CALLED HOME
In the midst of very active days Dr. James B. Chapman was called suddenly to his heavenly home.
For a number of months during early 1947 he had been devoting himself to the work of the church without much opportunity for rest and relaxation. Early in the month of July he and his wife made their way to their home on the shores of Indian Lake, near Vicksburg, Michigan, where they hoped to enjoy a much needed rest. But they were to meet with disappointment because the remodeling work which was being done on their house had not been completed due mainly to the inability of the workmen to secure the necessary materials with which to complete the job. Where they had come expecting to find comfort and rest, they found only confusion and inconvenience. It was only after considerable hard work and struggle that they were able to provide for themselves even partially the comforts and conveniences they needed. But the hard work and struggle of those days left their marks upon the weakened heart and fatigued body of Dr. Chapman. He seemed to be enjoying normal health, but a keen observer would note evidences of fatigue in lines about his face and in his actions.
He enjoyed during these few days the presence of three of his children and seven of his grandchildren, most of these having come to their own cottages on the lake shore to enjoy the summer vacation. He had a great affection for his children, and he always found great joy in being with his grandchildren.
Occasionally the evenings were spent on the lawn with his family and friends about him, where he enjoyed to the full their fellowship and conversation. There was no monotony and boresomeness when Dr. Chapman was in a group, and especially when he was with his family. He was always a great family man and received the utmost pleasure in associating with his children and their families.
The evening of July 29 was spent in the opening service of the annual assembly of the Michigan District which was being held in the large camp meeting tabernacle on the camp grounds of Indian Lake, adjoining which the Chapmans had their home. General Superintendent Powers was the presiding officer of the assembly.
Dr. Chapman enjoyed the service and he and his wife visited with their many friends at the close of the meeting. He visited for a brief time with his colleague, Dr. Powers, and they made an appointment to have breakfast together in the morning. No one suspected that this was to be the last service Dr. Chapman would attend, or that it would be the last time the people would see him before he was called to his reward. There were no evidences of illness, he seemed as well as he had been for months, and he went to his bed that night as he would on any normal night. Near two o'clock in the morning his wife was awakened by the sound of an unusual movement on his bed, and she rushed to his side to find him in the throes of a severe heart attack; in a few seconds he was gone.
His death came as a shock to his family and to the whole Nazarene movement, for while it was generally known that he was a constant sufferer with heart trouble, no one suspected that he would be taken so suddenly from the church and people he loved and served so faithfully, and from the family which was so devoted to him. No persons were more greatly shocked and stunned by this sudden and unexpected passing of the one upon whose counsel, wisdom, and experience they had leaned so heavily, than were his immediate colleagues in the general superintendency, Dr. H. V.
Miller, Dr. H. C. Powers, and Dr. G. B. Williamson.
This biographer was present at his bedside within only a very few minutes after his passing. He looked like he might still be asleep, so peaceful and so normal was the expression on his face. But the great soul whom multiplied thousands of people around the world loved and appreciated had been taken home and only his tired and afflicted body was lying on that bed. The voice which had inspired and blessed thousands upon thousands of Christians, which had called hundreds of sinners to come to Christ, and many believers to holiness, was now stilled. The great church leader and exemplar Nazarene had gone to present at the gate of heaven his admittance card, which through the blood of Jesus, read, not "Admit One," but "Admit this redeemed soul and the thousands of others who have been won to Christ through his ministry and influence" who had come to heaven's gate with or before him. His cross had been laid aside that he might receive the crown.
One thought was supreme in my mind in that moment of sadness as we knelt about that bed on which lay his lifeless form and prayed with the sorrowing and bereaved loved ones. It was: how good God was to give James Blame Chapman to the Church of the Nazarene. Indeed he was God's gift to the church. No one else could have filled his place as well as he had filled it, no one else could have spoken to this generation of Nazarenes as a man sent from God just as for nearly forty years Dr.
Chapman had spoken as preacher, editor, author, and general superintendent. He had lived his life to the full. He had made the most of his life. He had been called to his reward and to meet his Lord.
Beyond question he heard from Him those words we all covet to hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
On one occasion Dr. Chapman had quoted those immortal words of St. Paul, spoken just before his homegoing: "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." Then he made this affirmation of his own faith: "I want my last testimony to be like that. I am living every day with that hope set before me.
I plan deliberately to lift the anchor pretty soon and cross the sea to the haven on the other side. In life I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it has led me to the source of power which has transformed me and sustained me. In death I shall not look back — my treasures are in the sky. In heaven I shall still rejoice that I have not believed in vain, neither labored in vain. In this faith and in this assurance I stand fast today, and I join Paul in declaring that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Thank God for the honor of being a Christian. In this I have been the gainer from the beginning. Today, after years in His service, I disavow any claim upon Him for reward. He has abundantly rewarded all along the way. The end of each day finds me still deeper in debt to Him. His bounty overmatches my devotion. May God give me grace and wisdom to love Him more and serve Him better until the
perfect day shall dawn." That perfect day for James Blame Chapman dawned in the early morning of July 80, 1947.
The camp meeting had filled a large place in the life of this preacher of holiness. He had been saved as a lad of fifteen in a camp meeting, he had preached from camp meeting platforms for over forty-five years in his native land and in foreign countries. He was never more at home or more within the environment he loved than when in a camp meeting. It was a camp meeting tabernacle, the fine, spacious tabernacle on the Michigan District camp grounds at Indian Lake, near Vicksburg, Michigan, in which his funeral service was held, and from a camp meeting platform his funeral message was delivered.
Over two thousand people, many more than could be housed within the auditorium, including thirty-five district superintendents and several hundred pastors and evangelists, gathered on Saturday afternoon, August 2, 1947, for the funeral services of their beloved leader and friend, Dr. James B.
Chapman. Dr. Hugh C. Benner, president of the Nazarene Theological Seminary, rendered a number of hymn selections on the piano. General Superintendent H. V. Miller read appropriate selections from the Scriptures, and General Superintendent G. B. Williamson led the congregation in prayer.
Vocal selections were rendered by Rev. R. T. Williams, Jr., son of Dr. Chapman's long-time friend and colleague in the general superintendency, Dr. R. T. Williams. The memorial record was read by Dr. D. Shelby Corlett, selections from the hundreds of tributes received by the family were read by Dr. S. T. Ludwig, and Dr. A. Milton Smith, who was Dr. Chapman's pastor, led the congregation in a closing prayer.
His colleague, General Superintendent H. C. Powers, delivered the funeral message from the text,
"And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him" (Matt. 9:9). Dr. Powers quoted from the writings of Dr. Chapman the account of his preaching experience when as a lad of sixteen he suddenly became conscious that the Holy Spirit was helping him, and it seemed to him that someone came up and put His thumb in his back, pushing him out just a little toward the front of the rostrum, assuring him that He would stand there and make his words effective. The message enumerated some of the factors which God must have seen in James Blame Chapman when at fifteen years of age Christ said to him, "Follow me."
And he arose and followed Him. "The question in our minds today," said Dr. Powers, "is this — what was it that God saw in the lad Jimmy Chapman that night in that obscure schoolhouse when He placed His thumb on his back and thrust him out into the ministry? What an unlikely place it was for God to seek a great spiritual leader. But just as in the case of Matthew, and just as in the case of Martin Luther whom He found in a miner's shack, an unlikely environment did not distract the divine vision. God had seen a man, with all his spiritual potentialities, and He called him. He saw certain spiritual qualities and soul capacities probably not apparent to the casual observer, but God never makes a mistake. God saw a man in James Blame Chapman who was capable of that long list of notable achievements and that holy life for which we honor his memory here today.
"He labored incessantly with a sort of urgency upon him that indicated that he believed that life was short and opportunity fleeting. There flowed from his fertile brain and pen a veritable flood of
pungent, powerful writings that have in a large measure molded the thought and shaped the polity of the church for over a quarter of a century.
"God saw in James B. Chapman a great leader of the religious forces in America and as proof of this he has for many years been listed in 'Who's Who.' Marshall Foch said, 'A leader is above all else an animater.' Dr. Chapman was eminently qualified at that point and by pen and pulpit stirred his generation to follow God.
"God saw in Dr. Chapman a man who possessed the broadest sympathies. He loved people sincerely. There radiated from his personality that warm friendliness that was born of heart interest in his fellow man. Little children sensed it and loved him. He had the confidence of youth and they were at ease in his presence. His thoughtfulness of others, his courtesy and generosity made it a joy for his contemporaries to labor with him. People of advanced years felt the tender solicitude of his spirit and told him their troubles. This deep interest in the welfare of others characterized his whole life even in childhood. In relating his experience at ten years of age while under conviction, he states, 'I was afraid of the judgment that my sins threatened to bring upon me. But this fear and dread was not altogether personal, I was afraid for my loved ones, especially for my father and mother.'
"He loved the souls of men with an intensity rarely duplicated. 'A passion for souls' when applied to Dr. Chapman was not an exaggeration. Those of us who were privileged to hear his classic address on the subject, 'All Out for Souls,' at the District Superintendents' Conference in Kansas City in 1946 can never be the same. We can almost hear him now as he challenged us as a church to win souls
"The secret of every other virtue in his life is to be found in the fact that God saw a man after His own heart. Oh, how he loved Christ. This was the soil that nurtured all the fruitage of his life. God and heaven were not a nebulous sentiment to him but a glorious reality and his fellowship with God was constant and joyous. Holiness was the atmosphere he breathed. To him serving God was life's highest privilege. In one of his editorials, 'A Day in the Lord's Court,' using the verse, 'A day in thy courts is better than a thousand' (Psalms 84:10), he says, 'A life spent in the service of God is better than a thousand lives lived for the purposes of time's short day.'
"He lived daily prepared for, and looking forward to, his eternal home. Heaven was as real as Michigan. It was much in his conversation and writings. He frequently referred to his own death, not in any morbid way, but with a serious determination to be prepared when it came, and joyous anticipation of what awaited him on the other side. He made this entry in personal diary on May 8th:
"'We are to leave our place on Indian Lake in Michigan at 10:30 am. to be gone two months. We have pretty well caught up with our work, and so are just now ready for a vacation, and we are reluctant to leave. Nevertheless, now at 6:30 a.m., we have been up an hour and plan to get ready without having to hurry. Perhaps it is to be like this when the time comes to take "the last, long journey." We hope to arise early and in the good sense, "go out to meet" the train. Prepare me, Lord, to die.'
"We would say to his bereaved companion and family, he is not here but over there today, striking glad hands with all the saints who have gone before. There are no tears there. Sorrow and sadness
have fled away forever. He awaits your coming. And to the sorrowing church who feel so keenly the loss of a great leader, may we say, the same God who led James B. Chapman in such a glorious way, still stands at the head of the column and will continue to comfort, guard, and guide His people until death 15 swallowed up in life."
The high esteem in which Dr. James B. Chapman was held by Christian people everywhere is indicated in the statements of tribute which were given after his death; so many that space does not permit us to quote them in full here. The following excerpts from a number of these tributes show the great place he held in the hearts of those who knew him:
General Superintendent H. V. Miller had served as a colleague of Dr. Chapman's longer than the other members of the Board of General Superintendents. Of the passing of Dr. Chapman he wrote:
"To pay tribute to the memory of some men is difficult, to others easy. The passing of some has left us unsettled and doubtful, while the passing of others, though filling us with a deep sense of loss, pushes us on with certainty and assurance. Such is the immediate impact of the homegoing of Dr.
Chapman His life was the last tangible tie in the circles of general church leadership with the first days of our history. His going has cut us adrift from that first generation. Yet we feel that the certainty of his philosophy, the clarity of his vision, and the impact of his good life will tend to give us a clear composite picture of the purposes of our existence as a church, thus keeping our course clearly before us. From the fruitfulness of his life as a leader comes a challenging inspiration to add our small contribution in helping to guide our church on in its God-destined purpose. The constancy and the breadth of his living have been conspicuous. Called to the ministry at the early age of fifteen he never deviated from this God-inspired purpose till he fell in battle. No one can live as loyally as he without leaving a tremendous impact upon his generation. There is no intimation that he ever wavered or hesitated from that first day he felt the thumb pushing him in the back until the hour he left us. Such unwavering loyalty to the Christian call leaves us confident and reassured.
Few men have been endowed by God with the choice abilities of both pen and speech that he exploited so diligently. His pen has been prolific. He left so many good things in his numerous writings which have already inspired us in the past, and which will help to guide us in the future Paralleling this unusual ability was his ministry as a preacher. Thousands of us across the United States, in Canada, and indeed, around the world, will carry the impact of his preaching as long as we live. Thus I pause to pay personal tribute to a Christian brother, friend, and colleague. Dr. Chapman was always a Christian brother. His friendship always left me encouraged. He was a genuine friend.
He was always open for counsel and friendly helpfulness. The warmth of his friendship was real. He was the highest type of colleague one could ever wish. He always met me halfway in every approach.
He never double-crossed or betrayed insincerity. His wise counsel was always helpful and sane. I cannot adequately put into words all that Dr. Chapman meant to me personally, and I know meant to our church around the world."
The newest member of the Board of General Superintendents is Dr. G. B. Williamson, who was elected in 1946 to fill the vacancy made by the homegoing of Dr. R. T. Williams. He spoke of Dr.
Chapman as "One Man in a Century," saying: