[This is again, another never before published article of Trott (to our knowledge) since 1836, when it was published in the Signs of the Times. It is part of our upcoming COMPLETE collection of Elder Samuel Trott's writings not only from the Signs but other Old School Baptist papers. It is part of the upcoming Writings of Old School Baptist Preachers Volume 3 - ed]
I have apprised some length of time since that these reports were in circulation among certain classes of Baptists in the country, but as I presumed that both of those who received and those who retailed them, acted towards all consistent old school Baptists, upon the old plan, of the report and we will report, I thought it best to take no notice of them. But having recently understood that considerable exertions are made to prevent certain brethren from hearing me, who I think love the truth when they have an opportunity of hearing it, which, by the by, is not often, by persuading them that however good or correct my preaching may be, as they are pleased to say, it is not proper to countenance it while things are thus, I have thought it advisable to give a relation of the facts from Wednesday's reports have been raised. But I rely with more confidence on this simple statement knowing that these things are not done in a corner.
One charge is, that I am removing from place to place, creating divisions in the churches I preach to, wherever I go.
The other is, that my whole opposition to the course of elder Gilmore has arisen from my having been disappointed of a certain $150.00, which I had expected to receive from him, on my first coming into Virginia.
These I believe are the substance of the charges, if not the identical words used.
The first of these charges I have understood grew out of a report that this was my course, whilst I lived in Kentucky, put in circulation in the broad run neighborhood, where else I do not, by the great champion of missionary agents, Luther Rice. It was very easy to infer from this report, that I had caused the division in the Ebenezer church, and this was my general course; Especially by persons who had been previously trying to prejudice churches and the public against me, as being an antinomian, as they said, and preaching a doctrine which made God the author of sin, because I hold the doctrine of absolute predestination. But one inference manifests in them, about as much candor as the other period but to the ground of Mr. Rice's report: the dry run church, Scott County Kentucky of which I was a pastor most of the time I resided in that state, had experienced a division at the time of the great split in the Elkhorn association, out of which the licking association grew; the church going with the other licking brethren, and on account of which several of the members left the church. This took place before I went to the West.
After I had been preaching for this church for some time, and during my absence on a tour of several months, these brethren returned and were reconciled to the church. This indeed had been somewhat entrained before I left. Soon after my return, one of these restored members began to manifest a good deal of opposition to the doctrinal views advanced by me. After having manifested his opposition abroad for several months, he at a certain time invited me to come to his house and talk over our difference of views. I was appointed. I took one of the deacons of the church with me; When we arrived at his house we found him waiting for us, having as an assistant a young, Christian, or free will Baptist, or as called there a new light preacher. During the interview, he made a full disclosure of his views, which went to the full extent of the free will Baptists. The brother who accompanied me, of his own accord, being constrained to do so, from what he had heard took this person one side and cited him to appear at the next church meeting and answered to charges which he should lay in against him, for departure from the faith. At the next Saturday meeting, the charge was accordingly laid in, and the consideration of it, if I mistake not, deferred to the following meeting. Meanwhile, the subject was noised abroad, and a neighboring preacher of the Elkhorn association was appointed to be with us at the Lord's Day meeting. He went on to preach from Hebrews 2.9, the latter clause. I soon found his object was to draw a middle line between the doctrine of particular atonement held by me, and the views held by the brother under censure.
The position he took was that Christ tasted death for the elect to procure for them salvation and for the rest of the human family, to procure for them a respite from punishment for a season, and the comfort of life. Thus on that point, the views of this brother were that the object of Christ's death was to procure for the human family, time and opportunity for repentance. I felt it my duty when this preacher had finished this discourse, to arise and bare my decided testimony against the sentiments he had delivered; And this I did without much reserve. He replied; I again answered him; And whilst doing it, the brother under censure, who was sitting under the pulpit, went upon the seat, reached up his hand, and took hold of the Cape of my great coat evidently with the intention of pulling me out of the pulpit, but was prevented by some of the brethren catching his arm. Some of the members who had considerable confidence in this visiting preacher and did not notice the peculiar ground he then occupied, or did not reflect on the consequence of his position, were at the time considerably hurt at my opposing him thus publicly, but after reflection, and conversation with others of the brethren and with me, they appeared to be and I think were not fully satisfied with the course I took. The brother under censure at the next meeting was excluded, and in consequence of this another of these restored brethren asked for a letter for himself and his wife and another brother for himself, which 3 letters were granted. This was the extent of the division. Those who remained I left united, and I believe in fellowship with me when I left Kentucky. There was another instance in which considerable division of feeling occurred, though I believe no separation, at that time, and which perhaps was in part charged upon me. It was in the old Georgetown Baptist Church not the old school church, which had recently been constituted. I was never the pastor of this church, though I at one time preached statedly for them, as also did two other preachers at the same time. And I afterward occasionally for a while, had appointments in their house.
About this time Doctor Fishback was advancing publicly his views relative to the spirit, denying as Campbell has since done, any special operation of the Holy Spirit in the Christian experience. Hearing him come out very fully on that point at Georgetown, I on the one or two appointments I afterward had dared, opposed quite pointedly his views. There was considerable division among the members upon that and other points. And as I understood there was strong opposition to me in the church, on the ground that I decided to stand against Fishback, and against certain popular Arian preachers in that neighborhood, and perhaps in connection with these, on account of my having separated from the Kentucky Indian Mission, after Luther rice succeeded in bringing the society over to a connection with the general board, I declined to make any further appointments there.
Thus much for the divisions I had any special hand in producing in Kentucky.
Now in reference to churches elsewhere, at the time the Welsh Tract Church (Delaware) voted to call me, as their pastor, I being at the time in New Jersey, one brother asked for a letter for himself and a wife, and received it, being dissatisfied with their calling me, because, (as I have understood, he said) that I was an enemy to all righteousness.
This brings me to the next course, to the difficulty in the Ebenezer church in Virginia.
The committee of the Ketockton association who sat on this case, reported the division grew out of my being called to the pastoral care of this church. As they qualified this by admitting the right of the majority to call me, and my right to accept such a call, I did not object to the report, because I believed that they had done what they thought best calculated to bring about a reconciliation between the church and those whom they pronounced in their report correctly excluded, and I wish to do nothing to prevent such a result. But a kind Providence has furnished decisive testimony, not only that the division existed but also that it showed itself before I came into Virginia, and before I knew anything of this church except from the recommendations of Brother Polkinghorn and Elder Gilmore, or they of me but from the same sources, and perhaps some of them from seeing my name connected with the black rock meeting. The church in a statement they published, showed the division began to show itself shortly after the church had unanimously voted to send an invitation to me. This was in February and in March after the invitation had been sent on to me as unanimous, and as understood by the church and by me, through the communication of Elder Gilmore, as an additional inducement in connection with the cause of two other churches, to move to Virginia with my family, the person who had moved that the invitation should thus be sent, used his influence and his exertions to induce the church to call another preacher, though without effect save with a few.
On the other hand the disaffected members, in a letter they addressed to me in June following, being a month after the church had voted to me, a call as their pastor, and containing the first intimation they ever gave me either by letter before I came on, or by verbal communication afterward, that the church was not all united in the invitation, that is, by the disaffected members, they say, speaking for the meeting in February when the invitation was agreed on, here commenced that discord which is now causing a once peaceful, united and happy band of brethren to bleed at every pore. Hence the testimony of both parties is decisive in proving that the division commenced at a period when I could have had no agency in producing it, I being not in Virginia, and not having any intimation of there was anything but a perfect union invitation sent on to me. But it may be thought that this division would not have resulted in an actual separation at that time, had I not accepted the call of the majority, and probably it would not, if the majority instead of deciding on calling me had consented to unite with the minority and calling a preacher of their choice.
But in reference to my accepting a call presented under such circumstances; I have only to say that from what I could learn of the division after I found there was one existing in a church, I was led to believe that the majority were from principal decidedly old school baptists, both as to doctrine and practice, and therefore in favor of the stand taken at the Black Rock meeting, and the leaders of the other party were as decidedly opposed to what they call black rockism, and would never have consent to the call of a preacher not opposed to the Black Rock stand. Hence there was no prospect of their uniting in the call of a preacher unless the majority would yield to the minority in the sting, or unless the minority should on reflection conclude to me into the express wishes of the majority. Such were the views under which I accepted the call, and that as has been before published, only conditionally and I have seen nothing to this day to alter these views, but much to confirm them.
In addition to the acknowledgment above made of having occasioned in any measure divisions in churches, I will further say, 1st that I would not have it understood that every individual member in any Church of which I have been pastor, was altogether pleased with my preaching.
And secondly; that I have ever endeavored in my preaching to hold forth what I believe to be gospel truth, in opposition to false doctrine; And what I believe a gospel experience in opposition to delusion, and what I consider gospel order, in opposition to the devices of men. Having myself been brought as I hope by grace divine, out from my connection which I cannot consider a Church of Christ, and from the ordinances of man as substituted for the ordinances of Christ, and for what I now know to have been a delusive hope, I have ever since felt a peculiar solicitude to convince others of their error who I fear were in either case, in that situation I had been in.
How far my preaching has been instrumental in leading others to distinguish between truth and error and to contend for the one in opposition to the other, is not for me to say, but I will say, that it has had this effect, very far less than I have desired.
Thus far, and no farther do I plead guilty of having occasion divisions in churches. I challenged Luther Rice and any other person to produce proof of my having to any greater extent occasion divisions, or in any other way than as above described. Or that out of 13 churches, situated in six different states of the union, of which I've had the pastoral care, in leaving any of them, I have not left them in as much peace and union as I found them, with a strong expression of their fellowship towards me as I had at any time enjoyed.
A consideration of the other charge, I must defer to another letter.
Your companion under tribulation and reproaches.
S. Trott Fairfax, CH Virginia, January 13, 1836
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