Westerly Winds
The Newsletter of the First Baptist Church of Plymouth, MA
By Rev. Jeff Jones
What are we to do with these Baptists? They are turning the town upside down!
Those of you who have been in the church building over that past few weeks may have seen these signs appearing regularly. As you might suspect I’m the responsible party. I hoped they might stimulate some discussion. Perhaps they have among you, but only one person has commented to me about them. I can’t help but wonder what people are thinking!
Those of you not familiar with the source of the quote might appreciate a brief history lesson. It comes from none other than Adoniram Judson, Sr. In 1809 when our congregation was formed he was the pastor of the 3rd Congregational Church, which later became the Church of the Pilgrimage. He was concerned that Baptists were disrupting the established order in town. Their very presence seemed to be a genuine cause of concern. What makes this even more interesting is that several years later, after his son, Adoniram Judson, Jr.,
Westerly Winds
The Newsletter of the First Baptist Church of Plymouth, MA
By Rev. Jeff Jones
What are we to do with these Baptists? They are turning the town upside down!
Those of you who have been in the church building over that past few weeks may have seen these signs appearing regularly. As you might suspect I’m the responsible party. I hoped they might stimulate some discussion. Perhaps they have among you, but only one person has commented to me about them. I can’t help but wonder what people are thinking!
Those of you not familiar with the source of the quote might appreciate a brief history lesson. It comes from none other than Adoniram Judson, Sr. In 1809 when our congregation was formed he was the pastor of the 3rd Congregational Church, which later became the Church of the Pilgrimage. He was concerned that Baptists were disrupting the established order in town. Their very presence seemed to be a genuine cause of concern. What makes this even more interesting is that several years later, after his son, Adoniram Judson, Jr.,
became aBaptist and our first Baptist missionary, Judson, Sr. change his views and actually served as pastor of First Baptist.
That’s the history behind these words. They are about more than history, however. My interest in them (and why I posted them) is my belief that this is a part of our heritage we need to reclaim. Wouldn’t be great if people in Plymouth (and even beyond) began to say the same thing about us? Wouldn’t be great if we, by our very presence, disrupted the usual and customary ways of doing things and made the love, justice and peace of God’s kingdom a greater reality in our town? Wouldn’t it be great if we, because of our love for Jesus and for all God’s people, began to turn the town upside down?
We have that opportunity. We have a great opportunity as we approach our bicentennial year to reclaim part of our past and in doing that seize a new future, one shaped by our understanding of what God is up to in our midst. If we do that, if we truly become a congregation committed to be the church God has called us to be, we cannot help but turn the town upside down!
My prayer is that we will have the depth of wisdom, courage and faith we need to do that!
became aBaptist and our first Baptist missionary, Judson, Sr. change his views and actually served as pastor of First Baptist.
That’s the history behind these words. They are about more than history, however. My interest in them (and why I posted them) is my belief that this is a part of our heritage we need to reclaim. Wouldn’t be great if people in Plymouth (and even beyond) began to say the same thing about us? Wouldn’t be great if we, by our very presence, disrupted the usual and customary ways of doing things and made the love, justice and peace of God’s kingdom a greater reality in our town? Wouldn’t it be great if we, because of our love for Jesus and for all God’s people, began to turn the town upside down?
We have that opportunity. We have a great opportunity as we approach our bicentennial year to reclaim part of our past and in doing that seize a new future, one shaped by our understanding of what God is up to in our midst. If we do that, if we truly become a congregation committed to be the church God has called us to be, we cannot help but turn the town upside down!
My prayer is that we will have the depth of wisdom, courage and faith we need to do that!