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Life and Travels of William Conrad
Chapter VII - The History of Forklick Church Old Baptists
As the writer learns, it was organized at the house of Old Brother John Skirvin, Sr., (whose son John exhorted the brethren in after years) by Elders Alexander Monroe and Samuel Simpson, on first Saturday in July, 1818. The members so organized had, before this, lived and acted as an arm of the Church at the Dryridge, in Grant County, Kentucky; after some lapse of time they had Elder William Glasscock for their pastorate (who came from the State of Ohio in the year 1821). He was called to the care of the Church in November, 1822, and continued to serve them up to his death. Both himself and wife laid their membership into the Church; and Elder Glasscock, while with them, baptized some twelve in the few years he preached for them. His Father in Heaven called him to his mansion in the Kingdom Triumphant, the blessed home of undisturbed repose; the home of the just; there to abide until the Trump of God, as well as the voice of the Arch angel, shall awake the dead in the glorious morning of the resurrection. Yes, the blessed Lord bid our dear brother away in 1830; the Church left to mourn over her loss of a faithful, as well as sound minister of the Gospel. Thus bereft of a kind under shepherd, it seemed to be for a time at a stand and far a time destitute of a supply; at length Elder Whitfield Collins undertook to preach for them; he also baptized some. The Church, however, while under his care was in much trouble and perplexity, owing to broils and disagreement among the brethren, and also among the sisters, hard speeches and backbiting, that they failed to settle outside, and of course brought into the Church. The writer well remembers that in them days there were committees called for quite frequent from other churches to aid in the adjustment of troubles, and almost in every case made a failure and oftener made the breach wider instead of closing it up. I would here state, that old as I am, and the many cases I have seen, as well as the many committees of which I was a party, I have almost invariably found to effect no lasting good, but often increase trouble and strife. And the writer feels to know from experience, as well as is set forth in the New Testament, that the Church of God in all her mansions or branches-as such is an independent organization, and alone has jurisdiction over and within her own body as a Church, and she alone can and should adjust all matters within her own limits. Yes, all that is or ever can occur in the body or members composing the Church, while they truly regard and look to the word of God as the man of their council, and depart not therefrom. It is only by our failure to observe and do the things therein taught; hence, it is a matter that none can know of as the Church knoweth, and is therefore a secret that a stranger intermeddleth not with. They may and do sometimes present some plausible point to the observer for the time being for adjusting the matters of distress. I do feel glad that the custom and habit of calling out of one or more churches a committee for the uses above named have gone out of use. O think, when there was but the one Church or visible building of God, they continued steadfastly in the Apostle's doctrine, and in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And also in the 46th and 47th verses of Acts, of second chapter: "And they continuing daily with one accord in the Temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people;" and the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved.
I know, notwithstanding the above, that also it is written that "offenses must needs come, but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh." We cannot fail to see, from the reading of the above, (40th and 47th verses of Acts) that during the time of the disciples' continuing daily with one accord in the temple, (now our house of worship), and the solemn service of breaking bread from house to house-Yes, from one house or place of public worship to another-"We like them; should eat our meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people." The sure result of such Godly walk and deportment day by day is that men will, at least, so far glorify our Father in heaven, and say of a truth, "this people have heard of the Father and learned of Him." Then we too, like them, would so far bear the image of our blessed Jesus that the Lord's circumcised in our midst could not hold off from our assemblies, because of the lovely appearing of Jesus, and so of the Lord be added to the church, if not daily, at monthly meetings, such as should be saved.
The writer deeply regrets the lukewarmness, the shameful neglect of many claiming to be Old School Baptists in attending their regular meetings, and above all, their seasons of communion, under some poor, trifling apology that would scarcely be received as satisfactory by a friend whom you had promised to visit and failed. O, Lord, and is it so that we should act toward Him that is of purer eyes than to behold sin? As though God seeth not in the dark. O, Lord, shall we not read and take heed to the apostle's words to the church at Corinth, (10th chapter 15th and 16th verses of his first epistle), "I speak to wise men; judge ye what I say?" The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? O, let us never forget that the blessed Jesus has been so kind, so full of compassion toward his poor and afflicted children as to provide for their observance the ordinance of the supper, the great antitype of that Passover instituted in Egypt, the land of chains and fetters, which figure or shadow is passed away. We now behold the substance; the bread in the hand of Him, and the cup that contained the wine. He blessed the bread and break it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat, this is my body." And he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins." And then the imperative announcement of the Savior to His disciples, recorded by St. Luke--"This do in remembrance of me" (Jesus). And shall any of God's dear children, circumcised in heart, refuse to obey so plain a command, under whatever peril that may occur? Still more binding, if possible, than the elements above, was such as the blessed Jesus chose by which his children could best show forth His death until He comes. And more, in the ordinance of the supper, His loving disciples have present His broken body in the bread and His shed blood in the cup, as set forth by the Savior elsewhere, "For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." So, by faith, His dear children need not go to Joseph's new sepulchre in search of the blessed Jesus, to render or give evidence of our pious regard and love. The tomb is empty, Jesus is risen, He has ascended on high to make intercession for us. We have, in the ordinance He has instituted for our observance, more than Joseph's new sepulchre. Here we have the clear and proper likeness or emblem of His broken body and shed blood for the remission of sins. That we should forget the sepulchre, the grave where Jesus laid, God forbid; but bear in mind the blessed theme; be it the joy of our hearts and the boast of our tongues, that Jesus, the Lord, laid interred in the grave where all His children must rest, and like their Head, who went before them, rise triumphant, conqueror over death, hell, and a victory over the grave; by which is shown the sure deliverance of all His ransomed family from the bonds of death and confines of the grave, like as Jesus was resurrected and rose from the grave.
That, in like manner shall God, their Father, quicken their mortal bodies in the glorious resurrection day, and like, and with Him ascend to their Father and his Father to their God and his God, when Jesus will say: Behold, I and the children which God hath given me (Jesus), and with Him forever to abide.
We will return again to the history of the Forklick Church of old Baptists. During Elder Whitfield Collins' time of preaching to that Church there was much trouble in the Church, which grew out of unguarded expressions among the members, and in several of the efforts made to adjust or settle those differences, some times with and without, committees, as above named, the writer knowing Elder Collins' proneness to excitement, by which he would fail to fill the Moderator's seat; proper, and remedy such state of things, and have Elder Collins more safely, as well as pleasantly situated at those times of trouble. The writer, under permission of the church, and with Elder Collins' consent, would take the Moderator's seat, determined, God being his helper, to bear up with patience under their heaviest thrusts, that so frequently fell on the Moderator when he would reprove the parties for their harsh remarks to and about each other. For, if he fills the seat proper, it is quite common for both contending parties to feel that the Moderator is for the one and against the other, simply because the Moderator proper will reprove and have them take back all unlawful speeches, or words not convenient, let such speeches come from whom and which side or party they may; at the same time reproving the parties for such harsh course toward each other, is in accordance with the word of God and the teachings of the spirit of the Lord. At such times of church meetings I would suffer reproach and hard speeches against myself, rather than for them to be spoken against Elder W. Collins. During all these troubles, there were but few, if any added to the church; at the same time, there were but few excluded, and some that seemed troublers obtained letters and some were called to their long homes. Finally a great lukewarmness set in, and Elder Collins attended quite irregularly, and, owing to the course pursued by some of the members, my visits among them came near to a close, and the preacher, as may be seen on the church book, not in attendance, some years not more than twice or thrice a year-and more seldom, until he finally ceased coming-so the church was left to get along as best it could, without a preacher to attend them. They changed their meeting time from the first Saturday and Sunday to the third Saturday and Sunday for the time of their regular meetings. They knew that I did not preach to any church at that time; for up to that date I was only preaching to three churches (expecting me to preach for them at that time) and often trying to stop; but I refused. I felt daily unfit and unworthy, and then, as at present, no advocate for the pastoral care of churches; and, in my feelings, could not see my way clear, as I thought, to accept of their request to attend them. But in giving way to my thoughts and my own judgment, as regarded the propriety of taking charge of the church, I have long since felt that I done wrong, and that, too, under the pressing weight of unbelief that was always present with me everywhere, to annoy me with the sad thought, "the Lord will never bless me in my efforts in the ministration of His word, nor the people to whom I might minister." I have not yet found words by which to set forth my daily plague of heart from that all besetting sin that, for many years, kept me halting, so that I never could call into use, with any confidence, the little I may have possessed of creature ability, to publish salvation to perishing sinners of Adam's apostate race through a crucified and risen Jesus. Thus things, for days, weeks and months, passed, until I was led to see and feel that, although the church at Fork Lick had not only; become, from death and removals quite few in number and destitute, but I became fully convinced that there were of the sheep and lambs of Christ those who were not prepared to get where the gospel, as they believed, was preached, and a portion of them sisters advanced in years.
Here, dear reader, my soul became sad, and, as it were, my heart was made to bleed. Poor in spirit, and unworthy as I felt myself to be, the stripes came heavy and fast for my continued refusal to attend them, and, notwithstanding the gloom that surrounded them as a church, I was not only ready to confess my wrong in standing aloof, but now willing to spend and be spent, if I might be any comfort, or in any wise serve to edify the then present fainting flock, and so undertook to supply them about the year 1851.
Thus, in their low estate, I felt, with them, alike humbled under, as appeared to us the frown of God. The Lord enabled me to meet with them regularly every month, and strove to comfort and encourage the feeble flock under all the gloom that had gathered thick from past troubles, as well as irregularity of their meetings. And being so long almost, if not altogether, without preaching the writer felt sad, time after time, as he met with the little downcast, and to all appearance, a withering plant. At length, however, the frown of the Lord to us seemed to have moved away, and, as we felt he smiled and bid us not fear that Old Forklick Church should yet live and praise the Lord in the land of the living. And so, as light shining out of obscurity for some time, the Lord's mercies at length shone forth in her midst. Fathers and mothers gladdened in heart by refreshing from the presence of the Lord, as we trusted they went up to the House of God, taking sweet council together, their tongues lisping the songs of Zion in praise to her King in the years of 1852 and 1853. It seemed their voices more full to proclaim the wondrous mercy of grace abounding to the chief of sinners through a crucified and risen Jesus, who, by the working of His mighty power, quite a number were added to the Church, of both old and young. And, as we then did believe such as should be saved, it was easy, as well as pleasant, to engage in preaching the gracious tidings of salvation through the blood of atonement. Day and night we met, and from house to house, and at the water side. The congregations met from time to time in solemn audience, while the writer cheerfully went down into the water and baptized the willing subjects, buried with Christ by baptism; and often, as he led them from the watery grave did he exhort them to live to God-that they had put on Christ by baptism, that they should so wear Him. Yes, and as we entered within the walls of the little as well as homely house, the Church; it being used to entering into cast down and sad, but then felt it was (Bethel) the House of God; parents gladly giving the willing hand of fellowship to their rejoicing children and neighbor's Children, as they closed their relation of what great things the Lord had done for them in plucking them as brands from the fire.
To see how changed was the cross, the writer still feels that those were among the most pleasant days of his pilgrim journey, as he traveled along in the valley of the shadow of death. He, with the dear brethren and sisters was not for the time being once thinking of the Lord's coming with his fan in his hand to fan out the chaff and gather his wheat into his garnet; or did the writer even at that period once think that every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Nor did the writer at that time think of Paul's advice to the Corinthians: that while he as a wise master-builder had laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon; but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. And then shows the utter impossibility of there being another foundation. Beside that, he had laid as a wise master-builder, and that according to the grace of God which was given him. And then announces--"for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;" and then said: "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble."
The writer now knows, and long since painfully known, that nothing will stand the fire, the fiery trials and temptations in the day when the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. But gold, silver, precious stones, shall abide the fire. The wood, hay, and stubble, which we or the builders have builded thereupon, shall be burned. That man or builder, be the mail whom he may, the writer, or whom else, and notwithstanding all their honest and hearty conviction while receiving or with the sanction of the Church building thereupon wood, hay, stubble-such builders' work shall be burned, and such builder suffer loss; yes, loss of the quiet and peaceable knits of a good conscience; and, above all, shall lose the reward of well done good and faithful servant. But such builder, whose work shall be burned or cut off from fellowship, as the branch that beareth not fruit is taken away, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned, yet such builder or man, himself, shall be saved yet so as by fire
It was but a few short years till offences came, and with offences came sorrow and sadness of heart with the writer, as well as the Church, which were led to see that the Government of the House of God, as taught in the New Testament, and in a dense manner set forth in the Church Book. They began to complain of this so that it was soon manifest that some felt they could not or would not conform to the rules and custom of the Church. There was not so much complaint of the doctrine as set forth as the rules, although both were read in past days, almost, if not altogether at every meeting on Saturday, as they are yet. But, notwithstanding, after much forbearance, the Church had to exclude one by one of those received in the time of the revival. Such outpouring of God's gracious spirit as above, the writer has time after time realized, as he trusts. Yet, doubtless, among the dear sheep and lambs we must have received goats or unregenerate sinners also into the Church, the first and last there was from eight to twelve of them excluded. And so far as the writer remembers, there has not one of the excluded returned to the Church, nor can we see that any of them give evidence by their life and conduct that they are born of God. Although most of them have joined other professed churches, but still give no evidence of being born again; all of which was painful to the church. It, I trust, has served to make them more careful, but they, like the writer, although deeply pained over his course, has been again and again caught off his guard and baptized others in other churches since, who have turned out badly, so much so that I feel for my act and their condition quite sad at every remembrance of the same.
Yet this Church seemed after all to have gotten along, as most old Baptists, up to the past five years, after which I attended them only every other month. Since that time there has been but few, if any baptized, and the congregations smaller, up to August, 1874; the congregation then near, as in years past, at which meeting I baptized one of God's dear children; and in view of the interest manifested both Saturday and Sunday by the congregation, the writer felt to thank God and take courage for the time being, not knowing what is in the future.
A number of the old members have since the ingathering as above, gone to join their brethren, which, of course makes their number smaller. We feel there are some of the Lord's hidden ones in the bounds of the Church that should have confessed the Lord Jesus and united with the people of God at that place, and submitted to the ordinance of baptism. And the writer is fully convinced that there are alike hidden ones in the bounds of all four of the churches, to whom we have so long preached to. The blessed Lord only knoweth when, if ever they should declare the goodness of a sin, pardoning God before the children of his love, and so deny themselves to take up their cross and follow in the footsteps of the flock.
The writer feels sad when he contrasts the present state of the Church of Christ with the joy, the gladness, and peace of the Church of God in years that are past; those halcyon seasons and days that have fled. And feels, in view of the great, the wide contrast between the present and former state of the Church. He, in heart cries out, O, hapless Zion, once the dwelling place of Him who dwelt in the bush, where once the sweet songs of her King were heard in His praise as they were lisped by Zion's sons and daughters. But now along the dark shores of Babel's stream, there, in sad remembrance their harps on the willows hung, which bear strong marks of alliance with the citizens of Babylon, as the writer sees it for the last few years preceding and including the present Calendar or New Year, 1874.
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