DISCUSSION BOARD 6 and 7
KingdomLove
DiscussionBoard6and7.docxDISCUSSION BOARD 6
Topic: The Great Century of Missions (Beginning of Protestant Mission)
Question/Prompt: Identify one personality from the Great Century of Missions. Discuss their contributions to global engagement. Apply one principle from their life to a modern missions history.
SELECTION: William Carey
350 WORDS
CHAPTER 12
The Great Century of Protestant Missions, Part I
Missions historian Kenneth Scott Latourette coined the term “the Great Century” in his magisterial work, A History of the Expansion of Christianity. He dated the “Great Century” from 1800 to 1914. In this volume we are dating the Great Century from 1792 until 1910. Thus the Great Century began with William Carey’s famous sermon in England and ended at the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1910.
Truly, this proved to be a great period of progress for Protestant missions. When the century began, there were only a few Moravian missionaries serving in a few countries. By the end of the period, thousands of missionaries were proclaiming the gospel all over the world, and two hundred thousand people attended the Ecumenical Missionary Conference in New York City.
The nineteenth century was great for several reasons. First, it was great because of great missionaries. Our hearts thrill to read the stories of great missionary pioneers such as William Carey and Adoniram Judson. Second, the sacrifices and service of these great pioneers inspired great enthusiasm. In this chapter, we will consider how missionary societies came into being and how the great missions conferences came to be held. Third, the century witnessed great progress in missions, both in the number of missionaries and in the number of fields served. Finally, great movements marked this century. During the nineteenth century, indigenous missions, “faith” missions, female missions, and the Student Volunteer Movement all developed. These movements have affected how we do missions today. The nineteenth century signaled the beginning of the modern missions movement.
General Factors Affecting Modern Missions
No historical movement originates in a vacuum. Certainly, that was true of the modern missions movement as well. Several general factors affected the development of missions in the nineteenth century. The first was world exploration. The Age of Exploration saw European explorers sail all over the earth. The accounts of their voyages excited the imagination of the reading public. Beyond that, their discoveries enlarged the geographical understanding of Europeans, informing them of the existence of peoples and places previously unknown. William Carey read Captain Cook’s narrative of his voyages, and that reading piqued his interest in foreign lands. It also deepened his concern for the spiritual condition of the peoples who inhabited those lands.
World trade affected the development of the modern missions movement. Traders and merchants followed the explorers all over the world. As they established trading posts and communities, the merchants asked for chaplains and pastors to attend to their spiritual needs. Many of these chaplains developed an interest in the indigenous people and made efforts to communicate the gospel to them. Beyond this, as international trade developed, more merchant ships plied the oceans. These ships provided missionaries with a means of transportation that did not exist previously.
Improved education played a part in the progress of missions. Protestantism emphasized both Bible study and the priesthood of the believer. Pastors encouraged their congregations to read the Bible. This prompted the development of schools that taught children to read. As literacy flourished, so did publishing. Europeans demonstrated a keen interest in world exploration and geography, so publishers produced books on brave explorers and exotic lands. This excited the interest of Christians, who eventually became concerned about the spiritual condition of the peoples who inhabited those strange new lands. The development of humanitarianism affected missions significantly. Most Europeans believed that God had blessed them with an advanced civilization. They felt a responsibility to share the blessings of this civilization with all the peoples of the earth.
Thus, the missionaries of the Great Century often embarked for the mission field committed to communicating the gospel of Christ and civilizing the “natives” to whom they ministered. This attitude of cultural superiority seems inappropriate today, but two hundred years ago it seemed right. The missionaries did not think of themselves as imposing an alien culture on reluctant recipients; they saw themselves as sharing the blessings of Western civilization with people who needed them desperately. These blessings included education, medicine, and sanitation.
A theological movement called modified Calvinism paved the way for modern missions. Before the time of William Carey, many Protestants embraced a form of Calvinism that emphasized the sovereignty of God so strongly that they rejected any human effort in evangelism. This view is sometimes called hyper-Calvinism. Andrew Fuller, a Baptist pastor in England, rejected this view and introduced a theology that called on Christians to work to bring people to Christ. Fuller was William Carey’s mentor, and he taught this theology to Carey. For his part, William Carey applied the theology to missions and worked out its implications for world evangelization.
The Evangelical Revival in England (called the First Great Awakening in North America) prepared the way spiritually for the modern missions movement. As we saw in the previous chapter, in 1738 John Wesley was born again in a small Moravian chapel in Aldersgate, London. In 1739 he began an itinerant preaching ministry that led to a great revival in the British Isles. His work along with that of his brother Charles and the “Great Itinerant,” George Whitefield, raised the spiritual temperature of both England and North America.
Colonialism affected modern missions in several positive ways. The movement of the European colonizers into new lands encouraged missionaries to follow them. Beyond that, colonial authorities provided protection for missionaries to work in lands where they could not previously. Third, colonial officials often expedited the work of missionaries, especially later in the Great Century. This symbiotic relationship is seen in the career of David Livingstone, who began his career as a missionary and ended it as a British consul in Africa. Negatively, in many countries the church became identified with the colonial power. When the colony achieved independence, the new government began to restrict the churches and the activities of missionaries. As you can see, just as Jesus was born “when the set time had fully come” (Gal. 4:4), in the same way many factors made the nineteenth century ripe for the development of Protestant missions. Great missionaries, moved by the Holy Spirit, seized the opportunity to carry the gospel throughout the world.
William Carey’s Life
William Carey (1761–1834) was born and raised in England. Christened into the Anglican Church, he became a Baptist through the influence of Andrew Fuller. Carey received only a few years of formal education, but he possessed a keen and inquiring mind. He taught himself to read Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and Dutch. He worked as a cobbler and as a teacher to support his family. He also served as the pastor of a small Baptist church. He read voraciously, and Captain Cook’s Voyages around the World and Jonathan Edwards’s Life and Diary of David Brainerd impressed the world’s spiritual needs on him.
After hearing an account of the spiritual needs of India, the secretary of the meeting remarked: “There is a gold mine in India, but it seems almost as deep as the center of the earth. Who will venture to explore it?”
“I will venture to go down,” said [William] Carey, “but remember that you must hold the ropes.”
www.wholesomewords.org/missions/msquotes.html
In 1792 Carey published his famous pamphlet An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen. The pamphlet enjoyed wide circulation, even though the author was unknown. Later the same year, Carey preached at a meeting of the Northampton Baptist Association. He based his sermon on Isaiah 54:2–3 and challenged the congregation to “expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Carey’s sermon moved the Baptist ministers at the meeting, and in October 1792 they organized the Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen (later known as the Baptist Missionary Society).
SIDEBAR 12.2
Bible Translation
Bible translation has been a notable characteristic of Protestant missions from its inception until the present. In this era, Roman Catholic missionaries felt no compulsion to translate the Bible because they used the Latin Vulgate all over the world. Protestant missionaries took an entirely different approach due to their belief in the priesthood of the believer. The doctrine of the priesthood of the believer emphasizes the ability and responsibility of believers to read and interpret the Bible for themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Protestant missionaries, therefore, emphasized personal Bible study as a basic devotional discipline for all Christians. This study required two things: literacy and a Bible to read. Thus Protestant missionaries, from the time of the Moravians, have emphasized translating the Bible into the language of the people. William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Robert Morrison, and many others gave years of their lives to translating the Bible into the vernaculars of their peoples. William Carey translated the Bible, or part of it, into thirty-five different languages. No one has ever equaled his output, but thousands of missionaries today follow his example and labor to translate the Bible into the languages of the world.
Reflection and Discussion
Today, about two thousand language groups still do not have the Bible in their language. One question that faces Bible translators is whether to translate the Bible into the languages of people groups with limited populations. Will those languages survive, or will the language disappear as the people abandon the language for the regional language? What would you need to know before choosing to translate a Bible into an “endangered” language?
The new missionary society chose John Thomas and William Carey as their first missionaries and raised money to send them to India. In 1793 Carey and his family sailed for India. There they faced many hardships: financial problems, illness, and opposition by the British East India Company, which controlled much of India. Carey had a gift for languages, and he soon learned to preach in the Bengali language, but he saw little response to his preaching. He worked in India for seven years before he made his first convert. Carey also struggled with family problems. His young son Peter died of fever, and his wife, Dorothy, became insane. Eventually, Dorothy had to be kept in a locked room, lest she injure herself or William.
Carey encouraged the missionary society to send reinforcements, and in 1799 Joshua and Hannah Marshman and William Ward arrived to help him. They moved to the Danish-controlled city of Serampore and established a mission station there. The Danish governor favored the missionaries and aided their work. Thus the famous Serampore Trio began their ministry. Hannah Marshman provided much-needed motherly guidance for Carey’s sons. William Ward was a trained printer, so William Carey purchased a printing press and began to devote his time to Bible translation. Before he died, Carey had translated all or part of the Bible into thirty-five different languages. The trio planted several churches and established several schools. In 1819 they founded Serampore College to train Indian pastors.
SIDEBAR 12.3
The Serampore Trio
Many casual students of missions history know about William Carey. In contrast, few could identify William Ward and Joshua Marshman, yet they were key persons in William Carey’s success. Before they arrived to help him in 1799, Carey struggled. Their assistance and wise counsel enabled Carey to achieve great things. If he were alive today, he would give God the glory and share the credit with his valued coworkers.
Ward was a printer, and he printed the Bible translations, grammars, and gospel literature that Carey wrote. Marshman was a teacher, and he led in the founding of schools. His wife, Hannah, took Carey’s unruly children in hand and provided a stable home life for them. They lived together communally in a compound in Serampore, pooling their resources and making decisions as a team.
In 1804 they drew up the Serampore Covenant, which laid out the core values that would guide their team.
to set an infinite value on the souls of humanity
to acquaint themselves with the snares that hold the minds of the people
to abstain from whatever deepens India’s prejudice against the gospel
to watch for every chance of doing the people good
to preach “Christ crucified” as the grand means of salvation
to esteem and treat Indians always as their equals
to guard and build up the “hosts that may be gathered”
to cultivate the Indians’ spiritual gifts, ever pressing on them their missionary obligation, since only Indians can win India to Christ
to labor unceasingly in biblical translation
to be instant in the nurture of personal religion
to give themselves without reserve to the cause, not counting even the clothes they wear as their own
Reflection and Discussion
Team ministry is a popular approach to missionary staffing today. What would happen if all modern missionary teams modeled themselves after the Serampore Trio?
In what ways are the principles of the covenant relevant to missions today?
In what ways are the principles of the covenant no longer relevant to missions?
William Carey’s strategy was remarkably advanced for his time, especially as he had few examples to emulate. He believed that missionaries should
carefully study the local language and culture;
engage in widespread preaching;
translate the Bible into the languages of the people;
establish local churches as quickly as possible; and
train national pastors and turn the churches over to them.
His strategy became a model for the Protestant missionaries who followed in his footsteps.
Historians have noted several keys to William Carey’s success. First, he demonstrated an appreciation for his predecessors. He often mentioned the example of the Moravians and the dedication of David Brainerd. Second, he maintained a global view of missions. He encouraged Adoniram Judson to go to Burma so that the Burmese could hear the gospel. Third, he held a high view of Scripture and gave himself to translating it and distributing it to the people. Fourth, he respected Indian cultures. The Indians came to respect Carey because of his knowledge of their languages and their cultures. Fifth, he was committed to planting churches. Sixth, he served harmoniously with his missionary team. Seventh, he set a high priority on training Indian pastors. Eighth, his correspondence inspired many Christians in Europe and North America to become involved in missions. And, ninth, he displayed remarkable perseverance. Despite great difficulties, including the death of a child, he refused to give up.
William Carey’s Impact
In addition to establishing a groundbreaking ministry in India, Carey also inspired believers in Great Britain and North America to do missions. In Great Britain several missionary societies were established, including the London Missionary Society (1795) and the Church Missionary Society (1799). Further, home missions societies were organized to do missions work in Great Britain. New churches were planted, and many existing churches increased in size.
In North America, Carey’s letters inspired the organization of several local missions societies, which studied, prayed, and supported missions financially. Carey’s example prompted the organization of the first American mission board in 1812, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
The Development of Missions Interest in North America
In 1806 Samuel Mills led a group of students at Williams College to form what they called the Society of the Brethren. This group, which included Luther Rice, met frequently in the woods near the campus to discuss and pray for missions. One day a thunderstorm disrupted their meeting, and they took shelter under a haystack. They continued their prayer meeting under the hay, and when they finished, they vowed, “We can do it if we will.” This “Haystack Group” signed a pledge to serve as missionaries.
After their graduation from college, several of the group enrolled in Andover Seminary. They were joined there by Adoniram Judson, Samuel Newell, and Samuel Nott Jr. At Andover they organized the Society of Inquiry on the Subject of Missions. In 1810 Judson, Mills, Nott, and Newell walked to Bradford, Massachusetts, to present themselves as missionary candidates to the General Association of the Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts. After the young men recounted how God had called them to foreign missions, the ministers of the Congregational Church voted to establish the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the first American mission board.
The board of commissioners expressed some confusion and concern about how they should go about supporting and deploying missionaries. At one point they sent Adoniram Judson to consult with the London Missionary Society (LMS). On their behalf Judson asked whether the LMS would undertake the support and supervision of the new missionaries. The directors of the LMS declined to do so, recommending instead that the American board raise its own funds and supervise its own missionaries. The American board accepted their recommendation and appointed Judson, Nott, Newell, and Gordon Hall as their first missionaries. Luther Rice hesitated to join them, but at the last hour he decided to go to India with them. The board agreed to approve him as a missionary if he could raise his own support. The five men were ordained in Salem, Massachusetts, on February 6, 1812. They departed soon after for India. The American board subsequently opened new mission fields in Ceylon (1816), the Middle East (1820), and China (1830).
Rice and Judson embarked for India on different ships. They planned to visit William Carey in Serampore to seek his advice on where and how to begin their missionary work. Anticipating that meeting, both Rice and Judson studied the New Testament in order to be able to refute the Baptist position on baptism (that only believers should be baptized by immersion). Their church, the Congregational Church, practiced the christening of infants. As he studied his New Testament, Judson became convinced that the Baptist position was correct. When he arrived in Serampore, he and Ann, his wife, were baptized by William Ward. Later, Rice arrived in Serampore, and he too was baptized.
Their affiliation with the Baptist church presented the young missionaries with an ethical dilemma. After some deliberation, they decided that Rice should return to the United States to make their resignations to the American board and to seek financial support among the Baptist churches. Rice made the long journey and began a whirlwind tour of the East Coast. Everywhere he went he encouraged churches to join together to support missions. In May 1814 the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions was organized in Philadelphia. The new missions society was commonly called the Triennial Convention because it met every three years. The convention appointed Luther Rice, Adoniram Judson, and Ann Judson as its first missionaries. The Judsons had been forced to leave India for Burma, so Burma became the first mission field of the Triennial Convention. The convention asked Luther Rice to remain in the United States to raise support for foreign missions. The Triennial Convention divided in 1845 and became the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Soon afterward, other denominations joined the modern missions movement. The Methodist Episcopal Church organized its mission board in 1819, followed by the Presbyterian Church in 1831 and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1837.
SIDEBAR 12.4
Portrait of Ann Hasseltine Judson (1789–1826)
Ann Hasseltine met Adoniram Judson in her father’s home, and she eventually agreed to become his wife. They arrived in Burma in 1814, and she gave herself unreservedly to the work. Her experience as a schoolteacher served her well in their ministry. She learned to speak the difficult Burmese language and used that skill in evangelism and educating Burmese children. She translated the Gospel of Matthew into the Thai language in 1819, and she assisted her husband with his translation of the Bible into Burmese, translating the books of Daniel and Jonah. She also wrote a catechism in Burmese.
Ill health forced her to return to the United States in 1822. During her furlough, she rallied Baptists in America to support their missionary work and to send more missionaries. She wrote A Particular Relation of the American Baptist Mission to the Burman Empire in 1823.
Great Missionaries
William Carey was the first of many great missionaries who served during the nineteenth century. The stories of these missionary pioneers are filled with trauma and tragedy, but they left behind them a legacy of sacrifice that matches the martyrs of the early church. They buried wives and children in lands far from home, but they also built the kingdom of God around the world.
SIDEBAR 12.5
Portrait of Ko Tha Byu (1778–1840)
Ko Tha Byu was the great evangelist among the Karen people in Burma. A self-confessed murderer, he came to know Christ through the ministry of Adoniram Judson. Soon after George and Sarah Boardman arrived in Burma to work with Judson, they moved to Tavoy to do pioneer work among the Karen people. Ko Tha Byu accompanied them. As a Karen he gained instant credibility among his people. His amazing testimony, vibrant faith, and passionate preaching resulted in many professions of faith among the Karens. Though George Boardman worked with the Karens for only five years before he died, Ko Tha Byu served for many years, going from village to village to preach the gospel even in the face of fierce opposition. In 1833 the Karens began reaching out to other tribes, both in Burma and Thailand. This missionary endeavor led to the formation of the Bassein Home Mission Society in 1850 (R. Tucker 2004, 140; Pate 1989, 156).
DISCUSSION BOARD 7
350 WORDS
Topic: Modern Missions
Question/Prompt: From Terry Chapter 18 or the video, identify one outcome/trend in missions that should be stopped or continued and why? Be careful to add a biblical worldview to your discussion.
What Missionaries Did Wrong/Should Be Stopped
1. Missionaries displayed a superiority complex. For the most part, missionaries went overseas believing that Western civilization was superior. They also believed that they were doing the local people a favor by introducing Western civilization. Some believed they had to “civilize in order to Christianize.” While this attitude grates on modern readers, one should evaluate missionaries in light of their own times. In expressing these views, they reflected the prevailing attitudes of their home cultures.
[John Mark Terry (2019). (p. 355). Encountering the History of Missions: From the Early Church to Today. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com]
What Missionaries Did Write/Should Be Continued
Missionaries developed a genuine appreciation for the indigenous cultures and languages. Many secular anthropologists accuse missionaries of destroying cultures. History tells a different story. By and large, missionaries preserved cultures and preserved languages. William Carey promoted the use of the Bengali language, making reading and writing Bengali accessible to the common people. He even translated Hindu classics into English. Many of the early treatises and essays on culture were produced by missionaries, and the same was true of dictionaries and grammars. Today the work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics helps to prevent the demise of languages all around the world and helps prevent the assimilation of those tribes into larger people groups. [John Mark Terry (2019). (p. 358). Encountering the History of Missions: From the Early Church to Today. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com]
