Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength (Rev. 1:12-16).
One of the men that is being presented as part of the Revived Classics Series is Dr. Herman Hoyt. For those of you who do not know him, I thought I would give you a short introduction to who he was.
In 1936, Herman Arthur Hoyt penned the following words, which were to be the expressed convictions of his life and ministry for nearly five decades:
There is no greater authority than the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no more ample faith than the whole Bible with every doctrine it contains. There is no more complete life than the life which appropriates the blessings of God, presents itself to God, separates from the world, and is transformed in His presence. There is no more perfect set of ordinances than those of the Word.[1]
Hoyt was born in Greenfield, Iowa, on March 12, 1909, the oldest of 10 children. He grew up in Dallas Center, Iowa, graduating from Dallas Center High School as valedictorian of his class in 1927. Following high school graduation, the entire family moved to Ashland, Ohio, where he enrolled at Ashland College. During his college years he married his childhood sweetheart, Harriet Lucile Fitz, on Aug. 30, 1930. They had two sons, Joseph Paul and Edwin Max.
Hoyt graduated from Ashland College as valedictorian of the class of 1932 (bachelor of arts). He continued his education at Ashland Theological Seminary and graduated with the highest honors from the seminary in 1935 (bachelor of theology). During his senior year of seminary, Hoyt assumed the task of teaching. Upon graduation he became a part of the faculty at Ashland Seminary. He not only continued to teach Greek but also taught Hebrew elements and some Old Testament classes.
Due to unrest within Ashland Seminary, Hoyt and Alva J. McClain were dismissed. They began a new seminary named The Brethren Biblical Seminary Association (later renamed Grace Theological Seminary) at the First Brethren Church of Akron, Ohio, where McClain was chosen to be the president. Both McClain and Hoyt were the first full-time professors—Hoyt being professor of New Testament and Greek, but also teaching Old Testament, Hebrew and homiletics. Along with teaching full time, he enrolled in the master of theology program and graduated with that degree in 1939. In the fall of 1939, Grace Theological Seminary relocated to Winona Lake, Indiana.
Due to the failing health of McClain, many of the presidential responsibilities fell to Hoyt. He served as professor of New Testament, registrar and dean. During that time he also managed to graduate from the seminary with his doctor of theology degree (1946).
After 25 years of leadership at Grace Schools, McClain resigned and, on Aug. 16, 1962, Hoyt was inaugurated as the second president of Grace Schools, a position which he held until his retirement in 1976.
Dr. Hoyt traveled back and forth across America speaking on behalf of Grace Schools and also as a popular Bible conference speaker, yet he found time to publish eight books and numerous articles. It has been estimated that he traveled more than 50,000 miles a year, mostly by automobile, pulling a trailer in which he and his wife would stay as they went from place to place.
His sermon library consists of 93 three-ring notebooks. He kept used paper or bulletins and would type or hand write each of those sermons. At the end of each of these sermons he would add an additional blank page on which he kept track of when and where he preached that particular sermon. There was one sermon entitled, “The Unveiling of the Lord Jesus Christ,” from Rev. 1:12-16, that he recorded having preached 266 times. The first time was on Dec. 31, 1959, at the Pleasant Valley Church in Warsaw, Ind., and the last was on Oct. 21, 1990, at the Grace Brethren Church in New Troy, Mich.
The Hoyts relocated to Lancaster, Pa., in 1984 to be near their son, Max. Dr. Hoyt continued to travel many miles each year for various preaching ministries.
Harriet died in 1995, and Herman joined her with Christ on Aug. 29, 2000, at the age of 91.
Dr. Gary M. Kochheiser is a graduate of Grace Theological Seminary, Andersonville Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has a wide array of ministry experience, including teaching, missions and archaeology, and as the senior pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Ankenytown, Ohio, since 2010. He also serves on committees for the Brethren Digital Archives and The Brethren Encyclopedia on behalf of the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International. We value his expertise and are glad to present him as a contributing author to Dispensational Publishing House.
Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Gary M. Kochheiser. Used by permission of the author.
Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
[1] Herman A. Hoyt, “Distinctive Elements in the Brethren Faith that Impel Us to Reach Out to All America Today,” The Brethren Evangelist 58:41 (1936) 17.
Dr. Hoyt was a protégé of Dr. Alva J. McClain and McClain’s perfect complement in the founding and ongoing of Grace Theological Seminary. I owe Dr. Hoyt an eternal debt for his years as my teacher at Grace. He was a friend, advisor, and counsellor as well as an exacting professor.