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1. I wrote the first volume, Friend of God, about the many deeds and lessons which Jesus got under way, up to the day when he ascended. Prior to this he had given, through the Holy Spirit, specific orders to his special agents, and had shown himself to them with many positive proofs that he was still alive even after he had been killed. Through forty days he appeared to them and discussed matters concerning the God Movement. And while staying with them, he urged them not to leave Atlanta but to wait for the Father's promised gift about which he had told them. "Yes, John dipped people in water," he said, "but in just a few days you all will be dipped in Holy Spirit." 6. So those about him began asking, "Will that be the occasion on which you will take over the government?" He said to them, "You are not to get all worked up about timetables and events which the Father has under his own control. But as the Holy Spirit comes over you, you will get power and will be my agents in Atlanta and throughout Georgia, in the ghetto and across the land." As he said this, and while they were watching, he was carried away and a cloud kept them from seeing him. 10. As he went away, and while they were still staring into the sky, two men in blue jeans joined them and asked, "Citizens of America, why stand there looking at the sky? This Jesus who was carried away from you into the sky will come just as you saw him going into the sky." 12. Then they returned to Atlanta from "Peach Hill Orchard," which is in the suburbs of Atlanta. When they got back, they went upstairs where they were living. This included Rock and Jack and Jim and Andy, Phil and Tom, Bart and Matt, Jim Alston and Simon the Rebel, and Joe Jameson. All of them, including the women and Mary, Jesus' mother, and his brothers, were continually praying together. 15. While this was going on, Rock arose and said to the brotherhood (the
number in the assembly was about one hundred twenty) "Brothers, it was
inevitable that David's inspired prediction about Judas being in cahoots with
those who framed Jesus, should come true. He belonged to our group, and thereby
obtained a rightful share in this undertaking." 20. Rock continued, "In the book of Psalms it says, 'May his barn be empty also, 'Let someone else take over his office.' "So, we've got to choose someone to join with us as evidence of Jesus' aliveness–someone who has been with us throughout the whole time Jesus was among us–from the beginning at John's baptism until the day of his ascension." 23. They then nominated two, George Jones, who was nicknamed Barsey, and Matt. They prayed and said, "You, Lord, heart-knower of all, please make clear which one of these two you have selected to receive the rightful share of this undertaking and commission from which Judas deserted to go his own way." They had them draw lots, and the share fell to Matt, who was then counted in with the eleven officers.
1. When Thanksgiving Day arrived, they were all gathered in one place. Then all of a sudden there came from the sky a rumbling like a tornado, and it filled the whole house where they were gathered. And they saw forked flames as from a fire, and it stayed in contact with each one of them. Everybody was bursting with Holy Spirit and started talking in whatever different languages the spirit directed. 5. Now at that time there were a lot of delegates gathered in Atlanta, religious people from countries all over the world. So when they heard this great noise, they all came running together. And then they heard these folks talking to each one of them in their own native tongue, and were they excited! Amazed and astounded no end, they said, "Look, aren't all these speakers Americans? Then how is it that each of us is hearing it in his own native tongue–French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Burmese, Hebrew, Swedish, Afrikaans, Hindi–in our own languages we are hearing them tell of God's mighty doings." Everybody was dumfounded and puzzled, saying one to another, "What's the meaning of this?" But others sneered, "They're tanked up on white lightning." 14. So Rock, along with the eleven, got right up and started explaining matters to them: "Fellow Georgians and all you delegates in Atlanta, let me set you straight on this right now. These folks are not tanked up like you think, because it's just nine o'clock in the morning. Instead, this is the happening described in the book of Joel: 'When the time is ripe,' says God, "Brother men, give me your attention. Surely you yourselves know about Jesus, the Valdostan, a man whom God backed up with the mighty deeds, marvelous happenings and solid evidence which he presented right before your eyes. Within the framework of his purpose and knowledge, God let you murder him by stringing him up at the hands of a mob. But then God removed the effects of death and restored him to life. It just wasn't possible for him to be contained by death. David puts these words on his lips: 'I was assured in advance of my Lord's abiding presence; "Brothers of mine, let me tell you bluntly that our forefather David
died, was buried and his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and
knowing that God had guaranteed that one of his own descendants would succeed
him, he foresaw the resurrection of the Leader when he referred to him as not
being abandoned to the grave, nor his body to the despair of death. And it's
this man Jesus that God has made alive, and all of us are the evidence of his
aliveness. Since he has been elevated as 'God's right hand man,' and having
received from the Father the assurance of the Holy Spirit, he has shared with us
this which you are seeing and hearing. For while David himself never entered the
spiritual realm, he did say, 37. Upon hearing this they were cut to the quick, and they said to Rock
and the other officers, "Will you please tell us, brothers, what we can do
about it?" 41. So those who accepted his explanation were initiated, swelling the membership to about three thousand. They were all bound together by the officers' instruction and by the sense of community, by the common meal and the prayers. A great reverence came over everybody, while many amazing and instructive things were done by the officers. The whole company of believers stuck together and held all things common. They were selling their goods and belongings, and dividing them among the group on the basis of one's need. Knit together with singleness of purpose they gathered at the church every day, and as they ate the common meal from house to house they had a joyful and humble spirit, praising God and showing over-flowing kindness toward everybody. And day by day, as people were being rescued, the Lord would add them to the fellowship.
1. Now one afternoon about three o'clock, Rock and Jack were going into the church to pray. So there was this guy who was born a cripple and who was put every day at the main entrance of the sanctuary, to panhandle from those going to church. When he saw Rock and Jack about to go in, he started putting the bite on them. So Rock, with Jack backing him up, looked the fellow in the eye and said, "Look straight at us!" He smiled big at them, thinking they were a soft touch. Then Rock said, "I don't have one thin dime, but I'm going to give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Valdosta, walk!" And grabbing him by the right hand, Rock pulled him to his feet. Instantly he got strength in his feet and ankles and started jumping around and walking all over. He went with them into the church, walking and jumping and shouting God's praises. Everybody recognized him as the panhandler at the main entrance to the church and they were utterly amazed and astounded at what had happened to him. 11. While he was still hanging on to Rock and Jack, the whole congregation gathered around them in the vestibule. When Rock saw what was happening, he said to them all, "My fellow church members, why are you so surprised at this, or why are you staring at us as though this man has been made to walk by our own power or saintliness? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has exalted this man Jesus, whom you all framed and disowned before the governor, and decided that he should be killed. But you disowned the Special One, the Just One, and asked that a convicted murderer be made your leader. While indeed you assassinated life's noblest one, God raised him from the dead, of which fact we all are the evidence. And his name–by faith in his name–this man whom you see and recognize has received strength. The faith that came through Jesus made him normal before your eyes. 17. "And now, brothers, I am aware that you did it without realizing what you were up to, and the same is true of your leaders. In fact, in this way God has made a reality of what he previously announced through the sermons of all the prophets, about his Leader choosing to suffer. Re-shape your lives, then, and turn around, so that the slate can be wiped clean of your past misdeeds, that opportunities for renewal might come to you from the Lord, and that he might send to you Jesus, his previously chosen Leader. It's necessary for this leader to remain in the spiritual realm only until the occasions leading up to the establishment of everything God said long ago, through his genuine prophets. Indeed, Moses himself said, 'The Lord your God will provide for you from among your own kinsmen a prophet like me. You shall follow the instructions he gives you to the very last detail. If there's a soul who won't listen to that prophet, he shall be utterly rooted out of the congregation.' Furthermore, from Samuel on down, all the prophets discussed and described what's happening right now. You folks are in this stream of prophecy and are heirs of the contract which God drew up with your forefathers when he said to Abraham, 'And through your descendant all the nations on earth shall be given a new lease on life.' Now that God has just raised up his man, you are first in line to receive the new lease when each of you turns from his mean ways."
1. They were still talking to the people when some preachers and the police chief and the Old Guard laid into them. They were plenty mad at them because they were teaching the people and declaring that Jesus was raised from the dead. So they had them arrested and put in jail until the next day, since it was already late in the evening. Many of those who heard the word were convinced, and the number of men rose to about five thousand. 5. Well, the next day the leading men and the city officials and the legal staff met in Atlanta. (These included Anderson, the mayor, and Cates and John and Alec, and others on the City Council.) They had Rock and Jack stand up front, and they began the hearing by asking, "By what authority or in whose name have you fellows done this?" Then Rock, busting with Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders of the people and city officials, if we today are being examined because of a good work done on a sick man, that is–who has healed him–let it be made clear to you and to everybody in America, that in the name of Jesus of Valdosta, whom you lynched, whom God made to live again, by him this man stands before you completely healed. Indeed, this Jesus is 'the stone which you builders considered worthless, but which became the corner stone.' And the answer lies in him alone, for there isn't another person in the whole world who can rescue us." 13. The officials were really surprised at the boldness of Rock and Jack, especially since they seemed to be uneducated and simple people, and it dawned on them that these were Jesus' pupils. On top of this, they saw the healed man standing there with them, and couldn't argue that point. So they told them to step outside the courtroom, and then they started discussing the matter. "What'll we do with these fellows? For it's as clear as day to everybody in Atlanta that they've done something terrific, and we simply can't deny it. But, to keep this from blowing all over the country, let's read the riot act to them, that they are never again to mention this man's name to a living soul." 18. So they called them back in and started throwing the book at them, warning them never to open their mouths on the subject of Jesus. But Rock and Jack spoke right up and said, "You can make up your own minds as to whether it's right to obey God or man. But as for us, it's impossible to keep quiet about what we've seen and heard." 21. When the officials had finished putting the heat on them, they ran them off. They could find no way to punish them, because of their standing with the crowd. Everybody was praising God for what had happened, since the man who had been so wonderfully healed was over forty years old. 23. After they were turned loose, they went straight to the fellowship and rehearsed all that the officials had said to them. Upon hearing it, all of them lifted up a united voice to God and said, "Mighty Owner, Maker of land and sky and sea and all that's in them, through the Holy Spirit you moved your servant and our father David to say, 'Why have the pagans pranced around, Surely in this very city both the Governor of Alabama and the Governor of Georgia have gotten together with church members and non-church members against your devoted servant Jesus, whom you authorized to carry out the things you wanted done. And now, Sir, listen to their threats and give us, your slaves, the guts to tell your word like it is, while you reach out to heal and to do great and wonderful things by the name of your devoted servant Jesus." When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and were telling God's word like it is. 32. Now a single heart and soul was in the body of believers. Not one of them considered his property to be private, but all things were shared by them. With mighty power the apostles were giving the evidence of Jesus' aliveness, and upon them all was a spirit of abounding goodwill. You know, there wasn't a person in the group in need. For owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds and placing them at the disposal of the apostles. Distribution was then made to everyone on the basis of his need. 36. So, a fellow named Joe (his nickname, "Barney," given to him by the apostles, means "a helpful guy"), from an old-line Virginia family, owned a farm. He sold it, brought the proceeds and placed them at the disposal of the church officers.[5.]1 But, there was a man by the name of Harry who sold a piece of property and held back some of the money. His wife, Sapphire, was also in on the deal. He then brought a certain part2 and put it at the disposal of the officers. But Rock said to him, "Harry, why are you so full of the devil that you've lied to the Holy Spirit and kept some of the money from the sale of the land? Wasn't the property yours all along, and didn't you make the decision to sell it? Then what came over you to do a thing like this? You are not playing false with men but with God!" 5. While Harry was listening to what was being said, he collapsed and died. And it seared the daylights out of all those who were watching. The ushers then got up, put a sheet over him, carried him outside and buried him. 7. Well, about three hours later, in walked his wife, without knowing what had gone on. Rock asked her, "Tell me, did you get such and such for the land?" She said, "Yes, that's correct." Then Rock said to her, "Why did you two conspire to confuse the Lord's spirit? Listen here, the men who buried your husband are coming in the door and they'll take you out!" Right then and there she collapsed at his feet and died. The ushers came on in, and finding her dead, too, took her out and buried her beside her husband. The whole church and all who heard about it were evermore shook up! 12. The officers did a lot of other remarkable and wonderful things among the people. They were meeting together at Grant Park, and while nobody was brave enough to join them, folks did speak mighty highly of them. But increasingly quite a group of both men and women put their faith in the Lord and were enrolled. Besides, the sick were carried into the streets and put on cots and stretchers so that even Rock’s shadow might fall on them as he passed by. Also, crowds from the towns all around Atlanta flocked in, bringing those sick in body and mind, and they were all healed. 17. But the Mayor and City Council, who were members of the Conservative Party, blew their top. They arrested the apostles and put them in the city jail. But that night, an angel of the Lord opened the jailhouse doors, led them outside and said, "Go, stand on the courthouse steps and explain to the people all the matters concerning this kind of life." They listened carefully, and at the crack of day they went to the courthouse steps and started teaching. Now the mayor and his assistants called a meeting of the Council and all the prominent white citizens, and sent to fetch the apostles. But when the fuzzes got to the clink, they didn't find the apostles in it. They went back and reported: "We found the jailhouse locked according to regulations and the guards were on duty, but when we opened up and went inside we didn't find a soul." When the police chief and the Council heard this, they tried to figure out what the hell had happened. About that time somebody came busting in and shouted, "Hey, those joes you put in the jug are standing on the courthouse steps preaching to the people." Then the chief and his fuzzes went out and got them without using brutality, because they were scared the crowd might throw bottles at them. They led them in and stood them up before the Council. The mayor tore into them and said, "We warned you in no uncertain terms not to spread the ideas of that fellow. And now look, you've agitated all of Atlanta with your ideas, and are trying to pin that guy's lynching on us!" 29. Rock and the other officers replied, "It's our duty to obey God rather than men. Our fathers' God raised Jesus, whom you mobbed and strung up on a tree. God promoted him to be his number one Leader and Deliverer, to bring to white folks a change of heart and a way out of their sins. And all of us are evidence of this statement, as indeed is the Holy Spirit which God gives to those who are controlled by him." 33. At this the city fathers blew a gasket and wanted to kill them on the spot. But a Baptist by the name of Gamaliel, a Sunday School teacher with a good reputation in the community, got up in the Council and ordered the apostles to be put outside for a little while. Then he said, "My fellow citizens, be extremely careful in your actions against these men. A while back, you remember, Turner set himself up as a big-time movement man and got about four hundred people to join up. But he was rubbed out, his followers routed, and they got nowhere. Later on, when the draft law was passed, Jody the Tennessean made a stir and got quite a following, but he too was wiped out and his movement broken up. So, in this situation I'd advise you to keep your hands off these men and let them be. If this plan or this program of theirs is a purely human scheme, it will blow itself out. But if it is God's thing, you can't put a stop to it without declaring yourselves at war with God." That made sense to them, so they called in the apostles, beat them up, warned them not to talk about Jesus anymore, and turned them loose. The apostles then left the Council meeting, happy that they were counted worthy to he disgraced for the Name. Every day, both on the courthouse steps and from door to door, they never quit teaching and preaching that Jesus is Lord.
1. Along about the time that a lot of members were coming into the church, the liberals got into a hassle with the conservatives because some of their dependents were being discriminated against in the distribution of relief funds. So the twelve called a meeting of the whole church and said, "It's not a good idea for us to take time away from the teaching of God's word to tend to material matters. So brothers, why don't you choose seven reliable men who are spiritual-minded and wise, and we'll commission them to take this responsibility? Then we can give full time to prayer and to the cultivation of the word." This suggestion pleased the congregation, so they nominated Steve, a deeply spiritual fellow who was on fire for the faith, and Phil and Proctor and Nick and Timmie and Farmer and Nichol, a former church member from up North. These were recommended to the officers, who then prayed for them and commissioned them. 7. The word of God made much headway. The number of converts in Atlanta increased tremendously, with a goodly portion even of the ministerial association becoming Christians. 8. Now Steve, loaded with good will and energy, was doing all sorts of terrific things among the people. Then some cats from the so-called conservative church–from Kentucky and Tennessee and some from the True-God Seminary and Bible College–ganged up on Steve and started arguing with him, but they couldn't hold a candle to his wise and inspired answers. They got their cronies to say, "We heard him saying some awful things against God and the Bible." They stirred up the good citizens and the official power structure, and grabbed Steve and arrested him and brought him before the Council. They brought in some professional liars who said, "This joker never stops blabbing against the church and against the system. For we ourselves heard him say that this Jesus of Valdosta will destroy the church and will change the American way of life." All those sitting in the Council glued their eyes on him. They noticed he had a look on him like an angel.
1. Then the Mayor asked, "Are these things true?" And Steve said, "My fellow Americans and gentlemen, please listen to me.3 The Good Lord appeared to our forefather Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, and before he moved to Haran, and said to him, 'Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into a land that I will show you.' Then he left Chaldea and went to Haran. After his father died, he migrated to this country in which you now live. But God gave him no homestead in it–not even an acre. Yet he did guarantee that it would belong to him and to his line, though at that time he was childless. Here's how God put it: 'His line will be pilgrims in a strange land, and they will be exploited and mistreated for four hundred years. And I will judge the nation which exploits them.' God said, 'and afterwards they will move out and worship me in this country.' And he gave to him circumcision as the symbol of the new life. Being thus initiated, he became the father of Isaac, whom he initiated on the eighth day. And Isaac did the same to his son Jacob, and Jacob to his sons, the twelve founding fathers. 9. "Now the founding fathers were jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. But God was with him and pulled him through all his trials, and supplied him with tact and common sense when he stood before Pharaoh, King of Egypt. So the King appointed him to be governor over Egypt and all his affairs. Now a famine which caused great hardship came over the whole of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could find no rations. But Jacob caught wind of some wheat in Egypt and sent his boys down there for the first time. On the second trip, Joseph let his brothers know who he was, and he also informed Pharaoh about his family. Then Joseph sent and fetched the whole shebang–his father Jacob and about seventy-five relatives. So Jacob moved to Egypt, and he and our founding fathers lived there till they died. They were later moved and put in a burial place in Sechem which Abraham had bought for cash from a Sechem family named Herman. 17. "As the time approached for God to make good on the guarantee he had made to Abraham, our population in Egypt had greatly increased and there was a king over Egypt who had forgotten all about Joseph. He didn't shoot straight with our people and was so mean he made the fathers abandon their babies to die. During this period, Moses, a very special child, was born. He was cared for at home for three months, and when he was "abandoned," Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. Moses was given a top-notch Egyptian education, and was a powerful man in both what he said and did. 23. "When he was about forty, it was laid on his heart to investigate the conditions of his own Jewish people. While doing so, he saw one of them getting beat up, and he jumped in and squared things away for the Israelite by knocking hell out of the Egyptian. He took for granted that his brothers would get the point that God would use him to be their Freedom Leader. But they didn't catch on. In fact, the very next day he chanced on two of them slugging one another, and he tried to get them to break it up. 'Hey you guys,' he said, 'you're brothers. How come you beating up on each other?' But the fellow who started the fight shoved Moses aside and said, 'Who put you in the big seat to lord it over us? Do you think you can bump me off just like you bumped off that Egyptian yesterday?' When Moses heard that, he high-tailed it out of there and became a resident of Midian. His two boys were born there. 30. "Forty years later he was in the open country around Mt. Sinai when an angel appeared to him in the flames of a bush that was on fire. When Moses saw it he couldn't believe his eyes. So he went over to investigate, and then the Lord started speaking. 'I am the God of your forefathers–Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.' That got Moses shook up and he was scared to do any more investigating. But the Lord continued, 'Take off your shoes, because you're standing on holy ground. I have seen the awful oppression of my people in Egypt; I have listened to their moanings; I stand ready now to free them. So come on, I'm sending you to Egypt.' 35. "This very same Moses, whom they rejected by saying, 'Who put you in the big seat to lord it over us,' was sent by God through the angel at the Bush, to be both Leader and Liberator. This Moses worked amazing but clear proofs in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and led the people out into open country and guided them for forty years. This is the Moses who stood between the angel, speaking from Mt. Sinai, and our fathers gathered in the open country; who received the Living Words and relayed them to us. Yes, he is the one whom our fathers were unwilling to obey and shoved aside. They lapsed into the Egypt mentality, and said to Aaron, 'Make us some gods who will stick by us, because "this Moses," who led us out of Egypt, we just don't know what he's up to.' 41. "So they made a calf during those days, and celebrated with a big feast to the idol, and they whooped it up around their own invention. But God walked out and left them to worship the whole galaxy of gods, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Was it to me, O nation of Israel, that you made your celebrations and feasts those forty years in the open country? No indeed, but you made War your god, and Violence your guiding star. They became patterns of your worship. All right, I'll banish you to outer Babylon.' 44. "While in the open country our fathers had a Chapel of the
Presence, built according to the plan which God described to Moses. In the next
generation, under Joshua, it was moved into the Promised Land which God cleared
of pagans to make room for our people, and there it stayed until the time of
David. Now David got the idea of putting up a more plush sanctuary for the God
of Jacob, but Solomon actually built it. But – The prophet bears this out when he says, 'The sky is my office, 51. "You pig-headed pagans, you are forever turning a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit. You are just like your fathers before you. Can you name just one man of God that they didn't ride out on a rail? And besides, they assassinated the forerunners of the Just One. And now you are his betrayers and killers–you who got the Bible straight from angels, and refused to live by it!" 54. When they heard this they were cut to the quick, and hit the ceiling. Steve, however, vibrant with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on the sky and saw God's glory, and Jesus standing as God's right-hand man. He cried out, "Look, I'm seeing the skies opening up and the Son of Man is standing beside God as his right-hand man." But they yelled bloody murder and put their fingers in their ears. Then all together they gave him the bum's rush, dragged him out of town and started throwing rocks at him. Those taking part in it piled their coats in front of a young fellow named Saul. They kept on throwing rocks at Steve while he was calling on Jesus, saying, "Lord Jesus, please accept my soul." Then he knelt down and cried out with all he had, "O Lord, don't charge them with this crime." Having said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was justifying the murder.
1. At that time a great persecution broke out against the Atlanta fellowship, and all except the officers were scattered through the white and black sections of Georgia. Some deeply concerned men gathered Steve up and gave him a decent funeral. But Saul was putting the heat on the church, searching through house after house and dragging out both men and women and throwing them in jail. 4. As they were scattered, though, they spread the good news of the faith all over. Phil, for example, went over to a city of black people and was telling them all about the Leader. As the crowds listened to Phil and watched the terrific things he was doing, they hung on to every word he was saying. Quite a few of them who had mean spirits gave them up with loud sobs. Others who were disabled and crippled were healed. A spirit of joyful hope swept over the whole community. 9. Now for some time a rabble-rouser named Simpson had lived in that town and, by posing as a big-time leader, he had bamboozled the black people. Old and young alike trekked after him. "He's got the guts of God, man," they said. "He's talking Power." He had fed them with his poppycock so long that they actually believed it. But when they accepted Phil's explanation of the God Movement and what it meant to be a Christian, both men and women were being baptized. Even Simpson himself became a convert, and after his baptism he hung around Phil so he could keep a close eye on how he worked miracles and did fabulous things. 14. Well, the apostles in Atlanta heard that "Harlem" had come over to the Word of God, so they sent Rock and Jack there. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive Holy Spirit. For as yet they had only been baptized into the church and Holy Spirit had not possessed any of them. Then the apostles laid their hands on them and they received Holy Spirit. 18. Simpson noticed that the Spirit came with the laying on of the
officers' hands, so he propositioned them with a wad of money. "Let me in
on the deal," he said, "so that whenever I put my hands on somebody
he'll get Holy Spirit." 25. After Rock and Jack had told the Word of God like it is, and had preached it all around, they went back to Atlanta, explaining the Good News to blacks they met along the way. 26. Now a messenger of the Lord said to Phil, "Get ready and go south along the road that goes from Atlanta to LaGrange." (It's open country through there.) So he got ready and went. At the same time there was a high-up official of Tuskegee–the treasurer, in fact–who had gone to a convention in Atlanta. He was going home and sitting on the bus reading from Isaiah. So the spirit said to Phil, "Flag that bus!" So he flagged it and got on and saw the man reading from Isaiah. Phil asked him, "Does what you're reading make sense?" The man replied "How can I make heads or tails of it when there's no one to explain it to me?" Then he asked Phil to sit beside him. The passage he was reading was this: "He was led off to slaughter like a sheep; 34. The treasurer said to Phil, "Let me ask you a question. To whom is the prophet referring here, to himself or to someone else?" Then Phil began with this passage and explained Jesus to him. Along the way they came to a stream, and the treasurer said, "Look, there's a stream! Why can't I be baptized now?" So he told the bus driver to stop, and both Phil and the treasurer got off and went down to the stream, where Phil baptized him. When they came up out of the stream, the spirit of the Lord grabbed Phil, and the treasurer never saw him again, but he headed off toward Tuskegee singing happily. However, Phil was located in Anniston, and as he traveled he was spreading the good word through all the towns as far as Huntsville.
1. All the while, Saul was harassing and threatening to kill the
followers of the Lord. He even went to the governor and got some papers to the
Chattanooga Council asking them for permission to arrest and return to Atlanta
any men or women he might find who were taking Christianity seriously. When he
stopped for gas just outside of Chattanooga, all of a sudden a flash from the
sky surrounded him. He fell to the pavement, and heard a voice asking,
"Saul! Saul! Why are you so mean to me?" 10. In Chattanooga there was a Christian named Harry. He had a vision and
heard the Lord calling his name. "Harry!" And Harry said, "I'm
right here, sir." Then the Lord said to him, "Get ready and go over to
Joe's house on Straight Street and ask for a fellow by the name of Saul, who
comes from Tallahassee. He is praying right now, and has had a vision of a
person named Harry coming in and putting his hands on him so he may see
again." 17. So Harry left and went to the house. He put his hands on Saul and said, "Saul . . . brother . . . the Lord . . . er . . . Jesus whom you saw on the way here . . . has sent me . . . that you may be able to see and that you may be filled with Holy Spirit." And right away something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see. He got ready and was baptized. Then he ate something, felt stronger, and decided to stay on with the converts in Chattanooga for some time. 20. Soon he began preaching in their churches that Jesus truly is God's man.4 All that heard him were simply bowled over, and said, "Why, ain't this the guy that gave hell to those in Atlanta who bear the Name? And hasn't he come up here for the sole purpose of arresting them and taking them back to the officials?" But Saul took an even stronger stand and out-argued the white American Protestants (WAPS) in Chattanooga, proving beyond doubt that Jesus is indeed Lord.5 23. After some days had passed, the WAPs hatched a plot to kill him. Saul, however, got wind of their plot. Day and night they spied on his hotel, hoping for a chance to assassinate him. But the brothers lowered him one night from a back window into an alley. He took off for Atlanta, and tried to join up with the converts there. But they were all scared of him, because they couldn't believe that he was a genuine convert. However, Barney took up for him and introduced him to the officers. He explained to them how Saul, on his trip, had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how that in Chattanooga he made no bones about being a disciple of Jesus. So he stayed with them, operating in and out of Atlanta, fearlessly bearing the name of the Lord, and getting into discussions and debates with the Klan. They figured they would liquidate him, so when the apostles found out about it, they took him to Griffin and put him on the bus to Tallahassee. 31. Then the brotherhood throughout Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee had peace. It was built up, and with reverence for the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it stayed on course and grew. 32. It so happened that on one of Rock's many trips he stopped off with the converts living at Waycross. He found a man there named Ames who was paralyzed and had been bedfast for eight years. And Rock said to him, "Mr. Ames, Jesus Christ is healing you. Get up and put on your clothes." And did he get up! A lot of people in Waycross and around Blackshear saw the man and came over to the Lord's side. 36. In Brunswick there was a lady believer named Dorcas (her name means "a deer"). She was noted for her many kind and charitable acts. One day she got sick and died. After they had bathed her they put her in the upstairs parlor. Since Waycross is fairly close to Brunswick, and the disciples had heard that Rock was over there, they sent two men with this urgent message: "Please don't waste a second getting over here." So he quick got ready and went with them. When he arrived he went into the upstairs parlor where a lot of widows had gathered, and they were sobbing as they showed him the coats and dresses Dorcas had made for them while she was alive. Rock asked them all to please leave the room, and he knelt down and prayed. He then turned his attention to the body. "Dorcas," he said, "get up!" She opened her eyes, looked at Rock, and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called in the believers and the widows and presented her to them–alive! This spread throughout Brunswick, and many put their faith in the Lord. Rock stayed quite a while in Brunswick at the home of a barber named Smith.
1. Now there was a man in Augusta by the name of Cornwall, a Negro captain stationed at Ft. Gordon. He was a spiritually sensitive person, and with his whole family he sought God's will. He did a lot of volunteer work for the poor and he lived prayerfully. One day about three in the afternoon he had an extremely clear vision of a messenger from God entering and saying to him, "Cornwall!" Scared to death, he looked the messenger in the face and asked, "What is it, sir?" The messenger replied, "God has been noticing your prayerfulness and your unselfish deeds. Now you must send some men to Brunswick to pick up a fellow named Simon, or Rock, as he is nicknamed. He is staying with Smith, the barber, whose house faces the sea." 7. After the messenger finished and left, Cornwall called two trusted friends and an understanding soldier who was in his prayer group, and related his experience to them. He then asked that they go to Brunswick. 9. The next day, while they were traveling toward the city, Rock went upstairs about noon to pray. He got so hungry he could hardly wait to eat. While the folks were fixing lunch, Rock fell into a trance, and he saw a hole in the sky and an outfit like a big four-cornered tablecloth being let down to the ground. In it were all kinds of meat, seafood and fowl. About that time he heard somebody call, "Come on, Rock, sit down and let's eat!" But Rock said, "Oh no, sir, I've never eaten anything that was inferior or not kosher." The voice said once, and then repeated, "If God makes something kosher, don't you treat it as dirty." This was said a third time, and then the whole outfit was pulled back up into the sky. 17. While Rock was trying to figure out what his vision was all about,
the fellows who had been sent by Cornwall had gotten directions to Smith's house
and were ringing the doorbell. When someone answered, the men inquired if Simon,
who was called Rock, was staying there. As Rock still pondered on his vision,
the Spirit said to him, "Listen, two men are looking for you! Get up, go
downstairs and go with them without the slightest hesitation, for I have sent
them." So Rock went downstairs and said to the man, "Look, I'm the
fellow you want. Why have you come here?" 23. The next day he packed up and went with them, taking several brothers from Brunswick with him. When they got to Augusta, Cornwall was waiting for them and had invited in a number of his kinfolks and close friends. As Rock came in, Cornwall greeted him, warmly shook his hand, and called him "mister." Rock corrected him, "Don't 'mister' me, for I am a human being the same as you." Well, they struck up a conversation and went on in, where the friends had gathered. Rock started talking to them. "Y'all understand how uncustomary it is for a white man to socialize or stay with people of a different race, don't you? All right, but as for me, God has made it plain as day to me that I'm never to think of any man as inferior or no good. That's why I came without batting an eye when I was sent for. Now may I ask what was in your mind when you sent for me?" 30. Cornwall spoke up, "Exactly four days ago to the hour, I was at
home praying, around three p.m., when suddenly a man in clean new blue jeans
appeared and said, 'Cornwall, God has been noticing your prayerfulness and your
unselfish deeds. Now you must send to Brunswick and pick up Simon, whose
nickname is Rock. He is staying at the home of Smith, the barber, on the sea
coast.' So right away I sent for you, and you have honored us by coming. Now we
are all gathered here before God to listen to whatever he has laid on your
heart." 44. Even as Rock was saying these words, Holy Spirit came over all the listeners. Even the white believers, who had accompanied Rock, were taken by surprise that the Holy Spirit was so freely given to other races. For they themselves were hearing them talking the language and shouting the praises of God. Then Rock asked, "Is anyone opposed to baptizing these people who have received Holy Spirit the same as we have?" So he ruled that they should be baptized into the Christian fellowship. Then they asked him to stay on with them as long as he could.
1. Now the news spread to both preachers and laymen throughout Georgia
that other races were responding to the word of God. So when Rock returned to
Atlanta, some who believe in segregation, tore into him. "You went home
with folks who aren't white," they shouted, "and you were eating
with them!" Rock then got going and laid the matter out for them just like
it happened: 19. The people who had to leave because of the trouble which centered around Steve went as far as Florida, South Carolina and Mobile, spreading the word only among white folks. Some of them, though, from South Carolina and Kentucky, went to Mobile and were meeting with blacks, telling them the great news of the Lord Jesus. The Lord worked with them and a good number believed and went the Lord's Way. 22. Word reached the Atlanta church about them, and they sent Barney to Mobile. When he arrived and saw how God had favored them he was real pleased. He encouraged them all to put their whole heart in their commitment to the Lord, because he himself was a good guy, bursting with Holy Spirit and faithfulness. A big crowd was joining the Lord's Movement, so Barney checked out for Tallahassee to get Saul, and when he found him he brought him back to Mobile. They stayed there a whole year, meeting with the fellowship and teaching a sizeable crowd. And it was here in Mobile that the disciples were first labeled "Christians." 27. During the time that Barney and Saul were there, some preachers from Atlanta arrived in Mobile. One of them, by the name of Albert, made an inspired prediction that a terrible depression was going to hit the whole country, which actually happened when the Republicrats were in office. So it was decided by the disciples that each would give according to his means to the brothers who stayed on in Georgia. When they had collected the money, they sent it to the church officers by Barney and Saul.
1. Along about then Governor Herod got a notion to do in some of those in the fellowship. He finished off Jim, Jack's brother, with a sword. Seeing that the "good white folks" were pleased at this, he decided to put the squeeze on Rock. (This happened during the week of Easter.) So he arrested him and put him in jail, and had him guarded by four shifts of officers with four in each shift. It was his intention to turn him over to the mob after Easter. And all the while that Rock was being kept in the clink, the fellowship was praying agonizingly for him. 6. Just before Herod was going to turn him over to the mob, Rock was sleeping that night between two guards. He was handcuffed to them, and the officers were on duty at the door. All of a sudden, a light shined in the cell and the Lord's messenger appeared. He hit Rock on his side, pulled him up, and said, "Get moving fast." His handcuffs fell off. The messenger said to him, "Get dressed and put on your shoes." He did that. "Now put on your coat and let's go." He followed him outside, still not knowing that what the messenger was doing was for real, but thinking he was having a dream. They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the big iron gate that opens on to the street. It opened automatically for them, and they walked out. They had gone about a block when all of a sudden the messenger left him. 11. When it finally dawned on Rock what had happened, he said, "Sure as I'm living the Lord sent his messenger and rescued me from Herod, and from all that that white mob expected to do." 12. He sized up the situation and went around to the house of Mary, Jack Mark's mother, where quite a crowd had gathered for prayer. He started banging on the door and a teen-ager named Rosie went to the door to answer it. When she recognized Rock's voice, instead of opening the door, she was so happy she ran back in and yelled that Rock was at the door. They said, "You're off your rocker." But she kept insisting that it was really and truly so. "Well, it must be his ghost," they said. 16. But Rock was still banging away at the door. They opened up and there he stood. And were they evermore surprised! He waved to them and told them to keep quiet while he described to them how the Lord had got him out of the clink. "Now," he said, "y'all get word of all this to Jim and the brothers." Then he left and went somewhere else. 18. When day came there was one helluva hubbub among the guards over what had become of Rock. Herod looked high and low for him but couldn't find him. He got all the information he could from the guards, and ordered them to be shot. He then left Atlanta to visit a while in Augusta. 20. Now Governor Herod was having a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Education Commission and the Welfare Department. So they decided to get together and meet with him. They won over Blastus, the governor's chief aide, to see if he could settle the dispute, since all their funds came from the state's treasury. An appointment was made, and the governor showed up with great fanfare at the Capitol. He made a speech that was pure jazz, and all the big-wigs obediently praised him. "Inspired! God, not a mortal, made that speech!" Right then and there an angel of the Lord struck him down because he took God's credit. He had a heart attack and died. 24. But God's message continued to spread and win adherents. And Barney and Saul, when they had wound up things in Atlanta, returned and took with them John Mark.
1. The preachers and teachers in the fellowship at Mobile consisted of Barney, Sumner Black, Lucius Cummings, Mansfield, a classmate of Governor Herod, and Saul. During a deeply meaningful worship service, the Holy Spirit directed, "Set apart Barney and Saul for some special work I have for them." Then they all fasted and prayed, after which they ordained them and sent them on their journey. 4. So then having been commissioned by the Holy Spirit, they went to Pensacola, and then caught a bus for Montgomery. They went on up to Birmingham and spread the word of God in the white churches there, taking John Mark along as general flunky. Next they went to Tuscaloosa, where they ran into a joker named "Reverend Jesus." He was a phony white preacher who was a friend of the mayor, Sergent Powell, a shrewd guy himself. The mayor sent for Barney and Saul and wanted to hear what the word of God was all about. However, Reverend Ellis (that was his real name) strenuously objected and did his best to sidetrack the mayor from the faith. Then Saul (or Paul as he was also called), running over with Holy Spirit, looked him in the eye and said, "You crooked creep! You low-down louse! You son of the devil! You full-time phony! You habitually twist God's clear message out of shape.6 All right, now listen, the Lord has put the finger on you and you'll be as blind as a bat for some time." Right then and there he was completely socked in and started wandering around looking for somebody to lead him by the hand. Then the mayor, seeing the way things had turned out–and shook up by the teaching of the Lord–began to live by the Unseen. 13. Then Paul and his party pulled out of Tuscaloosa and went to Meridian, Mississippi. There John Mark resigned and checked out for Atlanta. The others kept on going through Meridian till they came to Vicksburg. On a Sunday they went to a church and sat down. After the reading of the Scripture the minister said to them, "Brothers, if you have any helpful message for the congregation, we would be pleased to hear it." 16. Paul got up and went to the pulpit. "My fellow Baptists and all who are serious about God," he began, "please give me your attention. The God of us Southerners favored our forefathers and blessed them while they were still in Europe. He gave them great strength when they fled from there, and for quite a few years he cared for them in the new land. He helped them overcome many Indian tribes and find a measure of security as the years passed. They had governors until the time of the Revolution, when they wanted their own rulers. God gave them Saul, and later David became President. Of David, God had these fine words to say: 'I have found David to he a man after my own heart, who will take seriously all my purposes.' Now just as God promised, he has raised up a descendant of David, a man named Jesus, to give freedom to this nation. John prepared the way for him by preaching that the entire nation should change its ways. In fact, while John was doing his thing, he said, "What do you think? That I am the one? No, indeed, but there is one coming after me whose shoes I am unworthy to shine." 26. "My brothers and fellow Americans who are serious about God, we have been let in on this idea of deliverance, even though the citizens of Atlanta, as well as their leaders, paid no attention to it nor the warnings of the Scriptures that are read in the church every Sunday. By condemning Jesus, they acted like the Bible said they would, and even though they could find no reason for killing him, they asked Pilate to give him the works. When they got through treating him as was to be expected, they took him down from the tree and buried him. But God made him alive again, and he was seen for a number of days by those who traveled with him from south Georgia to Atlanta, just as they are now telling the people about him. So it is, that we, too, are reminding you of the guarantee God made to our forefathers, and which he has made good on to us–their descendants–by raising up Jesus. It's like it says in Psalms 2: 'You are my boy; I myself fathered you for this day.' And when he said, 'I will restore to you David's dedication and David's faithfulness,' he was referring to raising Jesus from the dead, never again to be subjected to decay. In still another place it says, 'You won't let your special One die and rot.' Now as for David, he did a good job for God in his own generation, but then he died, joined his departed relatives, and rotted. But this One whom God raised did not rot. So let us make it clear to you, my brothers, that through Jesus forgiveness of sins is being offered to you, and anyone who accepts is cleared of all the things he couldn't get free of under the old system of legalism. So make sure that the warning spoken by the prophet doesn't apply to you: 'Look about you, you snobs, and get alarmed and get lost; 42. Afterwards, as they were leaving, people urged them to come back next Sunday and tell them more about these things. In fact, after the meeting had broken up, many prominent people and active church workers followed Paul and Barney, who kept on discussing with them and persuading them to hold tight to the grace of God. 44. On the next Sunday, practically the whole town was there to hear about God's "idea." But when the good white folks saw such a crowd, they were eaten up with jealousy, and started arguing with Paul and smearing him. Paul and Barney, though, really laid it on the line and said, "We felt obligated to explain God's idea to you first, but since you cast it aside and don't consider yourselves candidates for spiritual life, we're going over to the outsiders, just as our Lord ordered us:
'I have put you as a light for the outsiders, 48. Upon hearing this, the outsiders were delighted and started cheering for the Lord's idea. All who were prepared put their faith in it, and the Lord's idea spread through the whole region. 50. The good white folks, however, got the Ladies Missionary Society and the town's leading men worked up, and they raised a big stink about Paul and Barney and ran them out of the city limits. Both of them told the crowd to go lump it, and then went on to Natchez. And the Lord's learners were just bubbling over with joy and Holy Spirit.
1. At Natchez the very same thing happened when they went to a white church and spoke so convincingly that a whole lot of both whites and blacks got together in the Lord. But there were some stubborn whites who collared the blacks and filled their minds with vicious things about the brothers. So Paul and Barney stuck with it for a long time and spoke their minds about the Lord, who upheld the message of his undeserved favor by allowing them to do miraculous and wonderful things. But the town was split in two, some siding with the whites and some with the apostles. So when they found out that some whites and blacks had ganged up with the big shots to beat them up and lynch them, they hightailed it to Louisiana and started telling the good news in the area around Baton Rouge and New Orleans. 8. Now in Baton Rouge there was this crippled guy who had been born that way and never had walked. He was listening to Paul talking, and when Paul saw that he had the kind of faith to get well on, he looked him in the eye and shouted, "Get up on your feet like you're supposed to!" And the man jumped up and started walking around. 11. Well, when the people saw what Paul had done they buzzed with excitement. "They're Supermen!" they yelled. So they were calling Barney "Father Divine" and Paul "Elijah Mohammed," since he was the chief talker. The leading Black Muslim of the city brought money and other stuff, and wanted to hold a mass meeting. When the apostles, Barney and Paul, got wind of it they blew a gasket. They grabbed a bullhorn and said to the crowds, "Brothers, what in the world are you doing? We are just ordinary people like you, offering you the opportunity of turning away from all this junk to the living God who made land and sky and sea and all that's in them. Previously he let uncommitted people pretty much go their own way–although he never did withdraw himself entirely–but continued to do you good by sending from heaven rains and bountiful harvests, and by filling your hearts with nourishment and happiness." Even with such straight talk they could hardly keep the crowds from almost worshipping them. 19. But some good white folks came down from Vicksburg and Natchez, and got the people on their side. They beat the tar out of Paul and then dragged him out of town, leaving him for dead. While the Christians were hovering over him, he got up and reentered the city. Next day he went with Barney to New Orleans. When they had spread the good news in that city and had made a lot of converts, they returned to Baton Rouge, Natchez and Vicksburg, putting some starch into the Lord's learners and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith. "We've got to put up with a lot of suffering," they said, "to get into the God Movement." They hand-picked some responsible leaders for each church, and after the ordination prayers they commended them to the Lord to whom they had committed their lives. They went all the way through Mississippi and came to Meridian, where they preached the Word. Then they went down to Hattiesburg and caught the bus back to Mobile, from which they had been set forward by God's grace for the task which they had accomplished. 27. Upon arriving, they called together the fellowship and reported on all the ways God had used them, and how he had opened the door of faith wide open to people of all races. They stayed on there with the Lord's learners for quite a spell.
1. So, some folks from Georgia came down and started telling the brothers that unless they held on to the traditions they couldn't be Christians. Paul and Barney got into a terrific argument and hassle with them. So it was decided that Paul and Barney and several others from there should go up to Atlanta and talk with the original apostles and responsible leaders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and they went through north Florida and various Negro sections, making clear the membership of all races and bringing a lot of happiness to all the brothers. Upon their arrival in Atlanta they were given a warm welcome by the church and the original apostles and the responsible leaders. Then they recounted the various ways God had used them. But some church members who believed in segregation got up and said, "They've got to be told to accept segregation and all the traditional rules." 6. The apostles and leaders put their heads together to look into this idea. After a heated discussion, Rock got up and said to them, "Brothers, you yourselves are aware that way back at the beginning God selected me as the one among you to preach the Word to other races so they could hear and become faithful. And God, the heart-knower, openly supported them by giving them the Holy Spirit the same as he did to us. And when, through their faith, he straightened out their lives, he didn't make the slightest distinction between us and them. Now then, why are you trying God's soul by putting a load on the backs of the Lord's learners which neither we nor our daddies were able to tote? Instead, we believe that they, exactly the same as we, are saved by the undeserved favor of the Lord Jesus." 12. Nobody in the group said a word, and they paid close attention while Paul and Barney were recounting the marvelous and wonderful things God did among the Negroes through them. After they got through talking, Jim said: "My brothers, listen to me, Simon has made clear just how God first looked around to find a group among the blacks to bear his Name. The words of the prophets fully support this when they say: " 'Later on I'll return, and I will rebuild the dilapidated home of
David; "Therefore, I feel that we should not pester people from other races who are turning to God, but should advise them to steer clear of loose sex relations and to be extremely sensitive to and considerate of immature whites who have not outgrown their traditions,7 since for generations these customs have been advocated on every Sabbath in every church throughout the South." 22. Then it occurred to the apostles and leaders, together with the whole
fellowship, to appoint a committee to send to Mobile with Paul and Barney. They
elected Joe, whom they called Barry, and Silas, men in whom the church had
confidence, and wrote a letter which they sent by them. The letter said: 30. So they were sent on their way and went down to Mobile. There they called together the whole fellowship and delivered the letter. When the letter was read, the people were overjoyed by its encouragement. Then too, Joe and Silas, who were preachers themselves, encouraged and put starch into the brothers with a number of sermons. After they had spent some time there, they were given a warm send-off by the brothers and returned to their home church. Paul and Barney, however, stayed on in Mobile and joined with others in teaching and spreading the Lord's idea. 36. After a while Paul said to Barney, "Let's make another swing and drop in on the brothers in the various cities where we spread the Lord's idea and see how they're making out." Barney wanted to take John Mark with them again but Paul put his foot down. He wouldn't hear of taking along with them the guy who had deserted them in Mississippi and left them holding the bag. So they got into a knock-down, drag-out fight which ended in their separating from one another. Barney took Mark and caught the bus for South Carolina. Paul chose Silas and left after he was turned over to the Lord's grace by the brothers. He went through Alabama and Tennessee, pepping up the churches.
1. Later, he headed for Baton Rouge and New Orleans. There he ran into a learner named Timothy, the son of a very devout white woman, and whose father was a Negro. He was highly commended by the brothers in both Natchez and Baton Rouge. Paul was anxious to have him travel with him even though it was common knowledge that his father was a Negro, so he got him baptized into a white church because there was so much tension in that area. As they went from city to city they laid it on the members to stick by the decisions agreed upon by the original apostles and the responsible leaders in Atlanta. As a result the churches became more seasoned in the faith and their numbers were increasing daily. 6. So they traveled through Louisiana and Mississippi, but the Holy Spirit wouldn't let them tell the idea in Texas. Then they went on up into Missouri and thought about continuing to Kansas but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them go there either. So they kept traveling through Missouri till they came to St. Louis. There Paul had a vision one night; he saw a man from the North standing and beckoning to him. "Come up North," the man said, "and give us a hand." So right after this vision they were trying to go into the North, confident that God had called them to spread the good news among them. 11. Well, they left St. Louis and crossed the Mississippi, and arrived the next day in Springfield, Ill. From there they went to Chicago, which is one of the largest cities in the North and a very important place. They decided to stop over there for a number of days. One Sunday they went down by the side of the lake where they got the impression a prayer meeting was held. They sat around and got to talking with some of the ladies who had come together. One lady named Lillian was a department store manager from Evanston, and a very devout person. She listened carefully to what Paul was saying and the Lord opened her heart to understand it. When she and her family were baptized, she extended an invitation, saying: "If you have considered me to be loyal to the Lord," she said, "please come and stay at my house." 16. One time on the way to prayer meeting they met this gal with the spirit of a whore who made a lot of money for her owners by practicing prostitution. She tagged along behind Paul and yelled, "These men are the servants of the Lord God Almighty. They're telling us how to be saved." This kept up over a long period. Finally Paul got a bellyful and turned to the spirit and said, "In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her." And it came out that instant! Now when her owners realized that she was ruined as a money-maker, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the police station and turned them over to the cops. "These hoods are outside agitators who are causing a riot in our city! They're spreading communistic and un-American ideas!" The crowd got worked up against them, and the cops ripped their clothes and beat them with their billies. After the cops had pretty well loused them up, they threw them in the clink and told the jailer to make sure they didn't escape. When he got that order he put them in maximum security and chained their feet to the bars. 25. Along about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing some hymns, and the prisoners were listening intently to them. All of a sudden there was a big earthquake that shook the jailhouse foundations. Immediately all the cell doors were opened, and everybody's shackles fell off. When the jailer woke up and saw the jail doors wide open, he pulled his pistol and was about to shoot himself, assuming that all the prisoners had escaped. Then Paul shouted at the top of his voice, "Don't hurt yourself! We're all on deck!" Asking for a flashlight, the jailer went in, and trembling like a leaf, he got Paul and Silas and led them outside. "Sirs," he said, "what must I do to be liberated?" They told him, "Put your faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be liberated." And he explained the Lord's idea to him and his whole family. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer brought them and washed their wounds, while he himself and his family were baptized at once. He invited them over to his house and set the table for them. He and the whole gang were as happy as a lark that he had put his faith in God. 35. When day came the judge sent word by the fuzzes to turn the men loose. The jailer greeted Paul with these words: "The judge has ordered you to be turned loose! Now you are free to go without any more trouble." But Paul replied, "They beat us publicly without a trial, denied our rights as American citizens, and threw us in the clink. And now they're kicking us out the back door? Not on your life! Let them come themselves and escort us out!" The cops went back and told the judge what had been said. They were all scared to death over the mention of rights as American citizens, so they came and pleaded with them, and escorted them out and begged them to please leave town. Paul and Silas then left the jail and went over to Lillian's house. When they had visited with the brothers and encouraged them, they took off.
1. They made their way to South Bend and Toledo, and came to Cleveland, where there was a WAP9 church. As was customary for Paul, he went there and for three straight Sundays he argued with them from the scriptures, bringing out and setting forth that the Christ10 had to die and be raised from the dead. "This Head, whom I'm telling you about," he said, "is Jesus." Some of them were convinced and joined up with Paul and Silas. The same was true of a large group of devout blacks and of a good number of prominent women. 5. But the good white folks became incensed and picked up some lowdown bums off the street, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They ransacked Jackson's house looking for Paul and Silas so they could turn them over to the mob. Not finding them, they dragged Jackson and some brothers before the city authorities and howled, "These outside agitators have come here, and Jackson has housed them. All of them are going against the laws of the Federal Government, claiming that there's a higher authority named Jesus." Listening to this stuff terribly upset the crow and the city authorities. They put Jackson and the others under bond and let them go. 10. At once the brothers sent Paul and Silas by night to Akron. Soon after arriving they attended a WAP church. Now the people in Akron were more open-minded than those in Cleveland, and they received the idea with great enthusiasm. They were studying the Bible every day to see if Paul was telling it like it is. The result was that many of them caught the idea, no small number of whom were prominent Negro men and women. 13. But when the good white folks from Cleveland found out that God's idea was now being set forth by Paul also in Akron, they came there and raised a big stink and got the crowds all worked up. The brothers then immediately sent Paul on a vacation while Silas and Tim were to stay there. Paul's escorts took him as far as Cincinnati, and returned with instructions to Silas and Tim to join him just at the earliest possible moment. 16. While Paul was waiting for them at Cincy he got sick at his stomach when he saw the city so full of church buildings of all denominations. So he got into dialogue with the good folks at the First WAP Church, and every day he handed out leaflets on the streets to passersby. Now some ministers of both liberal and conservative persuasion jumped him and said, "What's this gospel huckster trying to say? He seems to be a preacher of some very strange religion." (Paul was telling the good news that Jesus really was alive.) So they invited Paul to the Ministerial Association meeting and said, "We would like to know more about this new teaching of yours, for it surely sounds strange to us. We wish to know what it's all about." (Cincinnatians and their visitors, you know, do little else but discuss the latest fads and ideas.) 22. Paul then stood up before the Association and said, "Men of Cincinnati, I notice that in many ways you are extremely religious. For in going around and observing your sanctuaries, I even found one dedicated to 'The Unnamed God.' He whom you worship without naming, that's the one I'm telling you about. The God who made the universe and all that's in it, and who himself is Lord of land and sky, does not take up residence in a man-made sanctuary. Nor is he nourished by some handout from human beings, since he himself is the one who gives life and breath and everything else to all of us. It was he who made man, and from the one man, all the branches of humanity. He made it possible for them to live all over the world and he figured out and decided on when and where they were to flourish and live. He gave them a hunger for God, so they might grope for him and possibly find him, even though he is never very far from any one of us. For in him we come to life; in him we are motivated; in him we find meaning. As one of your own poets has put it: 'For we are indeed his stock.' Since we are God's stock, we ought never to think of the Deity in terms of budgets or statistics or buildings–the product of man's craft and cunning. God used to excuse people when they didn't know better, but now he's making it clear to all people everywhere that they've got to change their ways. Because the appointed day is just about here when he'll judge the whole world on the justice they've done as measured by the Man whom he selected and validated, by raising him from the dead." 32. When they heard the bit about the "resurrection from the dead," some of them just hee-hawed, but others said, "We would like to hear more about this some time." That's the way it was when Paul left them. Some people did join up, though, and catch the idea, among whom were Dickerson, the secretary, and a lady named Doris, and several others.
1. After this Paul left Cincy and went to Louisville. There he met a Jew named Abrams, a native of Bavaria, with his wife, Priscilla, who had come to this country from Germany when Hitler ran all the Jews out of Berlin. Paul went over to their house and stayed with them, and since they had the same trade they worked together. (They were electricians by trade.) Every Sunday he held a discussion at the church to which he invited both whites and blacks. 5. Now when Silas and Tim arrived from up North, Paul was eaten up with the idea and laid it out plain to the white folks that Jesus is the Head. But when they objected and smeared him, he washed his hands of them and said, "Okay, let your guilt be nobody's but your own! I'm no longer responsible. From here on out I'm walking with the blacks." And he left there and went to the house of a dedicated Negro man named Tyler Justice, who lived next to the church. Reverend Crisp, the pastor of the church, and his whole family, had faith in the Lord, as did a number of Louisville people, and they were baptized. 9. One night Paul had a vision in which the Lord said, "Don't be scared, but say your piece and don't pull in your horns, because I'm in this with you. Nobody is going to lift a finger to hurt you, for there's a big group for me in this city." So he stayed on there a year and a half, teaching them God's idea. 12. During the time that Gelston was a district judge in Kentucky, the white folks organized against Paul, took him to court and prosecuted him on the grounds that "this man is getting people to break the law in the name of religion." Paul was about to speak in his defense when the judge said to the plaintiffs: "If this were a matter involving some illegal act or punishable crime, gentlemen, I would patiently hear your case. But if it is a question of theology and name-calling and religious bickering, you must settle it among yourselves. I refuse to rule on such matters." And he dismissed the case. They then jumped on the Reverend Sam Thomas, pastor of the church, and beat him up right there in the courtroom. And Judge Gelston would get involved no further with the affair. 18. After Paul had stayed on some days longer, he told the brothers good-bye and took a bus for Alabama. Abrams and Priscilla went with him. (He got a haircut in Bowling Green, for he had made a promise.) They arrived in Nashville and he left them there. He himself went to a church and got into a discussion with the whites. And even though they asked him to stay longer with them, he wouldn't hear of it. Telling them good-bye, he said, "Another day, God willing, I'll return to you." So he left Nashville and came to Birmingham. He went over to the church, and after greeting them he set out for Mobile. He spent a good bit of time there and then left again, making a swing through Mississippi and Louisiana, putting muscle on all the Lord's learners. 25. Now a white fellow named Oliver, a native of Jacksonville, arrived in Nashville. He was a fine speaker and a powerful Bible student. Well-taught himself in the Lord's Way, and spiritually aglow, he was speaking and teaching very accurately all that he knew about Jesus. His knowledge, however, went only up to the baptism by John. He began to be quite outspoken in the church, and when Abrams and Priscilla heard him they took him aside and explained for him God's Way in greater detail. He was anxious to go to Kentucky, so the brothers gave him a hand and wrote a letter of recommendation to the Lord's learners there. When he arrived, he was a big boost to those who, by God's undeserved favor, had become pilgrims of the Way. For he vigorously confronted the WAPs in public with proof from the Bible that Jesus is Head of the Movement.
1. While Oliver was in Louisville, Paul headed northward till he came again to Birmingham. He found some learners there, and he asked them "when you came over to the faith, did you get Holy Spirit?" They said, "We heard no mention of Holy Spirit." "Then into what were you initiated?" "Into John's initiation." Paul replied, "John's initiation was a symbol of the changed life and he told the people that they may confidently trust in the one who would succeed him, that is, in Jesus." On getting this information, they were initiated into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came over them and they began tongue-talking and preaching. There were about a dozen men in all. 8. For a period of three months he attended a WAP church and in both discussions and debates he came on strong for the God Movement. But some of them turned up their noses, acted mean, and hurled abuse at the Way, in front of the crowds, so Paul parted company with them, withdrew his students, and went over to Birmingham-Southern College where he held discussions every day. This continued for about two years until the people of Alabama, both whites and blacks, heard the Lord's idea. 11. God was powerfully using Paul to do tremendous things. For example, bandannas and blue jeans which he had used were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the mean spirits left them. 13. Well, there was this team of traveling faith healers who made a try at using the Lord Jesus' name on people who had mean spirits. "I order you out in the name of the Jesus that Paul talks about," was their formula. (The men doing this were the seven sons of a white bishop by the name of Stevens.) But the mean-spirited man answered, "I know Jesus, and I'm acquainted with Paul, but who in hell are you?" With that, the mean-spirited man jumped all over them, pinned them down and beat the tar out of them. They escaped from the building with their clothes torn to shreds and bloody all over. News of this spread throughout Birmingham to whites and blacks alike. Everybody was pretty well shook up, and they had great respect for the name of the Lord Jesus. Many who believed came forward, publicly admitting and making a clean breast of their actions. A large number of hate-mongers brought their literature and burned it in front of everybody. They tallied up the value of it and it came to ten thousand dollars. With this kind of authority the Lord's idea spread and held sway. 21. It was after this that Paul decided to swing through the North again, back down to Kentucky and from there to Atlanta. "And then," he said, "I've got to visit Washington." So he sent two of his assistants, Tim and Ernest, up North, but he himself stayed on a while in Alabama. About that time a big hullabaloo regarding the Way broke out in Birmingham. A guy named De Mille, a contractor, who specialized in building churches and shrines, had some highly paid craftsmen whom, with other members of the union, he got worked up about what was going on. "Men, you realize that we make our living from this business," he said. "Now you can see and hear for yourselves, not only in Birmingham but throughout almost all of Alabama, that this Paul is persuading a lot of people to turn away. He is teaching that man-made buildings are not houses of God. By doing this, he not only casts a reflection on the union, but there is a real danger that he will completely discredit the Cathedral of the Blessed Holy Mother and destroy her preeminence–she who is respected in Alabama and the whole world." 28. 'Well, when they heard that, they blew a fuse and started shouting, "Blessed be the Holy Mother!" The whole city got embroiled in the controversy and they paraded to the park, dragging along two Yankees, Barry and Stocky, who were Paul's buddies. Paul wanted to address the mob, but his brothers wouldn't let him. Besides, some of the commissioners who were his friends sent word to him urging him to stay away from the park. All the while the mob was shouting first one thing and then another. There was such confusion that hardly any of them knew why they had come together. Someone in the crowd called for Alexander, who was a spokesman for the Protestants, to make a speech. Alexander motioned to the mob and tried to speak to them. But when they learned that he was a WAP, they shouted him down in union, and for a space of about two hours they chanted, "Blessed be the Holy Mother." 35. The city attorney finally quieted them down and said, "Citizens of Birmingham, is there anyone who is not aware of the reverence of this city for the Holy Mother and for the cathedral erected in her honor? Since nobody contradicts this, you ought to settle down now and do nothing foolish. For you have jumped on these men who are neither burners of churches nor smearers of our religion. So then, if De Mille and the union have a charge against anybody, the courts are available and there are judges; let them take their complaints there. Right now we are dangerously close to a riot. There's no excuse for this and we simply can't defend this senseless uproar!" With that he dispersed the crowd.
1. After the excitement died down, Paul called together the fellowship, and when he had reassured them he told them goodbye and left to go West. He traveled all through those parts and spoke the good word to them. Then he went to Texas and spent three months there. Just as he was about to leave for Alabama, the WAPs cooked up a plot against him, and when he got wind of it he headed towards the North. In the party by now were Searcy Powell, a native of Akron; Stocky and Seymour from Cleveland; Garry and Tim from New Orleans; and Tic and Troy from Alabama. They all went on ahead and waited for the rest of us in St. Louis. After Thanksgiving we caught a bus in Houston and joined them in St. Louis where we stayed a week. On Sunday night we all gathered for a church supper, and Paul spoke. He kept going until midnight since he was planning to leave next day. It was hot and stuffy in the upstairs room where we were meeting. A young fellow named Eubanks was sitting in the window, and while Paul preached on and on, he dozed off and fell sound asleep. He was really sawing wood when all of a sudden he fell out the window to the ground three stories below. He was dead when we got to him. But Paul rushed down, knelt beside him and put his arms around him. "Don't y'all get upset," he said, "he's still breathing." Then Paul went back upstairs, fixed a sandwich and ate it, began a lengthy discussion that lasted till daybreak, and then left. Those in the party took the boy, Eubanks, home alive, and were thrilled no end about that. 13. Now Paul told us to go ahead of him and catch the bus for Litchfield, since he would be coming there but planned to walk. When he joined us at Litchfield, we went on up to Springfield and from there to Peoria. The next day we went to LaSalle and then to Joliet. Paul thought it best to bypass Chicago so he wouldn't waste a lot of time in traffic. He was anxious to get to Atlanta if at all possible by the Christmas holidays. So he phoned from Joliet for the church leaders in Chicago to meet him down there. When they arrived, he said to them, "You all are fully aware of my conduct all the while I was with you from the very first day I was in Illinois. With a humble mind I enslaved myself to the Lord in the midst of the sorrows and trials that came my way from the plots of the WAPS. I didn't hesitate to tell you anything that might benefit you, as I taught you both publicly and privately. Before whites and blacks alike I stood for the changed life under God and complete trust in our Lord Jesus. And now listen, I feel spiritually compelled to go to Atlanta. Just what will happen to me there I do not know, except that wherever I turn the Holy Spirit makes it clear to me that jail and trouble are waiting for me. But I put no value at all on my life, so as to make good at my job and appointment which I got from the Lord Jesus, that is, being an example of the good news of God's undeserved favor. And now listen, I realize that you all among whom I've gone around telling about the Movement will never see me again. So I want to go on record that I am no longer responsible for you all, for I have never hesitated to lay before you God's total purpose. Keep an eye on yourselves, as well as on the whole group over which the Holy Spirit made you guardians. Take good care of God's fellowship, which He has brought together around the death of his Son. I'm convinced that after my departure greedy wolves will come among you who won't have the slightest concern for the fellowship. Even from your own ranks there will arise men who will distort the truth just to get the Christians to come over to their camp. So really stay on your toes, remembering that night and day I never stopped nourishing you with tender concern. And now I'm turning you over to the Lord and to the idea of his undeserved favor–the idea that's capable of expanding you and giving you the inheritance which falls to the committed. I haven't wanted anybody's money or car or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and for those of the others with me. In every way I made it plain to you that the strong should work like that and give a hand to the weak, keeping in mind the words of the Lord Jesus when he said, "It is more noble to share than to get." 36. When he had finished, he knelt down with the whole group and prayed. Everybody started crying their eyeballs out as they put their arms around Paul and kissed him and kissed him. What made them especially sad were his words that they would never see him again. Then they took him to the bus station.
1. The bus pulled out and we left them, making the first stop at Gary, the next one at Plymouth and from there we went to Ft. Wayne, where we changed buses and got on one going to Columbus. We barely missed Kentucky on the way to Charleston, West Virginia, where the bus unloaded a lot of baggage. We looked up some of the brothers there and decided to stop over with them for a week. They too, under the leadership of the Spirit, warned Paul not to continue to Atlanta. But when our visit was over, we packed up to leave and all of them, even the women and children, went with us to the bus station. After a period of prayer together, we got on the bus and they returned to their homes. 7. When our bus left Charleston, we made it to Columbia, S.C., and stopped over a day to greet the brothers there. Next day we left for Augusta, and on arriving we were taken to the home of Philip the missionary (one of the original seven deacons), where we stayed. Philip had four unmarried daughters who were ministers. While we were spending some time there a preacher by the name of Albert arrived from Georgia. He came by to see us, and taking Paul's belt he tied himself hand and foot and said, "Here's what the Holy Spirit is saying: 'The white folks in Atlanta are going to tie up the owner of this belt and hand him over to a mob.’ " Well, when we heard that, we and the local people practically got down on our knees to keep Paul from going on to Atlanta. But his reply was, "What do you mean crying and tearing my heart out? For I am prepared not only to go to jail in Atlanta but also to die for the name of our Lord Jesus." Unable to persuade him, we resigned ourselves and said, "Let the Lord's will run its course." 15. After a few days we packed up and left for Atlanta, accompanied by some of the Augusta members. They took us to the home of a very early Christian, a man from Kentucky named Manson, who was to be our host. The brothers in Atlanta received us joyfully when we got there. 18. Next day Paul and we had an appointment with Jim, who was joined by all the church leaders. After Paul had greeted them, he explained point by point how God had used him to reach the blacks. They praised God for what they heard, but they said, "You can see for yourself, brother, how many thousands of white Southerners have joined the church, and they are all on fire for the old time religion. Now they have been warned about you, that you are teaching people in other parts of the country to disregard the Bible, not to keep their children segregated, and to go contrary to our customs. Surely they're going to hear that you've come, and then what? Well, here's what we advise you to do. There are four men here who are candidates for baptism. Take them to church with you during the revival, give them some money for the offering, and do all you can to prepare them for baptism. Then everybody will know that there's nothing to the warnings they got about you, but that you really do stand for all the old time religion. We might say, however, regarding the Negro converts, we did send them a letter urging them to be extremely sensitive to and considerate of immature whites who have not outgrown their traditions, and to avoid loose sex relations."11 Then Paul took the men to the revival next day, told how he was giving them candidates' instruction, and when they expected to be baptized. 29. Just as the week of revival was about to end, some WAPs from Alabama spied him in the church and whipped up the people against him. They grabbed hold of him and shouted, "Fellow Southerners, help us. This is the man who turns people everywhere against good white folks and the Bible and the church. And worse, he has even brought a nigger into the church and broke up our fine spirit of Christian unity and fellowship." (For they had previously seen Troy, a Negro from Chicago, in town with him and had assumed that Paul had taken him to the revival too.) The whole crowd got excited and a mob started forming. They jumped Paul, dragged him out of the sanctuary, and then the doors were locked. They were giving Paul the works when somebody phoned the police that there was about to be a riot in Atlanta. Right away the chief got some cops and rushed to the scene. When they saw the chief and the cops they quit beating on Paul. Then the chief came over, arrested him, and ordered him to be handcuffed. He began inquiring who he was and what he had done, but some of the mob yelled one thing and others another. Because of the ruckus, the chief couldn't find out anything definite, so he ordered Paul to be taken to city hall. They started up the steps with him but the crowd was so violent that the cops had to protect him. The whole bunch was hot after him, screaming, "Kill him." 37. They were about to go into city hall when Paul said to the chief, "Please let me have a word with you." "So, you have a Southern accent," the chief said. "Then you're not the Yankee agitator who started that riot in Memphis?" Paul said, "I'm a native Southerner, from Tallahassee, Florida, a very reputable city. Now I beg you, let me speak to the crowd." The chief agreed, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence. When they quieted down, he began talking to them in his Southern accent:
1. "My brothers and fathers, gentlemen: please listen carefully to me now as I explain my position." 'When they heard that he had a Southern accent they listened all the more quietly. He continued, "I am a Southerner, born in Tallahassee, Florida, but reared in this city. I was graduated from Georgia Tech and was about as straitlaced, dyed-in-the-wool WAP as any of you here today. In fact, I was one of the ring leaders of those trying to stamp out this Way, trumping up charges against both men and women, as the White Citizens Council will affirm. Indeed, the officers supplied me with warrants and I was going to Chattanooga to arrest the brothers there and bring them bound to Atlanta for sentencing. Well, it so happened that when I stopped about noon on the outskirts of Chattanooga, all of a sudden a brilliant light from the sky engulfed me. I fell to the pavement, and heard a voice saying to me 'Saul! Saul! Why are you so mean to me?' And I answered, 'Who are you, sir?' Then he said to me, 'I am Jesus from Valdosta, whom you're harassing.' (Now the fellows who were with me saw the light, but they didn't understand what was said to me.) 'What shall I do, sir?' I asked. And the Lord said to me, 'Get up now and go on in to Chattanooga, and there you'll be informed of all that's been mapped out for you.' Because I was blinded by the brightness of the light, the fellows with me had to lead me till I got to Chattanooga. Well, there was this guy named Harry, a Southerner from an old-line family, as any of the white people around there can tell you, and he came and stood up to me and said, 'Saul, brother, look up.' And at that very moment I looked up at him. 'The God of our founding fathers,' he said, 'has selected you to understand his purpose, to meet his Just One, and to hear his message straight from his mouth; because you are to be a faithful witness to all mankind of the things which you experience. So, what's the next step now? Come on, be initiated, scrub off your sins, and identify yourself as a Christian.' 17. "When I went back to Atlanta I had a vision while I was praying at the church. I saw Him as he spoke to me, 'Don't waste a minute getting out of Atlanta right now, because they're not going to tolerate your faithfulness to me.' And I said, 'But Lord, they themselves fully understand that I was going from church to church arresting and beating those who walked in your way. And when your faithful Stephen was lynched, I myself was standing there, giving my approval and holding their coats while they did him in.' But he said to me, 'Get moving, because I will make you a friend of blacks.’ " 22. They were listening to him until he said that word, and then they began screaming, "Send him back to Russia! He's got no right to live here!" While they were yelling bloody murder, working themselves into a lather and throwing pop bottles, the chief ordered Paul to be taken into city hall and told some of the cops to work him over to see if they could find out just why the mob was after his hide. As they were getting ready to do this, Paul asked an officer who was standing there, "Is it lawful to deny an American citizen his constitutional rights before you've even tried him?" At that the officer went to the chief and said, "You'd better be careful what you do, because this cat's talking about his 'constitutional rights.’ " So the chief went to him and said, "Tell me, are you thinking about taking this into the Federal courts?" He said, "I certainly am." And the chief said, "It costs an awful lot of money to fight for 'constitutional rights.' " To which Paul replied, "But they are mine by birth!" So right away those who were about to work him over left off. And the chief was scared because he had arrested Paul and he might get involved in the Federal court. 30. The chief wanted to know just what to charge Paul with, so the next day he called together some of the leading citizens, including the bishop, and brought Paul from his cell and stood him before them.
1. Paul looked them in the eye and said, "Gentlemen and brothers, to this very day I have lived my life before God with a clear conscience." Bishop Harry told those standing near Paul to slap him. Then Paul said to him, "God will slap you, you damned hypocrite! You're sitting there passing judgment on my orthodoxy and in an unorthodox manner you order me to be slapped?" Somebody next to Paul asked him, "Are you insulting God's bishop?" Paul replied, "I was unaware, brothers, that he was a bishop. For the Bible says, 'You must not cuss an official of your church.’ " 6. Paul noticed that some in the group were Unitarians and some were Baptists, so he called out: "Gentlemen and brothers, I myself am a Baptist, the son of a Baptist. I am being tried on the issue of whether there is hope and newness of life for the dead." When he said this, the Baptists and the Unitarians started feuding, and the group was split. (For the Unitarians don't believe in the resurrection or angels or the spirit, while the Baptists believe in all of them.) There was a monstrous hubbub. Some of the Baptist preachers jumped up and loudly asserted: "'We see nothing bad in this fellow. Maybe an angel spoke to him, or a spirit." It looked like the argument was reaching the knock-down, drag-out stage, and the chief was afraid they would pull Paul apart. So he told the cops to go in and rescue him and take him back to city hall. 11. On the next night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, "Keep your chin up, because you've got to stand up for me in Washington just as you have here in Atlanta." 12. A day later the Klan hatched a plot, swearing to themselves that they wouldn't eat or drink till they had lynched Paul. There were more than forty of them in on this deal. They went to some of the local bigwigs and said, "Look, we've sworn not to eat anything till we've gotten rid of that Paul. Now you all try to arrange another hearing for him as though you wanted to get more information, and have the chief bring him over to the court house. We'll be ready to gun him down on the way over." 16. But the son of Paul's sister overheard the plot, went to the city jail and told Paul about it. Paul called one of the guards and said, "Take this young fellow to the chief; he has something to tell him." The guard then took him to the chief. "That prisoner, Paul," he said, "called and asked me to bring this young follow to you. Says he has something to tell you." The chief took him by the hand, went aside privately with him and asked, "What is it you want to tell me?" The youth said, "The Klan has plotted to ask you to bring Paul to the courthouse tomorrow as though there would be another hearing on his case. But don't you let them trick you into it, because there are more than forty men in on the deal and they've sworn they won't eat or drink anything till they've wiped him out. They're ready right now, just waiting for you to give your permission." The chief then let the boy go. "But don't you dare tell a soul," he warned, "that you have tipped me off." 23. He then rang for two of his lieutenants. "Get your squads ready
to go to Augusta at nine o'clock tonight. Be prepared for anything, and have a
special car to take Paul in and to see that he gets to Federal Judge
Felton." He wrote a letter along this line: 31. The policemen carried out their orders. That night they took Paul as far as Athens. The next day the squad car went on with him, and the others returned to Atlanta. Upon arriving in Augusta they delivered the letter to the judge and turned Paul over to him. The judge read the letter, and asked what state the prisoner was from. Being informed that Paul was from Florida, he said, "I'll hear your case when your accusers arrive." He ordered him to be held in the Federal jail.
1. Five days later Bishop Harry and some church officials,12 along with a lawyer named Turner, showed up to press the charges against Paul before the judge. When court convened, Turner was called upon to present the charges. He said "Your honor, because of you we are enjoying law and order, and through your wise counsel many worthwhile changes have come about. For this we are abundantly and unceasingly grateful. But lest I weary you further, I'll get down to brass tacks, asking that you hear me with your usual patience. For our investigation shows that this man– this public pest–incites riots among the good white folks wherever he goes, and that he is a spark plug in the Valdostan gang. He was disturbing divine worship, so we arrested him. When you examine him, you'll be able to tell for yourself that all these charges we have against him are true." The white folks backed him up, claiming that he had accurately presented the facts. 10. The judge now nodded to Paul to speak, and he began: "Knowing that you have had long experience as a judge in this district, I gladly lay the facts of my case before you. As you can easily find out, it has been no more than twelve days since I went to Atlanta to worship. But they never found me arguing in the church sanctuary or causing a public disturbance, either in the churches or in the streets. Nor are they able to prove to you the charges they now have against me. I do admit this to you, however, that I serve our Father-God as a member of what they call a ‘gang.’ I believe in the Bible from cover to cover. I have a confidence in God which they themselves support–that he will raise both the just and the unjust. I constantly give myself workouts in this so as to have a clear conscience toward God and my fellowman. 17. "Having been away for some years, I had the desire to return, and to make an offering and go to worship with my own people. While doing this, I was sitting quietly in the sanctuary. I had no crowd; I created no commotion. But I was set upon by some hoods from Alabama, who should be present now, and present their charges to you if they have anything against me. Or for that matter, let these gentlemen right here state what they found me guilty of when I appeared before the Council–unless perhaps it was for this one statement I made as I stood before them: 'I am being tried before you today on the issue of newness of life for the dead.’ " 22. Then Judge Felton, who had some inside dope on the Way, recessed court. "When Chief Lyman comes," he said, "I'll hear you further on this case." He ordered the marshal to keep him in custody, but to grant him every privilege and to let his friends visit and wait on him. 24. Some time later, Judge Felton and his wife, Drusilla, a member of the DAR, sent for Paul to hear him talk about the Christian faith. But when Paul got on the subject of justice, integrity and eternal judgment, Judge Felton got scared and said, "I've had enough for now; you may go. When I have another opportunity, I'll call you again." All the while, though, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. This was the real reason he fetched him so often and chatted with him. 27. Two years passed, and "Porky" Foster succeeded Judge Felton. Wishing to please the good white folks, Felton left Paul in jail.
1. Three days after Foster took office, he went to Atlanta from Augusta. There some influential WAPs brought up the subject of Paul and tried to get Judge Foster to do them a favor by summoning Paul to Atlanta for trial. (They had a scheme to kill him on the way there.) But Judge Foster's answer was: "Paul is being kept in Augusta, and I myself plan to return there soon. Let your lawyers go over there with me, and if he has done something illegal, let them press the charges against him." 6. He spent no more than eight or ten days with them and returned to Augusta. The next day he convened court and ordered Paul's case to be called. During the proceedings, the whites who had come from Atlanta leveled many serious accusations against him, but they couldn't make them hold any water. In making his defense, Paul denied that he had committed any crime against the laws and customs of local whites, against the church, or against the Federal government. But Judge Foster, with an eye to making himself popular with the good white folks, asked Paul, "Would you be willing to go to Atlanta and let me hear your case there?" Paul replied, "I am standing in a Federal court right now, where I should be tried. I have done no harm to the white people, as you yourself know beyond all doubt. If indeed I have broken a law, or committed some crime punishable even by death, I ask for no mercy. But if there's no basis for the things these people are charging me with, nobody can let them put their cotton picking hands on me! I'm appealing to the Supreme Court!" 12. Judge Foster then conferred with his associates, and gave Paul an answer. "You have appealed to the Supreme Court. To the Supreme Court you shall go." 13. Well, the days passed and Governor Griffin and his wife Bernice went to Augusta to pay their respects to Judge Foster. After they had visited a while, Judge Foster mentioned Paul's case to the Governor. "You know, there's a fellow here who was left in jail by Felton, and when I went to Atlanta, some influential whites approached me about him and asked that I sentence him. But I told them that it is not constitutional to sentence any accused person before he has had his day in court, and has been confronted with his accusers. So when they got together here, I made no postponement. The very next day I convened court and ordered the fellow to be brought in. The plaintiffs stated their case, but they presented no evidence of the crime which I had presumed. Instead, they had only disputes with him about their own religious doctrines and about some Jesus guy who had died and whom Paul swore was still alive. Being in doubt as to how to proceed on such matters, I asked Paul if he would be willing to go to Atlanta and stand trial there concerning them. But he chose to appeal to the Supreme Court for a decision, so I ordered him to be held until I could send him there." Governor Griffin said to Judge Foster, "I'd like a chance to hear the man myself." "Okay," he said, "you shall hear him tomorrow." 23. So Governor Griffin and Bernice arrived next day with a great show and entered the court room. With them were some high brass and government dignitaries of the city. Judge Foster ordered Paul to be brought in, and said, "Governor Griffin and all you gentlemen present with us, this man you see here is the one about whom a lot of good white folks have approached me both in Atlanta and here. They yell to high heaven, claiming he shouldn't be allowed to live any longer. But my investigation showed that he had committed no capital crime and so when he appealed to the Supreme Court, I granted it. Yet I have nothing specific about him to present to them. The reason then that I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, Governor Griffin, is that on the basis of this inquiry I might have something to present. For it seems ridiculous to me to send a prisoner without stating the charges against him."
1. So Governor Griffin said to Paul, "You may now state your own
position." Then Paul raised his hand and began his defense: 19. "So then, Governor Griffin, I was not callous to the spiritual encounter. Instead, I began telling the people first in Chattanooga and Atlanta, and later through all the country–both whites and blacks–to reshape their lives and face toward God, backing it up with actions which follow a changed life. It was for this, sir, that the whites grabbed me in the sanctuary and tried to tear me to pieces. But I took hold of God's hand, and to this very day I stand, telling it straight to both high and low. I'm saying nothing but what the Bible has said all along–that the Leader13 would be killed, that he as the first of a raising of the dead, would herald the dawn to people of all races." 24. At this point in Paul's argument, Judge Foster loudly interrupted, "You're nuts, Paul. Too much education has driven you nutty." Paul replied, "Most honorable Judge Foster, I am not nuts. I am but speaking the sober truth. The Governor understands these things. I can discuss them freely with him, for I am convinced that not one of these things has escaped his memory. After all, it's no deep, dark secret! Governor Griffin, you believe the Bible, don't you? Of course you believe it." But Griffin said to Paul, "You are trying to get me to be a Christian with a minority!" Paul said, "I wish to God, whether in a minority or in a majority, not only you but all the people who are listening to me today were in my situation–except for being in jail." 30. The Governor, the judge, Bernice and those sitting with them got up and as they went out they were discussing it among themselves. "This fellow isn't doing a thing that deserves either death or a jail term," they said. And Governor Griffin told Foster, "This man could be turned loose if he hadn't appealed to the Supreme Court."
1. Now when the decision was made to ship us out for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were put in the custody of a Captain Julius of the Emperor's Corps. With Aristarchus, from Thessalonica, Macedonia, we boarded a ship from Adramyttium which was heading for various places in Asia, and set sail. The next day we put into Sidon. Now Julius treated Paul like a human being and let him contact his friends to get what items he needed. We pulled out of there and, due to the head winds, we sailed behind Cyprus, then across the sea opposite Cilicia and Pamphylia until we came to Myra, Lycia. The captain located an Alexandrian boat there which was sailing for Italy, so he loaded us on it. For several days we inched along and just barely made it to Cnidus. Unable to continue against the wind, we sailed around Salmone and down behind Crete. We stayed close to shore and had a real rough time making it to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea on the island of Crete. 9. A lot of time had gotten away from us and it was already dangerous to sail, since it was past Thanksgiving. Paul cautioned them, "Men, it's clear to me that if you continue the voyage it will result in much damage and loss not only to the cargo and ship but to us as well." But Captain Julius was influenced more by the skipper and the ship owner than by Paul's advice. And since it wasn't a suitable harbor for wintering in, the majority favored getting out and trying to make it to Phoenix, to winter there. It's a harbor on Crete that faces southwest and northwest. 13. When the wind started blowing from the south, they thought they had it made, so they weighed anchor and sailed along just off the shore of Crete. It wasn't long, though, till Hurricane Euraquilla hit her. It lashed the boat so hard that we couldn't head her into the wind, so we gave up and were swept along. When we ran behind a little island called Clauda we managed, with great difficulty, to make the lifeboat secure. We pulled it on board and used some ropes to lash it to the ship. They were afraid they might run aground on the Syrtis sand banks, so they hauled down the mainsail and let her drift. On the next day we were taking an awful beating from the storm, and they dumped the cargo overboard. The day following they tore loose with their bare hands the ship's furnishings. Neither sun nor stars shone for days on end, and with no small hurricane pounding us, we finally gave up all hope of surviving. 21. After they had gone several days without food, Paul then said to them as they huddled together, "Fellows, you should have followed my advice and never left Crete, and we wouldn't have had all this damage and loss. But now forget it and keep your chins up. Not a man of you will lose his life, but we will lose the ship. For last night there stood beside me an angel of the God to whom I belong and to whom I give my allegiance, and he said to me, 'Don't let this scare you, Paul, because you've got to appear before Caesar. Now listen, God has made it possible for the whole company to come through with you.' So brighten up, fellows; I trust God to do exactly as he told me. However, we've got to be wrecked on some island." 27. About midnight of the fourteenth day, as we were being driven along in the Adriatic, the sailors had a hunch that we were approaching land. So they sank a line and found that the depth was twenty fathoms (120 feet). They waited a little while and sank the line again. This time it was fifteen fathoms (90 feet). Fearing that we might be cast up on a jagged shore, they threw out four anchors from the stern and kept their fingers crossed, hoping for daylight. 30. Now the sailors tried to escape from the ship by lowering the lifeboat into the sea and pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the ship. But Paul said to the captain and the guards, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you all can't be saved." Then the guards cut the lifeboat's ropes and let her drift. 33. Just before dawn Paul urged everybody to eat something. "You have been on duty fourteen days today," he said, "and you've gone without food all that time. So come on now, y'all eat something. You'll need the strength to get through this alive, for not a one of you is going to lose a hair on his head." After saying this, he took a loaf of bread, gave thanks in front of everybody, broke off a chunk and began eating it. They all grinned and began digging in themselves. (There were two hundred and seventy-six of us on the ship). Having eaten all they could hold, they threw the flour into the sea to make the ship lighter. 39. Dawn came, but they didn't recognize the land. They spotted a cove with a beach, on which they planned to save the ship if at all possible. So they cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time, they loosened the rudder yokes, hoisted the front sail to the wind and headed for the beach. But they struck an underwater reef and grounded the ship. The bow stuck so tight it wouldn't budge, while the stern was cracking up from the violence of the waves. 42. It was the guards' intention to kill the prisoners so as to keep any of them from swimming ashore and escaping. The captain, however, intent on saving Paul, turned thumbs down to their plan. He ordered all who could swim to jump off first and check out for land, and the rest to make it on planks or whatever they could get hold of from the ship. In this way everybody made it safely to shore.
1. Later, when all were safe, we discovered that we were on the island of Malta. The local people were unusually friendly to us. Because it was cold and still raining they built a fire and invited us all in. Paul gathered quite a pile of wood, and as he was putting some on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. When the local people saw the critter still hanging on his hand, they said to each other, "Surely this guy is a murderer. Even though he survived the wreck, justice has finally caught up with him." Paul just shook the critter off into the fire and wasn't harmed a bit. They expected him to start swelling and to keel over dead any minute. After waiting a long while and noticing nothing unusual happening to him, they changed their tune. "He's a god!" they said. 7. The head man of the island, a fellow named Publius, owned some land in that area, and he put us up for three days and treated us royally. Publius' father was sick in bed with dysentery, and had a fever. Paul went to see him and prayed for him, then touched him with his hand and healed him. When this happened, all the rest of the people on the island who had sick ones brought them and had them healed. They even honored us with the very finest things they had, and when we left, they loaded us with everything we needed. 11. After spending three months there we set sail in an Alexandrian ship, the Gemini, which had wintered in the island. We arrived at Syracuse, spent three days there, and after a rather circuitous route, we made it to Rhegium. Next day the wind began blowing from the south, and two days later we reached Puteoli. We contacted some brothers there who invited us to spend the week with them. 15. And at last we made it to Rome! News about us had already reached the brothers there, and they came out and met us at Apius' store and Three Taverns. When Paul saw them he thanked God and perked up. In Rome itself Paul was permitted to live privately, but with a guard assigned to him.
17. Three days after arriving, Paul called a meeting of some of the prominent whites, and when they had assembled he said to them, "Gentlemen and brothers, I am indeed a person who has in no way turned against my own people or their revered traditions. Yet I was jailed in Atlanta by the police, who examined me and wanted to release me, since I was guilty of violating no laws. But some hotheaded whites were gunning for me and I was forced to appeal to the Supreme Court, though I had no complaint against white people as such. So that's the reason I called you together–to see and talk with you personally. For the sake of the white man’s only hope I have this chain draped around my neck." They said to him, "Why, we have received no letters from the white people about you, nor have any of the brothers come here and reported or spoken any bad thing about you. But we are anxious to hear what you're thinking, because we do know that this offshoot belief is being attacked everywhere." They arranged another day with him, and a larger group came over to his house. He put his cards on the table, sharing his experiences in the God Movement and proving from the Scriptures the things about Jesus. The discussion lasted all day. Some were convinced by his arguments, but others couldn't take it. They got into an awful squabble and left. As they did, Paul took one final shot. "The Holy Spirit spoke so aptly through the prophet Isaiah when he said to your fathers:
'Go to these people and tell them, "So let this be absolutely clear to you. God has shared this victorious life with all whom you consider 'outsiders'. They will take it seriously." 30. Paul spent two whole years in his own rented house, and welcomed any who cared to visit him. All the while, with the utmost frankness and freedom, he was promoting the God Movement and teaching the lessons about the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 I am omitting the Chapter 5 heading here, for it rudely interrupts the original narrative which contrasts the two differing responses to the fellowship's policy of sharing all things with one another. 2 Possibly the part prescribed by the Jewish law–the tithe. 3 Because there is no modern parallel to the historical situation here described by Stephen, we return to the original setting. 4 Or, Son, i.e., the titular head of the God Movement. Jesus' own favorite designation of himself was "son of man." 5 Or, Christ. It is equivalent to "Son" in vs. 20, and again refers to Jesus as God's designated Leader of the God Movement. 6 The language in the original is sharp and brutal. This is evidence that even saints, especially young, fresh ones, may come unglued and lose their cool. 7 The literal translation here is: ". . . we should write to them to keep away from foods offered to idols, from fornication, from things strangled, and from blood," all of which were things particularly offensive to tradition-minded Hebrew-Christians. 10 The divinely approved Head of the God Movement. 12 It must he kept in mind that the Jewish religious leaders had both civil and ecclesiastical authority, so we have no modern counterpart for them. Likewise the Roman governors and kings held both judicial and executive powers, and we have no one on the American scene to represent them. Therefore, since the first century, legal, political and ecclesiastical structures were so unlike ours, it is impossible to put them in the "cotton patch" perspective with any degree of accuracy. 13 Or the Messiah, or the Christ. ©1969 by Clarence
Jordan. Used by permission of Koinonia
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