Pentecostal Possibilities or "The Story of My Life"
by Milton Lorenzo (M. L.) Haney
CHAPTER 19
Experience With a Secret Order
In the first part of that Conference year two good men came to me urging me to join a secret order to which they belonged. One of these was a local preacher much older than myself, and I had much confidence in him. The other was an experienced class leader, and both joined in saying they had a large number of young men in their lodge, and with my zeal for soul saving, if I would join, I would get the whole lot saved. I knew but little on the subject, and the bait these good men put on that hook enchanted me. I said: "You can take my name," and in due time I was accepted and the night of my initiation came. I saw nothing bad in the initiation, and some good things were said. I had been accustomed to special prayer and getting counsel from God on every important movement; but in this I took the counsel of the brethren. The Holy Spirit gave me no rebuke, and seeing I was depending on my own head, he gave me time to learn by experience.
Next lodge night came round and I, as a new convert, was on hand. I got on my little apron and sat down to take in the excellencies of my new brotherhood. I had not been seated long when the Holy Spirit suggested that I look round and see my brethren. I slowly and thoughtfully scanned the whole circle and to my surprise, there were the most profane men in the city--drunkards and vile characters, mixed up with a few good men. Having made the survey and considered the heart relations I was brought into with these characters, the Holy Spirit, as by a pen of fire, wrote these words on my heart: "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord!" I tarried not to confer with flesh and blood, but obeyed the heavenly vision, and at the earliest opening let those dear souls know that I could not stay with them, and go with God; took off my little apron and have never seen it since!
That little experience has led me through all these years to a close observation as to the whole subject of secret orders, or oath bound societies. I have known many good men who have gone with them, but not one spiritual man who has not sustained serious loss by remaining. I have known many ministers whose path was a shining light before they entered, but in no case have I failed to see that light grow dim in proportion as the interest in the lodge increased. I have known many ministers to fall disgracefully, and on inquiry, I think nineteen out of twenty were first in the lodge! I have known many of the Lord's saints who were in the lodge brought into the experience of holiness, but have not known one who retained it and remained in lodge fellowship. I have met thousands of boys and men who had a profound interest in the church, the reading of the Scriptures, the prayer and class meeting, and all the means of grace, but have not noticed one where such interest did not wane in proportion as his heart became interwoven with the lodge. I have seen the church prayer meeting nearly desolate in every part of the country, because many of its members had their hearts divided with the lodge. I have demonstrated, in thirty years of evangelism, that it is well nigh impossible to have a wide, deep, thorough revival of religion in any community, town or city which has been honeycombed with the influences of the lodge. In my seventy-ninth year, and before I go back to God, I have felt I must leave the above testimony. A secret assembly is not necessarily wrong, as there are cases where such are necessary.
All so-called secret orders are not equally dangerous. There are a few temperance organizations which have their signs and passwords. I have been in them but had to, come out of them, and question seriously whether the cause would not be further advanced if they had not existed. There are secret societies for mutual financial benefit, which make no pretensions to heathen mysteries, which are far less dangerous than orders with such pretensions, and that substitute obedience to the rule of the order for the real worship of God. I object to the lodge:
1. Because it is a great waste of time and money.
2. It exacts a heart affiliation with wicked men, destructive of spirituality, and forbidden in the word of God.
3. It is a painful menace to the rights of men. It never has been otherwise, in either church or state, where judge and jury are lodge men, that the lodge man and the anti-lodge man stand on equal footing.
4. It is an open door to the shielding of wrongdoers.
5. It is a painful barrier in the way of men being saved by the gospel.
(a) In a practical sense, with many ten thousands it itself becomes a Christless religion. How many say when asked to seek God: "Well, I don't know about this; I belong to a good society now, and if I live up to its rules I will get through all right!" What active worker for Christ has not met that answer right and left?
(b) There is no such thing as a Christian lodge. The ruling spirit of such orders is always worldly. Its spirit is of the world. No man has to be a Christian to be a member. Its overwhelming majorities are unconverted, worldly men. This being the case, every awakened sinner in the lodge, to become a Christian, has not only to stem the downward tides of his fallen nature, but the whole world force of the lodge. Hence but few people who are thoroughly in lodge fellowship are found at the altar of prayer.
In the white light of the judgment day it may be seen that no one agency has hindered the salvation of so many souls as the lodge power of America. There is a mixture of truth with all systems of error, and some good interwoven with the evil. There are splendid things in the system of religion called Unitarianism which make it the most dangerous system of infidelity. If it were not for the sweetness thus mixed with the poison it could not exist.
Error unmixed cannot long survive, hence the policy of the enemy in all ages has been to intersperse good with evil, to give the evil a place. When a Congressman attempts to force a wrong measure into National law he is sure to connect it with some other measure that is right, and if it is grossly wrong he will identify it with something that is indispensable! Strychnine can be made enchanting to a child with a thorough mixture of sugar. If no truth had been mixed with the errors of Mahomet his system of error would have died in fifty years. It is no proof whatever that any system is right because there is some good in it.
If it can be shown that wherever the lodge system is entrenched it is always exceedingly difficult to get people saved from sin; then if salvation is right, that system is wrong. But that is known to be so by every true minister of God whose life is solely devoted to the salvation of men. I have not the slightest doubt that had I remained with the lodge it would have ruined my ministry, and think I would have lost my soul.
But a short time after getting settled with my young wife in Canton, dear Bishop Janes made us a visit, and his presence and wonderful spirit were a blessing to my soul and ministry. He had but recently been elected to that office and felt its responsibilities, so that his soul was walking with God. He possessed such depths of spiritual wisdom that contact with his spirit seemed to lift me to a higher plane. Not having fully recovered from the effects of cholera, I had serious fears of breaking down. My manner of preaching up to that time was against me. Having had so little drill in the art of public speaking, my zeal held the reins and I went whither it led me. In each case I began on a pretty high key and spoke rapidly, growing louder and faster till the last sentence! I seemed compelled to keep going or failure must ensue, and my steel frame was giving way. Having laid the case before the Bishop, he said: "I do not think there is special danger in your case, Bro. Haney. When you find you are getting too high, stop and pray a little!" I took his counsel, and it saved my life to the Christian ministry. A young preacher without zeal will be a failure. If, when all the fires of youth are burning, he is a drone, what will he be when those fires have been extinguished?
It was while in this station that my father was stricken with paralysis, which came upon him at my table. He lived for some years afterward, but that stroke practically closed his ministry. To gratify him and some of his friends, I had him preach a few times, but he saw at last that his preaching days were ended and wept like a child over the realization. To lay down that sword which he had wielded so long was the greatest cross he ever bore, but the old soldier has put on his crown.
A bright young man came to the parsonage one day when I was absent, inquiring for the pastor, saying he had only been converted a few months, and on his way up the Illinois River he had been fearfully tempted by the devil. The battle was so severe that he feared to leave his name out of church till Sabbath and insisted that my wife should take his letter, which she did, and for many years he declared that she took him into the church! He had sought the Lord under great heart conflicts, night and day, but went down the streets of Quincy one morning before the people had risen, and while on the sidewalk God converted his soul. His joy was unspeakable, and he hastened to tell his mother.
A large bulldog, seeing his haste, dashed down an outside stairway with his mouth open and made for him. He was small of stature and the dog could have killed him, but he was so filled with God he had not the slightest fear. The terrible creature came in front of him as though ready to spring for his throat, and turned instantly about and retreated upstairs! To this day he declares that God made it impossible that he should be hurt! He grew rapidly through the year, was baptized, taken into the church in full connection and was licensed to preach, sent forward into Conference, and became a great preacher. Fifty-three years are gone and he is in active service! Glory to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost! His name is John P. Brooks, now of Fort Scott, Kansas.