I was born November 11, 1849. Joined the Knoxville Presbytery September, 1872; was licensed to preach in September, 1874; ordained to the whole work of the gospel ministry September, 1876.

My ministry has been confined to the foregoing Presbytery and its country churches. I felt that I was called to service and not to salary so have served the poor with the gospel as the Master and his apostles did. Have given all my time to the work. I am glad it has been my privilege to follow my Savior, and the pioneer fathers of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in a life of unselfish toil, for the interests of His kingdom, and the good of my fellow man.

"Are you walking in his footsteps--do you ever seek the lost;
In the mountains and the desert, whatsoe'r may be the cost?
In the highways and the byways, are your footsteps ever found,
Where His wounded feet and bleeding left the marks upon the ground."

When the movement for church union (so called) came up, I would consent to it only on this ground: "If I should have unmistakable evidence that the movement, and all the methods used to promote it were the dictations of the Holy Spirit, I would approve and accept with all my heart." But the instruction of my Bible is: "Try the spirits." And also: "By their fruits ye shall know them." Therefore when I applied the searchlight of these two texts I found it was not the spirit of God, but a dividing spirit, and its fruit piercing thorns and poison grain, and thus it proved to be more and more as it further developed. During the discussion of the question, I wrote an article for the church paper on the basis of union, as proposed, showing that it led to division and disaster; but the editor in charge, supplied a word in one place and dropped a word in another place, to destroy the truth and force of it. I called his attention to it, and in his reply he said he failed to Edit it, thus showing his guilt, because he was required, by virtue of his office, to let nothing be published without his editorial oversight.

When we had the question up for discussion and vote of our Presbytery, I was permitted to make the last speech. I used the Bible in my right-hand and the U.S.A. Confession of Faith in my left, and showed the proposed basis was divisive, in that it put the U.S.A. Confession before the Bible; hence that we Cumberlands could not vote for such a measure. Before our Presbytery voted on the question, it sent two commissioners to the General Assembly at Dallas, Tex. These brethren were for the union, and so voted at Dallas. But when next Presbytery took the vote on the question a majority opposed it. When the time came to elect commissioners to the Assembly at Fresno, Cal., the union brethren determined to send union men again. But their scheming was defeated, and I was sent on the part of the ministry, and true to my ordination vow, voted for the perpetuity of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right-hand forget her skill. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. If I remember thee not; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."

"For her my tears shall fall,
   For her my prayers ascend;
To her my toils and cares be given
   Till toils and cares shall end."

[Source: Our Senior Soldiers: The Biographies and Autobiographies of Eighty Cumberland Presbyterian Preachers. Compiled by The Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Publication. The Assistance of Revs. J. L. Price and W. P. Kloster is Greatfully Acknowledged. Nashville, Tenn.: The Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1915, pages 97-99]

ATHENS, Tenn., March 16.--The Rev. Marcus Lafayette Sloop, 88, retired minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, died at 5:30 o'clock last night at his home in the Mount Cumberland Community. He had been in ill health for several months.

The Rev. Mr. Sloop served as minister of churches in Loudon, Monroe, McMinn and other East Tennessee counties for more than 60 years before retiring several years ago. He was married to Miss Sallie Thompson nearly 70 years ago. He was the oldest living Cumberland Presbyterian ministers at the time of his death.

He is survived by his widow and six sons, Melzer Sloop, of Chattanooga; Hother and Dave Sloop, of Athens; Veth and Oph Sloop, of Etowah, and Marcus Sloop, of Knoxville. He was a great uncle of Horace Humphreys, widely known local florist.

Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Friday afternoon at the Mount Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
[Source: Newspaper clipping]

1938
Report on Mortuary
Knoxville--Rev. M. L. Sloop died March 16, 1938, Athens, Tenn., age 89 years, retired.
[Source: Minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1938, page 132]