PREPARING FOR CHRISTIAN SERVICE:
THE BIBLE TRAINING SCHOOL
Louis F. Morgan
MORE THAN a century ago, the Church of God discerned the need for educational opportunities for ministerial development. Early church leaders recognized that, while eager to share the gospel of Christ with others, many preachers had little training concerning the Scriptures. To meet this need, the Church of God established the Bible Training School.
At 9:30 on Tuesday morning, January 1, 1918, A.J. Tomlinson opened BTS in the upper room of Evangel Publishing Company at 2524 Gaut Street in Cleveland, Tennessee. The 600-square-foot space was the same room used for meetings of the Elders Council, now known as the International Executive Council. As general overseer, Tomlinson also served as superintendent for the school. Nora Chambers, a Church of God evangelist and copy editor at the Church of God Publishing House, was the first teacher.
Chambers stated the objective of the school was “to train young men and women for Christian service.” To accomplish this, she taught from the Bible and Hurlbut’s Teacher-Training Lessons with additional instruction in Bible geography, spelling, English, and music. Tomlinson provided occasional lectures from the Book of Revelation.
There were 12 students that first term—seven females and five males from five states. They were carpenters, farmers, mothers, local church treasurers, musicians, evangelists, and even a former stage actress. Feeling called to ministry, they enrolled at BTS to learn more about the Bible and to become more effective pastors, evangelists, Sunday school teachers, and missionaries. Not all arrived by the first day of class, and only six remained at the end of the term in April. Tuition was one dollar per week.
Most out-of-town students lived across the street at the Tomlinson home, where Mary Jane Tomlinson provided motherly care and supervised meal preparation, while she tasked young Milton Tomlinson with setting the kitchen table. Alabama student Arena Adair Blackwood, who arrived in 1920, remembered, “We all lived in A.J. Tomlinson’s home, since there were so few of us. Students were young and old alike; we were all [there] to learn more about God’s Word.” Conditions did not improve when students no longer lived in the Tomlinson home. Zeno C. Tharp, a student from Florida, explained, “…[T]he students had to room any place they could find. Often there were from four to ten in a room, and most of the time no baths or hot water were provided, and many times not even running water. Often the bedrooms were without heat.”
Despite limited resources, BTS proved to be transformative for those first students, such as Jesse Danehower from Haynes, Arkansas, who explained he enrolled “to get equipped with the good spiritual things coming from God…. In studying the Bible we are laying the foundation for the future in which we hope to obtain great victories.” He later reflected, “[W]e students and Sister Chambers spent many precious and happy hours reading, studying, praying, and shouting the high praise of God. These were some of the happiest hours of our lives.”
At 9:30 on Tuesday morning, January 1, 1918, A.J. Tomlinson opened BTS in the upper room of Evangel Publishing Company at 2524 Gaut Street in Cleveland, Tennessee. The 600-square-foot space was the same room used for meetings of the Elders Council, now known as the International Executive Council. As general overseer, Tomlinson also served as superintendent for the school. Nora Chambers, a Church of God evangelist and copy editor at the Church of God Publishing House, was the first teacher.
Chambers stated the objective of the school was “to train young men and women for Christian service.” To accomplish this, she taught from the Bible and Hurlbut’s Teacher-Training Lessons with additional instruction in Bible geography, spelling, English, and music. Tomlinson provided occasional lectures from the Book of Revelation.
There were 12 students that first term—seven females and five males from five states. They were carpenters, farmers, mothers, local church treasurers, musicians, evangelists, and even a former stage actress. Feeling called to ministry, they enrolled at BTS to learn more about the Bible and to become more effective pastors, evangelists, Sunday school teachers, and missionaries. Not all arrived by the first day of class, and only six remained at the end of the term in April. Tuition was one dollar per week.
Most out-of-town students lived across the street at the Tomlinson home, where Mary Jane Tomlinson provided motherly care and supervised meal preparation, while she tasked young Milton Tomlinson with setting the kitchen table. Alabama student Arena Adair Blackwood, who arrived in 1920, remembered, “We all lived in A.J. Tomlinson’s home, since there were so few of us. Students were young and old alike; we were all [there] to learn more about God’s Word.” Conditions did not improve when students no longer lived in the Tomlinson home. Zeno C. Tharp, a student from Florida, explained, “…[T]he students had to room any place they could find. Often there were from four to ten in a room, and most of the time no baths or hot water were provided, and many times not even running water. Often the bedrooms were without heat.”
Despite limited resources, BTS proved to be transformative for those first students, such as Jesse Danehower from Haynes, Arkansas, who explained he enrolled “to get equipped with the good spiritual things coming from God…. In studying the Bible we are laying the foundation for the future in which we hope to obtain great victories.” He later reflected, “[W]e students and Sister Chambers spent many precious and happy hours reading, studying, praying, and shouting the high praise of God. These were some of the happiest hours of our lives.”
NORA CHAMBERS: THE FIRST TEACHER
Nora Chambers was age 34 when selected as the first teacher at BTS. An evangelist and church planter since 1910, she had received training at Altamont Bible and Missionary Institute (now Holmes Bible College). When preaching in the mountains of Tennessee and Georgia, Chambers and her husband, Fred, usually walked from town-to-town and regularly encountered difficulty from mobs who disrupted services and threatened them with beatings. Nora Chambers was committed to sharing the gospel and undaunted in the face of challenges. That, accompanied with her ability and positive reputation, made her the perfect choice to teach ministerial students.
Church historian Charles W. Conn noted she “was a woman of rare intelligence, ability, and, for that early day, education…. [She] was an altruistic and tireless woman, seeking to help and encourage others at all times. It was natural that she should be selected as the first teacher for the school; but in keeping with her unassuming disposition, she at first insisted that a man be made instructor. Her modesty, while sincere, was never a mark of timidity.” E.L. Simmons reflected, “Nora Chambers [was] a very remarkable woman evangelist… with aptitude and initiative, coupled with a vision of greater things, which, though, she possibly knew it not, was to be fulfilled within her generation.” Chambers had earned the respect of church leadership, and she accepted the teaching responsibility without any guarantee of pay. Her dependence upon God’s guidance and provision is evident in her reflection about the first day of class, “I felt such a load settle over me the first morning we opened the school. I didn’t think I could carry it, but as the students prepared their lessons, I prayed. Soon I felt the presence of an unseen Guest. He assured me that He would be with us and help us, and He did.” |
Overcoming Early Challenges
Those early years were filled with challenges. On more than one occasion, it seemed the school would close. When the second term began in November 1918, the Spanish Influenza was widespread. Several students were impacted, and influenza claimed the life of Bennie (Pettitt) Terrell, a 27-year-old homemaker and evangelist from Cartersville, Georgia. She began feeling ill in class and returned to her room at the Tomlinson home. A.J. Tomlinson remembered, “She gradually grew worse although prayers were offered up for her almost constantly day and night, and she was often quickened by the Spirit.” Bennie died two days before Christmas. Tomlinson reflected further, “During the time the Influenza epidemic has been raging, our home has been a veritable hospital excepting the use of medicine, having cared for twelve or more cases. Mrs. Tomlinson has been wonderfully preserved and sustained by the grace of God so she has never taken it. The Lord has had mercy upon us and shown us many unmerited favors in the midst of it all.”
Limited finances and space were other concerns. From the beginning, additional space was needed for classrooms and housing. In 1919, a three-story addition was built onto the publishing house. The following year, the school moved into North Cleveland Church’s former sanctuary. By 1925, the Bible school was sharing the Assembly Auditorium with the North Cleveland Church, while the old sanctuary became a dormitory.
Realizing jobs and family responsibilities prohibited many from attending on campus, BTS initiated a correspondence course of 20 lessons for $40 in September 1919. It began with 203 students and increased to 788 the first year. Pearlie Ables, a local church treasurer and Sunday school teacher from Carbon Hill, Alabama, was the first to complete the course. Nora Chambers graded the lessons and supervised the program for several years.
Denominational tensions also affected the school. Tomlinson directly supervised church operations as general overseer. However, in 1922, the General Assembly delegated some responsibilities, and F.J. Lee became the BTS superintendent. When the denomination divided a year later and a separate denomination emerged under Tomlinson’s leadership, BTS remained with the Church of God, but the financial strain created challenges. Nora Chambers noted, “It was a dark day when Brother Lee said the school would have to close. But we went to prayer and got our heads together to help answer our own prayers. Sister Lee gave her canned goods and bought no clothes that year. Sister Garner, the matron, did the cooking for no pay.” When Lee became general overseer in 1923, J.B. Ellis assumed leadership of the school for one year, followed by T.S. Payne from 1924–1930. By the grace of God and the ingenuity and willing sacrifices of the school’s early leaders and church members, BTS survived during a period of extreme financial difficulty.
Although times were challenging, students found a place of belonging and spiritual nurture. Mississippi student Grant Williams enrolled in November 1918 and often reflected about Nora Chambers leading students in prayer and worship between their studies. Williams particularly remembered when several students were filled with the Holy Spirit as the class sang “O I Want to See Him.” Music was an important part of the school from the beginning, and students brought their own instruments, such as guitars, banjos, mandolins, saxophones, trombones, and accordions.
Those early years were filled with challenges. On more than one occasion, it seemed the school would close. When the second term began in November 1918, the Spanish Influenza was widespread. Several students were impacted, and influenza claimed the life of Bennie (Pettitt) Terrell, a 27-year-old homemaker and evangelist from Cartersville, Georgia. She began feeling ill in class and returned to her room at the Tomlinson home. A.J. Tomlinson remembered, “She gradually grew worse although prayers were offered up for her almost constantly day and night, and she was often quickened by the Spirit.” Bennie died two days before Christmas. Tomlinson reflected further, “During the time the Influenza epidemic has been raging, our home has been a veritable hospital excepting the use of medicine, having cared for twelve or more cases. Mrs. Tomlinson has been wonderfully preserved and sustained by the grace of God so she has never taken it. The Lord has had mercy upon us and shown us many unmerited favors in the midst of it all.”
Limited finances and space were other concerns. From the beginning, additional space was needed for classrooms and housing. In 1919, a three-story addition was built onto the publishing house. The following year, the school moved into North Cleveland Church’s former sanctuary. By 1925, the Bible school was sharing the Assembly Auditorium with the North Cleveland Church, while the old sanctuary became a dormitory.
Realizing jobs and family responsibilities prohibited many from attending on campus, BTS initiated a correspondence course of 20 lessons for $40 in September 1919. It began with 203 students and increased to 788 the first year. Pearlie Ables, a local church treasurer and Sunday school teacher from Carbon Hill, Alabama, was the first to complete the course. Nora Chambers graded the lessons and supervised the program for several years.
Denominational tensions also affected the school. Tomlinson directly supervised church operations as general overseer. However, in 1922, the General Assembly delegated some responsibilities, and F.J. Lee became the BTS superintendent. When the denomination divided a year later and a separate denomination emerged under Tomlinson’s leadership, BTS remained with the Church of God, but the financial strain created challenges. Nora Chambers noted, “It was a dark day when Brother Lee said the school would have to close. But we went to prayer and got our heads together to help answer our own prayers. Sister Lee gave her canned goods and bought no clothes that year. Sister Garner, the matron, did the cooking for no pay.” When Lee became general overseer in 1923, J.B. Ellis assumed leadership of the school for one year, followed by T.S. Payne from 1924–1930. By the grace of God and the ingenuity and willing sacrifices of the school’s early leaders and church members, BTS survived during a period of extreme financial difficulty.
Although times were challenging, students found a place of belonging and spiritual nurture. Mississippi student Grant Williams enrolled in November 1918 and often reflected about Nora Chambers leading students in prayer and worship between their studies. Williams particularly remembered when several students were filled with the Holy Spirit as the class sang “O I Want to See Him.” Music was an important part of the school from the beginning, and students brought their own instruments, such as guitars, banjos, mandolins, saxophones, trombones, and accordions.
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THE WALKER FAMILY LEGACY
Paul Haven Walker was born on a 900-acre ranch in North Dakota, who spent his childhood playing with Native American friends. He was a rancher who could handle livestock, operate farming machinery, and mine coal.
In 1919, Paul H. Walker’s father sold their North Dakota ranch and the family journeyed to Tennessee to attend the General Assembly. They traveled more than 2,800 miles over rough roads, battled heavy rains that washed out bridges, and were detoured through mountainous terrain that tore up their tires. For 12 days, the sun never appeared from behind the overcast sky, and they traveled more than 1,900 miles through continuous rain. Car problems required multiple repairs, and the trip cost more than $2,000. But, they arrived in time for the Assembly, where Paul and his brothers had transformational experiences with the Holy Spirit. After the Assembly, Walker enrolled at BTS for its fourth term in November 1919. He preached his first sermon at Mount Olive Church of God—walking in the rain to the service. After BTS, he spent several months preaching and establishing churches in North Carolina and Maryland, including Princess Anne, where he became pastor. Walker was appointed Maryland’s administrative bishop in 1920 and married Margaret Holloway two years later. During his ministry, he preached in 64 countries, helped establish Northwest Bible College in the Dakotas, and established 64 churches in a dozen states in the U.S.A., Canada, and England. Forty ministers accepted their call as a result of his ministry He, along with his sons Paul L. Walker and Donald Walker, served the Church of God in various educational leadership roles, including the Lee College Board of Directors. His son, Paul, became the denomination’s first chancellor of Education and served as general overseer, and his son, Donald, served as president of Northwest Bible College and the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Presently, his grandson, Mark Walker, is vice president for Ministerial Development and president-elect at Lee University. |
Expanding the Curriculum
While the 1920s were challenging, the 1930s brought expansion and advancement. Thirty-year-old J.H. Walker Sr. of Dunn, Louisiana, became superintendent in 1930. A BTS graduate, he also had taken courses at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, evening classes at a business school, and received private music lessons. He immediately expanded the curriculum by adding two programs—Commercial/Business and Music—and hired teachers with advanced degrees and specialized training. Walker was a progressive leader who understood students attended other schools for training beyond traditional ministerial vocations, and he believed those students also should have a Christ-centered environment in which to learn. The new programs paved the way for the school to become a stronger academic institution. Walker hired Henrietta Ayer Green in 1930 to teach business courses. Trained at the Washington, D.C. School for Secretaries, she operated a business school at a local Cleveland hotel, where she was a bookkeeper. According to Green, “[BTS] didn’t have any typewriters so I had to carry five of mine from my school at the hotel to [BTS] and then back to the hotel every day.” She earned two dollars for each student she taught, and she was the school’s first full-time teacher from a denomination other than Church of God. Also in 1930, BTS hired Otis L. McCoy of Addison, Alabama, to begin a formal music program, including evening classes that appealed to community residents. McCoy was a Church of God minister and gifted songwriter trained professionally at the James D. Vaughan Conservatory of Music. He began an orchestra and created courses in theory, sight singing and ear training, harmony, counterpoint, composition, music appreciation and history, and repertoire. He also taught private lessons in voice and led instruction on a variety of instruments. B.C. Robinson served as his fist teaching assistant before Owel Denson was hired to assist with instruction. McCoy and Denson previously taught together in singing schools using the Sacred Harp shaped-note tradition, which they incorporated into BTS courses. McCoy also promoted BTS by sending student trios, quartets, and small ensembles to local churches and state camp meetings. Many BTS students became household names in Gospel music, such as the LeFevre Trio, the Klaudt Indian Family Singers, and Bennie Triplett. In 1932, BTS hired Cleveland-native Katherine Lowery [Trewhitt], the school’s first full-time teacher with a bachelor’s degree, to teach Latin and Greek. That same year a high school division was started. In those days, most pastors were appointed to new churches annually at the General Assembly or state conventions, and the brief tenures often made it difficult for their children to adjust in new schools. Sending their children to the Academy (high school) provided a more stable educational environment with a Christ-centered focus. Mildred Blackwell (who later served as a missionary with her husband, Hoyle Case) had an associate degree and teaching experience, and she began teaching the first high school courses. The following year, R.R. Walker, the high school superintendent at Morgantown, Mississippi, was baptized with the Holy Spirit and united with the Church of God. A 1927 graduate of Mississippi College with a bachelor’s degree in education, BTS immediately secured him as principal for the Academy. He was the school’s first male teacher with a bachelor’s degree and the first Church of God minister with a bachelor’s degree. During his 10-year tenure, he also taught Bible classes and helped establish the junior college program. |
BTS Becomes a College
Enrollment continued to increase, and space became limited. In 1938, BTS relocated to Sevierville, Tennessee, to the former Murphy Collegiate Institute campus, which offered room to expand. At Sevierville, with Zeno C. Tharp as president, BTS made some of its most important advancements.
Tharp already was a significant leader in the Church of God and had received training at Holmes Bible School when he became superintendent in 1935. During his presidency, BTS experienced gains in income and enrollment, increasing from 157 students in 1937 to 600 students in 1942. He led in restructuring the school, hiring more degreed teachers, and increasing the school term to nine months. Many students became significant ministry leaders globally.
Perhaps the most notable advancements were the initial accreditation of the Academy and the beginning of a two-year junior college. The Academy had helped create the need for the junior college, as many students who completed high school desired to attend college, but in programs other than those offered at BTS. The junior college expanded curriculum options and provided training that was Christian in spirit while broad in cultural emphasis. The school was renamed “Bible Training School and College” in 1941.
School and denominational officials understood the importance of attaining accreditation to meet the academic demands of a quality education. To help reach this goal, progressive administrators were hired, including Mary Elizabeth Harrison Green and Earl M. Tapley. Tharp recruited Green in 1942 as principal of the Academy, and she was the first administrator with a master’s degree. When E.L. Simmons became president in 1945, he recruited Tapley, a BTS graduate and progressive pastor with a master’s degree. Hired in 1946, Tapley was the school’s first vice president and briefly served as acting president in 1951.
Soon after Simmons became president, BTS purchased the 20-acre campus of Bob Jones College in Cleveland for $1.5 million and announced it would relocate. That campus had served as an educational center since 1885 with the establishment of Centenary Women’s College.
Returning to Cleveland marked a significant transition, and enrollment indicated the junior college was its future. Vice President Tapley saw this as an opportunity to focus on that future and suggested changing the name to Lee College, in honor of its early leader, F.J. Lee. President Simmons proposed the idea to the BTS Board of Directors, who approved.
The future was promising for this college that had begun 29 years earlier as a hopeful endeavor with one teacher and a dozen students. The years in Sevierville were productive and afforded the school time to develop its own identity. While expanding beyond its initial curriculum, the school remained committed to its original mission of preparing young men and women for Christian service and providing them with a Christ-centered education. With the return to Cleveland, there again was hopeful anticipation for its potential as an emerging academic institution.
Enrollment continued to increase, and space became limited. In 1938, BTS relocated to Sevierville, Tennessee, to the former Murphy Collegiate Institute campus, which offered room to expand. At Sevierville, with Zeno C. Tharp as president, BTS made some of its most important advancements.
Tharp already was a significant leader in the Church of God and had received training at Holmes Bible School when he became superintendent in 1935. During his presidency, BTS experienced gains in income and enrollment, increasing from 157 students in 1937 to 600 students in 1942. He led in restructuring the school, hiring more degreed teachers, and increasing the school term to nine months. Many students became significant ministry leaders globally.
Perhaps the most notable advancements were the initial accreditation of the Academy and the beginning of a two-year junior college. The Academy had helped create the need for the junior college, as many students who completed high school desired to attend college, but in programs other than those offered at BTS. The junior college expanded curriculum options and provided training that was Christian in spirit while broad in cultural emphasis. The school was renamed “Bible Training School and College” in 1941.
School and denominational officials understood the importance of attaining accreditation to meet the academic demands of a quality education. To help reach this goal, progressive administrators were hired, including Mary Elizabeth Harrison Green and Earl M. Tapley. Tharp recruited Green in 1942 as principal of the Academy, and she was the first administrator with a master’s degree. When E.L. Simmons became president in 1945, he recruited Tapley, a BTS graduate and progressive pastor with a master’s degree. Hired in 1946, Tapley was the school’s first vice president and briefly served as acting president in 1951.
Soon after Simmons became president, BTS purchased the 20-acre campus of Bob Jones College in Cleveland for $1.5 million and announced it would relocate. That campus had served as an educational center since 1885 with the establishment of Centenary Women’s College.
Returning to Cleveland marked a significant transition, and enrollment indicated the junior college was its future. Vice President Tapley saw this as an opportunity to focus on that future and suggested changing the name to Lee College, in honor of its early leader, F.J. Lee. President Simmons proposed the idea to the BTS Board of Directors, who approved.
The future was promising for this college that had begun 29 years earlier as a hopeful endeavor with one teacher and a dozen students. The years in Sevierville were productive and afforded the school time to develop its own identity. While expanding beyond its initial curriculum, the school remained committed to its original mission of preparing young men and women for Christian service and providing them with a Christ-centered education. With the return to Cleveland, there again was hopeful anticipation for its potential as an emerging academic institution.
La Escuela Bíblica de Adiestramiento
La Escuela Bíblica de Adiestramiento fue inaugurada el 1 de enero de 1918 en respuesta a la necesidad de educar a los ministros. El supervisor general, A. J. Tomlinson, fue su superintendente y la evangelista Nora Chambers fue la maestra. Su tarea era «adiestrar hombres y mujeres jóvenes para el servicio cristiano», comenzando con una clase de doce alumnos. Después de algunos desafíos iniciales, para la década de los treinta hubo progreso bajo la supervisión de J. H. Walker. Este graduado de la escuela añadió programas comerciales y de música y contrató profesores profesionales. Walker entendió que los estudiantes se matricularían con el fin de obtener destrezas vocacionales más allá del ministerio dentro de un ambiente cristiano. Walker también supervisó la inauguración de una escuela secundaria. En 1938, la escuela (BTS por sus siglas en inglés) fue trasladada al pueblo de Sevierville, en el estado de Tennessee, bajo la presidencia de Zeno Tharp. Fue entonces que su matrícula aumentó. Sus logros fueron la acreditación de la escuela secundaria y el comienzo de un recinto universitario básico. Su nombre fue cambiado a Colegio Bíblico de Adiestramiento. Muchos de sus egresados ocuparon posiciones importantes dentro de la denominación. En 1946, el presidente E. L. Simmons supervisó la compra del campus del Colegio de Bob Jones en la ciudad de Cleveland, TN. El aumento en la matrícula motivó el cambio de nombre a F. J. Lee. La Universidad de Lee ha mantenido su compromiso de capacitar «hombres y mujeres jóvenes para el servicio cristiano». |
Louis F. Morgan, Ph.D., is professor and
director of Library Services at Lee University. |