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THREE BAPTIST APOSTLES

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 25, 1859

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 14, No. 14.

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THREE BAPTIST APOSTLES.

By Edwin C. Stiles

As the subject of apostles in the church has been quite a common topic of late, both by word and pen, I thought a few incidents taken from the early history of the Baptist sect in this country might be acceptable to many of your readers, in a somewhat abridged and condensed form.
The events which I purpose to narrate occupy a space of time from 1759 up to the period of the Revolutionary war, in the state of Virginia. The first and most notable man among the three, who were regarded as apostles of the Baptist church of this time, was Samuel Harris, who was born in Hanover Co., Jan. 12th, 1724. Col. Harris, as he was then called, though his education was not the most liberal, possessed good acquirements for his time, and could boast of respectable parentage. He passed his younger days in the county of Pittsylvania, and as he advanced in age, became a favorite with the people and also with the rulers.
He was appointed from time to time church warden, sheriff, justice of the peace, burgess for the county, colonel of the militia, captain of May's Fort, and commissary for the Fort and army. His conversion was said to have been effected by the labors of two illiterate young preachers, known as the "Murphy Boys," whose respective names were Joseph and William. At this time all his worldly offices and honors, with their accompaniments, were disposed of in a very summary manner, under the influence of his new impressions. And as he was a man of considerable wealth, he at once went out in his new and ardent vocation at his own cost, and for about thirty years he was a self-supported preacher in nearly all the settled portions of this large State.
The Baptist historians of Virginia, Leland, Semple and Taylor, all speak of Mr. Harris in the highest terms of commendation, and indeed it was a rare thing in those times for a man of his worldly distinction to leave the favors of the royalist party and the established church to unite with a people (in the fullest sense of the passage) "everywhere spoken against." And for a man of his military character and habits, his muscular powers, and fearless intrepidity, with Christian meekness and submission, with no show of resentment or resistance against the violent assaults of his rude and persecuting countrymen, together with his benevolence in the use of his worldly goods, his childlike simplicity, his freedom of intercourse with people of all conditions among his new and despised associates, the blameless life which he led, and finally the irresistible ardor in his discourses, all tended to impress an honest observer with a favorable conception of his own character and the holiness of his cause.
After about fifteen years of untiring labor, in the year 1774, this venerable man, (being then fifty years old), was ordained as an apostle of the Baptist church, which at that time in that State numbered thirty-four churches, with upwards of three thousand members, a large part of which were no doubt the fruit of his labors in the Lord.
At a meeting of the association the following question, viz., "Are the offices of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, mentioned in Eph. iv, 11, now in use?" Two days were spent in debating the foregoing question, when its decision was deferred till the next meeting. The subject was discussed with warmth and great interest both in their assemblies and during the recess of their cession. Jeremiah Walker and Reuben Ford each wrote a pamphlet, the first for, the latter against, the proposed measure. Both of these men were followed by large and respectable parties, and their productions were read in meeting. But the apostolic succession, by a large majority, fairly prevailed, and the venerable Samuel Harris was solemnly invested with this high and dignified office.
The ordination was conducted in the following manner, as appears from the minutes of the association. "The day being set apart as a fast day, we immediately proceeded to ordain him, and the hands of every ordained minister were laid upon him. Public prayer was made by John Waller, Elijah Craig and John Williams. John Waller gave a public charge and the whole association gave him the right hand of fellowship."
The work assigned to this apostle was to pervade the churches for the purpose of performing, or at least superintending the work of ordination, and to set in order the things that were wanting, and he was to report the success of his mission at the next association. And for the discipline of this high officer the following law was enacted; viz., "If our messenger, or apostle shall transgress in any manner, he shall be liable to dealing in any church where the transgression was committed; and the said church is instructed to call helps from two or three neighboring churches, and if by them found a transgressor, a general conference of all the churches shall be called to restore or excommunicate him."
At this time the church was divided into two sections by the James River, Mr. Harris belonging to the southern part, but the church north was not to be outdone by their southern brethren, and the same year they appointed for their apostles John Waller and Elijah Craig. Thus Virginia, whose ecclesiastical affairs were formally managed by bishops, now beheld within her bounds three Baptist apostles, of what line of succession the records do not define.
The first settlers in this country coming from England, when the Episcopal church was flushed with complete victory over all other persuasions, sought liberty of conscience only for themselves, as may be seen by their intolerance towards other sects at that time; and the zealous Baptists annoyed them exceedingly by their pious exertions. Their meetings were large and powerful, people often traveling one hundred miles to attend. Although their baptisms were open and abundant, and many of their converts were from the established church, yet but little was said against them on this account. The burden of complaint against them was that they were disturbers of the peace, as will soon appear. This was the head and front of their offending, whether from the ministers of the church, or of the law, or from that notoriously irreligious and immoral class, who, as Morgan Edwards once said, "had not wit enough to sin in a genteel manner."
As Virginia had no laws to prohibit a man from preaching, the law for the preservation of the peace was made to answer that purpose, and whenever preachers were apprehended, it was done by a peace warrant. The first case of actual imprisonment in Virginia, was in Spotsylvania county, on June 4th, 1768, when one of the apostles, viz., John Waller and Lewis Craig, James Childs and others, were seized by the sheriff, and hauled before three magistrates, who stood in the meeting-house yard, and who bound them, in the penalty of £1000 to appear at the court two days after.
At court they were arraigned as disturbers of the peace, where they were vehemently accused by a certain lawyer, who said to the court, "May it please your worships, these men are great disturbers of the peace; they cannot meet a man on the road, but they ram a text of scripture down his throat." But our Baptist apostle, Mr. Waller, made his own and his brethren's defense so ingeniously that they were somewhat puzzled to know how to dispose of them. They offered to release them if they would preach no more in the county for a year, and a day. This they refused, and were therefore sent into close jail. As they were moving on from the court-house to the prison, through the streets of Fredericksburgh, they sung the hymn— "Broad is the road that leads to death," &c.
This solemn procession, and this bold and fearless conduct on the part of the prisoners, who were conscious of having committed no offense deserving of such treatment, produced deep effect on those who witnessed the scene, and a powerful reaction in favor of the cause for which they suffered. Waller and others continued in jail forty-three days, and while in prison they constantly preached through the grates to many, who heard their word, which came forth in demonstration of the Spirit and power, in spite of exertions made at times by a mob outside to prevent.
After their discharge, which was a kind of triumph, Waller, Craig and others, companions in the ministry, resumed their labors with redoubled vigor, gathering fortitude from their late sufferings, and thanking God that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ and his gospel. Waller was viewed as ringleader, and was dealt with accordingly by preachers and leading men of the established church who would sometimes attend the Baptist meetings, to plead the superior claims of their church, ministers, &c., denouncing the Baptists as "false prophets," "wolves in sheep's clothing," "disturbers of the peace," &c. To these arguments Waller and others readily replied, that if they were wolves in sheep's clothing, and they were not the true sheep, it was quite unaccountable that they had been persecuted and cast into prison; as it was well known that wolves would destroy sheep, but never, until then, that sheep would prey upon wolves; that they might indeed interrupt their peace, but if they did it certainly must be a false peace, bordering on destruction.
About thirty of the ministers were imprisoned at this time, and some as many as four times each, and also many exhorters, whose only fault was their being in company with their ministering brethren. These scenes of incarceration were generally turned to good account by the zealous reformers. Public sympathy was aroused, and multitudes gathered around the prisons to hear the bold addresses of these fearless heralds of the cross, through the iron grates, open doors, and all avenues of utterance.In some cases drums were beaten in time of service, high enclosures were erected before the prison windows, matches and other suffocating materials were burnt outside the prison doors by malicious opponents. In this manner the opposition continued till the war of the Revolution called the attention of all parties to a new field of controversy, where the dominant party was glad to have the aid of all dissenters, in their struggle for liberty. I would say in addition to the above that the source from which I have transcribed these incidents is entitled, "A general History of the Baptists," by David Benedict. EDWIN C. STILES. Portland, Me.