Holmes Bible College - Echo Yearbook (Greenville, SC)

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A TRIBUTE TO OUR PRESIDENT BY A MINISTER OF ANOTHER DENOMINATION July 31, 1946 DEAR BROTHER BEACHAM: Congratulations to the Pentecostal Holiness Church! I have just heard that they have called you to be a Bishop. Congratulations also to you! Such confidence and respect of the church is a very high honor indeed, and the oppor- tunity very great. This news, however, is not at all surprising to me. Long ago I recognized that you were already a bishop, so for as quality of spirit, and mind, and life are concerned. You may be surprised when I tell you where and when I first saw clearly that you were a bishop. There have been numerous occasions when I might have seen it. It might have been any year at the Falcon Camp meeting as I listened to your powerful preaching, and your clear exposition of the Scriptures. In a sense it was. It might have been when I observed your gifts of teaching and administration in connection with the Holmes Bible Institute and Church. In a sense it was. It might have been when I recognized the sincerity and generosity of your theological, Christian, and ecclesiastical attitudes toward others at a time when they were being consigned to the flames because of their method of de-fleaing a dog was not according to Hoyle firrespective of the fact that the fleas came offi. In a sense it was. All these items have a place in the making up of the picture of you which I have carried for years, but none of them furnish the distinguishing mark which has told me about you. Two incidents bring out this distinguishing mark in a richer light than any of the above mentioned. One of these incidents was an afternoon of pastoral visitation which you made during one of my visits with you in Greenville. I accompanied you on this afternoon. I do not know how many calls we made, but they were a good many. Some of them were simple, friendly calls, but most of them were in the hospital or in homes where there was sickness, pov- erty, extreme old age, or distress of some sort. I noted your sincere desire to do some actual good to these people. Your persistence in every instance, the vital concern you seemed to have for each one, and your gift of understanding helpfulness amid a wide variety of needs. To this day the impressions of that afternoon have remained undimmed. I almost always think of them whenever I think of you. I remember that the last visit was to a lady who was quite ill. The husband was by the bedside full of concern but helpless. The woman's trouble had affected her in such a manner that she did not appear to be able to grasp the situation, or to give much response to your ministrations. It looked as though you had done all you possibly could. It was almost dark, and there was to be a service 'at the church that night. Ninety-nine ministers out of a hundred would have given a parting word or prayer and gone their way. You showed no trace of doing so, you kept on trying. It appeared to me that there was nothing which Christ Himself would have done which you did not do to try to bring the touch of God to that poor woman's mind and body, and you did it all in such a quiet, strong, clear, tender and persistent way that good results of the richest sort could not fail to come. This afternoon was the time I knew you were a bishop, a true shepherd of the sheep. The other incident was the day we went to see your mother. I do not remember iust where she lived, but I remember the house, the room, your brother and family. The main thing was the mutual feeling between your mother and you, and the general atmosphere of love, admiration, and faith in God, and your mother's attitude of loving pride toward you. I felt instinctively that here was no artificiality, nothing but the strong trees, the solid rock, and the clear streams of God's creation. I have always felt since that visit that I knew you better than I ever did before, or rather that I knew more of the sort of material of which you were composed. I have felt that with this background around and within you, enlivened and guided by the Holy Ghost, there was bound to come forth a man of more than ordinary qualities. I imagine that the church at large feels great satisfaction over your election as a bishop. I think they feel as I do, that you will be always a noble representative of Him Who is the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of our souIs. Accept my best wishes. Be assured of my prayers and my abounding faith in you and in the God to Whom you serve. Your brother in His service, C. A. S. Page Eight

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Board of Trustees REV. J. LOUIS COWARD DR. PAUL F. BEACHAM MR. BELTON S. THOMPSON REV. HUBERT T. SPENCE MR. W. D. REYNOLDS BISHOP JOSEPH A. SYNAN REV. THOMAS T. LINDSEY REV. H. PADGETT ROBINSON Page Seven

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CUR PRESIDENT Dr. Paul F. Beacham The greatest men of all times have, somewhere in early life, been influenced by a great leader. Our leader has never been too busy to take notice of our least problems and has helped us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, by giving to us the truth os found in God's Worcl. To our president we offer our tribute of deepest respect and greatest honor. Page Nine