WallBuilder Report
THE
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY ISSUE 2005
THE GRANGER COLLECTION, NEW YORK
Honoring
Godly Heroes
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
Honoring Godly Heroes
A
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection
frican American History
African American poet James
Month provides an excelWeldon Johnson (1871-1938)
lent opportunity for
properly said of these ministers:
WallBuilders to accomplish its
The old-time Negro preacher
mission of “presenting America’s
has not yet been given the niche
forgotten history and heroes, with
in which he properly belongs. . . .
an emphasis on our moral, reliIt was through him that the
gious, and constitutional heritage.”
people of diverse languages and
In this year’s issue, WallBuilders
customs, who were brought here
will highlight three notable (but
from diverse parts of Africa and
often forgotten)
thrown into
ministers who
slavery, were
were active before
given their first
and during the
sense of unity
national revival
and solidarity.
known as the
He was the first
Second Great
shepherd of the
Awakening (1795bewildered flock.
1845). These black
His power for
ministers labored
good or ill was
alongside white
very great. It was
Christians and
the old-time
preached to both
preacher who for
white and black
James Weldon Johnson generations was
congregations.
the mainspring
This should not seem unusual,
of hope and inspiration for the
however, for truly mature followers
Negro in America.
of Christ in all eras have long
recognized that there are not sevThe Rev. Andrew Bryan
eral races but only two: the believer
1737-1812
and the nonbeliever (Galatians 3:28
Andrew Bryan was born in sla& Colossians 3:11). The stories of
very and grew up as a slave on a
these three ministers are inspiring
plantation in South Carolina. In
and are characterized by sacrifice
1782, Andrew and his wife
and Christian courage.
Hannah became Christians un-
2
der the preaching of the Rev.
George Liele (1752 - 1828), an
African American born into
slavery who ministered the Gospel to other slaves. (Liele was the
first African American ordained
as a Baptist preacher.) Only nine
months after his conversion,
Andrew – still a slave – was
preaching to both black and
white congregations. He evangelized slaves on neighboring plantations and erected a crude
wooden church; his congregation
grew rapidly, attended by both
blacks and whites. On January
20, 1788, Bryan was ordained as a
Baptist minister.
As a result of the rapid growth
of his church, persecution was
initiated by nearby slave owners
who feared a revolt if slaves heard
the message of freedom in the
Gospel. Hundreds of converted
slaves not only were denied water
baptism by their masters but also
Rev. Andrew Bryan
were forbidden to attend Bryan’s
services. Many who did attend
were flogged and severely punished, and even Andrew was
whipped, beaten, and imprisoned
(much like Paul and Silas in Acts
16:19-25), and his church was
seized. (Andrew’s master, who
supported his ministry, helped
arrange his release from jail.)
Was Andrew bitter at this unjust
treatment? Not at all. Instead, just
The WallBuilder Report (issn 1073-1512) is published by WallBuilder Presentations, Inc.
For the first six months, this newsletter is provided free to all who request it. However, to continue receiving The WallBuilder Report beyond that period, we need to
hear from you in some manner (e.g., a letter, call, contribution, purchase of materials,
etc.). Through such communications, we can be sure of your continued interest and
partnership with us. Contributions to WallBuilder Presentations are tax deductible.
Call or write WallBuilders, P.O. Box 397, Aledo, tx 76008-0397, (817) 441-6044.
Internet Locate us on the Internet at www.wallbuilders.com.
Design Lincoln-Jackson, 454 Arcadian Way, Orange, va 22960, 540-661-0048.
3
■ Honoring Godly Heroes
Bryan and those who attended his
church were whipped and persecuted.
as Jesus had instructed in Matthew 5, Andrew exulted in his
persecution, proclaiming that “he
rejoiced not only to be whipped
but would freely suffer death for
the cause of Jesus Christ;” he also
prayed for the men who had persecuted him. This Christ-like behavior in Andrew won the respect of
many observers.
Upon the death of his “master”
in 1790, Andrew purchased his
freedom and that of his wife. In
1794, several influential whites
helped him raise the money to
purchase property upon which to
build a new church – the Bryan
Street African Baptist Church
(the first black Baptist church in
4
America). Andrew then purchased a lot near the church upon
which to build his home.
Within six years, the church
had grown to almost 700 members (a large church at any time, it
definitely was a mega-church in
that era). In 1800, the church was
reorganized as the First African
Baptist Church of Savannah, and
one of its ministries was a black
Sabbath school – the first in the
city. However, because Andrew’s
goal was not simply to have a
large congregation and an impressive church, in 1802 he deliberately split the congregation and
planted a new church: the Second
African Baptist Church of Savannah (its pastor, Henry Francis,
started a school in the church to
educate black children). The
church growth continued, and in
1803 Andrew split the church
again, forming the Third African
Baptist Church of Savannah. As
these churches grew, their congregations pioneered churches in
other parts of the State.
At that time in America’s history, Georgia was one of the most
stridently pro-slavery states in
America. Thomas Jefferson (who
in 1783 proposed the first antislavery law in America) noted
Honoring Godly Heroes ■
that it was the influence of Georgia, North Carolina, and South
Carolina that kept the national
anti-slavery law from passing in
Congress. Georgia had even been
unable to provide its share of
soldiers for the American Revolution because its citizens feared
that if they left their plantations
to fight for American independence, their slaves would escape.
Clearly, slavery was strongly embraced in Georgia, so Andrew
labored in a region of the country
in which ministry by – or to –
African Americans was exceptionally difficult.
Nevertheless, upon Andrew’s
death in 1812, the Savannah Baptist Association (comprised of the
white Baptists of the city), praised
Bryan’s work, proclaiming:
The Association is sensibly
affected by the death of the
Rev. Andrew Bryan, a man of
color, and pastor of the First
Colored Church in Savannah.
This son of Africa, after suffering inexpressible persecutions
in the cause of his divine Master, was at length permitted to
discharge the duties of the
ministry among his colored
friends in peace and quiet,
hundreds of whom, through his
instrumentality, were brought
to knowledge of the truth as “it
is in Jesus.”
The ministry of Andrew
Bryan brought thousands in
Georgia to a personal relationship with God through Christ.
The Rev. “Black Harry” Hoosier
(or Hosier) 1750-1810
The first black Baptist Church in
America (above) was built by the Rev.
Andrew Bryan.
Harry Hoosier was born a slave
in North Carolina, but toward
the end of the American Revolution he obtained his freedom,
converted to Methodism, and
became a preacher. In 1781, he
delivered a sermon in Virginia
entitled “The Barren Fig Tree” –
the first recorded Methodist
sermon by an African American.
5
■ Honoring Godly Heroes
Rev. Harry Hoosier
Despite the fact that Hoosier was
illiterate, he became famous as a
traveling evangelist and was
considered one of the most
popular preachers of his era. In
fact, after hearing Harry preach
in and around Philadelphia, Dr.
Benjamin Rush (1745-1813), a
signer of the Declaration of
Independence and an evangelical
Christian, declared that accounting for his illiteracy, Hoosier was
“the greatest orator in America.”
Early in his ministry, Harry
became a close associate of
Bishop Francis Asbury (17451816), the “Founding Father of
6
the American Methodist
Church.”
(In 1771, Asbury – an Englishman – heard an appeal from John
Wesley for preachers to go to
America to “spread the Word.”
Asbury responded, and during
the next four decades he
preached almost 20,000 sermons
and rode over a quarter of a million miles across America – on
horseback! When Asbury first
arrived, there were only 550
Methodists in America, but by
the time of his death in 1816,
there were 250,000 – and 700
ordained Methodist ministers. In
1924 when a statue of Bishop
Asbury was erected in Washington, dc, President Calvin
Coolidge declared of Asbury that
“He is entitled to rank as one of
the builders of our nation.”)
Hoosier and Bishop Asbury
traveled and preached together,
but Bishop Asbury (who drew
huge crowds) remarked that
Harry drew even larger crowds
than he did! In fact, the Rev.
Henry Boehm (1775-1875) reported: “Harry. . . . was so illiterate
he could not read a word [but h]e
would repeat the hymn as if reading it, and quote his text with
great accuracy. His voice was
Honoring Godly Heroes ■
musical, and his tongue as the pen
of a ready writer. He was
unboundedly popular, and many
would rather hear him than the
bishops.” Harry also traveled and
preached with other popular
bishops of that era, including the
Rev. Richard Whatcoat (17361806), the Rev. Freeborn
Garretson (1752-1827), and the
Rev. Thomas Coke (1747-1814).
The Rev. Coke said of Asbury
that, “I really believe he is one of
the best preachers in the world.
There is such an amazing power
that attends his preaching . . . and
The Rev. Asbury preached before huge
crowds, but Harry’s were even larger.
he is one of the humblest creatures I ever saw.”
Hoosier ministered widely
along the American frontier and
is described by historians as “a
renowned camp meeting exhorter, the most widely known
black preacher of his time, and
arguably the greatest circuit rider
of his day.” However, he was
unpopular in the South for two
reasons: first, frontier Methodists
such as Hoosier tended to lean
Arminian in their theology, contrasted with the denominations
of the South that were largely
Calvinistic (e.g., Presbyterians,
Reformed, Episcopalians, Baptists, etc. – yes, the Baptists of
that day were largely Calvinistic!); second, Methodists were
outspoken against slavery
whereas the majority of the
South supported slavery. Therefore, southern groups such as the
Virginia Baptists came to use the
term “Hoosiers” as an insulting
term of derision that they applied
to Methodists like Black Harry
Hoosier, meaning that they were
anti-slavery in belief and
Arminian in theology.
Fisk University history professor William Piersen believes that
this is the source of the term
7
■ Honoring Godly Heroes
Historian Carter Woodson
“Hoosier” that was applied to the
inhabitants of Indiana. Piersen
explains, “Such an etymology
would offer Indiana a plausible
and worthy first Hoosier – ‘Black
Harry’ Hoosier – the greatest
preacher of his day, a man who
rejected slavery and stood up for
morality and the common man.”
Noted African American
historian Carter Woodson reported the words of early Methodist historian John Ledman in
describing the closing chapter of
Harry Hoosier’s life:
After he had moved on the tide
of popularity for a number of
years . . . he fell by wine – one of
8
the strong enemies of both
ministers and people. And now,
alas! this popular preacher was a
drunken ragpicker in the streets
of Philadelphia. But we will not
leave him here. One evening,
Harry . . . determined to remain
there until his backslidings were
healed. Under a tree he wrestled
with God in prayer. Sometime
that night, God restored to him
the joys of his salvation [Psalm
51:12]. . . . About the year 1810,
Harry finished his course. . . .
An unusually large number of
people, both white and colored,
followed his body to its last
resting place, in a free burying
ground in Kensington [near
Philadelphia].
The Rev. Harry Hoosier was
used by God to draw thousands
of Americans to Christ during
the early decades of the Second
Great Awakening.
The Rev. John Marrant
1755-1791
John Marrant was born in New
York in 1755. His father died early
in John’s life; and in 1766 when
John was eleven, his mother sent
him to Charleston, South Carolina, to live with an older sister
and learn a trade. After arriving
Honoring Godly Heroes ■
(The Rev. George Whitefield
(1714-1770) has been called the
greatest evangelist of all time.
Born in England, he became a
missionary to America, making
seven separate trips and spending
nine years preaching across the
country. It is estimated that he
preached to nearly ten million
individuals in his lifetime, with
crowds of 20,000 being common
and reaching as high as 100,000
(of course, there was no sound
amplification then, and it was
reported that Whitefield’s natural
voice could be heard up to one
mile away, thus easily accommodating such crowds). Whitefield
preached some 18,000 sermons in
Used by permission from BJU Press
in Charleston, John had a change
of plans; as he explained: “I had
passed by a school and heard
music and dancing, which took
my fancy very much; and I felt a
strong inclination to learn the
music. I went home and informed my sister that I would
rather learn music than go to a
trade.” John therefore undertook
the study of music and became
skilled with both the violin and
the French horn. According to
John, within two years (while he
was only thirteen years of age):
“I was invited to all the balls and
assemblies that were held in the
town, and met with general applause of the inhabitants. I was a
stranger to want, being supplied
with as much money as I had any
occasion for.”
On his way to play at one of
those musical events, John and a
friend passed a crowded meetinghouse. John noticed that the
large crowd was gathered around
“a crazy man halloing there.”
The “crazy man” was the Rev.
George Whitefield, and the
assembly was one of many religious meetings that occurred
during the First Great Awakening – a national spiritual revival
that lasted from 1730-1770.
Rev. John Marrant
9
■ Honoring Godly Heroes
his life – an average of 500 a year,
and 10 each week. Often, up to
500 hearers at a time would fall
to the ground and lie prostrate
under the power of his sermons.)
John’s friend who was accompanying him, wanting to disrupt
Whitefield’s event, dared John to
take his French horn and “blow
[it] among them.” Marrant accepted the challenge; raising the
horn to his lips and preparing to
blow, Whitefield suddenly looked
directly at John, pointed his
finger at him, and announced,
“Prepare to meet thy God, O
Israel!” Marrant immediately fell
prostrate as though struck down
(c.f., John 18:6 & Revelation 1:17),
remaining motionless for almost
half an hour. When John recovered, Whitefield ministered to
the young boy and spent time
with him. On the third day,
Marrant committed his life to
Christ and dedicated himself to
Gospel ministry. (Marrant’s
conversion occurred on
Whitefield’s final missionary
journey to America.)
An overjoyed Marrant returned to his family to share his
newfound experience with them,
but they rejected him. Like
Moses of old (Exodus 2:15), John
fled to the wilderness. There he
The Rev. George Whitefield, considered one of the greatest evangelists of all
time, led John Marrant to Christ and helped him enter the ministry.
10
Honoring Godly Heroes ■
met a Cherokee warrior and they
spent ten weeks together, hunting and becoming fast friends.
When they eventually returned
to the Indian’s camp, Marrant
was made a prisoner (the Cherokees at this time were often at
war with the settlers; it was clear
to the Cherokees that the black
Marrant was not an Indian, so he
therefore was an enemy settler).
When the Cherokee chieftain
threatened John with death, John
addressed the Cherokees in their
own language and shared with
them the Gospel of Christ. According to Marrant, “The king
[the chief ] himself was awakened, and the others set at [spiritual] liberty. A great change took
place among the people; the
King’s house became God’s
house; the soldiers were ordered
away; and the poor condemned
prisoner [Marrant] had perfect
liberty and was treated like a
prince. Now the Lord made all
my enemies become my great
friends.” Thus being released from
his captivity, the chief granted
Marrant permission to evangelize
among the Cherokee – which he
did for the next nine weeks, also
evangelizing among the
Muskogees. As noted by African
American historian Arthur
Schomburg (1874-1938), Marrant
was: “A Negro in America [like]
the Jesuits of old, who spread the
seed of Christianity among the
American Indians before the
birth of the American Republic.”
Following his success with his
missionary endeavors, Marrant
returned to his family; but they
again rejected him because they
now considered him too much of
an Indian. Ironically, throughout
his life Marrant was often faced
with rejection which he overcame
on each occasion: first, his family
rejected his calling toward the
Gospel ministry (yet he persevered and entered anyway); next,
the Cherokees rejected him because he was a settler (again he
overcame and evangelized among
them); then, when he returned to
his family, they rejected him as
being too much of “a savage” in
“the Indian style” (once more he
persisted until he broke through
the rejection and was finally
reunited with his family).
Following these evangelistic
efforts, Marrant agreed to work
as a carpenter on a plantation
near Charleston; and while
working there, he evangelized
among the slaves. As he ex11
■ Honoring Godly Heroes
plained, “During this time, I saw
my call to the ministry fuller and
clearer – had a feeling of concern
for the salvation of my countrymen.” Sadly, however, when the
mistress of the plantation found
the slaves at prayer, she alerted
her husband, who rounded up a
posse and raided the prayer
meeting. According to Marrant,
“As the poor creatures came out,
they caught them and tied them
together with cords till the next
morning, when all they caught –
men, women, and children –
were stripped naked and tied
(their feet to a stake, their hands
to the arm of a tree) and so severely flogged that the blood ran
from their backs and sides to the
floor, to make them promise they
would leave off praying.”
All of this activity occurred
before the American Revolution; and when the Revolution
did commence, Marrant was
impressed by the British into
the navy. Following the war, he
settled in England, and on May
15, 1785, was ordained as a
Christian minister by the Calvinistic Methodists, a group
started by George Whitefield.
(Whitefield and the Wesleys
worked together in forming the
Methodist church, but the
Wesleys became more
Arminian in theology whereas
Whitefield remained more
Calvinistic and thus headed the
Marrant evangelized successfully among Indians as well as among slaves.
12
Honoring Godly Heroes ■
Marrant conducted prayer meetings among slaves, and even though those
who attended were beaten, they still continued in prayer.
Calvinistic Methodists.)
Marrant continued his ministry
efforts, preaching in England,
then Canada, and then back in
the United States. While in
America, he became ill, and
being in poor health, he desired
to return to England to see his
friends there. He died shortly
thereafter at the age of thirtysix. Despite the apparent shortness of his life, Marrant nevertheless accomplished much, and
was among the first African
Americans to evangelize successfully among the American
Indians.
Summary
These three famous ministers
(the Rev. Andrew Bryan, the
Rev. Harry Hoosier, and the
Rev. John Marrant) were all
well-known and even nationallyknown ministers in their day; all
were extremely effective; all
contributed greatly to the
growth of American Christianity in particular and America in
general. These three are just a
few examples of the forgotten
heroes and history that WallBuilders is proud to reintroduce
to this generation of Americans!
■
13
Air WallBuilders’ African American History
Program on Your Local Cable Station - FREE!
Every citizen has a right to show programming on their
local cable access channel! Contact our office to obtain a
copy of Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black
and White that you can show on your local cable system.
This is an excellent program for African American History
Month, (or any other month) so call 800-873-2845 to volunteer to show this program in your area at no charge to you.
Help educate Americans on their forgotten heroes and history – and especially on their religious, moral, and constitutional
history! Don’t miss this opportunity to impact your community.
Contribute to WallBuilders Online! You can now make tax-deductible
contributions to WallBuilders online. Just go to www.wallbuilders.com
and click “Support WallBuilders” under the “About Us” menu.
Thank you for your continued support!
NEW!
W
allBuilders has just completed the largest video project
it has ever undertaken: Setting the Record Straight:
American History in Black and White. Learn about
the first African American . . .
• to deliver a sermon in Congress
• to become a US Senator (a minister of the Gospel)
• to give a speech in the US House
• to be admitted to the Supreme Court bar
• to preside over a national political convention
• to be appointed to office in four different presidential administrations, and more . . .
See stirring reenactments of actual events from the past two centuries.
Learn of a forgotten history and heritage that will inform and inspire
all Americans – regardless of their own racial heritage.
dvd or vhs $17.95 (regularly $19.95) • Book $7.95 (regularly $8.95)
To receive these prices, use code nlb105.
Order now at www.wallbuilders.com or by calling 1-800-873-2845.