Immutable Kingdom – Part 60

(D.H. Day Barns near Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan)

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 60

By Scott A. Klaft

 

“Raccoon” John Smith

          Truly one of the most interesting and colorful personalities to come out of the Restoration movement was a man from Kentucky by the name of John Smith. While Kentucky had a great many influential pioneer preachers such as Jacob Creath, and John T. Johnson, there are few who have not heard at least one of the dozens of stories of wit and humor stemming from the life of “Raccoon” John Smith. Given his popularity and the huge number of interesting stories concerning this man whose life was as filled with as much tragedy as there was humor, we shall devote a bit more space to the account of his life than we had for some of the others. For instance, the story of how Smith obtained the backwoods-moniker, “Raccoon,” shall be completely recounted here.

          At an assembly of the Tate’s Creek Baptist Association in Crab Orchard, Kentucky, in 1815, a man stood to begin to address the audience. Seeing his unkempt appearance, many stood and began to leave. The man then called aloud:

         “Stay, friends, and hear what the great Augustine said!” and all stopped to listen.

         “Augustine wished to see three things before he died,” continued Smith. “Rome in her glory and purity, Paul on Mars Hill, and Jesus in the flesh.” A few now sat down, but many smiled and started off again.

         “Will you not stay,” he cried in a still louder voice, “and hear what the great Cato said?” Many returned to their seats, and seemed willing to be amused.

         “Cato,” he continued, “repented of three things before his death: first, that he ever spent an idle day; secondly, that he ever had gone on a voyage by water when he might have made the same journey on land; and thirdly, that he had ever told the secrets of his bosom to a woman.”

         The people continued to come back, and began to crowd close to the lectern. A few acquaintances that had not seen him for a long time now recognized him, and they passed the word among the crowd: “It is John Smith from the Little South Fork!” Seeing groups of persons still standing in the distance, he called again with all the strength of his heavy voice:

         “Come, friends, and hear what the great Thales thanked the gods for.”

         “Let us go and hear the fellow,” said one; “there may be more in him than we suppose.” And they all, at last, sat down near by to listen.

         “Thales thanked the gods for three things: first, that he was endowed with reason, and was not a brute; secondly, that he was a Greek and not a Barbarian; and thirdly, that he was a man, and not a woman.”

         “And now, friends, I know you are ready to ask: ‘And pray, sir, who are you? What have you to say for yourself?’

         “I am John Smith, from Stockton Valley. In more recent years, I have lived in Wayne, among the rocks and hills of the Cumberland. Down there, saltpeter caves abound, and raccoons make their homes. On that wild frontier we never had good schools nor many books; consequently, I stand before you today a man without an education.”[1]

          In a short time, a man came hastily to Jacob Creath Sr. imploring him to come hear the sermon. “Sir,” he said, “the fellow with the stripped coat on, that was raised among the ‘coons is up; come and hear him preach. His name is Smith.” From that time on, the nickname “Raccoon” always stayed with him.

          The life of “Raccoon” John Smith is one of humor on one hand, and drama on the other. Though we laugh with him in many incidents recounted, many fail to walk with him in the Valley of despair that marred his life. We all, however, behold with high esteem his fearless independence, and watch with profound admiration his unrestrained zeal for the work, bringing to the Lord many stubborn souls in subjection. Without education, knowledge of human philosophy, or the comforts of modern life, he loved the Lord and His cause. Though he was rustic, uncouth, and unlearned, he had no limitation of love for that which was noble, honorable, and pure. His life reads like the archetype of the self-sacrificing spirit that the early pioneer preachers had for the cause of truth.

(To Be Continued Next Week)

 

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[1] J.A. Williams, Life of Elder John Smith (Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Co., 1904) pp. 89, 90

Immutable Kingdom – Part 59

(Black Rocks on Presque Isle, Marquette, MI)

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 59

By Scott A. Klaft

Philip S. Fall

Certainly no controversialist, but rather quiet and reserved, the reason P.S. Fall was significant to the restoration was due mainly to his tremendous influence in Frankfort and Louisville, Kentucky, as well as Nashville, Tennessee. He was a man strong in conviction, pure in thought, lofty in his ideals, and his deep love for Christ was always a sure and uplifting influence.

Born in England in 1798, his parentage had a mix of Episcopalian and Baptist education. Upon their arrival in America in 1817, his parents settled in Russellville, Kentucky where they died only a year later. In the same year of their death, P. S. Fall established an academy near Louisville and joined a Baptist group where he became interested in preaching. By December 1819, he was given a “license to preach” for the Baptist Church. In the fall of 1821, he was invited to preach once a month for a newly organized Baptist Church in Louisville, which steadily grew until 1823, when he was then invited to move there to expand his preaching efforts. It was here that he became familiar with the restoration principles.

After Alexander Campbell’s debate with John Walker in 1820, there was an excited stir among the Baptists of Kentucky. In intellect, independence, and piety, Campbell towered above other preachers, and many Baptists enjoyed the idea of him preaching immersion. Yet, there were mixed emotions due to his stance on the two covenants.

By the time Campbell made public his belief that scriptural immersion in the name of Christ was for the purpose of remitting sin, no little alarm was raised among the Baptists. For P.S. Fall, however, his love of truth would not allow him to defend a party’s beliefs just for the party’s advancement. He would examine fairly, and determine for himself the truth of the matter. He read, and closely scrutinized, a published form of Campbell’s sermon on Law; and, by the next winter, he was preaching the very same principles.

Considerable criticism followed Fall, but the Baptist Church in Louisville was convinced he was right; and together, they became the first in the state to join the Restoration Movement. Fall was very quickly cast into disfavor with most Baptists. Despite his effort in 1824 to convince other Baptist Churches in the Long Run Baptist Association by means of a circulated letter, for the most part, he was rejected.

He was asked to teach at The Nashville Female Academy in 1825; and, after his move, he began to preach for the Baptist Church in that area with the agreement that he would preach only the Bible, and reject all human creeds. Again, he found disfavor with the local Baptist Association who are on record referring to P. S. Fall as “a thorough dyed Campbellite under a Baptist cloak.” It is little wonder, considering that, by this time, Fall and Campbell had become the closest of friends.

Fall stayed in Nashville until 1831 when his health demanded his move back toward Frankfort, Kentucky. During his stay there, he managed to convince the church to leave the Baptists altogether and stand solely upon the Bible. He also established the Female Eclectic Institute where the daughters of Kentucky’s most prominent families received their education. He taught there for twenty-six years while preaching all around the state, frequently coming in conflict with Baptists.

In 1852, the church in Nashville was in serious trouble over the teaching of J.B. Ferguson. In order to resolve the problem of their division, they appealed to Fall to return, which he did, preaching there until 1877. Getting on in age, he grew rather feeble and quite deaf after moving back to Frankfort. He attended one of the troublesome Missionary Society’s annual meetings, not because he believed in it, but because he knew he would soon die, and he wanted to see his old friends a last time. At the age of ninety-two, on December 3, 1890, this soldier of faith, P. S. Fall, was finally laid to rest.

(Next Week: “Raccoon” John Smith)

Immutable Kingdom – Part 58

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 58

By Scott A. Klaft

John T. Johnson

Reserved, strongly emotional, and always active, it is said that John T. Johnson had a lawyer’s mind and a poet’s heart, appealing to logic as well as tugging the emotions. Never having participated in a formal debate, it was his skill as an evangelist that brought his name to some renown. He was a man of great power and ability who baptized many hundreds into Christ; and, in the days before the Civil War, few were as highly admired or widely loved.

As a preacher, he was incomparably successful at making every sermon theme something that lived in the present. It was observed that when he spoke on the subject of hell, the listeners were made to think they were looking into the very abyss of torment. It was only natural that an evangelist of such skill could move and motivate people as few ever have. His temperament was occasionally curt, but he was rarely discouraged; he remained buoyant in even the most adverse circumstances. His demeanor was chaste, dignified, though easy and familiar, but he had no time for boorishness.

The eighth of eleven children, Johnson was born on October 5, 1788 near Georgetown, Kentucky. He was very much influenced by his family connections to the military. Considering the times, John T. Johnson was a well-educated man; when he was young, he studied under a man who left Presbyterianism along side Barton W. Stone and was present for the Cane Ridge Revival. Johnson finished his education in that local school and left for Transylvania to study law. He graduated and received a license to practice before the age of twenty-one. He married, bought a one hundred and fifty acre farm, built a mill, and went into business with his younger brother. He tried a successful hand at politics in 1815, being elected to the state legislature.

Between politics, his farm, and his business, he managed to build up significant wealth, but it was short-lived due to the tenderness of his heart. He had co-signed many promissory notes for friends and neighbors, but in 1819, an economic panic swept through and they could not pay, leaving Johnson with the obligation. He gave up fifty thousand dollars worth of real estate in order to pay these notes.

In 1820, he tried national politics and was elected several times to Congress. Johnson was there during the hotly contested Presidential election in 1825 that had to be decided by Congress, which settled in favor of Andrew Jackson. When reelected in 1828, Johnson announced his retirement from public office after that term. Still lodged in his memory was the great revival at Cane Ridge in 1801, and in 1830, he found time to examine a publication called the Christian Baptist, as well as something the community was derogatorily calling “Campbellism.” Determining for himself the truth according to the scriptures, Johnson later wrote, “…the debt of gratitude I owe to that man of God, A. Campbell, no language can tell.”

After his conversion in early 1831, he helped to build, in a year’s time, a congregation of seventy members. He began to collaborate as co-editor at various times with men like Barton W. Stone, and B. F. Hall. He contributed to the uniting of Stone’s and Campbell’s efforts. Johnson and Jacob Creath became long-time companions, preaching meetings together continuously for years, baptizing so many the denominations became alarmed for fear that “the whole country was going to the Campbellites.” An accounting of his preaching excursions and accomplishments would be tremendous and lengthy indeed.

His health was apparently good until the first week of December of 1856. Johnson preached his last sermon on Sunday, leaving the services complaining he was cold. Pneumonia set in with several attacks of severe pain. When it was plain he would not live, his reply was one of confidence: “I did not think death was so near, but let it come.” Mere hours before it came on December 18, he requested the song from his bedside, “O Land of Rest For Thee I Sigh,” which was tearfully sung while he feebly tried to sing along. Only a few moments after sunset, he closed his eyes and breathed his last, bringing a sudden shock of sadness to the whole brotherhood.

(Next Week: Philip S. Fall)

Immutable Kingdom – Part 57

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 57

By Scott A. Klaft

 Jacob Creath, Jr.

          Fiercely independent in his thinking, and a general oddity in all of his mannerisms, Jacob Creath, Jr. was one of the most colorful personalities of the Restoration. Called the Iron Duke of the Restoration, men like Creath are what make the Restoration period pulse with the atmosphere of romance. Rare have there been men of his character, and fewer still have been sufficiently appreciated by this world.

           Growing up near Taylor’s Creek, Virginia, Creath was educated locally and became very familiar with the New Testament. Being brought up in a Calvinistic Baptist home, he was naturally taught the doctrine that holds that a man can do nothing to be saved, but something extraordinary had to happen first to confirm his salvation. Creath often tried to have an experience. He once thought he had one, but then, the emotion subsided, and he was left feeling hopeless. He once wrote:

             “I never saw the day when I did not desire to be good and please God, my Maker. I often withdrew to retired places, and prayed to him that I might see a great light shinning around me, like Saul of Tarsus; or hear a voice informing me that my sins were pardoned. Under these circumstances nature sometimes gave way, and I went to sleep on my knees, overwhelmed with the dreadful consideration that I was forever lost.”

 For a short period, he tried living the life of an infidel, but found he could not honestly disbelieve. He responded to an “alter call” at a Baptist service, and the preacher prayed for him and pronounced him “saved,” alleviating some of his anxiety.

           Somewhat less than willing, Creath preached his first sermon in June of 1817. Finishing a short lesson on Galatians 3:10, he closed the service with a prayer. An elderly woman told him he could word a pleasant prayer, but would never make a preacher. Creath was of the mind to agree and labored on the farm for the next two years, trying to avoid any more public discourses. In January 1819, the desire to preach won the battle. He sought further education, and by autumn of 1820, he was “ordained” a Baptist Minister.

           After a great deal of travel to many states for preaching engagements, Creath became familiar with the publication, The Christian Baptist. He could not deny the pure and logical restoration principles. It was not long before he cast off all creeds, cleaved to the Word of God as the means of conversion, and began to preach the necessity of obedience. The Baptist Association to which he was connected attempted to try him for heresy. During the trial, he read the speech of Paul as he stood before Agrippa and Festus. John T. Johnson, who was later a powerful voice in the Restoration, was present and said, “Absolutely, if they don’t let that man alone the stones of the street will cry out against them.”

           Many great men of the Restoration made close friends with Jacob Creath Jr. Alexander Campbell, “Raccoon” John Smith, John F. Rowe, Barton W. Stone, Tolbert Fanning, and W. K. Pendleton were only a small number of them. As Alexander Campbell grew aged, Creath perceived and agreed with Tolbert Fanning that The Millennial Harbinger had taken an inappropriate stance concerning the War of the States. The Harbinger had spoken of “justice” being on the side of the North, and of the South being “conquered.” Creath thought such expressions were wrong in a paper dedicated to the spread of the gospel. In addition, Creath found himself in disfavor with many of his friends as no one more ardently opposed missionary societies and other humanly based organizations supplanting the design of the church.

           A brief exposition of the life of this prince of the Restoration does not do justice to the extent of the influence he wielded for the cause of Christ. In keeping with his unique character, he wrote his own obituary; he insisted that no funeral sermon be preached; and, that he was to be buried in a plain coffin with his pocket Bible and a copy of The Living Oracles beneath his head, desiring that they return to dust with him. He was quietly laid to rest two days after his death on January 11, 1886.

 (Next Week: John T. Johnson)