Lois Olena, Stanley Horton’s Biographer

Note: Olena recounts Horton’s bridge-building across the racial divides. Central Bible College did not allow African-American students, but Horton helped to change that policy and personally mentored and encouraged African-American students, including Spencer Jones, Frank Davis, and Lemuel Thuston (now a prominent COGIC bishop).

In 1947, my father was one of dozens of students at Metropolitan Bible Institute in Paterson, New Jersey, sitting under the tutelage of the new Harvard grad, Rev. Stanley Horton, who was teaching twenty‐one credits per semester, caring for his young family, and preaching on the weekends.

I, on the other hand, first met Dr. Horton when he was 89 years old. One day at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary I noticed a quiet, unassuming man sitting off by himself at an event in the Great Hall. I went over and sat by him, enjoying his gracious conversation and pleasant spirit—only later realizing who he was.

It was in this first meeting that I encountered the man, Stanley Horton. Not the author, the educator, or the theologian. Just a man, sitting by himself and happy to carry on a friendly conversation with a stranger. Little did I know at that time that I would have the honor and privilege of enjoying the good company and friendship of this man over the next nine years.

A few months after this, during a meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies in Pasadena, a former student of Dr. Horton’s, Dr. Ray Gannon, suggested a project to write Dr. Horton’s biography “Surprised” and “humbled” that someone would want to write about his life, Dr. Horton agreed, and the project began.

Because of his longevity and keen mind, Dr. Horton willingly served as an invaluable source of information as I attempted to meet the challenge of writing about a life that spanned over nine decades. His godly heritage ran deep—providing the fertile ground for a life of service characterized by Pentecostal fervor, commitment to biblical scholarship, and Christlike character. He patiently answered vital questions, relayed countless stories, shared valuable insights, and of course made excellent editorial suggestions! Our friendship grew as I witnessed firsthand what it meant to joyfully serve God with everything, be gracious toward everyone, trust God obediently as He leads step by step, and live a life that honors the past, embraces the present, and prepares hopefully for the future.

Three years later the biography was published, and we “took our show on the road!” My husband Doug and I traveled with Dr. Horton to the 2009 SPS meeting in Oregon where I had arranged for a panel of scholars to honor him. Dr. Wood moderated as each spoke—Dr. Horton as central to Pentecostal history, as a colleague in higher education, as an exemplar, as a bridge for racial reconciliation, as a theologian … But my role was to honor him simply as a man. I relayed stories that spoke of his spirituality, of his being an overcomer, an encourager, content, trusting, generous, loving to his family, faithful, humble, funny, even musical! (He told me the Choir director in Sacramento didn’t mind “if a person was a little flat now and then!”). And of course I spoke of him as smart—even as a kid. (His sister Esther always joked that her brother “got all the brains,” and “she got none.” His son, Ed, used to tell his dad that if he ever got senile and lost half his intelligence, he would still be twice as smart as him!)

Young Stanley gave his heart to the Lord in 1922 when he was just six years old. Right after that experience, he wanted to be baptized in water. He never forgot that baptismal ceremony: “I can still picture it in my mind,” he reminisced. Six years later, after interacting with a woman who told Stanley she was not sure he really could have been saved when he was six years old, Stanley slipped away and found another rescue mission where no one knew him. He went to the altar when they gave the invitation for salvation, and the Lord reassured him that he was indeed saved.

He received the baptism in the Holy Spirit on New Year’s Day of 1936. As he recalled:

Jesus was so real to me. I could feel His touch like never before. I was so overwhelmed with the presence of Jesus that I was hardly conscious of speaking in tongues; I did speak in tongues, but not for very long. That night I remembered an evangelist saying something derogatory about young people who spoke only a few words in tongues, while he spoke for hours. The next night I went to the altar; no one gathered around to pray for me, but I simply said, “Lord, if there is a freedom in this, I want it.” Suddenly it was like a dam broke, and my praises and prayers to God in a heavenly language poured out of my mouth. For a couple of weeks I could hardly pray in English.

Dr. Horton’s biography is full of stories that we don’t have time here to relay. Each one is a golden nugget in its own right. And the book’s appendix contains hundreds of 90^th birthday greetings and expressions of love from people around the world in 25 five countries, many unable to be here today.

One story that stands out to me, though, is the encouragement Dr. Horton showed CBC African-American students during an era when it was not easy or popular and when others may not have been so Christ-like. One young student, now Church of God in Christ Bishop Lemuel Thuston, tells how Dr. Horton showed a personal interest in him—encouraging him in his undergraduate work when the way was difficult, spurring him on to graduate work at the new Assemblies of God Graduate School, guiding him in his Ancient Near Eastern History specialty at SMSU, connecting him with Pastor Spencer Jones to do an internship in Chicago’s inner city, and providing Lemuel with the “first and only” scholarship he ever received. Dr. Horton, he said, was the inspiration for much of what he was able to accomplish and pursue academically and in other areas. He acknowledged with gratefulness, “I probably would not have finished if it was not for him.”

Such transmission of grace from one generation to the next stands at the heart of who Dr. Horton was as a godly man and a disciple of his Messiah. It serves as a clarion call to us today to walk step by step in the same faithfulness.

I saw that call in action at the 2009 AG General Council in Orlando the year the biography was released. Dr. Horton and I had attended the retired ministers’ luncheon to share the book with those in attendance. The theme there was, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come” (Ps. 71:18). Scores of retired ministers came up to him at the book-signing table to recount how they had had him as their teacher 20—30—40—even 50 years prior. We finished at the luncheon, and I wheeled Dr. Horton back across the street and into the huge conference complex. (He only needed the wheelchair because of the distance—most of that Council he could be seen pushing his own wheelchair around). As we entered the elevator, a teenaged girl with an injury to her ankle entered the elevator on a scooter.

When I turned Dr. Horton around, she looked at him wide-eyed and said, “Oh my! Are you Dr. Stanley Horton?”

“Yes,” he smiled.

“Wow!” she exclaimed. “I have read everything you’ve ever written! I can’t believe I’m meeting you!”

There in that elevator was a connection between the generations that was stunning, in that the work of his hands had been able to declare God’s power and might to the next generation—many years after he had served as a college or seminary professor.

The years since have been seasoned with rich times of honoring Dr. Horton, at such events as the Annual Horton Lectureship at Evangel, the Legacy Chapel at AGTS, graduations, the Society for Pentecostal Studies meeting, and many other events. It has been my great privilege to celebrate his life and work not only from coast to coast, but also in quiet lunches, dinners, and car rides around Springfield where our conversation would be sprinkled as much by his wonderful sense of humor as with those “aha” moments of biblical understanding where at the stop light I would just turn and say, “Wow. I never thought about it that way.” And he would just smile.

Five years have passed since we finished the biography; I used to say to Dr. Horton that we will need to do a Volume 2 pretty soon! Now I’m sure he has cast all his crowns at Jesus’ feet, and Volume 2 is not on his agenda at all in the face of the opportunity to worship His Number One.

I will greatly miss caring for and celebrating my friend, and of course, stopping by Andy’s Frozen Custard—just to see the smile on his face. smile on his face.