The Thing About Ditches

While traveling down most roads, you will normally find ditches on either side of that road. These ditches can be a danger to those driving by who get too close. These ditches seem to gather all the run off, and as a result usually are rather foul and nasty. These ditches are not where you want to be if you are trying to get somewhere.
Our Christian life is just a pilgrimage through this world. Matthew 7:14 reads:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Many use this text in the context of salvation, and it is a good application, but the reality is that the context of this verse is that of the Christian life. This verse is part of a lengthy discourse the Lord was using to teach His disciples (Matt. 5:1-2). The proper, God honoring, Christian life is one on a road that is "narrow". On this narrow road, there are ditches on either side.
The ditch on the left is one of modernism. In this ditch has run all those who embrace the 'emerging church', contemporary music, tearing down of standards, preaching of 'essentials' and 'non essentials,' anything goes religion. In this ditch we find the "Elevation Church", "Worship Center", and the like. In this ditch the Word of God is found in many 'translations' or whatever man prefers. In this ditch they have rock concerts at church, never preach against sin, but hand out water bottles to cars driving by. In this church all one has to do to get to Heaven is be a good person (by whose standards? I suppose their own). In this ditch, a little alcohol is not only accepted, but even endorsed. In this ditch, immorality is excused and the grace of God abused. This ditch has seen all the run-offs from the straight and narrow. This ditch has seen it's level grow to large numbers, but it stinks, is dangerous, and will eventually dry out.
It's easy to preach against this ditch-the ditch on the left. Matter fact, you don't normally see too many cars run off into the ditch on the left. Mostly those whose life is spinning out of control end up in that ditch. But, there is another ditch.
The ditch on the right also collects the run-off and can become just as disgusting. The straight and narrow is, well, just that-straight and narrow. It's as narrow as the Word of God. It doesn't matter who you are, you can easily find yourself there when you take your eyes off of where you are heading. Many find themselves in this ditch by 'over correcting.' Now don't get me wrong-right is always right and we need not compromise, but we also had best take heed. Strong preaching is a must, high standards are commanded in Scripture, doctrine is right, the Word of God is just that-His Word and it is found for us English speakers in the KJV-ALONE! Our Bible being King James, our men wearing ties, our ladies wearing dresses, our music being sacred, our hands off policy between boys and girls, our absence from movie theaters, our doctrine, our church polity, our preaching against alcohol; these things don't put us in the ditch on the right, but on the straight and narrow. How can I say this? Because I have Scripture for all these things.
Recently, an "Elevation Church" was started in my town of Blanchester, Ohio. They sent me a post card invitation saying "A Church for those who were dragged to church when they were young...A Church that lets you be you and not what others tell you to be...a church with a comedy hour every weekend...a church where you can dress how you want...etc." The pastor said if I had a question to email him. I did. I emailed him and asked what Scriptures he based all these ideas on? I gave him Scriptures as to why these things ought not to be, and gave him a chance to give me Scriptures defending his views. He wrote back and said he didn't need Scripture, but he was meeting the people's need through these practices. Actually, he is meeting people's lusts through these practices. There is a right and a wrong and just for taking a stand on the Bible and it's teachings doesn't put you in a ditch on the other side. So what does put you in that ditch?
The other ditch, the ditch on the right, is the ditch that where those who 'over correct' normally find themselves. There you will find those who have decided that they have a 'monopoly' on righteousness. There you will find those who won't let you in their church if you ladies don't have a skirt on. There you will find those who will not have a discussion about doctrine with anyone, because they know you 'aren't right.' There you find those who believe that their church is the only 'real church' in the entire state. There you will find those who think that the Bride of Christ is their church-and only their church. There you will find those who think only Baptists are going to Heaven. There you will find a lot of pride and very little teaching. There you will find alot of screaming, but little teaching. There you will find a lot of preaching against gossip, unless it is the 'good pastors' talking about the 'bad ones.' There, the run off is just as stinky and just as dangerous.
Again, may we find ourselves on the straight and narrow. May we have the mind of Christ! In Luke 9, we read about when the Lord and His disciples came to Samaria, but they would not receive Him:

And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

We must not compromise! We must keep preaching against sin and teaching the truths of the Word of God; but we must never forget that if someone had wrote us off as 'evil' and never shown us the truth-where would we be? God has left us here not to destroy and condemn, but to teach, reach, and reconcile people to the Lord and His Word. This duty demands we stay on the straight and narrow, and keep watching out for ditches-on both sides!

Barnabus-An Example of Reconciliation

Recently in my Sunday School class, we have been studying the life of Barnabus. What a unique man in Scripture he is. One of the greatest biographies that has ever been written was written of him in Acts 11:23-24:

Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

What a testimony! Only Heaven will reveal how many were added unto the Lord through the ministry of this saint. The Lord used him in a mighty way-and to God be the glory!
You cannot study the life of Barnabus without realizing what ministry was heavy on his heart, that of restoration. Just think, without Barnabus, there would be no Apostle Paul. The church at Jerusalem was hesitant in accepting Paul (then Saul) because of his history of persecuting the saints. It was Barnabus, in Acts 9:27, who took him, and brought him in, and commended him to them. He was accepted on the testimony of Barnabus. What influence this man had that a church would trust his word over the many lives wrecked that testified against him. Without Barnabus, there may not have been an apostle Paul and therefore not been all the fruit of his ministry.
Then we come to the life of John Mark who had departed from Barnabus and Paul on an earlier missionary trip (Acts 15:36-29). Barnabus was determined to bring John with them on this trip, but Paul refused. The "contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from another..." Who was right, Paul or Barnabus? Well, we know Paul later said this:

Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. 2 Tim. 4:11

John Mark was restored to the work of the ministry through Barnabus' ministry of reconciliation. We all need to be more like Barnabus. God has given to us all the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18).
We should be involved in the ministry of reconciliation-which leads me to our next topic. Where is the line between ecclesiastical separation and teaching, warning and correcting, destroying and rebuilding?
In our 'churches' today, we have ditches on both side. Some allow anything and everything and are wrong. Some think they are one of the few people/churches that are right and whom God loves; they ostracize themselves from all other 'inferiors'. They too are wrong. We shall examine these things and how they line up with the ministry of reconciliation.

Modern Baptist Movements

Unfortunately, our study of Baptists history forces us to examine conventions, associations, and fellowships started by Baptists. I say this, because the Lord never instructed or commanded there to be such organizations; but established and has taught us only independent autonomous churches. Boards, fellowships, conventions, and associations are the inventions of man, and as a result, are destined to fail. In studying such organizations, one will quickly see the repetitive theme of power, division, and splintering. It would seem man's attempt to 'improve' God's way of missions is a continued reason for the creating of such organizations. Though the motivation is respectable, the means are still wrong. One will find himself much more successful in the Lord's work by accomplishing it the Lord's way. Let us examine briefly the modern Baptist movements after the Revolutionary War, and bring our study of Baptist History to a close. By the early 1800's there were only a few small fellowships such as the Warren Association and Philadelphia Association. These soon were divided into three organizations: the American Baptist Home Mission Society, American Baptist Missionary Union, and the American Baptist Publication Society. An anti-missionary movement began around 1814. It was rooted in Calvinism and led to a withdrawal from such fellowships. This group against fellowships formed a fellowship (ironic, yet still repeated today) and became known as Hardshell Baptist or Primitive Baptist. They were, because of Calvinistic beliefs, against sending missionaries and means of evangelism. Around the same time, a missionary named Adoniram Judson and his wife set sail for Calcutta. There were already Baptist missionaries there which they did not agree doctrinally with, but their long cruise would provide them ample time to prepare to debate them on their beliefs. It was while on this trip in studying the Scriptures to debate the Baptists, that the Scriptures revealed to them that it was them who were in error. Upon arriving in Calcutta, the Judsons were baptized Scripturally and joined with the Baptists. They knew this decision would would not allow the churches supporting them to continue their support. A friend of theirs who also was Scripturally Baptized upon arrival, Luther Rice, was sent back to the states to raise support for the Judsons. This would lead to a man made 'solution' to the Judson's problem, the beginning of the "General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions." The convention would become known as the Triennial Convention because it would meet every three years. It became the main convention for Baptists until the mid 1800's. Of course, around this time our nation was entering her Civil War. The issue of slavery not only was a hot topic for our nation, but amongst Baptist churches as well. An attempt to take a neutral stand on the issue would not succeed. A missionary sent out of a church in Alabama went to the Triennial Convention for 'approval' but was denied because he owned slaves. This upset the churches in the south, and in 1845, the Baptist in the southern states withdrew from the Triennial Convention and formed the Southern Baptist Convention. There were many great men who served our Lord as part of the convention, and a list displayed would be sure to leave off names of men who served our Lord faithfully. One Southern Baptist leader was J.R. Graves. J.R. Graves would serve the Lord as a pastor for nearly 50 years in Kentucky and Tennessee. Bro. Graves began to notice the growing power and influence of the convention and began sounding the alarm. J.R. Graves called for a return to doctrine and the local church and the principles of the Word of God. He taught that the convention threatened the autonomy of the local church. Bro. Graves, and men like him, called for Baptists to return to those principles, or landmarks, of the faith. Thus began the Landmark movement amongst Baptists. Upon its beginning, and true 'Landmarkers' today do not believe in a visible, traceable line of succession from church to church back to Christ, but rather a steadfastness to the principles, or landmarks, of the faith that Christ taught and gave to the church. When the Southern Baptist Convention splintered off from the Triennial Convention, the Triennial Convention changed their name to the American Baptist Missionary Union. The American Baptist, or Northern Baptists Convention, would continue to send many missionaries all across the world. Soon, as with every man made convention, fellowship, or organization, compromise and modernism was slipping in. The Conservative Baptist Association was formed in 1920 within the Northern Baptist Convention to fight this drift. There are many great revivals and men who preached truth during this time period. Contrary to 'fundamentalist' today, there were many Baptist revivals and church plants going on as well. This author would recommend literature by Pastor James Beller on the great Baptist Revivals in our early American history. Associations, conventions, and fellowships continued (and continue) to grow from divisions and splintering. Today's choice of word is not 'convention' but 'fellowship,' Yet, they are mostly the same thing, a man made organization in attempt to improve and help God and His way. They are always destined to destruction. Let us further examine the movements. After the Civil War, a growth in liberalism and modernism began in our nation. Truth was being attacked. This attack was strengthened by the philosophy of Rationalism. Men like Immanuel Kant, G.F. Hegel, and Albrecht Ritschl began tearing down the Bible and Truth. These men's influence spread from Germany to America and American Liberalism was born. A call to compromise, no Absolutes, love every one and everything, and no authorities! The work of Charles Darwin further flamed the errors. Sin became more prevalent and indulged in. Battle lines were drawn, and a new movement began. This movement is called 'Fundamentalism.' The movement was founded upon a call to return to the 'Fundamentals of the Faith:' the Virgin Birth, Innerancy of Scriptures, Christ's Substitutionary Death, Resurrection, and Return. Upon these 'fundamentals' were denominations unified to fight the modernism and liberalism. Realizing that the 'schools of higher learning' were instructing the American young people to be liberal and attack Christianity, the Fundamentalists began their own Religious Schools to combat. Schools were founded like Moody Bible and Boston Missionary Training School, and later Bob Jones University, Pensacola Christian, and many of today's 'Baptist' Colleges. Fundamentalism began to meld into one Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and such. The PROBLEM IS: 1. Scripture Forbids Fellowship with Unbelief (2 John 7-11) 2. Scripture Commands to reprove apostasy (Eph. 5:11) 3. We must purge unbelief if we can (1 Cor. 5:1-7) 4. Believers and Unbelievers are not to be yoked together (2 Cor. 6:14-18) 5. We are to separate from disobedient brothers (1 Cor. 5:11; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Thess. 3:6) 6. God's Work done man's way will lack the blessing of God (2 Sam. 15:23) 7. We cannot affiliate with churches or movements which do not practice the full Word of God (2 Chron. 19:2) (adopted from Doug Hammet-"History of Baptist" pg. 262-263) We must not, cannot compromise Truth. The Lord's churches are to be the "Pillar and Ground of Truth." (1 Tim. 3:15) This author is NOT A FUNDAMENTALIST! I cannot join hands with those who grossly walk in error. I can and do love them and desire to help them and will discuss these things with them, but the 'Fundamentalist' movement of today should be for many reasons avoided by true Baptists. Yet, most Baptist churches still proclaim to be "Independent Fundamental Baptist. I still find it on our churches productions and literature and am still in the process of purging it all. Let us conclude. The modern Baptist movement of conventions and fellowships continue today. As does the rise to power, divisions, and splintering. Thus we see the following: Conservative Baptist Association of America split from the Northern Baptist and today have approximately 300,000 members. The American Baptist Association organized in 1924 split over 'Landmarkism' and today are estimated to have over 700,000 members in mostly the South. The General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (G.A.R.B.C.) is prominent in the Northern States and is considered the successor of the Baptist Bible Union as a split from the Northern Baptist Convention. The World Baptist Fellowship began as a split from the Baptist Bible Union under J. Frank Norris and today has a membership of around 700,000. The Southwide Baptist Fellowship is prominent in the south east and began under the leadership of Dr. Lee Roberson, it also saw the organization of B.I.M.I. (Baptist International Missions Inc). It is a loose fellowship of Baptist churches heading towards modernism today (as they all eventually do). The Baptist Missionary Association began in 1950 as a split from the American Baptist Association over procedure issues. They tend to stand for a more separated life and strong church truth. The Baptist Bible Fellowship, one of the largest fundamental groups in the U.S., began as a split from the World Baptist Fellowship. There are over 2 million members in the BBF. It too has strayed from Truth and towards modernism with textual criticism and a lack of holiness and separation. There are many large colleges under the BBF influencing thousands of young people (Bible Baptist College, Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, etc). We could continue to discuss all the boards, fellowships, conventions that exist today, but time or space does not permit. The BBF has split and begun various organizations, as they all have and their 'offspring' will split and produce even more. Why? Because they are all para-church or will end that way. They are man made. They will fail. The Lord Jesus Christ began the first church with His disciples. He gave to that church and the churches it started the doctrine of the New Testament. Those principles were passed down from church to church as they discipled and birthed other churches. It is these principles, these truths, to which the Lord's churches must hold and be faithful. May we, by God's grace, continue doing so-and doing it God's way!

Old Fashion Day

You will find to your right a slide show from Old Fashion day at Cozaddale Baptist Temple. What a wonderful day the Lord gave to us. The weather was perfect, the fellowship was sweet, attendance great, preaching phenomenal (Ev. Dan Souza preached for us), and our faith promise cards collected revealed an increase in our missions giving from last year!
Praise the Lord! God is good!
God has blessed us with a tremendous church family. The spirit of love and unity in our church is so very precious. Truly our Lord has given to us hearts knit together in love. We thank the Lord for our church and lift up our voice proclaiming
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

P.S. I know there are more pictures of my family, but that is what happens when you use the pastor's pictures to make a slide show.

America's Persevering Promoters of Our Glorious Revolution

One of the reasons people left their homes in Europe in the early 1600's was to escape religious persecution. In 1620, the Mayflower sailed to the New World and established Plymouth, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, their desire to worship as they desired blinded them from granting the same freedom to others. This same scenario seemed to be repeated throughout the early New World and Colonial America.
Many religions fled to the New World, as did Baptist.
Many falsely report that the first Baptist church in America was started by Roger Williams in Rhode Island. This is NOT the case. Let us examine the man Roger Williams.
He came to America in 1631, settling in Massachusetts. He was a libertarian and was forced to separate from the Puritans. He did found the colony of Providence, Rhode Island, and was a notable figure in our nation's history. We are concerned in this writing as to Baptist history, and unfortunately, Roger Williams was not a Baptist. While Roger Williams did believe in immersion, he did not see the need for proper baptism and felt one could baptize themselves (SE-Baptism). He did start a church in Rhode Island in 1639, but it was not the first Baptist church in America. In 1897, the historical committee of the First Baptist Church of Providence voted to change their starting date to 1638 in order to be the first baptist church in America. Unfortunately for them, they cannot change the date on the church bell that still resides there that reads 1639.
The first Baptist church in America was at Newport, Rhode Island, established in 1638 by Dr. John Clarke. Clarke was a Baptist from London, England. Clarke was forbidden to preach in Boston, and took a small group of believers to Newport in 1638 and established the first Baptist church in America.
This author will not go into detail, but suggests the reader research and read the rich Baptist history in the American early colonies. Scores of books and biographies could be written about the great Baptist men in those days. Men like John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes, Isaac Backus, Thomas Dungan, Samuel Harris, Daniel Marshall, Shubael Stearns, John Waller, John Gano, and the like. To these men and the multitudes unnamed, we Baptist and all of America owe a great debt. For over 100 years, Baptist were persecuted, whipped, imprisoned, and even martyred for preaching Truth on early America's land. It was Baptist who continually cried out for liberty-the freedom to worship God as their conscience demanded. The Catholics, Episcopals, Quakers and such wanted a state to enforce that all worshipped as they did, but it was Baptist that cried for liberty and separation of church and state (what that term truly means). Their cry for religious freedom would also lead towards a cry for political freedom.
It was the heavy Baptist populated Rhode Island that was the first colony to renounce allegiance to King George III. It was Baptist who were one of the first groups to recognize the Continental Congress as a legitimate body of government. The Baptist of both early America and England supported the War for Independence.
It was a Baptist pastor in Charleston, South Carolina that was so influential in speaking out against the British. He was banned from Charleston, but his influence continued. The British general, Lord Cornwallis said of him:

I fear the prayers of that godly youth more than the armies of Sumter and Marion.

Baptist played a huge role in the War for Independence. They furthered the cause in crying out for liberty both civil and religious. Baptists have never been 'gunslingers,' (only resorting to taking up arms when necessary), but some did join the continental army and many Baptist pastors served as chaplains. George Washington said of these men:

Baptist Chaplains were among the most prominent and useful in the army.

Many of our nations 'Founding Fathers' have Baptist ties and influence. Consider the following:
Patrick Henry This man was a great friend to Baptist. In 1770, three Baptist preachers were arrested in Fredericksburg, VA for preaching the Gospel. It was Patrick Henry that rode 60 miles to volunteer to be their lawyer. By the time Henry was done speaking, the judge declared, "Sheriff, discharge these men." Religious liberty was growing! For the rest of his years, Henry was a friend of Baptist only needing to be notified of their peril, and soon he rode to defend them.
James Madison This man was greatly influenced by the Baptist. It was the Baptist that helped get him elected to House of Representatives where he would campaign for the Bill of Rights. Known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights," it is no coincident that Right number one reads

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Why is that the first amendment? ONLY THE BAPTIST were crying out for such liberty at that time, and we see their influence reflected immediately. What joy must have been amongst Baptists to read those words of guarantee! Madison often declared that the Baptists had been in all his time ,"the fast and firm friends of liberty."
Thomas Jefferson This man was not a Baptist and held to Unitarian beliefs. His life's actions have been much in question, yet the Baptists looked to him as a friend. Why? Thomas Jefferson lived near to a Baptist Church. Many times he would visit that church. Once, after a business meeting of the Baptist church, the pastor asked Jefferson what he thought of the democratic form of government displayed. Jefferson responded,

It interests me much. I consider it the only form of true democracy now existing in the world, and have concluded it would be the best form for the government of these American colonies.

Jefferson was hated by the New England clergy, who spread much gossip about him leaving us today to wonder where he really stood. This we know, he stood for religious freedom, soul liberty, which made him a friend of the Baptists; and possibly, much of our democratic government was influenced by his time observing the Baptists.
George Washington President Washington was also influenced by the Baptists. Washington, in a letter in 1789, wrote:

Baptists have always defended the principles of religious liberty, they have never violated them...The little Baptist state of Rhode Island was the experiment first attempted of leaving religion wholly to herself, unprotected and unsustained by the civil arm. The principles which were here first planted have taken root...and borne abundant fruit.

This Giant in American history is recognized by most for kneeling in the snow at Valley Forge speaking to our God. The records at First Baptist Church of New York City give the account of George Washington's baptism. After the war, but while still in camp at Newburg, on the Hudson River, George Washington approached the Baptist pastor John Gano. Gano, pastor at the First Baptist Church in New York, was serving as chaplain in the army. The account goes on to read that General Washington, having listened to Gano and searching the Scriptures, requested baptism as taught in the Scriptures. There in the Hudson River, with 42 witnesses, Gen. Washington surrendered to Scriptural baptism. It was George Washington that wrote to the Baptists in Virginia:

The religious society of which you are members, have been throughout America, uniformly and almost unanimously, the firm friends to civil liberty, and the persevering promoters of our glorious revolution, I cannot hesitate to believe, that they will be faithful supporters of a free, yet efficient, General Government. Under this pleasing expectation, I rejoice to assure them, that they may rely upon my best wishes and endeavors to advance their prosperity.

Jolly Old History

Baptist had been active before, during, and after the Reformation throughout all of Europe and England. Time does not allow to exhaustively study great Baptist such as Franciscus Van Der Back in Italy (drowned for the faith in 1564 by Catholics), Peter Weidman in Hungary, Peter Gonesius in Poland, French Flanders in France, and Jonann Oncken in Germany. We will instead focus on the British Isles.
As previously noted, New Testament doctrine came to England during the time of the apostles. It continued on through the preaching of Baptist men such as St. Patrick in the 5th century. Around the year 1000 A.D., the Paulicians entered England, followed by a Waldensian named Walter Lollard which brought great revival in the 12th century. It was this revival and people that had a tremendous influence on Wycliffe who adopted many of their views. William Tyndale's parents were members of the Baptist church in Abergaverney, Wales.
Around the time of the Reformation, the Baptist in England were forced into hiding due to the persecution of Catholics. Kings such as Henry VIII persecuted, arrested, and martyred many Baptists for their faith. In 1533, Henry VIII ordered Baptist to leave the country within 12 days or face the stake. There were 3 different occasions that monarchs issued Acts of Pardon (1538, 1540, 1550) forgiving prisoners and convicts. Each time, Baptist were excluded from the pardon while thieves, robbers, and vagabonds went free. The death penalty was enacted for reading Baptist books. (see Hammet, "History of Baptist").
England would see the rise of men such as John Smyth. John Smyth was not the founder of English Baptist as we have so clearly seen, but he was a man who stood for religious liberty. Smyth would question what is Scriptural baptism and eventually baptized himself in hopes of obtaining it. Thomas Helwys broke away from Smyth over succession, Jesus not being God, and civil concerns. Helwys would in England in 1612 found a church in Spitalfields which he called Baptist (though he was not holding to what Baptist teach). He did teach against Calvinism and predestination, but believed men could lose their salvation. His church became known as the General Baptist Church. He would die in prison calling for religious freedom.
There was another group of Baptist that arose in that time known as the Particular Baptist. They Particular Baptist held to Calvinism that Christ had died for only particular people. The first Particular church was founded around 1635. They did see the necessity of Scriptural baptism and sent a man, Richard Blunt, all the way to Holland to get Scripturally baptized and sent back to baptize their church Scripturally. Some prominent Particular Baptist are as follows: John Milton, John Bunyan, John Gill, Andrew Fuller, William Carey, and Charles Spurgeon.
There was another group that arose called Regular Baptist who opposed both General and Particular Baptist.
Under the Weslyan revivals, the Baptist saw a great increase in England. Many of the converts from these revivals studied Scripture and were baptized as baptist. In 1800, it is estimated that there were no more than 150,000 Baptists and 708 churches in England. By 1901, there were 2,771 churches and a Baptist membership of 435,000.
In 1891, the Baptist Union began as the General and Particular Baptist joined together. This is due to the fact that the Unitarians were withdrawing from the General Baptists, and Calvinism was refuted by the Weslyan revivals and missionary work. This union brought with it a rise in the false teaching of Open Communion.
A study of Baptist history will soon change focus to a new land, America; but the contributions of the English Baptist were indeed great as they brought to the world: a call for religious liberty, a movement towards missions, Sunday Schools (not Robert Raikes, but William Fox at Prescott Street Baptist Church), Bible Society, and great hymn writers.
Our next study will focus on America's Baptist heritage, but we would be amiss to ignore the Baptist influence at this time in Australia and New Zealand. It is true that Baptist were the last of the 'denominations' to begin work in Australia, but this is primarily due to the fact that there were no Baptist convicts. The first recorded Baptist service was held in Sydney on April 24, 1831.

Praise the Lord