Particular Pilgrims

"William Steadman arrived in Plymouth on June 6, 1798 as a pastoral partner to Isaiah Birt. This left the Broughton church without a pastor, a situation that was to continue for eleven years. But in God’s strange providence, the church finally began to grow during this time. The surrounding Baptist pastors cared for the church until 1809 when a graduate of the Bristol Academy, Hugh Russell, was called as pastor. This is a good reminder that God’s church is built, not by men, not even by good, qualified, zealous, and called men, but by Christ and that he uses whatever means and timing he thinks best."

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"During this time, William constantly studied his Bible and read a wide range of evangelical authors. These included Calvinistic Anglicans like William Romaine and James Hervey and many volumes of John Gill and John Brine, the high Calvinistic Baptists. This appreciation for and experience of the value of other genuine Christians, even of a different mind in some things, was always a part of Steadman’s life. While a convinced Particular Baptist with strong evangelistic impulses, he appreciated and cultivated friendships across the evangelical spectrum. In this he was representative of many Particular Baptists."

"There is another pastor connected with late 18 th century Plymouth that need to be highlighted. His name is William Steadman and he is an important figure in Particular Baptist history especially for his ministry in the north of England. Much of what we know about his life comes from a biography written by his son, Thomas, shortly after his father’s death in 1837. It is called “Memoir of the Reverend William Steadman, D. D., pastor of the First Baptist Church, Bradford, Yorkshire, and president of the Northern Baptist Education Society”. It can be found online through Google books."

"Having looked at the life of Isaiah Birt and his friends, let’s return to the Plymouth Baptist Church and Pastor Philip Gibbs. Now that Birt was pastoring the nearby Baptist church in Plymouth Dock, Gibbs needed an assistant. The church was alerted to William Winterbotham of London, and in January of 1790 he supplied the pulpit. His preaching was edifying and the people invited him to become assistant to their pastor which he readily accepted. Before we proceed with the story of his pastoral and political life, here is what we know about his background and conversion."

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"It strikes me as unlikely that a born-poor, persecuted Baptist boy like Isaiah Birt would one day grow up to be friends with a wealthy, high-society, evangelical Anglican named John Broadley Wilson. But that is in fact what happened. At the same time, the story of their friendship illustrates the complementary truth that members of Particular Baptist churches were often a tight knit and even inter-married community."

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"Isaiah Birt’s ministry in Plymouth lasted over 30 years. About 1815, he moved to Birmingham, where his son in the faith and dear friend, Samuel Pearce, had pastored until his death in 1799. For a dozen years, Birt ministered to this body of believers, preaching “only twice on the Lord’s Day” but also on many weekday evenings. Eventually, physical weakness made this impractical. Then he stepped down, moved to London, and preached for others as he was able."

"Last time I presented a study of the conversion and 51 year pastoral ministry of Philip Gibbs at the Particular Baptist Church in Plymouth. The man who baptized him was Crispin Curtis, the pastor of the church in Kingsbridge, who also served for about 50 years. One of the ways the Lord blessed both of these men’s long pastorates was in the raising up of other men. Gibbs and Curtis not only rightly handled the word of truth, but they also entrusted it to faithful men, as the apostle Paul prescribed. One of these faithful men of Pastor Gibbs, was named Isaiah Birt."

"At some point Philip was apprenticed to a tailor in the nearby market town of Kingsbridge. One day around his 15 th birthday, he was at work and a woman member of the Baptist church arrived on horseback. She urged Philip to join her in hearing a minister of the Establishment who had just come to town. His name was George Whitefield. Gibbs agreed and got up on the horse behind her. Now hear him tell the rest of the story..."

'In our last episode I described the non-conformist’s civil disadvantages under toleration that made them English second-class citizens. How did they respond? And specifically, how did the London Particular Baptist pastors attempt to display a proper patriotism and submission to their God-appointed leaders while still appealing for their full civil rights?"

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"Baptists considered the Anglican church not to be a true church and so worshiping there, even on an occasional basis was considered an act of disloyalty to Jesus Christ. But social pressures played on members and pastors alike. And so some conformed, that is, they renounced their nonconformity and rejoined the state church. Because these actions always led to some form of church discipline, they were written in the church books, and we know some of the names and actions involved."

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"In this final study of Shortwood Baptist Church, I want to introduce you to some of the deacons of the church and various aspects of their lives and ministry. Albion Urdank has researched a number of what he calls “branches” of Shortwood’s deacons. By branches, he means that many of the church’s deacons came from connected family groups. For example, the Flint family was prominent in the church. Thomas Flint was Benjamin Francis’ pastoral assistant and married his daughter Catherine. After Francis died, Thomas became pastor. His son Abraham along with Catherine’s brother, Samuel, both were chosen as deacons. Deacon Abraham’s father-in-law and brother-in-law, both named William Clissold, were also deacons. The younger William had two sons, both of whom were chosen as deacons."

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"One of more surprising facts about Shortwood is that it was for many years the largest Baptist congregation outside of London. Given the region’s rural, lower middle class character, it is natural to wonder how did this come about. In Albion Urdank’s socioeconomic study of Shortwood Baptist, he looks to explain this expansion by the forces at work in the politics, economics, and sectarian religion of that place and time. No divine cause and effect is taken into account. Now we know from Scripture that ultimately the reason Shortwood grew was through the blessing of the risen Christ, pouring out his Spirit in the preaching of the Word. People from a variety of backgrounds experienced the washing of regeneration, were baptized, and joined the church. Then by the on-going work of the Spirit they lived out their faith in love toward each other and outsiders."

"In presenting the life of Benjamin Francis, I previously mentioned that there is not a lot of information about the rural Baptist church he pastored in Horsley. But as I continued to research, I found a modern social study of religion and society for that area of England that is called the Vale of Nailsworth. Horsley is one of the communities in the Vale along with Shortwood, Minchinhampton, Avening, and of course, Nailsworth. This is in what is today called the Cotswold region of Gloucestershire in western England, north-east of Bristol and south of Gloucester."

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"When he had been at Horsley about ten years, the great London Baptist pastor, John Gill, considered retiring from his half-century of pastoral labors due to physical problems. He was over 70 years old. While some of his people wanted him to have an assistant in the ministry, Gill was willing to completely step aside if Benjamin Francis would become his successor. It doesn’t appear that Francis was approached at this time. But when Gill died a few years later in 1771, Francis was asked to preach for the Carter Street congregation. By the next year, the church’s deacons had floated the idea of him moving to London to become the pastor."

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"One of the highly regarded Particular Baptist pastors in the 18 th century in England and Wales was Benjamin Francis. But there are several challenges to telling his story. The first is that he was preeminently a preacher yet we have no surviving sermons. Second, he was a native Welsh speaker and so most of the hymns he wrote are not in English. Third, he pastored a relatively small and always poor country church about which there is not a lot of information. And finally, there is only one main source of information about his life. This is a biographical account written by his son-in-law shortly after Francis’ death. But what we do know of God’s work through Francis is worth telling and there are several confirmatory lessons that a study of his life yields."

Since the last episode on Samuel Wilson, I’ve obtained one of his published sermons. It’s entitled “A Sermon occasion’d by the Death of the Reverend George Braithwiate, A. M. preach’d at Devonshire-Square, on July the 24 th , 1748. Publish’d at the Request of the Congregation.” Before we learn about Braithwaite, let me explain a bit about funeral sermons.

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Samuel Wilson was a significant Particular Baptist pastor in London during the second quarter of the 18th century. Though almost unknown today, he was a popular preacher and important author, who died young at the age of 47.

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"David Crosley was not primarily an author; instead he was a preacher who didn’t use notes or a manuscript. And so he only occasionally had anything published. His two most significant pieces of writing were originally sermons that were then written out after-the-fact and published. But he did occasionally produce other things for print."

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"David Crosley was a traveling evangelist and pastor whose life seems oddly reflective of the Biblical character, Samson in several ways. First, Crosley was reputed to be one of the largest men in the county of Lancashire, England, weighing for many years, it was thought, about 300 pounds. Second, his life though full of godly accomplishments was stained by serious sin. And third, his best-known sermon was a comparison of Samson with Christ."

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Samuel Kilpin had a special love for and ministry to poor children and through them to their parents. Not every man’s pastoral ministry looks exactly the same of course. And Samuel’s attention to the physical and spiritual plight of Exeter’s children is noteworthy. He performed the usual ministerial responsibilities to his congregation, but added to it a specific focus on destitute children. I’ll explore the relationship of Samuel and children under three headings. First, his own upbringing. His life as a child under exemplary Christian parents may help explain, in part, his own desire that others have a similar blessing. Second, his short experience with his own 4 children. And third, his ministry to children.

Last time we learned a bit about how the widows of Particular Baptist pastors were cared for in western England in the early 1800s by examining a letter in regards to Elizabeth Kilpin. Her husband was Samuel Kilpin. And we will see that his ministry had some special emphases. But before we look at those, let me give you a short biography of him with my attempts at accurate dating. There are several birth and death dates for Samuel. Some of this relates to the fact that as a dissenter, his information was not added to the books until later. For example, his pastor, Joshua Symonds, registered his birth on Sept 3, 1887, when Samuel was 13. Mistakes in memory and in writing easily occurred.

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"In 1807 the Particular Baptist churches in Bristol and the west of England formed what they called “The Baptist Western Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Ministers of that Denomination”. In the later 18th century and all through the 19th, social welfare in England was typically administered by groups of people bonded by a common interest. It was the age of benevolent societies. And the Baptists participated in this. Most of you will have heard of the Baptist Missionary Society formed in 1792 by William Carey, Andrew Fuller, and others to bring the gospel to the nations. Well, the Western Baptist Widows Society was similarly formed for the purpose of financially supporting the widows and children of Baptist ministers who had served in western England."

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"One of the few original letters I possess from our Particular Baptist forebears is from Robert Hall Jr. to John Ryland. Robert was the youngest son of Robert Hall Sr whose life we explored recently. Robert Jr. was blessed with unusual gifts and was one of the greatest preachers of the first half of the 1800s. Like his father, Robert was a Particular Baptist, but with peculiar views on a number of subjects."

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Samuel Medley lived at the peak of the Age of Letters. In the 1700s, the art of letter-writing was an essential part of being an educated man. And so, of course, Medley wrote and received correspondence. As we have mentioned in the past, some of his compositions are in rhymed or poetic form. Others, especially those more formal, are of course in prose.

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"There is another hymn of Samuel Medley’s that I want to introduce to you. It has a personal connection for my wife and me and so I want to share it with you. It was originally entitled, “The Wisdom and Goodness of God”. It is one of my wife’s favorite hymns and one she wrote a paper on for Dr. Michael Haykin in her classes at CBTS. I’ll be using some of the fruit of her research in this episode."

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Samuel Medley’s hymns were first published during his lifetime. I have a modern reprint of the “second edition, enlarged” from 1789, that contains 77 hymns, their titles and Scripture texts. Some of Medley’s hymns were used by John Rippon in his famous hymnal of about the same time. Then, after his death in 1799, a much larger collection was gathered and printed in London in 1800. It contained 232 hymns.

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"In his sermons, Samuel Medley directly addressed the unconverted. He is sometimes presented as a High Calvinist and perhaps he was of a sort, although I don’t think we have enough sermon material to make that judgment. Being limited to only two specimen sermons is inadequate. But what is clear from those two is that he did not ignore those outside of Christ. In his association sermon preached at North Wales in 1779, he deliberately speaks to the lost several times. Listen in as he calls to them while extolling what he called God’s “sparing goodness”, that is, his long-suffering toward sinners."

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Our episode today tells the story of Samuel Medley, a man whose story in several respects parallels that of John Newton, the famous author of Amazing Grace. These men lived at the same time and spent their early adult years at sea. Both were saved in dramatic circumstances, and both became pastors and hymn writers. And much less importantly, the drawings and paintings of them made during their lifetimes show them wearing the same style of wig!

Robert Hall Sr’s most important writing was “Help to Zion’s Travelers.” Having recently finished re-reading it, I want to give you an overview of this valuable book and make some observations.

My copy of “Help to Zion’s Travelers” is an 1814 printing that claims to be the First American Edition. It was published by John Paradise in Alexandria, VA, and printed by J. Rakestraw of Philadelphia. John Paradise was the second pastor of the Baptist Church in Alexandria from 1811 to 1816 when he resigned due to ill health. There is a record that shows him to be a witness in the manumission of several black slaves. Since there are known to have been black members of the church, it seems likely that this Virginia Baptist pastor was against slavery. Joseph Rakestraw was a long-time, prominent Quaker printer in Philadelphia who bought some of his equipment from Benjamin Franklin.

Robert Hall spent 38 years ministering to his flock in Arnsby. He was a sought-after preacher whom God blessed with what Andrew Fuller called “the conversion of great numbers.” He was also esteemed for the loveliness of his personal character and life. Fuller again described his “unaffected humility” that “concealed from the world, and almost entirely from himself” his virtues and talents. Despite the educational disadvantages of being a conscientious dissenter, Hall demonstrated a strong mind and discipline in study. He was especially helped by the writings of Jonathan Edwards and found both doctrinal and practical ministerial clarity in such volumes as “The Freedom of the Will.”

As I mentioned last time, Robert Hall Sr. had a great-grandson named Robert Hall Warren, who wrote a family history after finding some old and forgotten papers. The book emphasizes Robert Hall Sr. and his illustrious son, Robert Hall Jr. Some of the biographical content is well-known. But some aren’t, and one special transcription is of Robert Hall Sr’s “license to preach” in Arnsby. The entire license is quoted, and it is dated April 18, 1757. So this licensing occurred about four years after Robert first came to the church.

Robert Hall is an underappreciated pastor who played a vital role in preserving and propagating healthy Particular Baptist church life in the 1700s in central England. He is often referred to as Robert Hall, Senior, because he had a more famous son identically named, Robert Hall, and who is known, of course, as Robert Hall, Junior. Another way they are differentiated is that the father is called Robert Hall of Arnsby. Arnsby is the very small village where he ministered for almost 40 years. Even today there are only about 350 people who live there, 8 miles south of Leicester.

We continue with becoming acquainted with the small and rural but long-lived Particular Baptist church at Weston-By-Weedon. It is encouraging to see that over the years, the focus in the church book is spiritual things. Over time, some congregations begin to spend their time, money, and memories on externals, especially buildings. But the records of Weston By Weedon for several centuries show a consistent concern about the truly important core of true religion – conversions, baptisms, practical love including gifts to the needy, holiness, and the calling of officers. Let me give you a number of examples of their healthy church life. Many of these will strike a chord from your own experience. At least one is quite different. But let’s continue to get to know these believers.

We continue with the Particular Baptist church at Weston-By-Weedon, by examining their early document they referred to as their articles. We would consider these something like a church constitution. Joseph Lea, pastor of the church and author of its history, introduces these articles in this way: “the articles are in the very neat handwriting of John Stanley; they are without date and from the substance of them and their introductory words, we presume they were not drawn up till after the church had been in existence some years, and pastor and people felt themselves passing away."

We are learning about the small Particular Baptist congregations centered around Weston-By-Weedon in Northamptonshire, England. In many ways, their story is probably the more typical one compared to the few more famous men and churches in the 17th to 19th centuries. I say this simply because Baptists of these times didn’t generally have the same opportunities or standing as their neighbors. To be a dissenter was to be a second class citizen in significant ways. And yet the Lord protected and even prospered this set of churches for several centuries.

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For the past year, I have been introducing you to important English Particular Baptist pastors and poets of the 18th century, mostly from outside of London. But I want to remind you that the vast majority of our like-minded brethren of the time are unknown to us. Unless they had special gifts or blessings from God, most labored in faith without fanfare.

As explained before, Gifford’s friends were almost all outside of Particular Baptist circles. I noted his personal friendship with George Whitefield and his preaching for him. Whitefield was, of course, already famous. And with other early friends such as Sir Richard Ellys, it seems that Gifford’s mental gifts, manner, and spirituality gained him connections in prestigious places. This is somewhat surprising since he remained a staunch dissenter. But his life was filled with service to good causes, including those not in precise alignment with his own religious convictions.

This was a time of persecution against dissenters from the English church and his father was, you may recall, often hunted and jailed during this time. And Emmanuel, even as a boy, supported his father’s work. A story is told of him acting as a watchman for his father as he preached out of doors to the Kingswood coal miners. He was only 7 at the time and because it was so cold his coat froze to the ground and he could not properly warn the meeting. And so, his father was taken into custody.

Caleb Evans lived during the emerging strength of the Age of Reason or as it is often called, the Enlightenment. It was an intellectual movement that challenged long held scientific, governmental, legal, and religious beliefs through the use of reason and empirical discovery. Its focus was on the natural world as understood without the helps of divine revelation. And so it produced philosophical and religious results contrary to orthodox Christianity.

He was educated at first under the hand of his father and Pastor Foskett. But he was then sent to London for further education because it was clear he was a very gifted young man. So in 1753, just 15, he entered Mile End Academy in London. He attended Little Wild Street Church, and sat under the ministry of Samuel Stennett. On Nov 29, 1753, aged 16 he was baptized “on profession of faith with repentance” and then “submitted to the ordinance of laying on of hands” and was received into full communion, or as we would say, membership.

Hugh Evans came from a line of Baptist pastors. His grandfather, Thomas Evans, was licensed to preach during the Commonwealth period and led a Welsh parish until the monarchy was restored. In 1662 he was put out of his position after which he joined a Baptist church in Pentre, Wales, and became their pastor. Thomas’ eldest son was named Caleb. He succeeded his father as pastor and remained there until his death. One of Caleb’s sons was Hugh, the subject of our study. He was born in 1713 and given an excellent education under the care of a nearby dissenting minister.

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In the last episode we described Berned Foskett’s leadership in re-constituting the Western Association upon the basis of the 1689 Confession. Full subscription was required annually with the only exceptions being in a church’s views of singing in public worship and on which day the Sabbath was to be celebrated. What was the response by the churches? Some refused to be a part of this of course. The General Baptists and those with Arian or Unitarian leanings went their own way.

But 24 churches, including several from Wales, answered this invitation in the affirmative and in 1733 met in renewed association. These included both of the Particular Baptist churches in Bristol – Broadmead and Pithay. Bradford-on-Avon was represented and there is still a 1689 confessional Baptist church in that town. In fact, two of the articles I used in preparing this episode were written by pastors of that church. Smaller and more rural churches were represented, often with meetings in multiple towns due to distance. Larger cities such as Exeter, Plymouth, and Swansea also signed on.

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When Berned Foskett came to Bristol Broadmead as the assistant to Pastor Peter Kitterell in 1720, the regional Baptist Association, called the Western Association, had already entered an unhealthy period. There had been a Baptist association of churches in western and south-western England since the middle of the 1600s. But it was an amalgam of various beliefs. There was no confessional basis for union. Some churches were Particulars, some were Generals and some were becoming something very different. Under various influences, the associational orthodoxy declined. The causes included the effects of the instability and heresies of Thomas Collier which strongly influenced some churches negatively and the rationalistic pressures brought in by the Age of Reason which produced Arianism and Unitarianism in some General Baptist churches. It seems the Western Association churches were agreed on believer’s baptism but often on little else.

Bernard Foskett was born on March 10, 1685, in North Crawley. That is a small town about 50 miles north-north-west of London. His father, William, was a local magistrate, which tells us Bernard grew up well-off and Anglican. He was schooled privately at home and excelled at his studies. So he was sent to London to train as a doctor. One of his successors at Broadmead reported that the young Mr. Foskett “qualified and eventually practiced medicine for a number of years”.