Lewis C. Sheafe: Apostle to Black America

Lewis Charles Sheafe (1859-1938)

Though virtually unknown today, a century ago Sheafe was by all accounts the leading figure in the rise of Adventism among African Americans.  Not only that, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg described him as “a more liberally educated and cultivated man” than “any other Seventh-day Adventist minister,” adding that the church did not have “a white minister that can begin to stand next to him.”

 

Described by a Washington, D.C. newspaper in 1902 as the "noted apostle of Seventh Day Adventism," Sheafe is the subject of a biography by Douglas Morgan, published in 2010 by Review and Herald Publishing Association as part of its Adventist Pioneer Series.

 

Sheafe organized Adventism’s first predominantly black urban congregation, the People’s Church in Washington, D.C.  The evangelistic campaigns that led to the church’s formation in 1903 attracted mixed-race audiences numbering in the thousands, and catapulted Sheafe to prominence in the cultural center of black America.

“That man could preach, and pray, and sing like nobody you have ever heard”

Thus remarked Alan Anderson more than six decades after boyhood experiences hearing Lewis C. Sheafe. Anderson, who devoted several years to full-time Adventist ministry himself before a career of distinction in federal government service, would have heard all of the great Adventist preachers during those six decades. In an interview conducted by Dr. DeWitt Williams, he characterized Sheafe as “one [of], it not the greatest black preachers we’ve ever had,” and reiterated, “I’ve never heard of anybody who could preach and pray like that man.”

My thanks to Dr. Williams for allowing me to see the transcript of this interview, conducted for research on his biography of Eva B. Dykes, She Fulfilled the Impossible Dream (Review and Herald, 1985).

Dr. Williams is a prolific chronicler of the Adventist heritage. Check out his latest, hot off the  press: Precious Memories of Missionaries of Color, Vol. 2.

"A Most Unusual Opportunity"

“Through his labors even a number of the most prominent men in authority in the nation have been definitely reached by the truth,” Dr. James H. Howard wrote of L.C. Sheafe in a letter of 15 February 1903 to Elder A.G. Daniells. This correspondence came to my attention recently, well after publication of Lewis C. Sheafe: Apostle to Black America. It sheds further light on the highpoint of Sheafe’s career – the remarkable impact of his ministry in Washington, D.C. in 1902-1903 and the remarkable opportunity it opened for the Seventh-day Adventist movement.

(Newspaper headlines from the front page of the Colored American newspaper, September 13, 1902 pictured left are indicative of Sheafe’s impact).

Re-united! The Washington Herald on Sheafe's Return to the "Organized Work," 100 Years Ago

In coverage of the General Conference session in Takoma Park, the May 31, 1913 edition of the newspaper highlighted the return of the People's Church to the denomination second only to the re-election of A.G. Daniells and other top officers:

"The regular order of the conference was dropped yesterday long enough to hear a letter read from the People's Church of Northwest Washington, asking to be received into the denomination. A few years ago the church decided to sever its connection with the District of Columbia Conference and had been conducting its work independently. The pastor, Elder Lewis C. Sheaf, who presented the letter from his church, told the conference that reflection and experience had convinced the congregation that the severance of organic ties has been a mistake and by an almost unanimous

God's Hand in Emancipation

On the 40th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, 1 Jan. 1903, Sheafe was among the "race leaders" chosen to address Washington, D.C.'s commemorative celebration. Read more about it in an essay published on the Spectrum magazine blog.

Pity and Praise in Press Commentary on Sheafe, Adventism

Press commentary generated by Sheafe's ministry manifested a parodoxical mix of bemused curiosity and gentle condescension with seemingly over-the-top admiration in attitudes toward Adventism....more

Deeper Treasure from the GC Online Archives

The Office of Archives and Statistics at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists makes available a phenomenal wealth of full-text historical sources online.  Long-time director Bert Haloviak initiated the service several years ago and oversaw steady expansion its offerings, and his successor, Dr. David Trim, is carrying it forward.

via www.historyandhope.org

Shaking Up the Segregationists

Sheafe's fiery denunciation of the Republican party in 1895 for its betrayal of black Americans during the decades following Civil War not only caused a stir in Ohio, but also sent shock waves further south.... more

Sheafe and Strachan: Lessons From the Careers of Rival Ministers

Sheafe's career is compared with that of a fellow black minister, Matthew C. Strachan, who at times opposed him on matters of Adventist church organization and authority, in an article published in the April 2011 issue of Ministry magazine. Entitled, "Proclaiming the Gospel and Changing Society," the article "reveals how these two men spent their lives -- exhausting themselves -- in fulfilling the gospel commission, changing both the Adventist church and society at large," writes Willie E. Hucks II, associated editor of the magazine.

Sheafe, Not Sunday

When America's most famous revivalist, Billy Sunday, laid plans for an evangelistic campaign in Washington, D.C. to begin in January 1918, a correspondent to the Washington Bee newspaper proposed that, in view of Sunday's refusal to address racial injustice, the city's black churches organize their own revival, and that Sheafe would be the best counter to Sunday as preacher.

See "The Greatest Evangelist and Singer the Race Has Produced," posted 4 December 2010.

Reader Comments

Comments on the biography by Charles E. Bradford, Martin E. Marty, Monte Sahlin, Emory Tolbert, Michele Riley-Jones, George Knight, and Myles V. Lynk (grandson of Lewis Sheafe) in Reviews & Commentary.