Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-05-18
FACTS OF INTEREST ABOUT
GREAT BAPTIST CONVENTION
Which Is In Session In Oklahoma Until Next Monday
Influential Church Organization

| was Rev. Richard Furman of Charles
ton, S. c., grandfather of Judge
Henry Furman, presiding judge of
the Oklahoma court of criminal APP
peals. Judge Furman's father, grand
father and. great-grandfather were
we'll known Baptist divines; in fae+
the books dealing with early Baptist
history refer to Rev. Richard Furman
as perhaps the foremost Baptist IL
America of that period" He remained
president of the triennial convention
for many years.
Impetus behind the general organ
| ization was to carry the gospel to a
foreign field and the convention at its
first session provided for appointment
of board of twenty-one commission
ers called the Baptist board of foreign
missions for the United States, and
from organization of the triennial con-
vention in 1914 to 1845, when the
Southern Baptist convention was
launched, work of American Baptists.
North and South, in foreign missions,
was conducted by the board of this
,nHv, ntion.
The Southern Baptist conveptiG2
was not formed in fractional spl:,C,
neither was it over any point of doc
trine, but with a view of practica!
promotion of the denomination. II
was true, however, that in lS45 it be-
came apparent to Baptists, both NORTH
and South, that separation was inc
vitable on account of the divergent
view upon the slavery question.
War Caused Division
As set out by the writer's Southern
people affiliating with the Baptist
Church could no longer be induced to
support a board, the members of
which declared they would not APP
point a Southern man to be a mission
airy if he were a Shareholder Even the
Northern churches were becoming dis
rupted by the heated discussions of the
same subject, which were being held
in their organizations. SO far had
this dissatisfaction gone that in 1S43
there was organized in Boston a Free
society, for the avowed inten-
ton of not cooperating with South
ern churches and in opposition to the
foreign mission board of the trienniai
convention. furthermore, the Boston
board was so far removed from the
South that it was unable to cultivate
the Southern field very satisfactorily,
and separation became apparently
necessary to save the cause both
North and South. The convention held
in Augusta, Ga, in May, 1845, brought
this about, and the division has so !
continued since.
William B. Johnson, of South Caro- |
lima was the first president of the
Southern convention, continuing until
1849, and was succeeded by RIB How
ell of Virginia, who served until 1857.
Richard Fuller of Maryland was pres
ident until 1861, being followed by P.
H. Nell of Georgia until 1871 James
p. BOyce of South Carolina and later
of Kentucky was in charge until 1887,
being succeeded by James P. Boyce of
Kentucky, who served another year,
and he was followed by Jonathan Har-
alison of Alabama until 1898. w. i.
Northern of Georgia was president un-
til 1904; E. W. Stephens of Missouri
until 1907; Joshua lowering of Mary
land until 1910 f. c. Dargan of Geor-
gia was elected president of the Jack
sonville meeting last year Lansing
Burrows of Kentucky and later Of
Georgia has been secretary, and o. F.
Gregory of Maryland and later of Vir-
ginia, assistant secretary since 1882
Program of the Convention
Sessions of ire Southern Baptist
convention have been confined exclus-
lively to the Southern States The first
to be held in Texas was at Jefferson
in 1874. In 1888 it was convened in
Waco, was in Fort Worth in 1890 and
in Dallas in 1894. Five sessions have
been held in Richmond, Va.
The program is not babe public I'M
til the convention meets. Business of
routine nature claims the greatest
amount of attention, the features thre
being the foreign and home mission
work and the Sunday-school section.
with sessions of auxiliary factors in
dependently of the main body There
were 1858 delegates to the convention
in Jacksonville last year and the at
tendance this year will be large in
delegations to Oklahoma City. with
many visitors, who usually attend the
sessions as spectators. Delegations
may number in the neighborhood o.
1900, arising from the fact that one
delegate may be named for each $3.50
contributed for either home or for
eien missions or both and ono id