BARNABAS' NEPHEW!! -- "Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas" (Colossians 4:10). "BLOOD RUNS DEEP" -- even among Christians, yea, even among Holiness folks! Never forget that, preacher!
But, let me skip way beyond that time, and beyond the time of the Reformation under Martin Luther, wherein those believing in justification by faith divided from those believing the many unScriptural falsehoods of Roman Catholicism. Thus, moving forward to late 1700s and beyond, let me mention some of the divisions in and away from Methodism.
In England, the Methodist New Connexion, also known as the Kilhamite Methodists, was formed in 1797 through a secession from the English Wesleyan Connexion led by Alexander Kilham. THE ISSUE: -- A DISPUTE REGARDING THE POSITION AND RIGHTS OF THE LAITY. In 1791, Kilham denounced the Wesleyan Connection conference for giving too much power to the ministers of the church, at the expense of the laity.
Then came DRESS ISSUES IN THE WESLEYAN CONNECTION IN 1798 -- "At the end of his third year, Mr. Adam Clarke attended the Conference of 1798 at Bristol, England which was held under the presidency of Mr. Benson. While there, he wrote to Mrs. Clarke, from time to time, some of the Conference news. '...We are now, glory to the God of heaven, not less than 100,756 in Great Britain and Ireland... The characters of the preachers examined -- all gone through; and, among upwards of three hundred traveling preachers, not one charge of immorality brought against any soul: and yet everything was sifted to the heart. O, what thanks do we owe to God for thus preserving us from the corruptions of the world! A solemn exhortation was then given by Messrs. Benson, Mather, and Pawson, to all the brethren, that they should keep themselves pure.' He adds, pleasantly, 'A FEW PREACHERS WERE FOUND GUILTY OF LONG SLEEVES, CROPPED HEADS, AND STRINGED SHOES,' (THE BUCKLES CAST AWAY!) 'AND SEVERELY REPRIMANDED. After all, never was there a body of men in the world who winked less at any appearance of evil than these; and I solemnly believe no body of Christian ministers, since the world began, so large, was ever found more blameless.'" -- From hdm0085, "The Life Of Adam Clarke" by J. W. Etheridge
THE ISSUE: -- OF ALL THINGS! -- Ministers in the English Wesleyan Connection were severely reprimanded for having "LONG SLEEVES, CROPPED HEADS (SHORT HAIR), AND STRINGED SHOES WITH THE BUCKLES CAST AWAY" (FOR WEARING SHOES THAT WERE LACED WITH STRINGS, INSTEAD OF BOUND WITH BUCKLES! Some of this seems quite the opposite of what is expected of Conservative Holiness Preachers in their dress now: -- Today they are expected to HAVE SHORT HAIR, and to HAVE LONG SLEEVES on their shirts. How dress styles DO CHANGE! I do not say this to suggest that Holiness folks should EVER tolerate immodest attire, but simply to say that the above remarks about what was condemned among ministers in the English Methodist Connection in 1798 CERTAINLY ARE DIFFERENT from what we expect of Holiness Preachers today, in 2012, and what has been expected from such through all, or most all, of my 75 years of life!
Also in England, the Primitive Methodist Church was formed in about 1810 by Hugh Bourne, William Clowes, and their cohorts. THE ISSUE: -- The Primitive Methodists believed in a very zealous worship involving OPEN-AIR CAMPMEETINGS, which were CONDEMNED BY THOSE IN THE MUCH MORE STRAIGHT-LACED WESLEYAN CONNECTION FORMED BY WESLEY. Just think! -- the staid Wesleyan Connection wanted to "put the stopper in the bottle" of zealous demonstrations in the Spirit and "put the quietus" on campmeetings, both of which they felt were forms of fanaticism! These two things are THE VERY THINGS GREATLY PRAISED AND URGED UPON THOSE SEEKING REVIVAL IN TODAY'S HOLINESS MOVEMENT!!
In America, in 1845, Luther Lee, Orange Scott, and their cohorts split from the Methodist Episcopal Church and formed the Wesleyan Methodist Church. THE ISSUE -- SLAVERY. The M. E. Church had not taken a serious stand against Slavery, though a decade later the M. E. Church was split into the M. E. Church, North and the M. E. Church, South, just prior to the great Civil War. But, more than a decade before that, Luther Lee and Orange Scott strongly opposed Slavery in the 1840s, and split from the M. E. Church in 1845, forming what came to be called the Wesleyan Methodist Church.
In 1860, Benjamin Titus Roberts and his cohorts split from the M. E. Church to form The Free Methodist Church. THE ISSUES: -- WORLDLINESS IN THE M. E. CHURCH, AND THE PRACTICE OF "PAYING FOR PEWS" IN THE M. E. CHURCH. The term "Free" in Free Methodist Church reflected the fact that they opposed this "Paying For Pews" and strongly felt that all seating within their congregations should be "Free". Also, it may well have been that some among them felt that the term "Free" also reflected their belief in "Spiritual Freedom" in their services. THE ISSUES: -- FREE PEWS, AND SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD.
The Pilgrim Holiness Church was organized in 1897 in the home of M. W. Knapp, Cincinnati, Ohio, which home is now part of "God's Bible School." Seth Cook Rees was the first General Superintendent and remained such to his death in 1933. THE ISSUE: -- Martin Wells Knapp wrote: -- "We felt we could not continue to cooperate with the MODERNISM THAT WAS THEN APPEARING AND THE LACK OF SPIRITUALITY that was general in the churches to which we belonged."
The list could be extended on and on. In his book, "A Presentation of Perfection," Dr. Mark Eckart mentions the Brethren in Christ, The Church of God (Anderson), The Church of God (Holiness), The Pillar of Fire Church, the Church of the Nazarene, the God's Missionary Church, The Allegheny Wesleyan, The New York Pilgrims, and the Interchurch Holiness Convention (IHC) -- not given here chronologically.
The only entity among all of those mentioned above to especially endeavor to promote UNITY and MUTUAL FELLOWSHIP among Holiness Brethren is the IHC, founded by H. E. Schmul in 1952. It predates by several years the formation of the Bible Missionary Church, which occurred in 1955-56. Unfortunately, following its organization in 1955, the BMC has suffered no fewer than 3 splits, with further divisions beyond them. Those forming both The Pilgrim Nazarene Church and the later Wesleyan Nazarene Church came out of the Bible Missionary Church.
WHY CAN'T WE BE UNITED? -- Down across the ages, WHY has the cry, "O My Soul . . . BE NOT Thou United. . ." (Genesis 49:6) so often drowned out the cry, "O Lord. . . UNITE My Heart" (Psalm 86:11)?
I doubt that there is ONE, SIMPLE ANSWER to this question.
a) I believe that HUMAN DISAGREEMENTS, like those which divided Paul and Barnabas, are to blame for many of the divisions which have occurred in God's Church. But,
b) Another reason is DIVIDED HEARTS -- The "Divided Heart" is a carnal heart, and "divided hearts" cause "divided churches" as well.
Commenting on the prayer in Psalm 86:11, "unite my heart," Adam Clarke wrote: -- "Unite my heart] join all the purposes, resolutions, and affections of my heart together, to fear and to glorify Thy name. This is a most important prayer. A divided heart is a great curse; scattered affections are a miserable plague. When the heart is not at unity with itself, the work of religion cannot go on. Indecision of mind and division of affections mar any work. THE HEART MUST BE ONE, THAT THE WORK MAY BE ONE. If this be wanting, all is wrong. This is a prayer which becomes the mouth of every Christian."
And, Clarke's comments are in perfect harmony with the prayer of Jesus, Who prayed for His disciples, "SANCTIFY THEM through thy truth: thy word is truth... THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE that thou hast sent me" (John 17:17, 21).
IT ONLY TAKES ONE UNSANCTIFIED CHRISTIAN to bring about a division in Christ's Church, NOT TWO. One of two Christians may be sweetly sanctified wholly, and be perfectly content to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3), but if the other Christian is carnal, and possessed of a "divided heart" -- then sooner or later that one with the "divided heart" may DIVIDE THE CHURCH ALSO -- needlessly, and heartlessly separating himself from, or forcing away from himself, those who do not kow-tow to his own notions!
An old, worldly saying, taken from the "tango" dance, is: -- "It takes TWO to tango." It also takes TWO to have a united, and enduring marriage. But, it takes ALL in a church organization having sanctified, "undivided" hearts to have a continued "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). One "bad apple" in the barrel can cause the whole barrel to be spoiled, and one "divided heart" in a church can cause a split in that church wide enough for legions of Satan's demons to march through!!!
IN CONCLUSION: -- I think we are seeing MORE SPLITS in these last days because there are MORE AND MORE "DIVIDED HEARTS" in the Church of Christ. The BIG SOURCE of DIVISION is NOT NEW INVENTIONS! It is "THE OLD MAN"!!
Until ALL in the Holiness Churches can truthfully sing,
"Now rest my long divided heart,
Fixed on this blissful, center rest,
Nor ever from my Lord depart,
With Him of ev'ry good possessed,"
we are going to see MORE AND MORE DIVISIONS in the Church. And, those who see NEW INVENTIONS as the great threat will frantically try to write more and more rules in their manuals to outlaw such, which shall only result in more and more divisions from those doing this.
I believe I have heard the distinction made that Daniel 12:7 does not speak of scattering "The Holy People," but of scattering "The POWER of The Holy People."
There is no difference. Ecclesiastes 4:12 makes it clear that INCREASED POWER COMES FROM THE UNITY OF BEING BOUND TOGETHER: -- "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
"Divide and Destroy" has been the clever tactic of many a general who realized that he could not overcome a united army -- but who saw that if he successfully divided that army, destroying one small branch at a time, he could eventually defeat the entire army confronting him.
Satan is such a clever general.
Shall the Church of God EVER learn to UNITE against him?
"We are not divided,
All one body we--
One in faith and doctrine,
One in charity,"
is a stanza often sung, but never truthfully, as pertaining to the professed Church.
As I suggested in an earlier sermon, one way we in the Holiness Movement COULD TRY TO UNITE, IS IN PRAYER. And, if there has been ANY GOOD resulting from the Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, perhaps it has been that IT HAS UNITED CHRISTIANS IN PRAYER -- perhaps more than at any other time during the last 50 years. Therefore, even if we LOSE the election, perhaps we shall have WON spiritually by UNITING IN PRAYER.
I NEED YOU, true Christian brother, sister! More than ever before, I NEED YOU! Let us draw closer together by praying for one another -- regardless of whatever differences we have as genuine children of God. Divided we fall! United WE STAND! So, for OUR OWN SAKES, and FOR JESUS' SAKE, LET US UNITE! -- Duane V. Maxey, Las Cruces, New Mexico, Friday, September 14, 2012.
I close this retitled, slightly revised message with that same plea: -- LET US UNITE! If we cannot do so in any other way, we can at least UNITE IN THE PLACE OF PRAYER, beseeching God to send His People a mighty Holy Ghost Revival -- around the globe and from pole to pole!
With Sweet and Complete Victory Over Sin Through Christ's Blood,
Your Unworthy Brother In Jesus, Duane V. Maxey
14323 Dusty Trail Blvd., Sun City West, Arizona, May 8, 2015.
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