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March 6: Dr. G. Aiken Taylor

6 March, 2015 in March 2015 by archivist | No comments

taylorgaikenToday’s post looks at the life of G. Aiken Taylor, one of the founding fathers of the Presbyterian Church in America and a leading voice among conservative Presbyterians during the 1960’s and 1970’s

Very Much the Churchman

George Aiken Taylor was born on January 22, 1920 in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, the son of Presbyterian missionaries George W. Taylor and Julia Pratt Taylor.  The influence of that upbringing was clearly manifest in later years, for one of Dr. Taylor’s adversaries once said of him, “Dr. Taylor was born of missionary parents in Brazil, and I happen to know that he is ‘not conscious of color…’”

When he was fifteen years old he returned to this country to complete his education, graduating from the Presbyterian College of South Carolina with the A.B. degree in 1940.  He taught in the South Carolina public schools for a year, and then entered the U.S. Army in 1941.  He served with the 36th (Texas) Infantry Division and rose to the rank of Captain, commanding a heavy weapons company in the 142nd Infantry.  He participated in five major campaigns in World War II, was wounded once and decorated once.

Taylor married the former Blanche Williams of Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1942. Together they raised four children.

After the war, Taylor entered Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, graduating with the Bachelor of Divinity degree, Magna Cum Laude in 1948.  He was also ordained that same year and installed as pastor of the Smyrna Presbyterian Church in Smyrna, Georgia, where he served for two years before becoming pastor of the  Northside Presbyterian Church in Burlington, North Carolina.  In 1950 he entered Duke University for graduate study and was later awarded the Ph.D. degree by Duke for his dissertation, John Calvin, the Teacher, a study of religious education in Calvin’s Geneva.

Dr. Taylor served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana from 1954 to 1959, and during those years he became interested in the work of Alcoholics Anonymous through his own work with alcoholics, developing an appreciation for A.A.’s principles. His book, A Sober Faith, was one result of that work and was published in 1953.  A second book, St. Luke’s Life of Jesus, was published in 1954.

When Dr. L. Nelson Bell stepped down as editor of The Southern Presbyterian Journal in 1959, it was Aiken Taylor who took on those duties, serving as editor until 1983. It is interesting to note that one of Dr. Taylor’s conditions for taking the job entailed a name change for the magazine, which now became simply The Presbyterian Journal. This name change was a reflection of Taylor’s own ecumenical aspirations. Taylor was instrumental in the formation of the National Presbyterian and Reformed Fellowship (NPRF), which in turn led to the formation of another conservative ecumenical organization, the North American Presbyterian & Reformed Council. During his tenure as editor, he was also active in the conservative movement within the Presbyterian Church, US (aka, Southern Presbyterian Church), an effort which eventually led to the formation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 1973.  Subsequently Taylor was a key leader in the PCA and was elected moderator of the General Assembly of that denomination in 1978.

In 1983, Dr. Taylor was named president of Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, where he succeeded the founding president of the school, Dr. Allan A. MacRae. Taylor was inaugurated in December of that year, but just three months later—on March 6, 1984—he died suddenly.  Memorial services were held in Pennsylvania, with funeral services at Gaither Chapel in Montreat, North Carolina.  Dr. Taylor was buried in nearby Swannanoa, North Carolina.

Words to Live By:
I have been told that it was Francis Schaeffer who coined the phrase “split P’s” when speaking of all the many divisions among Presbyterians. But for all those divisions, the latter half of the twentieth century turned out to be largely a time of focus on union and cooperation. Among the conservative Presbyterian denominations, merger talks were actively underway between various groups from 1956 until about the close of the century. Sadly, since that time the silence has been deafening. Dr. Taylor had the right idea in forming the NPRF, where conservatives of all denominations could fellowship together and thus overcome distrust and distance. Leaving all talk of mergers entirely aside, for the cause of Christ we as conservative Presbyterians need to be creating opportunities to work and fellowship alongside one another. Some might say that the many para-church groups now provide this function, but is that really enough, and are they effective for this purpose?

For Further Study:
In his years as editor of The Presbyterian Journal, Dr. Taylor was no stranger to debate and even controversy. One of the more (in)famous incidents involved his editorial titled “Lo, the TR!” and the many responses that followed. Our readers may be familiar with the term “TR” but to get the full story in context, click here.

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August 11: A Homecoming Report with Challenging Questions for You

11 August, 2014 in August 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

We take a largely ecumenical approach here at This Day in Presbyterian History. Though this blog is sponsored by the PCA Historical Center, we do not write exclusively about the PCA and its people. But it is a small world, and even in the history that follows, though this particular church has never been a part of the PCA, there are connections nonetheless. In this example, three of the pastors of the Union Presbyterian Church were also pastors of churches which later became part of the PCA:

Angus McCallum, pastor of Union Church, 1831-38, was the founding pastor of DeKalb Presbyterian Church (PCA), DeKalb, MS, 1846 and 1848-50.

Martin McQueen, pastor of Union Church, 1864-1888, was also pastor of Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church (organized in 1776 and now PCA), Ellerbe, NC, 1856-59.

and M.N. McIver, pastor of Union Church, 1895-1898, was also a pastor of Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church (PCA), Ellerbe, NC, 1891-93.

In short, it is indeed a small world (cue music), and their history is our history, at least in part. With those connections explained, we turn now to the history of Union Presbyterian Church:—

In the 18th century, in those many years leading up to the Revolutionary War for independence, great numbers of Presbyterian Scots entered this new world we call America. While these Scots settled widely throughout the colonies, it is notable that Highland Scots particularly came to the region that was later to become Fayetteville, North Carolina. Finding dense forests of pines and many swamps, they hewed out a civilization for their families. But they didn’t abandon their Presbyterian convictions back in the old country. Their faith was alive and prospering in this new land as well.

robertsJohnK_Union_Church_1910_historyIn an online history of Union Presbyterian Church of Carthage, North Carolina, we find an August 10th and 11th homecoming report which relates the history of this local church beginning in 1797.  The author of this history, the Rev. John Roberts (pictured at right), describes those earlier days when he writes:

“When Scotland turned to Protestantism, every village and hamlet cried out for the preached Word. There were not enough ministers to supply the demand. John Knox divided Scotland into Ecclesiastical Districts and appointed a minister or evangelist over each division to visit the churches, to baptize the children, receive members in the church and administer the communion. The regular Sabbath day worship was led by the local elders. John Knox prepared a liturgy for their use. Though not stated, one would infer from reading Foote’s ‘Sketches’ that Rev James Campbell inaugurated a somewhat similar plan through the Scotch settlements. When we remember the demoralization of the Revolution, the fierce hatred of a cruel internecine warfare through which the Scotch settlements passed, the devout character, the deep piety, the family altar, the catechetical instruction of the children, and the strict observance of the Lord’s day, (all this) can be explained in no other way than that every Scotch community had its place of meeting for the service of God upon the Sabbath day.”

What is important to remember in this brief description of their beginnings in a new land is their commitment to their Presbyterian convictions.  Just as was the case in Scotland in the beginning days of the Reformation there, under John Knox, so here in the early days of the colonies, each home was a congregation unto itself. What stood out to this author was that in those early days, there was found “devout character, deep piety, a family altar, catechetical instruction of the children, strict observance of the Lord’s Day, and a place of meeting for the service of God on the Christian Sabbath. All this, the Scotch communities in America had in common. They kept the families of God together when ministers were scarce in the land.

Words to Live By: Suppose in all of your congregations of which you are a member, the pastors were removed. The question is, with their absence from the congregation, would biblical Christianity continue? In other words, would home religion as evidenced by your devout characters, your deep piety, the family altar, continued catechetical instruction in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and your observance of the Lord’s Day continue? If so, how long? This is a solemn question to ponder, perhaps pray about, to examine yourself spiritually, and to return to sacred habits begun earlier in your life, but forsaken in time.

Hebrews 10:22 – 25 says “Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another in love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.“

UnionChurch_CarthageNC

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March 7: Rev. LeRoy Tate Newland

7 March, 2014 in March 2014 by archivist | No comments

Biographical Sketch:
 Leroy Tate Newman [1885-1969]LeRoy Tate Newland was born in Galva, Iowa on 7 March 1885 to James Tate Newland and his wife, Fanny Rosalia Maria (Miller) Newland. He was educated at Davidson College, attending from 1904-1908 and graduating with the B.A. degree, before attending the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in preparation for ministry, 1908-1911.

Following closely on the heels of graduation, he married Sarah Louise Andrews of Charlotte, North Carolina on 5 May 1911, and then pursued his examinations under the Presbytery of Wilmington. He was licensed to preach on 11 May and ordained to the ministry on 12 June of 1911. The young couple then took up a foreign missions post in Korea, where Rev. Newland served from 1911 until 1940.

His term of service in Korea was broken into basically three phases, serving in Kwangju from 1911-1914, then moving to Mokpo from 1914-1918 before returning to Kwangju and remaining there from 1918 until the end of his missions work in 1940. In 1926, perhaps while on home missions assignment, Rev. Newland earned the Th.M. degree from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA. It was during those years on the mission field that the Newland family grew to include seven children.

With war looming, Rev. Newland and his family children returned to the United States, and he answered a call to serve a group of smaller churches in and near Union Point, Georgia, from 1941 until 1954. Rev. Newland then took a call to serve as the pastor of the Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, laboring there from 1954-1957 before being entered on the rolls as honorably retired in 1957. In retirement, Dr. Newland was active in working with the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship, a ministry headed up by the Rev. William E. Hill, Jr.. His reward at hand, LeRoy Tate Newland entered glory on 16 July 1969.

Among his distinctions and honors, Davidson College conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1933. Dr. Newland also authored at least two published works during his lifetime, both of which are noted by Harold B. Prince in A Presbyterian Bibliography: #2482 (p. 240), So Rich a Crown: Poems of Faith (Atlanta, GA: Gate City Printing Co., 1963), 85 p. and #2483 (p. 241), Illth or Wealth?: A Series of Four Bible Studies for the Men of the Presbyterian Church, U.S. (Chattanooga, TN: General Assembly’s Stewardship Committee, Presbyterian Church in the U.S., 1924), 48 p. Davidson College holds one copy of the former title and the Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA holds a copy of the second work.

Memorial Tribute by Sarah Bolton Lunceford, one of Rev. Newland’s daughters:
LeRoy Tate Newland, missionary to Korea, father of seven, man of many gifts, was born in Galva, Iowa, on March 7, 1885. His family moved back to North Carolina, to Chadbourne, where his father had a strawberry farm. James Newland made an unusual offer to each of his sons: a part of the farm or higher education. Roy Newland made his choice, and went on to graduate from Davidson, from Louisville Seminary, and to get his master’s from Princeton Seminary. His honorary doctorate was bestowed by Davidson.

In 1911, he married Sarah Louise Andrews of Charlotte, and the two went out as missionaries to Korea. She was 20, the youngest missionary in the field. He, as an evangelist, worked under the itinerating system: long journeys, lasting several weeks, exploring the Korean countryside out from Kwangju, their home station, establishing small house churches, to be visited again and nurtured. Eventually, he had set up over a hundred and twenty.

Because of his unassuming competence and dependability he became treasurer and secretary for the mission — the Southern Presbyterian compounds and work in South Korea. His sermons were admired for their content and his presentation of them. His commentary on Leviticus was used for years in the seminary at Seoul.

His children delighted in his company because of his simple, direct love and his pleasure in good humor and bad puns. Among their most cherished memories are summer days in the mountain cabin when he would read aloud Slappey and Glencannon stories from The Saturday Evening Post, with his reading getting ahead of his voice so that he was too convulsed with laughter to share the passage with his imploring audience. Then there were the long walks when he would name the plants and answer all the questions asked by seven lively children. There were the rousing family hymn-sings which he led with such enthusiasm even if not necessarily on key. And the “Dear Family” letters he so faithfully wrote over the years, sharing the news and his tender love, extracting a promise that letters would continue to bind the family even after he was gone.

One of Roy Newland’s gifts was a love for and facility with poetry. He wrote hundreds of poems —an original one for every birthday of every child and the wife he adored; one for her every morning that he made her breakfast and carried it in to her on a tray; frequently, in later years. He wrote about his struggles, about the work, about his unworthiness and Christ’s great love that had redeemed him. A collection of his poems was published, but it barely sampled the outpouring.

True to his background, he loved to garden, to hike, and to hunt, the latter a special pleasure in a country where weapons were forbidden so that game multiplied unchecked. (His permit came from Tokyo itself and was the occasion of frequent visits from suspicious Japanese inspectors.) He also loved to read, to learn, to explore the frontiers of knowledge. His probing mind wanted to know how the world worked, in all its fascinating aspects.

Gifted in mind, intellect, and soul, LeRoy Tate Newland was a man of parts. He was, truly, in the words of an English friend, “a lovely man.”

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October 7: A North Carolina Bicentennial

7 October, 2013 in October 2013 by archivist | No comments

God of Wonders, Will You Not Work Yet Again?

It is gone now, and, by most folks today, perhaps forgotten. But this October 7th, 2013, marks the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Synod of North Carolina. From its founding in 1813 until 1861, the Synod was part of the old Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Then in 1861, this Synod became part of what was commonly known as the Southern Presbyterian Church. When the Presbyterian Church in America was formed in 1973, at least twenty-one churches in North Carolina left to join the new denomination. Among these, Goshen (1764), Mount Carmel (1776) and Prosperity (1788) were the oldest—churches that had already been in existence for many years when the Synod of North Carolina was formed.

And so, the history of the Synod of North Carolina remains relevant today, even though it no longer exists as a separate court of any denomination. That history is part of the history of some of our own churches. Moreover, that history serves as an reminder of how the Lord has worked among His people in years past, and how powerfully He might work yet again. And so that history is also an encouragement to us today.

On the Alamance Church Road, southeast of Greensboro, North Carolina, the text of a historical marker provides the broad strokes of the Synod’s history. It reads:—

“There were Presbyterians in North Carolina from the earliest days of the Colony. The most numerous groups, the Scotch-Irish and the Highland Scots, arrived in large numbers during the 18th century. The former settled largely in the Piedmont and the latter in the Cape Fear area.

“The early Presbyterian settlers had no ministers. In response to many petitions the Synod of New York sent William Robinson to preach in the winter of 1742-43. The Synod of Philadelphia sent John Thompson in 1744. Hugh McAden arrived in 1755 and visited both the Piedmont and Cape Fear areas. James Campbell began ministering to the Highland Scots in 1757. In 1758 Alexander Craighead arrived in Mecklenburg County. Among other Presbyterian ministers of the period were David Caldwell, who came as a missionary in 1764 and became a great teacher and statesman, and Henry Patillo, author of the first school textbook in the Colony, who arrived in 1765.

“The first three Presbyteries were Orange (1770), Concord (1796), and Fayetteville (1813). The Synod of North Carolina was organized on October 6, 1813, at Alamance Church. [Here the official history (see below) differs, and states that the first meeting of the Synod took place on October 7, 1813.]

“Presbyterians have always been strong supporters of education. In 1767 David Caldwell opened his ‘Log College’ in Guilford County, forerunner of other academies conducted by such Presbyterian educators as Henry Patillo, Samuel E. McCorkle, James Hall, and William Bingham. At the request of Presbyterians, the Colonial Assembly chartered Queens College in 1771, but the act was disallowed by the King. Davidson College opened in 1837 with Robert H. Morrison as first president. Other Presbyterian colleges have included Flora Macdonald, Queens, and St. Andrews.

“William R. Davie, a founder of the University of North Carolina, Archibald D. Murphey, early 19th century advocate of internal improvements, constitutional reform, and public education, and Calvin H. Wiley, first State Superintendent of Common Schools, were prominent Presbyterian laymen.

“Early growth was slow but was accelerated by the Great Revival of the 18th century, which began with the preaching of James McGready, and by State-wide camp meetings. According to Synod records there were, in 1813, 3 presbyteries, 25 ministers, 102 churches, and 4,000 communicants. In 1963 there were 9 presbyteries, 623 ministers, 645 churches, and 147,262 communicants.”

Words to Live By:

I have a cartoon that I saved, with the caption:

“Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. Yet those who do study history are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats it.”

A good joke, but seriously, let me encourage you, that as a Christian, you should study history. At the very least you should include a good selection of both Christian biography and Christian history in your regular reading. Those works will prove a great encouragement to you.

For Further Reading:

Centennial Addresses, Synod of North Carolina, delivered at Alamance Church, Greensboro, N.C., October 7, 1913.
Contents of this work:
[over a thousand people showed up for this event, and so the crowd was divided into two groups, with messages on each subject brought by two speakers]:

1. Address of Welcome and Outline of History of Alamance, by Alexander W. Crawford.

2. Beginnings and Development of the Presbyterian Church in North Carolina to 1863, by Walter W. Moore [1857-1926].

3. Beginnings and Development of Presbyterianism in North Carolina to 1863, by Walter L. Lingle [1868-1956]

4. Personnel of the Presbyterian Church in North Carolina from 1813 to 1838, by David Irwin Craig [1849-1925]

5. Personnel of the Synod during the last 25 years of the first half century, from 1838 to 1863, by Halbert G. Hill [1831-1924]

6. Last Fifty Years — The Presbyterian Church an Evangelistic Agency, by Robert F. Campbell [1831-1924]

7. Last Fifty Years — The Presbyterian Church an Evangelistic Agency, by John McAden Rose [1849-1917]

8. Presbyterians in Educational Work in North Carolina since 1813, by C. Alphonso Smith [1864-1924]

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July 29: Moses Waddel

29 July, 2013 in July 2013 by archivist | No comments

Teaching a Nation’s Leaders

Considered by many to have been the foremost educator in the South, Moses Waddell was of Irish parentage and was born in Rowan (now Iredell) county, North Carolina, on July 29th, 1770. He received his academic education at a school which was opened in the neighborhood under the name of Clio’s Nursery. For four years, beginning at the age of fourteen, he was engaged as a teacher (1784-1788) at various places in North Carolina and Georgia.

Leaving his employment as a teacher, he enrolled as a student at the Hampden-Sydney College, graduating there in 1891. The next year he was licensed to preach by the Hanover Presbytery, of Virginia, on May 12, 1792.

About 1793, Waddell opened his first school in Columbia county, Georgia, then another in 1801,  in Vienna, Abbeville District, South Carolina. He remained in that work until 1804, when he removed to Willington, six miles south of Vienna, and it was at Willington where he founded the famous Willington Academy. It was common for Presbyterian pastors to maintain an academy, in part for the extra income, and in part because they could thus guide the moral, religious and intellectual education of the children of their parish.

All of these schools were designed as preparatory schools, utilizing a classical education model. As the fame of the Willington Academy grew, it came to be called the “Eton in the woods”. To give one example of the school’s rigor, students were required to memorize, translate and recite some 250 lines of Greek or Latin every night. A Willington graduate, South Carolina governor George McDuffie, held the record, having once recited over 2200 lines of the poet Horace.

In 1818, Waddell was elected President of what was then Franklin College, later to become the University of Georgia. However, he did not actually step into the duties of this office until May, 1819. While serving as an educator, he also labored as a pastor, founding the Presbyterian Church in Athens, Georgia in 1820. During his tenure at the University, the school prospered greatly, and he continued here as President until 1829. Resigning his post, he returned to Willington. For forty-five years he had labored as a teacher. His labors as a pastor continued another six or seven years more, and the Rev. Dr. Moses Waddell’s life drew to a close on July 21, 1840.

Dr. James McLeod provides the following account of Dr. Waddell as a teacher:

“The boys called him ‘Old Moses,’ and while he believed in corporal punishment, he never spanked in a passion, and it finally evolved that he did this only upon a verdict of a peer jury of students. He never spanked for a deficient lesson but chiefly for defects in morals or actions that had to be punished.

“He was a cheerful man even playful in his disposition. He maintained a personal interest in each boy. He had a wry sense of humor. When boys on second floor dumped water on him as he went in a door, he said nothing, but later raised an umbrella as he went in the door to the delight of the boys.

“His strength seems to have been to analyze the boys accurately, then demanded accordingly. He was not a man who used sentiment to escape facing the laziness of adolescence. He demanded. They groaned, they gave, they griped, they worshiped him later. There was a chestnut tree outside the Doctor’s study window that the boys remembered watching as they waited to see the Doctor if they had done anything wrong. Others would climb it to see if anyone was punished by him.

“Dr. Smith, the president of Princeton College, was quoted as saying that he received no students from any school in the United States who stood better examinations than those of Dr. Waddel.”

As a pastor, Alfred Nevin notes that “he was pious, zealous, and well versed in theology generally. His style of preaching was plain, simple, earnest. He addressed himself much more to the understanding than to the imagination or passions. As a teacher he stands almost unrivaled.”

Words to Live By:
In The Great Doctor Waddell, by Dr. James McLeod, the author provides a compilation of the students educated under Waddell. The list includes two Vice-Presidents, three Secretaries of State, three Secretaries of War, one Assistant Secretary of War, one US Attorney-general, Ministers to France, Spain and Russia, one US Supreme Court Justice, eleven governors, seven US Senators, thirty two members of the US House of Representatives, twenty two judges, eight college presidents, seventeen editors of newspapers or authors, five members of the Confederate Congress, two bishops, three Brigadier-generals, and one authentic Christian martyr.

In light of which, this might be a good time to review again the words of Dr. R. B. Kuiper, posted here this past July 15th:

“God has seen fit to reveal Himself to man in two books—the Bible, the book of special revelation, and nature and history, the book of general revelation. Now it is the duty of the organized Church to teach men the content of the former of these books, while it is the special task of the school to open the latter. To be sure, the two may not be separated. Truth can hardly be dealt with so mechanically. After all, truth is one because God is one. Truth is organic. And only he who has learned to understand the Bible can really know history and nature. Yet the distinction is a valid one. The Church can hardly be expected to teach the intricacies of mathematics, physics, astronomy, or the history of the Balkans. Nor does any one demand of the school that it preach the gospel. But Church and school together must declare the whole of God’s revealed truth.”

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