Read Online Morgan James - Promise McNeal 02 - Quiet Killing by Morgan James - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Morgan James
Ads: Link
lost in time.
“What you have in your hand is the letter from the church membership committee informing Mr. McNeal that his name is being stricken from the membership rolls. The other three papers detail the meeting, or hearing, if you will, conducted to decide if that action would be taken or not. You will see that Mr. McNeal did not choose to attend.”
I must have frowned as though I’d bitten into a persimmon. I’d heard of Amish being banned and Catholics being ex-communicated, but I’d never heard of a Methodist being thrown out of the church.
Mr. Kolb extended his hands toward me. “I know you must be upset. But here is the remainder of the story. The pastor at the time spoke against expelling Mr. McNeal. His testimony is quite passionate and, bymy reading, convincing. He admonishes the committee that it is the Christian duty of the church to stand by those in need and sorrow. However, two members of the committee recounted several incidents where Mr. McNeal was arrested by the local sheriff for disrupting the peace at various gatherings in town, as well as on the Methodist Church grounds. It would appear Mr. McNeal was a self- proclaimed apocalyptic preacher, anointed by the Holy Spirit, he claimed. As such, Mr. McNeal lost no opportunity to preach turning away from sin, and strictly following the Bible’s written word. Apparently, his opportunities also included speaking out, uninvited, during Sunday morning church services.”
I felt my frown relax into a slight smile. So, my great grandfather was somewhat of a rabble-rouser. Surely January’s behavior was harmless, a little over the top maybe, but not enough to get him arrested? Or thrown out of the church? I must have inherited the tendency to want everyone to straighten up and fly right from old January—certainly it didn’t come from my hard-drinking, poker-playing dad. Hard for some of us McNeals—meaning me—to see the shades of gray between the black and white of life. “I’m sorry, what exactly do you mean by apocalyptic preacher ?”
Mr. Kolb folded his hands in his lap and looked off into the distance. I feared a long dissertation on church theology was at hand.
“Well, Ms. McNeal,” he began, “You might say your great grandfather lived in a very interesting period for much of American Protestantism, and the MethodistChurch especially. For you see, around the turn of the twentieth century, this country experienced what was to be called The Third Great Awakening. It was all very exciting, a veritable revolution in accepted church theology. I could go on and on about that exhilarating phenomenon, but we don’t have the time today. Let’s just say two factions fighting for dominance within the Methodist Church emerged to do battle. One side gravitated to the newly emotionally expressed holiness, or Pentecostal movement, where a second baptism by the Holy Spirit was said to enliven the gifts of healing and prophesy. This group of believers felt called directly by God to preach the literal word of the Bible, the Second Coming of Christ, and to stamp out social ills such as liquor, gambling, violence, and so on.”
“I can imagine wanting to stamp out liquor in the Western North Carolina Mountains where moonshine was king, wasn’t very popular.”
“No doubt you are correct. Though the Methodist Church has always been, officially, against the consumption of alcohol. At any rate, the more Pentecostal over-enthusiasm for the literal interpretation of the Bible put them in disagreement with some of the accepted Reform Christian theology of the times. As Methodists, we don’t believe a person need be born again to experience salvation. Nor do we believe speaking in tongues is necessary for understanding God’s message for mankind.
“I could go on and on about the differences. Suffice it to say that during your great grandfather’s time these issues were hotly debated and opinions expressed no less vehemently than Democrats and
“What you have in your hand is the letter from the church membership committee informing Mr. McNeal that his name is being stricken from the membership rolls. The other three papers detail the meeting, or hearing, if you will, conducted to decide if that action would be taken or not. You will see that Mr. McNeal did not choose to attend.”
I must have frowned as though I’d bitten into a persimmon. I’d heard of Amish being banned and Catholics being ex-communicated, but I’d never heard of a Methodist being thrown out of the church.
Mr. Kolb extended his hands toward me. “I know you must be upset. But here is the remainder of the story. The pastor at the time spoke against expelling Mr. McNeal. His testimony is quite passionate and, bymy reading, convincing. He admonishes the committee that it is the Christian duty of the church to stand by those in need and sorrow. However, two members of the committee recounted several incidents where Mr. McNeal was arrested by the local sheriff for disrupting the peace at various gatherings in town, as well as on the Methodist Church grounds. It would appear Mr. McNeal was a self- proclaimed apocalyptic preacher, anointed by the Holy Spirit, he claimed. As such, Mr. McNeal lost no opportunity to preach turning away from sin, and strictly following the Bible’s written word. Apparently, his opportunities also included speaking out, uninvited, during Sunday morning church services.”
I felt my frown relax into a slight smile. So, my great grandfather was somewhat of a rabble-rouser. Surely January’s behavior was harmless, a little over the top maybe, but not enough to get him arrested? Or thrown out of the church? I must have inherited the tendency to want everyone to straighten up and fly right from old January—certainly it didn’t come from my hard-drinking, poker-playing dad. Hard for some of us McNeals—meaning me—to see the shades of gray between the black and white of life. “I’m sorry, what exactly do you mean by apocalyptic preacher ?”
Mr. Kolb folded his hands in his lap and looked off into the distance. I feared a long dissertation on church theology was at hand.
“Well, Ms. McNeal,” he began, “You might say your great grandfather lived in a very interesting period for much of American Protestantism, and the MethodistChurch especially. For you see, around the turn of the twentieth century, this country experienced what was to be called The Third Great Awakening. It was all very exciting, a veritable revolution in accepted church theology. I could go on and on about that exhilarating phenomenon, but we don’t have the time today. Let’s just say two factions fighting for dominance within the Methodist Church emerged to do battle. One side gravitated to the newly emotionally expressed holiness, or Pentecostal movement, where a second baptism by the Holy Spirit was said to enliven the gifts of healing and prophesy. This group of believers felt called directly by God to preach the literal word of the Bible, the Second Coming of Christ, and to stamp out social ills such as liquor, gambling, violence, and so on.”
“I can imagine wanting to stamp out liquor in the Western North Carolina Mountains where moonshine was king, wasn’t very popular.”
“No doubt you are correct. Though the Methodist Church has always been, officially, against the consumption of alcohol. At any rate, the more Pentecostal over-enthusiasm for the literal interpretation of the Bible put them in disagreement with some of the accepted Reform Christian theology of the times. As Methodists, we don’t believe a person need be born again to experience salvation. Nor do we believe speaking in tongues is necessary for understanding God’s message for mankind.
“I could go on and on about the differences. Suffice it to say that during your great grandfather’s time these issues were hotly debated and opinions expressed no less vehemently than Democrats and
Similar Books
