The power of one person’s witness
“In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” Acts 19:20
As we approach Palm Sunday and Easter, it is a time to reflect on what effect one person can have on the world.
We highlighted Buck Storm’s new novel last week entitled “The Light,” which is a great story of the events after the resurrection and during Pentecost. This is a fascinating depiction and I would recommend to everyone.
I missed including the correct ordering information last week so if you are interested in a copy, they’re available through Humphrey House Books at humphreyhouse.co and also at Amazon or at the Sower Book Store locally. Don’t forget to sign up on Buck’s email list at buckstorm.com.
As a history buff and a Christian, I love the stories of real people and the effect they had spreading the gospel. Obviously the disciples and first Christians attest to the fact that the teachings from the Bible are true and changed people and history. From what we know of the disciples and more recent personalities like Whitefield, Wesley, Finney, Spurgeon, Moody and others, these were very ordinary people without a fancy resume’ that God used in a special way.
One individual in American history was a man born as a slave in North Carolina but toward the end of the American Revolution he obtained his freedom. He was known to most as just “Black Harry.” He was a convert to Methodism, which had spread by the many circuit rider preachers who had adopted the “methods” of John and Charles Wesley.
Although Harry was hardly literate, he had an amazing ability to memorize scripture and hymns and traveled with the Methodist preacher Francis Asbury. Asbury remarked that even though he attracted large crowds, Harry seemed to draw more people than he did. The Rev. Harry Boehm stated that “Harry … was so illiterate he could not read a word but he would repeat the hymn as if reading it, and quote his text with great accuracy. His voice was musical, and his tongue as the pen of a ready writer. He was unboundedly popular, and many would rather hear him than the bishops.”
After the Revolution, Harry traveled across the Appalachian mountains into Kentucky, Tennessee and throughout the Ohio Valley. He would stop at a settlement and if accepted would stay for days or weeks bringing the good news to the villages. If he wasn’t accepted, he would move on to the next settlement but in many cases he would stay for weeks.
Years and decades later, travelers coming through this area would comment on many of the settlements that there was a refreshing atmosphere and most of the residents were active in church and there was a lack of crime and drunkenness. The typical response to that observation was, “Well, those people are just a bunch of hoosiers!”
You see, that was Black Harry’s last name: He was Harry Hoosier. He changed an area to such a degree with his preaching that it was evident to anyone who passed through.
Now when you see the people of Indiana called “Hoosiers,” you know where that came from. If you want to know more about the message Harry gave, go to: https://bible.org/article/gods-plan-salvation
We may have the churches closed in Kootenai County but that is not the church. The church is the people witnessing, sharing, ministering and helping others around them. Jane and I have interviewed so many remarkable individuals in the area who are volunteer chaplains at the jails, working with the addicted, helping the homeless and people with nowhere to go. There isn’t the room to name them in a column like this.
But we all have a chance to pray, witness and spread the good news of what Christ has done in our own lives. That we would have such an effect that when people came through our towns in Kootenai County they would ask the question, “What is going on here? These people are so different.” The response would be, “Oh, them. They’re just a bunch of Christians!”
Black Harry Hoosier can be our example.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” -Acts 4:1
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Bob Shillingstad’s columns appear Saturdays in The Press. Email: bjshill@mac.com
