Brother Beahm Is Here!
Stories
Object:
Contents
"Brother Beahm Is Here!" by Frank Ramirez
"A Vision for the Future" by Richard A. Jensen
"Proper 28" by John Steward
* * * * * * * * *
Brother Beahm Is Here!
Frank Ramirez
Luke 21:5-19
By your endurance you will gain your souls.
-- Luke 21:19
Isaac Newton Harvey Beahm (1859-1950), better known by his initials as I.N.H Beahm was dubbed the "Boy Preacher" when he began his popular revival ministry. The color preacher was willing to travel anywhere by rail across the country to bring his simple message of salvation and faith. Beahm, who lived near Nokesville, Pennsylvania, used to say he had an agreement with the railway when it came time to travel. If he arrived early before the train he agreed to wait for the train. If the train arrived early before he did, the train agreed to leave without him!
Beahm, known for his short stature and not for his shyness, would arrive with a shout, calling out, "Brother Beahm is here!" He delighted in staying as a guest in people's homes, getting to know folks everywhere on his travels.
But he was no longer known as the Boy Preacher when he decided, on July 23, 1931, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his preaching ministry preaching twenty times over a 200-mile span. He joined a convoy of cars that included three stenographers and some singers from Reading, Pennsylvania, along with several friends and relatives who came along for encouragement.
The marathon began at 4:00 a.m. at the Sutphin Home in Fluvanna County, Virginia, he preached on "The Morning Star," and concluding with a sermon titled "How to be Saved and Church Ordinances" at an 8:30 p.m. service at the Valley Church. An excerpt from the sermon he preached at sunrise on the topic "The Sunrise," gives a good sample of his imaginative style:
I like to study the planets, but I like to study the sun better. The sun is broadcasting his rays constantly and we would be surprised to know how much coal it would take to furnish the Earth as much heat as we get in 24 hours…. The sun is said to be the center of our solar system and Jesus Christ is the center of our religious system.
… Jesus says himself, "I am the way, the Truth and the Life and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." He is the Truth, the vehicle of transportation and He is the Light, the motor power of transportation heavenward and He is the Highway, the King's Highway of Holiness upon which nothing unclean is allowed to travel and where no ravenous beast lurks by the road-side and he said again, "I will draw all men unto me, if I be lifted up, Etc."
The attractive power of the sun is marvelous. Every planet is trying to go straight on in a tense line but the attractiveness of the sun draws it toward the sun and so every planet makes a curved line which is the line of beauty. We are inclined to heaven as the sparrows are to flying upward. We are tending to the flesh toward hell, but the attractiveness of Jesus Christ draws us to Himself and gives us the beautiful curve line of beauty in the path of duty. So the beautiful system is exemplified in Jesus Christ.
Other topics included "The Day Dawn," "The Sunrise," "Work," "Giving," "Prayer," "Fasting," "A Sevenfold View of the Kingdom," "The Supremacy of the Bible" and "The Supremacy of the Church." Along the way he preached on church lawns, in front of court houses, in homes, and of course in churches. At the final service, preached at 8:30 p.m. at a congregation in Prince William County, the then 27-year-old minister said, "We have been practically on schedule all day long. I feel as I felt this morning, very weak, and yet I have felt the Lord to be with us today." Through it all he continued his practice of preaching without notes, while rarely repeating himself.
In addition to knowing how to endure on a daylong preaching trip, he also taught others to endure, even when in disagreement on matters of faith. Unity, he believed, required endurance. Though Brother Beahm was known as a defender of the faith as once delivered, who worked hard to keep believers from straying into what he considered false pathways, and even though he was skeptical about the way the church was taking, he prevented a split in his denomination between conservatives and progressives when he preached at a Bible conference in the late 30s in Southern Pennsylvania.
It was expected, according to the story, that Beahm, like Moses, would lead the true believers out of the Egypt that the mainline churches had become. There were other influential church leaders at the conference but they were not invited to speak. Brother Beahm, however, rose before an audience of over 500 people, in an atmosphere described as electric, and said, "I know the significance of this meeting. I know why you have gathered, what you intend to do. I know why you invited Brother Beahm to come and preach." And then he said, "I am here to preach to you, and tell you why I am staying with the church… and why I think you ought to."
Endurance is one of the primary virtues that the New Testament prescribes for believers who are enduring tribulations. Sometimes we forget the trials come not only from outside the church, but also within, but that it can be important to endure and triumph together to present ourselves as the bride of Christ.
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, and three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids.
A Vision for the Future
Richard A. Jensen
Isaiah 65:17-25
A few years back a west coast bishop returned home from a meeting of his denomination's bishops in Kansas City. He reported on the meeting to his staff. He worked up the most energy in talking about the three major speakers. ''One of the speakers,'' he told his staff, ''teaches Bible at one of our seminaries. She did an excellent job of tracing all the currents of biblical research that have brought us to the present. She gave an excellent review of the recent and not so recent past in biblical studies.''
''A second speaker,'' the bishop continued, ''was a theologian. He did much the same thing as the biblical teacher. He reminded us of our heritage. He talked about the giants of theology in the early twentieth century. He outlined the major streams of theology that have brought us to our present state.''
The bishop started warming to his subject now. ''The third speaker,'' he reported with a gleam in his eye, ''was an incredibly gifted lay woman who works in the field of applied science. She is a member of our denomination and a product of one of our church colleges. The things she told us about the nature of science today were mind boggling. It's a field that is changing with incredible speed. The average length of time of a job in her field is three years. The average length of time of a company in the field is seven years. On the one hand, she said, that is scary. On the other hand, however, this is probably the most exciting time to be alive that humankind has ever known. Things are changing. There are grand new opportunities. We can change our future!''
After he had finished reviewing the speakers the bishop grew more serious. ''I found it interesting,'' he went on, ''that our church's teachers talked to us mostly about the past while she talked to us mostly of the future. And that's not all. She not only talked about the future but she made it clear that science has moved far beyond the point of thinking that God is to be factored out of any intelligent equation. As we move to a new future, she said that the spiritual issues were of absolutely vital concern. And you have the answers here, she said to us. We look to you. We need you. Help us provide the spiritual sustenance the world needs as we move toward a new tomorrow.''
The bishop was clearly fond of this woman scientist. He had a chance to visit with her at the end of the five days they were together. He reported to his staff on that conversation as well. ''She told me,'' the bishop began, ''that she had been very carefully observing our group over our five days together. And she was impressed. 'These are wonderful leaders,' she told me. 'As a group you are incredibly bright and talented. I've never heard any group that is so knowledgeable of the kind of issues you discuss with each other. I've been listening in on your conversations and I am thankful that my church has such dedicated leaders. But,' she said, 'everything you talk about is in the past. It's the past that you are so expert in discussing. It's the church's past that you are so knowledgeable of. But I don't think I've heard anyone discuss the future. Where is your church going in this exciting time? What kind of new future are you going to create? Surely in the church you have language to talk about the future. Surely you have language in the Bible that can hold out a vision of hope for a new world.' ''
(from Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit, 57 Stories For Cycle C by Richard A. Jensen [Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., 1994] 0-7880-0081-0)
Proper 28
John Steward
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Sometimes people do not think that their work is very important or significant. They go through each day believing that what they do is of little value or importance. They need to see the larger picture and how their job fits into the bigger picture. They need to discover, as Martin Luther said, the ministry of vocation.
During World War II, Winston Churchill as Prime Minister was traveling around his country. He was trying to motivate and inspire his fellow citizens. He was willing to go almost anywhere to encourage people in the war effort. He would, of course, always visit the troops. But he also visited those who worked on the farms and in the factories. He knew that the odds against them were great and that he must continue to help keep the morale high.
There was one group he had not yet seen. It was the coal miners. Someone asked him if he would be willing to see these men, who spend most of their time below the ground in such dangerous conditions. One man told Churchill that the miners did not feel that they were doing very much in the effort against the Nazis. He said that no one ever gave them any credit for the work that they did. Would he visit them, he asked. The Prime Minister told the man that he would be pleased to visit these men.
When Churchill visited the coal miners they were absolutely amazed that he was there. They could not believe that he would come to see them. All they could do was to stare with their dirty faces at the man who would lead Britain to victory. His words will never be forgotten by those who heard him on that day. "We will be victorious!" he said. "We will preserve our freedom. And years from now when our freedom is secure and peace reigns, your children and your children's children will come and they will say to you, 'What did you do to win our freedom in that great war?' And one will say, 'I marched with the Eighth Army!' Someone else will proudly say, 'I manned a submarine.' And another will say, 'I guided the ships that moved the troops and the supplies.' And still another will say, 'I doctored the wounds!' " The men sat with rapt attention wondering what he might say about them. "They will come to you," he shouted, "and you will say with equal right and equal pride, 'I cut the coal! I cut the coal that fueled the ships that moved the supplies! That's what I did. I cut the coal!' "
Source: Robert Schuller, Be an Extraordinary Person in an Ordinary World (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell), p. 89.
(from Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, Series II, Cycle C by John Steward [Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., 1997] 0-7880-1056-5)
**************
StoryShare, November 14, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Brother Beahm Is Here!" by Frank Ramirez
"A Vision for the Future" by Richard A. Jensen
"Proper 28" by John Steward
* * * * * * * * *
Brother Beahm Is Here!
Frank Ramirez
Luke 21:5-19
By your endurance you will gain your souls.
-- Luke 21:19
Isaac Newton Harvey Beahm (1859-1950), better known by his initials as I.N.H Beahm was dubbed the "Boy Preacher" when he began his popular revival ministry. The color preacher was willing to travel anywhere by rail across the country to bring his simple message of salvation and faith. Beahm, who lived near Nokesville, Pennsylvania, used to say he had an agreement with the railway when it came time to travel. If he arrived early before the train he agreed to wait for the train. If the train arrived early before he did, the train agreed to leave without him!
Beahm, known for his short stature and not for his shyness, would arrive with a shout, calling out, "Brother Beahm is here!" He delighted in staying as a guest in people's homes, getting to know folks everywhere on his travels.
But he was no longer known as the Boy Preacher when he decided, on July 23, 1931, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his preaching ministry preaching twenty times over a 200-mile span. He joined a convoy of cars that included three stenographers and some singers from Reading, Pennsylvania, along with several friends and relatives who came along for encouragement.
The marathon began at 4:00 a.m. at the Sutphin Home in Fluvanna County, Virginia, he preached on "The Morning Star," and concluding with a sermon titled "How to be Saved and Church Ordinances" at an 8:30 p.m. service at the Valley Church. An excerpt from the sermon he preached at sunrise on the topic "The Sunrise," gives a good sample of his imaginative style:
I like to study the planets, but I like to study the sun better. The sun is broadcasting his rays constantly and we would be surprised to know how much coal it would take to furnish the Earth as much heat as we get in 24 hours…. The sun is said to be the center of our solar system and Jesus Christ is the center of our religious system.
… Jesus says himself, "I am the way, the Truth and the Life and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." He is the Truth, the vehicle of transportation and He is the Light, the motor power of transportation heavenward and He is the Highway, the King's Highway of Holiness upon which nothing unclean is allowed to travel and where no ravenous beast lurks by the road-side and he said again, "I will draw all men unto me, if I be lifted up, Etc."
The attractive power of the sun is marvelous. Every planet is trying to go straight on in a tense line but the attractiveness of the sun draws it toward the sun and so every planet makes a curved line which is the line of beauty. We are inclined to heaven as the sparrows are to flying upward. We are tending to the flesh toward hell, but the attractiveness of Jesus Christ draws us to Himself and gives us the beautiful curve line of beauty in the path of duty. So the beautiful system is exemplified in Jesus Christ.
Other topics included "The Day Dawn," "The Sunrise," "Work," "Giving," "Prayer," "Fasting," "A Sevenfold View of the Kingdom," "The Supremacy of the Bible" and "The Supremacy of the Church." Along the way he preached on church lawns, in front of court houses, in homes, and of course in churches. At the final service, preached at 8:30 p.m. at a congregation in Prince William County, the then 27-year-old minister said, "We have been practically on schedule all day long. I feel as I felt this morning, very weak, and yet I have felt the Lord to be with us today." Through it all he continued his practice of preaching without notes, while rarely repeating himself.
In addition to knowing how to endure on a daylong preaching trip, he also taught others to endure, even when in disagreement on matters of faith. Unity, he believed, required endurance. Though Brother Beahm was known as a defender of the faith as once delivered, who worked hard to keep believers from straying into what he considered false pathways, and even though he was skeptical about the way the church was taking, he prevented a split in his denomination between conservatives and progressives when he preached at a Bible conference in the late 30s in Southern Pennsylvania.
It was expected, according to the story, that Beahm, like Moses, would lead the true believers out of the Egypt that the mainline churches had become. There were other influential church leaders at the conference but they were not invited to speak. Brother Beahm, however, rose before an audience of over 500 people, in an atmosphere described as electric, and said, "I know the significance of this meeting. I know why you have gathered, what you intend to do. I know why you invited Brother Beahm to come and preach." And then he said, "I am here to preach to you, and tell you why I am staying with the church… and why I think you ought to."
Endurance is one of the primary virtues that the New Testament prescribes for believers who are enduring tribulations. Sometimes we forget the trials come not only from outside the church, but also within, but that it can be important to endure and triumph together to present ourselves as the bride of Christ.
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, and three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids.
A Vision for the Future
Richard A. Jensen
Isaiah 65:17-25
A few years back a west coast bishop returned home from a meeting of his denomination's bishops in Kansas City. He reported on the meeting to his staff. He worked up the most energy in talking about the three major speakers. ''One of the speakers,'' he told his staff, ''teaches Bible at one of our seminaries. She did an excellent job of tracing all the currents of biblical research that have brought us to the present. She gave an excellent review of the recent and not so recent past in biblical studies.''
''A second speaker,'' the bishop continued, ''was a theologian. He did much the same thing as the biblical teacher. He reminded us of our heritage. He talked about the giants of theology in the early twentieth century. He outlined the major streams of theology that have brought us to our present state.''
The bishop started warming to his subject now. ''The third speaker,'' he reported with a gleam in his eye, ''was an incredibly gifted lay woman who works in the field of applied science. She is a member of our denomination and a product of one of our church colleges. The things she told us about the nature of science today were mind boggling. It's a field that is changing with incredible speed. The average length of time of a job in her field is three years. The average length of time of a company in the field is seven years. On the one hand, she said, that is scary. On the other hand, however, this is probably the most exciting time to be alive that humankind has ever known. Things are changing. There are grand new opportunities. We can change our future!''
After he had finished reviewing the speakers the bishop grew more serious. ''I found it interesting,'' he went on, ''that our church's teachers talked to us mostly about the past while she talked to us mostly of the future. And that's not all. She not only talked about the future but she made it clear that science has moved far beyond the point of thinking that God is to be factored out of any intelligent equation. As we move to a new future, she said that the spiritual issues were of absolutely vital concern. And you have the answers here, she said to us. We look to you. We need you. Help us provide the spiritual sustenance the world needs as we move toward a new tomorrow.''
The bishop was clearly fond of this woman scientist. He had a chance to visit with her at the end of the five days they were together. He reported to his staff on that conversation as well. ''She told me,'' the bishop began, ''that she had been very carefully observing our group over our five days together. And she was impressed. 'These are wonderful leaders,' she told me. 'As a group you are incredibly bright and talented. I've never heard any group that is so knowledgeable of the kind of issues you discuss with each other. I've been listening in on your conversations and I am thankful that my church has such dedicated leaders. But,' she said, 'everything you talk about is in the past. It's the past that you are so expert in discussing. It's the church's past that you are so knowledgeable of. But I don't think I've heard anyone discuss the future. Where is your church going in this exciting time? What kind of new future are you going to create? Surely in the church you have language to talk about the future. Surely you have language in the Bible that can hold out a vision of hope for a new world.' ''
(from Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit, 57 Stories For Cycle C by Richard A. Jensen [Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., 1994] 0-7880-0081-0)
Proper 28
John Steward
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Sometimes people do not think that their work is very important or significant. They go through each day believing that what they do is of little value or importance. They need to see the larger picture and how their job fits into the bigger picture. They need to discover, as Martin Luther said, the ministry of vocation.
During World War II, Winston Churchill as Prime Minister was traveling around his country. He was trying to motivate and inspire his fellow citizens. He was willing to go almost anywhere to encourage people in the war effort. He would, of course, always visit the troops. But he also visited those who worked on the farms and in the factories. He knew that the odds against them were great and that he must continue to help keep the morale high.
There was one group he had not yet seen. It was the coal miners. Someone asked him if he would be willing to see these men, who spend most of their time below the ground in such dangerous conditions. One man told Churchill that the miners did not feel that they were doing very much in the effort against the Nazis. He said that no one ever gave them any credit for the work that they did. Would he visit them, he asked. The Prime Minister told the man that he would be pleased to visit these men.
When Churchill visited the coal miners they were absolutely amazed that he was there. They could not believe that he would come to see them. All they could do was to stare with their dirty faces at the man who would lead Britain to victory. His words will never be forgotten by those who heard him on that day. "We will be victorious!" he said. "We will preserve our freedom. And years from now when our freedom is secure and peace reigns, your children and your children's children will come and they will say to you, 'What did you do to win our freedom in that great war?' And one will say, 'I marched with the Eighth Army!' Someone else will proudly say, 'I manned a submarine.' And another will say, 'I guided the ships that moved the troops and the supplies.' And still another will say, 'I doctored the wounds!' " The men sat with rapt attention wondering what he might say about them. "They will come to you," he shouted, "and you will say with equal right and equal pride, 'I cut the coal! I cut the coal that fueled the ships that moved the supplies! That's what I did. I cut the coal!' "
Source: Robert Schuller, Be an Extraordinary Person in an Ordinary World (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell), p. 89.
(from Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, Series II, Cycle C by John Steward [Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., 1997] 0-7880-1056-5)
**************
StoryShare, November 14, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
