A Handful of Corn: A Baptist History from Jerusalem to Middle Tennessee

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A Handful of Corn

There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

Psalms 76:12

Introduction

There is no other study in all of antiquity that is as heart breaking as Baptist History. J. M. Carroll, who is probably the most recognized writer of the Baptist past, termed the story as The Trail of Blood, noting that it was written by their enemies in the blood of saints. Baptist ancestors paid for the truth with their lives. Giving their blood freely in the most heinous executions and slaughters of any group of people on the face of the globe, the ancient people who became known as Baptists passed the gospel from generation to generation at a great price. First, with the blood of the Savior Jesus Christ and then by those who have devoutly followed his precepts, blood has ever flowed to defend the truth through all ages of the New Testament Church.

It behooves all Baptist people to know their heritage, to know from whence they come. Their  inheritance is more valuable than any earthly commodity, and many sit in churches on Sunday morning, enjoying the liberty to worship without harassment, and give the bloody past little to no thought. To hear the struggles of the Baptist ancestors is to come to appreciate the gift that was left in their keeping. It also stirs in the soul the great feeling of responsibility to preserve the Church in its purist form. To know Baptist history is to realize what it means to be BAPTIST!

Definitions and Principles

In order to begin this study, it is prudent to first lay a foundation of terms. There are some terms standing in need of being clearly defined and some basic principles that need to be spelled out. This will assure clarity of meaning.

Church

Perhaps the most important word to define is church. The Greek word from which the English term Church is derived is ekklēsia (ek-klay-see'-ah). It is a compound word with a literal translation of calling out. It was used in the Greek world to mean a popular meeting or assembly. For this study’s purposes, a church is a local visible body of regenerated, baptized believers who are covenanted together for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ. The Church that Jesus built has numerous distinctives or characteristics that must be present in order to identify it as the Lord’s church. It is necessary and important to layout these principles at this point.

A church teaches salvation by Grace through Repentance and Faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.)

A church receives only saved individuals into its membership. A church requires a testimony of regeneration of petitioners. (Matthew 3:8: Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:)

A church has only two ordinances, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

A church has a congregational form of government.

Jesus is the head of a church.

A church has a direct lineage back to the church established by Christ during his personal ministry.

Baptism

Baptism is the means by which a saved individual unites with the church. There are four elements that must be present for baptism to be scriptural:  authority, administrator, candidate, mode.

Authority

Only a church can authorize baptism.

Administrator

Only a saved, God called man ordained by a church can administer baptism under the authority of a church.

Candidate

Only a person who provides evidence of having passed from nature to grace is a proper candidate for baptism. The candidate must petition for the ordinance of baptism of their own free will.

Mode

Baptism is representative of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Burial consists of a body being completely buried under the ground. Baptism must be by full immersion in a watery grave.

Baptist

The third term to be clear on is the word Baptist. Baptist is the current name by which the American church is generally known. There is no virtue in the name Baptist. The name Baptist was not given the church by Christ. It is entirely possible there are other groups and clusters of true churches with just as strong ties to the lineage of Christ’s church as the true Baptist Churches in America who go by different names. The mere name Baptist no more makes an organization a church than calling a pig a dog makes the pig a dog. But through this study, the word Baptist will be used to represent our ancestors who carried the word of God and brought it down to present day. The word Baptist is predominately used to describe a member of the Lord’s church.

Light vs. Darkness

A few lines should be used to explain the constant battle between good and evil. The children of God are in a constant warfare. Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. From the beginning of man’s existence, Satan has fought against the will of God and the destiny of man. The powers of darkness have always battled and set snares against the followers of Christ. In the first murder, the extent to which the Devil uses the nature of man to war against God is illustrated. In the fourth chapter of Genesis, an account of the first martyr for Christ may be found. Abel presented a sacrifice that was pleasing to God while his brother’s was rejected by God. Cain was overtaken with jealousy, and he slew Abel. The powers of darkness are constantly in opposition against the children of light.

I Thessalonians 5:5-9

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Abel is the first example of martyrdom; however, he is not the last. Throughout all of history, those who have stood firm and uprightly in the word of God have been persecuted and martyred for their faith in Christ. A martyr is a person who is killed because of their beliefs. It was stated in the introduction that the history of the Baptist Church is one that was written in blood, and through this study, the reader will be repeatedly reminded of this solitary truth. The followers of true religion have always been persecuted and have paid for their faith with their blood.

Building a Foundation: John the Baptist

Isaiah 40:3

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Malachi 3:1

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Old Testament clearly pointed out there would be one who would come before Christ to prepare his way. The one who was to come was John the Baptist. The third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew aligns with Malachi.

Matthew 3:1-6

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ. He was foreordained to prepare a people for Jesus’ use in establishing his church. John was given direct authority by God to baptize saved people to prepare material for Jesus to build his church. John signaled to all, that the messiah was coming to establish His kingdom on earth.

The Church Christ Built

Psalms 72:16-17

There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

The scripture foretold that the church would be established on a mountain. From one body the church would grow and spread throughout all the world. There are several thoughts on when Christ organized his church; however, the only teaching that completely harmonizes from Genesis to Revelations is what some term the Mountain Theory. The church that Christ established was set into existence in Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:1-7

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

There are Baptists who are persuaded the church was established as Christ called his disciples out to follow him. This is called the Seaside Theory. The theory has very little Old Testament prophecy to support it, but this theory should not cause great division nor give too much heart burn. While in order to harmonize the gospels with Old Testament prophecy it needs to be organized on a mountain, the Seaside Theory does at least have Christ organizing the church during his personal ministry.

The majority of the religious world teaches the church was established on the day of Pentecost, after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. This cannot be the case. There are numerous lists providing proofs of why the church was not established on Pentecost. Following is a simple list of nine proofs of the same taken from numerous sources.

The church had a rule of discipline before Pentecost (Matthew 18:17).

It is recorded that Jesus sang in the Church (Hebrews 2:12). The only time that Jesus ever sang, so far as we have any record, was at the institution of the Lord's Supper (Mark 14:26). This was before Pentecost.

They had a business meeting before the day of Pentecost and elected a successor to take the place of Judas (Acts 1:15-26).

The Apostles were in the Church before the day of Pentecost (1st Corinthians 12:28). The first ones who were put in the Church were the Apostles, and this was at least three years before the day of Pentecost.

The Church had its commission to preach before Pentecost (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15).

The Church had its authority to baptize before Pentecost (John 4:2).

The Church had the Lord's Supper before Pentecost (Matthew 26:30).

The keys of the Kingdom were given to the Church before Pentecost (Matthew 16:19).

The church had a church roll before Pentecost with names on the roll, and there were 3,000 people added to the roll on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:15 & Acts 2:42).

Why was John called the Baptist?

John was called the Baptist. Why? Many sermons have been preached by able ministers with the sole topic on John being the first Baptist preacher. Now, John was a great preacher of the gospel, but John could not have been the first Baptist preacher, because John was not a Baptist as the term is used today. John was called John the Baptist because he was born into this world for a very specific purpose. That purpose was to baptize saved people so that Christ could use them as material from which to build his church.

There are a lot of Baptist people today who would stroke out if they heard someone say that, but the truth is the truth, and there is nothing else upon which to build. The next length of writing will attempt to provide proof and evidence that John was not a member of the Lord’s church. What is the first requirement that must be met in order to be a Baptist? A person has to be saved. That requirement John meets. There is no doubt that John was a regenerated man, so he has the first requirement. What’s next? Baptism. Well, there is no record in the Holy Scriptures of John the Baptist ever having been baptized. If he had been baptized, who would have baptized him? Who else had authority to baptize? No one! John would have had to baptize himself. That did not occur.

Now, if that is not enough proof, another will be provided. In Matthew Chapter 10, Christ established his church and sent them out with the Limited Commission. Chapter 10 concludes with Jesus giving his disciples instruction.

Matthew 11:1-4

And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

What does all of that say? Well, Chapter 11 opens with John having already been imprisoned. It reads as if he had been imprisoned for some time. Within Chapter 10, Jesus established his church and commanded his apostles followed immediately with a transition to John being in jail in chapter 11. John and Christ never had contacted from before the church was established to the time that John was beheaded. John the Baptist never saw the material he prepared be built into the Kingdom of God.[i]

Before moving on from the subject, there is another compelling proof. Matthew 11:11: Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. John the Baptist never saw the church, and the least that are within the church are greater than John. Why? Because the least in the Kingdom refers to the least in the Bride, and this individual is more blest than John because John will not be in the Bride. John will not be in the Bride because John was never a church member. John was never a Baptist.

John was known as John the Baptist because God ordained John to prepare the materials to go into the church. The materials were prepared through baptism authorized of God which John was the only one that could administer. John the Baptist administered baptism to Jesus and those disciples called out by Christ. John was called the Baptist because he baptized. Now, it may be asked why it is important. The reason it is important is to make clear that the church was established by Jesus. Jesus was the first Baptist preacher. Jesus is the head of the church. Not John. John was the forerunner of Christ. To try to put John higher than Christ is vainglory.

Perpetuity

Christ made a promise to his church. The Great Commission was given to his body in Matthew 28.

Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This commission was given to the church. This commission is all encompassing of the duty and responsibility of the Lord’s church, and it also contains a promise. Christ closes the commission by saying, and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. When the Lord makes a promise, He keeps it. Revelations 1:5, Revelations 19:11, and James 1:17 all assure that there is no variableness in God. Hebrew 6:18: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie . . .. Time and space should be given to examine in brevity the most controversial scripture that pertains to the perpetuity of the church. The scriptures in reference are Matthew 16:13-19.

Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus here is clearly stating two doctrines. The first is perpetuity and the second is church authority. Jesus is also reassuring that the head of the Lord’s church is none other than Jesus Christ. Catholics proclaim these verses illustrate that Peter was the first pope and it was upon Peter that Jesus built his church. That cannot be farther from the truth. In verse 18, Christ is making a very provoking point. In John 1:42, Jesus gives Simon Barjona his nickname. John 1:42: And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. The word used here is Petros (pet'-ros). Petros means a piece of a rock or a stone. This is the same word that is interpreted as Peter in Matthew 16. Rock is derived from the word petra (pet'-ra), which literally means a mass of rock. Jesus is saying, You are a small stone Simon, but I built my church upon the great rock (mountain). Peter, I built the church upon me. The Lord’s church was built upon Christ and no one else.

The next part of verse 18 once again illustrates Christ’s promise to his church. Jesus says, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Hell, here comes from the word hades, meaning death. Christ is directly stating that an end, a death, will never come to the church that he established. It is perpetual. It will never end. There will never be a time when there will not be a sound church somewhere on the face of the earth, as long as time lasts.

In verse 19, Jesus explains that the local independent church has authority to govern itself. The church looses and binds. It is not Peter, or a preacher who controls the church. It is the church that governs itself through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. At the head of each local sovereign body is Christ. It also illustrates the authority of the church to discipline its members, but that will be explored later.

It would be most beneficial at this point to define perpetuity. Webster’s Dictionary of American English, 1828 defines perpetuity as: Endless duration; continuance to eternity. 1. Continued uninterrupted existence, or duration for an indefinite period of time; as the perpetuity of laws and institutions; the perpetuity of fame. 2. Something of which there will be no end. For the purpose of this work, Church Perpetuity is defined as the continuous existence of at least a single body of Christ, a church, made up of regenerated, scripturally baptized persons, from the time Christ established the Church at Jerusalem on the Mountain to the final day of Christ’s return.

There are a few things that are essential to understand when dealing with Church Perpetuity. The following is a brief exploration of a few of those essential elements.

Church Authority

Christ established the Church at Jerusalem to be an autonomous local body. Each church, thereafter, has been granted authority for its existence from another local body. Once organized, the new body becomes an independent local church that functions and acts on its own accord. Each local body is sovereign from any other temporal power. The church is subject to only three forces. One, the leadership of Jesus Christ, as the head and founder of the church, this through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Two, the inspired Word of God, the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments. And lastly, the democratic exercise of each local independent visible church. The will of the church is by majority in all things, save one. In the reception of a candidate to membership in the local body, the vote MUST be unanimous. A church has full authority over its members. Matthew 16:19 states whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. The thou in this quote is the church. When a saved individual unites with the local visible body of Christ, he/she submits themselves wholly to that body. There are only three ways a member can be removed from full fellowship with the church: death, exclusion, or by letter (the granting of the church’s permission to remove from the body). All decisions of the church are without appeal to any other body, not another church, association, convention, or government. When this doctrine is presented, the usual reply is, but the church has to work within the bounds of the scripture. The church, as afore stated, is governed by both the Spirit and the Word; however, there is no earthly power that can ascertain when a church has gone beyond those bounds. That is the business of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Lord can do as He see fits, but on this earth, there is no appeal to a church’s actions. This is true for reception of members, exclusion of members, ordination of elders and deacons, administration of the ordinances, and selecting what color carpet to use in the church house. All decisions of a church pertaining to her governance and existence are binding. That is church authority.

Church Succession

For over two thousand years, the church has practiced a chain-link succession from one body to another. There have been, however, several varying manners in which authority has been passed on to a new local body. There have also been extreme and unusual cases that have been accepted from time to time, but the oddity in occurrence should never be used to justify its repeated course. The primary thing to be kept in mind when considering succession is did another church consent to the formation of the new body in some manner. It needs to be clearly stated here, to the dismay of some readers, an arm or branch of one local body does NOT have to be extended in order for a local visible church to be organized. This process was extensively used by the Separate Baptists of the Sandy Creek Association to great success; however, historically, there are multiple ways for authority to be passed from a church to a newly organized church. The most common of these will be given following.

An Extended Arm

When Shubal Stearns moved into North Carolina and Sandy Creek Baptist Church was organized, the church had a number of ministers, including Daniel Marshall. Marshall went out of Sandy Creek Church and preached at various preaching stations in the nearby area. When a band of Regular Baptists desired his preaching at Abbott’s Creek, near Marshall’s homestead, he began to preach their regularly. When the interest had grown, Sandy Creek Church extended an arm, or branch, of their body to the group at Abbott’s Creek. The Regular Baptists united with Sandy Creek Church, and when they met together at Abbott’s Creek, they met as Sandy Creek Church. As the group grew, and it seemed timely for the band to become a church on their own, Daniel Marshall was ordained, and the members of Sandy Creek who desired to be part of the new church at Abbott’s Creek were dismissed by Sandy Creek Church for its organization. Sandy Creek Church, led by Shubal Stearns, organized the members of Sandy Creek into an independent Baptist church at Abbott’s Creek.[ii] This is historically how an extended arm or branch is organized. In some occurrences, the charter members are from more than one church. In that situation, all the members who desired to be united into the new body, are often first received into the membership of the church that extended the arm. It was not uncommon, however, for their letters of dismissal from respected churches to just be received in the organization.

Letters for the Organization of a New Church

When Shubal Stearns left Tolland, Connecticut, he was a member and pastor of Tolland Baptist Church. He and a handful of other families left Tolland Church with letters of dismissal for the purpose of organizing a Baptist church at their new settlement. He met up with his sister, brother-in-law, and others who had been dismissed from Mill Creek Baptist Church. When the band of zealous Baptists settled in Guilford County (now Randolph), North Carolina, the group organized themselves into Sandy Creek Baptist Church. There was no arm extended, there was no presbytery outside of Stearns, but the band had been given authority from Tolland Baptist Church to organize a local visible body wherever they settled.[iii]

By Presbytery

Organization by Presbytery is very similar to Letters for the Organization of a new church. In this situation a group of Baptists in a local area call for an organization and invite nearby churches to send ordained help to serve as an organizing presbytery. The candidates to serve as the material for the new church usually have letters of dismissal in hand, but these letters were not specifically for the organization of a church. During the frontier period it was very common for migrators to be given a letter of recommendation dismissing the individual from the church once it was placed with another local congregation. Nearby churches would liberate their ordained help to seat in the presbytery. Authority is passed to the new church by the church or churches liberating their ordained to participate in the presbytery. This process becomes a little more convoluted in frontier years. Baptist Churches in times gone by had granted their ordained help the liberty to seat in presbyteries as the ordained help saw fit. In many cases local churches never gave elders and deacons liberation to seat in ordinations or organizations because the liberty was implied. By this, there have been churches that were organized through presbytery without direct consent of another church; however, the authority was still passed through implied consent. In modern times, ordained help seating in a presbytery without consent from their home church would be considered highly irregular. Brush Creek Baptist Church in Smith County, Tennessee is a general example of organization by presbytery. Brother Cantrel Bethel moved into the Liberty Community of DeKalb County, Tennessee from Maryland. While living in the community, the brother was saved and convinced he needed scriptural baptism. He had heard of Elders John Hightower and Alexander Devin in Warren County, Kentucky. Brother Bethel traveled to Warren County to receive scriptural baptism. While travelling back home, Brother Bethel was called to preach, and he exercised his calling once he arrived home. After a space of time, a group was gathered under Brother Bethel’s preaching. The group called for Elders Hightower and Devin to come and serve the group as a presbytery for a new church to be organized. The church was organized May 29, 1802.[iv]

By Association

This method of organization is very similar to by Presbytery; however, to a large extent it bypasses the local church. In all events, an organization by association is irregular but not necessarily unscriptural. The best examples of organization by association come out of the Primitive Baptist split of the 1830s. Old Salt Lick Baptist Church had as her pastor Elder Miles West. West was a strict Calvinist of extreme measure. He took such a stand that he became the outspoken leader of the anti-mission or Primitive Baptist Movement in Middle Tennessee. At the annual meeting of the Salem Association in 1837, West was determined to make a point of fellowship on the mission debate. A minority of Old Salt Lick Church was missionary minded. "So when the time for the meeting of the Association was drawing near, the minority of this church sent a memorial address to the Association asking that some steps be taken to adjust the difficulty. The calling up of this memorial letter was the signal for action, and Elder Miles West, followed by Sion Bass and some few others, bolted the Association . . .. When the minority saw that the last vestige of hope for reconciliation had fled, they asked the Association to send a committee to constitute them into a church at Williams' X Roads. Hence a committee or ‘presbytery to consist of Elders John Wiseman, Wm. C. Bransford, William Flowers and Jonathan Wiseman’ was appointed to meet at the crossroads on Defeated Creek on Friday before the fifth Lord's Day in October, 1837, to constitute this minority into a church." By all accounts, Defeated Creek Baptist Church was organized by the Salem Baptist Association. Organization by association was not all together unusual. The Sandy Creek and the Philadelphia Baptist Associations were in the habit of ordaining minsters and organizing churches.[v] From a Baptist view, this is a slight breach of church authority; however, it was a custom of Baptists in the past.

Organization by Missionary

Two examples of Organization by Missionary will be given. The first involving the Philadelphia Baptist Association and the second involving Elders John Hightower and Alexander Devin. The first, some of the earliest settlers of a Baptist like persuasion were English General Baptists. In North Carolina and Maryland, a spurious preacher of the English General Baptist persuasion, by the name of Paul Palmer, traveled abundantly preaching, baptizing, and organizing congregations. A more extensive account of Palmer is given later. Kehukee Church was organized by a disciple of Palmer named William Sojurner in 1742. The organization was unscriptural. The Philadelphia Baptist Association sent Benjamin Miller and Peter P. Vanhorn to investigate these congregations. These two men had authority to administer baptism to any who needed baptism, determine the scripturalness of those who had been previously immersed, and organize the good seed into an independent church. They organized Kehukee Particular/Regular Baptist Church in 1755 from the remnant of the old English General Baptist body. This practice was very common with the early associations. Elder and Dr. John Gano went out on numerous excursions correcting improper church organizations.[vi]

Another example, Elders John Hightower and Alexander Devin were two men who had a great missionary zeal. They along with a third preacher, Elder Joseph Logan, were sent out to preach in the wilds of South Carolina. The three men were given authority by their respective churches to preach, examine candidates for baptism, administer baptism, and organize churches. This seems a little unorthodox in modern times; however, it should be remembered that eighteenth century America was a rugged place with very limited communication and means of travel. These three men established numerous Baptist churches in South Carolina before Hightower and Devin left South Carolina for the Kentucky territory.[vii] Most references show that Hightower was a member of Buck Creek Baptist Church in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.[viii]

The main point to be taken from these two situations, these men were given authority to go and organize churches. The former had authority from an association and the latter from a local church. The author would consider the example of Philadelphia Association giving authority to organize a church as irregular, but there are numerous examples in the lineage of Middle Tennessee churches. To call them unscriptural would fill local bodies of today with alien immersion.

The preceding five methods of organizing a church are the most common among Baptists. In addition to the afore described methods, another manner of organizing a church has been witnessed within Baptist history; however, its use is considered extremely irregular and often unscriptural. The method in reference is generally referred to as self-constitution. By this method, a group of regularly baptized individuals covenant together to form a church. These constituent members should all hold scriptural baptism from a scriptural Baptist Church. In all situations where this is considered scriptural, the constituent members are in good standing with their home church, and there is an occurrence of extreme circumstances separating these members from their home church.

The primary historical example of this method is the First Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts which was organized in June 1665. Richard Goodall, William Turner, Robert Lambert, Mary Goodall, and Mary Newell had been baptized by Baptist churches in England. In Boston they found Thomas Gould who was a saved man but had never been properly immersed. The five baptized individuals covenanted together as a church and five others were baptized into the body. By whom the five were baptized is unknown. According to records, later described in this work, there was no presbytery and no ordained minister present at the organization. As unusual, peculiar, and odd as this sounds, the First Baptist Church of Boston was considered scriptural by its contemporaries. This example should not be used as a pattern. These Baptists were in an extreme situation. They were residing in a colony that was anything but tolerant of Baptist teachings. Any dissenters from the Establish Church of England in Massachusetts were exiled, imprisoned, beaten, and persecuted with great measure. These Baptists were secluded from their home churches by an ocean, and it is entirely possible that they knew of no other Baptists in their area.

A second example is the Spring Street Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. This body was organized from a group of members from Nashville First Baptist. The group included Elder J. R. Graves. They did not have letters of dismission. They did not call a presbytery. They constituted themselves as a church. The members of Spring Street Baptist were excluded by Nashville First Baptist as schismatics. Spring Street Baptist was considered scriptural by many Baptists in Middle Tennessee and the South. Once again, this example should not be followed. It was unorderly and was far from decent.

Qualified Ordained Ministry

For succession and perpetuity to exist, there is a requirement that there have been qualified ordained ministers in all ages of time. The first requirement of any minister or preacher is to first be saved, having been carried from nature to Grace through repentance and faith. A preacher, by unwavering necessity, must have an experimental knowledge of salvation, be able to give a time and place of their experience of being saved, and have shown working evidence of regeneration. Secondly, the Lord calls men to preach through His Spirit. All God called preachers have a testimony of being called into the ministry, just as they have a testimony of salvation. It should already be clear but for more clarity, a minister must be a natural born male. A woman has never been and never shall be called to preach. A minister must be a member in good standing with a local Baptist church, and he must have scriptural baptism. These requirements all preachers are to have, and the scriptures are clear that not all preachers are called to pastor churches. For those ministers who are considered by a church for ordination, there are additional qualification set forth in Titus and First Timothy.

Titus 1:5-9

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

I Timothy 3:1-7

This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

These are the qualifications of a man who is considered for ordination as an Elder. Each of these qualifications is just as important as the one prior or following. In modern times, it seems the greatest emphasis is placed on being the husband of one wife, and this is understandable since it is the most readily visible. Being the husband of one wife is not the only qualification of an Elder. This leads to the question, does failure to live up to a one of these qualifications invalidate the ordination of an Elder? The answer to this question is NO. The bare essential elements have already been stated. A preacher must be a man, be saved, have scriptural baptism, be a member of a church, and have been called by God to preach. Although the qualifications of Titus and First Timothy should be considered with the utmost care, an Elder who does not fit one or more of these qualifications is not automatically disbarred from serving as such. In addition, an Elder who does not meet all the qualifications of First Timothy may still administer the ordinances, as long as his actions are authorized by a church. The baptism of a divorced and remarried Elder is still scriptural if it is authorized by the church. For clarity and asserting the author’s opinion, there is absolutely no need to ordain a man who is divorced. A man who has been married and divorced should seriously consider relinquishing his credentials as an ordained minister. In order to prevent reproach, it would be most prudent and appropriate for a divorced ordained minister to willingly give up his credentials. In the situation where an elder is married, divorced, and remarried there should be no hesitation or debate, such a man should not be ordained or retain credentials as an Elder. The confusion caused by such situations is a hindrance to the cause of Christ. An elder who finds himself in a divorced state should relinquish his credentials of his own freewill and accord. There should never be an Elder who attempts to justify his situation of divorce or remarriage. If an Elder refuses to willingly surrender his credentials, it is the church’s duty to remove that elder’s credentials as an ordained minister. The cause of Christ is greater than any one individual.

Succession of Baptism

In order for perpetuity to be possible there has to have been a succession of scriptural baptism. There are not accurate historical records to prove or illustrate a succession of baptism for more than a few hundred years from the modern era; however, the absence of records does not mean that such a succession does not exist. By a succession of baptism is meant that each ordained preacher administering scriptural baptism was baptized by an ordained preacher who had scriptural baptism who was baptized by an ordained preacher who had scriptural baptism, and on and on it goes back to the baptism administered by John the Baptist. The author’s baptismal lineage is found later in this work.

Alien Immersion

The afore stated assertion concerning Baptismal succession is one of the reasons the church must always be vigilant in defending her purity against alien immersion. In order to come to a correct understanding of any question, we should have a definite understanding of the meaning of all terms employed, and positions assumed. By the term ‘Alien Immersion’ is meant immersions performed outside of Baptist churches, by persons who are in no way connected with them. It is commonly understood to refer to immersions performed by Pedobaptists and Campbellites. These are the words of Elder J. H. Grimes from page 5 of his History of Alien Immersion and Valid Baptism. His sentiments and definition are correct. This definition can be expounded for clarity.

Frist, alien immersion is any attempted baptism lacking in any of the four fundamental requirements of baptism that have been previously defined: proper authority, administrator, candidate, or mode. If any of these are lacking, the result is alien immersion. This definition goes a step farther than that defined by Elder Grimes. The baptism administered under the authority of a Baptist church can be alien immersion. A good example is found in the case study, to be explored later in this work, at Peyton’s Creek Baptist Church in Smith County, Tennessee in 1953. In the referenced situation, the church called a man for pastor who had immersion from a body that was unscriptural. While in this condition, he immersed candidates under the authority of Peyton’s Creek Church. The baptism had proper authority (Peyton’s Creek was a regularly constituted Baptist church), proper candidate (there is no reason to doubt the candidates had given adequate testimony of being regenerated), the proper mode (the candidates were fully immersed in a watery grave), but the administrator was not valid because he, himself, had no baptism. For this reason, it is highly suggested that a Baptist church require all members who are uniting by letter or credit of a letter to their body to state under what church authority, by what administrator, and by what mode they were baptized.

A minister who acts on his own accord in immersing a person is out of order, and no baptism is administered in such situation, only alien immersion. An example of this is when Alexander Campbell determined that his Protestant immersion was invalid. He sought out a Baptist minister by the name of Mathias Luce to immerse Campbell and his misled band. Luce may have been a qualified administrator (a weak one at that), but he immersed the band of heretics without the approval or authority of a regularly constituted Baptist church. This immersion was invalid on the grounds of lack of authority.

Second, non-Baptist congregations, meaning those outside the faith (Methodists, General Baptists, Campbellites, Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, etc.), have no authority to issue baptism; therefore, all of their immersions are alien. There have only been two authorities to issue scriptural Baptism. The first was John the Baptist. The second is the Church of Jesus Christ, the one established on a mountain, and the one that has had a continuous existence from body to body throughout time from its organization by Christ. The administration of any immersion by an organization claiming to be a church without a direct lineage to the true church, is alien. All reformed protestant congregations who claim to be a church are the children of the great whore, the Catholic church. They have no authority. All immersion by them, even though it be believer’s immersion, is invalid. Believer’s immersion is defined as immersion of a person after giving a testimony of passing from nature to grace. Methods, General Baptist, Church of God, and others issue believer’s immersion, but their immersion is not baptism.  It is alien. In 1846, while J. R. Graves was pastoring the Second Baptist Church, Nashville, his mother, Mrs. Lois Graves, presented herself for membership to the Church on her believer’s immersion in the Congregationalist church. The Second Baptist Church, Nashville made her a member judging her immersion by the Congregationalists to be valid. This action was the toleration and acceptance of alien immersion. Sister Graves had no baptism at all until she was finally baptized by the First Baptist Church, Nashville in 1855.

Third, alien immersion also includes situations where the candidate was not proper. There have been thousands of people who have become convinced they were saved while still lost in the trespasses of sin. When one of these people presents himself to the church for baptism, the act of immersion is alien, not for a lack of authority, administrator, or mode, but for the lack of a proper candidate. If at some point in the future, this individual realizes their lost condition and confesses such to the church, the church should strike the individual as a member and record the invalid condition of said person’s immersion. If the person realizes they are lost, submits to Christ, is saved, and presents themselves to the church, the church