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Remember
now thy creator in the days of thy youth.
(Ecc1.12:1)
Whenever men
mention Oneness Pentecost pioneers, the name of G. T. Haywood stands
one of the truly great pioneer contributors t Oneness Pentecostal
heritage.
Born on July 15,
1880, in the city of Green Castle, Indiana, young Gladstone Thomas
Haywood was just another ordinary boy as far as his early childhood
and youth was concerned. The Haywood home was one with Christian principles and during those early formative
years Glad stone attended both
church and Sunday school and grew up with a fear of the Lord within his heart. In the early teen years, while attending high school, Haywood discovered
his talent for cartooning and sketching. This ability was the
delight of his life, and he took advantage of every opportunity to
sketch whoever would become a ready model.
After
graduation from high school, Haywood's first job was with a
newspaper called "The Freeman." Fortunately this job did
not lead to a position as a writer or cartoonist, and he left the
newspaper profession £or a better paying job working in a foundry.
This change of jobs was nothing more than the intervention of the
Lord. Looking back over Haywood' s life after his later success as a
minister, songwriter, and leader. It is clear that had he continued
to pursue the path of journalism, the fire of success that so grips
men of this profession might easily have enveloped his life, and he
would have been lost to the cause of Christ forever. Instead,
laboring in an iron foundry, Haywood had an outlet for his physical
energy and a means of supplying his family with the necessities of
life. But his Christian walk was without power and his life
unfruitful. Besides all this, there was the nagging knowledge of
buried talents that lay dormant and unused in his life. Haywood was
ready £or a change, and the Lord had a man prepared with a
life-changing message.
In the cold
bleak month of February 1908, there stepped into the life of G. T.
Haywood, a never to be forgotten witness for the Lord, This man,
Otis Barber, had a personal testimony that burned within his soul.
He had just visited a Pentecostal service and had been filled with
the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.
Barber visited Haywood in his home and began to tell him of this new
experience. Outside the house a cold, damp Indiana winter gripped
the countryside, but inside the house the burning, convicting,
convincing power of a Pentecostal testimony filled the room. The
Pentecostal fire that burned in Barber's heart as he spoke of his
Apostolic experience opened the spiritually cold heart of Haywood,
and conviction gripped his soul. He heard Barber's message with open
heart and fully made up his mind that he, too, was going to receive
the baptism of£ the Holy Ghost.
His
mind now made up, Haywood made plans to
attend the Pentecostal services that his friend Otis Barber attended. The main worry of Haywood was whether his wife would
follow with him in seeking
the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This worry
was not relieved when she and his sister decided
to attend the services with him, for they we re not going with the
thought of seeking the Lord, but rather to watch and see what would
I happen to Haywood as he sought the Holy Ghost.
During the service
that night Haywood, his wife, and sister sat in the very back of the
church. As the sermon concluded, Otis Barber made his I way to the
back of the church and asked Haywood the simple question,
"Won't you come and get the Holy Ghost tonight, Tom?" With
that request, Haywood stepped out and made an unforgettable trip
down to that old-fashioned altar. The power I of God soon fell, and
Gladstone Thomas Haywood entered into a new life in Christ Jesus.
The heavy burden and guilt of sin was washed away all things became
new. The blood of Calvary’s Lamb had done its cleansing work. No
wonder when Haywood looked back to the sin cleansing experience of
this night he could write that great song of thanksgiving:
In
sin I wandered sore and sad,
With bleeding heart and aching head.
Till Jesus came and sweetly said,
I’ll take your sins away.
Thank God for the Blood,
Thank God for the Blood,
Thank God for the Blood,
That washes white as snow.
There was more
in store for that night, and while Haywood was under the power of
God at the altar, Otis Barber returned to the back of the church and
invited Haywood's wife and sister to the altar. They did not get up
and start towards the altar as Haywood had done, but the convicting
power of the Holy Ghost began to move. Suddenly, the power of God
fell upon both of them where they were sitting. They both fell to
the floor and in a few minutes began to speak in other tongues as
the spirit of God took control in their lives. What a glorious day
as the angels of heaven recorded three new names in the Book of
Life. Great credit is due to Otis Barber for his work as a witness
in bringing Bro. Haywood and his family into the Pentecostal
experience.
From the book,
The Life and Writings of Elder G. T. Haywood.
[More of
this exciting biography will follow.}
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