THE GOSPEL TRUMPET YEARS complete Historical Trilogy

The Gospel Trumpet Years completes the Stultz/Welch trilogy of Church of God historY books. Nine years of work, by two very different men, bonded by a common love of Church of God history, gives us this added research. Until now, we utilized secondary research, using A. L. Byers as the major interpreter, with much second-hand information. Dale Stultz brings us some new and original research that makes these volumes our most authentic todate.

Douglas Welch is a Canadian-born, missionary to Kenya, former teacher at School of Theology, and former Archivist, where this book was conceived, now retired. Stultz is a retired crafts teacher in the Anderson Schools, with excellent skills in photography and digital processing, who dedicated his retirement years to doing original research of people, places, documents, and collecting all kinds of memorabilia.

Bound in common purpose allowed them to combine their editorial skills and creative investigative skills resulting in these 256 pages of text, and pictures numbering in the hundreds, many of which have not been viewed by the public.

The Church of God (Anderson) is an interesting family. “Anderson” is the largest of a disingenuous number of church bodies claiming Daniel Sidney Warner as the Moses of their Theological Exodus. “Anderson” remains the primary body, along with others that have different doctrinal lenses that cause them to perceive “Anderson” as somewhere between liberal and apostate.

The Anderson Body divides itself when interpreting the church and church history. Some view the church through “prophetic” lenses that cause them to view Warner’s Followers as the “final reformation.“ Most of us today view the church through a more commonly accepted historical view. Without drawing conclusions here, this issue seriously affects how followers view Warner’s Anderson Church of God, and how liberal-or-conservative you consider it.

Reading this should help you know better why you stand where you stand. The authors describe the book’s birth (pp 1-7), suitably introduce it (pp 8-13), and give you a good historical overview (pp 14-20).

Part I traces the development of the Gospel Trumpet magazine by examining the editorial lineage, editor by editor, through 1961 when the magazine changed its name to “Vital Christianity”. Of interest here is that we do not traditionally list Joseph Fisher in the editorial sequence. You will also learn more about the Williamston years (1884-1886). You may even wonder why we became Warnerites rather than Fisherites … :-)
Part I: The Gospel Trumpet and Its EditorsThe Gospel Trumpet (1881-1961) 15
Daniel Sidney Warner (1842-1895) 22
Joseph C. Fisher 32
Enoch Edwin Byrum (1861-1942) 36
Frederick George Smith (1880-1947) 91
Charles Ewing Brown (1883-1971) 103
Harold L. Phillips (1913-2006) 111

Part II describes the evolution of the magazine and how the magazine and the supporting church-body developed and intertwined together. This informative section on our church development could shed new light on some of your old questions.
Part II: The Gospel Trumpet and the Church
The Role of The Gospel Trumpet 118
Songs of the Evening Light Saints 122
Camp Meetings 130
Into All the World 137
Mission Homes 152
Theological Education 160
Christian Brotherhood Hour 167
Afterword 173

You will find the 17 appendices in Part III informative reading, and perhaps explanatory of numerous threads of thought regarding who-and-what we are as a Movement. I particularly liked learning more about D. O. Teaseley, whose songs I have sung all my life, but knew so little about. I found this section an invaluable resource.
Appendices 183
Appendix I: The Holiness Movement 183
Appendix II: Restorationism 189
Appendix III: The Ohio Odyssey: 1882-1884 192
Appendix IV: Daniel Sidney Warner, the Son 203
Appendix V: The Gospel Trumpet Company (G. Newberry) 205
Appendix VI: Christian Unity (R.R. Byrum) 210
Appendix VII: Problems of Christian Unity (E.A. Reardon) 212
Appendix VIII: Present Awful Truth (D.S.Warner) 215
Appendix IX: The Anti-Cleansing Heresy (C.W.Watson) 217
Appendix X: The Anti-Necktie Controversy (C.W.Watson) 223
Appendix XI: D. Otis Teasley (David L. Neidert) 232
Appendix XII: The Greater Evangelism (A.L. Byers) 235
Appendix XIII: Divine Healing (G.L. ; C.W. Naylor) 240
Appendix XIV: Russell R. Byrum (Merle D. Strege) 243
Appendix XV: Whatever Became Of...? 245
Appendix XVI: Making of Music 250
Appendix XVII: The Loss of D.S.Warner (F.D. Rayle) 251

As a personal aside …
I made some trips with-and-for Dale, to Court Houses, to cemeteries, and around. I observed some of his collectables and spent hours at his home viewing literally thousands of photos he has collected, cleaned, and performed miracles with. I have read documents I never expected to see in my lifetime, let alone read them. I have participated in group sessions, like that day in Grand Junction when a group of us talked and prayed with, and sang to, Jerald Frederik (F.G.’s 101 year-old son that distanced himself from the church but found new life via Dale).

These were times I will take to my grave, but they affirm for me what you can expect to find in the pages of this book. These authors do not walk on water, but they do get their hands dirty, and they have done a lot of thinking about what you will read in these pages. I salute them for their academic integrity and as my friends. Being a friend has been an education all of its own, and I commend this volume to you, having higher hopes than ever for this Church Family known as the Church of God, the Church of the Christian Brotherhood Hour, the Church of God, Anderson, or whatever other handle you use.

From Warner’s World, I am walkingwithwarner.blogspot.com