As I was reading my never ending list of Baptist history, I stumbled across yet another thing I wasn't even searching for. The role of women in Baptist life in the 1700's and early 1800's. Perhaps the Lord plopped it my lap, as this was a subject I had questioned in the past, but more recently, some have attacked me because I was optimistic about the happenings at the Asbury Revival. Some have said that the revival cannot be of God, because of "pentecostal style activity" and because the Wesleyans and Methodists have women preachers. Some of these same people will make remarks in sermons about the Wesleys that are totally positive, yet do they not know the Wesleys licensed women to preach? Do they not know of the emotional shouts heard at their meetings? And of course they don't know how Baptists of that time conducted themselves! I suppose they will turn in their Baptist ID cards when they read this!
In the history of Big Stevens Creek Baptist Church, founded by Daniel Marshall, brother-in-law of Shubal Stearns, it mentions this " “Separate Baptists” – a sect characterized as highly emotional, noisy, suspected of Arminianism and disposed to allow women prominence in religious work."
In 1766, the Congaree Baptist Church, who had a branch or "arm" in South Carolina, grew tired of waiting for Shubal Stearns to send Separate Baptist elders to ordain a pastor for them, so that they could constitute a church. They then called on Oliver Hart and Evan Pugh, Regular Baptists from the Charleston Association to facilitate ordination. John Newton and Joseph Reese were ordained, and Shubal Stearns led the Sandy Creek Association to censure them and bar them from preaching for acting independently of the Association. Reese apologized and was taken back in, but Newton said he had done nothing wrong. Sandy Creek declared being ordained by Regular Baptists, "who derided fervency, happy shouts, and the wailing of those being made aware of their sinful state, and who had so low a view of women that they dare not pray, exhort or testify" was highly irregular, but there is no record of them refusing to see the ordinations as valid. However, it does denote that the Separates allowed women to speak in church, while evidently, the Regulars did not.
See what the author Don Pucik of equppingsaints.com says about Separate Baptists;
Shubal Stearns emphasized revivalism and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Writing in 1772, Morgan Edwards stated “I believe a preternatural and invisible hand works in the assemblies of the Separate Baptists.” Visiting the 1759 annual meeting at Sandy Creek, Regular Baptist John Gano was convinced that “the power of God was among them.” Separate Baptists became known for regularly reporting “signs, wonders, and divine communications.” Heartfelt cries and falling down were common elements of the services. Visions and dreams were shared, especially as part of the conversion narratives given before baptism. John Waller reported the healing of a minister’s wife who suffered from “violent spasms” after he had anointed her with oil and prayed. Dutton Lane shared that when authorities were on their way to arrest church leaders at his church at Dan River, they were “struck temporarily blind by a flash of light followed by a thick darkness” and went home—the authorities never returned to Dan River.
Stearns afforded women greater involvement in worship and church life than any other religious group in the colonial period. In the Separate Congregational and Baptist churches following the Great Awakening, women were free to share their conversion testimonies and exhorted others to repent. In New England, Daniel Marshall’s sister was jailed during a pregnancy for preaching Baptist doctrines. Martha (Stearns) Marshall was described as her husband’s “Priscilla, a helper in the gospel.” When she spoke to the church, she presented herself as “a lady of good sense, singular piety, and surprising elocution” who routinely “melted a whole concourse into tears by her prayers and exhortations.” In Virginia, Margaret Meuse Clay often spoke and prayed publicly, once being arrested for unlicensed preaching with eleven Baptist men. Sentenced to a public whipping, she was released when someone anonymously paid her fines. In roles unique to Separate Baptists at the time, women were serving as eldresses and deaconesses in a few of the churches, baptizing and teaching women exclusively. As Separates merged with Regular Baptists in the closing years of the eighteenth century, women were increasingly restricted from public speaking and church offices.
Between 1740 and 1790, Regular Baptists only managed to start ten churches in Virginia—Separate Baptists formed several hundred. Baptists in the South owe their remarkable growth and influence to Shubal Stearns and the Separate Baptists. (Could it be that people went to see a "show" and ended up getting converted, and for this reason the Separate Baptists expanded rapidly?) To read David Pucik's experience at Asbury, read here: https://equippingsaints.com/2023/02/26/my-asbury-journey/
Wow! "signs, wonders, divine communications, cries, falling down, anointing with oil, healings, visions, dreams, women exhorting and baptizing..." All the very same things that some frown upon in Baptist circles, actually owe their existence to these phenomena! Sounds like the Baptists were way ahead of the modern Pentecostal movement in seeing the power of God to move as He pleases.
In his book "The Roots of Appalachian Christianity",Elder John Sparks, a United Baptist, says the following. "Daniel Marshall, never developed the leadership and organizational capabilities of his wife's oldest brother (Shubal Stearns)...when Marshall pastored churches, he may have depended on his redoubtable Martha, not only for testifying, exhorting, singing, and leading in prayer,, but for private counsel as well."
As I have said at other times, be very careful what you condemn as being "out of order" for your group's very existence may be due to things you would not consider to be "in order". Of course we should also be very careful about what we endorse, use discernment and pray for guidance, because we don't want to embrace something that is not of God. The Methodists of today have grown so cold that they can hardly even be called Christian any more. They are "orderly" now, even liturgical in their worship, not to mention many heresies being embraced. I am sure they would frown on their own forbears if they were able to see their genuine worship. We dare not fall in to the same boat as they.
3 comments:
Dear brother Mann:
Thanks for sharing this. Let me make a few observations.
This shows how "Landmarkism" was held to by Separates and Regulars and neither therefore agreeing with Dr. Gill on the practice of "ordaining" by "laying on of hands" by a "presbytery." The Old Baptists who wrote the 1644 London confession would not generally hold to these ideas. Why did they need men to make official what needed no official administrator? Such as baptizing, ordaining, etc.
Also, though there were "Arminians" relative to one or more of the "five points" among both Regulars and Separates, there were also "Calvinists" among both groups. The Campbellite schism took a lot of the Arminian leaning Baptists away from the Baptist family, and that left a strong Calvinist majority in most places. But, before that schism, they were part of the Baptist church, which retained both Calvinists and Arminians in most of their congregations. Gadsby was an associate of Shubal Stearns and he was Calvinistic.
I too have noticed, in my Baptist history studies, differences among them on the role of women in the church. I know the exclusion of Saddleback church from the SBC over this issue has led to much discussion. There are extremes on both sides. However, I think it is wrong to stifle female evangelism and leadership, though under the supervision of the male elders, or usurping authority. I wrote about some of the historical debates on this in recent years under the series dealing with Landmarkism and the question of whether women can vote in the church.
Blessings,
Stephen
P.S. When a group of believers wants to formally organize into a church, they do not need any approval or authority from any one person or group. So, the idea that a church needs an "arm" from a mother sponsoring church, or a presbytery to "constitute" it a church is not scriptural, as Dr. Gill taught and many who wrote the first London Confession stated. The authority to baptize, send missionaries and preachers, ordain deacons and elders, comes directly from the word of God and the authority of Christ. That goes against the very core of Landmarkism, however.
Agreed. I may be what I call a very "mild Landmarkist" in the sense that I believe there have been true believers and churches apart from the Roman church, from the days of the Apostles. However, I reject the idea that there must be a lineage of successionism of churches, or a succession of laying on of hands. This belief has the same connotation as "apostolic succession" that the Roman church teaches. I do think it nice tho, and permissable if a "presbytery" formed from other churches of like faith to be involved in ordinations as a sign of support and encouragement from sister churches, but it is definitely not necessary. Most all Southern Baptists and Independent Baptists ordain their own preachers, but many times the ordinand will bring in a preacher who has mentored him to be part of the ordination service.
As for the role of women, I am somewhat wishy washy. In the 18th and 19th centuries, there was no worry over "liberalism" in the same sense that we have today, and there is a vast difference between Petentecostals and Wesleyans who are conservative having females in leadership, as opposed to the reasons liberals do so. I believe the Church of God and the Assemblies of God license women preachers, but do not allow them to be pastors of a church. I am on the fence about Saddleback Church. On the one hand, they should have tread more carefully, as they must have known it would "raise some eyebrows", as Rick Warren's family lineage in the SBC goes back to before the civil war. He knew it would cause concern. On the other hand, I have some sympathy, that females can indeed be "pastors" or shepherds of children and other areas,which is the role those women are in. Many times, it is women who literally feed the sheep, as they head up meals for those in need, clothing, visitation of the sick etc. I well remember a dear old sister at my church, who every once in a while our pastor would call on to pray. When she did, the Spirit would fall so thick it was like molasses. Many a soul has been saved because of the prayers of a faithful woman. Ordination should not be man setting someone aside for service. Ordination should be the RECOGNITION of what God has already set aside
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