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The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement
The Baptist Story is a narrative history spanning over four centuries of a diverse group of people living among distinct cultures on separate continents while finding their identity in Christ and expressing their faith as Baptists. Baptist historians Anthony Chute, Nathan Finn, and Michael Haykin highlight the Baptist transition from a despised sect to a movement of global influence. Each chapter includes stories of people who made this history so fascinating. Although the emphasis is on the English-speaking world, The Baptist Story integrates stories of non-English-speaking Baptists, ethnic minorities, women, and minority theological traditions, all within the context of historic, orthodox Christianity.
This volume provides more than just the essential events and necessary names to convey the grand history. It also addresses questions that students of Baptist history frequently ask, includes prayers and hymns of those who experienced hope and heartbreak, and directs the reader’s attention to the mission of the church as a whole. Written with an irenic tone and illustrated with photographs in every chapter, The Baptist Story is ideally suited for graduate and undergraduate courses, as well as group study in the local church.
This volume provides more than just the essential events and necessary names to convey the grand history. It also addresses questions that students of Baptist history frequently ask, includes prayers and hymns of those who experienced hope and heartbreak, and directs the reader’s attention to the mission of the church as a whole. Written with an irenic tone and illustrated with photographs in every chapter, The Baptist Story is ideally suited for graduate and undergraduate courses, as well as group study in the local church.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published August 15, 2015
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December 31, 2017
In The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement, three leading Baptist historians provide a very readable and interesting introduction of the Baptist movement over the last 400 years. I highly recommend this book for your 2018 reading list.
A few words first about the book’s organization and its best features. The book is written as textbook, with a strong narrative element. Each chapter provides an excellent bibliography for further reading, rather than footnotes. Most hopefully, each chapter contains a list of questions which can help guide the reader and provoke thought.
Whether in a college or seminary, on your own, or even in a church class, you will find these questions help structure and guide your in take of the material.
Also useful is their inclusion of excerpts of various primary sources from the periods under consideration. All students of history need to grapple with the actual documents and thus test the conclusion of any writer.
The three authors divided the task of writing based on their respective specialization. Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary wrote the sections on the seventeenth and eighteenth century. He provides an excellent overview of the early English Baptists’ relationship to the English Puritans and Separatists movements. Each group appreciated the need to correct errors in the doctrine and practices of the Church of England along a more biblical basis, which retained significant Catholic elements after England’s half-way reformation.
Despite my fairly good grasp of English and colonial history in this period, I had not been aware of the wide-ranging theological opinions and practices of early English Baptists. For example, the well-known Baptist conviction of the correctness of believers’ baptism by immersion, as opposed to infant baptism and baptism by sprinkling was the not subject of immediate agreement. Similarly, there were both Calvinistic and Arminian positions on the nature of salvation in the early Baptist movement.
The second most well-known Baptist distinctive might well be freedom of religion. In a context where the medieval notion of a great chain of being retained its power in the idea that church and state must be integrated, the Baptists of England and colonial British North America stand out.
In this regard, both in England and its colonies, persons who did not agree with the theology and practices of the state-established churches faced significant persecution and, at time, even death.
The Baptists’ biblical insight was quite prescient on this point which became the basis of the First Amendment’s recognition of freedom of religion. If true faith includes the soul’s submission to God, then the use of the coercive power of the government to force an external obedience did not respect either human conscience or divine will.
Perhaps less well known are differences among General Baptists and Specific Baptists. General Baptists asserted that the Bible teaches that Christ died to save all people, a general atonement. In contrast, Particular Baptists contended “that Christ died to save a particular elect people” (p. 22), a Calvinistic position.
Professor Anthony L. Chute wrote the book’s chapters on nineteenth-century Baptists. He traces this story in the United States and Canada, as well as in England and continental Europe. We see Baptist missions extend into various areas of these nations where the Baptist movement was unknown, as well as into Asia and Africa. For example, he writes of more well-known story of Baptist missionaries in India and southeast Asia, as well as about those who planted Baptist churches nations of western and eastern Europe, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. For my part, I was most intrigued by his treatment of the work of African-American Baptists both during and after the end of slavery in the United States.
Neither does Dr. Chute fail to consider the tragic and continued support of slavery among white Baptists in the southern United States. Today, it is easy to shake our collective heads in wonder at these men and women’s support of racial slavery. Perhaps the lesson for the Christian who takes God’s Word seriously might be to ask the Holy Spirt to interrogate our own viewpoints, preferences, and even prejudices, to show us where He needs to break and change us, remaking us more in the image of Jesus.
Dr. Chute also builds on Dr. Haykin’s narrative of the diversity of Baptist denominations and disagreements. One interesting example was the emergence of the Landmark Movement. Particularly in the southwestern United States, some Baptists came to believe that all true churches since the time of the apostles had been, in effect, Baptist churches, even without the title. That viewpoint does not appear consistent with the biblical text nor historical evidence. In the United States, there was also a growth of Baptist churches within the growing range on immigrant groups, from Baptist immigrants from Sweden and Germany, to churches growing from missionary work among Chinese immigrants.
So, too, did European and American overseas missionary work continue apace in other areas of the world. Yet, unknown to me before this book, there was resistance to missionary work. The notion that missionary societies and other cooperative efforts could be seen as un-biblical innovations seems remarkable. Yet this development was also part of the Baptist story, one told with both high points and warts exposed. This sort of truth-telling is sobering and humble, useful to learn from, much as God caused the Bible to show the flaws of those He has used.
Professor Nathan A. Finn of Union University treated the 20th and 21st century. Here we see the responses of various groups of Baptists to the challenges of modernity, 2 World Wars, the Civil Rights movement, decolonization, and all the rest of the vast changes of the last century. We see how the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy in the first half of the 20th century in the United States related to the Downgrade Controversy faced by Charles Hadden Spurgeon in late 19th century England, as well as the challenge to Biblical inerrancy and authentic, historically grounded Christianity, and even the fundamental Christian doctrines.
Ultimately, Finn traces the ways in which many Baptist denominations either lost their grasp on these core parts of orthodox Christianity, or, in the case of the Southern Baptist Convention and other Baptist groups, re-affirmed their belief in the Bible, in Christ’s divinity, in the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the reality of judgment for sin for unbelievers. As someone who struggled with these questions in young adulthood, from outside the Baptist tradition, and who providentially believes in the faith one delivered to the saints, and is glad to be a part of the SBC, as a member of a biblically-grounded, cross-centered, Christ-exalting local church, the story Professor Finn tells is personally convicting and deeply relevant.
Nathan Finn also covers in good depth the Baptist movement outside of the United States and England. He makes clear how this small, fringe English sect has grown to be a truly global movement in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Lastly, the authors close with a chapter on Baptist distinctives. These are both descriptive and, to their view, perscriptive. You can also find much food for learning and thought at the book’s close.
I hope you’ll read this fine book in the 2018. For my part, I learned a great deal, and look forward to learning more. I have been scanning the bibliography and hope to add my learning from reading some of the suggested books in the future. I also have some ideas for future research projects of my own.
A few words first about the book’s organization and its best features. The book is written as textbook, with a strong narrative element. Each chapter provides an excellent bibliography for further reading, rather than footnotes. Most hopefully, each chapter contains a list of questions which can help guide the reader and provoke thought.
Whether in a college or seminary, on your own, or even in a church class, you will find these questions help structure and guide your in take of the material.
Also useful is their inclusion of excerpts of various primary sources from the periods under consideration. All students of history need to grapple with the actual documents and thus test the conclusion of any writer.
The three authors divided the task of writing based on their respective specialization. Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary wrote the sections on the seventeenth and eighteenth century. He provides an excellent overview of the early English Baptists’ relationship to the English Puritans and Separatists movements. Each group appreciated the need to correct errors in the doctrine and practices of the Church of England along a more biblical basis, which retained significant Catholic elements after England’s half-way reformation.
Despite my fairly good grasp of English and colonial history in this period, I had not been aware of the wide-ranging theological opinions and practices of early English Baptists. For example, the well-known Baptist conviction of the correctness of believers’ baptism by immersion, as opposed to infant baptism and baptism by sprinkling was the not subject of immediate agreement. Similarly, there were both Calvinistic and Arminian positions on the nature of salvation in the early Baptist movement.
The second most well-known Baptist distinctive might well be freedom of religion. In a context where the medieval notion of a great chain of being retained its power in the idea that church and state must be integrated, the Baptists of England and colonial British North America stand out.
In this regard, both in England and its colonies, persons who did not agree with the theology and practices of the state-established churches faced significant persecution and, at time, even death.
The Baptists’ biblical insight was quite prescient on this point which became the basis of the First Amendment’s recognition of freedom of religion. If true faith includes the soul’s submission to God, then the use of the coercive power of the government to force an external obedience did not respect either human conscience or divine will.
Perhaps less well known are differences among General Baptists and Specific Baptists. General Baptists asserted that the Bible teaches that Christ died to save all people, a general atonement. In contrast, Particular Baptists contended “that Christ died to save a particular elect people” (p. 22), a Calvinistic position.
Professor Anthony L. Chute wrote the book’s chapters on nineteenth-century Baptists. He traces this story in the United States and Canada, as well as in England and continental Europe. We see Baptist missions extend into various areas of these nations where the Baptist movement was unknown, as well as into Asia and Africa. For example, he writes of more well-known story of Baptist missionaries in India and southeast Asia, as well as about those who planted Baptist churches nations of western and eastern Europe, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. For my part, I was most intrigued by his treatment of the work of African-American Baptists both during and after the end of slavery in the United States.
Neither does Dr. Chute fail to consider the tragic and continued support of slavery among white Baptists in the southern United States. Today, it is easy to shake our collective heads in wonder at these men and women’s support of racial slavery. Perhaps the lesson for the Christian who takes God’s Word seriously might be to ask the Holy Spirt to interrogate our own viewpoints, preferences, and even prejudices, to show us where He needs to break and change us, remaking us more in the image of Jesus.
Dr. Chute also builds on Dr. Haykin’s narrative of the diversity of Baptist denominations and disagreements. One interesting example was the emergence of the Landmark Movement. Particularly in the southwestern United States, some Baptists came to believe that all true churches since the time of the apostles had been, in effect, Baptist churches, even without the title. That viewpoint does not appear consistent with the biblical text nor historical evidence. In the United States, there was also a growth of Baptist churches within the growing range on immigrant groups, from Baptist immigrants from Sweden and Germany, to churches growing from missionary work among Chinese immigrants.
So, too, did European and American overseas missionary work continue apace in other areas of the world. Yet, unknown to me before this book, there was resistance to missionary work. The notion that missionary societies and other cooperative efforts could be seen as un-biblical innovations seems remarkable. Yet this development was also part of the Baptist story, one told with both high points and warts exposed. This sort of truth-telling is sobering and humble, useful to learn from, much as God caused the Bible to show the flaws of those He has used.
Professor Nathan A. Finn of Union University treated the 20th and 21st century. Here we see the responses of various groups of Baptists to the challenges of modernity, 2 World Wars, the Civil Rights movement, decolonization, and all the rest of the vast changes of the last century. We see how the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy in the first half of the 20th century in the United States related to the Downgrade Controversy faced by Charles Hadden Spurgeon in late 19th century England, as well as the challenge to Biblical inerrancy and authentic, historically grounded Christianity, and even the fundamental Christian doctrines.
Ultimately, Finn traces the ways in which many Baptist denominations either lost their grasp on these core parts of orthodox Christianity, or, in the case of the Southern Baptist Convention and other Baptist groups, re-affirmed their belief in the Bible, in Christ’s divinity, in the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the reality of judgment for sin for unbelievers. As someone who struggled with these questions in young adulthood, from outside the Baptist tradition, and who providentially believes in the faith one delivered to the saints, and is glad to be a part of the SBC, as a member of a biblically-grounded, cross-centered, Christ-exalting local church, the story Professor Finn tells is personally convicting and deeply relevant.
Nathan Finn also covers in good depth the Baptist movement outside of the United States and England. He makes clear how this small, fringe English sect has grown to be a truly global movement in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Lastly, the authors close with a chapter on Baptist distinctives. These are both descriptive and, to their view, perscriptive. You can also find much food for learning and thought at the book’s close.
I hope you’ll read this fine book in the 2018. For my part, I learned a great deal, and look forward to learning more. I have been scanning the bibliography and hope to add my learning from reading some of the suggested books in the future. I also have some ideas for future research projects of my own.
September 24, 2025
WOW! BAPTISTS ARE LITERALLY SO AMAZING!!!! OMG I LOVE BAPTISTS. I read this book EVERY DAY on the J Bowl and whenever I had a chance to tell someone about how AMAZING this book is… I did. There were parts where I cheered and parts where I cried. There were times I laughed and times I was saddened. The pure literary genius of this book is stunning.
(This is sarcasm, this book was incredibly boring)
(This is sarcasm, this book was incredibly boring)
April 30, 2024
This is an excellent introduction to the fascinating history of Baptists. It is an accessible read for most any level of skill and knowledge. The format and resources found within the book will also be a help for interested readers to explore Baptist history further. Whether you are an experienced student of Baptist history or you are just beginning to learn the basic characters and developments, this book will help you understand how the Baptist story fits together.
See my full review here: https://marcminter.com/2024/04/30/boo...
See my full review here: https://marcminter.com/2024/04/30/boo...
February 8, 2025
I really do love being a Baptist, and I love learning about how we got to where we are today. In short, this book was a great exposition of Baptist history.
Baptists do not have a perfect history, but they do have a history and it is one of high highs and low lows. On the Lord’s providence the state of Baptist life is in a better place than it has been in the past and this book argued that well. I will refer back to this book often.
A few highlights: missionary story after missionary story, the persecution of Anabaptists by Protestants, understanding of SBC and ABC relationship, honest navigation of the dark racial history of Baptist life, helpful explanations of past controversies along with their continual impact, clearly written, and extremely well researched.
A few additional nuggets I can’t get out of my mind… the role of women in Baptist life, missionary George Liele’s story, the life of early baptists (17th century), the ministry of Johann Oncken, and the ludicrous nature of Landmarkism.
Often times when you read a text book it drags on, this book switched scenes well and I forgot I was reading history.
5/5.
Baptists do not have a perfect history, but they do have a history and it is one of high highs and low lows. On the Lord’s providence the state of Baptist life is in a better place than it has been in the past and this book argued that well. I will refer back to this book often.
A few highlights: missionary story after missionary story, the persecution of Anabaptists by Protestants, understanding of SBC and ABC relationship, honest navigation of the dark racial history of Baptist life, helpful explanations of past controversies along with their continual impact, clearly written, and extremely well researched.
A few additional nuggets I can’t get out of my mind… the role of women in Baptist life, missionary George Liele’s story, the life of early baptists (17th century), the ministry of Johann Oncken, and the ludicrous nature of Landmarkism.
Often times when you read a text book it drags on, this book switched scenes well and I forgot I was reading history.
5/5.
October 4, 2016
An excellent book on baptist history for the 21st century.
February 24, 2024
The unfortunate reality for many Baptists is that they don't know their own history. This book somehow manages to cram an extensive amount of Baptist history into a relatively small amount of space. I found this to be an extremely interesting and insightful book. Furthermore, I would venture so far as to say that every Baptist should read this book instead of simply being a Baptist by condition or convenience.
December 23, 2022
Helpful. Needs a second edition post 2020 and repeal of Roe vs. Wade for contemporary section. Would also like a further dive into the conservative resurgence, the new reformed, church planting networks like Acts 29, and the historical record of the EC’s recent failures with sexual abuse.
August 29, 2018
A splendid little history. Highly recommended for anyone (including Baptists) looking to know more about the Baptist faith. As an adult convert, I am Baptist by conviction, not by tradition. This book helped to articulate what drew me to it rather than to other denominations. The distinctive characteristics of the Baptist faith all resonate with me, but the long Baptist tradition of religious liberty…the right to worship according to one’s own conscience without coercion, for people of all faiths or no faith at all, I always found particularly compelling. The Baptists have been a driving force behind separation of church and state long before secularists took up the cause. (To clarify, Baptists do not support a public square devoid of religion as advocated by modern, illiberal secularists). As a member of this tradition, I find it comical whenever my liberal friends express their fears of an American Theocracy or Handmaid’s Tale dystopia. Our Baptist forbears fought hard for our religious independence, the last thing we want is an authoritarian state telling people what beliefs to hold or not hold against their consciences.
I will preface this recommendation with the disclaimer that this was written as a textbook, and you should expect it to read like one. The authors’ stated purpose being “to produce a work primarily for students that recognizes the global sweep of Baptists, with all their historic and doctrinal variety, warts and all” (3). By and large, they succeed. They don’t shy away from covering Baptist complicity in historical wrongs like slavery or the ugly schisms that have marked Baptist history. Because our tradition prioritizes liberty of conscience, Baptists can hardly be considered a monolithic group. In telling The Baptist Story, the authors attempted to cover both institutional and individual histories as well as global trends and local issues. It’s a lot to cover but I think the authors did a good job.
What follows are my notes on the book:
SECTION 1: Baptists in the 17th & 18th Centuries
While the majority of Protestants disagreed with the Catholic Church over issues of salvation and religious authority, both agreed the state played a vital role in the life of the church. Most 16th century Protestants could not envision a world where state and church did not work together. Only a small number rejected the idea of a national church to which every citizen was baptized into as an infant. This minority (Anabaptists or re-baptizers) advocated churches composed solely of converts, baptized only after a profession of faith. Because they rejected the union of church and state, they were regarded as a dire threat to the stability and security of the state and were horribly persecuted and killed. Anabaptist became a byword for fanaticism and anarchy well into the 17th century (13).
The Baptist movement that emerged in England in the 17th century was an outgrowth of the Puritans. Elizabeth I’s coronation secured England’s status as a Protestant nation. While Protestant in theology, it maintained a medieval worship and liturgy. The Puritans arose in response to this situation, seeking to implement only those aspects of worship they believed the Bible explicitly commanded. By the 1580s, many of these Puritans broke with the Church of England to form separatist congregations. They viewed Christianity as a matter of personal conviction rather than public order; they recognized civil authority but rejected the right of authorities to compel religion.
Separatists fled to Amsterdam in 1593. A 2nd group led by John Smyth arrived in 1608. The first group became the Pilgrims who sailed the Mayflower to MA. Smyth’s group became the first English-speaking Baptists (16). Smyth baptized his congregation himself. Learning of the Waterlanders, a Mennonite group in the Netherlands, he and 42 members of his church were baptized again and assimilated into that church. Some who thought their baptism by Smyth was enough, refused to join the Waterlanders, and returned to England in 1612 becoming known as General Baptists (because they believed in a general atonement (Christ died for all people)).
While General Baptists emerged first, the Particular Baptists became the leading sect. Some Puritans refused to break ties with the Church of England. By 1638, they too began to question infant baptism. These would become the Particular Baptists (for their Calvinist belief that Christ died to save only the elect (22)). In 1640, the Kiffen Manuscript laid out the argument for baptism by immersion only. By the 1640s there were 7 Particular Baptist congregations near London. To demonstrate their solidarity with European Calvinists and avoid being confused as Anabaptist, they published the First London Confession of Faith in 1644. It served them well through the British Civil Wars and by 1660 there were 130 congregation in England, Wales and Ireland (27).
Baptists in America were a smaller, undistinguished group. MA strictly forbade and persecuted Baptists (and Quakers). Baptist Roger Williams fled and founded a settlement at Providence in 1636. He obtained a charter for Rhode Island, wherein he guaranteed religious liberty for all inhabitants (30). There he founded the first Baptist church in America in 1638. John Clarke formed a second Baptist congregation at Newport where the first African American was baptized. Because Baptists argued for a voluntary, individualistic religious order, they were viewed by the Puritans/Congregationalists as a threat to the corporate Christian state. In 1644 MA passed legislation labeling Baptists as political subversives and ordering they be banished from the colony. Persecution of Baptists persisted for the next 4 decades (35).
When Cromwell died in 1658 and Charles II was crowned, the Clarendon Code was introduced with its chief goal being the destruction of the Puritans (41). Puritans, Presbyterians, and Baptists were persecuted fiercely. John Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years, during which time he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress. In 1688, James II’s regime crumbled in the Glorious Revolution, opening up a new era for Dissenters. William III’s 1689 Act of Toleration, allowed Baptists to call national assemblies. The Particular Baptists adopted the Second London Confession of Faith. Some Baptists split off over hymn singing, thinking it an unscriptural innovation (52). The Philadelphia Association, the oldest Baptist association in America, was formed in 1707. In 1696, the FBC of Charleston was formed, fleeing persecution and colonial warfare in Maine (55). These Baptists struggled to address the practice of slavery and wrote to English Baptists for guidance, eventually accommodating themselves to the institution (56).
18th Century Baptists were drawn from poor farmers and tradesman, so most Baptist preachers were bi-vocational as a result. Even after state persecution ended in England, most were too poor to build their own church buildings and often met in barns (64). Public baptisms in rivers or ponds often drew censure and ridicule. John Gill was the leading Baptist theologian from 1740-70s. Many English Presbyterians and General Baptists rejected the Trinity during the “age of reason,” but Particular Baptists under Gill’s teaching remained Trinitarian (70). After a period of decline, the First Great Awakening broke out in the UK and America under leaders like George Whitefield (72). Many Particular Baptists had reservations about this revival as many of its leaders were from the Church of England (which they escaped at great cost and suffering) or the Methodists (Arminian in theology, while Baptists were Calvinists) (73). Yet Baptists grew during the revival.
Founded in 1764, the College of Rhode Island (Brown University) was the first Baptist college in America (82). Some Baptists were hostile to formal education, viewing it as developing “men-made” ministers instead of those called by the Holy Spirit (83). Over the next half-century Baptists continued their fight for religious freedom in New England. In 1818, Baptists submitted a petition to CT legislature calling for religious freedom not only for Baptists but “infidels” (atheists). It would take another 15 years before MA finally disestablished the state church. In VA, the Episcopal (Anglican) church resisted Baptists. Baptist preachers in VA were physically assaulted regularly between 1760-80. James Madison came to the defense of Baptists suffering imprisonment (89). As the American Revolution erupted, these quiet and loyal Baptists citizens initially supported the Monarchy. Yet over the years their allegiance shifted along with public sentiment (92). Baptists aligned with Madison & Jefferson (against Washington & Patrick Henry) to defeat a bill to collect taxes designated to the denomination of their choice (90). In 1801, in was a Baptist minister in Danbury, CT who wrote to President Jefferson congratulating him and advocating religious liberty. Jefferson’s reply contained the famous “wall of separation” between church and state.
Baptist attitudes of slavery differed by region (95). Slave George Liele converted during the Revolution, founded the oldest African American Baptist Church in America in GA. When the British lost the war, he fled to Jamaica converting hundreds. Though never “sent out” by a church, he could be considered America’s first Baptist Missionary (98). English Baptists initially had a naïve enthusiasm for the French Revolution (100). After it spiraled into a vortex of terror and violence, they were vocal critics attributing the disaster to the movement’s skepticism, rationalism, and atheism.
Andrew Fuller succeeded Gill as the dominant theologian of the late 18th century. He remained faithful to Calvinist thought but tempered hyper-Calvinist thinking by driving home the obligations of men to repent and believe (104). He helped form the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792 which sent William Carey to India and launched the modern missionary movement (106). Fuller’s theology and passion for missions led to a rapid influx of converts in the US. The Second Great Awakening followed. By 1790, there were 68K Baptists in America, the heaviest concentration shifting from RI to the South.
SECTION 2: Baptists in the 19th Century
Having largely secured religious liberty, new leaders looked to spread the gospel abroad. By mid-century, Baptist had increased to 700K surpassing Catholics and other Protestant denominations as the 2nd largest religious body (after Methodists) in America (115). The independent nature of Baptist churches meant state and national organizations remained in an embryonic state (117). However, their ability to establish local congregations without the denominational approval as well as bi-vocational farmer-preachers worked well on the rapidly expanding western frontier.
Adoniram & Ann Judson set out as Congregationalist missionaries, but became Baptists on the voyage. Cut off from their funding, friend Luther Rice returned to the US raising funds and helping to establish the Baptist’s General Missionary Convention (named the Triennial Convention because it met every 3 years (127)). Doctrinal differences among Baptists hindered national cooperation. State Conventions began to emerge, but only slowly as Baptists worked out arrangements that facilitated cooperation without sacrificing local autonomy (136). The religious free market spurred Baptists to enhance their intellectual reputation and found more schools: Union (1823), Furman (1826), Mercer (1833), Wake Forest (1834), Samford (1841), and Baylor (1845).
Alexander Campbell (Campbellites) advocated biblical simplicity, rejecting unscriptural innovations like missionary societies. William Miller (Millerites) took an opposite approach, digging into prophetic passages to predict the timing of Christ’s return in 1843. Sectional divisions also fractured Baptists. The Southern Baptist Convention formed in 1845, 16 years before the Civil War (152). Southern Baptists were suspicious of those who had abandoned biblical orthodoxy (like Unitarians) and their arguments against slavery based on reason instead of the Bible (155). Baptists in NY and Boston formed anti-slavery societies (155). The Triennial Convention and Home Mission Society were neutral on slavery but southern Baptists provocatively nominated slave-owners as prospective missionaries. Southern Baptist split off to form their own convention, claiming Southern Baptists were being unfairly forbidden from assuming missionary posts. In 1995, the SBC passed a resolution acknowledging historical racial prejudice and called for racial reconciliation (161).
In 1800, there were no Baptist churches in Continental Europe. Thanks to the work of missionary Johann Oncken, there were a quarter million Baptists at the turn of the century (163). With the motto “Every Baptist a Missionary” he distributed Bibles and coordinated an army of lay preachers who planted churches across the continent. During this same time, J.R. Graves introduced the theological innovation known as Landmarkism (the idea that Baptists churches are the only true churches, tracing themselves in an unbroken line back to the apostles). The SBC voted against their efforts to eliminate the Foreign Mission Board and Landmark theology was relegated to a regional influence (174). After the Civil War, Southern Baptists began self-examination of their role in the treatment of slaves. Resenting carpetbaggers and fearing theologically suspect northerners, Northern and Southern Baptists failed to reunite (178). Segregation replaced slavery in the South, but white Baptists supported newly independent black Baptist churches (178).
Baptists began to send out female missionaries as they entered Asian countries where gender roles were deeply embedded. Women also took the lead in organizing missionary societies. The two most famous women were Lottie Moon (4 decades in China) and Annie Armstrong (organizer of the Women’s Missionary Union) (192). Other late 19th century trends included fading of church discipline and of ordering churches strictly according to scripture. Baptists didn’t stopped registering their disapproval of sin, as evidence by the growing temperance movement. Temperance was one of the few occasions where theological conservatives and liberals worked toward the same goal. They clashed heavily in the area of education.
Biblical criticism pouring out of Europe preceded the challenge of Darwin a century before he published his famous work. These two subjects opened the door for doubt to find its way into the pulpit and halls of traditionally Christian universities (like Harvard and Yale). This more liberal theology was challenged by many, including Charles Spurgeon who resigned from the Baptist Union, when they rejected his call for a confession of faith that disqualified those holding liberal positions that led to decreased church attendance, deviant doctrine, and openness to worldly amusements (208).
SECTION 3: Baptists in the 20th & 21st Centuries
Baptists had become an increasingly global movement. In 1905, Baptists in 23 countries formed the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). An emphasis on professionalization of Baptist ministers emerged. This led to the employment of additional ministry staff at larger churches (216). Churches of all sizes adopted a committee structure to facilitate ministry. Millions of Baptists fought in WWI (on both sides), though a great many British Baptists were conscientious objectors (220). The Northern Baptist Convention was constituted in 1908. Though the SBC was a charter member of the BWA, they remained skeptical of the theological latitude inherent in the greater ecumenical movement. In 1925, the SBC created the Cooperative Program (a unified denominational budget).
Baptists were marked by controversies and schisms in the 20th century prior to WWII. In addition to modernist/liberal clashes with conservatives/fundamentalists in academia, the Social Gospel had a huge impact in America. Baptist minister MLK, Jr. was profoundly influenced by it. In WWII, many US Baptists were initially isolationists but overwhelmingly supported the Allied cause after US entry into the War (251). WWII ravaged Baptists in Northern and Central Europe, closing hundreds of churches. Communism heavily suppressed and persecuted Baptists in Soviet controlled states. “Closed” communist countries threatened Baptist mission work. Baptists were ardent supporters of the Vietnam War because of religious oppression by North Vietnamese Communists (255).
Post war years were marked by prosperity, expansion, and denominational competition. As the SBC considered changing names to the American Baptist Convention, the NBC beat them to the punch taking that name (258). SBC missionary work outpaced ABC because they were better funded (the Cooperative Program eliminated the burden of fundraising). While ABC numbers remained static, by the 1960s, the SBC had churches in all 50 states and was the largest Protestant denomination in America (258). Baptists were both key leaders (MLK) and opponents in the Civil Rights Movement. The African American National Baptist Convention split in 1961 over Civil Rights (they wanted equality but believed activists were too radical). The surge of left-leaning theology (Social Gospel, liberation theology) at midcentury led to increased tensions. Many conservative churches broke away to become independent. In the SBC, conservatives mobilized to take over the denominational machinery by populating boards with fellow conservatives (285). This conservative resurgence coincided with the conservative resurgence in the Republican Party.
By the early 21st Century, half of all Asian Baptists were located in India (2.4M) though China’s Baptists population was growing rapidly. As of 2011, Myanmar had 900K Baptists and Latin America had 2.8M (297). Between 1991-2011, Baptists in Africa tripled to 10.2M. Baptists, influenced by the charismatic movement, adopted praise and worship music. Many adopted a “seeker-sensitive” approach in the 1980s. Megachurches and multi-site congregations appeared in the 1990s. Militant Islam (abroad) and secularization (at home) were increasingly viewed as new threats to Baptists. Baptists supported many 1960s Supreme Court decisions on separation of church and state (no prayer in schools, etc). Baptists have since pushed back against secularists efforts to shut down voluntary student religious clubs/movements (317). Baptists were concerned that the legalization of same sex marriage would lead to prosecution under hate-speech laws. Baptists expressed concern the Affordable Care Act mandated Christian businesses pay for abortions. These threats to religious liberty led to greater cooperation with Catholics, Orthodox, and Mormons than is typical of Baptists (318).
SECTION 4: Baptists Beliefs
Baptists hold the vast majority of their beliefs in common with other Christians. But Baptists embrace certain beliefs they uniquely emphasize. 1) Regenerate Church Membership: a church comprised solely of professing believers. Unconverted children of believers are not granted membership; 2) Believer’s Baptism: Baptism should only be applied to individuals who give credible testimony of personal faith in Christ; 3) Congregational Polity: Church is governed by its own members, as opposed to a presbyterian polity (authority in a court of elders) or episcopal polity (authority in bishops); 4) Local Church Autonomy: every church is free to determine its own agenda apart from external ecclesiastical coercion; 5) Religious Freedom: Baptists have always championed liberty of conscience for all. Historically, Baptists have argued that the best way to preserve liberty of conscience is a formal separation of church and state.
I will preface this recommendation with the disclaimer that this was written as a textbook, and you should expect it to read like one. The authors’ stated purpose being “to produce a work primarily for students that recognizes the global sweep of Baptists, with all their historic and doctrinal variety, warts and all” (3). By and large, they succeed. They don’t shy away from covering Baptist complicity in historical wrongs like slavery or the ugly schisms that have marked Baptist history. Because our tradition prioritizes liberty of conscience, Baptists can hardly be considered a monolithic group. In telling The Baptist Story, the authors attempted to cover both institutional and individual histories as well as global trends and local issues. It’s a lot to cover but I think the authors did a good job.
What follows are my notes on the book:
SECTION 1: Baptists in the 17th & 18th Centuries
While the majority of Protestants disagreed with the Catholic Church over issues of salvation and religious authority, both agreed the state played a vital role in the life of the church. Most 16th century Protestants could not envision a world where state and church did not work together. Only a small number rejected the idea of a national church to which every citizen was baptized into as an infant. This minority (Anabaptists or re-baptizers) advocated churches composed solely of converts, baptized only after a profession of faith. Because they rejected the union of church and state, they were regarded as a dire threat to the stability and security of the state and were horribly persecuted and killed. Anabaptist became a byword for fanaticism and anarchy well into the 17th century (13).
The Baptist movement that emerged in England in the 17th century was an outgrowth of the Puritans. Elizabeth I’s coronation secured England’s status as a Protestant nation. While Protestant in theology, it maintained a medieval worship and liturgy. The Puritans arose in response to this situation, seeking to implement only those aspects of worship they believed the Bible explicitly commanded. By the 1580s, many of these Puritans broke with the Church of England to form separatist congregations. They viewed Christianity as a matter of personal conviction rather than public order; they recognized civil authority but rejected the right of authorities to compel religion.
Separatists fled to Amsterdam in 1593. A 2nd group led by John Smyth arrived in 1608. The first group became the Pilgrims who sailed the Mayflower to MA. Smyth’s group became the first English-speaking Baptists (16). Smyth baptized his congregation himself. Learning of the Waterlanders, a Mennonite group in the Netherlands, he and 42 members of his church were baptized again and assimilated into that church. Some who thought their baptism by Smyth was enough, refused to join the Waterlanders, and returned to England in 1612 becoming known as General Baptists (because they believed in a general atonement (Christ died for all people)).
While General Baptists emerged first, the Particular Baptists became the leading sect. Some Puritans refused to break ties with the Church of England. By 1638, they too began to question infant baptism. These would become the Particular Baptists (for their Calvinist belief that Christ died to save only the elect (22)). In 1640, the Kiffen Manuscript laid out the argument for baptism by immersion only. By the 1640s there were 7 Particular Baptist congregations near London. To demonstrate their solidarity with European Calvinists and avoid being confused as Anabaptist, they published the First London Confession of Faith in 1644. It served them well through the British Civil Wars and by 1660 there were 130 congregation in England, Wales and Ireland (27).
Baptists in America were a smaller, undistinguished group. MA strictly forbade and persecuted Baptists (and Quakers). Baptist Roger Williams fled and founded a settlement at Providence in 1636. He obtained a charter for Rhode Island, wherein he guaranteed religious liberty for all inhabitants (30). There he founded the first Baptist church in America in 1638. John Clarke formed a second Baptist congregation at Newport where the first African American was baptized. Because Baptists argued for a voluntary, individualistic religious order, they were viewed by the Puritans/Congregationalists as a threat to the corporate Christian state. In 1644 MA passed legislation labeling Baptists as political subversives and ordering they be banished from the colony. Persecution of Baptists persisted for the next 4 decades (35).
When Cromwell died in 1658 and Charles II was crowned, the Clarendon Code was introduced with its chief goal being the destruction of the Puritans (41). Puritans, Presbyterians, and Baptists were persecuted fiercely. John Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years, during which time he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress. In 1688, James II’s regime crumbled in the Glorious Revolution, opening up a new era for Dissenters. William III’s 1689 Act of Toleration, allowed Baptists to call national assemblies. The Particular Baptists adopted the Second London Confession of Faith. Some Baptists split off over hymn singing, thinking it an unscriptural innovation (52). The Philadelphia Association, the oldest Baptist association in America, was formed in 1707. In 1696, the FBC of Charleston was formed, fleeing persecution and colonial warfare in Maine (55). These Baptists struggled to address the practice of slavery and wrote to English Baptists for guidance, eventually accommodating themselves to the institution (56).
18th Century Baptists were drawn from poor farmers and tradesman, so most Baptist preachers were bi-vocational as a result. Even after state persecution ended in England, most were too poor to build their own church buildings and often met in barns (64). Public baptisms in rivers or ponds often drew censure and ridicule. John Gill was the leading Baptist theologian from 1740-70s. Many English Presbyterians and General Baptists rejected the Trinity during the “age of reason,” but Particular Baptists under Gill’s teaching remained Trinitarian (70). After a period of decline, the First Great Awakening broke out in the UK and America under leaders like George Whitefield (72). Many Particular Baptists had reservations about this revival as many of its leaders were from the Church of England (which they escaped at great cost and suffering) or the Methodists (Arminian in theology, while Baptists were Calvinists) (73). Yet Baptists grew during the revival.
Founded in 1764, the College of Rhode Island (Brown University) was the first Baptist college in America (82). Some Baptists were hostile to formal education, viewing it as developing “men-made” ministers instead of those called by the Holy Spirit (83). Over the next half-century Baptists continued their fight for religious freedom in New England. In 1818, Baptists submitted a petition to CT legislature calling for religious freedom not only for Baptists but “infidels” (atheists). It would take another 15 years before MA finally disestablished the state church. In VA, the Episcopal (Anglican) church resisted Baptists. Baptist preachers in VA were physically assaulted regularly between 1760-80. James Madison came to the defense of Baptists suffering imprisonment (89). As the American Revolution erupted, these quiet and loyal Baptists citizens initially supported the Monarchy. Yet over the years their allegiance shifted along with public sentiment (92). Baptists aligned with Madison & Jefferson (against Washington & Patrick Henry) to defeat a bill to collect taxes designated to the denomination of their choice (90). In 1801, in was a Baptist minister in Danbury, CT who wrote to President Jefferson congratulating him and advocating religious liberty. Jefferson’s reply contained the famous “wall of separation” between church and state.
Baptist attitudes of slavery differed by region (95). Slave George Liele converted during the Revolution, founded the oldest African American Baptist Church in America in GA. When the British lost the war, he fled to Jamaica converting hundreds. Though never “sent out” by a church, he could be considered America’s first Baptist Missionary (98). English Baptists initially had a naïve enthusiasm for the French Revolution (100). After it spiraled into a vortex of terror and violence, they were vocal critics attributing the disaster to the movement’s skepticism, rationalism, and atheism.
Andrew Fuller succeeded Gill as the dominant theologian of the late 18th century. He remained faithful to Calvinist thought but tempered hyper-Calvinist thinking by driving home the obligations of men to repent and believe (104). He helped form the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792 which sent William Carey to India and launched the modern missionary movement (106). Fuller’s theology and passion for missions led to a rapid influx of converts in the US. The Second Great Awakening followed. By 1790, there were 68K Baptists in America, the heaviest concentration shifting from RI to the South.
SECTION 2: Baptists in the 19th Century
Having largely secured religious liberty, new leaders looked to spread the gospel abroad. By mid-century, Baptist had increased to 700K surpassing Catholics and other Protestant denominations as the 2nd largest religious body (after Methodists) in America (115). The independent nature of Baptist churches meant state and national organizations remained in an embryonic state (117). However, their ability to establish local congregations without the denominational approval as well as bi-vocational farmer-preachers worked well on the rapidly expanding western frontier.
Adoniram & Ann Judson set out as Congregationalist missionaries, but became Baptists on the voyage. Cut off from their funding, friend Luther Rice returned to the US raising funds and helping to establish the Baptist’s General Missionary Convention (named the Triennial Convention because it met every 3 years (127)). Doctrinal differences among Baptists hindered national cooperation. State Conventions began to emerge, but only slowly as Baptists worked out arrangements that facilitated cooperation without sacrificing local autonomy (136). The religious free market spurred Baptists to enhance their intellectual reputation and found more schools: Union (1823), Furman (1826), Mercer (1833), Wake Forest (1834), Samford (1841), and Baylor (1845).
Alexander Campbell (Campbellites) advocated biblical simplicity, rejecting unscriptural innovations like missionary societies. William Miller (Millerites) took an opposite approach, digging into prophetic passages to predict the timing of Christ’s return in 1843. Sectional divisions also fractured Baptists. The Southern Baptist Convention formed in 1845, 16 years before the Civil War (152). Southern Baptists were suspicious of those who had abandoned biblical orthodoxy (like Unitarians) and their arguments against slavery based on reason instead of the Bible (155). Baptists in NY and Boston formed anti-slavery societies (155). The Triennial Convention and Home Mission Society were neutral on slavery but southern Baptists provocatively nominated slave-owners as prospective missionaries. Southern Baptist split off to form their own convention, claiming Southern Baptists were being unfairly forbidden from assuming missionary posts. In 1995, the SBC passed a resolution acknowledging historical racial prejudice and called for racial reconciliation (161).
In 1800, there were no Baptist churches in Continental Europe. Thanks to the work of missionary Johann Oncken, there were a quarter million Baptists at the turn of the century (163). With the motto “Every Baptist a Missionary” he distributed Bibles and coordinated an army of lay preachers who planted churches across the continent. During this same time, J.R. Graves introduced the theological innovation known as Landmarkism (the idea that Baptists churches are the only true churches, tracing themselves in an unbroken line back to the apostles). The SBC voted against their efforts to eliminate the Foreign Mission Board and Landmark theology was relegated to a regional influence (174). After the Civil War, Southern Baptists began self-examination of their role in the treatment of slaves. Resenting carpetbaggers and fearing theologically suspect northerners, Northern and Southern Baptists failed to reunite (178). Segregation replaced slavery in the South, but white Baptists supported newly independent black Baptist churches (178).
Baptists began to send out female missionaries as they entered Asian countries where gender roles were deeply embedded. Women also took the lead in organizing missionary societies. The two most famous women were Lottie Moon (4 decades in China) and Annie Armstrong (organizer of the Women’s Missionary Union) (192). Other late 19th century trends included fading of church discipline and of ordering churches strictly according to scripture. Baptists didn’t stopped registering their disapproval of sin, as evidence by the growing temperance movement. Temperance was one of the few occasions where theological conservatives and liberals worked toward the same goal. They clashed heavily in the area of education.
Biblical criticism pouring out of Europe preceded the challenge of Darwin a century before he published his famous work. These two subjects opened the door for doubt to find its way into the pulpit and halls of traditionally Christian universities (like Harvard and Yale). This more liberal theology was challenged by many, including Charles Spurgeon who resigned from the Baptist Union, when they rejected his call for a confession of faith that disqualified those holding liberal positions that led to decreased church attendance, deviant doctrine, and openness to worldly amusements (208).
SECTION 3: Baptists in the 20th & 21st Centuries
Baptists had become an increasingly global movement. In 1905, Baptists in 23 countries formed the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). An emphasis on professionalization of Baptist ministers emerged. This led to the employment of additional ministry staff at larger churches (216). Churches of all sizes adopted a committee structure to facilitate ministry. Millions of Baptists fought in WWI (on both sides), though a great many British Baptists were conscientious objectors (220). The Northern Baptist Convention was constituted in 1908. Though the SBC was a charter member of the BWA, they remained skeptical of the theological latitude inherent in the greater ecumenical movement. In 1925, the SBC created the Cooperative Program (a unified denominational budget).
Baptists were marked by controversies and schisms in the 20th century prior to WWII. In addition to modernist/liberal clashes with conservatives/fundamentalists in academia, the Social Gospel had a huge impact in America. Baptist minister MLK, Jr. was profoundly influenced by it. In WWII, many US Baptists were initially isolationists but overwhelmingly supported the Allied cause after US entry into the War (251). WWII ravaged Baptists in Northern and Central Europe, closing hundreds of churches. Communism heavily suppressed and persecuted Baptists in Soviet controlled states. “Closed” communist countries threatened Baptist mission work. Baptists were ardent supporters of the Vietnam War because of religious oppression by North Vietnamese Communists (255).
Post war years were marked by prosperity, expansion, and denominational competition. As the SBC considered changing names to the American Baptist Convention, the NBC beat them to the punch taking that name (258). SBC missionary work outpaced ABC because they were better funded (the Cooperative Program eliminated the burden of fundraising). While ABC numbers remained static, by the 1960s, the SBC had churches in all 50 states and was the largest Protestant denomination in America (258). Baptists were both key leaders (MLK) and opponents in the Civil Rights Movement. The African American National Baptist Convention split in 1961 over Civil Rights (they wanted equality but believed activists were too radical). The surge of left-leaning theology (Social Gospel, liberation theology) at midcentury led to increased tensions. Many conservative churches broke away to become independent. In the SBC, conservatives mobilized to take over the denominational machinery by populating boards with fellow conservatives (285). This conservative resurgence coincided with the conservative resurgence in the Republican Party.
By the early 21st Century, half of all Asian Baptists were located in India (2.4M) though China’s Baptists population was growing rapidly. As of 2011, Myanmar had 900K Baptists and Latin America had 2.8M (297). Between 1991-2011, Baptists in Africa tripled to 10.2M. Baptists, influenced by the charismatic movement, adopted praise and worship music. Many adopted a “seeker-sensitive” approach in the 1980s. Megachurches and multi-site congregations appeared in the 1990s. Militant Islam (abroad) and secularization (at home) were increasingly viewed as new threats to Baptists. Baptists supported many 1960s Supreme Court decisions on separation of church and state (no prayer in schools, etc). Baptists have since pushed back against secularists efforts to shut down voluntary student religious clubs/movements (317). Baptists were concerned that the legalization of same sex marriage would lead to prosecution under hate-speech laws. Baptists expressed concern the Affordable Care Act mandated Christian businesses pay for abortions. These threats to religious liberty led to greater cooperation with Catholics, Orthodox, and Mormons than is typical of Baptists (318).
SECTION 4: Baptists Beliefs
Baptists hold the vast majority of their beliefs in common with other Christians. But Baptists embrace certain beliefs they uniquely emphasize. 1) Regenerate Church Membership: a church comprised solely of professing believers. Unconverted children of believers are not granted membership; 2) Believer’s Baptism: Baptism should only be applied to individuals who give credible testimony of personal faith in Christ; 3) Congregational Polity: Church is governed by its own members, as opposed to a presbyterian polity (authority in a court of elders) or episcopal polity (authority in bishops); 4) Local Church Autonomy: every church is free to determine its own agenda apart from external ecclesiastical coercion; 5) Religious Freedom: Baptists have always championed liberty of conscience for all. Historically, Baptists have argued that the best way to preserve liberty of conscience is a formal separation of church and state.
October 10, 2022
Surprisingly enjoyable
January 22, 2019
Worth it for the synthesis and application in the last chapter alone.
September 26, 2023
This is a well written, well researched book about a subject that I enjoy, Baptist history. There is no doubt that the authors spent a considerable amount of time chasing down original documents and contemporary sources to make sure they had their facts correct. They did a good job or talking about the various Baptist groups in both England and the Americas from the 1600s-1900 or so.
In my opinion the book faltered and ultimately took a fall when the narrative entered the 20th century. At that point little was said about any group except the Southern Baptist Convention. Major controversies and splits were either glossed over or ignored completely. Leaders of other Baptist groups were treated in much the same way. The authors did briefly mention some splinter groups, but many of them had nothing more than a passing paragraph, and sometimes just a sentence.
I am an Independent Fundamental Baptist so I am prejudiced toward the history of our movement. The authors did mention four influential Independent Baptists (J. Frank Norris, John R. Rice, Jack Hyles, and Lee Roberson), but did not elaborate on them or their ministries at all. Other men and groups within the broad title of Independent Baptist were ignored completely. To give you an idea of how ridiculous this is I encourage you to get a copy of Elmer Towns' 1969 book, "The Ten Largest Sunday Schools and What Makes Them Grow." Of the ten largest Sunday schools by attendance in the US, eight of them identified as Independent Baptist churches. Of those eight only three are mentioned in this book (Hyles, Roberson, and Jerry Falwell who later reentered the SBC). For many years the largest church in the world was Akron Baptist Temple pastored by Dallas Billington, an Independent Baptist church. Neither ABT or Billington are mentioned at all. Yet contemporaries of Billington in the SBC (Criswell, Rogers, Stanley, etc.) were discussed.
In all, I think this is a good book. It would probably be a great book if they took as much care with the 20th and 21st centuries as they did the rest of the book. I know following the leaders of every Baptist movement would be a herculean task, but a Baptist history book cannot be complete without those leaders, churches, and associations. Is this book worth your time? I believe so, but don't plan to be awed by it.
In my opinion the book faltered and ultimately took a fall when the narrative entered the 20th century. At that point little was said about any group except the Southern Baptist Convention. Major controversies and splits were either glossed over or ignored completely. Leaders of other Baptist groups were treated in much the same way. The authors did briefly mention some splinter groups, but many of them had nothing more than a passing paragraph, and sometimes just a sentence.
I am an Independent Fundamental Baptist so I am prejudiced toward the history of our movement. The authors did mention four influential Independent Baptists (J. Frank Norris, John R. Rice, Jack Hyles, and Lee Roberson), but did not elaborate on them or their ministries at all. Other men and groups within the broad title of Independent Baptist were ignored completely. To give you an idea of how ridiculous this is I encourage you to get a copy of Elmer Towns' 1969 book, "The Ten Largest Sunday Schools and What Makes Them Grow." Of the ten largest Sunday schools by attendance in the US, eight of them identified as Independent Baptist churches. Of those eight only three are mentioned in this book (Hyles, Roberson, and Jerry Falwell who later reentered the SBC). For many years the largest church in the world was Akron Baptist Temple pastored by Dallas Billington, an Independent Baptist church. Neither ABT or Billington are mentioned at all. Yet contemporaries of Billington in the SBC (Criswell, Rogers, Stanley, etc.) were discussed.
In all, I think this is a good book. It would probably be a great book if they took as much care with the 20th and 21st centuries as they did the rest of the book. I know following the leaders of every Baptist movement would be a herculean task, but a Baptist history book cannot be complete without those leaders, churches, and associations. Is this book worth your time? I believe so, but don't plan to be awed by it.
September 16, 2025
Baptist, Baptists, and more Baptists. Excellent book on Baptist history! Well written and thoroughly enjoyed reading. 348 pages and includes a name, subject, and scripture index. Very helpful, especially when doing research, like I am on Particular Baptists in particular.
With the number of types of Baptists there are and the confusion within many camps, this book helps to clear up some of that confusion. Believe me, it matters. Not all Baptists are the same.
The authors trace the origins of Baptists back to the 17th Century and not as having come from the Anabaptists. Some link Baptist history to them, but when you peel back the layers of some of these groups, you find out that their teachings were not in accordance with Scripture.
Quite a bit of time was spent on the origins, struggles, and movers and shakers in the SBC.
I enjoyed the last section, which covered the distinctives. This is usually the first place I go when people ask why Baptist. It seems most have forgotten their roots it is books like these that help us regain our footing. A couple of worth mentioning as far as distinctives go - Regenerate Church Membership (Only those with a testimony of salvation and who have been Baptized can become members), Believer's Baptism (Pretty Self-explanatory), Local Church Autonomy (Each church is free to choose or determine its own agenda apart from any other church, government, or "ecclesiastical coercion"), Religious Freedom ( This is number one for me. No one has the right to forcefully infringe upon another's conscience as it relates to how they worship and serve God.)
Many of our forebears suffered for this cause, paving the way for freedom of religion as we understand it today. It is disappointing to see how many have taken this lightly or forgotten altogether the sacrifices made so that there could be religious liberty here in America.
The book is broken down into four sections: Baptists in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Baptists in the Nineteenth Century, Baptists in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century, and Baptist Beliefs. Except for the last section, there are four chapters each.
With study questions at the end of each chapter, this book makes a good resource for an institute class, Bible College, or even a Sunday School.
Yes, I would recommend this book!
With the number of types of Baptists there are and the confusion within many camps, this book helps to clear up some of that confusion. Believe me, it matters. Not all Baptists are the same.
The authors trace the origins of Baptists back to the 17th Century and not as having come from the Anabaptists. Some link Baptist history to them, but when you peel back the layers of some of these groups, you find out that their teachings were not in accordance with Scripture.
Quite a bit of time was spent on the origins, struggles, and movers and shakers in the SBC.
I enjoyed the last section, which covered the distinctives. This is usually the first place I go when people ask why Baptist. It seems most have forgotten their roots it is books like these that help us regain our footing. A couple of worth mentioning as far as distinctives go - Regenerate Church Membership (Only those with a testimony of salvation and who have been Baptized can become members), Believer's Baptism (Pretty Self-explanatory), Local Church Autonomy (Each church is free to choose or determine its own agenda apart from any other church, government, or "ecclesiastical coercion"), Religious Freedom ( This is number one for me. No one has the right to forcefully infringe upon another's conscience as it relates to how they worship and serve God.)
Many of our forebears suffered for this cause, paving the way for freedom of religion as we understand it today. It is disappointing to see how many have taken this lightly or forgotten altogether the sacrifices made so that there could be religious liberty here in America.
The book is broken down into four sections: Baptists in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Baptists in the Nineteenth Century, Baptists in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century, and Baptist Beliefs. Except for the last section, there are four chapters each.
With study questions at the end of each chapter, this book makes a good resource for an institute class, Bible College, or even a Sunday School.
Yes, I would recommend this book!
July 16, 2024
This is a good high overview of Baptist History up 2015. It needs an update to include the more recent events. I think that in some spaces it gives an outline of events but wish that there would be more details on older controversies. Additionally this book has some conservative Southern Baptist Bent but feels largely neutral in approach. Sometimes I wish the authors would be slightly more opinionated about some topics.
June 27, 2022
My favorite seminary book so far. It does a good job at highlighting the Baptist story from their roots to the separation from culture/other denominations today.
What makes a Baptist a Baptist?
-regenerate church membership
-believers baptism
-congregational polity
-local church autonomy
-religious freedom
Not a “must read” unless you really care about Baptist history. I enjoyed it though
What makes a Baptist a Baptist?
-regenerate church membership
-believers baptism
-congregational polity
-local church autonomy
-religious freedom
Not a “must read” unless you really care about Baptist history. I enjoyed it though
July 19, 2017
Lots of information that I wasn't aware of and it was well articulated and organized. Only reason it gets a four is simply because it is not really the kind of stuff I enjoy reading.
October 16, 2021
Very good resource for learning baptist history from its inception until now. Read for school.
March 13, 2025
Great overview of Baptist history. Lots of information and perspectives. As a lover of Baptist history, I found it interesting!
May 3, 2025
I’m not a historian by any means. I don’t even like history. But I had to read this for seminary, and while I didn’t really enjoy it, I will judge it for what it is. It’s a book about Baptist History. And it does indeed provide information about Baptist history. So, 4 stars.
August 22, 2025
Really helpful overview of Baptist history. Not much analysis, very objective historical recounting. 4.5 stars
January 3, 2025
A broad overview of Baptist history. Helpful.
March 27, 2018
2.5 stars. This is a fine summary of Baptist history. Though the books is written from a Southern Baptist perspective, it does a decent job of presenting other, more liberal Baptist movements without leveling intense theological criticism. The authors note the differences but do not make entirely critical judgments. Even in the end when they write a more prescriptive chapter about Baptist distinctives, they focus more on the ties that bind than those which divide. As a Baptist who struggles with the necessity of congregationalism and local church autonomy, I appreciated their even-handed presentation of both of these distinctives. They note where parties on both sides go beyond the Biblical and theological grounds to push their view. I also appreciate recording trends that verge into the 20th century.
It's brief and succinct, but it definitely is not the textbook for a graduate-level courses on Baptists as the back of the book claims. Part of my dissatisfaction may be that I read Leon McBeth's, "The Baptist Heritage" two years ago which was longer, much broader in scope, and has more meticulous citations. Going from reading a single-authored, magisterial academic tome to a multi-authored, narrative history surely is a part of my dissatisfaction.
There are a number of issues I had with the book:
-Three authors means the chapters are at times uneven and it is hard to construct a one narrative.
-The organization (thematic, somewhat chronologically) makes it difficult to follow. This is complicated by the fact that for most of its existence, Baptist churches progressed in two distinct spheres, England and America. Combining both continents in the same chapters made it hard to follow at times.
-It's a bit too brief on some things. Parts where McBeth inspired me, "The Baptist Story" left me guessing the significance of certain events or omitted overs. However, I understand this is the scope of the work. Areas where I was familiar with Baptist history, I could tell each sentence had a lot of weight, but it often left me wanting.
-This last point is nitpicking and is primarily leveled at the publisher: the formatting of the book (text wrap around oval pictures, fading borders around pictures) is kind of embarrassing given that is was published in 2015. In addition to this, the indices are weak.
It's brief and succinct, but it definitely is not the textbook for a graduate-level courses on Baptists as the back of the book claims. Part of my dissatisfaction may be that I read Leon McBeth's, "The Baptist Heritage" two years ago which was longer, much broader in scope, and has more meticulous citations. Going from reading a single-authored, magisterial academic tome to a multi-authored, narrative history surely is a part of my dissatisfaction.
There are a number of issues I had with the book:
-Three authors means the chapters are at times uneven and it is hard to construct a one narrative.
-The organization (thematic, somewhat chronologically) makes it difficult to follow. This is complicated by the fact that for most of its existence, Baptist churches progressed in two distinct spheres, England and America. Combining both continents in the same chapters made it hard to follow at times.
-It's a bit too brief on some things. Parts where McBeth inspired me, "The Baptist Story" left me guessing the significance of certain events or omitted overs. However, I understand this is the scope of the work. Areas where I was familiar with Baptist history, I could tell each sentence had a lot of weight, but it often left me wanting.
-This last point is nitpicking and is primarily leveled at the publisher: the formatting of the book (text wrap around oval pictures, fading borders around pictures) is kind of embarrassing given that is was published in 2015. In addition to this, the indices are weak.
January 7, 2024
Initially I was concerned that this would be more like a dry text book; however "The Baptist Story" was very easy to read and highly informative. I did not grow up Baptist, and instead "married into" the faith and initial upbringings in the church were more of a traditional background, that of United Church of Christ and Presbyterian. After being a Baptist and attending Baptist churches for over twenty years, I have always had questions around tradition, statements of faith, and general theology to the Baptist denomination.
"The Baptist Story" was a perfect read in that it offered background and history dating back to the Protestant Reformation all the way through the twenty first century. It provided a great overview to how the Baptist faith and church initially formed and changed over the years. I found the chapters around how the church dealt with racism and wars particularly interesting, and how it arrived on a statement of faith that sets it apart from other denominations.
Pros: excellent, and easy-to-read overview on the Baptist faith and history.
Cons: if you do not have knowledge of some theological concepts like Calvinism/Arminianism, dispensationalism/covenant theology, liberal/conservative holding of scripture, etc., then it might be difficult at times to understand how the church would split, divide, or address various controversies.
Bottom line: though it's over 300 pages, it proved to be an easy and enjoyable read as far as history books go.
"The Baptist Story" was a perfect read in that it offered background and history dating back to the Protestant Reformation all the way through the twenty first century. It provided a great overview to how the Baptist faith and church initially formed and changed over the years. I found the chapters around how the church dealt with racism and wars particularly interesting, and how it arrived on a statement of faith that sets it apart from other denominations.
Pros: excellent, and easy-to-read overview on the Baptist faith and history.
Cons: if you do not have knowledge of some theological concepts like Calvinism/Arminianism, dispensationalism/covenant theology, liberal/conservative holding of scripture, etc., then it might be difficult at times to understand how the church would split, divide, or address various controversies.
Bottom line: though it's over 300 pages, it proved to be an easy and enjoyable read as far as history books go.
August 27, 2018
This is an excellent survey of the history of Baptists.
One thing that stood out to me was how regularly Baptist beginnings were made up of very small churches (10-20 members). A good humbling reminder for my heart, when I'm tempted to be concerned about the size of the congregation under my care.
Another was the difficulty Baptists have faced from the beginning of articulating their relationship to the tradition and history of the church. Baptist doctrine has apparently always been attractive both to those rooted in church history, and those who want to be ahistorical. But the latter position essentially always led to theological compromise, whether it was shifting into Unitarianism or embracing so-called moderate theology in the 1900's.
I was also helped to see the impact of the World Wars on European Baptists (many of them dying out or migrating to the Americas), and the challenge Communism often presented to mission efforts (because of the challenge of Christians living openly in Communist countries, Baptist mission efforts to countries that either were or were perceived to be about to become Communist were often minimal).
This work is clear, concise, historical, and theologically engaged. The authors work hard to present the views of their subjects fairly, as the subjects themselves would have understood them.
I thought they did a particularly good job navigating some questions always necessary in Baptist history (like the question of the Trail of Blood, or the relationship of Baptists to Anabaptists) without getting bogged down in disproving nonhistory. They also did a wonderful job of addressing the relationship of different Baptist groups to the institution of American slavery in a careful and sensitive manner--whether it was permitting, endorsing, denouncing, or regretting.
Haykin, Chute, and Finn write on their eras of respective expertise, and yet maintain a constant voice across the three sections.
One thing that stood out to me was how regularly Baptist beginnings were made up of very small churches (10-20 members). A good humbling reminder for my heart, when I'm tempted to be concerned about the size of the congregation under my care.
Another was the difficulty Baptists have faced from the beginning of articulating their relationship to the tradition and history of the church. Baptist doctrine has apparently always been attractive both to those rooted in church history, and those who want to be ahistorical. But the latter position essentially always led to theological compromise, whether it was shifting into Unitarianism or embracing so-called moderate theology in the 1900's.
I was also helped to see the impact of the World Wars on European Baptists (many of them dying out or migrating to the Americas), and the challenge Communism often presented to mission efforts (because of the challenge of Christians living openly in Communist countries, Baptist mission efforts to countries that either were or were perceived to be about to become Communist were often minimal).
This work is clear, concise, historical, and theologically engaged. The authors work hard to present the views of their subjects fairly, as the subjects themselves would have understood them.
I thought they did a particularly good job navigating some questions always necessary in Baptist history (like the question of the Trail of Blood, or the relationship of Baptists to Anabaptists) without getting bogged down in disproving nonhistory. They also did a wonderful job of addressing the relationship of different Baptist groups to the institution of American slavery in a careful and sensitive manner--whether it was permitting, endorsing, denouncing, or regretting.
Haykin, Chute, and Finn write on their eras of respective expertise, and yet maintain a constant voice across the three sections.
March 26, 2022
If you live in the South and have driven in cities and county lanes, you have passed them: Southern Baptist, Independent Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Free Will Baptists, and more. Where do these people come from and what do they believe? This is what this books seeks to answer.
The work begins in the early 1600s in England and concludes looking at Baptist around the world today. The authors accomplish this task by looking at key individuals, churches, associations, events, and theological ideas over the last 400 plus years. While every reader will find parts to be desired (more interest in theological developments for myself), for a book with such a massive scope, the work provides and excellent, readable, and educational resource.
The work begins in the early 1600s in England and concludes looking at Baptist around the world today. The authors accomplish this task by looking at key individuals, churches, associations, events, and theological ideas over the last 400 plus years. While every reader will find parts to be desired (more interest in theological developments for myself), for a book with such a massive scope, the work provides and excellent, readable, and educational resource.
March 28, 2023
If you're seeking a history of the Baptist movement beginning in England until today, you will not be disappointed by this volume. I enjoyed reading it and found it to be very informative. Especially helpful was the detail behind whee the various Baptist groups, such as Landmark, Northern, Southern, American, Conservative, General, Particular, Free Will, and others, originated from. The work is much broader than simply tracing origins however. It was worth the read and will serve as a referene in the future.
May 8, 2021
A really dense history of Baptists that covers a lot of ground. The authors did not shy away from highlighting the shortcomings, sins, and controversies that have colored the development of the denomination. Could use an update, and while I appreciate their desire to format the book in a way that it remains a story, I think learners would benefit from some gray-box definitions along the way if footnotes are out of the question.
February 14, 2023
I enjoyed this book immensely! It is amazing to see God's providence at work in the life of His people. I would suspect that this is a seminary textbook, but is written in a way that makes it a delight to read casually. I know many who are absorbed in genealogies and chasing their families history. Baptist believers would be well served in taking that type of enthusiasm and grappling with the roots and fruits of our denomination and faith. Lord willing I will read this again in the future.
July 6, 2025
This has been one of my favorite nonfiction books I've read. The detailed history was told well without feeling dry or boring. There were multiple chapters I read and felt as if I were the one living out what was happening in the pages.
I also enjoyed the sheer amount of information that was given in a book that isn't all that large. It was dense without feeling heavy on the mind.
If anybody was interested in the rise of the Baptist faith, this would be the number one book I recommended.
I also enjoyed the sheer amount of information that was given in a book that isn't all that large. It was dense without feeling heavy on the mind.
If anybody was interested in the rise of the Baptist faith, this would be the number one book I recommended.
July 27, 2020
Very well written book. Really appreciate the clear organization and interesting writing. I always liked the many quotes included from original documents in the little boxes. It is very up to date with discussions of current Baptist trends and an excellent overview of Baptist distinctives at the end. Highly recommend!
January 8, 2025
Really welly-written book and I would highly recommend to any Baptist. Very encouraging to see faithful Baptists die for the very beliefs that we get to freely enjoy. We ought to thank God for these people who have preceded us. Lastly, I would recommend to any Christian whose local church practices believer's baptism by immersion and regenerate church membership.
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