J.P. Brooks, Page 3
Chaffee opened his Bill of Complaints:
"Abingdon, Ills. March 29th, A.D. 1880. I hereby prefer the following Bill of Complaints against Rev. John P. Brooks, a Supernumerary member of the Central Illinois Conference."
Allegation no. 13 read: "Publishing through the Banner of Holiness, November 29th, 1879, an Editorial under the Caption ‘To be Preached.' The said Editorial being a misrepresentation as to the Character of the Conference Action therein refered (sic) to, and also of the Illinois Conference as a body of Ministers, as to their faith in and relation to the doctrine of Holiness or entire Sanctification, as taught by the M. E. Church."
It appears that the import of this allegation, as well as of certain others, was over the question as to whether or not the M. E. Church supported the doctrine of entire sanctification. Evidently Chaffee thought that it did and that Brooks was in error as to this question and had thus been unduly critical of the church.
In the article mentioned in the allegation, Brooks had written:
"We hardly know why the Illinois M. E. Conference, at its latest session, resolved that its ministers should preach holiness. It has hitherto been claimed, as a reason why holiness preachers--‘specialists'--should not preach holiness in the way they are doing, that all Methodist preachers preach holiness. ‘We all preach holiness.'
"We think a more fitting resolution for the Conference to enact, would have been to the end that all its preachers shall get holiness. Then, in that case, the other resolution would have been precluded. That is, it would have been rendered unnecessary. Because when ever a preacher gets holiness, he is sure to preach it. Such a preacher doesn't need to be ‘resolved' into the preaching of holiness. He will preach it anyhow. He will preach it. It will come out of him as spontaneously as sweetness comes out of a rose, or as water bubbles up from a living fountain.
"A mistake is made in presuming that a preacher will preach holiness because somebody ‘resolves' he shall preach it. He will not. And he will not, simply because he cannot. He cannot preach holiness until he gets it. Whenever a conference can ‘resolve' holiness into a man, then it can ‘resolve' him into the preaching of holiness. Not before. You cannot get more out of a man than is in him. If holiness is in him, it will come out, without any conference resolutions to assist the deliverance. If holiness isn't in him, no conference resolutions can evolve it.
"There is such a thing as preaching about holiness. That is done by many who know nothing, and care nothing for the experience. Perhaps that is what the Illinois Conference is undertaking to do. If so, there is a possibility of succeeding. The preachers of the Conference may, and will, no doubt, be influenced by the resolutions passed, to preach about holiness. Indeed, we have even heard of one who lately did. He preached against it! A Methodist preacher once took umbrage: because a good sister expressed a wish to hear a good holiness sermon preached. ‘Why, sister,' said the preacher, ‘I preach holiness very often.' Said the sister, ‘perhaps so, but no one has known it!'
"One way of ‘preaching holiness,' is to criticize, and condemn, and proclaim censure, and fulminate abuse against those who profess it. Wonder if that is the manner of "preaching holiness" that was contemplated by the resolutions of the Illinois Conference! If so, the resolutions are an afterthought, ‘born out of due time.' The preachers of the Conference, not a few, have anticipated that for a number of years. The practical question would be, with this view of the case before us–-‘How many, by such preaching, are led into the experience of holiness?' And the answer to the practical question in point of fact would be--many, alas! are led out of it; but none ever are sanctified under such preaching of holiness.
"We venture the saying, that after all this showing of zeal for the preaching of holiness that is assumed in the passage of the resolutions under notice, a very large majority of the pastors belonging to the Conference would object to the delivery of a straight holiness sermon from their pulpits. Perhaps some of them would follow such a sermon, if by any chance it should find escapement therefrom, with an instant disclaimer. Possibly a neutralization of the objectionable doctrine would be attempted (as was attempted by a pastor of that Conference) by openly avowing Zinzendorfism, and proclaiming that heterodox doctrine orthodox; and by claiming, furthermore, that many ministers of the Conference are Zinzendorfians.
"It would be a happy day for the Illinois M. E. Conference, and for the whole Methodist church within its boundaries IF IT WOULD REQUIRE ITS PREACHERS, all of them, TO PREACH HOLINESS according to the Bible, and the standard authorities of the denomination. Such action, IF ENFORCED, until holiness should be so preached by all the preachers of the Conference, would be the redemption of the church, and the restoration to her pulpits of right doctrine. Whenever that shall be done, the special preaching of holiness--or the preaching of holiness by "specialists"--will cease. In that very year it will be at an end."
The decision of the Court of Inquiry was:
"The Select members possess all the powers of the Conference over the matter referred, and are competent to determine the whole question of the guilt or innocence of the accused. The character of a member of the Conference should not pass because of a mere technicality in the form of bringing complaints when the evidence properly submitted involves facts which the Select members believe ought to affect the passage of his character.
"The Select members may therefore take such action as they may think is demanded by the evidence in the case.
"Resolved, 1st, That while we do not find the charge and specification sustained by the Evidence Submitted to us, yet we do find in said evidence sufficiently obnoxious matter, to justify a positive disapproval of the course pursued, and statements made by brother J. P. Brooks in the Editorials of the Banner of Holiness, submitted in Evidence in his Case.
"Resolved 2nd That Brother J. P. Brooks be and is hereby required to pledge himself in open Conference to desist from Publishing matter of the Character of Said Editorials and when Said Pledge is given, we Recommend that his Character Pass."
The 13th ballot, which I have seen, reads: "Resolved, That the First Specification is not sustained by the Evidence. W. W. Underwood."
Brooks gave a reasoned response, which concluded with the words: "I simply state what has been in all the past, and what will be in all the future, the guiding and governing principles and policy of the Banner of Holiness, viz.: to rightly represent everything and knowingly misrepresent nothing." In other words, he avowed that he had been right all along in his judgment about the condition of the M. E. Church with respect to the doctrine and experience of holiness and that his accusers were themselves in error. He was not about to allow himself be "ploughed under."
He continued his editorship of the Banner of Holiness, which soon became the oracle of the Western Holiness Association. The Western Holiness Convention met December 15-19, 1880, in Jacksonville, Illinois.