E.Y. Mullins was a great leader for Southern Baptists during the first quarter of the last century. His legacy continues to intrigue historians and stir controversy even today.
A Baptist statesman of the highest degree, Mullins served as president of Southern Seminary for almost thirty years. He was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention and played an instrumental role in leading Southern Baptists to adopt the first Baptist Faith and Message (1925). He also served as president of the Baptist World Alliance.
Intrigued by the pivotal role Mullins played in Southern Baptist life, I ordered the book: Edgar Young Mullins An Intimate Biography
, written by his wife, Isla May Mullins just a year after his death (1929) and published by the Baptist Sunday School Board.
Isla May’s biography is an interesting look at the personal and professional life of E.Y. Mullins. She devotes a mere four pages to describing Edgar Young’s childhood and youth, choosing instead to begin the main portion of the narrative from the time the two meet and are married. Because Isla May fills the book with so many details from her perspective, one can say that the biography is as much about her as it is about him. She writes in the third person, but the recounting of the events is unmistakably from her perspective.
At times, Isla May tends toward exaggeration that can be humorous at times. Take this account of how the writing of the biography came to pass:
“The story wrote itself under fingers that were accustomed to the typewriter. As the picture of a dual life, which held for forty-two years, unfolded in vivid remembrance, it was reproduced in a rapid word record.” (7)
At times, the biography is politically incorrect. Isla May uses the common titles for the African-Americans of her day (“colored,” “Negro”), and yet she proudly recounts the affinity her husband felt for preaching in African-American churches.
The greatest aspect of this biography is Isla May’s excellent command of the English language, which allows her to express her love for her late husband in ways that are emotionally moving. Notice the way she describes her husband’s eyes:
“His eyes were the most interesting feature, as they continued to be throughout his life. Unusually soft and luminous, they were changeable as a chameleon, or one of the vari-colored stars. They were brown, perhaps, especially when serious or preoccupied; they were keen and penetrating under discussion, they were iridescent under mental visioning and impassioned speaking, they twinkled under an ever-ready sense of humor, and they scintillated under swift storms of merriment.” (15)
The story of Mullins’ life is fascinating. As a young man, he desired to go to Brazil as a missionary, but he was turned down by the mission board because of a lack of funds. His doctors eventually recommended that he stay in the United States in order to preserve his health.
Mullins preaching in the yet-unfinished Norton Hall at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY.
Isla May tells stories from Edgar Young’s pastorates in Harrodsburg and Baltimore. A strong sense of humor lightens the narrative. It is evident that the Mullins saw a sense of humor as necessary for ministry. Although Mullins was a theologian to be reckoned with, the biography shows that neither he nor his wife ever took themselves too seriously.
The saddest events in the Mullins’ lives are the deaths of their two children in childhood. The first child died of a fever when only seven years old. The second child lived only one month. One can sense the pain mixed with hope in Isla May’s brief retelling of their baby’s death:
“A bare month of happiness followed, when a slight illness attacked the baby — there was a mistake in the druggist’s preparation of a prescription — a few hours and the baby was gone, June 26. Just a little time further, he lay in his waxen purity with the rosebud in his tiny fingers, and then they saw him no more. Is such a life wasted? A thousand times no! Neither the father nor the mother would have foregone that wonderful experience in his brief stay and also in his going. It hallowed life and it infinitely brightened heaven.” (58)
Isla May never delves into theological matters as she tells her husband’s story. For example, the Whitsitt controversy that drove William Whitsitt from the presidency of Southern Seminary and prepared the way for Mullins is barely mentioned and never explained.
She does, however, recount various times when Mullins’ pastoral sensitivity shines through. At one point, Mullins’ church was in an uproar about whether to use the piano in a worship service. (The older generation wanted only the organ.) In a brilliant stroke of pastoral wisdom, Mullins tells a farming story about two cows that his family had, one black and one brown. He could never choose which one he liked better. The milk was good from both. He then told the congregation that he couldn’t choose between the organ and piano. He liked them both. The entire church united around their pastor and averted a split. (64)
Mullins (right) with Gambrell and Whitinghill in Rome
Several interesting tidbits come out in Isla May’s book. Mullins pastored the widow of the man who wrote “My Country Tis of Thee.” William Newton Clarke, a family friend and well-known pastor, encouraged Mullins to take the presidency of Southern Seminary. The Mullins family’s first Louisville winters are described humorously. The first year they nearly froze to death with no furnace. The second year, they were smoked out (with a furnace)!
Isla May chronicles Mullins’ rise as an important Baptist theologian. She summarizes his most important work, The Axioms of Religion. She shows how her husband often acted as the go-between in the Northern and Southern Baptist Conventions. Mullins’ seven trips to Europe are included in the story, and also his tireless efforts for religious liberty for Baptists in Romania.
Edgar Young Mullins An Intimate Biography is just that – a personal retelling of his life story from his still-grieving widow. I highly recommend that students of Baptist history or people intrigued by E.Y. Mullins’ denominational leadership find an old copy of this biography. It is not only a terrific study of Mullins’ personal life; it also provides a delightful glimpse into Southern culture a century ago.
Related Article:
E.Y. Mullins Gravesite
written by Trevin Wax. copyright © 2008 Kingdom People Blog.
. (Paraclete, 2008).
(Crossway, 2008) illuminates the promises and pitfalls of engaging in this new media. Especially helpful is the Christian focus that this book brings to blogging.
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(McDougal Publishing, 2000) is a helpful little book for anyone involved in cross-cultural ministry. A seasoned missionary, Lanier recounts many stories that help provide insight into the reasons why people react in distinct ways in different cultures. The book describes some of the differences between what Lanier calls “hot-climate” and “cold-climate” cultures. 
Check out yesterday’s 
(Baker Books, 1994).
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(NavPress, 1978, 2006) by Jerry Bridges was required reading.
(Nashville: Fields Publishing, 2001) contains McCall’s recollections of his life and ministry.
. (This is one day that I can enjoy the perks that come from blogging!) 
Are you looking for one book that encapsulates the most important moments and people in Christian history? Look no farther than The Story of Christianity (2007 Hendrickson Publishers, 1984-85) by Justo L. Gonzalez. You can purchase this book in either one volume or two. 
