On the Frontier and Thinking About the Second Great Awakening
On Saturday, I was speaking to the General Association of General Baptist Churches in a very rural part of Missouri.
The General Baptist denomination is an Arminian Baptist denomination. In many ways, they are similar to my own denomination, but they do not hold to the idea of "eternal security"-- or the idea that (in popular terms) once you are a believer you can't "undo" that. This view is held by Wesleyans, many Pentecostals, etc.
Over lunch, we reminsced a bit of the Second Great Awakening history.
Stephen Gray, my host, and Marcus Bigelow, Director of Stadia, and I went to lunch together. And, might I add, it was quite the restaurant.
Steve is a great guy and recently wrote a book called Planting Fast Growing Churches. I have shared about the book here.
Marcus and I have become friends over the years. Stadia is one of the leading church planting networks in America today.
It was a great lunch, but we were far from civilization. The photo tells the story.
Just so you don't miss the menu (on the sign)...
Here is some history you might find interesting. (Or, at least, I found interesting...)
First, all three of our movements benefited from the Second Great Awakening. For Stephen and Marcus, their movements were founded during this time. Of course, for mine, that is not the case-- we trace our roots back to the New Testament through a Trail of Blood (for the humor impaired, that is a joke based on an earlier post).
Wikipedia explains:
The Second Great Awakening (1800-1830s) was the second great religious revival in United States history and consisted of renewed personal salvation experienced in revival meetings. Major leaders included Charles Grandison Finney, Lyman Beecher, Barton Stone, Peter Cartwright, Asahel Nettleton, and James B. Finley.
But, when you look under influential leaders, you also Joseph Smith, Jr. (founder of Mormonism). So, this was not a solely Christian revival. The Second Great Awakening produced new religions such as Mormonism and, in an indirect way (via William Miller), Jehovah's Witnesses.
Again from Wikipedia:
William Miller (1782-1849) was an American Baptist preacher, whose followers have been termed Millerites. He is credited with the beginning of the Adventist movement of the 1830s and 1840s in North America. Among his direct spiritual heirs are several major religious denominations including Seventh-day Adventists, and Advent Christians. Later movements which found inspiration in Miller's emphasis on Bible prophecy include Bible Students/Russellites and Jehovah's Witnesses.
So, the Second Great Awakening "awakened" quite a few things.
But, let me focus on my two lunch guests and talk about them behind their backs.
First on General Baptists... This information is from a dissertation entitled, Church Planting Programs of Similar-Sized Denominations in the United States.
General Baptists emerged as a response to the revivalism of the Second Great Awakening (Shull 12). Consequently, much of their early history revolved around evangelistic meetings. They also emerged in the early nineteenth century in the Midwest which was the frontier in that day and was sparsely populated.
Elder Benoni Stinson founded General Baptists in the United States. Much of his ministry involved traveling on horseback to the number of emerging new communities to preach the gospel. On many preaching tours, Stinson preached two or three times a day for seven to fourteen days at a time. His preaching was always about reaching men and women with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Stinson's sermons "were always about saving lost men." (Williams 147) He had a burden to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
These revival meetings sometimes resulted in beginning new congregations. In 1824, Stinson's travels resulted in beginning three new congregations. These new churches joined Stinson's home church, Liberty, to organize the first association of General Baptist congregations. Stinson never gave up his habit of taking preaching tours.
The first denominational agency developed by the new General Association of General Baptists in 1871 was the Central Board which was responsible for planting new congregations in the United States. Local associations also had their own committees or boards which oversaw the collection of funds and the appointment of ministers for starting new congregations. History shows that planting new congregations has been a priority for General Baptists.
Thus, the General Baptists come right out of the Second Great Awakening... as does the Restoration Movement.
Again, from Wikipedia:
The Restoration Movement (also known historically as the "Stone-Campbell Movement") is a Christian reform movement traced to the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States during the Second Great Awakening. Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell were leading figures of four independent movements with like principles who merged together into two religious movements of significant size. These churches have a total population of about 4,000,000 in the United States. Restorationism sought to renew the whole Christian church, on the pattern set forth in the New Testament, without regard to the creeds developed over time in Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or Protestantism, which allegedly kept Christianity divided. Churches are now found throughout the globe, claiming to "concentrate on the essential aspects of the Christian faith, allowing for a diversity of understanding with non-essentials." Basically, there are those whose beliefs and doctrines may differ on minor subjects, but who believe in Jesus Christ the Son as the savior and authority of the church. Among key practices are the weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week and a commitment to believer's baptism by immersion in water.
Stadia is part of that "middle" of the Restoration movement with leaders like Bob Russell and Max Lucado.
Much came out of the Second Great Awakening... and it was good to catch up with some friends who trace their denominational roots there.
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As I have indicated before, when referring to awakenings, one should always refer to J. Edwin Orr, whose site has some great resources on the subject.
You can find a helpful PowerPoint with graphics here.
And, yes, I did enjoy some of the frog legs-- when in rural Missouri do as the locals!
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