03 First Preaching
03. First Preaching Autobigraphy - James H. Oliphant :-
CHAPTER III.
Soon after the above incident my wife and I went to the Danville association. It was held at Mt. Union church in the Shirley neighborhood, Boone county, Indiana. We went by the way of Center Valley where we first met Murdock Craven, and by Mt. Zion church and Antioch, where we met the Josephs. We enjoyed the meeting and the trip. All was a continued feast. On this trip we first met Elder S. D. Harlin, whom I loved ever afterwards, as a faithful man. On our return we were at Crawfordsville over night. We did not know of any Baptists being in Crawfordsville. I had no doubts, nor fears, no weighty cares on this trip.
Sometime that fall I became interested in the churches. They were weak, and some of them not supplied with pastors. The recent division in the White River association had been followed by protracted meetings by the Progressives. So it looked gloomy for our people. I felt deeply anxious about the churches, and felt impressed that I ought to take some part in a public way. There were three things in my way. My wife was utterly unreconciled to it, was one trouble; my unworthiness was another, and my incompetency. My wife became reconciled to it, so the first trouble was removed, but to this day I am troubled with a sense of my unworthiness and incompetency. I have as good evidence of being called to the ministry as of an experience of grace. The first time I ever took part in public service was at the home of Brother William Sparks, near Stanford, Indiana, at a night meeting. I opened meeting by prayer, and it was a poor little prayer, but I found relief in it. This was in February, 1870. In January, 1872, I was ordained by the following presbytery: Elders Gideon Potter, D. T. Poynter, E. D. Thomas and Deacons J. C. Freeman, George Kinder and Henry Boruff. This took place at Union church in Green county, Indiana, where we first joined. I was called to the care of Spring Creek church in April, 1870, and Guthrie’s Creek and Indian Creek by June, 1870. I was also made assistant to Elder Potter at my home church. So in the year 1870, I was called to the care of four churches, and continued to serve that number of churches up to December, 1914, so it was over forty-one years I served four churches continuously.
I well remember the interest that was taken in me by Charles Burch, John Sharr, William Graves, J. C Freeman and others. These men are all dead now. They encouraged me, went with me to other churches, and showed their interest in me in every way. If I failed in an effort to preach, they made excuses for me, and showed in every way that they regarded me as a real sent minister of the gospel. The church at Union prospered and many precious members were added to it during the twenty years I served it. And so at other churches in the association, so that the association became strong again under the faithful service of their ministers and visiting ministers.