Father Mercer : The Story of a Baptist Statesman 9780881463569, 9780881462623

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Baptist life during the first half of the nineteenth century. His influence was felt in many areas as he was pastor of several churches, author of numerous writings, editor of a newspaper and a hymnal, philanthropist, and denominational statesman. Mercer’s life

Anthony L. Chute

Father Mercer tells the story of the life and labors of Jesse Mercer, a leader in Georgia

span and his ministerial responsibilities uniquely positioned him to play a key role in Before Mercer’s birth, Baptists in Georgia were not able to worship freely, were not organized for missions and had few opportunities for ministerial education. Throughout his adult life, Mercer helped Georgia Baptists utilize their newfound freedom to spread the gospel and equip pastors through the formation of the Georgia Baptist Convention and Mercer University. Readers may be particularly interested to discover the difficulties faced by Jesse Mercer as he attempted to persuade fellow Baptists to join in collaborative efforts for missionary and educational enterprises. The trajectory missionary efforts and Mercer University is one of the largest Baptist educational institutions in the world. Yet, rather than telling the story of a larger-than-life pastor with whom few “ordinary” pastors can identity, Father Mercer reveals how one who is faithful in small things can, over time, bear much fruit for the Lord. Pastors who have been wounded by church members by their neglect of Christian duties will strike a friendship with Jesse Mercer who handled more than his share of opposition. College students who have left home for the first time will discover how God used the twists and turns in Mercer’s life to prepare him for opportunities he never foresaw.

An t hon y L. Chu t e

is associate dean of the School of Christian Ministries and

associate professor of Church History at California Baptist University in Riverside, California. He received his PhD in Historical Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and MDiv from Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. His service to the church includes pastorates in Georgia, Alabama, Wisconsin, and California. He and his wife, Connie, have

The Story of a Baptist Satesman

that began in Mercer’s day continues even now as Baptists lead the way in Protestant

Father Mercer

the development of Baptist thought in the Old South.

FATHER MERCER The Story of a Baptist Statesman

two children, Amos and Joelle. mercer university press 1400 coleman avenue macon, georgia 30107 www.mupress.org cover design: burt&burt cover art: ??????

an t hony l. chu t e

Father Mercer The Story of a Baptist Statesman

Father Mercer

The Story of a Baptist Statesman

Anthony L. Chute

MERCER UNIVERSITY P RESS MACON, GEORGIA

The James N. Griffith Series in Baptist Studies This series on Baptist life and thought explores and investigates Baptist history, offers analyses of Baptist theologies, provides studies in hymnody, and examines the role of Baptists in societies and cultures around the world. The series also includes classics of Baptist literature, letters, diaries, and other writings. Walter B. Shurden Series Editor MUP/P436 © 2011 Mercer University Press 1400 Coleman Avenue Macon, Georgia 31207 All rights reserved First Edition Books published by Mercer University Press are printed on acid-free paper that meets the requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Mercer University Press is a member of Green Press Initiative (greenpressinitiative.org), a nonprofit organization working to help publishers and printers increase their use of recycled paper and decrease their use of fiber derived from endangered forests. This book is printed on recycled paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chute, Anthony L. Father Mercer / Anthony L. Chute. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-88146-262-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Mercer, Jesse, 1769-1841. 2. Baptists--United States—Biography. I. Mercer, Jesse, 1769-1841. Selections. 2011. II. Title. BX6495.M38C47 2011 286.092--dc23 [B] 2011024430

To the Memory of Matthew Timothy Chute (1967–2009)

Contents Acknowledgments

ix

Part 1: Mercer’s Life

xi

Chapter 1: Son of Silas

1

Chapter 2: Father Mercer

23

Chapter 3: The Old Man

60

Part 2: Mercer's Writings

89

Letter to a Friend

91

Prefatory Notice for “The Doctrine of Particular Election: Stated and Defended in Two Sermons” by the Rev. John Sladen

92

Ministerial Education—The Plan

94

Dear Brother Shuck

98

Handwritten Prayer

102

Dear Brother Brantley

104

Reply to H—No. 2

107

An Elevated Standard of Christian Morality

110

Prerequisites to Ordination

119

Letter VI: Addressed to the Rev. Cyrus White

129

To the Georgia Association

135

Appendix: Timeline of Jesse Mercer’s Life

139

Notes on Sources

143

Index

145

Acknowledgments Jesse Mercer and I were born 200 years apart, but during the reading and writing of this project I have often thought of him not as a topic of research but as a fellow pilgrim whose company I think I would have enjoyed had I lived in his day. I have also been reminded of other fellow pilgrims I think Mercer would have appreciated as well. For example, • Mercer’s lengthy service to the church has reminded me of faithful pastors who shepherd God’s people with integrity, like Kenny Rodgers, pastor of First Baptist Church, Bonaire, Georgia, for over twenty years; • Mercer’s ability to cast a vision for fellow believers to try something new has impressed upon me that such gifted people are few and far between, like Ronald L. Ellis, whose presidency at California Baptist University has been a testimony to both faith and skill; • Mercer’s respect for history as a means of helping those in the present learn from the past and prepare for the future is embodied by Marc Jolley, director of Mercer University Press, who has provided Baptists with an historical repository from which to learn; • Mercer’s concern for theological education with an eye toward equipping the local church is shared by Chris Morgan, professor of theology at California Baptist University, who blends doctrine and devotion seamlessly; • Mercer’s financial commitment to missions has brought to remembrance Thomas W. Jenkins, Jr., who regularly led his Sunday-school class to give tens of thousands of dollars for the Lottie Moon Christmas offering; • Mercer’s commitment to theologically solid hymns makes me want to hear songs from his Cluster sung by Phil Ezell, pastor

of worship at First Baptist Church, Bonaire, Georgia, who leads his congregation to love the Lord with heart and voice; • Mercer’s deep concern for unity in the church has encouraged me to look for ways to be constructive rather than critical, as consistently embodied in the life of Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School; and • Mercer’s private doubts, public flaws, and personal tragedies have awakened me to the faithfulness of our Triune God, who graciously calls sinners into his service and keeps his promise to shepherd each one safely home. In addition to the above remembrances, I am thankful for my students at California Baptist University and my congregation at First Baptist Church, Moreno Valley, for allowing me to teach and preach and also for forgiving me when I do the one at the other place. A special thanks is due to Chris Morgan for reading the manuscript and offering suggestions for improvement. Above all, I thank God for Connie, my wife, who despite her desire to live near her childhood home became a displaced Georgian in order to be a faithful Christian. Her willingness to follow the Lord without reservation would have made Mercer proud; it makes me love her all the more. Our children, Amos and Joelle, are both gifts from God who I hope, in the words of Jesse Mercer, will “be mindful of the designs of grace through you.”

MERCER’S LIFE

1 Son of Silas A person who had never met Jesse Mercer would have little trouble locating him in a crowded room. He was slightly above average in height, standing just over six feet tall, a bit round in the waist (“moderately corpulent,” as his biographer noted), and he had a receding hairline that revealed an exceedingly round yet somewhat pointed head. If further confirmation were necessary, one only needed to observe who was receiving the lion’s share of attention. Better yet, if this were a gathering of Baptists it was a virtual certainty that Jesse Mercer would be the moderator or the main speaker. Upon his departure one would also notice that he left riding in one of the most comfortable horse-drawn carriages money could buy. He was called “Father Mercer” by people who had no love for the priesthood, and a university was named after him when a college education for Baptist ministers was the exception, not the rule. To be sure, there were people who thought little of Jesse Mercer. He made enemies in both politics and religion—once by publicly comparing a Georgia governor to Rehoboam (King Solomon’s defiant son) and by openly calling Primitive Baptists the “anti-effort party” who specialized in “do-nothing” doctrine. His detractors did not call him Father Mercer, but “the Old Man.” and they claimed any endeavor he supported was not worth supporting. By his own estimation he was inadequate as a pastor, frustrated as an editor, and only sometimes successful in bringing people to see things his way. But there is no doubt he was immensely influential. Mercer University (now with two locations in Atlanta and Macon), the

Father Mercer

Georgia Baptist Convention, and the Christian Index—all staples in Georgia Baptist life—bear his imprint. The lasting impression of these three endeavors is exceptional: Mercer University is currently the third-largest Baptist-affiliated university in America; the Georgia Baptist Convention is the second-oldest Baptist state convention; and the Christian Index is the oldest continuing weekly religious periodical in the nation. When the History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia was published nearly half a century after Mercer’s death, enough time had passed for historian Samuel Boykin to render a sound perspective on his work: It is not too much to say that no one has ever exerted upon the Baptist denomination in Georgia a more beneficial, healthy and powerful influence than Jesse Mercer; no one did more to give a sound scriptural tone to its doctrine and practice; no one more zealously and persistently promoted all those benevolent institutions sanctioned by the gospel, and in accordance with Scripture principles; nor has anyone in our State been so liberal in donations to denominational enterprises.

Walter Shurden echoed this sentiment more than 100 years later in Dictionary of Baptists in America: “By almost any measure, Mercer exerted more influence on white Georgia Baptists than anyone in their history.” Baptists tend to be sparse in their historical recollections and sparing in their crowning of heroes, but time and circumstance may dictate otherwise. The life of Jesse Mercer was book-ended by two rather unequal but significant revolutions—the Revolutionary War and the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention. Mercer experienced the ramifications of the former and his writings were precursors to the latter. Consequently, the story of Jesse Mercer is one worth telling. He was a leader among Baptists at a time when their understanding of religious liberty, missionary advocacy, and denominational identity was just beginning to take shape. People who knew Mercer said that he led while he professed to follow. In other words, his leadership was influential but not overbearing, and

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while he preferred to work alongside others, they tended to look to him for answers. However, being the leading figure in matters he became involved with was something Jesse Mercer experienced later in life. The humble circumstances of his early years revealed nothing of the sort. Birth and Background Jesse Mercer’s first breath was of North Carolina air in Halifax County on 16 December 1769. He was the oldest of Silas and Dorcas Mercer’s eight children—one more than the average-sized colonial family. His siblings included Ann, Mary, Daniel, Mourning, Hermon, Moriah, and Joshua. Two of the children, Mary and Mourning, died as infants; two others, Daniel and Moriah, became educators; and both Hermon and Joshua followed the lead of their father and oldest brother as ministers of the gospel. Ann Mercer became Ann Robertson at the age of seventeen, and though she lost her surname in marriage, she returned her familial affection by naming her firstborn son Jesse. Jesse Mercer’s connection with Georgia began at the age of four when his father purchased 100 acres of land near Washington, roughly forty-five miles northwest of Augusta. Silas Mercer was in his twenties when he moved to Georgia, but the ability to own such a large quantity of land was made possible when Georgia authorities acquired territory from the Cherokee and Creek Indians. The bargain basement offer of land suitable for growing wheat, indigo, and tobacco enabled this grandson of a Scottish immigrant to build a home and raise his family. Circumstances beyond his control forced him to move a few years later as Augusta was captured by the British during the Revolutionary War. Silas and his family returned to North Carolina where he began ministering as chaplain to the rebel troops. According to his journal, Silas preached on average one or two sermons each day for a period of six years, totaling more than 2,000 discourses. After the war he and his family returned to their home in Georgia, and from that time on Jesse Mercer spent the better portion of his life in the state named after the last king the colonists ever had.

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Life on the Georgia frontier embodied the American spirit of rugged individualism. The vast boundaries of private property led to an underdeveloped societal structure in which communication and close contact with others was at a minimum. Residents were necessarily self-reliant. Frontier justice was often carried out in the absence of law enforcement officials as most cases of personal harm or insult were generally resolved by fist-fighting or dueling. Educational opportunities were seldom sought since most people made their living off the land. Like many people in Wilkes County, Georgia, Silas and Jesse Mercer built their own homes, but unlike others the Mercers were among the slim majority who could sign their names to a document they could read. This was quite an accomplishment for Jesse Mercer since his childhood education had been interrupted by the war. When Francis Asbury, the famed Methodist itinerant, visited nearby Hudson’s Ferry, he remembered the people there as “wild and stupid.” Nevertheless, these social conditions provided equal footing for all as virtually every northeast Georgia resident started from scratch. Nearly everyone was poor but not everyone was needy. The natural resources of the Georgia forests provided an almost unlimited supply of building material and hosted more than enough wildlife to satisfy the frontier appetite. Practically anyone could succeed by working hard and living responsibly. The latter requirement was easier said than done since life on the frontier could be rather monotonous, and many turned to less than honorable activities as a diversion. Again, Francis Asbury gave his assessment: There are many hindrances to the work of God in this section of the country; some evitable and some inevitable; amongst the first are Sabbath markets, rum, races, and rioting; of the latter may be enumerated, necessary business (so-called); the sudden and severe changes, more peculiar to this southern climate which affect people powerfully, and against which they have not the protection of warm dwellings; the houses are universally unfinished and open, and the churches and chapels are in no better state.

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

Religion played an important role in the development of Jesse Mercer’s moral outlook as his father (Silas) and grandfather (James) belonged to the Church of England. The manner of inducting Jesse into the church further illustrates the primitive nature of life on the frontier as the rector baptized him outdoors in a barrel of water. A major turning point for the Mercers came in 1775 when Silas decided to leave the Church of England to become, of all things, a Baptist. These were a people James Mercer referred to as a “company of deceivers” who were “infected with absurd and dangerous heresies.” Though Silas was not one to openly rebel against his father, he became convinced that Baptists were correct in admitting to the church only those who had made a credible profession of faith. To do otherwise, he thought, was to give people hope for heaven outside of Christ. James Mercer responded to his son’s decision without fatherly fanfare. “Silas,” he said, “you are ruined!” The move away from the Church of England to the Baptist or Methodist denomination was increasingly common as the Anglican Church was known for liturgical worship and articulate sermons, neither of which impressed the typical frontier family and both of which made evangelism in rural areas quite problematic. Long before cultural engagement became the buzzword for church-growth gurus, Methodist “circuit-riders” and Baptist “farmer-preachers” adapted to this environment. The former did so by traveling on horseback to preach to rural populations and the latter did so by settling among them. Consequently, both groups reaped the rewards of frontier souls for Jesus and became two of the largest Protestant denominations in nineteenth-century America. Other religious bodies like the Presbyterians and Congregationalists were hardly able to keep up as they encouraged a more refined approach to ministry. Pastors in those denominations went to college before they were allowed to minister, whereas Baptists who sensed a call from God simply announced their desire to preach and got to work as soon as a Baptist church was convinced of their ability. And since pastors with a college education were more likely to be

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hired by educated city folk, those without a formal education fit in well with the vast majority of the growing rural population. Indeed, no Georgia Baptist minister in the eighteenth century is known to have earned a college degree. Silas Mercer fit in well with the Baptist methodology as he began preaching the same day of his baptism, addressing a crowd while still dripping wet from the baptismal waters. His move from the Church of England complete, Silas Mercer thus paved the way for his son Jesse to become a member of the Baptist church. In keeping with Baptist doctrine, however, Jesse’s move to the Baptist church had to be a personal choice—it was one decision that even his father could not make on his behalf. Childhood and Conversion What little we know about Jesse’s childhood comes from John Mercer, the paternal half-brother of Silas. Jesse referred to him as his “little uncle” because John was seven years his junior. Consequently, his reminiscences from that vantage point often reflect a bit of childlike adoration. According to Uncle John, Jesse was not like other boys either in his athletic abilities or his boyhood interests. Those who played sports involving rough physical contact were unable to find a companion in Mercer, as his physical stature was “slender and awkward in the extreme.” Recalling one occasion in particular when Jesse wrestled with another boy of the same age and build, Uncle John described the event as a test of skills that resulted in the conclusion that neither had any! Morally, however, Jesse Mercer stood head and shoulders above the rest. He avoided games of chance and refrained from using obscene language. He was remarkable, Uncle John said, for the almost stainless character of his youth, possessing a mild temperament and being known for taking difficult circumstances in stride. As a son, Jesse was “a pattern of filial obedience, submitting cheerfully to every command of his parents.” This was no small feat for any child but Jesse had the added responsibility of obeying his mother during his father’s frequent preaching tours. Yet he proved

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himself a model son as he “treated her with her with the utmost respect and deference.” Even if this information by the little uncle amounts to a little hero worship, it is clear from other accounts that Jesse Mercer had a tender conscience even as an adult. When he was twenty-four, Jesse and his father conducted a preaching tour through North Carolina. They retired one evening at the home of a distinguished family. During the evening devotions, Jesse succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep. He later awoke terrified that he had spurned his father’s good name and laid awake the rest of the night wondering how he could exhort people to care about the things of God if they found out that he himself cared more about sleep. He imagined what people might think: “Surely, although he seems to be zealous in the pulpit, and exhorts others to watch and pray, his heart cannot be in it, or he would not fall asleep in an armchair in a strange country, in a strange family, in the very midst of the solemnity of family worship.” Although he could have comforted himself by simply reflecting on the day’s events—a long journey on horseback through the rain after having delivered a lengthy sermon—he resolved instead to tell his father that he would not preach the next day. He was consoled only after his father reassured him that the disciples of Jesus had fallen asleep on a much more important occasion. Silas reminded him that they were still used by God to minister to others and he too should plan on preaching that day. Jesse’s tender conscience was also visible in later years. He often preached with tears and was known to weep openly during worship. Such emotions were generally frowned upon in a culture where men used to duel to the death over matters of personal honor. The esteem in which Jesse Mercer came to be held made him an exception to this rule. As a young man Jesse was known to enjoy the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing. To some degree these activities were ordinary parts of daily life, but Jesse enjoyed the hunt, so to speak. Those who knew him said “no weather was so inclement as to prevent him from ranging the woods for deer and turkeys, or

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coursing the river and mill ponds in search of ducks.” Before he went hunting he was known to spend half a day practicing his marksmanship and he often fished past midnight. He was particularly fond of swimming. Though he was no athlete on the ground, his skills in the water were such that he once rescued his little uncle from drowning. The abilities he acquired as an outdoorsman would later play a significant role in his work as an itinerant minister, as he would travel for weeks at a time along unmarked roads to preach the gospel. The bulk of information from Jesse Mercer’s childhood pertains to his sense of divine displeasure regarding his sinful nature. He recalled that his first impressions of falling short of the glory of God came at the age of five or six. This conviction was due in part to the teaching he received at home by his mother and father, who instilled in him the belief that his life needed to conform to the will of God as expressed in the Bible. They also taught him about the life to come, a subject that would have occupied the minds of little children back then who, by the age of five or six, knew someone who had died. His spotless reputation as a youth notwithstanding, Jesse was taught that God is holy and requires holiness from all people. He also would have heard sermons on heaven and hell from his father’s preaching. Though he was loved by his parents and respected by his friends, Jesse came to realize that his good character was not sufficient to reconcile him to God. At the age of fifteen he became increasingly concerned about doing what was in his power to seek salvation. He frequently prayed about his sinful condition, often read the Bible, and regularly attended church, but to no avail. All the while he was fully aware of the gospel message—that salvation is found in Christ alone and all who turn from their sins and trust in him will be saved—but he found it impossible to generate saving faith. Jesse later recalled, “I tried with all the faculties of my soul to believe, but could not; and so I concluded that I had not come aright, and was rejected.” Having concluded that his opportunity for conversion had passed, Jesse

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could have gone from bad to worse, choosing to live a rambunctious life or ignoring religion altogether. Yet, he still professed a love for God and desired “that others might be saved, for I wanted none to accompany me in my banishment from Heaven to the regions of misery and despair to which I was doomed.” As it turned out, Jesse Mercer was not doomed to the regions of misery and despair, as he found the relief he had been searching for at the age of seventeen. Interestingly, the turning point came when he was neither reading the Bible nor attending church. Instead he was walking through a forest one day grieving over his lot in life when he stopped to look at a small oak tree. He thought he would be better off if he shared the destiny of that tree, simply dying and returning to dust. But as he pondered such a fate he considered that there was much more hope for one trusting in Christ and believed then and there that the gospel applied to him. He understood that he was not rejected by God because Jesus had borne the penalty for his sins on the cross. Though he had entered the woods on the verge of despair, he exited rejoicing and singing to the Lord. A few days later, he related his experience to Phillips Mill Baptist Church where Silas was pastor. With full consent of the church, Jesse Mercer was baptized by his father on 8 July 1787. Liberty and Freedom In addition to his newfound faith, Jesse Mercer was living at a time when new things were happening all around him. America had finally gained its independence from England, and the new nation was in the process of establishing its own identity apart from the mother country. Moreover, the concept of religious liberty—a rather new idea that encouraged religion but discouraged governmental support—was beginning to make inroads into the American mind. Baptists in particular were on the verge of enjoying newfound freedoms and opportunities unlike anything they had previously known. Baptist beginnings in America are usually traced back to 1639 when Roger Williams established the first Baptist church in

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Providence, Rhode Island. Williams had earlier been expelled from Massachusetts when authorities determined that his views on religious freedom posed a threat to their colony. He had argued that government officials had no right to infringe on a person’s religious beliefs. This was strange teaching at the time as Puritans in Massachusetts intentionally adopted laws that conformed to biblical mandates. Consequently, arguments for religious freedom were considered an act of civil disobedience since a variety of religious preferences would likely weaken the moral fabric of society. Roger Williams did not remain a Baptist for long, but Baptists would long be in his debt as Rhode Island proved to be a refuge for religious misfits. For the next 100 years or so, Baptists managed to eke out an existence as a minority group, sometimes meeting with similar instances of persecution as Williams. Many were fined, imprisoned, publicly whipped, or banished for such high crimes as preaching without a license and refusing to support other churches with their tax dollars. Baptists had learned to live within these circumstances, but their circumstances became more favorable after the Great Awakening and the Revolutionary War established them as a numerically significant group that could no longer be persecuted or ignored. The Great Awakening was a series of revivals that occurred in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. The preaching of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards (neither of whom were Baptists) called for experiential conversion, whereupon a person could give credible evidence of being born again. Thousands of people who were upstanding members in respectable churches began to realize that the Christian faith involved more than infant baptism followed by good behavior. Baptists benefited from these revivals in the most indirect of ways. Their practice of baptizing people after a profession of faith provided a welcome correction to having church members who were unable to detail their journey of repentance from sin to faith in Christ. In short, many who became Christians during the

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

Great Awakening decided to align themselves with the Baptist denomination. The Revolutionary War followed the Great Awakening and provided a two-fold blessing for Baptists. First, it brought about the end of government-supported churches. Just as the colonies had been under the political thumb of old England, so too many colonists had lived in the shadow of the Church of England. In practical terms, citizens were taxed for the support of the church whether or not they wished to attend. Baptists, like Isaac Backus of New England, used the patriot’s cry of “taxation without representation” to their ecclesiastical advantage, arguing that it was just as wrong to pay taxes to a church one does not attend as it was to pay taxes to a government one could not reform. Second, Baptists earned respect from their fellow Americans when they took up arms to fight for independence. Religious groups like the Quakers (who were pacifists) and Anglicans (who were on the losing side) did not fare so well. People who originally had reservations about Baptist theology no longer had reason to question their patriotism. By the end of the eighteenth century the Baptist denomination had entered America’s religious mainstream, not necessarily because their leaders won people over with brilliant arguments but due to the fact that they were in the right place at the right time with a message similar to what many were already thinking. Providence, it seems, was more than just a town for Baptists in America. Organization and Opposition Young Jesse Mercer was well acquainted with these changes as his father became a Baptist minister the year before the war began. Silas served as pastor to three separate congregations from 1785 until his death in 1796. Since the Baptist denomination had grown so rapidly it was not unusual for a Baptist pastor to serve several churches simultaneously. Often, each congregation met once a month in accordance with the pastor’s schedule. Baptist churches in the South during the eighteenth century were not large by today’s standards—fewer than 100 members on average—but there were

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many and they were spread out from one another. Congregants were aware of the sacrifices made by their pastor and they showed their appreciation in a way fitting to their context. Instead of financial remuneration (of which Baptists had little to give), rural churches typically provided their pastor with tobacco, corn, pork, clothing, or store goods. One of Silas Mercer’s congregations even provided a slave to assist him in tending his land. Unfortunately, Baptist pastors soon discovered this type of support was less than reliable. Silas pointed out that these results were costly in more ways than one: “Many of the Lord’s ministers set out with souls full of zeal for God’s glory…but have soon found, by sad experience, that except the Lord would feed his ministers by the ravens, and clothe them like the lilies, they must labor at some worldly employment or bring a disgrace upon religion.” Even though Baptist pastors were still capable of supporting their families with work outside of their ministerial responsibilities, Silas observed that time invested in secular employment left fewer hours for study and prayer: “Worldly engagements take up his mind, his ideas grow rusty, his religion declines, his spirits are dried up, and he, worn out with fatigue, soon loses his zeal, and the word of truth comes like ice from his frozen lips.” Silas’s concern for more consistent support was not based on a desire to have an easier life as a pastor. If Baptist ministers could not devote themselves to study and prayer during the week, their efforts at preaching would suffer during the weekend. Consequently, Silas noted, “as like will begat it’s like, the religion of his congregation will decline.” He also knew that Baptist preachers were not likely to win public debates against pastors from other denominations unless they were granted more time and opportunity to study the Bible more carefully. With these concerns in mind, Silas began working with other Baptist ministers to devise ways in which they could combine their resources to accomplish these common goals. In 1784, the same year the Mercers returned from North Carolina, Silas helped to form the Georgia Baptist Association, a

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loosely knit group of churches that attempted to assist each other in doing the Lord’s work. Fifteen-year-old Jesse was present for the discussion and the inaugural meeting. Baptists had their share of problems like other denominations, but unlike others they had no hierarchical structure to create or command a solution. In true Baptist fashion, the founding members of the Georgia Baptist Association declared themselves to be a body having “no power to lord it over God’s heritage; nor by which [we] can infringe upon any of the internal rights of the churches.” Translated, this meant that members of the Georgia Baptist Association could give advice to churches only when such advice was asked for and help those in need only after they asked for help. The lack of hierarchy did not result in anarchy as associational meetings were designed to include time for “queries” from congregations where practical matters from particular churches were discussed. Queries included anything from the necessary number of people to form a church, to whether or not a man should be ordained as deacon when his wife was not a member, to whether or not ministers who violated the church’s trust should be restored to their position. Potential solutions came by way of informed opinions offered by pastors whose wisdom, not their position, earned them the right to be heard. Though the association had no authority to demand a local church conform to their decision, the meetings proved that Baptists could work well together so long as no one could tell them what to do. Despite their desire to remain independent of any hierarchical church structure, Georgia Baptists managed to implement a number of unwritten rules that kept them closely connected to one another. New Baptist churches were not built near existing Baptist churches except by mutual consent, a provision that limited intradenominational competition for converts. Along those same lines, Baptists who voluntarily left one church to join another could be received by their new church only if they were in good standing with the former church. Likewise, if a member were dismissed from a

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Baptist church for practicing sinful behavior or promoting false doctrine, he or she could not join another Baptist church until problems were resolved with the previous congregation. The common understanding between Baptist churches reveals their desire for autonomy was tempered by the opinion of the community. The Georgia Baptist Association also provided a united front for churches when they seemed threatened by non-Baptist bodies. Their first test came in February 1785 when the Georgia State Assembly proposed an act designed to assist churches in securing their pastors. Parish lines were drawn where private citizens would cooperate with government officials to select a minister for the church whose salary would be provided by taxpayers. Although the proposal specifically stated that all denominations would have “free and equal liberty and toleration in the exercise,” ministers of the Georgia Baptist Association gathered together and prepared to defeat the motion. Silas Mercer was commissioned to draft a document formally stating their opposition to government involvement in church affairs. He and a fellow minister, Peter Smith, presented the case before the state assembly. With his mind still fresh with memories from the revolutionary battlefield, Silas sharply rebuked the legislators for overstepping their authority: “Christians know they are bound to obey magistrates, to pay them tribute, to pray for them, to fight for them and to defend them, but to give them the honor due to Christ would be the readiest way to ruin them: Christ is the king and Lord of the conscience, and it is an encroachment upon his prerogative for civil rulers to interfere in matters pertaining thereto.” Although the Georgia legislators had entertained the motion out of respect for religion and its positive impact upon society, Silas warned that the law would become “a first link, which draws after it, a chain of baneful consequences.” The consequences, he said, would be twofold. First, if government authorities determined who could preach, they would soon want to determine what was preached. Second, if the government provided financial backing to a minister, the call to be a prophet would be lost on those who enjoyed the

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

comforts of their position. Evidently, Silas Mercer had more foresight than his legislative counterparts: “When religion is turned into a policy and made subservient to private interest, it will ever bring tyranny along with it and should, therefore, be opposed in its first appearances.” Despite their otherwise good intentions, the state assembly decided that helping churches was tantamount to harnessing religion and they rescinded the motion. Some thirteen years later, in 1798, Georgia delegates convened to adopt a new state constitution. Jesse Mercer was appointed to author the section on religious liberty, subject to committee review. Though he was not yet thirty years old at the time, Jesse’s statement represented a firm, mature understanding of the freedom of religion: No person within the State shall, upon any pretense, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping God in a manner agreeable to his own conscience, nor be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith and judgment; nor shall be obligated to pay tithes, taxes, or any other rates for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right or hath voluntarily engaged to do.

The fact that Jesse Mercer was asked to contribute this portion of the state constitution reveals that he had become an important figure in his own right, but he certainly must have thought about his father’s bold stance as he penned those words. Whereas Baptists have made their share of mistakes over the years, securing religious liberty for themselves and others remains one of their most significant contributions to the history of America. Even a Georgia atheist could say “amen” to Silas and Jesse’s insistence on the separation of church and state. Ministry and Marriage Soon after Jesse Mercer was baptized at Phillips Mill Church, his attention was drawn to two things—preaching the gospel and courting Sabrina Chivers. Just as his father before him began preaching to the crowd after he was baptized, Jesse also began

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Father Mercer

preaching as soon as the occasion provided. He delivered his first sermon at a prayer meeting held at his grandmother’s log cabin. Not surprisingly, all the Mercers present—Grandma, Silas, and two uncles—made much of his efforts, thereby encouraging him to follow his father as a minister of the gospel. Over the passage of time others outside the Mercer family had a slightly different take on Jesse Mercer’s preaching. Substance was not the issue—he was sound in doctrine and this became his greatest strength. Basil Manly, Sr., a significant pastor in his own right, recalled that Mercer’s preaching “required no ordinary effort of a well-trained mind to take in all that he said.” Jesse Mercer’s style, however, seems to have been a problem for both speaker and hearer alike. Charles D. Mallary, in his 1844 biography, described Mercer’s delivery as somewhat distractive as he alternated between a slow start and a wild finish to his sermon. Mercer would begin his sermon by shrugging his shoulders and moving his head sideways. His voice was not particularly strong, and when he would raise it for effect, it became shrill and dissonant. As he became more excited during his delivery, Mercer often slapped the pulpit and stomped his foot on the floor, following up at times with an entire turning of his body from front to rear. Even his star-struck little uncle admitted that Mercer “never attained…to a graceful manner in the pulpit.” While a Baptist preacher without polish was common on the frontier (recall how Anglican ministers were too erudite for their own good), something is seriously amiss when such criticisms come from frontier Baptists. In light of the fact that he became so well loved and admired by Baptists, one may conclude that his idiosyncrasies behind the pulpit were a small price to pay for his knowledge, grace, and warmth outside of the pulpit. Mercer’s physical appearance at this point in his life has been described as “anything but prepossessing.” Perhaps so, but he managed to catch the eye of Sabrina Chivers. She too was a member of Phillips Mill Baptist Church, having been baptized the same year as Jesse. Her parents died when she was young and she grew up

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

poorer than most. When she and Jesse wed in 1788, a feather bed was the only piece of furniture she owned. However, what she lacked in material goods was more than supplemented by her natural ability to care for her preacher-husband. The clothes he wore were made by her hands, and the long journeys he spent away from home were met with her open arms. Even though Sabrina could manage the home and the farm while he was away, she chose not to repair two small chinks on each side of her house, which she used to peek down the road Jesse would be riding. It was a habit of hers to pace the floor when he was due, looking frequently through the holes for signs of his arrival. Their love for one another was such that she could have demanded he spend more time at home, but Jesse’s life was so connected to preaching the gospel that when they could afford to do so he purchased a carriage for Sabrina to accompany him on his long trips. Mallary cites an interesting quality about Sabrina, almost in passing. He notes that she was “extravagantly fond of infants and children (it mattered little whose they were), caressed them much and treated them with the uttermost tenderness and affection.” Perhaps there is more here than a gentle woman delighting in little ones, as Sabrina and Jesse lost their two daughters to an early death. The first daughter, Miriam, was born on 1 December 1798, but died at the age of nine months. The grief Sabrina and Jesse experienced was still apparent six years later when their second daughter was born and they also named her Miriam. She lived only nine years. As a young girl Sabrina had lost both of her parents, and as a young woman she had lost both of her children. It is unfortunate that words on a page cannot adequately convey the occasions Sabrina stopped and cried during her daily labors or knelt and prayed in her time of need, but Mallary’s comment surely depicts a woman who was not bitter. The visible displays of affection she could no longer give to her own daughters were graciously passed on to the children of others. Jesse’s marriage to Sabrina coincided with the time that he experienced a call to ministry. He accepted his first pastorate in 1788

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Father Mercer

at Hutton’s Fork, a small church that later changed its name to Sardis. Although he was married and had left his father’s home, he was in many ways still his father’s son. Silas Mercer was the founding pastor of Hutton’s Fork and when Jesse was ordained in 1789, Silas was one of the two men who comprised the ordination council. Indeed, it is not likely that Jesse would have been denied ordination when twothirds of the men in the room were named Mercer! Jesse was encouraged by his father to improve his knowledge of the Bible by attending a small school led by John Springer, a man noted for being weighty in more ways than one. He was the first Presbyterian ordained in Georgia and he weighed nearly 400 pounds. Neither his formal education nor his physical stature prevented him from serving the Lord among the rural population of Georgia as he traveled on horseback throughout the state training ministers for the gospel. In accordance with his father’s wishes, Jesse moved near the school at Fishing Creek (about five miles from his home), where he and Sabrina resided for the next two years. Jesse found a mentor and a friend in John Springer. Though they had differences in theology (for example, Presbyterians baptize infants and Baptists do not), Jesse was eager to learn from Springer how to preach and how to serve. In addition to receiving instruction in biblical languages and theology, Mercer accompanied Springer to his church when doing so would not interfere with his own duties at Hutton’s Fork. The two were a demonstration of Christian unity at a time when sectarian divisions were prominent. So sharp were these divisions that Baptists did not share in the Lord’s Supper with members of other denominations. There was, however, a common bond between Jesse and John that visibly displayed the Lord’s command to love one another. After completing two years of instruction under Springer, Jesse Mercer returned to his father’s farm and began attending Salem Academy, the first private Baptist school in Georgia. Once more Jesse seemed to be following in his father’s steps as the academy was founded by Silas (though it was under the direction of others). As he

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

had done before, Mercer built his own home and spent the next year in studies. The grand total of three years of ministerial education made him one of the most educated Baptist ministers in the state. However, since he never attended an established college it is not surprising that he never broke ground as a premier theologian. In fact, his academic skills at this stage in life were on the upper end of rudimentary. But the time he invested in his studies led to his interest in providing educational opportunities for other aspiring ministers, and some forty years later a school designed for that very purpose would be named in his honor. As fellow ministers, Silas and Jesse Mercer went on extended preaching tours together, traveling in 1791 through Virginia and in 1793 through North Carolina. Their common bond as father and son was evidenced by the common theme of their preaching, as revealed by one observer’s brief notes on their sermons: The father preached on Mark 16:15…He held up a Saviour given by God the father to his people & all blessed graces of the Spirit, so that the creature had nothing to boast of only in the Lord.… The son [preaching on Isaiah 32:17] shewed [sic] that it was the Righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to the soul that was to constitute the soul for Heaven, & that no [righteousness] of our own would do.… A presumptuous faith to look to the mercy of God without considering his justice, a true faith to look to God for mercy through Jesus.

Some years afterward, a theological spat among Baptists led to the charge that Silas would be ashamed of his son’s preaching as it centered on “the speculating schemes of the day, and not the tradition, even of his own father.” Jesse’s response to such criticisms was unequivocal: “I have undergone no fundamental change in my faith from my forefathers! I believe now, and always preach in perfect accordance with the faith adopted by the Georgia Association.” Just as Jesse mirrored his father’s position on religious liberty, he also took pride in the fact that he did not introduce theological novelties.

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Father Mercer

Slave and Free Jesse was also like his father in ways that today we find disheartening. Like many white Southerners, the Mercers owned slaves. By the end of his life Jesse had as many as seventeen. Southern culture and economic factors notwithstanding, the primary justification for slavery stemmed from the directives given in the Bible. The fact that the New Testament provided instructions for the proper treatment of slaves was interpreted to mean that abuse of slaves, not ownership, was a sin. Along the lines of the Southern mindset, Jesse Mercer did not distinguish between the indentured servanthood of the first century and the perpetual ownership of Africans in the nineteenth century. Moreover, he believed that a Georgian who inherited slaves from his father was no more at fault than the Old Testament patriarchs who inherited slaves from their fathers. Both Isaac and Jacob had inherited slaves from Abraham, the very man through whom God pledged to bless the world. Unlike his father, however, Jesse lived at a time when discussions over the morality of slavery began to spill over into the political sphere. Abolition of slavery seemed to be the most immediate solution but it was an option Jesse flatly rejected as being unscriptural and impractical. Slaves were taught through scripture to obey their masters; running away from them was the height of disobedience. Jesse also contended that abolitionists who sought to free slaves were acting contrary to the apostle Paul, who sent the runaway slave Onesimus back to his master, Philemon. This difference of opinion was further complicated by the fact that Southerners who were raised in a slave-holding culture were not likely to take instruction from their Northern countrymen anytime soon. By the mid-1830s, Jesse Mercer and Georgia Baptists were coming to terms with the possibility of secession from the North. He detested this option because of the damage it would cause to the country and to the ongoing mission work that at the time was funded jointly by Southern and Northern Baptists. In practical terms Mercer thought the best solution was for slaves to earn their freedom and be

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

repatriated to Africa. While such an approach seems insensitive for the modern reader, one should not assume racist undertones as his motivation. The American Colonization Society was formed in 1821 by former slaves Collin Teague and Lott Carey with the aim of spreading the gospel throughout the African continent, starting in the newly formed country of Liberia. Jesse Mercer held a keen interest in this movement as he did with any mission organization. Upon hearing news that the Liberian settlement had proven to be safer and healthier than even its founders anticipated, he concluded that God had orchestrated such a movement to bring the gospel to all the “sons of Ham.” On a personal level, Mercer had great affection for his slaves. They were members of his household and many were members of his church. As such, they were to be treated humanely and they were to be instructed about their eternal destiny. A personal letter from Jesse Mercer is telling in this regard as it reveals his thoughts on a slave named Charlotte: I had hoped that Charlotte had some concern on her mind about her soul’s and eternity’s interest, before I left home. I talked to her of those things, and urged her to seek the Lord and faint not. I should like to know if she makes any progress. Tell her (and all) that I have constant remembrance of them before the throne of grace, and hope she does not fail to pray for herself and her children.

Mercer summoned his family and servants together for morning and evening devotions and he frequently inquired about their welfare when he was away from home. In what is perhaps the last letter he wrote before he died, Mercer made it clear that the color of a person’s skin had nothing to do with his or her standing before God: “Tell the blacks that I have constant remembrance of them in prayer. I fear for the white people of W[ashington, Georgia] lest the Lord may have given them over to their own ways.” To be sure, religion in the South was often used as a means of continuing the social order as white pastors instructed slaves about

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Father Mercer

their duties to submit to their earthly masters. Jesse Mercer’s understanding of the Bible went beyond mere words as he openly supported the desire of slaves in his church to build a meetinghouse of their own, contributing $100 to their collective $33. Ironically, slaves in a Baptist church typically had the right to vote on church matters—something that was not afforded to them on the outside. Jesse even supported their desire to govern their church just as any white congregation governed their own church. And though he cited biblical texts to justify slavery, he also quoted the Bible to demonstrate how the gospel transforms master/slave relations. Proverbs 29:21 was one of his favorite texts in this regard: “He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at length.” A friend who visited Mercer’s farm on a regular basis observed that the feeling was mutual, as Mercer’s slaves venerated him not as a master but as a father. Conclusion For the early part of Jesse Mercer’s life, no one rivaled the esteem in which he held his father. The two shared faith in the same Lord, belonged to the same denomination, and found their calling as ministers of the gospel. Together they resisted efforts to prop up religion as they advocated for the separation of church and state and together they continued to uphold the standing social order as free persons who owned slaves. However, the closing years of the eighteenth century marked a separation of father and son as Silas Mercer unexpectedly died in 1796, due to an unidentified illness or an accident on the farm. His father’s untimely death forced Jesse to become his own man. Indeed, the boy who had grown up as the son of Silas would soon be called “Father Mercer” by those whose blood ran Baptist.

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2 Father Mercer The unexpected death of Silas Mercer brought unexpected responsibilities in the life of his son Jesse. Silas had been the pastor of three congregations, the founder of an academy, and an important voice in the Georgia Baptist Association. Jesse inherited his father’s responsibilities if not his mantle also. He immediately returned to his boyhood home to take care of his mother and his four youngest siblings. As the oldest son in the family nothing less would have been acceptable. Considering the love he had for his mother and the respect he had for his father, there is no reason to doubt that he fulfilled more than his duty in this regard. The real test for Jesse Mercer was whether or not he could fill the void left by his father in the sphere of ministerial influence. It is not known whether Jesse viewed himself as his father’s successor, but it is clear that people who knew Silas expected a similar if not greater ministry from his son. A friend of the Mercer family wrote a lengthy poem on the occasion of Silas’s death with its final stanza ending thusly: Silas is dead, but lo! our Jesus lives. Now let the faithful watchmen be awake, Nor hold their peace, but cry for Zion’s sake: Young Jesse, rise, your father’s dead and gone; Be strong in faith and act like Jesse’s son.

Father Mercer

The allusion to King David (“Jesse’s son”) would be a bit much for anyone to live up to but Jesse Mercer seemed prepared to step into his father’s shoes. Seven years had passed since his ordination and he had observed his father’s ministry from the age of six. The time had come for Silas’s son to fulfill his calling. Silas’s Successor In 1796–1797 Silas’s three churches—Powelton, Bethesda, and Phillips Mill—each invited Jesse to be their pastor. His length of service at each church confirms that he was more than a temporary replacement for grieving congregations. He served as pastor of Powelton until 1825, Bethesda until 1827, and Phillips Mill until 1835. The location of these churches in Wilkes County contributed to the status of Jesse Mercer as an influential Baptist leader. Of the 82,000 residents living in Georgia at the turn of the nineteenth century, a full 36,000 made their homes in Wilkes County. Salem Academy did not fare very well under Jesse Mercer’s leadership. The school already had two changes at the top during its brief history. The original rector, Rudolphus Brown, died in his first year of service. His successor, James Armour, managed to place the school on solid footing but resigned after the death of Silas. Jesse and his brother Daniel Mercer continued the daily operations of the school for two more years but they were unable to sustain it any longer. The closing of the school was undoubtedly a disappointment to the Mercers, but Jesse continued to incorporate education into his ministerial calling as he used knowledge gained from his own educational journey in the service of training others. He reverted to an earlier method of ministerial training as he regularly invited young ministers to his home for a time of biblical instruction and recitation. Mercer was more effective in his work with the Georgia Baptist Association. He served as clerk of the association for twenty-nine years (1785–1814) and then as moderator for twenty-three years (1816–1839). The role of clerk was significant in that he was the person responsible for recording minutes of the annual session,

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

compiling statistical information from participating churches, and distributing the final copy of both to the churches. Mercer was a numbers man in the sense that he had a keen eye for detail and took a genuine interest in learning about the welfare of each and every Baptist church. Consequently, the earliest records of Georgia Baptist life are largely the result of his hand. His work as moderator was also fitting as he had gained a reputation as a methodical, no-nonsense leader of the ever-risky Baptist business meeting. It was said in his churches that even “whispers of an old sister could scarcely escape a reprimand.” (Imagine the chatter that would occur after the pastor/moderator asked one of the senior members to tone it down!) As moderator for the Georgia Baptist Association, Mercer was known to entertain all points of view without allowing the floor to be taken over by incessant wrangling. Once, however, when he apparently missed his cue to bring closure to a thorny issue, a fellow minister made a motion that “Mercer give us his views on the subject and that the question then be put without any further debate.” His growing influence was also evident as he was asked on five occasions to write the Georgia Baptist Association’s annual circular letter, which was something like a president’s weekly radio address— not likely to change minds but also not delivered by just anyone. Few people outside of Baptist life would be stirred to action by a Baptist minister railing against the ways of the world, but the circular letter served the purpose of reminding those inside the Baptist family which virtues to embrace and which vices to avoid. As such, the circular letters spoke to issues of the time rather than breaking new theological ground. By addressing issues of the day the circular letters have lost much of their prophetic edge and can too easily be dismissed by modern readers as rants from meddling Baptist preachers. Readers of Mercer’s circulars might think of him at first as unoriginal. For instance, in one circular Mercer decried worldliness in the church citing, among other sins, the way women were dressing: “Whence is it that there are among your women, bare elbows—naked arms—

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Father Mercer

exposed breasts—shorn heads—ruffled or shamefully tight dresses, connected with a light airy deportment and vain conversation?” Though such concerns were entirely appropriate at the time, a woman with short hair wearing short sleeves today would hardly draw attention to herself in a Baptist church. But even if the topics Mercer wrote about were somewhat predictable, his circulars did in fact include challenges applicable to Christians then and now. In his first circular (1801) Mercer chided fellow Baptists for their apparent lack of love for one another: “Amongst many of you a friendly, uniting and endearing spirit is too little cultivated; you often meet with each other with an air of cold indifference, as you do a wicked neighbor.… The phrase brother and sister is kept up, in some sort; but that too has lost its savor, having become formal, it communicates little or no Christian affection.” The solution to such indifference, as Mercer saw it, was for Christians to share God’s vision for the church as a family of persons redeemed from their sins whose lives might become for others a demonstration of his glorious grace: Be mindful of the designs of grace through you. Remember that God has purposed by you, to make known to principalities and powers, the exceeding riches of his wisdom; and therefore you are called to be instruments of his glory; to appear on the same theatre; to engage in the same exercises; and to act on the same exalted plan of action with himself, in the accomplishment of those things, in which very intimately consists the glory and joy of Angels, the glory and honor of God, and in short the glory and excellency of all heaven.

Such visible unity among Christian believers was a theme that frequently recurred in Mercer’s writings, though he often sounded as a voice crying in the wilderness. It was a topic his Baptist readers would have agreed about in theory but gave little evidence they wanted to put into practice. Mercer certainly outpaced his fellow Baptists in this regard as his understanding of unity went far beyond singing “Kumbaya”

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

around the Christian campfire. In his second circular letter (1806) Mercer reminded Baptists of their unity in the pursuit of holy living. When Christians ignored sin in their midst, he argued, “the internal bond is broken, the outward pretension is specious hypocrisy.” Therefore he sternly admonished them: “You profess to be Bible Baptists, be Bible Christians.” Mercer again addressed the theme of unity among Christians in his final circular (1821) where he expressed himself most forcefully, calling upon Baptists to “dismiss [and] forever banish from your hearts that God-dishonoring, and soulstarving sentiment, that your Christian obligations are restricted to the church to which you in particular belong.” Lines in the Denominational Sand In the same way that Mercer’s circulars represent his growing influence among Baptists, they also reveal his understanding of the Baptist denomination within the context of the larger Christian family. His desire for unity among Baptists did not apply equally to Christians in other denominations. In 1811 Mercer wrote a circular explaining why Baptists did not recognize non-Baptists as their ecclesiological equals. In plain terms, Mercer and his fellow Baptists believed any church that practiced infant baptism was not a true church and any institution that held authority over the local church was not a scriptural institution. It is not hard to understand why nonBaptists were nonplussed with the Baptist position. Presbyterians, Methodists, and Catholics alike did not like to be told that their infants were not truly baptized or that their ministers were not truly ordained. Baptists complicated matters further by refusing to celebrate the Lord’s Supper with non-Baptists. Even though the Lord’s Supper was designed to demonstrate unity among Christians, Mercer was convinced that sharing the Lord’s Supper with nonBaptists would provide only a “shadow of communion” since they permitted non-Christians to be members of their churches. In all fairness to Baptists, the feelings of institutional superiority went both ways. To non-Baptists, the premium Baptist churches placed on self-governance looked a bit like inmates running the

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Father Mercer

asylum. Baptists were accused of playing fast and loose with church polity since any local church (without official oversight) could ordain any man (without theological training) to the ministry. Though Presbyterians believed God could call a man to preach without him having to pursue a theological education, it was the exception for them not the rule. In their estimation Baptists scandalized the ministry by regularly ordaining uneducated men to preach. Though somewhat educated himself, Mercer felt the sting of the Baptist name: “To a titled, beneficed ecclesiastic, a poor Baptist preacher presented a spectacle as revolting as a Gentile ‘dog’ ever did to a self-righteous Pharisee.” Educated pastors from various denominations looked down upon uneducated Baptists, believing that their informal theological training would inevitably lead to theological errors. Baptists were especially suspect with regard to the way they treated their children. Most Christian groups that practiced infant baptism believed it represented the inclusion of their children in the covenant family of God, as was the case with circumcision of infants in the Old Testament. Thus a child who was baptized was not born again; rather he or she enjoyed the privileges of God’s blessings upon a godly family. In some cases, infant baptism served as a comfort to parents who lost a child to an early death as it provided a sense of assurance that his or her sins had been washed away. Baptist parents who, by definition, did not have their infants baptized were thought to be guilty of spiritual child abuse. Since Baptists had “excited some unpleasantness among the religious denominations,” Mercer was appointed to provide the rationale as to why Baptists, not Paedobaptists (those who baptized infants), belonged to the most accurate representation of Christ’s church on earth. His argument stemmed from the promise of Jesus in Matthew 16:18–19 to build his church whereupon even the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Like most Christians, Mercer understood there would never be a time when the true church would be extinct. Unlike most Christians, but like many Baptists, Mercer believed the true church was identified with his own denomination:

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

“All churches and ministers, who originated since the apostles, and not successively to them, are not in gospel order; and therefore cannot be acknowledged as such.” Mercer’s assumption that Baptists were the living fulfillment of Christ’s promise rested on the fact that they, more than all other denominations, were most faithful to scripture. At this point Mercer might have tried to bolster his argument by producing evidence that Baptist churches existed continually during the previous seventeen centuries but he made no attempt to do so. The lack of historical documentation notwithstanding, Mercer maintained that Baptists “shall think ourselves entitled to the claim, until the reverse be clearly shown.” It was an argument from silence that he was pleased to let stand. Interestingly, his perspective came directly from the Catholic playbook as they too had cited historical ties to the first-century church. Their claim was also based on Matthew 16:18–19 but was further buttressed by a list of popes, which ostensibly linked the apostle Peter to the current head of the Roman Catholic Church. Catholics agreed with Mercer that there was only one church but differed from him and his kind by contending that Baptists were not it. Mercer dismissed their claim of apostolic succession because of their multiple modifications of the apostolic faith. In his eyes, their frequent substitution of the traditions of men for the word of God had rendered the Catholic Church into “the mother of harlots.” Mercer did not use such language for other non-Baptists like the Presbyterians and Methodists. As Protestants they had much in common with the Baptists. But he did find fault with their belief that their authority to ordain ministers and administer church ordinances rested on the power vested in an institution with authority over the local church. Mercer challenged this notion by arguing that the apostles recognized Christ alone as lord over the church; therefore ministers, who were no greater than the apostles, were not to be lords over anyone but subject to the local church. Likewise, Christ alone was head of the body; therefore ministers were simply parts of the body but in no way were they a substitute for the head of the church.

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Father Mercer

To claim otherwise was to claim “a higher rank in the churches than the apostles did.” Even young Timothy, the pastoral protégé of Paul, was instructed how to conduct himself in the church as opposed to having the church learn how to conduct itself around him. Mercer astutely observed that “if the power had been constituted in him [Timothy], the advice should have been given to the church, that she might have known how to behave herself in the presence of her Bishop.” Ceding power to a person (pope or bishop) or an organization (presbytery or council) over the local church amounted to more than just bad church polity. For Mercer, the consequences were dire: “Those who have set aside the discipline of the gospel, and have given law to and exercised dominion over the church, are usurpers over the place and office of Christ, are against him; and therefore may not be accepted in their offices.” Complicating matters further was the practice of infant baptism which, by definition, excluded faith as a requirement on the part of the recipient: “Faith is made capital in the scriptures, and the want of it equals unbelief…therefore the administrations of such are unwarrantable impositions in any way.” One might conclude that Mercer’s strong words in the circular not only clarified for Paedobaptists why they were not welcome to the Lord’s Supper in a Baptist church but also gave them further reason for not wanting to attend anyway. To be sure, Mercer’s views on the nature of the church made him an equal-opportunity offender even for some in the Baptist family. On paper, all Baptists agreed that membership in the church belonged to those who were born again. The reality of enforcing that position was somewhat more complicated as some church members found it difficult to make a clean break with their pre-Christian past. Consequently while Baptist churches were founded on the premise of a regenerate (born again) church membership, they often had persons in their midst whose lives resembled their pre-conversion days. Mercer’s concern for visible Christian unity was secondary to his concern for Baptists being unified in their pursuit of Christ-like

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

living. He thus used his growing influence to hold Baptists accountable to one another through a process known as church discipline. Opening the Back Door The idea of Baptists removing people from their membership rolls sounds almost as counterproductive as having a homecoming service without a potluck dinner to follow. With either scenario numbers are sure to go down and most people realize that Baptists have an interest in numbers. But Mercer lived in a different era when expectations of church membership were more stringent than the socalled counting of nickels and noses. Joining a Baptist church in the nineteenth century meant that one’s personal life became a public matter because one was no longer representing him or herself alone but Jesus Christ and the local Baptist church. Baptists who were willing to offend their non-Baptist brothers and sisters by refusing baptism to their own children were not about to lose their claim to biblical fidelity by building a church of unregenerate adults. They signed church covenants, pledging to “voluntarily and mutually give ourselves to one another.” Every member who chose to come in the front door of church membership was also made aware of the back door of church discipline. The former was entered by professing faith in Christ; the latter was exited by failing to live up to that profession. This is not to suggest that Baptists believed in a doctrine of sinless perfection where Christians could attain such a lifestyle of holy living that they no longer struggled with sin. They knew all too well that any Christian could fall into the snares of the devil. Instances of drunkenness, sexual immorality, fighting, theft, slander, and the like were not the song of the redeemed but they sometimes hummed the tune. In addition to bad behavior, embracing or promoting false doctrine was also a threat to one’s standing in a Baptist church. Those who were caught committing such sins were publicly admonished by the church and upon demonstrating true repentance were also forgiven by the church. Unrepentant sinners

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Father Mercer

were kept in check by having the privileges of church membership removed from them. As a seasoned Baptist pastor Mercer earned the reputation of loving God and God’s people, in that order. For those who desired to join his church, Mercer let them know that “a public profession is a serious transaction” and that “he who makes it, enters into a most solemn pledge, that by the grace of God, he will not live to himself, but to Him who died for sinners and arose again.” For those who were on the verge of dismissal from his church, Mercer’s position was clear: “If I go according to the scriptural path, I am safe whether we exclude or retain.” Mercer was lionized by his fellow Baptists for his attention to church discipline. He preached about it in sermons and wrote about it in circulars, describing discipline as the “life-blood of the church” without which “there can be no union, order, peace or fellowship in the church.” So committed was Mercer to maintaining discipline in the church that even members of his own family were subject to congregational scrutiny. Church minutes from his Bethesda congregation in March 1818 reported, “Brother and Sister Mays did not appreciate being ‘jacked’ up about drinking; Sister Mays denied the charge and asked to have their names erased from the church roll. Brother Mount Moriah Mercer was put on the rack for drinking spirituous liquors and light minded conduct. And on application a letter of dismissal was granted him.” One can safely assume that “the rack” was figurative but Jesse Mercer’s commitment to impartiality in church discipline was literal. Mercer’s attention to discipline in the church was evident not only in cases of shameful sin but also in situations where people were simply showing off. Judge Garnett Andrews, a member of Mercer’s church in Washington, Georgia, described him as a rather “straightlaced” preacher who insisted on proper decorum in the church such that he “did not hesitate to utter his opinion about worldly show and vanity.” He should know. One day Garnett’s mother arrived at church in her newly painted carriage complete with a fringed canopy.

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

To top it off she was dressed in her Sunday best with a new bonnet and bright colored ribbons. Though the congregation was noticeably impressed upon her arrival, Judge Andrews recalled that Mercer “spied my mother with a frown. During the sermon he had occasion to comment on the sin of worldly show and vanity—my mother knew that he was referring to her.” Perhaps she did, but just to make sure, Mercer sent a group of deacons to her home after church to “admonish her against such a show of worldliness.” Mercer was so well versed in matters of discipline that Baptists regularly wrote letters to him asking for his advice on difficult situations, and his was the leading voice at associational meetings when queries about discipline were raised. Often his churches led the association in members excluded. Nevertheless his churches continued to grow steadily and his fellow pastors held him in high esteem. In 1835 the Central Baptist Association recognized his faithfulness in this area by presenting him with a silver medal inscribed with the words “Jesse Mercer, the able expounder of gospel discipline.” Baptists on the receiving end of discipline certainly did not appreciate Mercer’s attention to the matter but for him it was the duty of Christians to exercise a careful watch over one another’s lives. Some Baptists pushed for a live-and-let-live mentality but those who knew Mercer observed that he “was opposed to dodging and attempts at creeping out of responsibility.” While he detested excommunication, comparing it as it were to “the amputation of a mortified limb,” he would do so if repentance were not forthcoming in order “to save the body from its ruinous consequences.” Sinners who were caught in sin were not immediately dismissed from the church, especially when they confessed their sins to the congregation. In such cases Mercer played the role of pastoral comforter-in-chief, assuring repentant sinners of their forgiveness from Christ and continued support from the church. This was not a particularly easy role as Mercer was sometimes pastor of both the offender and the offended. Matters involving

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adultery or spousal abuse were particularly delicate, and containing the gossip alone undoubtedly contributed to his thinning hair. Consider, for example, what the scene must have been like when Mercer presided over a disciplinary session where a woman was brought before the church due to the fact that she had beaten her husband. The extent of her husband’s injuries was not listed but one can infer that his physical recovery was but the beginning of the rehabilitative process. Mercer, however, was able to lead the church in forgiving and restoring her as a member after she owned up to her actions. According to the church minutes, Mercer “gave her an admonition to be patient and meek under all the afflicting scenes she might have to pass through in this vale of tears.” Mercer’s History and Cluster Mercer’s commitment to the church as a whole and the Baptist denomination in particular was commensurate with his father’s ministry before him. “Young Jesse” had risen indeed and was fulfilling his role as the son of Silas. His father would have been especially proud of the fact that Mercer led Georgia Baptists through many significant institutional developments in his lifetime, rendering him not only a leader but also a living history of sorts. His presence at the formation of the Georgia Baptist Association in 1784 combined with subsequent involvement therein made him a natural choice to write the history of its first fifty years. Mercer’s History of the Georgia Association (1838) provided information about early Georgia Baptists, telling the story through its founding churches, associational minutes, church statistics, queries, circulars, and biographical sketches. Mercer intended the history to be more than just a cold replay of names and dates. He hoped the book would inspire Christian readers to emulate those who had gone before them: “The light which such men afford during their stay upon earth, is certainly pleasant and profitable at the time, and ought not in our view, to be extinguished in the grave— but should be left behind to lure others into the paths of piety and virtue.”

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Mercer was careful not to glorify the past or its participants. Consequently, the introductory essay included the following warning: “It was obligatory upon us to give a faithful history of a religious body, and if in the details of that history, some individuals should appear in an unfavorable point of light, we do not think it can be considered our fault.” This approach was not a sideways means of selling more copies (as is the case in today’s tell-all market) but rather a duty Mercer felt was necessary for the faithful recounting of history: Besides, in doing as we have done, we have Scriptural example. The sacred writers themselves…mention the foibles of their own dear brethren; showing thereby, that notwithstanding their great spiritual attainments, they still carried with them the infirmities of human nature. These writers too, in speaking of themselves, never disguised any delinquency or weakness which may have appeared in their conduct.

Mercer was the sole name on the cover but it is unlikely he wrote the book in its entirety. When the project was officially commenced by the Georgia Baptist Association in 1831, two other men—James Armstrong and Jabez Marshall—were appointed to assist him. They anticipated the work would be completed the following year but the death of Jabez Marshall delivered a major setback. Jabez was the oldest son of Abraham Marshall who, along with Silas Mercer, was one of the founders of the Georgia Baptist Association. Jabez had also been pastor of Kiokee Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist church in Georgia, which had been founded by his well-known grandfather, Daniel Marshall. Consequently, the loss of Jabez resulted in a loss of firsthand knowledge of the earliest days of Georgia Baptist life. The project was again stalled in 1835 when James Armstrong died. History of the Georgia Association itself might have died if not for a fourth man who likely brought the work to completion, William Stokes, who was the assistant editor for Mercer’s Baptist newspaper. Jesse Mercer’s main contribution was in gathering material and providing oversight to determine its historical accuracy.

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Though considerable effort was made in producing History of the Georgia Association, Mercer was disappointed with the final product, citing the setbacks mentioned above for its piecemeal production. His inexperience at “book-making” led him to request that readers take notice of the contents and “lose sight of the clumsy manner in which it is executed.” Indeed, the book had a less than sterling reception among Georgia Baptists, leading Mercer to describe it as “unsaleable.” Evidently those who lived the history had little use for reliving it so soon. Mercer eventually donated all remaining copies to the Georgia Baptist Association requesting that they would “put the price so low as to induce sales” and retain all proceeds for the work of the association. As co-author of the history, Mercer was understandably frustrated over the lack of interest in his work. As historians, however, Mercer and Stokes provided a service that extended far beyond their own generation. A passing comment from Mercer in this regard turned out to be somewhat prophetic: “It is altogether desirable for some notice to be taken of our ministers as they depart from us, in order that in years to come, if any one should think it worthwhile to write our history, he may not be at a loss upon this subject.” While History of the Georgia Association may have been unsellable in Mercer’s day, the passage of time is such that anyone writing on Baptist history in the old South will find it to be an invaluable resource for the primary documents alone, not to mention its value for this present work. Mercer enjoyed much greater success in the book market with a collection of hymns he edited, titled The Cluster of Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems. It was a small book, measuring 5.5 by 2.75 inches and weighing 8 ounces; yet it contained nearly 700 songs by some of the most famous hymn writers of the day, including Isaac Watts, John Newton, and Charles Wesley. For half a century Jesse Mercer’s Cluster circulated throughout churches in the South, passing through seven editions and selling more than 35,000 copies. As was the case in his other bookselling endeavors, the Cluster was not

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

designed to make a profit or a name for Mercer. Plain copies sold for 75 cents and the only words Mercer used to identify himself were “Minister of the Gospel at Powelton, Georgia” or, in later editions, “at Washington, Georgia.” Mercer published the Cluster primarily as a means of edifying the church. It was used for congregational singing, evangelistic services, family devotions, and comfort at funerals. The small size made it especially useful for traveling preachers to fit in their coat pocket, which was no small favor since they would likely have led the music before delivering their sermon. Since Mercer was free to choose whatever songs he liked, it is interesting to note how his selections reveal his desire to balance doctrine and devotion. The final edition of the Cluster contained fifty-six hymns under the heading “On Free Grace” and fifty-five listed under “The Glories of Christ.” Six hymns were placed in the category “Imputed Righteousness,” a title not often found in hymnbooks but nonetheless a doctrine that is central to the Christian faith. Nearly half the hymns fit the broad category of “Christian Exercises,” underscoring the value Mercer placed on experiential Christianity (as opposed to a merely intellectual, formalized approach to the Christian life). This section was further delineated into sub-categories of “Faith and Prayer,” “Hope and Encouragement,” and “Backslidings Lamented.” Mercer’s choice of songs also placed him squarely within the Baptist heritage, as he grouped dozens of songs under the topics of “Missions,” “Conviction & Conversion,” “Believer’s Baptism,” and “Perseverance in Grace.” He also penned five songs of his own, but unlike the hymns of Watts, Newton, and Wesley, Mercer’s own songs never made it into anyone else’s hymnbook. By this time in his life Mercer was well known by many but the songs he wrote were simply hard to sing. As his biographer noted, “neither nature nor art ever bestowed upon Mr. Mercer the attributes of a poet.” Mercer’s skill at meter and rhyme are visibly rudimentary but his attempt at hymnology likely provided a service to believers that transcended the sound of music. His own songs revealed more

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than a struggle with poetry—they also reflected struggles in his own life. Coming as they did from a man whose name had become synonymous with a life committed to the Lord, Mercer’s songs reminded congregants that all Christians, regardless of age or experience, are susceptible to struggles and doubts. For example, hymn #468, written by Mercer, begins: “I am a stranger here below/ And what I am ’tis hard to know;/ I am so vile, so prone to sin/ I fear that I’m not born again.” Lest anyone wonder what Mercer was doing in his private life that could make him doubt his own salvation, Mercer alluded to the struggles of the apostle Paul as found in Romans 7 to illustrate: “’Tis seldom I can ever see/ Myself as I would wish to be:/ What I desire I can’t attain/ And what I hate I can’t refrain.” Such transparency, though biblical, might have caused alarm among his fellow Baptists who believed that true conversion was easily followed by good conduct. Mercer’s music set their minds at ease as he revealed in the final stanza that his personal struggle with sin only caused him to rely more upon the person and work of Christ: “My nature is so prone to sin/ Which makes my duty so unclean/ That when I count up all the cost/ If not for free grace, then I am lost.” Mercer’s Intangibles Mercer became a distinguished Baptist in many ways—as pastor, educator, author, editor, and hymnologist—but the esteem in which he was held by others was not based solely on positions he held or works he published. People who knew Mercer recognized him as a man of distinguished character. One of Mercer’s contemporaries undoubtedly spoke for many as he observed, “The whole secret of his moral and social position lay in the force of a long, consistent and unblemished clerical life. His was not only without fault, but above suspicion.” For Mercer, guarding his own integrity was not merely a personal matter related to the good of his own soul but a public trust by which he lived faithfully as a minister of the gospel. In addition to his character, or perhaps as a result of his character, Mercer was also known for his ministerial longevity. In

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fifty years of ministry he served as pastor to seven congregations. As previously mentioned, his pastorates were not successive but simultaneous. Thus he remained as pastor to over half of his congregations for over twenty-five years. (Mercer would not have been impressed by pastors who get a seven-year itch some five years early and move to the next biggest church under the guise of being called by God.) His tenure at his churches reveals that he was committed to shepherding the flock even in the most ordinary of times, whether or not his work was demonstrably bearing fruit. Mercer did not believe the Spirit of God was necessarily at work in a church because the membership was large or that a church was a failure because its numbers were small: It is the opinion of many great and good men in our Israel, that not to be in a state of revival is to be in a state of sin. For our part, we see nothing in Scripture that makes it necessary, that the church should be in transgression because she is not travailing and bringing forth children. Surely Christians may be doing their duty, in one season as well as another; and there are if we mistake not, appropriate duties to every season.

Mercer was, however, fortunate to be part of three notable revivals in Georgia occurring in 1802, 1808, and 1828, each of which impacted scores of people in the state. In a day when the average number of baptisms for an average-sized Baptist church annually reached mid-teens or twenties, churches under Mercer’s care at those times recorded upwards of fifty or more persons coming to faith in Christ. Though he himself would insist that conversion was beyond his ability to produce, the majority of these persons became lifelong members of his churches and looked to him as their spiritual father. Mercer seemed to handle the responsibility well. William Staughton, a friend of Mercer and influential Baptist in his own right, once asked an acquaintance about Mercer’s well-being. He was told that in Georgia, Jesse Mercer’s word was law—to which Staughton replied: “I am sure it is gospel.”

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Mercer’s character was also evident in his determination to spread the gospel despite obstacles. He frequently traveled long distances to preach, on occasion finding himself addressing a congregation in the open air since they had no church building of their own. His personal efforts at being punctual to every meeting became the stuff of legend as the dirt roads of Georgia were notoriously difficult to travel, especially after significant rainfalls. On one occasion Mercer was traveling to an associational meeting when he came to a creek that had approached flood stage. He took his riding paraphernalia in hand, sent his horse across the water, and found a fallen tree that he used as a bridge. Several of his ministerial colleagues were absent, later citing the overflowing creek as their excuse. Mercer wryly replied, “If you had waited a little longer I would have shown you the way.” Sometime afterwards Mercer lent his support to a number of businessmen who were petitioning the Georgia legislature for improved roads. While their interests centered on increased commerce, Mercer hoped an improvement in roads would enable ministers to spread the gospel more effectively. At the turn of the century Mercer became more involved with activities outside of his local church. He was invited to sit in on presbyteries for ministerial candidates and he often delivered ordination sermons. He also received multiple requests to officiate at weddings and he was summoned by longtime friends to conduct funerals. Trips of this nature sometimes required him to travel up to fifty miles by horseback or carriage. For every such opportunity there was an inherent risk as the threat of Indian attack remained a possibility. As late as 1817, members of Mercer’s Bethesda Church carried arms to church and even employed the local militia to patrol the premises during services. Mercer continued his travels nonetheless. He frequently traveled to South Carolina in order to attend meetings of the Charleston Baptist Association, the hub of Baptist activity in the South. Mercer also traveled to Philadelphia and Richmond to attend the meetings of the Triennial Convention where he once

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delivered the missionary sermon that launched the career of John Mason Peck, the famed Baptist missionary of the west. In spite of the increased interest in his services Mercer understood that his chief obligation as a minister was to his own congregations. Whenever he witnessed the Lord moving among churches in which he was the guest speaker, he returned home wanting the same for his people. An experience in his church at Bethesda evidences this concern well. After concluding a preaching tour in 1802 (the year of the great revival), Mercer addressed his congregation: Dear brethren and friends, I have been, for a great part of the last two weeks, addressing a people that I believe are truly awakened to a sense of their lost, helpless and ruined state, and are crying out in their agony, “What shall we do to be saved?” Among them my tongue seemed to be loosed, and I could point them with great freedom to the way of salvation through a crucified Savior. On my way hither I felt the deepest concern in contrast to your lifeless condition with theirs. I even bedewed the pommel of my saddle with tears.…O, my congregation, I fear you are too good to be saved!

Normally pastors who tell church members they are too good for their own good usually do so as a parting shot on their way out of a difficult ministry. It should be noted that Mercer’s words came from his “welcome home” sermon, meaning that members of his congregation were not to consider themselves too respectable for repentance just because they had a well-respected pastor. Politics and Religion In light of his increased visibility Mercer decided to run for state senator in 1816; however, his Baptist base was not sufficient enough to thrust him into the political limelight. His failure to get elected resulted in something of a love/hate relationship with the political process. At times he extolled others to exercise their civic duties yet for a time he himself refused to vote because he was dissatisfied with

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the existing political parties. He found his political voice again in 1819 when he delivered the funeral sermon for William Rabun, governor of Georgia and member of Mercer’s church at Powelton. Not surprisingly Mercer extolled him as a virtuous and godly man. However he thought little of Rabun’s successor, John Clark, and used the funeral sermon to say as much. The history between Mercer and Clark was quite personal. Clark was a cutthroat politician and Mercer held him responsible for the death of Sabrina’s sister, who died from pneumonia after she and John eloped. In the course of eulogizing Governor Rabun, Mercer crossed over into political territory as he began warning everyone present that the Lord often disciplines his people by placing wicked men (i.e., John Clark) into leadership: “When men of great renown are taken away by the stroke of the Almighty, ‘tis frequently followed by the ingress of men whose pusillanimity and vile habits render to a nation a double curse.” Those who were present at the sermon did not miss the point as Mercer went into detail about the dangers in store for citizens living under the rule of immoral political figures. Some who were not present for the eulogy later heard a rumor that Mercer drank a toast to Clark by quoting Psalm 109:8: “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” Friends of Mercer tried to get him to run for governor in 1833 but he refused, having concluded that his best work was done for the church. Georgia Baptists were the better for it as his leadership in the Georgia Baptist Association eventually led to the formation of the Georgia Baptist Convention. The original idea came not from Jesse Mercer but from a newcomer to Georgia Baptist life, Adiel Sherwood, who had arrived in Georgia in 1819. Mercer and Sherwood immediately became close friends as both shared a desire for promoting missions and ministerial education. While the Georgia Baptist Association was constituted with those aims in mind, it was not by itself capable of sustaining widespread or long-term projects. A convention was simply the next logical step in uniting Baptist churches throughout the state. Mercer and Sherwood both had the organizational

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capabilities of forming a state convention, but the logic of cooperation on a larger scale was not altogether unanimous as some Baptists were increasingly nervous about the possibility of local churches losing their decision-making capacity to larger organizations. Their fears were not altogether unfounded. Baptist associations overstepped their boundaries from time to time by declaring certain local churches as illegitimate. Mercer himself had criticized other denominations for regularly supplanting the authority of the local church. The possibility of yet another organization of ministers operating outside of the local church seemed to confirm that Baptists were moving away from their cherished doctrine of local church autonomy (self-governance). To complicate matters further, neither Mercer nor Sherwood had arguments available from precedent to prove the wisdom of their actions. At the time, the only Baptist state convention was in South Carolina and had been formed only a year earlier. As such, it was still too soon to know whether a state convention would help or hinder the work of local churches. Mercer supported the convention and attempted to calm fears by writing about the importance of the local church: “Our Lord has laid down a few plain rules of government, and established a tribunal in his church, at which all offenses are to be tried and decided; and from which there is no appeal.” Thus, no association or convention had authority over the local church in any capacity. Mercer was therefore consistent with traditional Baptist polity, understanding the local church to be an autonomous institution: I believe it is adopted by all regular Baptists as the doctrine of Christ, that his church is his kingdom on earth; that he sits in judgment there; and that when a gospel church is sitting in gospel order, for the transaction of disciplinary business, there is not a higher court on earth; and that such a church is not arraignable at no other, or foreign bar: because her Judge is in her midst and has commanded her implicit obedience.

Supporters of the convention soon discovered that all politics are local (especially religious politics). The idea had originated with

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Adiel Sherwood but the fact that he was a transplanted Northerner made any plan of his suspect to those who eyed their Northern brethren as troublemakers. Sherwood had two more strikes against him in that he was better educated than his Southern ministerial colleagues and more refined, as he told stories of his friendships with Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. Perhaps to downplay any sense of superiority at the 1820 meeting of the Sarepta Baptist Association, Sherwood quietly wrote his motion on a slip of paper and gave it to a Southern pastor in order that he might give voice to its contents: “Resolved, that we suggest for our own consideration, and respectfully that of our sister associations in this state, the propriety of organizing a General Meeting of Correspondence.” Discussion followed and the motion passed. As word reached Baptists throughout the state, the Georgia Baptist Association and the Ocmulgee Baptist Association agreed to take part in the planning stages. Mercer openly supported the movement by offering one of his churches, Powelton, as a place to host the next meeting. By doing so he ensured that supporters of the state convention would convene on friendly ground. Sherwood was in attendance when the planning meeting was held the next year, but not as a representative of the Sarepta Baptist Association. They had concluded, after further review, that a state convention was unnecessary. The decision to begin a state convention now belonged to the Georgia and Ocmulgee associations. Sherwood addressed the assembly with the future of the convention still in doubt. He utilized the text of Luke 3:4, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord,” as his theme in order to demonstrate how cooperation would lead to further gains for missions. Though Mercer did not deliver a formal address, he concluded the meeting by pleading with God in prayer and persuading the people with tears that their fears should not block the way forward. Those who were present later wondered which of the two— Sherwood’s sermon or Mercer’s prayer—had the greater effect in the successful formation of the General Baptist Association of the State of

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Georgia, later called the Georgia Baptist Convention. Jesse Mercer was chosen to be the moderator (today’s equivalent to the convention president), an office he was annually elected to serve until his death in 1841. His first convention sermon was from 1 Thessalonians 2:3: “For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor or uncleanness, nor in guile.” The message was meant to be a conciliatory gesture to those who opposed the idea and a reminder of the convention’s purposes for those who embraced it. Even though the idea for a state convention did not originate with Mercer, it embodied what he had long envisioned for Georgia Baptists. By maintaining correspondence with various churches and associations, the convention was instrumental in raising support for missionaries and training pastors. Indeed, one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by the convention resulted in Mercer’s name becoming synonymous with theological education. Mercer University Mercer’s educational background, insufficient as it was, made him one of the most educated pastors among Georgia Baptists in the early part of the nineteenth century. As late as the 1820s, the besteducated Baptist ministers were either transplants to Georgia or former Episcopalians. Mercer desired more for his ministerial colleagues, especially for the younger men who had responded to God’s calling on their lives but had little to show by way of scriptural understanding. Mercer wrote, “Amongst the several religious orders in these United States, it is remarked, and we believe justly, that the Baptists have the smallest proportion of learned men; and it is an undeniable fact, that numerous, and daily increasing as we are, we have very few literary institutions under our patronage.” Some Baptists resisted efforts to educate their ministers, believing as they did that the call of God was sufficient for one’s presence behind the pulpit. However, they were ultimately unable to stand in the way of those who had heard enough poor sermons to make them want to hear something better.

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During the Powelton Conference of 1803, Mercer became involved in discussions to start a Baptist college in Georgia. The failure of Salem Academy a few years prior did not pose a significant obstacle to future planning sessions, but their progress was significantly delayed by the Georgia legislature. Their stated concern was that the proposed name, “Mount Enon Baptist College,” would give the semblance of state sanction to the Baptist denomination. Mercer and others therefore proposed renaming the school “Mount Enon College.” Legislators then quibbled with the term “college,” which then led to the proposal of “Mount Enon Academy.” A charter was granted for Mount Enon Academy in 1806, but Mercer and his fellow Baptists may have been better off if the Georgia legislature had insisted on changing the name one more time from “Mount Enon” to “Somewhere Else,” as the choice of location proved to be a poor one. One student remarked after visiting the site: “It appears to me as if, after making the world the Lord had a big bag full of sand left, and, not knowing what else to do with it, he emptied it all out at Mount Enon.” Support also waned due to the fact that other secondary schools were already available and had wellestablished reputations. Mercer’s personal interest in the school was not matched by the necessary financial resources, and the school that was built on sand soon drowned in debt. Mount Enon Academy closed its doors after only five years in operation. During the meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1828, a motion was made to revisit the need for a Baptist college. Something more than a motion was made the following year when Josiah Penfield died. He was a jeweler from Savannah who stipulated in his will that $2,500 be given to the convention for the start of a theological school provided the convention raised the equal amount for the same. The challenge was laid before the delegates, one they matched in the space of fifteen minutes. Mercer was the top living donor, pledging $250, though he was somewhat reluctant to move forward:

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But in the project and furtherance of this scheme, I have no great share of praise; for I have rather opposed and hung back, because I wished to see other and previous great objects further advanced and more firmly fixed on terra firma. But I could not hold back the zeal which has eaten up our brethren, to be doing something at home. It has had its effect. I constrained to go with my brethren, and work with them, and have my hands full and a place for all my surplus funds.

Although a champion of ministerial education, Mercer used his role as chairman of the executive committee to keep everyone in check. He remembered the failure of Mount Enon Academy and he was reeling from the more recent demise of Columbian College, a Baptist institution in the nation’s capitol that had nearly gone bankrupt. Mercer’s reputation was intricately tied to Columbian College. He was a trustee for the school and had gone from advocate to apologist once it became clear that funds for the school had been mismanaged. One of Mercer’s most memorable quotes came from that episode. In a letter advocating the need for better leadership at the school, Mercer made this remarkable observation: “Surely there must be some Baptists who may be trusted.” From the lessons-learned department, Mercer agreed to support the new school under the condition that Georgia Baptists would agree that “no debts shall be contracted by the committee, or trustees, on the credit of the institution, without funds in hand to pay; otherwise, in every such case, it shall be on their own individual responsibility.” Funds, not promises, were quickly provided. The doors of the school opened in 1833 with an enrollment of thirty-nine students, a number that doubled the following year. Jesse Mercer received one of the highest forms of respect from his fellow Baptists as they voted to name the school in his honor. Minutes pertaining to the naming of the school are unfortunately sparse, giving no indication of what other names were considered or what Mercer’s response was to the final decision. One can assume that Mercer was quite moved by the gesture and there is corollary evidence to suggest he did not let the matter go

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to his head. Two years later (1835), he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Brown University. Upon being notified, Mercer wrote the following in a letter to Lucius Bolles, Chairman of the Board of Fellows: “To receive the unmerited honor, seems hardly just to myself and the cause; to refuse it is to hold in contempt the kind expression of the sense which my brethren of high standing entertain of my character and services. I am at a loss to determine. If I were in the vigor of life, I should surely refuse it; but as I am nearly worn out anyhow, it may be best to let it pass.” As a classical and theological school, Mercer Institute was designed to educate ministers but any student could enroll. Its most unique feature was the combination of manual labor with learning. Accordingly, the school was situated on 450 acres of land and students were required to work in the fields for three hours a day. The question naturally arises: “What hath Agriculture to do with Jerusalem?”—to which the founders of Mercer Institute would reply that their graduates would “not only be able to understand, but also be able to perform whatever service might be necessary to promote the interest of their own country or their own prosperity.” Ministerial graduates in particular would likely be expected to help erect and repair their church buildings in addition to growing food for their own sustenance. A Baptist college would not garner instant respect for Baptist preachers who, with a framed degree on their wall, would still be preaching to a congregation comprised mainly of farmers and housewives. Though previous attempts to make educational opportunities available had failed, Mercer Institute was a success. By the second year of operation more funds were provided, new buildings were built, and enrollment had increased. For his part, Jesse Mercer contributed $1,000 for a new two-story building, 46 by 36 feet, complete with chimneys on either side. His brother, Hermon Mercer, oversaw its construction. Competent leadership was also secured by the appointment of Billington Sanders as principal. A town friendly to religious principles was established around the school as lots were

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sold on the condition that none of the businesses would become “gambling-houses or tippling shops, on pain of forfeiture of title.” The city was named Penfield in honor of the original benefactor. The move to university status came about, interestingly enough, in response to plans by Jesse Mercer to begin another school in nearby Washington, Georgia. He became concerned over the fact that Mercer Institute was not designed to offer a collegiate education so he began promoting his vision for the “Southern Baptist College of Georgia.” This was a strange move on his part not only because he would divert his energies and attention away from the school named in his honor but also because he had been critical of Baptists starting new projects before ensuring that previous projects would succeed. South Carolina Baptists had earlier proposed a joint educational venture with their Georgia Baptist neighbors. Mercer was initially supportive but demonstrated no real enthusiasm: “I was opposed to the commencing of Furman Academy, because the Columbian College was not settled firmly on its base. The same difficulty is yet on hand. If, when that institution was undertaken, we all had continued at the wheels, it might have been a flourishing college.” Any hesitation Mercer may have had vanished in light of the immediate interest in the proposed college at Washington. After advertising for the school he received pledges totaling nearly $100,000—an incredible sum when one recalls that Mercer Institute was begun by matching funds of $2,500. However, a nationwide financial crisis in 1837 led most supporters to conclude it was safer to support an existing institution than it was to begin one anew. The executive committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention (of which Mercer was chairperson) suggested adding a collegiate department to Mercer Institute and funding it with money originally pledged for the school in Washington. Most subscribers agreed to the plan and nearly $60,000 was given to Mercer University. Jesse Mercer donated $5,000 for the college but was perhaps the last Baptist to see the wisdom of this decision. Reports about his

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reaction describe him as being angry at first and then resigned to reality. Mallary’s observation here is worth reprinting in full: Seldom, if ever was Mr. Mercer known to manifest so much sensitiveness and mortification at any decision of the brethren. It was evident that a gourd had been smitten, in whose shade at least in anticipation he had reclined with uncommon interest and delight. And it was a rare occurrence indeed, that the opinion and influence of Mr. Mercer should be overruled in any matter in which he had taken such a decided stand.… [Nevertheless] he acted the part of a truly magnanimous Christian. “I cannot work alone,” was his emphatic declaration, “I must go with my brethren.”

He was indeed being magnanimous when he said that he could not work alone. If there were any Baptist in Georgia who could get his way, it was Jesse Mercer, as he had more clout and cash than them all. His rise to prominence has been described above but at this point in his life people also knew him as one who possessed considerable financial resources. The way in which he acquired his wealth is wrought with Baptist irony, coming as it did from a Jewish bar owner. The full story, however, reveals that this sudden change in Mercer’s life confirmed his character rather than calling it into question. Jesse and Nancy In 1826, Jesse and Sabrina Mercer were returning from the Triennial Convention in Philadelphia when she contracted a bilious fever and became extremely ill. Their thirty-eight-year marriage came to an end as Mercer prayed with his dying wife and softly sang to her hymns from the Cluster. She was buried where she died in Andersonville, South Carolina. Arriving to an empty home and also in poor health, Mercer decided it was time for a change of location. He had resigned his Powelton pastorate the year before the trip and after Sabrina’s death he resigned two others (Eatonton and Bethesda). However, he was not resigned to leave the ministry as he moved

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The Story of a Baptist Statesman

twenty-five miles north to Washington, Georgia. He planted a church there, starting with just ten members. Interestingly, the first person received into the church as a new Christian was Andrew Ruddle, the owner of a local hotel. It is possible that his conversion came about as Mercer stayed there while looking for place to live. The little church eventually grew to 150 and Mercer served as pastor there for the remainder of his life. His change of location also resulted in his second marriage. Nancy Mills Simons, a resident of Washington, had also experienced the loss of her spouse, Abraham Simons. She had lived a rather comfortable life on the income left by her late husband’s investments, which included a tavern. Thus, on 11 December 1827 when Nancy Simons became Nancy Mercer, Abraham’s fortune became Jesse’s fortune. Even the corner cupboard from the Simons’ tavern found its way into Mercer’s church, storing communion cups instead of liquor bottles. This was not a marriage for money—quite the opposite, actually. Mercer’s attention to organization enabled him to manage his own money well and he was content to live below his means, even to the point of using his additional income “to give back again to the Giver, in some useful way.” He had also gained a reputation for treating rich and poor alike, in part by intentionally staying with people of lesser income during his travels. With respect to Nancy, she had lived for many years “in the midst of affluence and worldly splendor” but was not satisfied with her life. Her mother had raised her to follow the Lord but her first husband (Abraham) often mingled with less than desirable company. She attended church regularly but throughout her life she struggled with assurance of salvation. Her marriage to Mercer was instrumental in helping her overcome some of these fears, ultimately leading to her being baptized in his church. She became, Mercer wrote, a “lover of the household of God and of the gospel preached there…and enjoyed that doctrine most which gave the most honor to God in the salvation of sinful man.” Still, he noted, she was at times a “weak believer” because her sense of the holiness

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of God made her worry that she was unworthy to be received as a child of God. Nancy’s struggle to feel accepted by God was not a byproduct of wondering if she found acceptance in her preacher-husband. Jesse knew and appreciated the lengths to which Nancy went to make life comfortable for him and others. The fact that he was a well-known minister meant that he and Nancy would play host to numerous guests traveling through northeast Georgia. Jesse described their home as being “kept in an arrangement of the first order” where everything was managed by Nancy with “noiseless dexterity.” Their table was “ever crowned with plenty” and she herself was “affable and polite to her friends and sojourners, it being her delight to render all happy and free in her presence.” While most people would arrive with anticipation of meeting the venerable Baptist leader, it seems that they left with equal if not better memories of his wife’s hospitality. Nancy had already earned a reputation for her financial generosity, but upon her marriage to Jesse the direction of their funds took a decidedly Baptist turn. Together they supported Baptist schools, Bible societies, tract societies, missionary organizations, and local churches. Some specifics of their giving included $1,000 for the building of the president’s home for Mercer University and a $5,000 note wherein the interest was to be used for the support of the faculty. They also gave $5,500 to the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions and $2,500 to the American Baptist Home Missionary Society. Not surprisingly, their church at Washington contributed more to the Georgia Association than other larger churches. All told, it was estimated that they gave over $100,000, almost all of which was directed toward religious purposes. Jesse and Nancy also used their income for personal comforts. The land they purchased in Washington became known as “Mercer Hill” and the carriage they rode in attracted everyone’s attention. Jesse no longer wore homemade clothes. Instead he dressed in tailormade suits where even the lining of his coat was selected by Nancy

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(her favorite color was buttercup yellow). Her concern for his appearance even resulted in Jesse having a servant accompany him on his travels so his clothes would be starched and pressed. Evidently Mercer’s second wife was able to change his perspective on the dangers of “worldly vanity” in a way that would have vindicated Mrs. Andrews (the woman Mercer rebuked in his church). Dear Jesse Letters One of their most important purchases was the Christian Index, a weekly religious periodical previously published in Philadelphia by William T. Brantley. Mercer was a longtime reader and sometime contributor to the paper prior to acquiring it in 1833. Owning and operating the Christian Index was costly for the Mercers. Moving the paper from Philadelphia to Washington cost them nearly $3,000 for purchasing an office and a new press with suitable type. The previous editor had lost money on the paper due to subscribers failing to pay their bills and Jesse soon experienced the same. Yet the cost incurred by the Mercers proved to be a valuable investment for Georgia Baptists. Nineteenth-century religious periodicals were near equivalents to the modern blogosphere where multiple issues of interest could be addressed on a regular basis. Mercer claimed that his rationale for purchasing the Christian Index was due to his concern about the theological direction the paper would likely take under a different owner. As owner and senior editor Mercer was able to set the tone for Baptist views on any given matter and its weekly circulation meant that he would have plenty to say. During his seven-year tenure as editor, no space was given to commercial advertisement. Its pages were instead filled with information pertaining to doctrine, current events, sermons, reports from Baptist meetings, letters to the editor, and obituaries. Though Mercer enjoyed disseminating information, he found the constant weekly deadlines burdensome. Mallary notes that “the duties of an editor were not very congenial with Mr. Mercer’s taste and feelings.” He therefore secured the services of William Stokes to

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be his editorial assistant, the man who also helped Mercer write History of the Georgia Association. It is not possible to determine how much of the material in the Christian Index came from the hand of Mercer since many of the editorials were left unsigned but there is no doubt that Stokes only printed what Mercer would allow. Along with the pressure of meeting weekly deadlines, Mercer was especially concerned about becoming the target for criticism from Baptists who disliked what he produced. In his first editorial he wrote: We now enter immediately on our duties as Editor of a religious Journal, and begin to feel them of mountain weight. In the first, chief place, how to please God, the Judge of All, otherwise than by the presentment of truth, frankly and candidly expressed, according to his conscientious views of his most holy Word; he knows not: but in doing this, in the second place; how to please his Patrons (whom to please would be a high gratification to him) in their various and conflicting sentiments, in different sections are clothed, is a herculean task indeed.

Imagine—in addition to pleasing God, he wondered how to please Baptists! The latter was a “herculean task” because Baptist periodicals generated considerable interest from pastors and laypersons alike, to the point where being an editor was akin to moderating a larger-than-life Baptist business meeting. Consequently, those Jesse Mercer failed to please often wrote him letters and threatened to cancel their subscription. Some Baptists even began a paper of their own—The Primitive Baptist—to counter Mercer’s Christian Index. At the age of sixty-four, Mercer certainly did not need the additional demands of editorial labor or the constant grief from angry subscribers. However, he did have a wealth of wisdom that he was able to share by responding to the many letters he received asking for advice. Most of the letters were addressed to “Father Mercer” in recognition of his status within the Baptist community but for

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modern readers there is sometimes a hint of “Dear Abby” in the subject matter. One letter read: Father Mercer: As a young Preacher, I wish your views in the following case: Say a man quits his wife, and accuses her of unlawful intimacy with another man, and the wife is in the Church, and the husband is not, is it the duty of the church to let the case pass unnoticed, because the husband is not a member of the Church and the Church has no other testimony against her? Should not the Church appoint a committee to inquire into the case?

Mercer advised the young preacher that “good evidence from whatever source, ought to be received in cases of Church discipline” and cautioned him that only such testimony as could stand in a court of law should be permitted. Some of his readers asked for more than what was humanly possible, including one who requested “Will you be so good as to prove the Bible to be the word of God, through the medium of your paper, in the most concise and explicit way that you can?” After noting that such a request would require a book-length treatment, Mercer listed by name nine published works that his reader could consult. Mercer had a penchant for recognizing questions about faults found in others as a writer’s opportunity for personal vindication. One inquirer asked, “What is the minority of a church to do when the majority (or a part of them) becomes notoriously immoral?” Mercer noted that such a situation could only exist if the “pious minority” had long ignored immorality in the church. First, he wrote, those who tolerated such immorality needed to repent of their own negligence in addressing the problem. He then advised them to remain patient as they began the process of reclaiming a standard of holiness in the church, encouraging them that even the church of Laodicea was given hope of recovery by the Lord himself. Mercer was often asked questions about matters that had no direct connection to a particular biblical text. A questioner who wanted to know if it were wrong to play the fiddle was told by

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Mercer that “things are always estimated according to their accustomed use.” Consequently, as the instrument had been associated with wild parties and dancing (things Baptists were increasingly wary about), then it would be impossible to play the fiddle without offending fellow Christians. At that point, he noted, one would be guilty of walking “uncharitably towards your weak brethren, and will be condemned by the Apostle” (Romans 14, latter part, and 1 Corinthians 8:9–13). Father Mercer concluded by gently nudging his inquirer to action: “I trust you will digest this matter according to this rule, and act accordingly, as one who must give an account.” Mercer’s reputation became so tied to the paper that people often used his name to enhance their own. When the editor of the Primitive Baptist wrote critically of Mercer, a response by junior editor Stokes appeared in the Christian Index soon thereafter: He seems to think that by attacking Father Mercer, and by naming him very often in his strictures, that certainly his article will present as an aspect of importance, and challenge the attention of those to whom this old gentleman is well known. And sure enough, if he could persuade the world that he is a wiser and better man—a better theologian than Jesse Mercer, it would secure to him no small degree of consideration. But poor man, like many of his fellows, he is subject to mistakes and disappointments.

Mercer’s temper flared noticeably in the paper from time to time. His frequent usage of italics and exclamation points suggests that he would have used more direct fonts if he could. But, on the whole he was gracious in his tone. At the end of one exchange of letters Mercer offered the following words to a subscriber: You express a fear lest you had inflicted a wound on the feelings of the Editor, in something you had written in your last. But he assures you through this that he entertains no feelings but those of brotherly kindness towards you; and though you may have interfered with his editorial rights, yet he is not so fastidious as to think any rights so independent, as that an opinion may not

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be expressed about them. He hopes to profit by the sentiments of his brethren and be brought as near the standard general opinion, as his sense of truth and propriety will admit.

To his credit Mercer was in fact open to changing his mind in order to “profit by the sentiments of his brethren.” One of the most notable examples of Mercer doing so was his view on the use and sale of alcohol. A Toast to Mercer Prior to the 1800s, Baptists in America demonstrated little opposition to moderate or medicinal uses of alcohol. It was not uncommon for ministers and laypersons alike to have an after-dinner drink, and in the inimical Southern way it was not altogether uncommon for men to bequeath their stills to their grown children. Things began to change with the rise of the benevolence societies, or Christian organizations designed to make the world a better place. Many Christians felt obligated to become their brother’s keeper whether or not he wanted such assistance. With regard to alcohol, temperance societies were founded wherein Christians pledged total abstinence in the hopes of setting a better example for unbelievers and perhaps, if they were successful enough, driving the local “grog shops” out of business. Consumption of alcohol was an acute problem in northeast Georgia as the whiskey industry led all other manufacturers. In 1820 it surpassed leather, furniture, and carriage-making. Initially Mercer was not on board with the temperance movement because he was not convinced drinking in moderation was prohibited by Scripture. A story even circulated about Mercer, describing his taste for the good stuff. Supposedly Mercer and a Methodist minister spent the night at the home of a family known for their hospitality to traveling preachers. When they awoke the next morning their host placed two cups of mint julep on the table for their consumption. As the Methodist minister closed his eyes to give thanks, Mercer proceeded to drink both cups. The moral to the story, according to the Methodist

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minister, was that it is always better to “watch and pray.” While the truth of that story is difficult to assess, it was widely known that Mercer drank alcoholic beverages and it was widely noted that he was not a member of any temperance society. In a letter to the Christian Index (before he was the owner and editor), Mercer explained himself: “[First], I have not yet been convinced that the use of spirits is in itself a sin. Convince me of this and I will become a member [of a temperance society], or come to the ‘desired result.’ But, [second], I have been in bad health for years past…[and] several of the most eminent physicians…recommended to me the use of Cognac Brandy. This course I adopted reluctantly but with apparently good effect.” In spite of his honest and reasonable explanation, some leading Baptists were not convinced. They fully hoped Mercer would change his mind and adopt their position. The editor of the Christian Index, William Brantly, treaded ever so carefully in his rebuke of Mercer: “We can never dissent from any opinion or practice of our dear Mercer, without suspecting and scrutinizing the accuracy of our own views. He is so uniformly right and good, that we might be almost tempted to pick up, and preserve, the very errors which he lets fall; but in the present case he has dropped from the rear wallet, more of this commodity than we can honestly pocket.” Mercer’s change of mind came about not from pressure by other Baptists but by people using his example as an excuse to continue drinking alcohol for lesser reasons. Such was Mercer’s influence. “I have been informed,” he wrote, “that my example has been quoted on the opposite side. This I deeply regret.” Therefore, he reconsidered his position and became not only a member but also a leader in the temperance movement. He was elected president of a temperance society in Washington and in 1834 began the first temperance paper in the South, quaintly entitled Temperance Banner. The paper contained information about temperance meetings and elucidated scriptural texts that spoke about the dangers of alcohol. The fact that he lost money on the paper indicates that he

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was probably speaking to the proverbial choir, but now that Mercer was on the side of temperance, he could call the tune. Once he drank in moderation, but having now seen the Baptist light he began calling for legislators to pass prohibition laws. Word even got out that his health improved after he ceased using alcohol for medicinal purposes, a fact surely not overlooked by the friends of temperance. Conclusion The final decade of Mercer’s life was perhaps his busiest. He served as pastor of two churches, was president of both the Georgia Baptist Association and Georgia Baptist Convention, owned and edited both the Christian Index and Temperance Banner, served as trustee of Mercer University, and tried to start the Southern Baptist College of Georgia. In addition to all of these responsibilities, he found himself at the center of one of the most divisive controversies Baptists had yet to face. Surprisingly, the man who was known to Georgia Baptists as “Father Mercer” would be accused of departing from the faith of his Baptist fathers, thus leading some of his fellow ministers to dismiss him simply as “the Old Man.”

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3 The Old Man Baptists are not strangers to controversy. It may be said that where two or three Baptists are gathered, four or five opinions are in the midst of them. Such is the nature of things in a denomination where each person has access to the Bible and no one person has interpretive authority over another. Even the venerable Jesse Mercer understood that being president of both the Georgia Baptist Association and the Georgia Baptist Convention provided him with no official power to make fellow Baptists see things his way. If he wanted to have company where he was going then he needed to persuade others to follow his lead. However, as is often the case with leadership, what was black and white to him was sometimes white and black to them. The troubles Mercer faced in the final decade of his life were not unique to him as Baptists throughout the South were divided over a host of issues related to how the gospel should be spread and who was qualified to do the spreading. A sizeable opposition formed in reaction to the “new measures,” or innovative methods of evangelism and discipleship. These measures included Bible and tract societies, Sunday schools, colleges for ministerial training, and planned revival meetings. Though most Baptists now embrace gospel missions for the lost and theological education for the found, in Mercer’s day the pendulum had not yet swung in that direction. Since he was the leader among all things Baptist in Georgia, it is no wonder that he became the central target of those who aimed to put a stop to the newfangled Baptist notions in the mid-1800s.

The Story of a Baptist Statesman

Problems with the Primitives The name “Primitive Baptist” may sound redundant to those outside of the Baptist family (we can be a bit backward sometimes), but initially it was a positive term coined to distinguish certain Baptists from their own kind. Primitive Baptists prided themselves on being “original” or “historic” Baptists in the sense that they were not interested in progress like many of their Baptist brothers and sisters. They were the type of people who could respond to the Ecclesiastes refrain “There is nothing new under the sun” with a hearty “Amen.” As well it should be, they thought, since God had already provided all the direction one needed in the Bible. Therefore, whatever the Bible said to do the church should do also, and whenever the Bible said nothing the church should stop and do likewise. This way of thinking was a reaction to the many changes that had occurred in American religious life at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Christians from a variety of denominations joined societies in order to focus their collective efforts on a single cause. The temperance society that Mercer joined, for example, functioned much like a para-church organization today as it allowed Christians to work together without doctrinal issues defining the terms of membership. In addition to the need for less drinking, many Christians felt the need for more Bibles. Hence, the American Bible Society was formed in 1816 with the aim of placing a Bible in every home in America. In like fashion, the American Tract Society was organized in 1825 for the purpose of spreading the gospel more rapidly in leaflet form. The objectives of each society were ostensibly non-sectarian, thus they garnered support from Christians across the denominational lines. But interdenominational affiliation was not always the best course of action even in the case of spreading the gospel. Christians who agreed on the message of salvation with respect to the content of the gospel did not always agree on how new Christians should be discipled. Baptists were not altogether comfortable lending support to societies that would effectively tell new converts to baptize their

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children; and yet they realized that the sheer size of the task required them to work with others. They had formed their own regional associations and state conventions with the goal of doing more together than they could do apart, but Baptists soon realized that neither could make a national or international impact. Their connectional efforts eventually came to fruition on a national scale in 1814 with the formation of the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions. The title was mercifully shortened to the “Triennial Convention” (as it convened every three years), but its responsibilities were soon enlarged to include home missions and education. The implementation of this national organization should have drawn the national Baptist family closer together as it provided a cooperative outlet for missions and education without the baggage of denominational differences, but from the very start there was opposition from within. Primitive Baptists agreed with missions in theory, but when it came to the practical outworking of missions their theory was less than practical. They believed missionaries should be supported by their own congregations, in part because they rejected the possibility of another organization exerting authority over the local church. Mercer had argued the same early in his ministerial career, but necessity once again became the mother of invention as most Baptist churches simply did not have the funds to support even a single missionary. By working together small Baptist churches could pool their resources and support dozens or perhaps hundreds of missionaries. Moreover, Mercer and other mission advocates believed that cooperation among churches could be conducted without sacrificing the principle of local church autonomy. Even if autonomy were protected, this arrangement posed another problem for Primitive Baptists since they considered anything not expressly mentioned in the Bible to be inadmissible in a Baptist church. Consequently, even pianos and Sunday schools were taboo in their congregations. With regard to the Triennial

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Convention, Primitive Baptists frequently pointed out the fact that the Bible did not mention the word “convention.” Technically they were correct. The problem, of course, was that Christians did all sorts of things not mentioned in the Bible. Catholics prayed to saints, Presbyterians baptized babies, and Baptists built churches. Primitive Baptists pointed to the first two examples as reasons for following scripture to the letter but they found a way to excuse the third. Building churches (instead of meeting in homes) was not a central part of worship and therefore would not lead to theological aberrations. Interestingly, Primitive Baptists of a later day argued the same about indoor plumbing and electric lights, neither of which is found in the Bible. Nevertheless, those in favor of the Triennial Convention were dubbed “Missionary Baptists” and were accused of not believing that the Bible was sufficient for guidance in church life. And when Missionary Baptists retorted that no harm could come about by mere methods of spreading the gospel, Primitive Baptists reminded them that even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. There was never any question about where Mercer stood with regard to missions as he was a leading advocate for spreading the gospel at a time when missions were virtually unheard of in Georgia. In 1801, Mercer led his church at Powelton to host a conference where he and other ministers attempted to reach beyond their comfort zones and try something big for the kingdom of God. Attendees decided to form a missionary station for the Creek Indians and to promote itinerant preaching throughout the state. The Creeks were of special interest to Mercer as they lived just twenty miles west of Powelton and outreach to them would be a particularly difficult challenge. According to Mercer, Baptist ministers back then “had too much of the Spirit of the Apostles in them to be afraid of missions.” Nevertheless, the results of their first major missionary attempt were decidedly mixed. On the positive side a great revival occurred the following year with over 700 people being baptized in churches throughout the Georgia Baptist Association. Unfortunately, few Creeks were converted to the Christian faith. Complications later

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arose when the federal government ordered the Creeks to move beyond the Mississippi River. Mercer’s continued interest in their welfare was rewarded over a decade later (1819) as he championed and eventually witnessed the formation of a school for the Creeks located near modern-day Montgomery, Alabama. In addition to his concern for Native Americans, Mercer was particularly interested in the westward expansion of the country as it related to the extension of the kingdom. Just two years after Texas gained independence from Mexico (1836), Mercer issued a missionary challenge declaring that “Texas is to be the grandest state on this continent, and we must send men and women there to take and plant the standard of the cross, or it will be like a millstone on the moral agencies of this country.” He put his money where his mouth was by helping to raise $2,500 for the American Baptist Home Mission Society, which later sent James Huckins and William Tryon to Texas as missionaries. Mercer’s influence was even more evident since Tryon was a graduate of Mercer University. Though Jesse Mercer did not live long enough to see the fruits of their labors, Huckins and Tryon made a significant impact in Baptist education as the two were instrumental in the founding of Baylor University in 1845. Mercer’s interest in missions permeated his life. As pastor, he personally taught his congregations on the duty to spread the gospel; as editor, he published the latest news from missionaries; as a philanthropist, he contributed to mission causes; and as a hymnologist, he included hymns in the Cluster with mission themes. In addition to his dual presidencies in the local association and state convention, he served as president of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions from 1830 to 1841. His closest friend outside of Georgia was Luther Rice, the primary organizer of the Triennial Convention and the most visible of all missionary Baptists on the national scene. Mercer was therefore confounded that any Christian should oppose missions when the eternal ramifications were so consequential: “Ah, how will these cold, hollow professors stand in the Judgment, face to face, with those whom they have thus miserably

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neglected? What will then become of those miserable shifts, those petty quibbles, by which they have evaded the conviction that they ought to engage, with all their energies, for the conversion of the world?” He took special notice of the Primitive Baptists since they were among the most vocal of the anti-mission movement. They in turn took notice of him because of his involvement in all things missionary. A letter published in the Primitive Baptist read: “It seems to me that the Georgia Association is determined to push forward her new schemes and give laws to all the rest; and…old father Mercer has thrown in his weight and, Bro. Editor, the old man has no child literally and in his old age I think he begat one of wind (I mean the Georgia Baptist Convention).” Another person recalled an occasion when Mercer was scheduled to preach a sermon on ministerial education. Mercer made the comment that he felt led to speak on another matter but instead decided to stay with the scheduled program. The critic in the audience mused, “All missionary meeting and missionary cause. Well, I said to myself, old man that is wrong to obey man and not God; that he has given you one subject and man one, and you will obey man for the sake of his cause and let God go and his cause, let come what may come.” Further criticism came from a Primitive Baptist preacher who delivered a sermon on the text “Little children keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21) and managed to include such idols as Bible societies, tract societies, theological schools, and Jesse Mercer’s likeness! Motivation for Missions As previously mentioned, objections to missions were not based on a lack of need but rather the methods proposed in meeting such needs. Whereas Primitives were fond of citing what was not in the Bible with regard to missions, Mercer was convinced that missionary labors had precedent from both the Old and New Testaments. He frequently cited Acts 13:47 as a fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6. The latter text reads in part, “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” Yet, when

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Paul and Barnabas quote the text in the Book of Acts, they no longer understand it as a prediction to be fulfilled but as a command to be obeyed. Mercer took note: “We have therefore inspired authority for this inference, that Old Testament prophecy is New Testament command. Thus we are to regard all the predictions of the prophets in relation to the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, and the salvation of the world, as invested with the power and authority of divine commands, requiring us to labor and pray for their accomplishment.” A failure to support missions then was nothing less than a failure to obey God’s command. While the Primitives refused to adopt any practice that was not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, Mercer was content to adopt practices that were not expressly forbidden in Scripture. This approach was easier said than done. While leaving the door open for innovative evangelistic techniques, it was sometimes necessary for Mercer to slam the door shut in the name of sound theology. For example, one of the most popular methods of sharing the gospel was the use of protracted meetings, or scheduled revival services. Baptists of a previous generation believed that revival could not be scheduled since it was, in effect, a surprising work of God. In Mercer’s day, however, quite a bit of attention was given to the planning and organization of evangelistic services to the point where traveling evangelists could often predict their own success based on techniques used to attract a crowd. Mercer was careful not to dismiss the use of protracted meetings since they were not forbidden in scripture and often resulted in genuine conversions. But he was also careful not to promote revivals as though they were simply the results of the proper use of the right means. Without equivocating, then, Mercer could advertise protracted meetings in his paper while at the same time criticizing the techniques of evangelists who had gone too far: I fear that revivals are too often gotten up in appearance only.… When God works, Satan goes to work also. Thus it may be in revivals; a great wind, followed by earthquake and fire, may rend

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the mountains and break the rocks of human passions, while God may pass on only in milder forms of divine power, at which the prophets of the Lord wrap their blushing faces in the mantle of humble acknowledgment.

In order to guard against showmanship on the part of the evangelist or mere emotionalism on the part of the respondent, Mercer refused to offer an invitation at the end of the sermon where people were asked to walk down the aisle in order to demonstrate their commitment to Christ. According to Adiel Sherwood, Mercer “questioned the propriety, fearing that…spurious conversions would result.” His fears were based on the fact that he had witnessed too many people walking an aisle as a substitute for genuine repentance. He therefore rejected this new method in particular and advised his fellow pastors to go back to the basics: We know of no command which requires a minister of Christ or even justifies him, in inviting thoughtless sinners to come to him for salvation. And why should he? They neither know nor feel their need of the blessing he has to bestow. It appears to us, the first duty of a gospel minister is to teach men the ruined state they are in by reason of sin, and the provision of mercy God has made for their recovery in Christ; then to warn them of their danger, then after that to call them to repentance and faith, and then last of all to invite the perishing, helpless and dying to come to Christ and live. The invitations of the gospel are predicated on some circumstances of distress, which the blessings of salvation are suited to remedy.

The contempt in which Mercer was held by Primitive Baptists went beyond mere disagreements over the use of new methods and the need for ministerial education. Fortune had apparently smiled upon him and in their eyes he had forgotten his roots. Though he shared the same beginnings as they, he went in a different direction. He was wealthy and they were not; he was educated and they were not; he partnered with people in the North and they did not. When he asked for more money for more missionaries and more schools for

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more pastors, they shook their heads, shut their ears, and sat on their wallets. Rather than glamorize him as the hometown hero, Primitive Baptists demonized him for leaving the reservation. In so many words, they said he departed from the faith. They did not mean that he no longer believed Jesus Christ was the only way of salvation; rather, they were convinced he no longer regarded John Calvin as an authority on the subject. Underlying all the concerns Primitives had with mission organizations was the belief that advocates for missions did not believe God was sovereign in salvation. In spite of all the disagreements Primitive Baptists had with Mercer, they could not have been more wrong on this one. He considered Calvinism to be the best explanation of how God saves sinners and published more than enough writings on the subject to make his views clear. Ten-Point Calvinism Actually there are only five points of Calvinism but Mercer took the time to write ten letters about one point in particular—limited atonement. The five points of Calvinism are best remembered by the acronym “T.U.L.I.P.” where each letter is used to express a position held by those who became known as Calvinists: Total depravity—Sin has affected all people to the point where they are unable to earn God’s favor; Unconditional election—God the Father decrees to save humans without regard to human merit; Limited atonement—Jesus died for the elect in particular rather than the whole world in general; Irresistible grace—The Holy Spirit successfully empowers the elect to turn from their sins and place their faith in Christ; Perseverance of the saints—The elect will never lose their salvation but will continue in the faith due to the faithfulness of God. Interestingly, the five points of Calvinism actually originated some fifty years after John Calvin was himself pushing up tulips (i.e.,

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after he died). The theological system bears his name because of his emphasis on the sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation. The occasion for the five points stems from a synod, or meeting, that was convened in the Dutch city of Dort in 1618. The purpose of the synod was to respond to the teachings of Jacob Arminius, another deceased theologian, and his subsequent disciples who had quibbles with the Calvinistic understanding of predestination and its potential ramifications. According to the Arminian system, God’s choice or election of people to salvation was based on the fact that he knew in advance those who would, of their own free will, choose to be saved. This position differed from the Calvinistic belief that God had, of his own free will, determined whom he would save. The two sides differed on election in part because they differed on the extent of human depravity. Arminians argued that sinful humans still retained the ability to repent of their sins and exercise faith in Christ, whereas Calvinists maintained that humans were such sinners they were unable to do either apart from a transformation of the heart brought about by the Holy Spirit. Arminius’s theological sympathizers further argued that Jesus died for all people, including the non-elect, and that the Holy Spirit assists but does not compel people into the faith. Some Arminians also believed that those who choose to follow Christ might at some point choose to walk away from the faith, thus leaving open the question of whether salvation gained could be salvation lost. The synod concluded that this understanding of salvation contradicted the Belgic Confession, a statement of faith required for all ministers and teachers of Reformed Churches in the Dutch territories. Baptists had no interest in the Belgic Confession but they were caught up in this matter for two reasons. First, in the course of reading their Bibles they naturally encountered terminology relevant to the discussion. Words like “predestination” and “election” were embedded in Scripture long before they were debated at synods. Though such terms have often become the stuff of debate by stuffy theologians, their original usage in Scripture was meant to manifest

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the character of God and provide comfort for the saints. Baptists who struggled with sin and doubt needed to be reminded of God’s purposes of grace. He who had loved them before the foundation of the world would faithfully shepherd them through the valley of the shadow of death. Second, Baptists were chronologically and geographically close to the discussion, having begun their movement in Holland just a decade before the Synod of Dort convened. Their successors later left Old England for New England and were surrounded by a Puritan constituency that openly rejoiced in the decrees of God as defined by Calvin and his successors. This is not to say that all Baptists were Calvinists; clearly they were not. The earliest Baptist confessions of faith were substantially Arminian, excepting the possibility of losing one’s salvation. By the middle of the eighteenth century, however, the majority of colonial Baptists were Calvinistic in their thinking and Mercer continued to reflect that trend. He believed that God the Father predetermined who would go to heaven, God the Son died specifically for the sins of the elect, and God the Holy Spirit transformed their hearts to respond positively to the good news of salvation. Mercer did not believe these things because they were taught by John Calvin or embraced by fellow Baptists, but because he saw them clearly taught in the Bible. “These doctrines are believed,” he wrote, “because they are supported not only by express declarations of Scripture, but by an abundance of such declarations. They do not rest on the doubtful interpretation of a few isolated passages, but are supported by the obvious meaning of a great multitude of texts.” Mercer frequently addressed the topic of predestination in response to questions from Christian Index readers. One of the main objections to the Calvinist position was that humans were not genuinely free if God predetermined who would be saved. In response, Mercer contended that the Arminian position failed to provide the kind of free will that non-Calvinists were looking for: Now we ask any man, free from prejudice, that if God foresaw me as an obedient believer, and elected me, as such, to glory, can I

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fail to attain to it? Or, if I was seen, from the foundation of the world a disobedient unbeliever and reprobated, or foreappointed as such, to damnation, can I possibly escape it? It will be easily seen that this scheme renders the destiny of every man absolutely sure from the foundation of the world, without the possibility of a change, unless it could be shown that there had been some error in the foreknowledge of God.

Put another way, if God simply knew it would rain tomorrow (rather than causing it), is there any doubt that it would rain? So too, if God simply knew who would believe the gospel (rather than choosing them), is there any doubt that all would do so? Even more problematic for Mercer was that the Arminian position seemed to curtail reasons to praise God for so great a salvation: “What grace is there in God’s choosing worthy persons to glory? Is there any wonder in God’s loving and choosing the righteous? But the astonishment of men and angels has been called forth in that God loved us, and Christ died for us while we were enemies.” To one writer who questioned whether Calvinism necessarily led to fatalism, Mercer replied: “I think I am as much disposed to keep off the rock of fatality, as you or anyone else.” The occasion for Mercer’s ten letters came about as a response to Cyrus White’s publication of A Scriptural View of the Atonement (1830), in which he argued that Jesus died in general for every person rather than specifically for the elect. White’s book became an “I-told-you-so” moment for Primitive Baptists who suspected those who embraced new methods of evangelism would soon abandon the old doctrines of grace. Mercer was drawn into the controversy because White was a missionary under the auspices of the Georgia Baptist Convention and rumors began circulating that Mercer shared White’s Arminian sentiments. When White claimed that others had misrepresented his own views, Mercer read his work and found otherwise: “Surely if you had not departed from the characteristic doctrine of the denomination, and gone to general provision and free-will ability, your book most miserably belies you!” The purpose of Mercer’s

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response then was twofold: to vindicate his own name and to help White regain his gospel bearings. The ten letters appeared successively in the Christian Index but were later published as a single work titled Ten Letters Addressed to the Rev. Cyrus White, in Reference to his Scriptural View of the Atonement (1830). The first letter set the tone for the discussion as Mercer referenced himself to White “not as an enemy, but as your friend and brother in the Gospel of Christ.” His gracious words, however, did not mean theirs was a minor disagreement. Mercer was determined “to oppose the idea of a vague atonement” because he feared that White’s teachings inevitably led to one of two conclusions: either the death of Jesus was insufficient to save anyone at all or it was sufficient to the degree that all persons would be saved as a result. To counteract the first possibility, Mercer sought to demonstrate that White’s view of the cross, though seemingly generous, was too small: “The fullness of the atonement is not to be measured by the number saved; but by its competency to save one sinner.” White had argued that Jesus died equally for all people, thus making salvation available to all people. Mercer countered by arguing that the purpose of Christ’s death was not to offer salvation but to obtain it. He could find no text in the Bible that suggested the death of Jesus only partly satisfied the wrath of God or that people must complete the atonement by their faith. Instead, Mercer noted, when Jesus went to the cross he did so as a substitute and in so doing he paid the sins of the elect in full. Accordingly, the atonement was only limited in its application but not in its accomplishment. The second problem raised by White’s position was the potential for universalism. “In reading your views of this subject,” Mercer wrote, “I was frequently led to ask within myself: Why then are not all men saved?” Though his arguments seemed to go in that direction, White was not a Universalist and his response to this problem was consistent with his Arminian principles—all people will not be saved because all people will not respond to the gospel. This conclusion from White, however, was but another starting point for

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Mercer’s queries: “I then was led to inquire what is it that causes one sinner to be saved rather than another?” Mercer then answered his own question by observing that the work of Christ on the cross was not severed from God’s electing love. To those who believed that God’s election of some called into question God’s love for all, Mercer reminded them that no fallen angels were recipients of God’s mercy. The fact that any humans should be saved at all was the sum and substance of free grace. Mercer also addressed the practical matter of preaching the gospel to all people. White saw an inconsistency among Calvinistic Baptists who preached the gospel to all people while still believing that God elected only certain persons to salvation. At some point, White thought, the offer to all people becomes disingenuous. Mercer admitted the logic of White’s concern but pointed him to scriptural examples where people who were not going to be saved were commanded to turn from their sins anyway. God knew that only eight people in Noah’s day would be saved but Noah preached to them all anyway. Likewise, Jesus knew he would be rejected by his own people but he preached to them anyway. Logical consistency aside, Mercer saw no biblical contradiction for preaching to every person since the God who predestined people to salvation also commanded Christians go into the entire world with the message of salvation. Mercer’s careful and deliberate response to White should have earned kudos from the Primitives. He was, after all, defending the most difficult of the five points and he did so in fine fashion. On this and each of the other four points he and the Primitives were agreed. But instead of applauding Mercer’s efforts, they accused him of being duplicitous. On paper he said all the right things but in reality he did the wrong things. If God promised to bring in the elect, they wondered, then why did Mercer ask for money to help make it happen? Couldn’t God bring in the elect without human help? And if God called a man to preach, they wondered, then why did Mercer build a school to teach them how to do it? Couldn’t God equip the

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man he called without human help? And almost as if they wanted to prove their point by way of illustration, they gave Mercer and his fellow Missionary Baptists no help at all in spreading the gospel. Consequently Mercer was convinced of the need to defend Calvinism from the hyper-Calvinists. He understood the complaints made by the Primitives but he did not accept their solution of waiting on God to fulfill his own Great Commission. In a Christian Index editorial, he charged: They will have nothing to do in furnishing a preacher to those who sit in the region and shadow of death, that they may hear of a precious Saviour, believe and be saved (Rom. 10:11,15); nothing to do in giving them any means, not even a tract by which they may be saved (Rom. 11:14);—nothing to do, in having their children taught in the Scriptures by suitable teachers in Sunday Schools—nothing to do in reforming the intemperate, or in making an effort to save a poor deluded and infatuated fellow man from a drunkard’s grave, and a miserable family from ruin. I ask in the name of common sense,—What will they do?

Mercer admitted that some representatives of mission agencies had gone overboard in their attempts to raise money. Their words gave the impression that God needed people to accomplish his purposes when in fact God could act independently if he so desired. However, the latter was only a possibility and by no means was it the only option. Just as God chose who would be saved, he also chose how salvation would be applied, namely by the proclamation of the gospel. Mercer then turned the tables on the Primitive Baptists. If they believed God did not need humans to accomplish so great a salvation, then why did they assist God in lesser works like plowing their land and planting seed, knowing all the while that only God could make a harvest grow? According to Mercer, the “do-nothing” doctrine would result in nothing. Therefore, doing something was better than doing nothing. And almost as if Mercer wanted to prove his point by way of inspiration, he began organizing ways to bring both sides together.

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Peace No More Missionary and Primitive Baptists disagreed about missions, but at first they seemed to honor one another’s differences without posing a threat to denominational unity. Adiel Sherwood spoke on the topic of missions soon after he arrived in Georgia but was surprised at the reaction, or lack thereof. Afterwards he wrote: “Never before had there been uttered from that pulpit a syllable in favor of missions. The people actually stared.” Primitive Baptists may have been wide-eyed and speechless at first but they managed to gain their voices some years later. By the early 1820s, Primitive Baptists were decidedly opposed to the mission movement. W. T. Brantly discovered this the hard way when he spoke to the Hephzibah Baptist Association in 1822 and invited them to join the Georgia Baptist Convention. They responded accordingly: A motion was made to lay the papers on the table; this was amended to a motion to throw them under the table; this by another motion to kick the bearer out of the house. The motion carried by a rising vote, some of the voters leaping up two or three times to give emphasis to the vote. …[then] the bearer of the unfortunate documents was escorted to the door, and with very demonstrative gesticulations threatened with dire consequences if ever again he pronounced the word “missions” in the presence of that body.

Primitive Baptists throughout the country formally separated themselves from Missionary Baptists with the adoption of the Kehuckee Declaration (1827) and the Black Rock Address (1832). Both documents declared “non-fellowship” with any Baptists who promoted missions and ministerial education. Although neither document was binding, the trickle-down effect was palpable as Missionary Baptists were no longer welcome to share their views in Primitive Baptist churches. Although Mercer had borne the brunt of their criticisms, he was deeply concerned over the fact that churches were splitting over these issues. If the gospel was able to make peace between God and

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humankind, then the gospel should also be capable of making peace between the children of God. Mercer’s main text in this regard was John 17:11 where Jesus prayed “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” As this prayer took place immediately prior to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, Mercer believed that it held particular significance for the church: Such was the intercession of Christ for his children whilst upon earth, and such no doubt is his intercession in Heaven. He desires their oneness. Their completeness in everything which constitutes their spiritual unity, their conformity to the glorious and ineffable unity, which exists between the Father and the Son, bears down with unceasing pressure upon his heart. It stands forth as an essential and conspicuous part of his Almighty pleading…If then, the unity of the saints is so dear to Christ, it should be dear to his children.

Thus, Mercer reasoned, “everything that tends to drive brother from brother, church from church, association from association, should be most carefully avoided.” Mercer’s views on Christian unity were also shaped by numerous other texts. Christians were exhorted to “love one another” (John 15:12); to “follow after the things which make for peace” (Romans 14:19); to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2); and to be “like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Philippians 2:2). All such passages, he observed, were condensed in Ephesians 4:4–6, where there is “one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Mercer knew that Christians needed to be taught the importance of unity; therefore, he focused on pastors as being particularly responsible for guiding their local churches to public expressions of unity. He recognized they could bring churches together or tear them apart: “Ministers give tone and impulse to public feeling, direction

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and energy to public spirit, and power and efficiency to public effort.” As ministers went, he observed, so churches would go: “If ministers are inefficient, the churches will be ineffecient; if ministers are weak and wavering, the churches will be weak and wavering; if ministers are in controversy among themselves, the churches will be in confusion; if ministers break asunder, the churches will divide and break into party feuds.” Since the debates over missions had merged into questions about Calvinism, Mercer chided Baptist ministers who had “gotten into the habit of placing too great stress on particular points of doctrine, and even a particular mode of construing them and are determined on forcing a uniformity of the faith by associational union.” The problem was not their doctrines as such but rather the narrow way in which they wanted others to adhere to their doctrines. Such narrowness, he contended, failed to recognize that God calls a variety of men with a variety of gifts to spread the gospel in a variety of ways: “Some are set, like Paul, for the defense of the gospel, or the establishment of the saints in faith; others, like James, to excite Christian professors to every good word and work. In this strain of preaching there may be an appearance of heterodoxy in its tendency, which is not real.” Mercer was not advocating that ministers have a deaf ear to false teaching in the name of unity. Any person who preached a false gospel in any way was to be admonished in accordance with Matthew 18:15–17, and if repentance was not forthcoming he was to be relieved of preaching duties and excluded from the church. Nor was Mercer advocating a middle ground where Baptists sacrificed conviction for the sake of cooperation: “We could never agree (I speak for myself) to a latitude of liberality, which would allow of opposition to those doctrines [of election].” Instead, Mercer hoped ministers would not use one person’s style of preaching as a litmus test for one’s doctrinal position: Let not him, therefore, that preaches the covenant and all things ordered in it and made sure, despise him that preaches that men should repent, and exhorts, admonishes and beseeches them

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to turn to God through Christ; nor yet him that dwells on practical godliness because he does not preach election in every sermon; and let not those despise him that preaches the purposes of God in the salvation of his chosen people, as the theme of his ministry, for God may have accepted them all in their different spheres of labor.

Ministerial squabbles were only part of the problem, according to Mercer. Factions in the church also existed because Baptist ministers were not as rigorous as they have been in admitting members to the church who could give credible evidence of being born again. Since the fruit of the Spirit includes love and patience, then divisions in the church should be rare. The opposition to spreading the gospel, though under the guise of guarding sound doctrine, could just as easily be done by unregenerate persons as by Primitive Baptists. How then could one tell the difference between the two, except that one’s confession of faith was matched with the fruit of the Spirit? Mercer noted that ministers held a special responsibility for determining who could or could not belong to a Baptist church. Using an illustration that would make a modern Baptist cringe with fear (or make a dictatorial pastor more certain of his calling), Mercer likened pastors to officers stationed at a garrison by their king “in order to bring back, by kindness, his rebellious subjects to loyal submission.” Such pastors/officers had the duty of keeping a “close guard at the door of admission” to ensure that the standard of Christian morality was not lowered by allowing mere professors into the church as members. “Corrupt men,” he wrote, “suffered or tolerated in the churches, will seek their own level, and like the old leaven, will corrode and corrupt the whole body, and tend toward more ungodliness; till by their number and influence, the church, at this or that place, may become a mere worldly sanctuary, or synagogue of Satan.” On top of his efforts to lead unbelievers to the Christian faith, then, Mercer became involved in trying to bring Baptists together. This was no small feat since he was the figurehead of the Baptist

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missionary movement and any attempts to bring the two sides together would almost certainly have to come about by the Primitive Baptists having a change of heart. Mercer, ever the believer in structure, called for a special minister’s meeting on 7 July 1836 in the town of Forsyth, Georgia. His advertisement in the Christian Index called for ministers throughout the state to join together in prayer and consultation. A dozen pastors signed their names to the invitation signaling their support for the endeavor. Mercer had high hopes, thinking the minister’s meeting would be “the means of binding together in lasting fellowship the hearts of many of God’s dear children…and of ushering in a brighter day upon the churches of Georgia.” The turnout for the meeting indicated genuine interest as sixty-two ministers arrived on the appointed day. Naturally, Mercer was elected to preside over the discussion. High attendance, however, was only a sign of initial success. The meeting accomplished little by way of reconciliation as the composition of ministers revealed that only those already sympathetic to missions had decided to come. Nevertheless, Mercer led them through significant decisions regarding the state of affairs among Baptists. In particular they dealt with questions related to the right of local churches to continue governing themselves even as they united with the local association and the state convention. They also expressed their belief that differences of opinion regarding missionary operations should not lead to divisions among churches or declarations of non-fellowship. From their point of view, at least, Christians could at least agree that mission work was needed even if they disagreed on how missions should be done. One of the most important items of business was to confirm that the ministers present were in agreement with the doctrines that had “characterized orthodox Baptist churches from time immemorial.” Before a vote was taken, the articles of faith from the Georgia Baptist Association were read. One of the ministers requested “more light” on the article of election to which, it was reported, Mercer responded

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with a “masterly address.” He spoke of “God’s sovereignty, man’s depravity and utter helplessness, and his need of divine assistance to exercise repentance and faith.” As he finished his address, Mercer became overwhelmed with emotion and declared in tears, “This is the ground of all my hope!” A few ministers were present who did not hold to Mercer’s (or Calvin’s) interpretation of that doctrine and were declared “unsound in the faith” by those present. Even though no Primitive Baptist attended the meeting, such an action should have restored their confidence in the Missionary Baptists. On paper, at least, their commitment to missions did not involve a repudiation of election. On the practical side (since most people know what Baptist meetings amount to), Mercer admonished those in attendance to go beyond the “simple assent” they had agreed upon at the meeting. He reminded them that even if they did not see themselves at fault for the divisions among Baptists that they should do all they could to restore peace. Such actions included avoiding “all evil speaking and surmising, to encourage charity, to attain a greater degree of holiness…and to confess individually wrongs and forgiveness of one another.” And, yes, they voted on that too. Mercer was pleased with the turnout and excited about the resolutions. He called for publication of the minutes and a “circular address of a conciliatory character” to be distributed to all Baptists throughout the state. Four thousand copies were sent, with Primitive Baptists included in the mailing. Mercer then attempted to capitalize on the momentum by scheduling another meeting in October the same year (1836). Once more those in attendance already shared Mercer’s perspective, so little was done by way of formal reconciliation. Proving, however, that Baptists are not the kind of people to let an opportunity for meeting go to waste, Mercer and his mission-friendly colleagues pressed on with their agenda designed to unite Baptists. A controversial matter was raised as a topic of discussion. Since Primitive Baptists had claimed that Missionary Baptists were no

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longer genuine Baptists, it had become their practice to re-baptize those who left mission-friendly churches to join the doctrinally correct Primitives. Those present at the minister’s meeting declared that Baptists re-baptizing Baptists was unnecessary. They also recommended a day of prayer and fasting during the first Sunday in January, for ministers to preach on brotherly love the first Sunday in April, and for the laity to be more diligent in “study, prayer and godly living” all year around. Unfortunately, but not too surprisingly, the minister’s meetings were viewed negatively by the Primitive Baptists. As organizer and chief spokesman for the meetings, Mercer was once again the target of their criticism. Primitives claimed that the meetings were designed to gin up support for the state convention and missionary organizations. So claimed the editor of the Primitive Baptist: The Minister’s Meeting of members thereof of Georgia, profess much affection, make pretentions to an humble and ardent wish for union…[but] that position is, as if they should say, Upon the ground of missions we will unite, nearly or remotely, with Christians or anti-Christians, but that we will with no others at the expense of missions and that the object of the present movements in these meetings is, to enlarge our ranks and silence opposition; and by soft pretensions to catch craftily some whom we could not openly secure.

Mercer rejected their position, observing that they had no right to pronounce judgment on meetings they did not attend. In yet another offer of conciliation, Mercer called for a third minister’s meeting, still believing they could resolve their problems if they discussed their differences in good faith. Primitive Baptists were once again invited to attend and once more they failed to show. Interest in reconciliation finally turned to issues of consolidation as Missionary Baptists came to terms with the fact that their Primitive brethren were not going to see things their way. Ministers at the third meeting went on record calling upon Primitive Baptists to repent of their anti-

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mission stance and agreeing amongst themselves to move ahead with their missionary and educational operations. Peace at Last Mercer sincerely believed the minister’s meetings would bring Baptists together again. Coming to terms with the split, according to Mallary, was “one of the greatest afflictions of Mr. Mercer’s life.” Still, he continued to work alongside Baptists favorable to missions and education, devoting his full attention to matters that would continue to strengthen and promote such interests. In 1837, the same year as the final minister’s meeting, Mercer preached the ordination sermon for Edward Stephens on the occasion of his appointment as a missionary to Burma. Mercer had preached many such sermons before but this one was personally rewarding as Stephens was the first Georgia native to serve internationally as a Baptist missionary. While Mercer may have been unable to bring Baptists back together, enough Baptists remained united to continue supporting causes close to his heart. Mercer’s attention to all things Baptist took a different turn the following year (1838). After returning from the state convention meeting, he found that Nancy had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on her right side. After she recovered sufficiently enough to move about the house on her own again, Mercer felt at liberty to take a short trip to a meeting in Penfield. Once more, upon his return, he discovered that she had another stroke resulting in the paralysis of her left side. Mercer knew that her time on earth was coming to an end. In a letter to the Christian Index, he revealed that he was also declining in health and would be less involved in providing leadership for his Baptist colleagues: “Putting this increase of affliction in the scale with an increase of my own…bars, not only my doing much in the editorial labors of the paper; but my further going abroad to attend the principal meetings of my brethren, or much more mingling with them in public service of the cause of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and indicates that I must soon bid them a final farewell.”

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Since Mercer was no longer able to serve in the capacity as senior editor of the Christian Index, he donated the paper and its appendages to the Georgia Baptist Convention. The Christian Index had played a significant role in convincing Georgia Baptists to embrace missions and ministerial education but the survival of the paper after Mercer’s tenure was in doubt. He had long sustained its circulation by personally covering the financial losses incurred by subscribers who failed to meet their obligations. He therefore urged his fellow Baptists to make sacrifices of their own in order to ensure the future of the Index: And now, my dear friends and brethren, let me exhort and admonish, nay, let me beseech you to hold fast to the Index. That such a publication is needed in the south is acknowledged by many, but too few feel the right sort of zeal in the cause. I have made many personal sacrifices of convenience, ease and pleasure both to myself and my family, and hundreds of dollars to sustain the paper amongst us; and now will you not take a little extra pains to perpetuate its publication in the hands of the Convention?

He signed the letter, “Jesse Mercer—the aged.” This was true of him physically, but for those who knew him best, it spoke also of his stature in the Baptist community. Georgia Baptists heeded his words and have kept the Christian Index in print to the present day. Mercer’s absence from the fall meeting of the Georgia Baptist Association in 1839 was a startling reminder of his failing health since he still had the reputation for arriving on time for any meeting he was scheduled to attend. He sent a letter to confirm that his concern for the churches had not dissipated and offered counsel on how they could better function as a “competent part in the instrumentality of [God’s] great and glorious design of mercy.” Mercer was particularly concerned that Baptists were neglecting the Sabbath by treating it as any other day. Some were guilty of harnessing their horses to plow a field while others were driving their teams to market or taking long journeys. Baptists had done so, he thought, because most churches met once a month according to their pastor’s schedule. But even if the

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pastor could not be in church, Mercer contended that the congregation could nevertheless gather. He then urged them to follow the example of Jesus himself whose custom it was to attend worship every Sabbath day to read from the ancient scrolls: “Why should not our churches adopt the custom of going up to the house of the Lord every Sunday and employing their young men in reading to the people?” If Baptists did return to the “practice of the first ages,” then more young men would become acquainted with the scriptures and each local church would eventually have its own resident pastor. The decision by Mercer to curtail his travels was the right one as his time at home became centered on caring for Nancy. In response to a letter from a longtime friend, Mercer noted that Nancy’s health had taken a turn for the worse, adding, “this is all trifling compared with the state of her mind. It is palsied as much as her body, and gives us much more distress. …In her weakness of mind, she is often under the most deceptive perceptions, and is not convincible. She becomes mad, and is the most distressed creature you can imagine to yourself.” Later, in a lengthy obituary in the Christian Index, Mercer would recall that “at times she was calm and half rational, anon more of an idiot than a maniac, but most of the time she was lost to herself and all around her.” Though his updates were appreciated by Christian Index readers, one wonders if he was not at times a bit too descriptive. In fairness to both Mercers, however, it should be noted that being in the right frame of mind as one neared death was an important way of assuring others that one was ready to pass from this world to the next. Her final moments were therefore recited for all to read. On 21 May 1841, acting as both husband and pastor to his ailing wife, Jesse asked Nancy, “Are you satisfied that it will go well with you for eternity?” Her response to the contrary concerned him greatly. He then he asked her if she loved the Lord, to which she replied, “I hope I do.” Jesse quoted from Proverbs 8:17: “I love them that love me.” A few hours later Jesse returned to her bedside and asked both questions again, each of which she responded to in the affirmative before passing away.

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Mercer’s own health was such that he would survive his wife by less than four months. He suffered from a “pining intestine complaint,” which Mercer described as “a kind of rheumatic, gouty state of the bowels.” As his infirmities increased, Mercer resigned from future responsibilities. In a letter to Heman Lincoln, a fellow member of the Board of Foreign Missions, Mercer asked that his name not be given for nomination as president of the board again: “I am too old, and now too much afflicted to do any good in such a place.” From Mercer’s perspective, however, age and infirmity were not excuses to cease doing kingdom work. In another letter to Lincoln he stated, “I wish above all things I could know the will of God concerning me, and do it, or suffer it in a Christ-like manner to his honor while I live. O pray, my dear brother, that the Spirit of the Lord may still be my guide and comforter till death; that my little remaining time may not be spent in uselessness and pining.” Perhaps the most visible sign of Mercer’s failing health was the fact that he seldom preached in the final year of his life and when he did it was often necessary for him to address his congregation while sitting in a chair. Consequently, his church at Washington appointed C. F. Sturgis as co-pastor. Even though Mercer’s pastoral abilities were weakening, his heart was still with his people. He became especially concerned for the slaves in his church, instructing Sturgis to “hold religious meetings on all suitable occasions for their benefit.” Sturgis evidently complied with Mercer’s wishes as it was later reported that his efforts resulted in “a work of grace…which seemed to advance with happy consequences for one or two successive years.” During that time membership in the Washington church added nearly 100 members, largely due to an influx from the slave population. Mercer preached his final sermon to his congregation on 13 June 1841. As a fitting sign of respect for the impact he had, those outside the Baptist family from other churches in Washington cancelled their services so their members could also attend. His message was taken from 1 Samuel 12:23, “As for me, God forbid that I should sin against

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the Lord, in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.” Like Samuel of old, Mercer noticed that the generation succeeding him was moving in a different direction than the one he had inherited from his fathers. It was his responsibility, he said, as a departing minister to not only pray for his congregation but to teach them also. Mercer spoke for an hour developing his theme of the “good and right way” to worship in which he urged the younger generation to give less attention to excitement and more attention to its substance. He then left for Penfield in order to attend the commencement ceremonies of Mercer University. Friends of the university who were otherwise delighted to be in his presence were suddenly aware that they would not see him again the following year. He was hardly able to walk on his own and had lost such a disturbing amount of weight that “none could gaze upon the dying man without emotion, and hardly without tears.” Even so, he insisted on kneeling during family worship and reportedly was fully engaged in discussion as he sat in on his final meeting as president of the Board of Trustees. His closest friends inquired about his frame of mind as he approached his last days. To one, he replied, “I have no ecstatic joys; not so much that triumphant assurance which some speak of; but an humble hope of heaven, an habitual calm reliance on my blessed Redeemer, which enables me to contemplate my approaching end with composure, undisturbed by any very distressing apprehensions.” To another, he wrote, “You may wish to know how I feel in the prospect of my departure being at hand. I can say little more than that I have no fears thus far on the path of the dark valley. I have long since given my eternal destiny up into the hands of God, and am satisfied with his disposal of me in sickness and in death, and for eternity.” Leaving Penfield in the first week of August, Mercer traveled to Indian Springs, Georgia. The area had become something of a health resort as the water contained minerals that were thought to benefit ailing bodies. Mercer hoped to improve his health by soaking in the

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waters yet he could not help but notice that the town was not conducive to his spiritual health. In a letter to his associate pastor he observed, “I see little else about here but indifference and sin!” Although he confessed that he was becoming more “peevish” in his old age, such an observation from Mercer could just as easily have come from his younger years. He had been aware of his own sins since the age of five and he had spent his entire ministerial career helping others to know of their need to be forgiven by God. It was just as natural for him to notice the need for others to be spiritually healed as he sought to be healed physically. By the end of the month he felt well enough to travel again, intending this time to visit friends in Monroe County. Mercer never made the trip. He died at the home of James Carter on the morning of 6 September 1841. One of his nephews, W. A. Mercer, immediately sent a notice to the Christian Index, describing the final moments of his life so Baptists could be assured that their Father Mercer had finished the race well: “He was perfectly sensible and so remained until the last. He spoke but a few words. I sat by his bedside through most of the night. He answered several questions I asked him—I inquired if he was ready to depart. He threw his dying arms around my neck, and pulled me down near to him and said—I have no fears.” Several churches adopted resolutions expressing sorrow over the death of Jesse Mercer, as did the Georgia Baptist Association and Georgia Baptist Convention. But due to expediency, his funeral hardly reflected the impact he had made in his seventy-one years of life. The distance from Indian Springs to his home in Washington combined with the intense heat of the Georgia summer to prevent Mercer from being buried next to Nancy. Mercer was buried in Penfield Cemetery near Mercer University following a brief ceremony on 8 September 1841. Although he had provided nearly $100,000 for the advancement of the Christian faith, the cost for his burial amounted to $2.50—two dollars for labor and fifty cents for lumber. An eyewitness who recalled the event stated that no one even provided a flower for the funeral procession.

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Conclusion Yet the man who had shared so much of his life with so many people was hailed as one whose impact in Georgia was unsurpassed. A formal memorial service was held at his church in Washington on 3 October 1841. The Presbyterian church nearby closed its doors out of respect for Mercer, thereby enabling its members to mourn alongside the Baptist family recognizing, as they put it, “their loss as our loss.” This time, the building overflowed with mourners with many standing outside listening through the open windows. C. F. Sturgis delivered the eulogy, choosing the text of 2 Samuel 3:38: “Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?” The printed version of the text omitted the word “prince,” using an ellipsis to focus on the phrase “great man,” apparently reflecting the fact that Sturgis himself skipped one to emphasize the other. The reason for the omission was not recorded, but perhaps it was because in Mercer’s day Americans had rejected the idea of kings and the sons of kings. But at the same time Baptists recognized greatness when they saw it and for such people they reserved but one word: “Father.”

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LETTER TO A FRIEND Mercer frequently wrote letters to members of his church during his travels and maintained close correspondence with longtime friends. This letter, dated 22 June 1833, reveals Mercer’s pastoral concern for a woman as she was grieving over the loss of her husband. Mercer himself had been through a similar situation with the death of his first wife, Sabrina, so the words of comfort undoubtedly brought back memories of the grace he received in his time of need. My Dear Sister S. Your letter intended for me at Crawfordville, the night I had an appointment there, but was hindered by high waters, was handed me at Phillips’ by Brother Davant. I was on my way to our Convention, when I was first informed of the distressing termination of Mr. S.’s dangerous illness, of which you informed us about two weeks before. I had hoped better, but the will of our merciful and heavenly Father had determined otherwise. I hope and pray the God of all grace, in whom you trust, will grant you faith and patience to endure as beholding him who is invisible. ‘All things work together for good to them who love God.’ In this you are fully persuaded, and on this, and such-like promises, you will cast your whole burden. We are, dear sister, by these dispensations of bereavement, taught that the vanity of all our best earthly enjoyments, and led to have our hearts set on a better, and a more enduring substance. The Lord’s ways are not our ways; but it is our happiness to make his ways ours, and to be resigned to them. It should be our daily prayer, that he would lead us into the way which he has chosen we should go; and that we might walk willingly therein, and find rest for our souls; yea, and we should find peace and comfort to our souls, if we did but walk aright in his paths. Let you mind be stayed on Him; He who has provided hitherto will still provide.

PREFATORY NOTICE FOR “THE DOCTRINE OF PARTICULAR ELECTION: STATED AND DEFENDED IN TWO SERMONS” BY THE REV . JOHN SLADEN Mercer published two sermons on election from John Sladen in an attempt to bring clarity to the doctrine. The date of publication (1834) reflects the near breaking point between Missionary and Primitive Baptists over missionary efforts. Mercer may have been speaking to both sides by publishing the sermons, reminding Primitives that Calvinism is not fundamentally opposed to evangelism and instructing Missionary Baptists on how to enunciate the gospel of free grace more clearly. The Doctrine of Election being a Scripture doctrine, and well calculated to humble the pride and exalt the piety and gratitude of real believers in Christ; and to lead them to magnify and extol the riches of the Grace of God, for his kindness in the salvation of any of Adam’s sinful race; and when rightly understood, highly promotive of humility and practical godliness, should never be lost sight of, but diligently inquired into and cordially received. And the general theme of preaching now, both among Presbyterians and Baptists, being practical, and tending rather to lead men to repentance and faith, than to confirm believers in the faith once delivered to the saints; nay, rather to alienate their minds from this particular truth. It has appeared for some time to the undersigned, that something should be published on this doctrine, to supply (with few exceptions) the general want of it in the present ministry. And having seen nothing on the subject of modern date, wherein the doctrine is stated and defended with equal clearness and conviction, and calculated (in his judgment) so well to establish the weak and wavering, by Rev. John Sladen, published in the Lime Street Lectures, in London over a century ago. He has, therefore, come to the conclusion to publish them in a pamphlet and send them abroad. The reader will perceive, by reading these discourses, that neither the doctrine nor the objections to it are of modern date. They are now

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commended to the careful perusal and faithful reception of all, who desire to know the truth as it is in Jesus, by their friend and fellow servant for Jesus’ sake.

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MINISTERIAL EDUCATION—T HE PLAN This article appeared in the Christian Index on 4 February 1836. It is likely that Mercer had in mind his college at Washington as the place this plan for ministerial education would be executed. Of all the topics he mentions as significant for the minister, it is interesting that no mention is made of an introduction to the Old or New Testaments in general or a study of each book in particular. Perhaps such a study was assumed to be the foundation for all else that would follow, as he suggests in the section on Theology. Also worthy of note is the recognition that Mercer had of the difficulties some ministers would have in attending a school. His recommendation that they study on their own as best they can is reminiscent of his early efforts at self-education. In what we had to say upon this subject last week, we remarked the studies for a Minister, were divided into two classes—those studies that respect the preparation of his mind, and those that respect his work. The first class we intimated, includes the study of languages, and everything else, that tends to invigorate and expand the mind—a thorough Academical or Collegiate course of learning. The second, relates to that particular kind of knowledge which is needful to a Minister upon the field of his labors. It is our design, at present, to continue our remarks to the latter class, And— 1. We have said already, it is very desirable that a Theological student should be acquainted with the Greek language, because the New Testament was originally written in this language. And for the same reason it is important that he should learn Hebrew—the language in which the Old Testament was first written. In addition to this, Ancient History, both sacred and profane, in connection with Chronology, should be carefully studied. It will be found, too, of vast consequence, to become acquainted with the Antiquities of the Jews—the Geography of their country—their customs—their laws, and especially their natural history. A knowledge of these subjects is

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indispensable to a correct understanding and a clear elucidation of many passages in the sacred Scriptures. 2. Theology ought to be studied regularly and effectually. There is contained in the Bible a beautiful system of doctrines, though they are not found in systematic order. Theses doctrines ought certainly to be studied and systematized by every minister of the Gospel. Several systems have been prepared by wise and good men; these have their excellencies and their blemishes, and should be prized by the student accordingly. Perhaps the best system, as a text book, now extant, is that of Dr. Dwight. But this, or any other, is to be considered as an auxiliary, and in this light alone. Besides a good system, the writings of good men upon subjects promiscuously, may be read to great advantage. It might not be an unprofitable course, to take up a single subject at a time, and to obtain light upon it. Suppose, for instance, repentance be fixed upon. Its nature and necessity are to be studied. Of course the student would apply first to his Bible—he would collate every passage having any bearing at all upon the subject in hand. At the same time, he would no doubt feel it a privilege, to consult such authors as Gill, Boothe, Baxter, Edwards, Dwight, Fuller and Scott, upon the subject under consideration. One or more of those authors, might open up to the mind of the student, a train of thought, that would prove of the highest consequence to him. Or, they might correct some error, into which he has fallen, through inadvertence or from some other cause. In these days of excitement, when almost everything is attempted to be effected by excitement, there is great danger, that sound, systematic Theology, will not receive that attention which its importance demands. 3. Church History constitutes a very important part of a minister’s education. What the Church has been, under all its varied circumstances, from the days of the Apostles down to the present. In the study of Church history, the student should not rest satisfied with a mere knowledge of the facts, to which his attention may be directed, but he should weigh well the causes that have operated to produce these facts. This will enable him to account in some good degree, for

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the various forms of Church government, and the diversity of sentiment upon doctrinal subjects, found in the world. In the prosecution of his studies in this department, the student will find, that the history of the Church is intimately connected with the general history of those countries where the Gospel was first preached; he might not therefore, find it a bad plan, to take church and general history together. 4. Pastoral Duties ought not to be neglected by the young minister, who feels it important to obey the Apostolic precept, study to show thyself approved unto God. This branch of ministerial learning, includes the art of sermonizing, and a knowledge of church government, together with some general rules with respect to visiting the sick. With respect to composing sermons, or preaching, we shall not remark at present. There are some excellent manuals upon the subject, which the industrious student will do himself the favor to peruse. Among these we mention Dodridge’s Lectures, Williams’ Christian Preacher, Burder’s Mental Discipline; but above all Campbell’s Lectures on Systematic Theology and Pulpit Eloquence. These are some of the principal branches of knowledge, which the minister will find useful to him. And to study them, so that he may be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, will form the business of life. To prosecute his design, he will exercise a becoming prudence, and pursue such a course as promises the greatest degree of success. If the Theological Seminary, furnish in his view, facilities, not to be enjoyed elsewhere, of course he will go there, if he has it in his power. His object is knowledge, such knowledge is as useful to a minister, and he would be highly culpable, not to improve every opportunity that presents itself for attainment. It is true, every preacher cannot pursue the plan laid down above in all its details. But he can pursue it in part, and whatever subject he touches, let it be a point with him to master it. After all, he will find himself far below perfection. Let everyone do the best his circumstances allow, and matters will soon be materially improved.

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In what we have written, we have taken it for granted, that the whole is to be carried on with prayer. We suppose that every student of Christian Theology, has long since learned, that without God he can do nothing.

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DEAR BROTHER SHUCK The letter written to J. Lewis Shuck appeared in the Christian Index on 12 April 1838. Lewis and Henrietta Shuck were missionaries to China, having been appointed by the Triennial Convention. Together they founded the first Baptist church in Hong Kong. This letter reveals Mercer’s love for missions as well as his disappointment with the lack of enthusiasm he sensed from other Baptists. The publication of an otherwise private letter demonstrates Mercer believed others would join the mission movement as they encountered stories from missionaries throughout the world. “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country;” so your very kind letter from Macao, (China) refreshed and comforted my spirit. I hastened to lay it before the readers of the Christian Index, and suppose a few words in reply would not be less acceptable through the same medium to you and may be gratifying to them. Truly the short “acquaintance and intercourse” had at Richmond, Virginia were pleasant and interesting, and left an impression on my mind, which has led me to read in the Religious Herald all the communications from you with particular interest. It was peculiarly engaging to my feelings to witness with what devotedness and disinterested zeal, you make known the impressions which had led you to the conclusion that it was your duty, from the Lord, to engage in the ministry; and especially those which disposed you to a foreign field, where you might “preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” And this you did, without asking or receiving a promise of one jot or title of earthly emolument. All you asked, and all you received, was the approval of the Board and a promise of aid and support. It is truly a consideration which “affords no small satisfaction to know” that through the providence of God oceans and continents have made us antipodes, yet we can meet at a common Mercy Seat, and there enjoy intercourse and communion with God with each other in prayer, and writing those things, which the grace of God has

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wrought by and in us, for the furtherance of his cause on earth, and which lead “the soul in holy contemplation towards the brighter developments of celestial bliss,” where intercourse and enjoyment will be uninterrupted and eternal. I consider it an amazing wonder, my dear brother, “a consideration of overwhelming and painful interest, that while the hearts of so many thousands in America (and other Christian countries) beat high with a Christian’s joy, and swell with a Christian’s hope” that so little is felt for the millions (of China and other nations) who are setting in the regions and shadows of death, and perishing for the lack of knowledge! If, that some (men) had not the knowledge of God was spoken to the shame of Christians in Paul’s day, what must be spoken of Christians in these days! O, when will Christians wake up to the importance of keeping the commandments of God! And it is still of more amazing and painful concern, that so many professed Christians, like the Jews in Paul’s time, rise up “forbidding us to preach (the Gospel) to the Gentiles, that they may be saved.” I agree with you, that every church should act as a missionary society, and that if, at the concert meetings some one or two of the members would prepare themselves to make some brief remarks relative to some case, history or interesting incident of the missionaries, it would give a “heightened interest” to those meetings, and to the cause of missions generally. It would also excite attention to the history of missionary operations as they transpire. We need very much in our denomination, an increased taste for reading. Anything which would tend to increase this desire would benefit the cause, by developing and rendering familiar the labors, difficulties and situations of the missionaries. And doubtless, at the same time enforce the moral and personal obligations of giving the Gospel to the Pagan world. I rejoice that the prospects before you were encouraging—that you have made such progress in the acquisition of the language, as to be able to write a tract in Chinese, which was soon to be published. I

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have great hope, by the grace of God on the circulation of tracts. They are silent and unobtrusive, and will get admission where a missionary would be rejected. I am happy also to learn that the Portuguese government has somewhat altered its policy, so that missionaries can now reside in any of the precincts of the “Celestial Empire.” Those parts where the prohibitory laws of the Emperor cannot affect the cause are so extensive, that if the word of the Lord should take deep root in them it would easily spread into the interior. But why speak in this casual strain? He who touches the mountains and they smoke, and the hills and they skip, can say to the haughty and imperial Throne of China, “be thou removed,” and it shall vanish away like smoke, or yield obedience at once to the King of nations! I am acquainted with Bro. I. J. Roberts. While I wish him all grace and success in his undertakings, I can but regret his isolated condition. If the Board should make Macao a permanent station (and under existing circumstances, I see no reason why they should not,) I trust you may find in him a true yoke-fellow in the great cause of evangelizing (by the blessing of God on your labors) the Chinese, and bring them to the obedience of the faith. As to sending you more laborers from Georgia, it would rejoice my heart to see many young men rising up, like the zealous and devoted Isaiah, and saying to the call of God, each for himself, “Here am I—send me!” But alas! We have a great deficiency of pious, devoted and faithful Ministers in this State, and there seems little spirit of prayer in the churches, to the Lord of the harvest, that he would send laborers into his harvest, which is truly large. It will give me great pleasure to send you, my Brother, anything—Minutes and the Index which may afford you and those with you any consolation or strength. With Sister S. [Henrietta Shuck] I have no acquaintance, but what I have gained from her letters, &c.—but it has been quite sufficient to give her an interest in my best wishes for her happiness and prosperity in the great enterprise in which she has as your helpmeet has engaged. My most sincere congratulations to her and

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Bro. Roberts. May grace, mercy and peace be with you all, and give you success, is the prayer of one who is deeply interested in the missionary enterprise.

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HANDWRITTEN PRAYER The following prayer was written in Mercer’s own hand. It is not clear as to whether he used this as a prayer for certain occasions or as something of a model prayer to help him collect his thoughts as he prepared for intercession in the church. The prayer ends somewhat abruptly with no final “Amen”; therefore, it is possible that Mercer would have added words of his own specific to the context in which he was praying. Perhaps the most revealing aspect of this prayer is the use of quotes and allusions from both testaments, demonstrating Mercer’s carefulness to saturate his words to God from the word of God. Almighty God! Thou who art the High and lofty One that inhabits Eternity. Who art all wise, omnipresent, immense and who knows not a shadow of a change. Who art the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving the iniquity and transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation. Who art infinite, glorious and perfect in all thy attributes. Who art worshipped and held in reverence by Angels and the spirits of just men made perfect; before whose throne elders fall down and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Who art glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders; Whose law is perfect, converting the soul; whose testimony is sure, making wise the simple; Whose statutes are right, rejoicing the heart; Whose fear is clean enduring forever; Whose judgments are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired than gold; yea than much fine gold: sweeter than honey and the honey comb; by which thy servants are warned and in keeping of them there is great reward.

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Before thee we would desire to come with the deepest reverence and humility and to call upon our souls all that is within us to bless and magnify thy great and holy name. Impress upon our minds in whose presence we are—before whom we have bowed ourselves— Give us exalted conceptions of thy own infinite glorious and perfect attributes—That thou art the Creator and Governor of the Universe— by Whom and through Whom are all things and for Whose pleasure they are and were created—That in the beginning Thou didst create the heavens and the earth and formed and set in motion nature and time with all their wheels. That Thou art a God whose name is Jealous; that Thou canst not view sin with the least allowance and will by no means clear the guilty. Give us humbling conceptions of ourselves; that we are thy creatures, the workmanship of thy hands, the pensioners upon thy bounty. That in Thee we live and move and have our being—That on thee we depend for the Highest blessings we enjoy—for the food we eat and the air we breathe. That every good and perfect gift cometh down from the great Father of lights. That Thou searchest the hearts and triest the reins of the Children of men and knowest their inmost thoughts whether they be good or evil—That thou art a Spirit and would have those who worship Thee, to worship Thee in spirit and in truth—That Thy law requires truth in the inward parts.—While we bow before Thee, may our thoughts be drawn from the perishing things of time and sense and be fixed upon Thee their proper center—We beseech Thee, that thy kingdom may come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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DEAR BROTHER BRANTLEY Mercer wrote the following letter in 1829 to William T. Brantley, editor of the Columbian Star and Christian Index, before Mercer became owner and senior editor of the paper. Mercer was writing in response to previous letters by supporters of the temperance movement and offers both biblical and personal reasons for refusing to join. His comments toward the end of the letter referring to the undue attention given to temperance societies went along the same lines as those of the anti-mission movement who decried “means,” or human methods, as the solution to the world’s ills at the expense of God’s own glory. Mercer later took a pledge of abstinence, joined a temperance society, and began his own temperance paper. I regret for you and the cause of Temperance, the controversy now pending between a Georgia Baptist Preacher and some members of the Temperance Society. I think these brethren are really doing their cause a disservice. It becomes the members and real friends of temperance to be moderate, forbearing and tender; not to offend, but conciliate. To bear much without retort; to go forward without conflict; to gain the vantage ground by non-resistance. I am (if nonmembers can be) friendly to the anti-intemperance societies. I have been informed, however, that my example has been quoted on the opposite side. This I deeply regret. I am sure this was done without knowing any justifying reason, except, that I still used spirits, and had not become a member of some temperance society. For the sake of such I will state my example and the cause why I am not an actual member, &c. “When it pleased the Lord to reveal his dear Son in me” and to impress me with the worth of immortal souls, I was made deeply to deplore the ravages of intemperance, and to enquire what was the source of this widespreading evil: And I soon came to the conclusion that the tippling shops and other places of public resort for drinking, were the most, if not the true and only cause of intemperance; and I have ever avoided them as the snares of death. No man can, with truth, accuse me of entering, or visiting one

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of those places and calling for a gill or half-pint to this day. I have, in days when temperance societies were unknown, recommended this as an example to others; but with what success, the day of final decision must make known. It may be asked why I am not a member? It is not because I think “it degrading to a Baptist to become a member of a Temperance Society,” but that my brethren have gone rather too far for me, and more especially, because I wish to be consistent in the view of my beholders. (1) I have not yet been convinced that the use of spirits is itself a sin. Convince me of this and I will be a member, or come to the “desired result.” But, (2) I have been in bad health for years past, as you know, and after using many celebrated and prepared medicines, without effect, to restore the tone of my intestines, several of the most eminent physicians, at different times and places, recommended to me the habitual use of Cognac brandy. This course I adopted reluctantly, but with apparently good effect. I now use it medicinally; but this cannot be generally known, and therefore, I do not join this society. But the main object—to promote temperance, by suppressing intemperance; I most cordially patronize and wish to promote. But I fear it is likely to suffer in the hands of its friends. “Brother Jonathan” [pen name from a previous letter to the editor] acknowledges his phraseology “somewhat ambiguous, from which a fault-finding spirit might extract some matter of offense.” He was to blame to use such doubtful diction. And here again he was wrong; for I do not think I am in this manner “a fault-finding spirit,” and I was struck with “matter of offence” on the first reading of it. But I take his admonisher to be still more faulty in the manner of his attack—in the levity and extravagances of expression; but in all this I think he received full reward in the editorial remarks attached to his strictures; at least “Brother Jonathan” and “a lay member” might have been satisfied; and in that they were not, they appear to me rather of a fretted spirit. But I trust they will learn to be “of a meek and quiet spirit”—not easily provoked—“wise as serpents and harmless as doves”—like

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their Savior. I hope these, and such like brethren, especially “a lay member” will suffer a word of exhortation, in nothing to glory in men; but in all things “to glory in the Lord alone.” He thinks “if temperance societies had been formed centuries ago,” a much greater amount of good would have been had; “and above all many precious souls would have been delivered from keen despair forever!” Now I ask, what sort of songs these would sing in heaven? Not glory to God for redeeming grace and dying love! For all this existed before, and they are now in “keen despair” it notwithstanding! It must be, as by the fortuitous formation of temperance societies they have escaped hell and fled to heaven, that they will sing “glory to temperance societies, and to those generous and kind souls, who projected them!—But all this smells very much of the taint of selfadulation; as in the following expressions “I was converted (says A) at the big meeting—but I could have been converted ten or twenty years before, if I had tried. Or, “God has determined his work shall be done by means, therefore if you don’t use the means God has appointed you will be lost!” This was not the sentiment of Mordecai. He did not think the Jews would be destroyed if Esther went not in unto the king, but enlargement would arise to them from some other place. I will close with Paul’s declaration [from] Romans 15:18: “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, &c.” Temperance Societies now formed and the instruments of incalculable good, are so, because the Lord is now working in them “to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

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REPLY TO H—NO. 2 This letter appeared in the Christian Index in 1836 as an explanation of Mercer’s position on the use of new measures, which were opposed by the “Old School” or “Primitive” Baptists on the grounds that they were not mentioned in the Bible. “H” was the pen name of a writer who accused Missionary Baptists of departing from the biblical model of conducting missions. Mercer deduced from the Bible that such organizations and attempts to spread the gospel are the natural outworking of Christians planning ahead and sharing their wisdom with one another. Dear Brother A: In my last to you, I proposed to make “the new schemes and their tendencies” the subject of a future reply; and now I proceed to the performance of it. It is plain, from a review of H’s inquiries, that by “new movements—new plans—new schemes,” he intends the various social operations of these days; such as Bible, Missionary, Tract, Sunday School and Temperance Societies. These are considered as evil, not only in themselves, but because they are new. Hence, they of the opposition, call themselves “Old School Baptists.” But such an insinuation indicates the belief, not only that Baptists had, in their operations to further, instrumentally, the kingdom of Christ in the earth, attained to perfection; but a lamentable want of Scriptural knowledge. I suppose, however, the first will not be seriously pretended; and by the latter it will be shown that the path-way of the Lord’s people through the wilderness of this world, is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day (Proverbs 4:18). And that in the ages to come—the dispensation of the fullness of the times, God will make known by the Church, his manifold wisdom; or the exceeding riches of his grace by new and increased labors (Ephesians 2:7; 3:10). There will then, be something new constantly transpiring. For instance; when “the mountain of the Lord’s house (or the Church) shall be

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established in the top of the mountains, and all the nations shall flow unto it,” (Isaiah 2:2). There will be something new! And when “the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ; and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river, to the ends of the earth.” Then will there be something new! (Revelation 11:15; Zechariah 9:10). Moreover, when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge and glory of God, then there will be something gloriously new! (Isaiah 11:9; Psalm 72:19). Again; when “Israel (the Church) shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” There will have been done, something new (Isaiah 27:6). And when the church shall have enlarged the place of her habitations, and broke forth on every side, so as that her sons shall make the desolate cities of the Gentiles to be inhabited by the redeemed of the Lord; there will have been done something gloriously new! And when the people of the saints of the Most High, shall take the kingdom and possess it, because it shall be given to them, in the greatness thereof, under the whole heaven; then there will have been done something wonderfully new! (Daniel 7:18–27). God declares emphatically, “Behold, I make all things new!” And it must be evident to any sober Bible reader that new things will be transpiring in every generation of men, until the final consummation of all things. And it will be as readily seen, that as new dispensations succeed each other, and as changing vicissitudes arise, it will be indispensable to concert plans of action, to suit the exigencies of the times and accomplish those things, which may be the requisite for the carrying forward of the cause of Christ in the earth. It is obvious too that no community can move in concert in the performance of any work, but by my counsel. Solomon says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall; and without counsel purposes are disappointed; but in the multitude of counselors they are established—there is safety,” (Proverbs 11:10; 15:22). If Christ has constituted his people the light of the world, and commanded them to let their light so shine; or to make known the riches of his grace among all nations for obedience to the faith; and at the same time to wage an interminable war with the powers of

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darkness; it follows, as a matter of necessary consequence, that they must meet in Convention, and by wise counsel adopt such plans as shall be judged best and adapted to effect the objects in view. Accordingly the Apostles assembled at various times, passed resolutions for different purposes; and finally they in conference assigned to each other their sphere of labor in effectuating their Master’s great command, “Go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (see also Galatians 2:6–9). Those useful schemes or plans of operation which were established in his day, Paul enjoins it on Titus to urge and affirm constantly, that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful (Titus 3:8, 14). Now what are these good works, which are to be urged on the observance of the brethren with so much care; but those plans, or institutions, which were established as best calculated to promote the general interests of the kingdom of Christ, and the good of all men? And what is it to maintain these good works, but to give aid and support to them, so that the ends proposed may not fail? But without counsel purposes are disappointed and the people fall!! If this be true, should not our brethren, who oppose, in toto, the schemes of benevolence, now in operation, fear the consequences of their own temerity? But why do they oppose them? Is it because it is an evil work to supply the unregenerated world with the Bible—or to endeavor to send the gospel, by the living Preacher (as near as can be come at, called of God to the work) to all the nations of the earth, that they may be saved (1 Thessalonians 2:16)—or to write pieces on important subjects, and send them abroad; or to direct them to certain individuals—or to combine to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—or to unite to suppress iniquity in any shape; but especially in that odious and most destructive form— DRUNKENNESS? Surely not!! Perhaps they will say “yes; we will have our churches and associations; but we will have nothing to do with these societies.” That is, they will have nothing to do in publishing the word of God to the world—nothing to do in furnishing a preacher to those, who set in

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the region and shadow of death, that they may hear of a precious Saviour, believe and be saved (Romans 10:11–15)—nothing to do, in giving them any means, not even a tract by which they may be saved (Romans 11:10)—nothing to do, in having their children taught in the Scriptures, by suitable teachers in Sunday Schools—nothing to do, in reforming the intemperate, or in making an effort to save a poor deluded and infatuated fellow man from a drunkard’s grave, and a miserable family from ruin. I ask in the name of common sense— What will they do? But pressed for time and perceiving that I shall stretch out my reply to long; I beg leave to pause here, and make “the tendencies” the subject of a separate number.” I am Dear Brother A., Yours, Truly, JESSE MERCER

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AN ELEVATED STANDARD OF CHRISTIAN MORALITY The following address was delivered at the meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1831. Mercer makes the case that divisions in the churches exist because ministers have failed to unite around Christian morality in the same way they were united in Christian doctrine. As was often the case with Mercer, he makes a pitch for ministerial education so that pastors can be equipped for sound teaching. This in turn, he argues, leads to sound discipline as members of the churches begin to expect more from themselves and their fellow church members. Men and Brethren, Having obtained help of God, we are now assembled, according to appointment, and for the time we have been together, have had much pleasure in meeting and enjoying each other’s company, harmony in deliberation, and comfort in the prospect before us; though, at the same time, mingled with sorrow, for the desolations of Zion: And, therefore, beg leave to address you, in a few unvarnished remarks, on the importance of a more elevated standard of Christian morality, among the churches and ministers of our denomination. The standard of Christian morals, in itself considered, is THE TRUTH, as it is in Jesus; and is incapable of either elevation or depression; but in our present design, it means the public estimation and practical regard, in which it is held; and will be higher or lower, according to the views, truth obtains in the denomination; and to which, the practice of the churches will conform, and will be elevated or depressed accordingly. Just as water seeks its own level, or as the conduct of a community accords to public opinion; so will Christian’s morals be influenced by the standard of piety & Godliness, as held sacred among the churches. This will be strikingly illustrated by reference to the only point, in which, we think, this standard is sufficiently raised among us, that is, it is universally agreed that immersion, and nothing but immersion is BAPTISM; and the practice is

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everywhere in the denomination, one and the same—there is no difference—no dispute about it. Now if the standard was equally elevated in every other point of faith and duty, the churches would be in all points, in the same practical unity and peace; and tending fast to perfectness. Just as rays of light converge, as they approach their centre, so we, in following this standard, when duly elevated, shall approximate each other, as we approach THE TRUTH, as it is in Jesus; and losing all asperities in assimilations to him who is the truth itself, be swallowed up in light. But as rays of light, flying off from their source, diverge, as they fly, ‘til they lose themselves in regions of unbroken darkness; so we, in pursuing a depressed standard of piety, must widen and separate— become less and less ardent, in Christian affections, and losing all sense of vital union, merge into bitter animosities and destructive feuds, and, lost in ourselves, and to each other, be disembogued in the blackness of that darkness, which is reserved unto wandering stars forever. That the standard of Christian morality is deplorably low, among the ministers and churches of our denominations, is too obvious to be concealed. Beloved friends and brethren, to bring your minds to bear on this lamentable case, permit me to ask you a few plain questions. Are there not many professors among us, whose spirit, life and conversation ill become the gospel of Christ—worldly in their views, and mercenary in all they do, so, that if they were not seen in church meeting, or at the Lord’s table, they could not be told from mere worldlings? And yet, do they not go unreproved? Are there not many, who, to the entire neglect of all family religion, seldom attend church meeting, and habitually live irreverently, if not immorally? And are they not suffered to go undisciplined? And others there are, who, in the plainest sense, are drunkards. And though no drunkard hath any place in the kingdom of God and of Christ; yet do they not by some means—by feigned repentance, or empty and vain resolves, continue from youth to old age in the

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church, frequently, if not habitually drunk? And are there not many such cases? And more, is it not common, that mere negative goodness is all that is requisite to constitute a member in good standing, and to recommend him, as such, to a sister church? But does not the parable of the fig tree reprove this practice—since the tree was not threatened to be cut down for bearing evil fruit, but because it bore none! And moreover, is there not evidently a want of union and concert among both ministers and churches of our denomination? Have not instances occurred in which some churches have disciplined their members for what others have winked at, or even commended in theirs? And have not censured, and even excluded members of some, been received and nurtured by other churches? And have not ministers gotten into heated and hurtful controversies with one another—breathing towards each other the most crude asperities and cruel animosities? And is it not true, that one has preached what another, in, and to the same congregation, has contradicted and exposed, as unsound and dangerous; by which questions, which gender strife, have abounded? And has not all this past off too, without any effort to correct the evil, or to reconcile these inconsiderate brethren? Does it not then brethren, behoove us to enquire, with great earnestness, for the causes of these afflictions? And one close examination, will they not be found, mostly, if not altogether, in the following particulars? 1. In a want of carefulness in the admission of members. By a cursory review of the New Testament churches, it will be readily seen, that they were all constituted of believers in Christ alone, such as were called to be saints—all of one heart and one soul. That the first churches were patterns for all others, which should be built up. Hence the church in Thessalonica was commended, for becoming followers of those which were in Judea. That they kept a close guard at the door of admission, whose vigilance, the unworthy and designing had to escape and creep in unawares; but they soon found

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themselves, in so hot a bed, that they went out of their own accord. And such would have been the effect even till now, if the standard had been kept up equally high. But alas! Even as the apostles’ days, the mystery of iniquity was at work; and the standard of Godly practice was soon lowered, so that men of corrupt minds and loose morals could live in the churches; and they were corrupted in their pristine simplicity, unity and beauty, they had in Christ, and became the subjects of severe rebukes, and were even threatened with extinction! Now were not all these things written for our admonition to the intent that we should be careful to admit into the churches of Christ, none but such as give good evidence of being one in spirit with the Lord, and members in particular with his body? Lest we should incur the displeasure they incurred; and that too denounced against Israel, (probably the churches in our day were in the prophet’s eye,) Ezekiel 44:6: Thus saith the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations; in that ye have brought into my sanctuary, strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood; and they have broken my covenant, because of all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things. This last complaint plainly shows, 2. The want of a close and goodly discipline. Christ, as the head of his church, has constituted the power to govern in the body, according to his laws, for edification, and not destruction; for the preservation of churches in purity, unity and peace. But when discipline is neglected or loosely executed, the exact opposite state of things must ensue. Corrupt men, suffered or tolerated in the churches, will seek their own level, and like the old leaven, will corrode and corrupt the whole body, and tend to more ungodliness; till, by their number and influence, the church, at this or that place, may become a mere worldly sanctuary, or a synagogue of Satan. These deleterious effects, it is believed, will be found to grow much out of, 3. An inefficient ministry. The gospel ministry, in all its grades, was given to, and constituted in, the church, to bring all in the unity of

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the faith, unto the stature of the fullness of Christ. But it must be obvious to anyone, that such an end can never be accomplished by a weak, contentious, and divided ministry. Say what we may of the church’s power to govern, and even to govern her ministers; and yet, it will be true, that ministers give tone and impulse to public feeling, direction and energy to public spirit, and power and efficiency to public effort. The corruptions and errors of Israel are charged on her prophets, who, refusing to speak the word of the Lord faithfully, saw vain visions of peace, and taught out of the imagination of their evil heart. And the divisions and offenses, which rent, with fierce controversies, the churches at Antioch, Corinth, Galatia, Cappadocia, Bythinia, and Asia, are charged to those ministers, who preached doctrines contrary to that taught by the Apostles. Against these, not only foreign, but also of their own selves, the churches were cautioned, warned, reproved and even threatened. And shall we be inattentive to these things? Similar causes will produce similar effects. Therefore, as is the ministry, such will be the churches. If ministers are inefficient, the churches will be weak and unwavering—If ministers are in controversy among themselves, the churches will be in confusion—If ministers break asunder, the churches will divide and fall into party feuds. And are not these things so? Have we not, Brethren, reason to take the apostolic caution, if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another? Surely, in the plaintive strain of the weeping prophet, we should enquire: Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Let us examine prayerfully and practically, and see if the health of the churches cannot be found in, 1. A more careful regard to an elevated standard of faith and piety, in the experience and character of those, who are received to membership among us. All bodies derive their qualities from the elements of which they are composed. No church, therefore, can be more righteous and holy, than the members individually are. Then if the church is the beauty of holiness, the members must be beautified with salvation. If the church is one body, each member must have one heart

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and one soul. If the church is the Lord our righteousness, the members must all be one spirit with the Lord. And if the church is the light of the world, and the joy of the whole earth, each member must be light in the Lord, and glow with a sacred passion, to make him known to the ends of the earth. When due care is had that the members of the churches are all righteous; and discipline is everywhere duly executed, in the right spirit, then the standard of holiness to the Lord will be elevated, and true godliness promoted, till a state of efficient, practical piety will exhibit the churches, as a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots; and terrible as an army with banners. But to effectuate this, we believe will require, 2. A more careful attention to the qualifications and faithfulness of those, who are preferred among us to the gospel ministry. Nothing can be more certain than, if the churches are ever raised to be holiness unto the Lord, the ability and fidelity requisite must be sought for in the constitution of ministers. And wherever this is neglected the consequences must be most deleterious to the purity, unity and peace of the churches. Let none say, “God will qualify his ministers—he will give them matter and form.” This, we fear, is the very spirit that ruined Israel; they cried peace, peace; when there was no peace! Something must be practically and efficiently done to remedy the evils among us. It is now generally conceded, that both miracle, and the inspiration of the truth ceased with the Apostles. If so, ministers now have no just dependence on inspiration, for what they preach; only as they are instructed to understand the truth, from the inspired scriptures. This shows the importance of education. And which seems to be the scriptural plan. Those sent out by the Apostles, incurred blame, in that they taught what they were not commanded; proving plain enough, that they were authorized to preach nothing but what they were taught. Thus Paul instructed Timothy and Titus to preach and teach the things (not with which they were inspired, but those,) they had heard and learned of him; and to commit them to those men only, who were able and faithful to teach others also, as they had been taught. And

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Christ lays down the same rule in Matthew 13:52, “Every scribe instructed (not inspired) into the kingdom of heaven (or the gospel of Christ) is like unto a householder, who bringeth out of his treasures things new and old. And surely, it is just as senseless, to send out a man to preach the gospel, which he had never been taught, with any expectation of his teaching correctly; as it would be to employ a man to teach all the branches of a refined education, who had never studied their elementary principles. But it may be asked—does God not do more for the one, than for the other? Yes, blessed be his name, he does! He gives to the man he calls to the ministry, his Holy Spirit, to impress and lead his mind to the work, to elevate and open his understanding in the study of the Scriptures, to know and receive the truth, and aptness to impart it to others. And to secure faithfulness, in the discharge of the duties of this, highly responsible office, HE gives not the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. But that man might as well be expected to know and explain all the beauties of nature, whose eyes had never been opened on its volume; as for a minister to preach the truth as it is in Jesus, who neither knows, nor studies the Scriptures. Nor can he else, preserve the ministry from blame by knowledge, or show himself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Besides, the results to be had by the gospel ministry, are such, as can never be attained, unless purity in knowledge and unity in design and purpose, and fidelity in practice be first found in the ministers. They must be taught all to speak the same things; they must become sensible to mutual obligations and the importance of unity in effort. And when ministers, of every degree, shall be found in unity, all workers together with the Lord, all pulling at once, and the same way; none too selfish to receive help—too proud to be taught—too wise to learn—too independent to submit—nor too great to be least; but all studying to be prepared, to do the work of the Lord—meditating diligently on the things, taught in his word—and wholly giving themselves to them, that their profiting (not their greatness) may appear

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to all. Then the standard of Christian morality will be elevated, and the churches will all fall into regular ranks under its flying banners; and “onward” shall be heard from every camp of our Israel, till they all come, in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, UNTO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULNESS OF CHRIST. Pastors and Churches then, All with united ken, Wrap’d in seraphic flame, God and the lamb to praise, Shall shout, through endless days, The long—the loud amen.

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PREREQUISITES TO ORDINATION The following is an essay based on a message Mercer delivered to the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1829. His emphasis throughout is on ministerial unity as ministers share the same qualifications and responsibilities and are referred to in Scripture as “yokefellows.” Along with ministerial union, Mercer makes a case for ministerial education. Though a college degree was not a requirement for all ministers, learning formed an essential part of the ministry itself and was at the very least expected of those who would teach others. Also evident in this piece are the multiple citations from Scripture, which serve to demonstrate Mercer’s belief that the first churches were models for all churches for all time. Beloved in the Lord: It was requested of me at your session in this place, “to prepare a dissertation on the prerequisites to ordination and on the term ‘true yoke fellow.’” At your meeting in Monticello I was led to ask further time, and now by the kindness of God, have the pleasure of submitting the following essay: I. By “prerequisites to ordination,” it is presumed those qualifications are intended, which are indispensable to any man’s being preferred to the Gospel Ministry; and that these are those—and those only which the Bible makes requisite to that high office. Not that it might be desirable or fit he should have, but those which form a sine qua non, or that without which he may not be approved as a Gospel Minister, or set forward to ordination. And these, we are of opinion, may be comprised in the following particulars: 1. He must be regenerate and born of God. 2. He must be of good report both in and out of the church. 3. He must be called of God to the work. And, 4. He must have gifts suitable to the discharge of the duties of the office.

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1. That no un-regenerate man should be permitted to participate in the Gospel Ministry, is strongly indicated by the prohibition of any of the sons of Aaron, who had any blemish from coming to the altar “to offer any of the offerings of the Lord made by fire” (Leviticus 21:16, 24). And the severe interrogatives of God to the wicked, on this subject (Psalm 50:16) are at awful variance with the attempt. Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:5,7 makes the shining of the light of God into the heart, giving the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ, both the reason and the matter of preaching Christ Jesus the Lord; and in Galatians 1:15–16, he states the revelation of Christ in him to be the efficient cause of his preaching him (Christ) among the heathen. From these and such like scriptures it is very plain, that the work of the spirit in regeneration is the prime cause, without which no man can preach, spiritually and effectually, the gospel of the grace of God. But if the Bible was silent on this subject, the absurdity of employing one rebel to negotiate terms of peace with other rebels would sufficiently expose the pretension to ridicule and contempt. 2. He must be of good report both in and out of the church. Paul, both to Timothy and Titus on this subject, lays it down that “a bishop must be blameless;” this is doubtless in the church, but to show that it is not to be limited to the church; that nothing is to be done by partiality, he adds, “moreover he must have a good report from them that are without.” Nay; most of the qualifications made necessary to ordination are civil and social, such as the men of the world can and will judge of. And ‘tis evidently wise to require that he who is to go forth, the ambassador of peace, to testify the gospel of the grace of God to a guilty world, should be such as they could trust as a faithful witness. The scriptures require innocence and fidelity in the management of secular concerns without, and in the discharge of sacred obligations within; which may be fully seen, not only by attention to the prerequisites, but from the commendations of those inducted into the ministry by the Apostles.

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In reference to the Ministers of Christ, it is said in 1 Corinthians 4:2, “moreover it is required (in order to ordination) in stewards (of the mysteries of God) that a man be found faithful.” Christ has given us a rule in Luke 16:10–11, by which this is to be tested. “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.” Here we have a plain, simple and unequivocal test of character. He alone, who in the smallest concerns of this life is faithful, may be trusted with the sacred treasures of the life to come. “Therefore,” says our Lord, “if ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches?” Plainly indicating none would, none might. Paul says of himself in 1 Timothy 1:12, “ I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” And in 2 Timothy 2:2, he makes the same requisite in those who were to be entrusted with the ministry; which, says he, “commit to faithful men.” This will more abundantly appear from the commendations given those already in the sacred trust. Matthew 24:45, “who then is a faithful and wise servant?”; Matthew 25:21, “well done good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things.” Of Timothy it is said in 1 Corinthians 4:17, “who is a beloved son and faithful in the Lord.” Colossians 1:7, Epaphras is said to be “a faithful Minister.” And in Colossians 4:7, Tychicus is declared to be “a faithful and a beloved brother.” And in the days when men’s souls were tried, Antipas was said to be the Lord’s “faithful martyr.” Thus it most clearly appears, that he who is loose in his contracts, and slow in his payments; he who has entangled himself in the affairs of this life; and he who is not counted faithful in sacred things may not be ordained to the Gospel Ministry.—But, 3. He must be called of God to the work. This proposition is sustained by the fact that the Prophets of Israel were true or false, as they were or were not sent of God to prophesy. Thus saith the Lord in Jeremiah 14:14, “the Prophets prophesy in my name; I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them; they prophesy unto you a false vision and a thing of naught.” To the same

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purpose read Jeremiah 23:21, 32; 27:15; 29:9; Ezekiel 13:6. But of the true saith the Lord in Jeremiah 7:25, “since the day that your fathers came out of Egypt unto this day I have sent you all my servants; the Prophets daily rising up early & sending them.” And thus it is written in Jeremiah 26:5; 35:15; 44:4. The very minute restrictions under which any of the sons of Aaron might approach unto the altar of the Lord “to offer for sins,” shew and confirm the same truth, especially taken in connection with the declarations of Paul in Hebrews 5:4, “no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” Should it be alleged that this declaration regards our Lord Jesus Christ, it is admitted; but surely, if Christ “glorified not himself to be made a high priest, no sinful man will ever attempt to assume so responsible an office on his own judgment of his fitness, as the Gospel Ministry.” The injunction left by our Lord on all his followers, Matthew 9:30, “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers in to his harvest,” proves the power and authority to be exclusively in him to send Ministers into the work, else the admonition must have run thus—“pray ye my servants to come into my harvest.” But the order given at Antioch in Acts 13:2, “separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them” puts this matter at complete rest; for if Apostles (and these were already Apostles) had to be called to the work of the Ministry, how much more common men? The fact that Ministers are Stewards of God, and put in trust with the Gospel will accord with no other view. Let the following scriptures be carefully examined with their contexts: Luke 16:11, “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” Acts 20:24, “that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry I have received of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 9:17, “For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will a dispensation of the Gospel is committed unto me.” 2 Corinthians 5:18, “all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation,” v. 19, “and hath committed unto us the word of

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reconciliation.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4, “but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who trieth our hearts.” 1 Timothy 1:11–12, according to the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” 1 Timothy 6:20, “O, Timothy keep that which is committed to thy trust.” From all which it is as certain that a man must be called of God, and inducted into the Gospel Ministry by divine authority; as it is impossible for any man to be a civil officer without being appointed and commissioned according to law. 4. He must have gifts suitable to the discharge of the duties of the office. When Christ ascended far above all heavens, he is said in Psalm 68:18, “to have received gifts for men;” these Paul in Ephesians 4:8, 12, explains to be ministers in their varying degrees, given to the church, “for the work of the ministry.” Christ in Matthew 25:15, represents himself as a thing giving his ministers gifts. As also it is said in 1 Corinthians 12:11, but all these gifts worketh that one, and the self-same spirit dividing to every man severally as he will.” Christ is the head of the body, the church; from whom all gifts are received by “every man to profit withal.” These may briefly be comprehended in a spiritual understanding of divine things and a readiness to communicate them to others. He must have the gift of knowledge. Not the inspired knowledge, for that was apostolic; but he must have the spirit to breathe on his heart to give him to understand the scriptures according to Luke 24:45 and John 20:22. That degree of divine inspiration which was given for the confirmation of the gospel ceased with its necessity; but that, given for the understanding of the scriptures remains, and must remain, as long as there are any scriptures to be understood, and explained to men to make them wise unto salvation. No man may depend on the intuitiveness of his own mind, or seek visions of God which he has not revealed in his word already. To know the book of God is the whole matter to be acquired. To do this he must receive of God “the

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spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Of power to know the truth—of love to do it with diligence and zeal—and of a sound mind to discern between good and evil, 2 Timothy 1:7. The gospel is to be preached for the obedience of faith, Romans 1:5; 10:17. It should be done with plainness and simplicity; but how can it be taught thus without it is clearly understood? Paul has shown the importance of this when he says in 1 Corinthians 14:19, “I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” To illustrate and enforce his argument he introduces the figure of pipe, harp, trumpet, and asks, in case a distinction is not given in the sound, “how it shall be known what is piped or harped?” And, “if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to battle?” Here both knowledge, fidelity and skill in preaching the gospel is inculcated; for he who pipes, harps, or blows the trumpet must understand the art, and be faithful in giving the distinction of sounds, or the end is lost. Everyone therefore, to be made a minister, must bring “out of its treasure things new and old.” That this instruction is to be obtained, not by mere inspiration, but tuition, the following texts will clearly prove; among the “prerequisites to ordination” required by Paul in Titus 1:9; one is, that he who is to be ordained must be found “holding fast the faithful word, as he hath been taught.” And the extent of his knowledge may be learned by the end for which he was taught, “that he may be able by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convince the gainsayers.” Second Timothy 2:2, “the things which thou hast heard of me, among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.” Timothy is exhorted in 2 Timothy 1:13 to “hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me,” and in 3:14 “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” And as to how this knowledge was attained, we are told in Luke 12:47, “that the servant which knew his Lord’s will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with

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many stripes.” Second Timothy 2:21: “if a man purge himself from these (corruptions) he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master’s use.” In perfect accordance with these, are the instructions of Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:14, “till I come give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine;” v. 15, “meditate on these things, give thyself wholly to them, that they profiting may appear to all.” Second Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Titus 2:1, “But speak thou the things that become sound doctrine;” Titus 2:5, “In doctrine shewing uncorruptness,” and in v. 8, “sound speech that cannot be condemned.” Another qualification on which the Apostle seems to lay much stress is, “apt to teach.” This, while it justifies all that is said above about knowledge (for how can one be apt to teach what he does not know?) shows he must have the gift of communication; for it is quite a different thing from knowledge to “be able to teach others also.” Aptness to teach does not mean a readiness to be up and at it, but expertness and ability in teaching; that the man of God may be a workman not to be ashamed, ready thoroughly furnished into all good works. In order to ascertain all this fitness in anyone it is indispensable that he should have a training or rearing up for the work; and this very naturally and very properly must take place in the church. Ministers are gifts of Christ to the church. The church is their mother; and it is both her duty and privilege carefully to bring them up in their respective offices. In 1 Corinthians 14:29, it is directed, “let the prophets speak, two or three, and let the other judge;” in the chapter all the male members are permitted to speak one by one, if they spake, so “that the church received edifying,” of which the other members present are here required to judge; see chapter 4:12. But Ministers are also charged with care and attention to this matter. It is worthy to remark that the great proportion of the instructions and requisites to ordination are given to Ministers and not to churches. Ministers are the constituted “stewards of the

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mysteries of God,” and they only can commit them to others. “The laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” First Timothy 4:14, seems to be the approving sign; the inducting gesture into office; and 1 Timothy 5:22, “lay hands suddenly on no man,” can well regard nothing else, and shows the indispensable necessity of previous familiar acquaintance; else there will be great risk of partaking “of other men’s sins,” and of committing the sacred trust to unskillful hands, unable “to teach others also.” Thus it appears that the church and presbytery are required to “strive together (in this thing) for the faith of the Gospel.”—But II. As for the term “true yoke fellow,” mentioned in Philippians 4:3, taking it for granted that Epaphroditus is intended, who was bishop of the church and present with Paul at this time; it is probable nothing more is here to be understood by it than an expression of mutual affection and companionship in the labors of the gospel. But it may bring into view the general union and fellowship that should exist in the ministry. There are many laborers, but one harvest; or there are many ministers, but one ministry. There is expressed in the scriptures a fine and holy connection in the work of the ministry. They “are laborers together with God,” 1 Corinthians 3:9, and “for Christ,” 2 Corinthians 5:20; and of course are true yoke fellows. In the figure here used, if one ox was to be sought to be a true yoke fellow to another size, strength and proportion would be requisite. The whole view is given in the choice of one to fill the place of Judas (Acts 1:15–26). “For part of this ministry” shows the yoke fellowship in the ministry, as well as “apostleship” (for these are distinct) and the particular qualifications required in verses 21, 22 show the proportion in the participation of the work, which was requisite, and which should never be lost sight of in the ordination of a Minister, Just such as they were, he must be. The same view is given in Ephesians 4:11–12, where the various gifts and degrees of Ministers is laid down; it is said to be “for the work of the ministry.” Read 1 Thessalonians 2:4 and 1 Timothy 1:12; all which plainly show the

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Ministers of Christ are, not so many individuals singly engaged, but a body moving toward with one object in view. The following epithets used in relation to the first Ministers will also confirm the point: “Titus my partner and fellow-helper,” (2 Corinthians 3:23); “As ye learned of Epaphras our dear fellow servant,” (Colossians 1:7); “Epaphroditus my brother and companion in labor, and fellow soldier,” (Philippians 2:25); “And I entreat thee true yoke fellow, with Clement also, and others my fellow laborers” (Philippians 4:3); “Tychicus a beloved brother and a faithful Minister and fellow servant in the Lord,” (Colossians 4:7); “Timotheus our brother, and Minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the Gospel of Christ,” (1 Thessalonians 3:2); “Philemon our dearly beloved and fellow laborer; and Archippus our fellow soldier,” (Philemon 1–2), “Marcus, Aristarcus, Demas and Lucas, my fellow laborers,” (Philemon 24). This manner of affectionate address fully proves that there was a holy fellowship among the first Ministers of the Gospel, and that Ministers all along should have been, and now ought to be true yoke fellows in the work of the ministry. From a review of the above, the following remarks are plain: 1. That no man has any right in scripture to self-devotion to the Gospel ministry, or to set out to preaching at large of his own accord; since no one may, unless he is called by God and separated to that work by the church and Ministers of God (Acts 13:1,3). 2. That no church may of itself constitute and send out a Minister since its authority can extend no further than its own bounds, or rather because Christ has put the Gospel in trust of his Ministers, who alone can commit it “to others also” (1 Corinthians 4:1–2; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 2 Timothy 2:2). 3. That Ministers may not make a Minister without the church; because the church is the pillar and the ground, has the membership and control of all (1 Timothy 3:15; Revelation 2:2). 4. That the use of spiritual gifts is the unrestricted right of all male church members, of which the church is the first judge and over

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which the Presbytery has the final jurisdictions (Acts 13:1–3; 1 Corinthians 5:12–13, 14:29, 32; 2 Timothy 2; Titus 1:5,9). 5. That no Minister may start any new opinions founded in his own judgment, or indulge in speculations of his own imagination; but must be governed wholly by the simplicity of Scripture truth as he has been taught, and in perfect accordance with the united judgment of his brethren in the Ministry as a “true yoke fellow,” (1 Timothy 1:3, 6:3; Titus 1:9–11).

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LETTER VI: ADDRESSED TO THE REV. CYRUS WHITE The following is the sixth of ten letters Mercer wrote defending the view of limited atonement. Cyrus White had argued from the parable of the wedding banquet that God intended for the work of Christ to be applied to everyone since invitations were sent out to those in the “highways and byways.” Mercer used this occasion to turn the tables on White’s interpretation, showing him that the parable could be used to teach the exact opposite of White’s original point. Dear Brother, Having stated your scheme of unlimited atonement; you proceed to argue it from sundry scriptural representations, and you first select, as most proper and full to your purpose, the parable of the marriage supper, Luke 14:16–24, compared with Matthew 22:1–14. By the use you make of this supper, you endeavor to show that the design of God in the atonement is the salvation of all the human race, and that he, therefore, has provided it in a provision fully equal to that design. You seem to triumph in the full persuasion that you are thoroughly sustained in your general provisions and general invitations by this parable; but let us examine it and see, whether it is not a foundation altogether too small to bear up the superstructure, which you have built upon it. 1. You are unhappy in the effort to argue and decide a theological question by a parable. I should have thought you well read enough, to know that parables are “not argumentative.” The reason is obvious. The speaker of a parable always has some one main point in view, according to which, he throws the different parts of the parable together, and speaks it, but a hearer or a reader may not perceive that main design of the speaker, and, therefore, readily mistake its meaning. For this reason parables are dark sayings, and may be used very erroneously, yet seemingly conclusive, to establish dark things. Surely, if your system of unlimited atonement had been just, you

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might have found a more firm foundation in the word of God to have sustained it. 2. You are truly unfortunate in the selection of this parable— there is nothing in it suited to your purpose. There is evident design and order, both in the system and movements of this supper. (1) The King had just so much room to fill at his wedding—and according to custom in such cases, as many wedding garments. (2) Good reason will lead us to believe that just so many persons were bidden, and no more. (3) The same reason will forbid us to think that any more provision was made than was proportioned to the number of those bidden. Now when all things were ready the invitation went out, “come ye to the marriage.” Not a general but a special call to those who were bidden only. But they with one consent made excuse, and were placed beyond the possibility of repentance. Then, and not till then, the invitation was extended to others, with this fixed design in view, that the room might be filled. And when the wedding was furnished—the house filled the invitation ceased. There is no idea that the whole kingdom was invited—that all the armies of the king were called. And so far from anything here like general provision and universal invitation, it is all special provision and special and personal calls. But let us examine your use of this parable a little further. You first state it very truly, as laid down in Luke 14:16–24. You say, “Here we discover that the maker of the feast, sends out his servants with express instructions to say to certain individuals, come, for all things are now ready. But they all with one consent began to make excuse, and would not come. When the maker of the feast heard of their refusal, he was angry and made a solemn declaration, that none of them should taste of his supper.” And then you renew your attack on the limited scheme (which seems to give you great annoyance) and say according to it “the maker of the feast had provided a supper for a few individuals, and either to mock others, or to find a pretext for getting angry with them, that he might destroy them, he sends his servants (shall I say with a lie in their mouth?) to say to those for

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whom not a crumb was ever provided, “come, for all things are ready.” Here you have distorted and tortured this case into a mould, which would better suit your design of ridiculing a scheme you could not condemn, & which the parable simply applied, when to justify. You make “the limited scheme” represent the maker of the feast, as preparing a supper for a few individuals, and sending out his servants to call “others.” This is not true. The servants were restricted to those that were bidden, till they were rejected; and then when “others” are taken into notice, it is not by repeating the same invitation, but the order runs thus, “go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, AND BRING IN HITHER THE POOR;” and again, “go out into the highway and hedges, AND COMPEL THEM TO COME IN, that my house may be filled.” Here is no getting angry and destroying any for refusing. How could you predicate that on “others,” which belonged only to those that were bidden? You say again, “when men make feasts, the extent of the invitation is always limited by the quantity of food provided”—be it so; and then the quantity of food provided by the maker of the supper, was limited to the number of those bidden, for the invitation was restricted to them; and after their rejection, to just as many as would fill the house. But you continue, “they do not make a feast for a few individuals in their neighborhood, and invite a whole country or state to come, for all things are ready.” You add, “neither does God.” And I add neither did the maker of the feast. He made a supper for “certain individuals,” and invited them—and when they refused— and were destroyed; his invitations were governed by the same rule and number, corresponding with his room and provision. And so does God. He restricted his invitations to certain individuals and one nation for near 4000 years, and since, he has given a general commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature; yet, leaving the direction of the practical ministry to his Spirit and Providence, under which, the glad tidings have been but partially published to this day.

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Now then if “the extent of the invitation is always limited by the quantity of food provided,” what becomes of your unlimited provision in the atonement, when determined by the restrictive dispensations of God? Can we suppose any King, whose subjects have all universally received the hydrophobian infection and must all be passed in hope about seventy days, would make a great supper, of universal provision, in which should be a complete remedy for the disease of this people; and out of the professed good will and desire that they might eat and live; and yet suffer the greater part of them to die, without so much as even hearing that such a feast had been prepared? But you exclaim “Will any person presume to palm such inconsistency upon the King of Heaven?” Yes, my brother, Thou art the man! “God,” says you, “has made a rich and costly feast of unlimited provision;” the food of which contains life and salvation; out of pure love and good will to the human family; and yet millions on millions of this family, have perished, and are now perishing for the lack of knowledge, which he only can give. If God has made such a feast, with a design to save “all the human family,” (and he could not have made it without design) and has not, and does not adopt the means necessary to make it so known, that each individual may come to it and eat and live. Then the imputation of this inconsistency lies on the divine Providence. This I shall leave with you, and all who adopt the system of general provision, to remove. But it may be asked, what was the design of the parable? To which I do not pretend to answer with positiveness. But surely, it never was intended to represent the mode and applications of salvation; because in that light, it would first indicate that none were saved until after the death of Christ, as nobody was invited to the supper till the oxen and fatlings were killed; and secondly, that not one of the Jews was ever saved, because the maker of the supper declared that none of those who were bidden should taste of it, and surely these meant the Jews. But rather, it was intended to show the state and relation of the Jews to the dispensation of divine truth, and the

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impending fate of that nation. This seems to be the principal design in the parable of the Vineyard, let out to husbandmen; of whom it is said they shall be miserably destroyed, and the vineyard given to other husbandmen who shall render him the fruits in their season. This corresponds with Paul’s representation that through the fall of the Jews the dispensation of salvation came to the Gentiles. There is one more idea. Matthew says the King was wroth; and sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. This fixes the meaning to the destruction of Jerusalem, and shows that they did not perish merely because they refused to come to the supper, but as murderers! and tho’ the unbelief, which, in the impenitency and hardness of their heart, led them to reject Christ and his gospel, filled up their character, and added some of its darkest shades, yet by no means constituted that character; for so debased and murderous were they in Christ’s view, that he declares it impossible “that a prophet should perish out of Jerusalem.” But it may be further asked, were not the blessings of the kingdom of heaven prepared for them? Ostensibly they were; but in Christ’s account (for he knew what he would do) really and truly for those only, who finally partake of them. The maker of the supper had those only in view who were bidden; but being disappointed by them he was led as his only alternative, to call others, for whom he had not prepared it; but it is not so with God. Let us suppose that this man knew, as God does, the end from the beginning; Then, with all the results full in view, could he have really prepared his supper for those who he knew, would not taste of it? He could not, unless we could think it possible to a rational being to undertake to do what, at the time, he knew would never be done! At least, we will not attempt “to palm such absurdities on God.” But if so—why then does God afford his dispensations of mercy to those, who, he knows, will not accept them and be saved? To which it is replied, because he has other objects to accomplish by those dispensations than the salvation of men.

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Though the salvation of sinners is a prominent object in the dispensations of God, yet not always the leading one; else Sodom, Tyre and Sidon would have had the mighty works, wrought in them, which would have produced their salvation; and from Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, they would have been withheld! The reason of this divine procedure is laid down by Paul in Romans 9:22– 23: “What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endureth with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath filled to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory, therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” Let us have Grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

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TO THE GEORGIA ASSOCIATION Mercer’s failing health prevented him from attending the 1840 fall meeting of the Georgia Association. He wrote this letter urging them to consider a plan to have churches meet every week rather than once a month. In some ways he sounds like an aged apostle himself, offering advice to the churches in his absence. The “necessity” he refers to must mean the very rapid spread of Baptist churches on the frontier, where more churches were planted than there were pastors to serve. He also donates the remaining copies of History of the Georgia Association, describing it as “unsaleable.” There is no mention of William Stokes’s contribution to the work, but in an interesting remark, Mercer describes the project as being undertaken at his own risk. Perhaps along with his own words he had invested his own money in the work as well. Dear Brethren, I have cherished with fond anticipation, the hope that I might be permitted to be with you at this, your annual meeting; but the Lord seems to have determined otherwise. If my own afflictions would permit, (which however can hardly admit it,) those of my palsied wife added, form a complete barrier. I think, under the prospect which lies before me, it is very problematical whether I shall ever meet with you again, in your present capacity on earth. I therefore, in this way, wish to press upon your attention, and through you upon the consideration of the churches, the importance of a few particulars. We have not yet, according to the Apostle’s exhortation, gone on to perfection in those Godly practices, which are by Jesus Christ, intended to glorify God, and fill the earth with his knowledge and glory. There are two things especially, which should be urged upon the consideration and practice of the churches, in order to their being prepared, fully, to even bear any competent part in the instrumentality of this great and glorious design of mercy. The one is

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a more frequent and proper observance of “the Lord’s day.” The Apostle (Hebrews 10:24–25) condemns the manner of some, in forsaking to assemble themselves together. Now is it not the manner of the churches, who fail to meet together three Sundays out of four, to forsake the assembling of themselves together in the sense of the Apostle? The churches therefore ought to be urged, yea provoked to this love and good work. I shall not attempt a labored argument to prove the change of the Sabbath to the first day of the week. Let it suffice, that it was changed and has been so observed, by the churches, from the Apostle’s days till now. Our Lord left in charge with the Apostles, to teach their disciples “all things whatsoever he had taught them.” And these Apostles have taught us that we have them for our examples. Now how is it, that the first churches came into the universal observance of the first day of the week as their day of public worship; and how is it that all Christian nations have established it by law, if it was not at first established by the authority and example of the Apostles themselves? But there is another view of it. The Apostle (Romans 14:6) commends him that esteemed one day above another, in that he regarded it unto the Lord. Now then, as all the churches have professed to esteem “the Lord’s day” above all others, the obligation is imperative to regard it unto the Lord; that is to devote it entirely to his service. Such works of mercy, as is stated by Christ in Matthew 12:11 and of necessity, as in Luke 13:15 are lawful to be done on the Lord’s day. But do not our churches suffer their members to start and drive their teams to market or other particular business; or set out on contemplated journeys and travel on the Lord’s day, in which they employ themselves, their servants and beasts of labor as they would on any other day? This I take to be equal to harnessing up and going out to plowing in the field; for he that offends in one point is guilty of all! These things must be remedied. For, if the day is not regarded unto the Lord, it must be a profanation. I fear this guilt lies upon all our churches. The other point to which I solicit the special notice of the Association is, the assembling of the churches every Lord’s day

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(familiarly called Sunday) for the purpose of religious worship and service. I suppose that the practice of monthly, instead of weekly meetings, grew up out of sheer necessity; but has not this custom continued long since that necessity ceased? Whether the churches have settled Pastors or not, they should assemble at their own places of worship for the instruction of their families, the raising up of their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and the training of their young men to religious habits and usefulness. There is one prominent feature and custom in our Lord’s character that has been totally overlooked by the churches. It is recorded [in] Luke 4:16, “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue (or place of worship) on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” From this it appears, that the child Jesus, from the time when he went down with his parents to Nazareth and was subject to them, was in the constant habit of going every Sabbath day to the synagogue to read to the people. Why should not our churches adopt the same custom of going up to the house of the Lord every Sunday and employing their young men in reading to the people? This would tend, I apprehend, to another, and a very important result—the settling of regular Pastors in the churches. Why should not the churches now speedily return to the Apostolic plan, and the practice of the first ages? This consideration cannot be pressed on the attention of the churches with too much earnestness. But I wish to claim the attention of the Association to a different subject. You know that the history of the Association was undertaken by me at a particular request of the Association, though I did it voluntarily and at my own risk. It has been an unfortunate undertaking indeed to me. I am afflicted in the fact that, after all, it is unsaleable. Why this is so, I can’t pretend to say. I have come to the conclusion to give up the edition to the disposal of the Association, for their own benefit in any way they may devise. There is a remnant of sheets (I know not how many) in the binder’s hands in Philadelphia, under the direction of brother B. R.

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Loxley—100 in Savannah, in the care of brother Sweat—100 with brother Turpin, in Augusta, and 200 in the hands of brother B. L. Barnes, Mi.—some of these may be sold, but all are unaccounted for. I have also between 200 and 300 in the office here. I hope you will accept this gift; and adopt some method of distribution, by putting the price so low as to induce sales, or in any way you may judge best. If money should be raised by the books, I would suggest that it should be constituted into an Associational Fund, for the purpose of paying the Clerk and others who serve the Association, &c. But I am not careful how you may see proper to lay it out, so it will be for the public good, or in the cause of benevolence. And now in conclusion, I hereby individually present my Christian love and salutations to each member of your body, and request as an earnest interest in the prayers of each and all to God for us in our low estate, that we may be able to submit ourselves under the mighty hand of God, with the Spirit of the suffering of Jesus. Wishing you the presence of the Lord at your session and at all other times, I am dear brethren, yours in indissoluble bonds.

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Appendix Timeline of Jesse Mercer’s Life 1769 1775 1784 1785 1785 1786 1787 1788 1788 1789 1790

1792 1793 1793 1793 1795 1796

Jesse Mercer is born on 16 December in Halifax County, North Carolina. Silas Mercer is baptized after leaving the Anglican Church. The Georgia Association is formed at Kiokee Baptist Church. Silas and Jesse Mercer are both present. Silas Mercer becomes founding member of Whatley’s Mill Baptist Church. The name is later changed to Bethesda. Silas Mercer delivers his remonstrance to the Georgia legislature, arguing against a state-imposed tax for churches in Georgia. Silas Mercer participates in the founding of Powel’s Creek Church, later named Powelton. Jesse Mercer professes his faith in Christ at Phillips’ Mill Church on 1 July. He is baptized on 8 July. Jesse Mercer marries Sabrina Chivers. Hutton’s Fork Church is organized. The name is later changed to Sardis. Jesse Mercer serves as pastor, 1788–1817. Jesse Mercer ordained at Phillips Mill Church on 9 November. Silas Mercer serves on the presbytery (examination committee). Silas and Jesse Mercer attend the meeting of the Charleston Association in South Carolina, as delegates from the Georgia Association. Jesse Mercer receives ten pounds from the general committee for the Charleston Educational Fund in order to purchase books. Silas Mercer establishes Salem Academy in his home. Silas and Jesse Mercer conduct a preaching tour through North Carolina. Indian Creek Church is formed. The name is later changed to Bethany. Jesse Mercer serves as pastor, 1793–1796. Silas Mercer elected as moderator of the Georgia Association. Jesse Mercer elected as clerk and serves from 1795–1816. Silas Mercer dies on 1 August, at the age of fifty-two years.

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1796

1798 1798 1799 1799 1801 1801 1802 1803

1805 1805 1806 1807 1810 1811 1811 1814 1814 1815 1815 1816 1816 1816 1817 1817

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Jesse Mercer becomes pastor of three churches previously led by his father. Mercer serves Phillips Mill and Bethesda churches until 1827. He serves at Powelton until 1835. Mercer writes the section on religious liberty for the Georgia constitution. Miriam Mercer is born to Jesse and Sabrina on 1 December. Mercer conducts a preaching tour through South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Miriam Mercer dies on 21 September, at the age of nine months. Mercer hosts the first annual Powelton conference. Mercer writes the circular letter for the Georgia Association. Mercer hosts the second annual Powelton conference. Mercer hosts the third annual Powelton conference, which leads to the formation of “The General Committee of Georgia Baptists.” The focus of the committee is to help itinerant preachers, encourage Indian missions, and to establish a college. Miriam Mercer (II) is born on 13 April. Mercer writes the circular letter for the Georgia Association on the topic of church discipline. Planning for Mount Enon Academy begins. Jesse Mercer is named vice president under President Henry Holcombe. Charter for Mount Enon Academy is granted and classes begin. Mercer publishes The Cluster of Spiritual Songs with 183 hymns. Henry Holcombe moves to Philadelphia, leading to the closure of Mount Enon Academy. Mercer writes the circular letter for the Georgia Association, on the topic of the “invalidity of Pedobaptism.” The Triennial Convention is formed in Philadelphia. Miriam Mercer (II) dies at the age of nine years. Mercer becomes chairman of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions. Mercer becomes president of The Powelton Baptist Society for Foreign Missions. Mercer loses in his bid for Georgia senator. Mercer elected as moderator of the Georgia Association, serving until 1839. Mercer writes the circular letter for the Georgia Association on the topic of Christian duties with regard to disorder in the church. Controversy between Primitive and Missionary Baptists begins. Mercer preaches the funeral sermon for Governor Peter Early.

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1817 1817 1818 1819 1819 1819 1820 1820 1820

1820

1821 1822

1822

1823 1823 1823 1826 1826 1827 1827 1829 1830

Mercer gives the missionary charge to John Mason Peck at the second Triennial Convention. Mercer publishes a second edition of The Cluster. Dorcas Mercer, mother of Jesse, dies on 7 September. Mercer meets Adiel Sherwood, who organizes the first Baptist Sunday school in Georgia at Trail Creek Baptist Church in Athens. Mercer becomes ill and reports circulate stating that he has died. Mercer preaches the funeral sermon for Governor William Rabun. Mercer becomes pastor of Eatonton Baptist Church. Mercer attends the Triennial Convention in Philadelphia and publishes another edition of The Cluster. Mercer serves as corresponding secretary for the board of trustees of the Cooperating Baptist Associations for Instructing and Evangelizing the Creek Indians. Resolution proposed for the formation of a state convention. Mercer offers his church at Powelton as place of meeting to discuss the proposal. Mercer writes the circular letter for the Georgia Association on the unity of churches. Luther Rice begins the periodical The Columbian Star. Mercer later buys the paper from William T. Brantly and renames it The Christian Index and Baptist Miscellany. Formation of the General Baptist Association for the State of Georgia, later named Georgia Baptist Convention. Mercer is elected as president. Mercer travels to the South Carolina Baptist Convention as a representative of the Georgia Baptist Convention. Mercer publishes the third edition of The Cluster. Mercer and Adiel Sherwood preach to the Indians in the Valley Towns on the Hiawassee River. Mercer preaches a sermon at the Triennial Convention in New York. Sabrina Mercer dies at Andersonville, South Carolina, while returning from the Triennial Convention. Mercer helps establish a church in Washington, Georgia. The following year he becomes pastor, serving until his death in 1841. Mercer marries Nancy Simons. Mercer writes letter explaining his refusal to join a temperance society. Mercer becomes president of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, serving until his death in 1841.

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1830 1831

1832 1833 1833

1834 1835 1835 1835 1836 1836 1837 1837 1839 1840 1841 1841 1841 1841

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Mercer publishes “Ten Letters on the Atonement” defending the view of limited atonement. Adiel Sherwood offers a motion to the Georgia Baptist Convention in support of a theological and manual labor school, leading to the formation of Mercer University. Mercer donates $1,000 to build president’s home at Mercer Institute. Mercer Institute opens for classes in Penfield. Mercer buys The Columbian Star and Christian Index from William T. Brantly. He later changes the name to The Christian Index and Baptist Miscellany, publishing the first issue on 14 September. Mercer publishes two sermons from John Sladen on “The Doctrine of Particular Election” and writes the prefatory notice. Mercer delivers the introductory sermon at the Triennial Convention in Richmond. Mercer publishes a new edition of The Cluster. Mercer receives honorary doctorate from Brown University. History of Georgia Association is published. First minister’s meeting in July, at Forsyth, organized by Jesse Mercer. Second meeting takes place in November. Third and final minister’s meeting. Mercer abandons plans for “The Southern Baptist College of Georgia.” Mercer Institute elevated to university status. Nancy Mercer suffers second stroke, leaving her incapacitated. Mercer donates the Christian Index to the Georgia Baptist Convention. Mercer writes three articles on the forgiveness of sins, which are published in the Christian Index. Nancy Mercer dies on 21 May. Mercer preaches his final sermon to his Washington church on 20 June. Mercer dies at the home of James Carter on 6 September.

Notes on Sources Jesse Mercer’s writings are varied (sermons, circulars, books, letters, etc.) and widespread (books, newspapers, folders, etc.). Fortunately, all of his extant writings are located in the Special Collections Department, Jack Tarver Library, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. Four of his sermons are located in The Georgia Pulpit, or Minister’s Yearly Offering, edited by Robert Fleming (H. K. Elyson, 1847). All of his circular letters can be found in corresponding Minutes of the Georgia Association and Georgia Baptist Convention. His History of the Georgia Association was reprinted by the Georgia Baptist Association in 1980. In addition to providing valuable historical information, the book maintains the original type (though enlarged), thus providing a historical “feel” for the reader. Minutes from churches that he served as pastor and letters that he wrote are also available in Mercer University’s Special Collections Department. Most of Mercer’s writings came later in life, particularly through the pages of the Christian Index. It is next to impossible to know the exact amount of Mercer’s contributions since many editorials are left unsigned, leaving open the possibility that William Stokes also penned some. However, the Christian Index is particularly useful in revealing what Mercer allowed into print, thus providing insight into the way he attempted to shape Baptists’ thinking in the South. Anyone who is interested in reading more about Jesse Mercer should begin with C. D. Mallary’s Memoirs of Elder Jesse Mercer (New York: John Gray, 1844). In addition to being written by a contemporary of Mercer, the book is especially useful for the inclusion of letters, sermons, and other sayings from Mercer that cannot be found outside of the book. Readers will likely agree with Mallary that “the work contains some reflections of historical details not absolutely necessary to illustrate the life and character of Mr. Mercer.” By this he means that he sometimes launches from informing the reader about Mercer to telling the reader how things have changed since Mercer’s day; but Mallary’s ability to get back on track makes the book a very helpful source. Reprints of Mallary’s work are available through Baptist Standard Bearer, or available for download on Google Books. Other secondary sources on the life of Jesse Mercer include Robert Mondy’s doctoral dissertation Jesse Mercer: A Study in Frontier Religion (University of Texas, 1950). The dissertation format notwithstanding, Mondy writes clearly and ably contextualizes Mercer’s life within the larger

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framework of the ever-changing times in which Mercer lived. One small disappointment I had with Mondy’s work is that he wrote as one unimpressed with Mercer, arguing throughout that Mercer was in many ways a follower more than a leader. Though there is some justification for this, Mercer’s contemporaries clearly thought otherwise. Another resource to consider is my doctoral dissertation Evangelism, Education and Cooperation Among Calvinistic Baptists of the Old South (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2002), later revised and published under A Piety Above the Common Standard: Jesse Mercer and Evangelistic Calvinism (Mercer University Press, 2004; paperback reprint 2005). Both works focus on Mercer’s defense of missions, education, and cooperation from a Calvinistic perspective; and both underscore the stiff opposition Mercer faced by the Primitive Baptists. Raymond Brewster has published Branches from Jesse’s Tree: Sketches from the Life and Times of Jesse Mercer (Indigo Publishing, 2008). The value of this book is that it provides a quick glimpse, or “sketch,” as the title rightly promises, of various portions of Mercer’s life and includes the diary Mercer kept during 1822. Brewster has also published a fine work entitled The Cluster of Jesse Mercer (Renaissance Press, 1983), which includes the majority of hymns found in Mercer’s final edition of The Cluster and an introductory chapter that sets Mercer’s hymnology in context. Shorter works on the life of Mercer include Janet Standard’s This Certain Shepherd: A Profile of Elder Jesse Mercer (n.p., 1968; available in MU) and Adiel Sherwood’s The Life and Times of Jesse Mercer (Christian Index, January–September 1863). For the larger context of Georgia Baptist life, see Samuel Boykin’s History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia (James P. Harrison and Co., 1881) and Robert Gardner, Charles Walker, J. R. Huddleston, and Waldo Harris’s A History of the Georgia Baptist Association, 1784–1984 (Georgia Baptist Historical Society, 1988; reprint, 1996). The primary contribution of Boykin’s work is the close proximity to Mercer’s life and times. The work by Gardner and others is especially helpful as it answers many of the questions Boykin did not seek to address, in particular, the “ordinary” matters of life that people far removed from Mercer’s day would not immediately know. The authors also provide meticulously detailed statistics relating to the number of ministers ordained, church members gained and lost, and finances for various projects.

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INDEX American Colonization Society 21 Arminianism 69 Armstrong, James 35 Asbury, Francis 4 Backus, Isaac 11 Bethesda Baptist Church 24. 40, 41, 50 Black Rock Address 75 Boykin, Samuel 2 Brantley, William T. 53, 75 Brewster, Raymond 148 Calvinism 68, 69, 70, 77 Central Baptist Association 33 Charleston Baptist Association 40 Christian Index 2, 53, 54, 58, 59, 70, 72, 74, 79, 82, 83 church covenants 31 Clark, John 42 Columbian College 47, 49 Eatonton Baptist Church 50 Edwards, Jonathan 10 Gardner, Robert 149 Georgia Baptist Association 12, 13, 14, 19, 24, 25, 42, 83, 136 Georgia Baptist Convention 2, 42, 43, 44, 45, 75 Great Awakening 10 Huddleston, J. R. 149 Indian Springs 86, 87 Kehuckee Declaration 75 Kiokee Baptist Church 35 Lincoln, Heman 85 Mallary, Charles D. 1, 16, 37, 147 Manly, Basil, Sr. 16 Marshall, Jabez 35 Mercer, Dorcas 3, Mercer, Hermon 3, 48 Mercer, James 5 Mercer, Jesse answers questions from Index readers 55, 56; assurance before dying 86, 87; authors History

of the Georgia Association 34-36; birth 3; call to ministry 17, 18; Calvinistic leanings 68, 70, 73, 80, 92, 93; childhood 6,7; circular letters 25, 26, 27, 28clerk for Georgia Baptist Association 24, 25; compiles hymns for the Cluster 3638; conversion 8,9; death and burial 87; drafts section on religious liberty 15; gifts to various causes 52; emphasis on church discipline 31-34; education 4, 18, 19; final sermon - 85; moderator for Georgia Baptist Association 24, 25; ministerial longevity 38, 39; outreach to Native Americans 63, 64; physical appearance 1, 16, 17; preaching ability 16; preaching tours 7, 19; proposes Southern Baptist College of Georgia 49; politics 41, 42; punctuality 40 receives honorary doctorate 48; successionist views on the church 28, 29; views on church membership 78, 113-116; views on alcohol 57, 58, 59, 104, 105, 106; views on new measures 60, 66, 67 views on slavery 20, 21, 22; views on unity in the church 75, 76 Mercer, John 6 Mercer, Mount Moriah 3, 32 Mercer, Nancy Mills (Simons)care of Jesse 53; death 84 marriage to Abraham Simons 51 paralyzed by a stroke 82 preparation of home for guests 52 Mercer, Sabrina maiden name 16; marriage to Jesse 17; death 50 Mercer, Silas advocates for ministerial pay 12; argues for religious liberty

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14, 15; chaplain 3; children 3; leaves the Church of England 5, 6ordination council for Jesse 18; death 22 Mercer University 1, 2, 45, 47, 48, 49, 86 Minister’s Meetings 78-82 Mondy, Robert 148 Mount Enon Academy 46, 47 Ocmulgee Baptist Association 44 Penfield, Josiah 46 Phillips Mill Baptist Church 9, 15, Powelton Baptist Church 24, 42, 44 Powelton Conference 46, 63 Primitive Baptist 54, 81 Primitive Baptists 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 73, 74, 80, 81 queries 13 Rabun, William 42 Revolutionary War 2, 3, 11 Rice, Luther 64 Salem Academy 18, 24 Sanders, Billington 48 Sardis Baptist Church 18 Sherwood, Adiel 42, 43, 44, 67, 75, 148 Shuck, J. Lewis and Henrietta 98-101 Shurden, Walter 2 Sladen, John 92, 93 slavery 20, 21, 22 Southern Baptist Convention 2 Springer, John 18 Staughton, William 39 Stephens, Edward 82 Stokes, William 35, 36, 53, 56 Sturgis, C. F. 85, 88 Triennial Convention 62, 63 Walker, Charles 149 Washington Baptist Church 51, 85, 88 White, Cyrus 71, 129 Whitefield, George 10 Williams, Roger 9, 10

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