IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ii^llllM 12.5 •^ l« ill 2.2 c 1^ ill 2.0 1.8 U i 1.6 6" v] <^ n ^3 c^^. :^ V VI o / 7 M # !?!> Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (7161 873-4503 fV •<=>"^ ... ^ '^v\ V "% V c> #^^^ <> "rply " I shall first take the liberty ofwritir.g a few sentences on ;hc somewhat extraordinary Report, said to have been unani- mously adopted at your church meeting December 8. And what a Eleport ! Its whole character is most distressing. I solemnly put to you before the whole church and ihe worltj the question — How could your conscience allow you, in such a state of things as that Report describes ;— nay, how could common honesty permit you in November, 18 !4, to invite a minister to the pastorate among you without frankly sta'irig to him the pecuniary circumstances in which you were placed 1 By what rules of scripture, or honor as practised by gentlemen, were you justified in inviting a minister to remove his large family from New-York to tliis city, leading him to incur a very considerable expense for such a purpose, under the assurance " the stipend which the church feel themselves enabled to oflTer their pastor is ^2.30 currency," when you knew that the church was, and had long been in a state of insolvi.ncy 1 kindly answer mc thi^ question. A second statement in the Report requires a word or two. We are told that the state of pecuniary aftairs during the '•■^^u^^g^^_ 4 year of my pastorate " does not cxhiliit a morn pro?pcioug state of affairs than thosr preceding it." How is this ? Nov. 14, 1844, " the church f3eJ themselves enabled to offer £250" — within twelve months nearly ihirt> members were added, and still ihey fall short i,'80. Where w.is tne defi- ciency? Who were the defaulters ? But stay a moment; was there really a deficiency, and to what amount ? In lialit'.x all this is quite well understood, but our friends in the country who only see " The Christian Messenger" will verily believe what you say about this matter. We may gather from the Report compared with the accounts not given in the Messenger, two or three items which will place the whole ufl'air in another view. Let us see — The Receipts are said to be <£o04 The Expenditure - 386 The consequent deficiency - 81 Very good ; but then there are some other facts which the Messenger does not tell, but which a truly "C/iristin^, Mes- senger" would not have laboured to conceal. I will teU them for you : 1. Expenses on my first visit to Halifax, and supplying the pulpit, not likely to occur again, 2. Pew Rents said to be due, about '1 £32 45 ^77 Giving us really a deficiency under ordinary circumstances during the year of ^4, or the prospect of a positive surplus for coming years, of a considerable sum, provided you had avriled yourselves even to one half the extent of the offer I made to take a reduced salary. At all events, I have the comfortable recollection of your own assurance that the in- come of the year exceeded that of any former one by the amount of ,£40. A kw words more about this Report, and 1 will consign it, I hope to an eternal dismissal from my thoughts. It tells us two very remarkable things about the Trustees — 1st, "Respecting various rumours afloat, as to the trust having been held for improper purpo3es, such as controlling the free action of the church in the choice of a pastor, your Com- mittee owe it to truth and to the trustees to state that such is not the case ; and that they (the trustees) have simply held the building in trust appropriated to the worship of God." Now, sir, there is in the possession of one of the members of }[our Committee, a Church book, in v.hich I have read the I™ J ''""'""""" "'li i iillWrliiiiriWilii^M i i I Mil Record of a letter being serit to the church by a trustee, not then anicmber of the church, intended to influence the con- duct of the Church in reforencc to the choice of a p;istor whom they had assembled to elect, and whom they did elect: — that same book records that the same trustees did dismiss the n.-'-'tor and his church, amounting to some scores of mem- bers, from the chapel, because three of the members of the church, two of them tntsiees, chose to have another minister and to raise another Church ; I am informed, too, that within these few last years one of the trustees, not a member of the Church, used to meet with you at its meetings, and epeak nnd vote, till the determined opposition of one or two breth- • en succeeded in obtaining his absence; and whether the Trustees a-id heir influence did or did not expel the last pastor, v:t nail see in a few minutes. Th: 9er,:ui) remarkable thing told about these trustees in tiiis iteport. is, " so soon as tiiey (the Trustees) were inform- •oci o^'the ,'-;rii oi the Church to have the trust altered and er;liirr.9d, and the Lnin Jing mnstrance, for the letter was not adopted unanimously, the communication of which you arc so fond as to print it in more than one form. This letter was placed in the hands of most of our friends late on vro..g_l,a, been wi h u, somewliai ol ihe iioly volume ; the " beloved «i«io,=" f», whom you have become so sud leiilv and ,o ,(r , . ? eoncerned, cauuo. bu. be .arprUe'd'arptl.trr 'S ^£pro;i.::reTerl7;:r:fM\riiiH' It f s:; :'es; rr:?;^.,,^ •■"-- ^» -- tvlm onhn'"'"S/'/''' f •^"'1 ^V'-^*-- ««'«her's letter. And What ot that? Why, the whote truth of it is admitted for ^LincT.- . r i'avn.gthus insinuated some charges X f •" ba tt^'""' """r^ ^"'^P""'"^ 'hem by ad q .^a " •h!|.;. are «t hand; your stanchest supporters when the etter was published, shook their heads, a,'^^aid .^f's ail true, — yes and <»au a,x .fWi . j ' "* never cdledfnr'nr^fT^f ""''.^"^ y"« yourselves have neve^r called for proof. The seventy of that letter, sir, is its ptit r;:„r t ::7;.tr^ 'm/s re-'-" '"{- '» h.d offended or insuUed'r buf; t'^^' S Tll'lZ'" b.d ever manifested a Dio.rephesian spirit i^ thVchurlh^ Lpb t-rrjio-Vd—''-!^^^^^^^^^ e-?harh;:,ferer i;jK-'r„.r te^^ eases of discplme demanded attention ; hopeful insranT-Lf rltrT'''"' ""■:'"''• """ "<• -neo ir,gTf de cons eo„rd present. I could not get access to you to say or to do i MMMMMil i i i«ii -iHii % ni i anything, while I was told that notice was given me to leave in three or six monil.s. The only chance left to rouse vou to action was to use the mighty power of the Press. Refer nng to this, you say •« such a stab aimed by a j>a?tor at the vitals of Ins own church and flock, has perhaps \.ev3r had « parallel ; certainly no pastor before ever had such a difficulty of access to some of his deacons; this. I think, is «/,n^ra/. lel.d; but many a pastor before me has retired with a portion *f his tlock to form a new church. ^ But let «s now come to what h intended to be the verr nevere^t part of the letter, and which looks very aw'^ul indeed oil p.per bul it is only intended to oroduce effect out of Halifax, for you very well know that where the facts are known tne whole affair is laughed to scorn. .Ho'r^P''^L' m'.'"''? "^ ^'^'^ '^"^'■' «"'^ "« " endeavour to rend the Church 'is the topic under review, and the statement is It demanded an e^ipression of the strongest reprehension. This :cp oof the Church administered by their solemn Resol lution, which declared this act of their pastor the severance of the Nond between him and his people." Do, my dear sir read this passage r,gain and again. Do not smile — it is a very ser-ous and very inmoriant statement. Now for the I published the letter on Monday morning. What was done by you and your colleagues? Did yof, cone to me and talk over the matter privately ? Not you indeed. Mon- day evening service passed over —not a word said • — Wsd- nesday evening the same ; one or two of my friends said ^^Ihey are waiting for Friday evening," no, said another we cannot attend to business at Conference meetings •" I shall go and protest against that," said one of your main ■upporters at that very meeting. Well, Friday eveiiina came and it was a smaller meeting than usual, even thoughlseverai important persons were present whom I had never seen at a Conference meeting before. At the preceding conference mee ing, held on the 3d of that very month, one ofthe de cona miuld not allow even the resolutions of a business meeUng to be read for confirmation, because "Conference meetings were held exclusively for religious exercises ;" and certainly no one could have expectea any such business as w.as brought for- ward, partly because, as you well know, there is a standing Uwon the churc*-. book, that any one having a moti^nto bring forward at a church meeting, should send a written notice thereof to the pastor and deacons at least a vieek before the meeting, and beaau.se no notice whatever had been Mii 'lH'iiiMiM 12 publicly given of t'.e meeting. But the time came-vou and another brother refused even to pray ;~a very long address, admirably htted for an assize court, was made; and one of the members,accustomed heretofore to sav all manner of severe thmgs agamst the deacons and trustees, after a very excited speech moved a resolution, which he said he had drawn up that afternoon, expelling the pastor from the pulpit This was seconded by a deacon and trustee. No explanation was asked from me ; no remarks from those brethren who took a different view of the matter, were treated with even a shadow ot respect; an amendment proposed, which tended to divide the blame between myself and oihers, was scouted and ridi- cu ed ; all the manoeuvring of lawyers in courts and of politi- cal partizans in parliamentary assemblies was employed ■ a parade was made, intended to intimidate, and for the first time in a Baptist Church, the name and vote of each mem- ber was separately recorded ; and what then ? W'^y out of a Church of 223 members, 26 brethren voted — 16 for the expulsion and 10 against it. These 16 are described as the Church." What a lamentable confirmation of the statement so often made that five or six persons at Granville fetreet have always considered themselves " the Church." Let urf look for a moment at these sixteen persons. This number included four trustees, who, as the persons charged in the printed letter with wrong, one would have thought should have been prevented by delicacy from voting at all • three others of them had testified ajrain and again against the conduct of these gentlemen ; another was told at the moment by one of the trustees how to vote ; another was the doorkeeper, who told me he was only a servam, and must vole as he was ordered ; and another was a brother who voted under a misapprehension of the whole subject, and is now oiie with us. Now how much was this majority of six worth ? Can you call that vote the " solemn Resolution of the Church ?" The severity ot christian discipline consists in the fact that it '-'is inflicted of many" — that it is adminis- lerea with all solemnity and love, — and that it is done " in the name of the Lord Jesus." Will you or any other man pretend that this was the character of the act of which we are now speaking ? You disingenuously accuse us of want ot truth when we speak of deliberation in a case where thirty days of solemn thought and prayer occurred ; but where was your deliberation — what was your spirit, when 16 of you without an hour's notice, or without a single petition for Divine JTrr?' ^?^^ 1''^ ^^^^""^ ^'■°'" ^^6 P"'P'^ and call it the act of " The Church ?" iinjir 1 L And now, sir, I appeal to you, — to the whole Christian Church, and 1o every man of common sense, whether conduct like this could be sanctioned by those who had carefully studied the New Testament, and who knew the principles on which Christ has founded his Church ? Must they not have regarded this conduct as " disorderly ?" And must r M every one who viewed it in connection witli the whole of your past proceedings, have considered it an utterly hopeless task to reform such persons? It excites no surprise in the commu- nity that forty six person^i determined to come out from among you and to be separate; the only wonder is that, not- withstanding all your influence, your misrepresentationsj your promises, and your intimidation, practices which might be acquired from " the experienced" actors at political poL ling booths, the surprise I say is that so many stay behind. But then you tell us in the Messenger that forty five only^ exclusive of Dr. Belcher, who, as even ijou had not dared to attempt to exclude from the church, made forty six, whereas the number of members reported to the last Association was 218 ; yes sir, and 5 added since, made your list of members on the books 223 ; but where are many of them ? Can some of them anyvvhere be found ? IIow many of them are in actual attendance? I have heard of votes at your church meetings since we left you, passing 8 to 7, making 15 in ail. Will you kindly tell us in the next number of the Messenger the average number of members present at the meetings of the Church since the month of October last? When you have done that, I will tell you why the majority of your pre- sent members slay away fro::i your church meetings. It may seem a curious fact that our church meetings are more numerously attended than yours. You have ye° 177 names on your list of members , how many hearts have you ? I could scarcely restrain myself from cherishing strong feelings of indignation when I read the attack you make on the character and conduct of a gentleman who bore the office of deacon with you, but who retired with others to sustain our new cause. He was not bound by " a decision passed in his presence," when he protested against it as unrighteous, and was sure that it was merely the decision of a Faction, and not the act of " the body to which he belong, ed." Notwithstanding what you now say, you f' ^eply regret- ted his loss, and did whatever you could to inuuce him to return. The best wish of my heart is that every deacon of a Baptist Church stood as high in the community for correctj amiable,. and unassuming christian deportment, as does that .fiiit-A,' -»'*«*H1iSS-JIWi«»»»»Mfc»,s.s^ja4 *> 14 gontleman. His conduct never yet gave me a moment's uneasiness. But the great sin of which "the Pastor," "a deacon," and the " beloved sisters and youihful and inexperienced brethren" have l»een g'ii!ty, is that of " most hurtful schisms." This is a hard word, but you are a scholar, and know that in this connection it is entirply misapplied. It.-j jneaning is a rent in a body ; in an ecclesiastical sense, a division m a Church; — now we have separated from a schismatic, that is a divided Church. It was long in a state of schism bofore we left it, and if report says true, you are sad schismatics s»i!l ; for some of your nufulier tell us that you have not had an unanimous vole ou any subject since we left you. And notwithsianding the fact that ue have left you without your consent, past history U'Ws us that you and every other Baptist Church in the Province will receive all you can obtain from us, and some will dismiss to us. You will probably, however, be ready to remind me that you employ the word in the sense o^ separation, and that this was our sin. It was a charge you know against the infallible Teacher, " he draweth the people away after him ;" the apostles, too, caused separation wherever they went ; nay, you, and those who act with you, committed this same crime, if crime it be, some twenty years since, whon you left a church, though " no conscientious diirerence of opinion in doctrine compelled your separation." Ah, sir, as Solomon says, " there is nothing new under the sun ;" ami so. I am told, that the Pulpit of Granville Street has of late rung with the identical expressions which echoed within the walls of St. Paul's nearly twenty years since. Your old friends then asked in reference to your separation, " What tlien compels it, but ptrty views, strife and evil surmisings against your brethren whom you thus judge unheard." And in addition to this, like us, you formed another church " without first laying the whole matter before the assembled brethren." Alas, again " Thou that judgest another condemnest thy- self." The fact is, those who stay in a bodv may compel, by their unrighteous conduct — their unholy tempers — their persevering self-will, and their nejilect of duty, those who cannot approve of their conduct to " withdraw" from them as from those " who walk disordeily." A body may be cor- rupt as well as some of its paits; it may be my duty (o withdraw from a Church vl" much as it may be the duty of a Church to withdraw from me. There was in an anciei;t Church a gentleman of whoiu the amiable Apostle John says 1 "t M 15 *'I wrote unto the Church . but Diotrephes, who loveth to hajje the preeminence among then, receiveth us not" JoUn threatene. him \viih crrent severity, and regarded him asfmalicious, unp.operly treiUins hi:^ brethren, "and casieth them out of the Church." Similar condnct and feelings on the part of yourself and the other trustees of Granville Street Church first compelled us to withdraw, and then induced you to treat us as evil and wicked persons. You con)pe!led us to adopt the course u-e did adopf ; and every step you have taken since we le(t shews thai "instead o*" the beauti- fui example of holy union." of which you so touchinelv speak, "you are presenting to the view and the decision ot your enemies, and t!..- enemies of God and Christ an unhappy exhibitmn of separation and of schism " Yes sir I have heard of the infidelity of more than one youncr man 'in Baptist famdies in this city, indu.-ed by the almost'constant sch.sins and quarrels of the Church in Granville Street. Would to Goc that it now presented a different sceno J And yet it might even still rise to prosperity. The posg:- bihty yet exists of its becoming/ a holy, united, useful and happy community. Will you allow a brother of more than thirty years connection with Baptist Churches, and of not much less standing in the ministry, to close his letter with a lew counsels in return for those in yours, which compose its only beautit.il passage, and which I trust yon yourself will earefully study with a view to practice ; while I would cherish the spirit and perform the duties I recommend to you. Suffer me then to say, Brethren, renounce all idea of infal- libility, and humble yourselves before God on account of your sins ; put away from you the spirit, ;md the practices o'" the world ; be less determined to have "the chief seats in the BVnagogue;" distinguish yourselves less as lawyers, and talk like christiins; allow your brethren to have some wisdom as well as yourselves; treat them with courtesy, and let their proposals be considered as those of fellow christians; no long- er suppose that a Church is only prosperous as it is kept in a high state of excitement ; diligently cultivate the religion of the closet; devote an hour, a day to special prayer Tor the increase of personal religion, and the revival of church pros- perity ; cheribh holy tenderness for the souls of your children and your neighbours; seek out for a pastor who shall give himself "to the word of God and to prayer," and let the affairs of this world alone; and love him as your friend and brother ; discourage in your connexions and among those over whom you have influence, all tale-bearing and all false W H -^- f*:*«».iw!,ai^S^g^ jj^.j^.,.,,. , . ^ ,, ■f?P' reports of those who walk not with yo3.;' silence this publid -ttutcry that you withdraw your ailiom from jlrade?nf»eR, ; vpV ply because tWey veuture coiMCPpfliously (b 'differ frofn ylVi ; be assured that persecution will never excite, or incre^ifie chrifitiau affection ; and remember that others have a right to advance the cause of the Lord Jeso3 as well as yoii j cherish the religion of holy love to God and .to your fellow chridti^ris ; a«d then shall all admire your piety ; peace shall be enjoyed in your tnidst ; neighbouring churches shall cease to weej^ over you, and instead thereof shall rejoice with yon, and " God„ even our pwn God, shall bless you.'' That this may be youf/h&ppiness in years to come, is ray fervent prayer. '. I Before I put-»a final period to thisletler, allow me to"enlreat you, and yodr literary colleague, as editors of what professes to be,thw Denomination, and as those vvho-'direot theCollegiate, the Missionary^ and the Associatiortal inteK. ests of the Baptist Body in this Province, to remember your solemn responsibility, to God for the influence you possess. It is comuionly reported of you that you use that influence for. worldly rat hpr than for holy purposes ; certain ;it;.iil that: you .ask the state to support whit sijoald* beJisustafnl edfby the Denomination at large.' The State piva|; hot-1|)e allowed; either in whole or in part, to educate, the' risijB^ Baptist ministry in. this Province. This would and must; maJjc them politicians, and injure their christian character focJife. Do not frown, and seek to crush thoso who venture to maintain 'this sacred -.Baptist principle. Condescend {0 believe in the Christianity of some' who '' do not b'elbn^ to the Association," and somewhat relax ypur authority over thoae wl|ft do. You have, by. implications,- given; them in^ Mructions in "The. Messenger" not to hold fellovvshipwitill those of whose conduct you. disapprove ; if any bf thd^ii should, on high, principles of religious freedomy aot^oth^r- wise, do not withhold " A Mission" frOm their,* pastt)f,ntfl: in any other way chastise them forfacting out titeir cuuscienf^; ces. There is a spiritofirestlessness,'©" dissatisfactioUj will* things as they are ;.and a desire after freedom is* springing upw which it will require all your exp^riehce, and'tiabty And talenls of govbrnmentto cjieck. Nay,»you cannbt'dodt^ ;Wisdonl'djci- tates that you yield to the pressure which is comirtg,up6ri'-ipijE. That "th^wisdom that -is from*'abovey"vwhioh, Ifus^ntst pure, then pea^ceable, gentle ahd'easy to be iri|r^tbd,:full oif jnercy and good fruits, without -p.-u-tiaiity ati^if^nithout hypoc- risy,'.' may be liberally bestovved"on you. is»tlfetprayer o^yv^ujl injuiei friend and servant, - .. JOSBPH^ BE.JjCHER/ ,#. Halifax, January 7, 184G. ""^ '^ { I y. ^k:-