Today was our Baptist History Emphasis, seeing that we are affiliated with a Baptist University, and that Britain is steeped in Baptist History.
We worshipped this Morning at the Bunyan Meeting Church in Bedford where John Bunyan pastored. Bunyan is most well know for his classic work The Pilgrim's Progress published in 1678. He was a well know dissenter to the Church of England and wrote this classic work while in prison for 12 years. The Pilgrim's Progress is the most published book of all time next to the Bible.
We then journeyed to Olney where John Sutcliff's church (Olney Baptist Church) is located. It is here that William Carey, Father of the Modern Missions Movement and Founder of the Baptist Missionary Society, was ordained.
We then took a side trip from our Baptist Heritage Tour to visit The Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Olney. This is the Anglican Parish where John Newton, composer of the Hymn Amazing Grace, was curate.
Our final stop was in Moulton where Carey Baptist Church is located. This was one of the churches William Carey pastored early in his ministry. His original cobbler shop and cottage are the only surviving buildings from 1785.
What a trip through history. A few thoughts....
What an amazing heritage we have as believers and Baptists. I have often taken my Baptist heritage for granted.
How far we have come from the passion and vision contained in those such as Bunyan and Carey.
I attended one church today that seemed comfortable to be who they were. And in ten to fifteen years, we questioned who they would be based on the age of the congregation and the lack of evangelistic zeal perceived.
We then met a pastor called Ian Field. He shared his passion to reach new generations with the gospel and to see many come to know Christ. My heart was stirred and encouraged by the resemblance I heard in him to those historical figures we are studying.
May we as believers and Baptists (if you are one) reexamine and reclaim the vision and passion to share the gospel with the uttermost parts of the earth.
"Expect great things from God...Attempt great things for God." (William Carey, May 31, 1792)
Jim - this thrills me to hear your words about our heritage and roots. A wonderful heritage indeed - we are a free and independent lot, steeped in the tradition of individual soul competency as well as the sharing of the gospel with our neighbors and the world.
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