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Sunday, October 09, 2005

Dear Mr Phillips I r

Dear Mr. Phillips, I recently emailed Tom Adams with a question about your critique of "missionism" and he recommended that I contact you directly. Could you briefly explain what you mean by missionism and what alternative you are proposing for the advance of the Gospel.Many thanks,

Dear Friend,
  I thank you for your inquiry, and will try to answer you as best I can. It seems obvious to me,(yet maybe not to you) that the question itself indicates how vastly far apart our thinking on this subject is, and therefore the more difficult to answer adequately for you. So to preface my remarks, I quickly prefix this statement: I, and a very small number of churches, still believe as all Baptists' articles of faith state, that "We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God and the ONLY RULE of both FAITH and PRACTICE." As you can imagine, that greatly LIMITS both our doctrinal beliefs as well as what we do to what we literally find in the New Testament. Hence, we must be greatly at odds with modern "Christianity," which changes as a chameleon from decade to decade, with each denomination attempting to out-do the other in the art of proselytizing. They are, in sociologically terms, "dynamic societies, and “while we remain rather” static societies"; they are "open" societies, while we are "closed" societies. The New Testament binds a true believer to historical Christianity, while innovative Christianity frees its members from Biblical and moral restraints. Having prefaced that, I now answer your question as carefully as I can.
  We object to the whole framework of missionism, not merely some aspects of it. It is a very subtle system. Look at its development. First introduced among Baptists by Andrew Fuller, who introduced the theory that Christ death was "sufficient for all mankind, but efficient for the elect only," among Particular Baptists in England, it rapidly developed after 1782. He recruited William Carey, a "General Baptist" to volunteer as a "missionary to India." Carey had no faith that God would care for him, and extracted a promise from Fuller that Fuller would "hold the rope" for him, using the analogy of "going down into a dark pit." Fuller quickly tired of "holding the rope", and decided to get others and a more permanent body to hold the rope. He instituted the first "Missionary Society" among Particular Baptists to support a "General Baptist" to India. This young zealous General Baptist was also a socialist, which movement was just beginning among liberal Rationalists in Europe. Carey organized the first "missionary" station in India, and was the organizer of the first communist society in India.
  In America, the Philadelphia Association resisted the movement at first, but within a decade the association's leadership had embraced it. In 1813, it transformed itself into the first nation-wide "Mission" society among Particular or Regular Baptists in North America. Between 1813 and 1820, it steadily grew, not without our opposition. In 1820 it called upon Baptists churches to form State Baptist Conventions, which it then controlled loosely. It had Baptist associations busy forming State Missionary Conventions; and at the same time it organized State Missionary Baptist Conventions itself, as well as organized Missionary Baptist Associations within the bounds of non-missionary associations. (Both types of these Missionary organizations still exist together, some side-by-side.) It introduced Sunday Schools, beginning in 1820 (Raikes, a friend of Fuller, organized the first in Kittering, England in 1780); Modern entertainment, with choirs, instrumental music, soloists, and revival enthusiastics rapidly grew. Today, the system enslaves its hired ministers in such a financial bondage that only God can deliver them from it. Large numbers of ministers know the truth of the gospel, but dare not preach it. Also, today, large numbers do know the truth and do dare to preach it, and invariably they are expelled from the system to protect itself from the truth. Within the past three years here in my own county, five Southern Baptist "Calvinists" have been run off by the Director of Missions, whose job it is to see that everything runs according to plan - smoothly.
  As strict Bible believers, we still believe that we should propagate the truth exactly as we find that pattern in the New Testament. We find no super church; no mission societies; no Sunday Schools as nurseries for the "church," no carnal entertainment to draw crowds; nor the host of offices designed to "get them coming and keep them busy." The New Testament Church is much simpler than what we see today in missionism's productions.
  In the New Testament, "they that were scattered abroad WENT every where preaching the Word." (Acts 8:4) The commission given to the apostles, and which ministers ever since have claimed to themselves, is to "GO YE into all nations." Matthew 28: 18, it is noteworthy that they did NOT understand that commission to say "SEND YE". As they traveled, and as they "ordained them elders in every church," they "prayed with fasting, and they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." Acts 14:22-23.
  As they ministered to the Lord, and "fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabus and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." Acts 13:3. God Himself directed the preaching of the gospel; not the churches, associations, nor mission societies.
  To illustrate the above, when Paul and Barnabas would go into Asia, "they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia." When they "attempted to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not." When the Lord would have them go into Macedonia, He showed Paul a man there praying that he should go there, "we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to go preach the gospel unto them." That is a far cry from what we see being done by evangelistic enterprises today. If, and I say, IF, the gospel saves souls, it is high time those who think so, ought to be preaching it. But it is evident, that they dare not do so for their fear of persecution or loss of livelihood. Most do not know what the gospel is; but a few do, and these are fearful to open their mouths boldly in public. So the people of God starve while they feed their own bellies as hireling shepherds.
  The Philadelphia Minutes from 1707 - 1807 is now back in print. I highly recommend you buy it. You will find them repeatedly praying and fasting that God would send an "effusion of His Spirit" and revival among their bounds. You will find them expressly rejoicing when words came to them of a Spirit revival in various parts of the country, and praying for the same visitation among them. Why? Because they believe salvation was wholly "of the Lord." But after they embraced Fullerism, the prayers and fastings ceased. In fact, the actual doctrine of Holy Spirit regeneration was replaced by "gospel regeneration," and moved from a God-centered religion to a man-centered religion. Today, they do not depend on God to save sinners, nor believe that He has. They believe that to be their job, and that they have the ability to do it. We fully take issue with them on every inch of their departure, from doctrine to practice, and from precept to concept. We still travel crisscross this great nation as we always have, and while I'm now 70 years old, monthly, my itinerancy is about 550 miles from east to west of my home; and annually, from 700 miles north to the Gulf of Mexico, and wherever God in His providence cast my lot. And I'm hired by no man! I have no "rope-holding society because I have no faith that God will sustain me" for He has all His ministers throughout all the ages of the gospel. It has worked successfully for 2,000 years, and certainly is no novelty of the past 200!
  Again, the word of God is the only rule of our faith and our practice. What it teaches, we hope to be found faithfully complying; wherein it is silent, we have no reason to presume. It is with a good conscience and purity of heart that we serve Him, and "go every where preaching the Word." May God graciously bless you, my dear enquirer, to see the truth as it is in Christ; reject anything I've written not based upon a "thus saith the Lord," and receive all I've written in a good spirit with which I've attempted to write. Yours in Him, stanleyp@mississippi.
     I presume you would not care if I send this to some others for their edification also? Thanks.          

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