A Southern Baptist Retrospective
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A special feature publication of BaptistLIFE Gofwd A Southern Baptist Retrospective The future lies all before us…shall it only be a slight advance upon what we usually do? Ought it not to be a bound, a leap forward, to altitudes of endeavor and success undreamed of before? — Annie Armstrong Gofwd TABLE OF is a publication of BaptistLIFE CONTENTS (ISSN 331-640) is published quarterly BAPTIST BEGINNINGS p. 4 FOUNDING OF THE SOUTHERN as a Cooperative Program ministry of Early Baptist churches and the Baptist Convention of Maryland/ BAPTIST CONVENTION p. 10 Delaware. the Maryland Baptist Union Maryland is one of nine states at BaptistLIFE Association set the foundation the formation of the Southern 10255 Old Columbia Road Columbia, MD 21046-1716 for a strong Baptist history in Baptist Convention in Augusta, (Phone) 800-466-5290, ext. 245 Maryland and beyond Ga., in 1845 (Fax) 410-290-6627 BaptistLIFE Staff FIRST CHURCHES p. 6 FIRST ‘COLORED’ BAPTIST Shannon Baker Dir. of Communications Among Maryland’s oldest CHURCHES IN MARYLAND Iris White Managing Editor/Mailing Shannon Baker Design Editor/ churches are Chestnut Ridge p. 12 BCM/D National Correspondent Baptist Church, First Baptist As early as 1818, African Sharon Mager BCM/D Correspondent Church of Baltimore, Americans were involved in Nanjemoy Baptist Church, Baptist ministry in Maryland BaptistLIFE is a member of the Association of State Baptist Papers, Second Baptist Church and Baptist Press News and Evangelical Taneytown Baptist Church FOLLOWING IN THE Press Association and is printed by Carroll County Times, Westminster, Md. FOOTSTEPS OF MISS ANNIE ARMSTRONG IN BALTIMORE p. 14 The impact of “Miss Annie” Armstrong’s efforts in the last century can still be felt in “O God, we have heard with our Baptist life today ears, our fathers have told us, FINAL RESTING PLACE AT GREENMOUNT CEMETERY what deeds you performed in p. 20 their days, in the days of old...” The final resting place of more than 65,000 individuals, Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore houses the graves Psalm 44:1 of historic Baptists SBC CHARMED BY BALTIMORE p. 22 The Southern Baptist Convention previously held five annual meetings in Baltimore “Those who went before us have MARYLAND BAPTISTS EXPAND bequeathed to us INFLUENCE INTO THE NORTHEAST p. 24 a heritage. We have an Maryland Baptists became obligation to ourselves, the main outlet for taking the to our contemporaries, and Southern Baptist program into the Northeast to those who will come after us. The writer of the letter to the ERA OF PARTNERSHIPS p. 26 Hebrews expressed differently While missions has always been the heartbeat of Southern the same conviction, ‘And then all [the Baptists, the Baptist Convention heroes of the faith who had gone before] of Maryland/Delaware having obtained a good report through faith multiplied its impact through (faithfulness), received not the promises: God mission partnerships having provided some better thing for us that they BARNES EYES FUTURE without us would not be made perfect for us, AS BCM/D NEARS THE TURN i.e., reach the intended goal.’ The picture OF THE CENTURY p. 28 Charles Barnes began looking is that of a relay race. Those who have run ahead to the new millennium faithfully in their part of the race now and developed a “futuring” hand on to others the cause in which strategy to guide the convention into the new century they have striven so well. And now ours is the responsibility, which ERA OF CHURCH PLANTING rests upon us as an evangelical p. 30 body committed to sharing Planting new congregations becomes the desirable thing for CENTURIES STRONG, the Good News of churches to do DIVERSITY CONTINUES TO GROW AMONG Christ Jesus.” LEE STRATEGICALLY MID-ATLANTIC BAPTISTS p. 36 FOCUSES ON CITIES p. 31 The BCM/D has engaged multiple --Roy Gresham Three city-reaching efforts seek ethnic groups and will continue to combine cooperative efforts to do so as the entire world to impact the area with the life- settles in America’s backyard saving knowledge of Jesus Christ ERA OF EVANGELISM p. 38 PASSING ON THE BATON p. 32 McRaney introduces ‘Love Your Long-time churches extend their Neighbor, Share Christ’ legacy through church plants Gofwd is indebted to the following works, which provided information for this magazine: “You are a Great People; Maryland/Delaware Baptists, 1742-1998” by W. Loyd Allen, “Baltimore Baptists” by Rosaline Robinson Levering, “Baptist True Union” (Nov. 1986 issue), BaptistLIFE, and the BCM/D’s History Committee’s work on bcmd.org. baptist beginnings in maryland he known history of the Baptist Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Maryland entity. Convention of Maryland/ area organized an association It was first called the TDelaware really starts with Henry “authorized by their churches to association of the Eastern Sater and Chestnut Ridge Baptist mediate and execute designs for Shore or Salisbury Association Church, which began before the the common good.” The Philadel- but later became known as the American Revolution. That was phia Association was the oldest Baltimore Association. followed by Winter’s Run, First in the country and was patterned There was disagreement regard- Baptist Church, Baltimore, Second after associations in England and ing the missions question. Though Baptist Church and the others Wales. They were loosely organized it is believed the “Old Baltimore that came in succession. Association” was not “hyper-Cal- There were many other denom- vinistic,” there were some that be- inations. The Anglican Church came powerful in the organization was the recognized “state church” causing many churches to leave. requiring taxes, from 1692 until the American Revolution. Maryland Baptist Union As Baptist churches began to Association formed grow in number, they found that In October 1836, six churches their shared emphasis on free- met at First Baptist Church, Balti- dom from a hierarchical body of more and formed another associ- control over the denomination ation called the Maryland Baptist left them a bit lonely and in Union Association. They were the need of partnership. First Baptist Church of Baltimore, There were issues that had to the Calvert Street Church of be resolved. The term “Baptists” Baltimore, Pikesville, Gunpowder, applied to those who had a com- Second Baptist Church Taneytown and the Navy Yard mon belief in the sole authority of Church of Washington. the Bible, congregational govern- without power, but could advise At the time, 478 Baptists held ment, local church autonomy, the local church. membership in these churches. separation of church and state, By 1763 there were 29 affiliated The group adopted a believer’s baptism and full religious churches from Pennsylvania, New constitution to supply destitute liberty, but there were some strong Jersey, New York, Connecticut, neighborhoods with preaching; differences regarding election and Virginia and Maryland, which in- encourage the reading of how it affected missions outreach. cluded Harford Baptist Church and scripture and evangelical books “Particular” Baptists believed First Baptist Church of Baltimore. and tracks; promote fellowship, that Christ died for “particular” per- In 1792, the Harford con- and “afford opportunity sons and General Baptists believed gregation withdrew to join an during sessions for preaching, in general atonement. And within association with Frederick Town, exhortation and other those schisms, there was the ques- Hammond’s Branch, Taneytown, devotional exercises.” tion of missions, whether churches Seneca and Huntington, Pa., to They also voted to, in no case, should work to share the gospel start a small association in Mary- interfere with the internal affairs of Jesus or whether evangelism land. A few years later, First Baptist of the churches. efforts would thwart the work of Church of Baltimore joined as well. That little group grew. Just the Holy Spirit. The move was more convenient three years after the union was As early as 1707 churches in the and helped a budding loyalty to a formed, God sent revival that 4 Franklin Wilson, Maryland’s first state executive director Franklin Wilson (1822-1896) was a native of Maryland, born in 1822. His grandfather was shipping magnate William Wilson, a 1770 Irish immigrant to Baltimore who built up the city’s second largest clipper ship business. Wilson aspired to the calling of pastor in his early life. He accepted the pastorate of the church William Crane founded, then called High Street, but throat trouble end- ed his preaching career prematurely. He resigned in 1852 after only four years in the pulpit. He was the first state executive director of the Maryland Baptist Union Association, and served forty years at this post, 1847 to 1887. After leaving the pulpit, he turned his energies to the office of executive secretary and editor of the Maryland Baptist paper, The True Union. He stayed faithfully at the first post long enough to see the Union Association grow from sixteen churches and 1,802 total members to fifty-six churches with 11,484 members. In his day, Wilson was second in influ- ence in Maryland only to Richard Fuller. Wilson, as executive secretary, set an example as one who understood the importance of strengthening churches and starting new work. Under his tenure, the Baltimore Baptist Church Extension Society was formed in 1854 to cooperatively support new and financially limited churches. Also, he gave sacrificially of his own resources. In one fifteen-year period, denominational causes received $50,000 from his personal funds. Independently wealthy because of his family’s business, he did not accept a salary for his office as executive secretary. He also set the standard for a vision as wide as the world. From the beginning of his ministry, Franklin Wilson viewed the world as his mission field. He was a lifelong supporter of foreign missions.