Isaiah 35:8 -, and it shall be called the way of holiness
History and fREE HOLINESS DOCTRINE.
Bro. Sam Bates
Rev. Samuel Bates was a Free Holiness preacher, having first heard the pure and clean way preached by Bro. Tom Austin in Orme, Tennessee. Bates, who had been preaching for another denomination, heard the Word of God preached by Austin after his own wife, Sallie Porter Bates, had already converted. Distraught at first, Bates later admitted, "I knew the ole girl had something I didn't"!
Bates, along with Tom Perry, and others began preaching the Way of Holiness, and converting others to do the same, growing the movement into quite a large congregation in places such as Orme, TN; Bridgeport, AL; Shakerag, AL; Prospect, near Swearengin, AL, and others.
When Austin later proposed that Bates and Perry join himself and others in organized church, it was Bates who responded, "We are free people, and we're going to stay that way!" Bates' followers would then be known as "Free Holiness".
Bates eventually settled on Sand Mountain and was later joined by one of Perry's Swearengin, Alabama, converts, Will Guffey. The men began having services in the area then known as Mount Olive, and this congregation grew into today's Higdon Free Holiness Church.
Bates' impact on the Free Holiness Movement is still often mentioned to this day.
Written by Bro. Shannon Byrd, Find A Grave.
Bro. Porter Willis Brown
Brown was the minister of another denominational church in the Shakerag Community of Jackson County, Alabama, when he first heard about the Way of Holiness. He soon received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and began preaching Free Holiness. His father, known commonly as "Daddy Brown", was previously a deacon in Brown's church; however, he too converted to Free Holiness and began preaching that doctrine.
Brown settled in Huntsville, Alabama, and was the founding pastor of the Bierne Avenue Holiness Church in Huntsville (now Huntsville Holiness Church). A modern day apostle, Brown's influence is still widely acknowledged throughout the Free Holiness churches; and few services go by without the mention of his name.
Written By Bro. Shannon Byrd, Find A Grave.
Bro. Henry McLain
Bro. Henry McLain was at the first holiness meeting on Günter's Mtn at the old Prospect church in 1911. He rec'd the Holy Ghost about 1915 at the age of 12 at his dad's (Bro. George McLain) house on the Point. When he was real young in the Lord he did not seem to concerned about spiritual things, just being a child of God was good enough with him. But the Lord started working with him and this all changed. He had married Sis. Minnie Brown (Bro. Willis Brown's daughter) in June of 1923. In 1925 the burden of the ministry fell on him. When the Lord called him, he was praying all the time trying to get the Lord to, "Take that off me." Bro. Henry remembers, "I told me 'Pa, I feel like the Lord's called me in the ministry”. He had a white mustache. He rubbed his mustache and looked away off as he leaned on his hoe and said,' Now Henry, if you feel like He's called you, abide there until He sends you." About 12 years later the Lord sent him. After this when Bro. Henry was up talking, the hands would go on him and he would find himself down in the floor. Bro. Will Guffey said," If I ever seen anybody ordained to preach, it's Henry McLain." His main sermon to the church is, THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. He preached in Arkansas, Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, Florida, Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Written by Bro. Bryant Finlayson-Glad Tidings
Bro. Will Guffey
Bro. Will was a Free Holiness preacher. In the late 1930's, he settled on North Sand Mountain in Alabama, where he worked to establish the Mount Olive Free Holiness Church (now, Higdon Free Holiness Church). Will was pastor here until his health began to fail in the 1970's. He passed away on June 14, 1977, and was laid to rest in the New Prospect Cemetery.
Wrritten By: Bro. Shannon Byrd, Find a Grave
Bro. Will Guffey and his late wife, Sis. Flossie belonged to the Baptist church. He heard of the Holy Ghost preached in Orme and Shake Rag in 1911 and invited those that preached this doctrine to come and preach it on Gunter's Mtn, in which they did. He rec'd the Holy Ghost early in the year of 1912. Just a few days later in the presence of Bro. Sam Bates, Bro. Tom Perry, Bro. Doc Duvall and others, the Lord ordained him to carry the message of The Word Of God to the world, while he was on his back in the floor with his head in the fireplace. He was not disobedient to the Lord. Within two weeks he had preached his first sermon and within a few days people were getting the Holy Ghost under his preaching, for God was with him. He started on Gunter's Mtn. but he went far and wide. But wherever the opportunity arose you would see Bro. Will expounding the way of God more perfectly. Every where we have churches in north Alabama, Bro. Will has had meeting there close by and places that their names are slipping from view like Bean Rock and Brown's Valley and many more. His most often companion was Bro. Porter Willis Brown. They trudged many many miles down dirt roads and trails over mountains together. They have told of the many times they would stop at a country store to by crackers for their lunch and how the people would mock them and they went on their way rejoicing with a singleness of heart. Bro. Willis would talk to the children of God and Bro. Will would preach to the lost. Once in Birmingham while he was preaching in the Spirit, he preached in the German language and didn't know it. After service, some German immigrants told how they appreciated his sermon in their own tongue. Many remember the time in Huntsville when Bro. Will and Bro. Willis were of one mind as they preached together. They were both on the floor at the same time going back forth across the house when they met in the middle, they were both preaching the very same words. God was with them. In the twenties Bro. Will and his family moved to Texas for awhile and later he was in Arkansas where Bro. Ed Jordan and Bro. Jim Thurmond had also gone. After a couple of years he was back in. north Alabama. He has done all kinds of work, from rice fields to coal mining and cotton farming and chimney laying. But he was known for the way the Lord used him to convict the world of sin. He finally settled at Higdon Alabama where he led service for about thirty years.
Written by Bro. Bryant Finlayson--Glad Tidings
Bro. Willard Wooten
Bro. Willard spent many years in northern Indiana/Illinois before returning to Madison County, Alabama, and later founding the Elkwood Free Holiness Church, where he served as pastor until his death.
He was a masterful vocalist, having sung in various groups such as the Sacred Tones Quartet. He instructed shaped-note singing schools, and was well known throughout the Free Holiness Church for songs such as "He Touched Me" and "House of Gold".
Written by Bro. Shannon Byrd, Find A Grave
"This made Bro. Willard Wooten want to tell how the cancer that was on his tongue was healed* Time and again he had ask for prayer with the hopes that the Lord would heal him, but each time it seemed to become a little worse. During services one day Bro. Will Guffey mentioned that he had seen everything that had went on so far in their
meeting in a dream or a vision. He said "everything except a white rag". When he said this Bro. Willard pulled a white cloth out of his pocket and told how it had come to him before service to bring an extra handkerchief with him. Then Bro. Will proceeded to pour oil on this cloth and anointed Bro. Willard's tongue and the Lord done the rest. Bro. Willard's mouth is perfectly well now except for a scar to remind him of what he had until Jesus passed by."
Written by Bro. Bryant Finlayson, Glad Tidings
Bro. David Jones
Bro. David was pastor of the Huntsville Holiness Church for many years until his death in 2009. He was a very well-known minister in the Free Holiness Churches, having held countless revivals throughout the years. His influence will be widely remembered for many, many years to come, and spoken of for generations.
Photo and the paragraph above; Bro. Shannon Byrd
David was then a church member who was living with Bro. Horace Williams in Lincoln Village in Huntsville, but he was watching Bro. Horace and his wife, Sis. Vicie, and those Holiness friends of theirs that they spoke so highly about and loved so greatly. These people touched him by the way they blessed their food, the way they prayed and when they met a brother, the way they hug one another. Their conversation about other saints was always good, telling how much they loved so and so and how much confidence they had in this or that brother. There was one man that he wanted to meet on the account of all the good things he had heard concerning this brother. When he finally saw this man coming one day he knew who he was just from what he had heard said about him.
One evening when Bro. Horace returned home from work he was confronted by little David with a bible in his hands and a question to ask. "Does everyone have to speak in tongues to receive the Holy Ghost?" he asked. Bro. Horace's reply was slow in coming for he feared lest he say the wrong thing. His answer was "If you receive the Holy Ghost you will." To this the young man shut up the bible and Bro. Horace thinks to himself, "I've fixed things now!"
Later in the quiet of the night Bro. Horace was disturbed by a commotion at the foot of his bed. Before he could find the pull chain on the light, he heard someone telling the Lord they had gone as far as they could go without Him. When the light was finally pulled on David was seen on his knees pouring his heart out to God. All of this is beautiful but what is even better this same David, Bro. David now is carrying on that which was given to him for there are many at Huntsville and other places who tell of Bro. David's helping them see the light that he saw in the Williams.
Written by Bro. Bryant Finlayson--Glad Tidings
"THey Passed this way"
It is impossible for us to list every child of God that has contributed to the good way of Holiness. Please see below for a link to Find a Grave for a more complete list of Ministers and Leaders of the Free Holiness Faith.
Free Holiness Doctrine written by Bro. Jack Denson.
Orme, TN History
Image: Orme, TN Train Station used by brethren.
The town of Orme is in southeast Tennessee near the Alabama state line and it is nestled in a valley in the Cumberland Mountain. It's population is about 200 and they live a quiet sluggish way of life, but it was not always this way. Back in the early 1900's it was a boom town where coal was king. Orme mountain loomed over this bustling small city of about 1300 people and most of these people sweated their living from inside this mountain digging coal that was brought to the surface of the mines and sent down "The Incline", a type of railroad that took the coal down the side of this mighty ridge and dumped it into the railroad cars that were waiting hungrily for them on the siding below. From here it was taken out of the valley to Bridgeport ( 6 miles) and to points beyond. One day on this same railroad in the year 1907 a man was seen stepping off of the train. He was not a big man or one who outwardly attracted attention for he was of slight build,but he carried something in his heart and soul that was to attract and change hundreds and thousands of lost and dying souls. His name was TOM AUSTIN. He had come from Chattanooga, Tennessee on the request of a Mr. Barnes, who was the father-in-law of a Baptist minister by the name of Tom Perry, who worked for the railroad here in Orme. The reason Bro. Tom was requested to come here was because he knew about and preached "Holiness". It was said that these holiness people preached entire sanguification and being filled with the Holy Ghost, in which was never heard of before in this area. Also, they had much body movements that were called the "jerks" and they were called "Holy-Rollers". It was said that they hypnotised people and also sprayed a powder on them when they layed hands on a person. The public at Orme found out the truth soon enough what Holiness was. Bro. Tom preached at their religious service which was held in a school house. He told them of a better way centering his text around the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Some liked what he had to say and some didn't. Two that did
not were the preachers of the Orme community, Tom Perry and Sam Bates, both of the Baptist faith. These -two made it plain that this so called preacher couldn't preach at their church services. But Bro. Tom was encouraged by the ones who leaned toward him and he started having meetings in houses and under brush arbors and just about anywhere they could. One day the Lord did a miracle through this young preacher (25 years old) while he was talking and pressing people toward a better way, his hands went on a child who was born an invalid. The child was immediately healed and joined the other children in play. Of course this was amazing to these people and some started seeking God's face. The preacher Sam Bates' wife, Sally is believed to be the first to . receive the Holy Ghost. Sam accused her of letting that preacher hypnotize her. When Sam left for work she fell on her knees and talked to the Lord. When she came up from praying (she told later) "Sam or nobody else could make me doubt that I didn't have the Holy Ghost." He admitted that "I knew the old women had something I did not have." He later told, "All the religion I had, I hung up in my coat." One day while praying he asked the Lord, "If that's you shaking those people, will you let this bush shake?" The bush started shaking and Sam went and got Sis. Sally and showed it to her also. In late 1907 or early 1908, Sam Bates also received the Holy Ghost. Services were held just about everywhere. Bro. Sam had a farm on top of Orme mountain and meetings were held here. Bro. Sam worked in the mines. He also had an acute ability to hear the earth as it started to shift and cause cave ins. Once he heard the dreaded sound in time to warn others but failed to escape himself. When they dug to where they expected to find his body, they found him lying there enjoying himself in a little cubby-hole space with rocks laying all around him. All that had touched him was the dust of the cave-in. A small church (16 feet wide) was Just across from Bro. Sam's farm. The site of this building is on the highway that comes over the mountain from South Pittsburg and ends in Suwanee Tennessee. It is about two miles from the top of the mountain. Tom Perry received the Holy Ghost on the mountain while he was praying in the woods. Many more came to the Lord hare at Orme. Many came to be in meeting here, too. Bro. Will Guffey, who came to the Lord a few years later on Gunners Mountain, worked in the Orme mines and went to church here for four or five years. Sis. Allie Louvorn of BEIRNE AVENUE in Huntsville, first heard Holiness preached here though she received the Holy Ghost later at HYTOP. We could go on and on with names like Bro. Billy Adams, the Rollins family and others who found the Lord here. Many great healings were done and the persecution was rough, but as always, God's grace was sufficient.
Written By, Bro. Bryant Finlayson--Glad Tidings