BURTON JONES VINCENT

As gazed the prophet on the ascending car. Swept by its fiery steeds away, afar, So with the burning tear and flashing eye, I trace thy glorious pathway to the sky. Lone like the Tishbite, as the Baptist bold, Cast in a rare and apostolic mould; Earnest, unselfish, consecrated, true, With nothing but the highest ends in view; Choosing to toil in distant fields, unsown, Contented to be poor and little known. Faithful to death: Oh, man of God, well done! Thy fight is ended and thy crown is won.                                                —H. Grattan Gulnesa.

What greater compliment could be paid to Christian ministry than the fact that of all the professions it has produced by far the largest percentage of men who have risen to distinction in all lines of worthwhile endeavor. Thus the parsonage and the manse have made a lasting contribution to the betterment of society which has not been appreciated by the public. It verifies the statement of Jesus that "man shall not live by bread alone"; it proves that plain living and high thinking have their own rewards; that a home dominated by the ideals of the Bible produces not only the finest but also the most useful type of manhood.

In a humble parsonage home at Ypsilanti, Michigan, August 15, 1877, a son made his advent. His father, P. E. Vincent, joined the Michigan Conference in full connection the same year. Those were the days of heroic pioneering in the virgin state of Michigan when hardships and sacrifice were the essential credential of the servants of God in planting the banner of holiness in the state. Foremost among the pioneers of those stirring times were E. P. Hart and B. R. Jones. In 1873, E. P. Hart had been elected General Superintendent and the directing of the growing work had to a large extent fallen upon his successor, B. R. Jones. It was quite natural that his name should be perpetuated in the succeeding generation by being given to the boy at the Vincent home and hence the name now familiar to the church -- Burton Jones Vincent.

Like many who achieve distinction in the kingdom of God, Burton was converted when a child in his own home and united with the Free Methodist Church of which his father was pastor. Like Samuel, he was reared in the sanctuary of the Lord and it was natural that the boy's thought should be turned toward the ministry. These early inclinations crystallized into a definite call and commitment while attending Spring Arbor Seminary. After spending a brief period in residence at Marion College at Marion, Indiana, he later completed a correspondence course for a degree at the same institution.

The influence of David S. Warner, principal of Spring Arbor Seminary, had a far-reaching influence on his life in the formative period and reminds one of the influence of Mark Hopkins upon the life of President Garfield. The biographer of Garfield shows the effect of the great teacher, Mark Hopkins, upon his life: "But under the influence of Hopkins, the scales fell from his eyes. The vast and powerful intellect of the man who was stepping to the front rank of the world's thinkers imparted its wealth of ideas to the big Ohioan. Through President Hopkins, Garfield's thoughts rose into the upper sky. Under the inspiration of the teacher's lectures and private conversation, the pupil's mind unfolded its immense calyx toward the sun of speculative thought. From this teacher Garfield derived the great ideas of love, of the regularity and system of the universe, of the analogy between man and nature, of God as the first cause of the foundation of right conduct, of the correlation of forces, of the philosophy of history. In after years Garfield always said that whatever perception he had of general ideas came from this man. One winter in Washington the National Teachers' Association was in session, and Garfield frequently dropped in to take a share in the discussion. One day he said: 'You are making a great mistake in education in this country. You put too much money into brick and mortar and not enough into brains. You build palatial schoolhouses with domes and towers; supply them with everything beautiful and luxuriant, and then put puny men inside. The important thing is not what is taught but the teacher. It is the teacher's personality which is the educator. I had rather dwell six months in a tent with Mark Hopkins, and live on bread and water, then to take a six-year's course in the grandest brick and mortar university on the continent.'"

His public service began in April 1899, when he was appointed by the Northern Indiana Conference to serve as a supply at Knox, Indiana, with Rev. J. A. Tannehill. The conference convened again in October of the same year, at which time he was received on trial and sent to Elkhart and Pleasant Valley. During this year he was married by S. K. Wheatlake to Miss Carrie Black, a noble Christian woman who proved to be an ideal preacher's wife. In 1900 he was appointed to Knox. In 1901 he was ordained deacon by E. P. Hart at Columbia City. After two years at Knox he transferred to the Wisconsin Conference where he served two years as pastor at Pardeeville. He was ordained elder by Wilson T. Hogue. The following year he was assistant principal of Evansville Seminary.

In 1905 he accepted the principalship of Spring Arbor Seminary and joined the Michigan Conference. After four years, in 1909, he went to California as pastor at Alameda. The following year he was received into the Southern California Conference and accepted the principalship of the Los Angeles Seminary. After two years as principal, he served the Hermon Church for one year, then for the three following years was district elder of the Los Angeles District.

In 1915 a mysterious providence came into his life. His wife while standing on a street corner in Los Angeles was struck by a reckless driver. She seemed to be out of danger, so the doctor advised him to go to the General Conference in Chicago. He had scarcely arrived when a telegram notified him of her death. He later married Miss Lena Duell, of Saginaw, Michigan, a cultured woman who had won recognition as a teacher of unusual ability.

In 1916 he was again sent as pastor to Hermon. In 1917 he transferred to the Washington Conference as pastor of the college church at Seattle. He resigned after two years to become the executive secretary of the Board of Control which had charge of the general budget inaugurated by the General Conference of 1919. He rendered splendid service in this difficult and trying position.

In 1921 he accepted the presidency of Wessington Springs Junior College. In 1923 he was elected by the General Conference as editor of the Sunday school publications, which position he held until 1931, when he was elected bishop by the General Conference at Greenville.

Such is the biographical outline of the life of Burton J. Vincent. His work naturally falls under three divisions -- as educator, editor of the Sunday school publications, and preacher.

As an Educator

Nine of the best years of his life were spent in our church schools -- one year as assistant principal at Evansville Seminary, four years as head of Spring Arbor, two at Los Angeles, and two at Wessington Springs. His kindness coupled with firmness, his spirituality coupled with patience and rare common sense made him a success in school work. We give to the reader the appraisement of some of those closely associated with him in school administration.

BY MRS. MARY L. COLEMAN

When Burton Vincent came to the Wisconsin Conference as a young man, Mr. Coleman was his district elder. We recognized in him at once a man of fine ability and of an unusual strength of character and of Christian experience. A deep and lasting friendship followed.

In after years it was my privilege to be associated with him on the faculty of Spring Arbor Seminary. As principal, he was greatly beloved. Always genial and kindly in spirit, he administered the affairs of the school with a strong and steady hand and with absolute impartiality. He entered into the problems and difficulties of teachers and students alike with a wise and understanding heart and always to help. He bore his own burdens with such serenity of spirit that we often forgot he carried them.

BY REV. L. GLENN LEWIS

For more than thirty years I have been closely associated with Brother Vincent in the work of the church, more especially in connection with our educational institutions. It was my privilege to labor with him in promoting the financial and spiritual interest of five of our schools. He was deeply interested in the young people of our church and perhaps gave the best years of his life in helping to advance Christian education.

His firmness and quietness of spirit made him effectual in directing the educational and spiritual activities of students. As head of Spring Arbor Seminary and Junior College, Los Angeles Pacific College, and Wessington Springs Seminary and Junior College, he was appreciated and loved by the faculty members and student bodies of these schools. During his pastorate at Seattle, he took an active part in helping to secure funds to liquidate the pressing obligations of Seattle Pacific College.

At the last General Conference, he was made president of the General Board of Education and was co-operating in plans for a more aggressive program in the interest of Christian education throughout the church.

He will be greatly missed as an educator and spiritual advisor of our young people. The passing of this great and good man will make the task of promoting Christian education more difficult in our church, as there are few so well qualified to do efficient service in this part of the Lord's work. Time and experience had qualified Bishop Vincent as an unusual leader of young people.

As Editor of the Sunday School Literature

His election as editor of the denominational publications for the Sunday schools was especially fitting because of his educational background and his deep interest in the young people's work. The eight years spent in this capacity were highly successful. Of his editorial work, Rev. N. W. Fink, who was then publishing agent, says:

"I read the book, 'Overcoming Handicaps,' and greatly admired the achievements of those who have forged ahead in spite of physical difficulties, Brother Vincent was such a one who labored and suffered without complaint.

"I recently had the privilege of looking over his physical history in the hands of his physicians, and was surprised to note that the first attack of his recurrent trouble occurred in 1904. Since that time, through severe suffering and repeated hospital experiences, he has pursued his work without reference to his affliction.

"During the last decade, it has been my great privilege to be intimately associated with him. Many times I have assisted as best I could while he was passing through some of his most severe attacks. On such occasions I have marveled at his patience and optimism. When it seemed there was no future, he was filled with hope and courage, and would arise from the attacks filled with enthusiasm, eager to get back to his work, and ready to give every bit of his strength to see the work of the Lord go forward.

"As editor of our Sunday School literature, he ranked with the talented editors of other denominations. His contact with the International Sunday School Association work gave us a standing which enabled us to head the list among the holiness denominations in Sunday School activities. His work as an editor was appreciated by our church, as well as by the schools of other churches, which fact was clearly evidenced by the increasing circulation of these publications during the past few years."

As a Preacher

Hearing the "Macedonian call" to the ministry in his youth, he answered, "Here am I; Lord, send me." He did not rise like a flashing meteor but gradually through the constant application and development of his God-given powers.

There is consolation in the case of Bishop Vincent for young men whose gifts for the ministry may not be at first recognized by the church. He was turned aside when he first sought to enter the ministry on the ground that he did not seem to possess the gifts and graces which would insure his success.

An illuminating parallel is found in the life of Gandhi, who has been described by a modern writer in the following breezy style: "Mr. Gandhi, who is an incredible combination of Jesus Christ, Tammany Hall, and your father, is the greatest Indian since Buddha . . . Mr. Gandhi is still incomparably the most important living Indian. I have seen the peasants kiss the sand his feet have trod.

"After finishing high school and the University of Ahmadabad, he went to England to study law. After three years of hard study in England, he returned to India to practice law in Bombay. In his first case in court, when he arose for the purpose of cross-examining a witness, he was so timid that he could not ask a question and sat down overwhelmed with humiliation. Considering himself a failure in India, he went to South Africa where a large Indian colony gave him an opportunity of practicing law. Slowly success crowned his efforts and he became the undisputed leader of the Indians of South Africa. After twenty years of hard preparation, he returned to his native India to become the leader of a nation and justly to receive from three hundred and fifty million people the title Mahatma -- the great soul."

By the providence of God B. J. Vincent spent his years of service in the interests of the young people of the church -- as educator, as editor of Sunday School publications, and as preacher. Excepting three years as district elder, he almost entirely filled pulpits in our school centers. He knew the problem of youth from every angle.

His genuine personal interest in humanity made him a successful pastor. His was the sympathetic touch that comes from loving the souls of men. John Wesley reminded his preachers that they would visit their people if they loved them as they ought. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Brother Vincent was a good shepherd; he gave his life for the sheep. His manly ways and lovely Christian character won men's hearts.

Of his work as district elder on the Los Angeles District, Bishop Griffith gave this estimate: "The ability with which he filled this office resulted in the growth of the work materially and spiritually to such a degree that his praise is still in the churches of the district. It was during this period of his ministry that the home mission work of the Southern California Conference began to take on personal form -- a work to which he gave his heartiest support, a work in which his counsel and sound judgment was an invaluable aid, and a work in which he made a permanent contribution to the church through his personal influence in bringing into the church T. Tsuchiyama and K. Inabi, now of the Japan Conference."

The appreciation of the church for the successful stewardship of the various offices entrusted to him was attested by the large ballot by which he was chosen bishop at the General Conference in Greenville in June, 1931. With great courage and faith he entered upon the duties of his new office.

For about fifteen years he had suffered periodic attacks of hemorrhages, presumably caused by stomach ulcers. The most serious attack occurred four years before his death when his life was despaired of, but he seemed to have completely recovered. In July he began his schedule of conferences, delighted with the ease with which he was able to carry on his tasks. On Friday evening while holding the Illinois Conference, he said to a friend, "This is my fifth conference and I do not even feel tired." At two o'clock the following morning he suffered another attack. He was taken to the hospital at Evanston. He continued to weaken until Friday morning when "God's hand touched him and he slept."

God in his inscrutable plans seemed to be preparing his servant for the great transition which was so near at hand. He had a special anointing upon him in the brief span of five conferences which he held after being elected bishop. In beautiful phrasing his bereaved wife wrote: "It was the last effulgent glowing of a beautiful life's sun, setting majestically in the western horizon of life. But in my blindness and eager hopefulness for the future, it seemed like the pungent rays of a noonday sun. To me, Mr. Vincent never seemed more gloriously empowered by the Holy Spirit than during the five short weeks of the conferences. He was in the zenith of his usefulness and efficiency. With the new task had come new enduement and be seemed to have been physically compensated as well . . . His masterful words concerning Pentecost on the last Sunday morning of his earthly ministry were no more than prophetic utterances."

Rev. H. F. Johnson gives this picture of his last days:

It was my privilege to sit under his ministrations during several of his last conferences. His great soul was moved upon by the Spirit until the congregations were bathed in tears. He was ripening for the other world. As I sat by his side the morning he was stricken, and he realized that he could not finish his conference, he said, "Harry, you don't know what a great disappointment this is to me." Then the tears came to his eyes and he trembled like an autumn leaf from head to foot. But evidently heaven could wait no longer for the services of this talented man; "and he was not, for God took him."

A personal touch is added by Rev. F. L. Baker, a life-long friend: "His cup seemed filled with holy joy and great hope as he presided at the three Michigan conferences. The writer ventured to suggest to him as he began holding his conferences that he give special attention to our beloved superannuates. This he cared for especially well in the Michigan Conference and the occasion will not be forgotten by those who were present. There were very few dry faces in the Michigan Conference as our Brother Vincent had his beloved father and mother, F. P. Russell and wife, and W. E. Hosmer and wife sit on the platform while be spoke of their labors and sacrifices in the pioneer work of the church. . .

"The last Lord's Day ministrations of our beloved bishop occurred at Spring Arbor in connection with the Michigan Conference . . . The text used was from Act 1:8. His soul was inspired and his tongue like the pen of a ready writer."

Funeral services were held in the Free Methodist church at Evanston, Illinois. Bishop G. W. Griffith preached the funeral sermon, an able discourse on a great theme from the text, "What is your life?" Why this servant of God at the flood tide of his powers should be called from his task at the early age of fifty-four years will be a mystery "till the mists have rolled away." We take consolation in the lines of Horatius Bonar:

He liveth long who liveth well!
All other life is short and vain;
He liveth longest who can tell
Of living most for heavenly gain.

He liveth long who liveth well!
All else is being thrown away;
He liveth longest who can tell
Of hue things truly done each day.

In finality we live in deeds, not years, as so aptly put by Philip Bailey:

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings not in figures on the dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs. He lives most
Who thinks most, feels noblest, acts best.

He being dead yet speaketh.

We give the following editorial from his pen showing his mode of thought expressed in direct English without studied ornateness.

Creative Thinking for the Kingdom

The word "creative" is a very popular word these days. We hear about creative experience, creative education, creative thinking, creative influence, creative planning, creative teaching, and creative recreation. It is a favorite word in educational circles at the higher levels. And as is usually the case, the word has been picked up from this academic field and is being used for all that it is worth in the common, practical, every-day matters. Consequently we see such phrases as creative salesmanship, creative buying, and creative marketing.

One interesting thing about the use of the word among educators is that it is a favorite among those who take no stock in the creation of the material universe by the Almighty hand. What seems to be denied to God as a power is being arrogated to ourselves. Some try to feel sure that God could not create the universe but that we can do things creatively. One can imagine the time coming when the adverb and the adjective will be left out and the plain verb used. At least many courses in our universities offer now to train students to do creative work; and the instructors warn that certain grades can be won only by those who at the end of the course prove to the instructor that they are able to do creative work in some field.

While the present use of the word is extremely modern, the fact which it stands for is by no means new. Abraham did some creative thinking when be broke away from all the heathen philosophy and worship and practice that be and his ancestors had been allied with, and set out to a new country to be head of a new nation and a new religion.

If any man in this world ever did creative work in the sense in which the word is used now, Moses did it when he led a great army of disorganized slaves out of Egypt, gave them civil and moral laws, and welded them into an organized nation ready to cross over into their own promised territory. In the case of both Abraham and Moses, they had no human leadership, or instruction, or precedents to follow. They had to take their own road and develop their own technique and procedures. What those men did so many centuries ago was both creative thinking and creative working.

We know now that what Paul did was creative thinking and working of the clearest and most powerful type. To evangelize at all after having hated "the way" as he once did, was a great work for one man. But Paul not only evangelized his own nation, be trampled ruthlessly upon their inborn national religious exclusiveness and carried the gospel out to the Gentiles. He kept on to the end of his life combating his narrow enemies who never ceased to try to stop his work because he was breaking all their rules of religious narrowness and doing things that had not been done before. We know now that Paul was working creatively. The Holy Spirit awakens the creative process in men.

So it was with the disciples. At the time of the ascension, when they asked Jesus if He was about to restore the kingdom of Israel, Jesus replied, "Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you." Their question had sought information about the restoration of Israel's national power of self-direction. Jesus' answer assured them that they would be given the power of personal self-direction under the Spirit. And that is exactly what they did get. The world knows how they ignored old, worn-out systems, rituals and prejudices, and struck out on new lines. The Christian church was the result. Those humble men worked creatively as we would now say. They made a new order for the religious world.

Looking back across the centuries and thinking of the great steps that have been taken upward and onward, they seem to have been for the most part associated with men who lived in fellowship with God or were influenced by God's movements in the world.

And why should it not be so. The human mind, powerful and penetrating as it is, is not a creator; it is itself the product of creation.

The closer the perfectly functioning mind lives in spiritual communion with God the Creator, the more likely are God's creative ideas for our progressive civilization to pass over to the human mind, and new highways of life and experience be discovered. The work of such men as Martin Luther and John Wesley are examples.

The great spiritual mines of the kingdom are not exhausted. They contain gold and diamonds to meet the needs of this generation in its fearful bewilderment. It is not necessary for the church to become lost in these times. Nor is it necessary for the church even to wane. If for lack of great spiritual leadership the church is to suffer a period of partial eclipse God will yet break through upon the world in a saving mission for our day as He did upon England through the Wesleys for that day.

TRIBUTE BY BISHOP A. D. ZAHNISER

Another soldier of the cross has fought the good fight, finished his course and received the crown of righteousness. In the light of our limited human vision Burton Jones Vincent was at the noon-day of his power and manhood. He had recently been called to a position of leadership in the church militant for which he was most eminently fitted and in which it seemed he was imperatively needed; but the wisdom of the great Head of the Church had a more important and a larger field of activity for him in the church triumphant, and promoted him to that position and relation for which he was so well prepared.

Brother Vincent was a man of striking personality who attracted more than ordinary attention in almost any company or place. Nature had endowed him with many admirable and enviable characteristics. He was blessed with a bright and enquiring mind, and an ambitious, energetic spirit. Practically his whole life was spent in storing his intellect with wholesome and valuable knowledge. He possessed the happy faculty of putting all that be learned into immediate practical use, thus assimilating it, making it a part of the very fabric of his being. He was an educated man in the proper sense, far beyond many who spent much more time in resident work in the halls of learning. He did a class of research work and reading which contributed to the development of his mind and the building of character.

In the prime of his youth this remarkable young man was clearly converted, subsequently sanctified wholly, and divinely called to the gospel ministry. He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but consecrated his redeemed powers to his Lord and Master for a life of sacrificial service. He seemed to be directed to divide his valuable contribution of time and talent between the cause of Christian education and ministry of the Word in the beginning of his unusual career. He gradually and constantly grew in grace and in favor with God and men. He filled with acceptability and efficiency every place to which he was called, to the full measure of his growing capacity. His leadership was of that type which those associated with him loved to follow. He graduated into the office of bishop from a well-laid foundation. The feeling was practically unanimous that the church had in his wise and efficient leadership a tower of strength, intellectually, morally and spiritually. He was a strong writer and editor, an able, systematic, and constructive preacher. He was a man in whose spirit there was no guile; to know him was to love,
appreciate, and trust him implicitly.

GONE HOME EARLY

Some workers quickly do their task
Of service and of love,
So their promotion early comes
To higher work above.
Not theirs to lift their fading eyes,
And find no comrade left;
Not theirs to dwell among the graves
Forsaken and bereft.
They pass from work to better work,
And rest before the noon;
Ah, God is very good to them;
They do not die too soon.

When the news from Africa of the passing from time to eternity of their son, Rev. V. A. Dake, reached his parents in America, they made a comment worthy of preservation: "We give thanks to Almighty God who loaned us this wonderful son for thirty-seven years." What a beautiful thought grounded on the bed-rock of Christian faith. What a sublime vision of the sovereignty of God and ownership of the Lord. So we, "who see through a glass darkly," take consolation in the same thought concerning Burton J. Vincent.

We rejoice in the hope expressed in the inspiring lines of Samuel Porter:

WHEN THE WHITE SHIP SAILS

The morning star, the rosy-tinted dawn;
And then for him the White Ship drew to shore
None saw the sails, or heard the sound of oar,
But while we watched with heart-strings tensely drawn,
Faith's Valiant Hero bravely ventured on
The Silent Craft where stood the Mystic Rower.
The homeward turning tides took up and bore
The Ship away, like some full-breasted swan,
Along a sparkling lane of dazzling light
To that Fair Port, beyond the rising sun,
Which knows not pain, or death, or grievous night.
Within the Golden Gates, the voyage done,
The Radiant Guest is robed in shining white,
His day of endless rapture has begun.