It is such a joy to be back here doing this, giving a biographical presentation. It was 12 years ago here at Emanuel that I gave my last biographical presentation to our association, so a little while ago. That one was on our great Georgia Baptist Patrick Hughes Medal. But today, as you've heard, we're going to consider the life and labors of Oliver Hart. And I've changed the title of this presentation just to simply say a pastor in Charleston. Pastor in Charleston. And before we launch into this, I wanna turn your attention to one verse of scripture, Colossians chapter four and verse 17. Colossians four and verse 17. And say to Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. May God bless the reading of his word. In the fall of 1713, in his 84th year, William Scriven penned a letter for his congregation of the First Baptist Church of Charleston, South Carolina that concluded with this earnest plea. He wrote, Now for a close of all my dear brethren and sisters whom God hath made me, poor unworthy me, an instrument of gathering and settling in the faith and order of the gospel. My request is that you, as speedily as possible, supply yourselves with an able and faithful minister. Be sure you take care that the person be orthodox in faith and of blameless life and does own the confession of faith put forth by our brethren in London in 1689. The reason Pastor Screvin stressed an urgency for the church to secure a pastor as speedily as possible was due first to the fact that Screvin himself was nearing the end of his life. He would pass away on October the 10th, 1713. But in addition to what he believed was the close of his own life, there was also a growing faction of general Baptists within the Charleston congregation who Screvin feared would take over the church once he passed if they did not move quickly in calling a pastor who stood in the particular Baptist faith which William Screvin had established the church upon in its very beginning. The inception of this church, however, did not start in Charleston, South Carolina, but in Kittery, Maine, on September the 25th, 1682. But after 23 years in Maine, Pastor Screven would lead the church to migrate over 900 miles to Charleston, South Carolina, where, beginning in 1696, they would plant and constitute the first Baptist church not only in Charleston, but in the South as a whole. But joining this particular Baptist congregation were a group of general Baptists who had no established church in Charleston, and thus entered the fellowship of the First Baptist Church. It is commendable on the part of William Screven that he kept this church together with such diverse theological views. The particular Baptists were committed to the Second Lenten Confession and thus stood in the stream of Reform Orthodoxy, while the general Baptists were committed to the Arminian faith. But as the scripture tells us, a house divided will not stand. And so after 17 years of striving to maintain such a fragile union within this church body, Pastor Screven knew as he neared the end that if Charleston's First Baptist Church was to stay true to its confessional foundation in the particular Baptist faith, then only a pastor of such convictions would have to succeed him as his replacement. So the gravity of his final appeal to his congregation that whoever they called his pastor must not only meet the biblical qualifications of a godly pastor, but he must own the confession of faith put forth by our brethren in London in 1689. But this dying plea of Pastor William Scrubin, which we can also surmise is an earnest petition he was putting before the Lord as well, would not see its fulfillment until 36 years later. 36 years. Now, why 36 years? Well, the first answer to this question must be taken up in reason from God's word itself, which reminds us in Psalm 31, verse 15, that our times are in God's hands. And thus it is God alone who changes times and seasons as Daniel 221 tells us, opening doors that none can shut, closing doors that none can open. Revelation 3 in verse 7 affirms. So then, in the case and context of this 37 year delay in answer to Pastor Scraven's plea, we must be true to what God has revealed concerning all events in time and history, that it is the Lord who works all such things according to the counsel of His will. God, therefore, was the first cause of this delay. However, The fact that God brought this delay to pass by his own decree of will did not cancel the reality of second causes. In other words, the choices made by men over this period of time affecting the state and condition of First Baptist Charleston were real choices which did not overturn God's mysterious purpose but only established what the Lord had already planned. But what were the choices made by those who followed after Pastor Screven had passed from the scene. What would be the causes on the ground, we might say, for the 37-year delay to secure the right pastor for First Baptist Charleston? For one thing, you have the forming of new churches from the membership of First Charleston. In the year 1736, two different groups would exit the church to establish new ones. The General Baptist would all vacate to start a new church at the Stono River, This exodus had to be a relief, quite frankly, to the rest of the church who were particular Baptist, yet in the same year, several of these particular Baptist brethren would also depart from First Charleston to begin a new work at Ashley River, even securing for themselves an able particular Baptist pastor named Isaac Chandler. So then in this one year, the membership of the First Baptist Church of Charleston depleted quite a bit. In addition to this, there was the ongoing problem with not having the right pastor. The first three pastors succeeding Screven served very short-lived tenures, adding nothing to either the growth or unity of the church. But the fourth pastor, a man named Thomas Simmons, who came in 1725, would serve over the next 19 years only to be dismissed by the church in 1744 due to his theological shift from Calvinism to Arminianism to Arianism. And while First Charleston made the right decision in calling for the removal of Simmons, yet it left their church without a pastor for the next several years. And to add to their sorrows, A lawsuit was filed against them by the General Baptist over who had the legal rights to the property on which they met. And to the shock and dismay of this fledgling congregation, the court ruled in favor of the General Baptist. So the members of the First Baptist Church of Charleston by 1746 still had no pastor, but now they had no meeting place. Musing on the season in the life of First Charleston, Basil Manley Sr. wrote, it was as if the Lord would quench the coal that was left. This was indeed a dark period for Charleston First Baptist. Despite the numerous letters they wrote to Baptists in England, Europe, and the northern colonies in America, there was no pastor they could call. The only pastor who came to their aid at this period was Isaac Chandler from the Ashley River Church. But his preaching to them was limited to only once a month due to the church already in his charge. And while he fed them as best as he could over a period of two years, yet this faithful service came to a sudden end when on November 30th, 1749, Isaac Chandler unexpectedly died. What now would Charleston First Baptist do? Not to mention Ashley River. There was no faithful pastor to minister to them in their area and no such word from any Baptist abroad that a pastor was coming to their aid. But it is in moments like this when things appear so dire, so hopeless, that the Lord does exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we could ask or think. Like Douglas Kelly once wrote, we cannot always judge by the superficial appearance of the church, because historically and theologically, it is so often true that God is doing the most when things look the very worst. Three days after Isaac Chandler had passed away, on December the 2nd, as they laid his physical remains in the earth, on the other side of Charleston, at this moment in time, in its port, docked a ship called the St. Andrew. Stepping off the ship was a 26-year-old Pennsylvania native named Oliver Hart. Hart's purpose in coming to Charleston was in fact in answer to the First Baptist Church, whose cry for help had reached the Philadelphia Association. Three months prior to Hart's arrival in Charleston at the annual meeting of the Philadelphia Association, held on September the 9th, one of its messengers to the General Assembly, a pastor named Jenkin Jones, read a letter from First Charleston, which expressed in part that if there was any minister sound in the faith who would willingly come and settle with them, please send him. Attending this meeting as a messenger for the Southampton Church, where Jenkin Jones served as pastor, was Oliver Hart. And once the meeting concluded, Pastor Jones, along with the other men, met with Hart and urged him to answer the call. Hart agreed to it. And on October the 18th, the Southampton Church held a special meeting of prayer and fasting to ordain Oliver Hart to the ministry. Three and a half weeks later, on November the 13th, Hart traveled to Philadelphia to board the St. Andrew bound for Charleston. And so, on the day he arrived in Charleston, December 2nd, 1749, little did either he or the bereaved congregation of the First Baptist Church have any idea that the plea and prayers of their founding pastor 36 years earlier would find their answer in the person of Oliver Hart. Before we move any further with Oliver Hart in Charleston, we need to pull back and look at who this 26-year-old man was leading up to this point in his life. Oliver Hart was born on July the 5th, 1723 in the Warminster Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, just 28 miles north of Philadelphia. He was the seventh of six sons and four daughters to John and Eleanor Hart. Oliver was raised in a strong Christian home, where his parents were committed members of the Penny Peck Baptist Church. But in 1743, his parents, along with many of their neighbors in Southampton, formed a new church closer to home. Oliver's parents, especially his dad, John, made a great impact on his mind and soul for the things of the gospel. Reflecting on such a mark Christian parents should leave on their children with the experience of the home he himself was raised in, Oliver hard admonished fathers in 1775 to maintain the worship of God in your families. Pray with and for them, instruct them in the principles of religion, and enforce your precepts by the best examples. But the gospel seeds sown so faithfully by Hart's parents would not be harvested till 1740 to 41 during that most famous season in American church history known as the Great Awakening. The gospel harvester in Oliver Hart's life would be none other than George Whitefield. Though Hart had heard great preaching at this time of the Tennant brothers, especially Gilbert Tennant, and other men like John Hellfire Rowland, yet no preacher of the gospel left the indelible mark on Hart like Whitfield. Indeed, Whitfield would become Hart's spiritual father in the gospel, and a man Hart would build a lasting friendship with years later once Hart became the pastor of Charleston First Baptist. But preceding this friendship with the Grand Itinerant was Hart's introduction to Whitfield via his spirit-empowered gospel preaching. And so it was, on May the 9th, 1740, that Jenkin Jones had invited Whitfield to preach to a gathering of over 2,000 people at the Baptist Meeting House in Pennypack. In the midst of this throng of hearers was a 17-year-old Oliver Hart, who, for the first time, was spiritually awakened to his need for the new birth. Following this awakening would come forth his conversion to Christ nearly a year later, as he submitted himself to baptism on April the 3rd, 1741, and was received as a member of the Penny Peck Baptist Church. Over the course of the next five years, Hart's spiritual growth progressed remarkably. with what became evident to his pastor and the rest of the church that a call of God was apparently on his life to enter the ministry. On December the 20th, 1746, at the age of 23, Oliver Hart was set apart by the Southampton Church along with another young man named Isaac Eaton to be on trial for the work of the ministry. This trial lasted for almost two years with several opportunities given to Hart to preach which came with the objective affirmation of the church that he performed to satisfaction. Thus in 1748, Oliver Hart was officially licensed by the church to preach the gospel in any place where providence might cast their lots or need required. But as eventful as this time was for Hart accepting God's call in his life to enter the ministry, another call of God was laid on Hart in the form of entering a marriage union on February the 25th, 1748, with a 19-year-old young woman named Sarah Breeze. Nine months after their ties and marriage, their first child and first son was born, who they named Seth. And while devoting himself to his wife, son, and this calling to preach the gospel, Hart had also taken up the family trade of carpentry, which both his father and grandfather had passed on to him. Needless to say, Oliver Hart was busy and growing up fast on many fronts. But when Hart accepted the call to go to Charleston in 1749, This move to South Carolina was not only going to bring about great change to Oliver Hart and his personal family, it would also be the beginning of establishing a viable Christian witness in the South through the Baptist faith that has lasted to this very day. Now, when Oliver Hart entered the port of Charleston, South Carolina on December 2nd, 1749, he was, quite literally, entering a different world from his home in Pennsylvania. Charleston, or as it was known in Hart's day as Charlestown, was in 1749 the wealthiest British American city in the wealthiest British American colony of all 13 which spanned the Atlantic seaboard. The wealth of South Carolina, which Charleston bore the fruit of, was due to their rice harvesting that produced a crop praised by Europeans as the finest in the world. But with a mass of such material wealth came with it a great loyalty to the things of the world than any commitment to the things of God. This was George Whitefield's assessment of Charleston in 1740, when he spent 19 days preaching Christ to the Charlestonians in July of that year. He perceived them, as he wrote in his journal, as a people wholly devoted to pleasure. And in 1769, nearly 20 years after Oliver Hart took the pastorate at Charleston First Baptist, he himself perceived the same thing when he wrote to a friend. Religion has grown extremely unfashionable in these parts. The God Mammon is much more revered than the Lord Jehovah. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? And wherewithal shall we be clothed? Are inquiries much more attended to than what shall we do to be saved? But in spite of this worldly, covetous, self-indulgent culture that marked Charleston as a city, Yet it was not without the presence of many churches which to one observer at this time remarked that Charleston was the holy city because of the vast array of steeples which rose out of the city meeting ships as they drew into harbor. Certainly to some degree among these churches there were men of God seeking to establish a stronger Christian witness to counter Charleston's idolatrous ways and point them to Christ. And for Oliver Hart, such men of God he would find and befriend as he sought in a spirit of Catholicity to win Charleston to Christ alongside such brothers. But next to these realities, which met hard in Charleston, there were also the harsh circumstances of an epidemic of yellow fever and malaria that came with the swarms of mosquitoes emanating from the low country rice fields. Charleston became notorious for such unhealthy air because of this, which resulted in its citizens suffering fevers all year long, with many finding no recovery. And if this wasn't bad enough, There was the equal threat of violent storms for this coastal city. In Hart's diary from September the 14th, 1752, he recorded that a terrible hurricane had hit Charleston, washing down his house with almost everything he owned totally destroyed. On another occasion in 1761, he recorded in great detail of a typhoon, which battered Charleston, nearly destroying an entire fleet of ships in its harbor. Needless to say, what Oliver Hart entered into when he moved to Charleston was a culture and climate like nothing he ever experienced in Pennsylvania. But despite these challenges, Hart knew and believed God sent him to Charleston, and more specifically, to the congregation of the First Baptist Church. which he didn't have to convince, that his coming to them was ordered by God's providence. As Wood Furman related in his history of the Charleston Association, Hart's unexpected arrival while the church was destitute of a supply, and immediately after the death of the excellent man Isaac Chandler, was believed to have been directed by a special providence in their favor. Thus, on February the 16th, 1750, just a little over two months after his arrival, Charleston First Baptist officially extended their call to Oliver Hart to be their new pastor. His wife, Sarah, would join him later in July of that year as she had just given birth to their second child, a girl they named Eleanor. Sarah would end up bearing eight children in all to Hart, with six of these eight failing to survive him. Sarah herself died on October the 20th, 1772, after giving birth to their eighth child, who perished also three days after the child had been born. Hart and Sarah were married for 24 years. One year following Sarah's passing, Hart remarried a Miss Anne Marie C. LeGimbrol, who was 17 years Hart's junior. They enjoyed a blissful marriage till Hart's passing in 1795. But in our present context, it is 1750. And little known to Oliver Hart and his wife, Sarah, not to mention to the congregation of First Baptist, God would settle Hart in this new world for the next 30 years. And while Hart wished this ministry to have continued for 30 more years, in March 1780, at the urging of friends and family, fearing his capture by British troops, Hart fled Charleston, never to see this part of the country again. But before that difficult parting took place, there was a fruitful and flourishing ministry Oliver Hart would experience for three decades in a church and a city. He labored to leave with Christ. Stepping into this pastoral charge then, what did the members of Charleston First Baptist see? What did they hear? in this man of God. First, as to the man himself, Richard Fuhrman, in his eulogy of Oliver Hart, described the physical appearance of his friend as somewhat tall, well-proportioned and of a graceful appearance, whose constitution was vigorous before the close application of his studies, and abundant labors would later impair him. In further detailing Hart's physical appearance, Fuhrman noted how open and manly was his countenance. Hart's voice was clear, harmonious, and commanding. And as a concern his natural powers of intelligence, Furman spoke of Hart as one whose mind was strong and ample, having gained much through the application of private studies despite the fact that he lacked a formal academic education. And lastly, in relation to people in general, Furman described Oliver Hart as a man who had a mind formed for friendship. He was easily relatable and approachable to all with whom he crossed paths. Secondly, as a man in Christ, Oliver Hart proved to be a Christian whose love for and faith in Christ was most prominent to all who knew him. And if one might have thought that such faith was in pretense, Fuhrman verified the opposite by exposing what Hart wrote in secret in the pages of his personal diary. Fuhrman observed that Hart took more than ordinary pains to walk humbly and faithfully with God, to live under the impressions of the love of Christ, to walk in the light of the divine presence, and to improve all his time and opportunities to the noblest purposes of religion and virtue. To add further proof to what Furman detected in Hart's diary, there is an excerpt written on Monday morning, August 5th, 1754, that will actually help us to see Hart's experiential faith. With no one listening or looking in on Oliver Hart but God, here's what he wrote. I do this morning feel myself oppressed under a sense of my barrenness. Alas, what do I for God? I am indeed employed in his vineyard, but I fear to little purpose. I feel a lack of the life and power of religion in my own heart. This causes such a languor in all my duties to God. This makes me so poor an improver of time. Alas, I am frequently on my bed when I ought to be on my knees to my shame. Sometimes the sun appears in the horizon and begins his daily course before I am indulging myself in inactive slumbers. Oh, wretched stupidity! Oh, that for time to come I may be more active for God. I would this morning resolve before thee, O God, and in thy name and strength, to devote myself more unreservedly to thy service than I have hitherto done. I would resolve to be a better improver of my time than I have hitherto been, to rise earlier in the morning, to be sooner with thee in secret devotion, and O, that I may be more devout therein. I would be more engaged in my studies. Grant, O Lord, that I may improve more by them. And when I go abroad, enable me better to improve my visits, that I may always leave a savor of divine things behind me. When I go to thy house to speak for thee, may I always go full froth with divine things and be enabled faithfully and feelingly to dispense the word of life. I would begin and end every day with thee. Teach me to study thy glory in all I do. and wilt thou be with me also in the night watches? Teach me to meditate of thee on my bed. May my sleep be sanctified to me, that I may thereby be fitted to thy service, nor ever desire more than answers this important in, thus teach me to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto wisdom. How clear it should be from such an entry like this in Hart's diary that he was a man who had no delusions about his own remaining sin and his ongoing need for greater growth in grace. Moreover, to be much with God in private as well as in public pressed heavy upon his affections and that same passion carried him in all his ministry so that he wanted to leave the people with more of God and less of Oliver Hart. Such was the Christian spirituality of this man of God. Third, as a preacher of God's word. Hart was ever faithful to follow the divine charge of 2 Timothy 4 in verse 2, to preach the word with a readiness in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with complete patience and teaching. Furman said of Hart's preaching that it had a distinctive seriousness about it, which was clearly highlighted by donning his black clerical gown and bands in the pulpit, his sermons, said Furman, contained a happy assemblage of doctrinal and practical truths set in an engaging light and enforced with convincing arguments. Another witness to Hart's preaching remarked how pleasing and animated it was, clearly coming from the soul and aiming strongly to benefit the souls of those who heard him. But to truly appreciate Hart's preaching, we would do well to read what Oliver Hart himself said of the subject, since this is what he put into practice for all his years ministering God's Word, preaching at an ordination service in 1773. He said that ministers should feel your subject from the Lord and labor if possible to have the matter well digested in your breasts before you deliver it to others. He further encouraged what he called a plain and simple style, which seems best to comport with the simplicity of the gospel. Yet such a style must not be low and groveling, however plain it ought to be manly and striking. And as to content, heart strongly exhorted to advance nothing but what you can confirm with a thus saith the Lord. Furthermore, Christ and his gospel should be your delightful theme, the sum and substance of all your discourses, since a little dry morality, however refined, will never feed the minds of your hearers. But even after all such effort is made to preach what the scriptures reveal and to do it in the right manner, Oliver Hart stressed emphatically the minister's need for the Spirit's power to carry it out. In a sermon he preached from 1791, Hart inquired, does success depend on the minister? No, he answered. Were he possessed of the wisdom of Solomon, the firmness of Elijah, and the zeal of Phinehas, united with the sanctity of John and the engagingness of Paul and the eloquence of Apollos? he would be unequal to the task. A divine energy only can render his labors successful. It is for this reason that Hart's diary is filled with prayers for the Holy Spirit to empower him to feel his subject and preach with power, warmth, and freedom. And if the Lord did not permit the Spirit to rest upon Hart in his preaching, he bemoaned such times in his diary as feeling dull, empty, and straightened. And it is in these times when he is most miserable in his diary. This is because Oliver Hart understood what his spiritual father, George Whitefield, understood when Whitefield wrote in his journals, oh, how divine truths make their own way when attended by divine power. Now, in this labor of preaching, Oliver Hart was a very busy man. His diary reflects preaching services held on both the mornings and afternoons every Lord's Day, and in the evening, he lectured in one of the homes on some aspect of doctrine. Between 1750 and 1773, it is estimated that Hart preached nearly 1,600 sermons in this 23-year span alone. But beyond his pulpit at First Baptist, Hart preached in many other places to many other people, both in the southern and northern colonies. Fourthly, as a pastor, Oliver Hart labored well to shepherd God's flock entrusted to his charge at all times in all seasons. Not only was he faithful to Charles and First Baptist in teaching them God's word, but when the members of his congregation were, for example, either sick or dying, they found their pastor by their side ministering to them in such trying times. As he remarked in the aforementioned ordination sermon concerning such a work in pastoring, Visiting the sick and dying persons is not the least difficult part of your work. To flatter a dying man is little better than soul murder. And yet such, when penitent, are by no means to be discouraged. You will endeavor, therefore, to act a tender but withal a faithful part. But this was not all to Hart's pastoring. Oliver Hart also modeled Paul's imperative in 2 Timothy 2 in verse 2, that what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. To carry out this divine injunction, Hart launched a formal program of study in 1755 he called the Baptist Religious Society, meeting every week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings with the goal of assisting pious young men in obtaining education for the public services of the church. While Oliver Hart himself had no formal education for the ministry, yet he identified himself as a friend of learning and spent his life advocating education among Baptist ministers. He once said in this regard that Learning is an excellent handmaid to grace. None slight it, but such as know not its value. Without some assistance therefrom, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to expound some passage of scripture. A minister's knowledge cannot be too extensive. And so it was with this conviction that Hart established his Baptist Religious Society. Among the several young men who entered the society, two examples we might highlight was Samuel Stillman and Edmund Botsford. Stillman was converted under Hart's preaching during the 1754 revival that swept through First Charleston during the months of August through October. Along with Stillman, there were 10 young people who closed with Christ during this evident outpouring of the Spirit. Over time, Stillman's growth in grace and obvious gifts led Hart to see that this young man had an obvious call on his life for the gospel ministry. After his training in Hart's Religious Society, Samuel Stillman would pastor on James Island in South Carolina, but eventually he would move north, pastoring two small churches in New Jersey, and then in 1765, he accepted the call to pastor the First Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained for 40 years. Edmund Botsford, like Stillman, came to faith in Christ under Hart's preaching in the year 1766. He was baptized and joined First Charleston in 1767, and two years later expressed his desire to enter the ministry. From 1769 to 1771, Botsford enrolled in the Religious Society, and came under Hart's mentorship, where he developed a deep bond with his pastor, whom he affectionately called Father Hart. Licensed to preach in 1771, Botsford aided Francis Pellett at U-Haul Baptist Church and ventured out to preach as far as Augusta and Coyoke in the Georgia colony. The Lord greatly blessed Botsford's labors in Georgia with a number of conversions, which eventually led to the planting of the New Savannah Baptist Church. Charleston First Baptist thus ordained Botsford to the ministry in 1773, where he became the first pastor of New Savannah. His ministry lasted until the American Revolution disrupted it in 1779, forcing Botsford with his family back into South Carolina. Here, he accepted another pastoral charge to the Welchneck Baptist Church, to only leave again because of the British invasion of Charleston. Eventually, Botsford returned to Welchneck and continued there till 1797 when he answered what would be his final pastoral charge in Georgetown, South Carolina at the Georgetown Baptist Church. This ministry would last for 22 years till Botsford's death in 1819. But such was the fruit of Oliver Hardt's pastoral labors, not only ministering to the many and varied needs of the congregation as a whole, but investing his time and efforts to entrust the gospel ministry to men that proved by their life and doctrine that they were in truth faithful men on whose lives God had evidently called to shepherd his flock. However, not all men in Hart's pastoral ministry showed themselves faithful. Perhaps the most trying time in the 30-year scope of Hart's labors as pastor of First Charleston came in the year 1765. After 13 years of ministering as a single pastor, the church procured an assistant minister to come alongside Hart and aid him in his pastoral duties. This new assistant pastor was a native Englishman named Nicholas Bedgegood, eight years, Hart's junior, and a brother who converted from Pado to Credo Baptist convictions while serving George Whitefield's orphan house in Savannah, Georgia. With his newfound convictions, Bedgegood was baptized by Hart in 1757. Two years later, Hart ordained Bedgegood to the ministry where he went to serve with Francis Pellett at Welchneck Baptist Church. But in 1763, Bedgegood was called to serve with Hart at First Charleston. On the surface, this seemed to be a good fit. Yet it wasn't long before a difference between the two men did not sit well with some wealthier members of the church. Bedgegood was a classical scholar and an accomplished speaker, which to these certain church members overshadowed Hart's lack of such accolades and evident gifts, the result of which ignited a coup to supplant Oliver Hart as pastor in favor of Nicholas Bedgegood. And while this sinister plan did not originate with Bedgegood, yet he did not reject it, but participated in the conspiracy. Hart, of course, opposed the plan, which was spun by his detractors as petty jealousy. The aftermath of the conflict brought a church split, wherein Bedgood and his supporters left the church, but not without extensive damage in their wake. Needless to say, the whole affair grieved Oliver Hart to the core, not just by the betrayal of Bedgood, but far worse, was the betrayal of those in his congregation he had invested several years of his life to shepherd. Writing to a friend in 1765, heart bewailed in utter transparency, how long I am to continue here, and for what purpose, God only knows. I have the mortification to see our church in a shattered condition. Some of our members have broken off. We sinned greatly in calling Mr. Bedgegood from PD to be my assistant. Poor man. He has been vastly improved in many things, in so much that his character is ruined, and I fear his usefulness destroyed. At present, he continues in and about Charlestown as a thorn in my side and answers no better purpose. It would be impossible for me to give you all the particulars of our unhappiness. However, the event is bad enough. At no time in Hart's entire tenure as pastor of First Charleston did he ever openly ponder the possibility of departing as he did in this difficult season. But by God's grace, Oliver Hart remained at First Charleston despite the wounds he received from this trying time. In fact, as he wrote in a letter from 1766, only a year following the faction, things at present wear a different face from what they did. God I trust has blessed my poor labors to some poor souls, which supports me under many trials and indicates that I ought to continue where I am. And continue he did for another 15 years. As for Nicholas Betchgood, his days only became darker as he was dismissed as a gospel minister when the discovery was made that he was guilty of the sin of polygamy. in 1771. And our fifth and final consideration as to what the members of Charleston First Baptist both saw and heard from Oliver Hart was his strong endeavors as a Baptist pioneer. While Oliver Hart did not come to Charleston to plant a new church, yet he would end up starting a work among Baptist churches that stands as his greatest legacy to the Baptist tradition in the South. Oliver Hart pioneered the very first formal association of Baptist churches in the South. And what an interesting and very intriguing providence of God this was, since Hart was the pastor of the very first Baptist church ever planted and organized in the South. But how, we must ask, did Oliver Hart begin such an association for Baptist churches? At the time Hart entered the pastorate at First Charleston in 1750, there were only four particular Baptist churches in South Carolina, three of which were in dire straits. Although First Charleston had just called Hart as their pastor, yet there was much work needing to be done since they had barely survived a decade without a pastor and their membership had dwindled down to three. The Ashley River Church found itself without a pastor because of the sudden passing of their faithful shepherd, Isaac Chandler. And then there was the Uhaul Baptist Church, which had no pastor since 1744, depending heavily on Isaac Chandler as a pulpit supply, as did First Charleston. Lastly, there was the Welchnet Baptist Church, which was blessed with two pastors, but remained disconnected from the other three churches due mainly to geographical constraints. Facing these circumstances then, what did Oliver Hart do? His first efforts aimed at securing qualified pastors for Ashley River in Uhaul. He succeeded in this work, preaching the installation service for John Stevens as the new pastor of Ashley River, having come from the Philadelphia Association. And then at Uhaul Baptist, a member and lay preacher for several years named Francis Pellett was finally called and ordained as their new pastor. Pellet had resisted answering such a call for some time, but through Hart's encouragement, he finally yielded to what was the obvious leading of God's providence for himself in Uhaul Baptist Church. Once these men of God were in place, Hart proceeded to lead these churches into what he saw and knew would be a blessing to them all as an organized association of churches. Now, it should be noted that when Oliver Hart began moving these churches in the direction of a formal association, he did so with a conviction that had been instilled in him from his time with the Philadelphia Association. In fact, at the General Assembly, Hart attended with the Philadelphia Association in September 1749, the assembly voted in favor of an essay which had been written on the powers and duties of an association. Among the messengers who affixed their signature to adopt and approve this essay was Oliver Hart. Clearly then, in his coming to Charleston, it was already in his vision to help the particular Baptist churches in South Carolina see what he had seen in Philadelphia as to the value of organizing into an association of like-minded churches. And so it was, on October the 21st, 1751, that Oliver Hart invited the churches at Ashley River, U-Haul, and Welchneck to send messengers to Charleston First Baptist for the inaugural meeting of this new association. The only delegates unable to attend were the brethren from UHaul Baptist due to flooding in their area. But Ashley River and Welchneck were represented. At the meeting, Hart gave an address on the benefits of an association. He aimed at six primary responsibilities incumbent for an association of churches to carry out. First, The association must endeavor to mediate disagreements. Due to the reality of divisions within churches, there are times when outside mediators are required. Hart said of this matter, while there is a woe denounced against those by whom the divisions do come, so on the other hand, there is a blessing exhibited for all the peacemakers. And it is certainly the business of an association to study and prosecute the things which make for peace. Second, the association should oppose false doctrine. Drawing from Acts 15, which records the famous Jerusalem Council and its purpose to confront the Judaizing heresy, Hart believed that this council established a biblical model for the particular Baptist in South Carolina to form an association. Hart reasoned from this, If such care and pains were taken in the purest age of Christianity to prevent the progress of false doctrine, ought not we also to exert ourselves in the same as being the most likely way to answer, so good a design? If we act wisely, no doubt we shall. Third, the association is obligated to identify false preachers in the area. On this point, Hart warned his brethren that there are too many who run unsent, and who either by their irregular conduct, corrupt principles, or licentious practices bring the holy religion of Jesus into contempt. Pulling once again from the New Testament, hard-sided Galatians 2 in verse 5, where the Apostle Paul clarified his stance against the Judaizers by saying, to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. Reflecting on this passage, Hart queried, and ought not the truth of the gospel to be equally precious to us? No doubt. Therefore, ought we with equal zeal and spirit to use our endeavors to suppress all such unruly pretenders? Fourth, the association should help churches solve difficult cases of conscience. where problems surfaced in local churches which had no identifiable solution from Scripture, Hart inquired of his brethren, what better method can they then take than to apply to the association, who, there is reason to believe, will be instructed by the Spirit of God when thus particularly concerned in things relative to his interests. In other words, whenever called upon in such a case, the association, Hart reasoned, should act to relieve a distressed brother and ease a wounded conscience. Fifth, the association should look beyond the issues of their individual churches and to collectively consider affairs in general which relate to the welfare of Zion. Hart explained this in several ways. There should be days, for instance, for collective prayer as seasons of humiliation and thanksgiving. The association should also have a concern in view of the next generation of ministers, thus concluding, Hart said, upon some methods for educating and trying the gifts and honorably calling out persons to the great work of the ministry. Moreover, the association should be most sensitive to churches without pastors, connecting them, therefore, with capable pastors no differently than the Philadelphia Association had done with Hart and Charleston First Baptist. The association should further work when necessary to appeal to a pastor of an established church to itinerate in a destitute area when there is a greater prospect of usefulness in that way than in their own charge. And lastly, concerning the welfare of Zion, the association could serve its member churches by sending circular letters informing churches of their proceedings and determinations and to give such advice with regard to their moral and religious conduct as is necessary. The final responsibility Hart laid down for the association was urging his brethren to conduct its business with godly decorum. Does that still apply today? I think so. Since Hart knew all too well that there will always lurk the potential for disagreement within the General Assembly. He advised his brothers to be instant and fervent in prayer, and to conduct with a gravity becoming those who are working for God and transacting business for eternity, to guard against a clamorous, contentious disposition, and by no means to give way to a spirit of anger or revenge, but to adhere to those contrary virtues of meekness, patience, humility, and the like. When the meeting concluded, everyone affirmed Hart's proposal for organizing a Baptist Association of Churches. They committed to meet annually, convening on the Saturday before the second Sunday in November. The first two days of the meeting would be devoted to public worship, and the business of the association would commence with an introductory sermon on Monday morning at 10 o'clock. These decisions were ratified the following year in 1752. The name of the association became, over time, the Charleston Association, since the annual General Assembly was held at First Charleston multiple times for the first several years of its existence. Oliver Hart served as its moderator for six years and its clerk for seven years. The confessional standard adopted for the Charleston Association was the Second London Baptist Confession. This became official in 1767, but with one addition made to the original confession. They added a chapter on the singing of psalms in public worship, which in their confession followed chapter 22 on religious worship in the Sabbath day. The name for the confession became the Charleston Confession. And making a full subscription to the Second London, each of these churches, with its pastors, showed without shame or apology what they firmly believed the Bible taught, standing in the very same theological stream as their particular Baptist forbearers who initially signed their affirmation to this beloved confession in 1689. Furthermore, Holding to this confessional standard, we also see more personally about Oliver Hart that he was what we call today a confessional Baptist. not merely a five-point calvus. Oliver Hart embraced the full orbit of Protestant evangelical reform orthodoxy as a principled Baptist, fudging not on a single chapter in the Second London, but flying this flag in its full theological colors. In fact, in his later years, writing to Richard Fuhrman on May 30th, 1793, Hart reasoned with conviction that the Baptist's interest would only flourish in the approaching 19th century insofar as it held fast to the teachings of the Second Lenten Confession, which Hart himself had so long preached. But the Second Lenten Confession was not the only official document for the Charleston Association. In 1767, the same year they adopted the Second London, the association also appointed Oliver Hart and Francis Pellett to compose a manual for church order which they entitled A Summary of Church Discipline. In forging this work, they made use of an essay produced by Benjamin Griffith and adopted by the Philadelphia Association in 1749. However, in what they borrowed from this document by Griffith, it was, as they say, only in small hints, since they found it to be exceptional in some things. Where they found their greatest aid was in John Gill's exposition of the Bible along with his body of divinity. The summary of church discipline consisted of six chapters, which gave an excellent exposition of biblical ecclesiology for the Baptist churches forming the Charleston Association. The primary motive in producing such a literary work, Harden Pellett wrote in the preface, was to remove in some measure the ignorance of but too many church members about discipline. The discipline referred to the order and government of the local church with a concluding chapter on association of churches, which Hart and Pellet observed is a desirable blessing. A summary of church discipline was officially adopted by the Charleston Association in 1773. Reflecting on the significance of this work for Baptists in the South, Dr. Eric Smith wrote this. The summary of church discipline demonstrates the gravity with which Hart and the Charleston Association Baptist treated the authority of the local church. Churches were not man-made social organizations, but the households of God, and so their order in government were no small matter. The summary remains one of Hart's most significant, if least remembered, contributions. Its adoption by the Charleston Association, along with the Charleston Confession, profoundly shaped the traditional ethos of Baptists in the South for the next century. Deep into the 19th century, Baptists of the South still look to the summary for guidance in church matters. And you can read that summary on the Founders website, founders.org, you can look it up there, they have a copy of it. When Oliver Hart passed away on December the 30th, 1795, he was 72 and far from Charleston, South Carolina, which he delighted to call home for 30 years. As much as both he and the congregation at First Charleston desired their beloved pastor to return after his forced departure in 1780, the season of Hart's ministry in the South would never revive under God's all-wise providence. The final 15 years of his life found him in New Jersey, pastoring Hopewell Baptist Church, which also brought him back into the Philadelphia Association. But this ministry proved to be nothing like his experience at First Charleston. He lamented his lack of usefulness and grieved over the spiritual apathy which seemed to loom large over this church during the whole of his tenure as their pastor. He wrote in his diary from 1781, I long to see the fruit of my labor and hope well, but alas, we are all too carnal and worldly minded. The things of the world engross our attention too much. And nine years later, he wrote Richard Furman, with grief I inform you that religion is at a low ebb in this church. I cannot say there is the least appearance of a revival amongst us. Hope we shall share an interest in your prayers that the spirit of the Lord may breathe on these dry bones that they may live. But such would not be the blessing God afforded heart at Hopewell. What he witnessed as a youth during the Great Awakening in 1740 and 41 and what he beheld in the 1750s at First Charleston was not to be the kind of fruit he experienced at Hopewell. Yet, despite this discouragement for Hart, there were 41 people added to the church by conversion. During those 15 years, Hart pastored, which was cause for much rejoicing. And tacked onto this, Oliver Hart emerged as a Baptist statesman during these years in the Philadelphia Association. He preached, he moderated, he ministered in many and varied situations where the association appealed for his service and wisdom. In fact, one of his lasting contributions to the Philadelphia Association was a circular letter he was asked to write in 1782 expounding chapter eight from the confession on Christ the mediator. So then in honest retrospect, the final years of Hart's life were not under a constant dark cloud. There were great beams of light which broke through as encouragement from the Lord with many assurances that Hart's labors remained useful in New Jersey as they were in Charleston. Two and a half months following Oliver Hart's passing, Richard Fuhrman officiated a memorial service to honor Hart's life and labors at Charleston First Baptist. In his eulogy, after Fuhrman reflected on Hart's godly life and faithful service, he turned such a remembrance into a fitting application for the church left behind in Hart's wake. Here's what Fuhrman said. A new evidence is hereby added to the truth and power of religion. by heart, thus persevering through a long life of trial and of labors, and in finishing his course in a manner so becoming the gospel. Let it have its proper influence on your minds for the confirmation of your faith and hope. Remember the godly example he exhibited while he went out and came in before you in the pastoral office. and while he broke to you the bread of life, and let the doctrines and counsels he delivered in your hearing sink deep into your hearts, for by them he being dead yet speaketh. What might we learn from this overview of Oliver Hart's life and labors with a special accent on his work at Charleston First Baptist? I'm gonna leave you with three three pertinent lessons that Heart teaches us in the first place. We learn from Oliver Heart that it is never wise to hastily ordain men to the ministry who haven't been thoroughly tested. One of the most critical passages in God's Word concerning the ordination of men to the ministry is in 1 Timothy 5.22, where Paul admonishes Timothy, do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others, keep yourself pure. To Oliver Hart, this might have been well known to him, but before Nicholas Bedgegood had been called as Hart's Assistant Pastor, 1 Timothy 5.22 was more likely theoretical than experiential. Yet following the damage left in the wake of the Benchgood faction, one can well surmise that the wisdom of 1 Timothy 5.22 held greater gravity for Hart as he learned the hard way why such an admonition is given by God. Men are far too complex and their character takes far more time to assess than what many of us are willing to give. This is why 1 Timothy 5, 24 adds further weight to Paul's warning in verse 22, that the sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. While the sins of some men are clearly evident, making the church's evaluation easy as to the man's disqualification as an elder, yet there are other men whose sins are not quite so clear. They make a flawless first impression. They appear sound in all the right places. Their gifts wow everyone, however, As tempting as it is to quickly ordain such a man, the sense of 1 Timothy 5.24 seems to say, wait a minute, how well do you really know this man? Remember, the sins of some appear later, so give it time. Slow down, hold off, don't rush this. Keep getting to know this man so that your judgment can be truly credible and thereby in conformity to what God requires. One writer observed in this regard, commenting, on 1 Timothy 5.22, it is a common human tendency to make premature and ill-considered decisions, to be hasty when we should rather be cautious. Although the opposite fault is to be indecisive, yet in leaders, it is better to take time to form judgments and make decisions than to advance quickly and live to regret it. In the second place, we also learn from Oliver Hart that despite the discouragement of disqualified men, there are still men who prove faithful to whom we should entrust the gospel ministry. When you reflect upon Paul's imperative to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter two and verse two, to deposit the call of the gospel ministry to faithful men who will be able to teach others also, An encouraging implication in this charge is that there will be, by God's gracious providence, actual faithful men to whom such a deposit can be given. I believe this is a hidden gem of comfort to pastors who wonder at times in their respective vineyards if such men even exist. This especially holds true for those men of God who've encountered more disqualified men than those whom God is actually calling to the ministry. But the fact that God's word impresses this command on us to entrust to faithful men the gospel ministry is surely reminding us that there is another generation God is calling and raising up to go in his name and proclaim his word whose lives meet his standard as qualified men for the ministry. Therefore, as pastors, we should not give up praying for such men to be raised up in our midst with whom we can in good conscience and with great joy pass on the spiritual baton, as it were, of the gospel ministry. Such was the case with Oliver Hart. The year after the Bedge Good faction had split the church, what did God do? God saves a young man named Edmund Botsford, who, as we heard, would be called and set apart by God as a faithful, fit man for the ministry. What a joy Edmund Botsford was to Oliver Hart. What a sweet assurance it was to Hart to see that despite the disqualified bedge good, who nearly brought an end to Hart's ministry altogether, God in his mercy saves and raises up a qualified man who became Oliver Hart's joy and crown. So we don't give up. We keep praying and believing God for faithful men with whom we can invest and entrust the ongoing ministry of the gospel. In the last lesson from Oliver Hard, we glean that while Baptist churches embrace their independency as self-governing churches of Jesus Christ, yet this independency should not translate into an isolationism where we rob ourselves from the benefit of formally associating with other like-minded churches. When Oliver Hart and Francis Pellett penned the final chapter in their summary of church discipline, it focused, as has been mentioned, on the association of churches. At the beginning of the chapter, they argued for the wisdom in such an association for Baptist churches by stating this. Although churches formed on the gospel plan are independent of each other with regard to power, that is authority, yet not so, strictly speaking, with regard to communion. For as saints in general have an indisputable right to share in each other's gifts and graces, so have churches in this joint capacity. The main point Hart and Pellett are making can be rephrased like this. While local churches are independent of each other regarding their authority, Yet this independency is not meant to separate us as the body of Christ and bar us from enjoying the communion we have in this body by sharing in the gifts and graces of each church. And underpinning this argument is a simple message that says to each like-minded church, we need you. That's the simple message. We need you. It's like Paul the Apostle when he wrote to the church at Rome in chapter one, verses 11 and 12. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. Paul was not intending to go to the church at Rome to just grace them with his gifts in Christ and no more, no. He recognized that as part of the body of Christ, there were gifts and graces in the church at Rome from which he could be as edified as they might be from him. And this is the spirit in which we commune together as an association of churches. that in forming an organized association of like-minded churches, we do so, as the Second London Confession asserts in chapter 26, paragraph 14, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification. In other words, when we come together as an association of like-minded churches, it is to increase the blessing of union with Christ that we already enjoy as a singular local church. So rather than confining the gifts and graces of each local church and holding that communion of saints strictly within the bounds of that one vineyard, by virtue of an association we share in each other's gifts and graces and thereby advance on a larger scale what Christ is already building on a local scale. Thus we have the wisdom behind forming an association of churches. And with that wisdom comes great blessing that we would never know if we settled only for our independency, failing to see what mutual edification could be ours if we joined together as God's providence would permit. Oliver Hart got this and so did four churches to form the Charleston Association. 14 years ago, several churches here in Georgia got this, and so formed the Georgia Association of Confessional Baptists, which today is known as the Southeastern Association of Confessional Baptist Churches. May we not miss the blessing then. That is ours, as an association of churches, and dare take for granted what God has done and continues to do. Amen. Let's pray. Our blessed eternal Father, we are so grateful to you, Lord, for the saving for the calling, for the service of all of our heart. And we thank you for such a godly example, such a precious pattern of faithfulness, Lord, that this servant of yours has left for us as we consider the outcome of his conduct and look and behold things that are worth imitating about his faith. And Father, we pray that by the working of your grace in all our hearts, to the end of not only our own personal sanctification, but our collective sanctification as an association of churches. Lord, let us not forget these great things that we have been able to see today and hear today in the life of your servant of long ago. Work in us the grace to take these things to heart, to carry on in many ways that spiritual baton that heart by his example has passed on to us even today. We do thank you, Lord, as you have been thanked many times already today for the blessing of the forming of this association that we all do truly enjoy. And we pray that your good pleasure will still be upon us and working in us as an association, that Lord, we will remain faithful to you in all things for the sake of Christ, for the sake of the advancement of our Lord's kingdom, locally and globally. These things, Father, we commit into your hands for the sake of Jesus, in his name we pray, amen.