Trip To Ohio & PB Meetings

It has been my desire for a few years now to visit the Eastern District Association of Primitive Baptists, an association of semi Calvinistic Primitive Baptists of which brother Ken Mann and I have written about. They have 36 churches in their association in four states (Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio). This year the Association was held at a church near my sister's house (she lives in Lebanon, Ohio, the old stomping ground of Hardshell founding father Wilson Thompson). They have 48 ministers, including "licentiates." I have also wanted to visit Cincinnati Primitive Baptist church and see Elder Lasserre Bradley once again (it has been over forty years since I last saw him). I also wanted to meet Elder Jeremiah Bass, the new senior pastor at Cincinnati. He and I have exchanged some e-mail correspondence and I have recommended many of his writings since he became pastor there. I have also not seen my sister since father passed away back in March, 2016. So, with this one short visit of 5-6 days I was able to do all three. This is a record of this trip.

I left this past Thursday (Sept. 30) on a flight from Charlotte, N.C. and arrived in Dayton, Ohio around noon. My brother in law, Bob Jaster, picked me up and took me to his and my sister's house (Judy). I spent a delightful day with them both. I have not seen them since father passed away. We talk regularly on the phone. Both are now retired and enjoying their "golden years." Judy is my younger sister and we have always been close since we were siblings. She is a devoted Christian, a member of father's church (now called "New Hope Primitive Baptist Church" in Franklin, Ohio). 

We spent the day (the whole time together too) talking about our lives, about our parents, about the poverty of our upbringing, our hard times as children. We also talked a lot about father (Elder Eddie K. Garrett Sr.). Though I came to see some things differently than father, yet I respected him for his convictions. We agreed on much more than we disagreed upon. He was a diligent student of the bible. Had he not had to support himself as a pastor he would have had much more time to study and no doubt would have advanced further in his theological studies. Such is the hindrance that many preachers face, having to work full time jobs and yet find time to study, visit the sick, comfort and counsel members, witness, etc. But he made the most of the time he had as a pastor who had to work a secular job. He had a huge library (donated to SBTS library by Judy). 

He had been saved in a "Missionary Baptist" church, went to a Missionary Seminary (Springfield, Mo. where Judy was born when father was there). While in seminary he came to believe in "the five points of Calvinism," though this was not the stated belief of Springfield fellowship (Baptist Bible Fellowship, where Jerry Falwell attended, and who father said was a year ahead of him). He also seems to have embraced "Landmarkism" at this time. He left Springfield, returned to Hamiliton, Ohio, and started a mission church and became a sovereign grace Baptist with the help of Calvary Baptist Church of Ashland, Kentucky. This was in the start of the decade of the sixties. It was called "New Testament Baptist Church" and located at 953 Walnut Street, Hamilton, Ohio. 

You can go to the archives of "The Baptist Examiner," published in Ashland for many years and sponsored by that church. (For the archives of the Baptist Examiner see here) Elder John R. Gilpin was the pastor and Bob L. Ross, my dear friend (who passed away the past year), married Gilpin's daughter and became editor of the paper. You can see a picture of our family along with founding members of the church father began (here - go to page six on this issue ). I am the little boy at the bottom of the pic, my sister Judy is to my right, and my older sister Brenda (deceased) is on her right. My older brother Eddie Jr. is the other child. My mother is the second from the right in the row of four women. Father's sister (my aunt) is on the far left. It is in the Oct. 3rd, 1959 issue and I would have been almost four (two days later on Oct. 5th). Father is second from left and there is another picture of him on the same page in the writing that Bob Ross wrote of the constitution of New Testament Baptist Church. 

You can see a picture of father on the front page of the Examiner for April 16, 1960 (here) at the top of his article in a series titled "Amillennialism Examined." In this article he was defending Premillennialism. "God's Eternal Purpose" (here) for August 13, 1960. Another picture of father can be seen in this issue where he is pictured with another elder (father is on the left - see here) It was for November 24, 1960 and on page five. "Free Will? - No!" (Feb. 4th, 1961 - here) "Faith-The Gift Of God's Grace" (here and in the March 25th issue for 1961) with his picture. "Assurance vs. Assumption" (June 24, 1961 here); "Why Preach The Gospel" (here); "Bible Doctrine Of Election" (here - for Dec. 23, 1961); "Contend For The Faith" (May 5th, 1962 - here); "The Unscripturalness of "Religious Socialism" (June 2, 1962 - here); Another picture of father can be seen in this issue on page five (Sept. 19, 1959 - here);

Father had gone to Calvary to seek membership and support for his mission work in Hamilton. Mother and father both joined Calvary and began a mission church. There are lots of articles of father in those years, other than the ones mentioned above, and I have read some of them. What father believed at that time is what I believe now (for the most part). He was then a believer in absolute predestination of all things (all things come to pass by the will of God), a believer in means in rebirth, in the necessity of faith and repentance for salvation, in the necessity of perseverance in faith and holiness, and in Premillennialism. 

He was also blessed to have about fifteen years of pretty good retirement years and this time was spent in preaching, study, etc. I have thanked God for giving him this time in his golden years. I could go on an on about father, but will forbear the reader. Needless to say we talked much about him whom we both loved dearly. We recalled his words and sage advice. His good example in many things. Thank you Father for our father!

My sister is a good cook! She fed me well. Bob and Judy show much Christian hospitality. They enjoy life every day in the Spirit of the Lord, giving God thanks for all they have. Judy has been used by the Lord in her life to help so many sick and dying family and church members, including father. Full of good works. Helping to raise an orphan family member, giving money to those in need, etc. 

Eastern District Primitive Baptist Association

I attended this association on Friday and Saturday morning. They had lively enthusiastic worship and praise! They felt their religion. They identified with the words of the hymns and spiritual songs. There was much testifying, exhorting, shouting, lots of amens, etc. They also had several prayer requests for lost family members, the thing I recently wrote about as not characterizing the Hardshell variety of prayer requests. (See Hardshell Prayer Requests) 

The preachers I heard were like many of the ones I heard among the Hardshells in certain geographical areas. They got excited, very excited. One preacher jumped upon two chairs and I thought he was going to fall! Many had that rhythmic chanting style of preaching. One was very good, singing in a melodious tone, like many of the Hardshell preachers of the past. One preacher said something that has made me laugh a lot since I heard it. He said that he had a "big mouth" when he was in sin and when the Lord saved him he heard the Lord saying to him "come now and use that big mouth for me." These preachers could mix doctrinal preaching with experimental preaching. 

After the Friday morning service, I walked to the front to speak to Elder Burnace Sybert, the one that brother Ken Mann has spoken to about the history of this group of Primitive Baptists. Elder Sybert knew from these conversations that I was a Calvinist. When I introduced myself as Stephen Garrett, associate of brother Mann, elder Sybert mentioned my being Calvinist (they are not five point Calvinists). I responded by saying that I believed as Spurgeon. I said that Southern Baptists have one point, two point, three point, four point, and five point Calvinists and yet they get along fairly well. Others were crowding around the front where we were speaking, some wanting to speak to him, and so we did not talk any more. He was scheduled to preach on Saturday morning and yet failed to show because of kidney stones. I pray he is recovering. I guess he was around 80 years old. He was for many years the clerk of the association and is supposed to know most about the history of the Eastern District, which began in 1848. 

On Saturday after the morning service I got to speak with the Moderator of the Association, elder Sizemore. I told him that I would like to have information on the history of the Association from 1848 to 1880, the period when there are no records. Elder Sizemore said I should talk to Sybert. Elder Sizemore had a nice sing song style of preaching, the kind I often heard among the Hardshells.

In talking with Sybert in that short few minutes I said that the Eastern brethren seem to be a non Hardshell type of Primitive Baptist. One sister who I knew from her YouTube page (giving many videos of Eastern Association meetings) I was glad to meet. She heard my remark about being primitive but not Hardshell and said to me that she had been called Hardshell by others. I then told her what I meant. I said that the Hardshells don't believe that sinners are saved or regenerated by the gospel and denied perseverance to be necessary for salvation. The Eastern brothers do believe in means (articles of faith expressly say this), I said, and are therefore not Hardshell. She then spoke of God "speaking" to an individual and my mind immediately went to the Hardshell idea of "direct speaking." I told her that there was both an inward and an outward call. The word is preached and the external call given to come to Christ, to believe and repent, and yet it requires the inward call of the Spirit to attend the outward call and make it effectual. This internal call is the inner work of the Spirit in saying to the sinner "this is right." 

I had no discussion of doctrine with any preachers and members except the above. I did not go there to fight and debate. I went there to see and observe them for myself. I hopefully will get to attend again, possibly when they meet in Virginia or East Tennessee. 

Cincinnati Church

On Sunday morning I drove to Cincinnati Primitive Baptist Church's meeting house. I had not been there since about 1979 when I filled in for Elder Bradley on one Sunday. The church paid for me to fly up there. I went the year after this (maybe two) when they held their Annual Meeting. I drove up with several of my church members. The meeting was held in a large gymnasium back in those days as the crowds were so large. When I was there I guess there were at least five hundred people in attendance. I used to go to Cincinnati church on Wednesdays (they then had services Sunday morning and night, and on Wednesdays) and this would have been in the years 1972-1976 (I moved to NC in March, 1976). 

Elder Bradley introduced services after singing and the new pastor, Elder Jeremiah Bass, delivered the discourse. He is going through the Book of Hebrews and was in chapter five. I have been listening to his Sunday discourses since he became pastor back in the Spring. He is a sound exegete. I expect great things from him in the years to come, if the Lord tarries his return.

After service I immediately went to Elder Bradley who I had not seen in the past forty plus years. "Father Bradley," I said, "it is so good to see you after all these years" (paraphrase). We spoke of several things in those few minutes. I told him that I believed that the church did very well in selecting Jeremiah. He agreed and felt as though the Lord had been in the decision. I pray for them all. Father Bradley spoke of his having had Covid (his wife Emily also). As he spoke he had that gleam in his eye that I always remember. He also looked you in the eye as he talked and I like that. Jeremiah also had this trait. I pray God they will look sinners in the eyes as they preach to and counsel sinners. The Methodist minister that the Lord used to convert Charles Spurgeon also looked him in the eye as he addressed him saying "You look like a miserable man." He told him all he had to do was "look" to Christ and the Father to be saved. 

I met elder Jeremiah Bass when I first arrived at the church house. Was so glad to have had the opportunity to meet him. We talked together a good bit, especially during lunch (I stayed for it). I also had intentions of speaking to elder Bradley some more but we did not get a chance as he was sitting with church members. Really, it was a precious sight to see such an aged minister still ministering, giving counsel, comfort, and encouragement to the saints. Elder Bass and I got to talk about several things and will not relate the precise topics but simply say it was quite enjoyable.

Staying for lunch after morning services I was able to enjoy good fellowship with several, some who knew father from back in the sixties when father joined Cincinnati church. I spoke to one who knew him well and spoke highly of father.

I asked Elder Bradley to think about writing his memoirs. I told him how important this would be. He could dictate on tape and others could write it down. He should be able in them to document his time with the PBs, his experiences, his going away from means and to hardshellism, his battles with the PBs, and give advice for the future, for young ministers. I also told Jeremiah of this and encouraged him to do this. I think they plan to have a special service at their October meeting to highlight father Bradley's ministry.

I also requested of elder Bradley a copy of the cassette of the quartet that had him singing with Paul Trautner, brother Prather, and another brother. I asked him "didn't you sing bass?" He nodded yes. I said that is amazing (he does not have a deep bass voice). I asked "was it a Trio or Quartet?" He said there were four of them. I said "Elder Trautner and brother Prather were two, who was the fourth?" He could not recall right fast (and others were crowding towards the dining hall). I also asked Jeremiah to help me get that tape and to encourage Bradley to write his memoirs in which he could give advice, tell of his experiences in ministry, and give direction for the future of the Primitive Baptists of his affiliations.

All in all it was a wonderful trip! I thank God for it. I hope I can have opportunities in the future to do the same. Pray for us.