I’ll give them a preaching they won’t forget.
Over the course of the second day, droves of people came up to the platform and fell to their knees. After a hurried consultation amongst all of the speakers, it was decided that the circumstances called for extra prayer meetings. As a senior preacher, and one of the most popular speakers, Thaddeus was asked to lead these.
He chose a corner of the field well away from the distractions of the main platform. As news of the informal meeting spread through the campground, he was gratified to see a number of people streaming toward him. One young man, who had spread a blanket out and sat on the ground directly in front of Thaddeus, spoke up: “Could you talk to us about Baptism, sir?”
Those sitting around him nodded in agreement. Many of the camp meeting converts were apparently anxious on this account, having never encountered an opportunity to formalize their membership in any church. Thaddeus agreed, but delayed the start of the meeting until it appeared that everyone who was interested had found a place to sit where they could easily hear him. To his surprise, the woman with the flowered dress slipped to a place beside the Gordons. What was her name? Howell. Ellen Howell, that was it. There was no sign of her silk-hatted husband.
Thaddeus stood up a little straighter, and quietly cleared his throat once or twice while he waited for the crowd to settle. He was showing off a little, he knew he was, but he wasn’t entirely sure why he was so anxious to make a good impression.
Just as he was about to begin speaking, he became aware of a stir at the back of the crowd. A late arrival, a small man with grizzled hair and a Bible under his arm, jostled others as he stepped closer to the front.
There were a few mutters of complaint, but Thaddeus ignored them, instead inviting everyone to join him in singing “Come, Let Us to the Lord Our God,” feeding the lines to those who didn’t know the hymn and counting on the Methodists to carry the tune.
As the last notes died away, he began to speak.
“The Gospel of Matthew tells us, Jesus came and spake unto them, saying ‘All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost’.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Thaddeus could see the man with the Bible attempting to gain the front row, to the annoyance of the people he was pushing out of the way. This sometimes happened when someone was seized by the Holy Spirit and was moved to come forward and confess for all to hear. But generally not so early in the meeting, and this man didn’t have the usual rapturous appearance of the suddenly saved. He just looked determined to get closer.
Thaddeus ignored him and continued. “And the Gospel of John confirms the direction: Jesus said ‘Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.’”
“Born again of water!” The man’s voice floated over the crowd, and Thaddeus suddenly knew who he was and what he was trying to do. He was a disrupter — someone who had come along to do nothing more than disrupt the Methodist meeting with some other creed’s point of view. And since he had been speaking specifically about the rite of baptism, Thaddeus knew that this man must come from one of the denominations that supported full immersion.
“Shush!” one woman shouted in the man’s direction, but a murmur rippled through the rest of the worshippers. This was entertainment that they had not anticipated, and they were eager to hear how Thaddeus would respond.
He decided to meet the challenge head on, and instead of continuing with the words that Jesus spoke to his apostles, went instead to a verse from Numbers.“But the man that shall be unclean and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him. He is unclean.”
“You must read your Bible more carefully,” the man shouted. “Pay special attention to the passages concerning John the Baptist.”
“I would be happy to,” Thaddeus said, and continued with the verses concerning the baptism of Christ. “The water is symbolic of the new life that God grants us as we join the church community,” he explained to the rapt faces in front of him. “It is representative of your covenant with God.”
The gathered crowd appeared content with this, but the Baptist (for he must surely be a Baptist) took no part in the singing and praying that followed.
Just as the meeting was ending, the man stepped forward a pace or two and spoke again. He hoisted the Bible he was carrying into the air so all could see, and then he laid it next to his heart. “I love this book above all books,” he said, “and I esteem it above all others. It is the Book of Books. My good friend here,” the man went on, “relies upon the King James version of this Book of Books, as I am convinced that he knows nothing of Greek or Latin.”
Several heads turned toward Thaddeus to ascertain whether or not this was true. He shrugged. There was no disputing the fact that he knew no classical languages.
“I, however,” the man said, “thank the Good Lord that I have the knowledge to read the original Greek and Latin for myself, and I can tell you that this Bible, this Protestant Bible, has been translated wrongly.”
A gasp went up. This was heresy.
“I challenge you to meet with me and I will prove to you that immersion is the direct and only mode of baptism established by Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
At this point Thaddeus responded. “That’s a very interesting proposition,” he said. “I would be delighted to meet with you in debate. But I suggest that our meeting should not take place in some corner somewhere, but rather in full view. With witnesses.”
The crowd murmured their approval of this plan.
“I will be at the hall in Cold Springs this coming Sunday, and I would be more than willing to give you a place on my platform; provided, of course,” here Thaddeus fixed the man with a stern stare, “you can give proof to your claims. Do I understand you correctly? You are saying that you will prove that Our Lord intended baptism to be a rite of full immersion?”
The man hesitated a little in the face of this direct challenge. “I will try to prove it,” he said.
Thaddeus grinned. “Oh yes, sir, you can try all you like. I look forward to it. Next Sunday. At the Cold Springs meeting.”
The crowd gave a collective gasp and then erupted in cheers. This was so much more than they had bargained for, a battle of preachers with themselves the referees. The Baptist minister looked a little crestfallen. He had no doubt hoped that a debate would take place on the spot, but Thaddeus had far too much experience to fall into the trap. If he engaged in argument at this point, it would appear that he had lost control of the meeting. Besides, news of a lively debate would spread through the neighbourhood and perhaps draw far more people.
He ended the meeting with a prayer, as planned. Having failed to stir any trouble, the Baptist minister wandered off at the end of it.
The rest of the crowd pushed forward to speak to Thaddeus, to shake his hand, some of them just to reach out and touch him. Knowing how important this personal contact was, he tried to take the time to speak to each one. And when they had all drunk their fill of him, he looked for Mrs. Gordon and the woman in the flowered dress, but they were nowhere to be seen.
II
