(A Look-out Shelter built long ago in what is now the State Park in Ludington, Michigan)
The Immutable Kingdom – Part 69
By Scott A. Klaft
J.W. McGarvey continued
It was during his time at Bethany College, John W. McGarvey made up his mind to become a Christian by taking the first opportunity to confess Christ, and be immersed for the forgiveness of past sins. It was his great joy to be taught by Alexander Campbell, and to hear him preach often. Campbell, however, had not yet adopted the custom of offering the Lord’s Invitation after every sermon. Not realizing that obeying the Gospel could be done anytime, McGarvey waited two weeks before he finally had the opportunity to step forward to make his confession, and to be baptized for the remission of sin in Buffalo Creek by W. K. Pendleton.
He graduated with honors in 1850, and he was selected to give the traditional “Greek Oration.” McGarvey had not yet decided what he wanted to do with his life. He enjoyed the thought of preaching, but his humble disposition left him somewhat insecure, lacking the needed confidence in himself.
His family had moved from Illinois to Fayette, Missouri while he was in school, so he proceeded in that direction to return home. He then spent the next twelve years doing nothing particularly outstanding, but taking full advantage of his time to grow and strengthen his abilities. He opened a private school for boys. As he became sure that preaching was his niche in life, he was even more certain he was not ready. He reviewed his Greek, becoming very proficient at the subject, and continued to study the Bible whenever he found time. In September 1852, he was asked to preach at the congregation in Fayette, and was soon their regular preacher.
In the early days, the young McGarvey was often reliant upon an older preacher, T.M. Allen, who powerfully exhorted sinners. He was eloquent and moving in his speech, but this was a skill McGarvey never quite obtained. Once, they paired for a gospel meeting, Allen preaching in the morning, and McGarvey in the afternoon. When it came time for McGarvey to speak, Allen leaned over and whispered, “Now John, come out and under whip and spur, head and tail up.” McGarvey offered his best efforts to accommodate.
After McGarvey’s stepfather had recently died, Alexander Campbell came to visit the widow, John’s mother. Campbell had grown close to the family over the years of being associated with the school at Bethany. James T. Saltonsall, John’s half-brother, had attended Bethany College a year before him, and he had now gone on to become a prominent lawyer in Fayette. Showing how highly he thought of John though, Campbell once wrote,
“His brother, J. W. McGarvey, is, however, as we are assured, devoting his life to a higher usefulness, and more honorable rank in the Christian army. He was also one of our best and most gifted students, and no one left the College, during his years there, with a higher or more enviable reputation, for all the elements essential to a learned, useful, and exemplary man. He has not disappointed the expectations of his alma mater or his friends, but is yearly growing in favor with the church and all the people of his acquaintance.”[1]
After holding a meeting in Dover, he was asked to relocate to be their preacher, and in January of 1853, he began his long ministry there. In March of the same year, he married Otwayana Frances Hix; and together, they had their first child in April of the following year.
It was during his tenure in Dover that the War Between the States broke. McGarvey was characteristically straightforward, believing it to be wrong for any Christian to go to war. The church became divided in their ideals, and he received a good deal of criticism. Compounding this, McGarvey met regularly to teach the Bible to a large group of “negroes” about which, many of the congregation were displeased. All of this made his work much less pleasant than it once was. He was ready to move at the right invitation, which finally came in the spring of 1862.
(Continued Next Week)
[1] Campbell, Alexander; “Notes of Incidents in a Tour Through Illinois and Missouri – No. III” Millennial Harbinger, Fourth Series, Vol. III, No. 3 (March, 1853); pp. 130, 131
