Postscript

Reference was made in the Introduction to the fact that Baptist churches arose out of a cluster of convictions, rather than just believers’ baptism, from which their name was derived. Each of these convictions has come under scrutiny through the years.

Doctrinally, such matters as the scope of the atonement, resulting in two groups broadly described as Calvinistic or Armenian, exercised the 17th Century Church and the first Chichester Baptist Church was clearly part of the latter, as the word ‘General’ was in the title. Not much later the various views about the person Christ – which had been about since the first century – and the desire not to bind members too strongly to particular doctrinal beliefs, resulted in a trend towards the unitarian and free position.

The 1951 Church reflected the convergence of views which brought about the uniting of ‘general’ and ‘particular’ Baptist churches in the Baptist Union in the 19th century, and consciously framed its constitution to ensure that the new Church would be trinitarian.

Various interpretations of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ, which had split some churches in previous centuries, have not been a matter of contention in the 1951 Church, and pre-, post- and a-millennarian are terms seldom heard today, most being content with belief in “the final triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ in His coming to judge the living and the dead”, as expressed in the constitution of the Sussex Baptist Association.

Hostility between denominations, illustrated by Bishop Gunning’s disputation in Chichester Cathedral with the Presbyterians, Independants, Baptists and Quakers, was vociferous in the 17th century and towards the end of the 18th century Spershott was commenting upon critical attitudes between churches in the City, saying they were “too apt to look with a disrespectful eye on each other and stigmatize one another with characters of reproach...”

The 1951 Church, as soon as it was formed, joined the Free Church Council and the Chichester Council of Churches (later reconstituted as Churches Together in Chichester) and has provided input to those bodies with both officers and chairmen from time to time. Support for ‘ecumenism’ has not been universal or enthusiastic, however, and trends towards the view that “all roads lead to God”, particularly in a perceived weakening in the late 20th century, of belief in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ by some of those involved, have caused others to draw back from any organised move towards church unity.

Baptists in Chichester (as elsewhere) have no difficulty with the unity in the Spirit of all believers, but do not see organisational uniformity as an aim.

The need to associate with other churches of like mind was recognised by the Chichester General Baptist Church through its membership of the General Baptist Assembly. The 1951 Church became affiliated to the Kent and Sussex Baptist Association (now divided into two Associations, one for Kent and one for Sussex) and has been represented at Association councils, meetings and events throughout its history.

The 17th century Baptist Church suffered from the persecution of its pastors and evangelists for ‘unlawful preaching’. Some of course, like James Sicklemore, had been ordained in the Church of England and had the advantage of university education. Many did not have theological training, but were acknowledged by the local Church for gifts and devotion, and the General Baptist Church in Chichester had no difficulty in recognising and ordaining them, with the blessing and laying-on of hands of senior pastors and ‘messengers’ from other General Baptist churches.

Today most Baptist ministers (including all who have been whole-time ministers at Chichester since 1951) have had training in Baptist or other Bible Colleges, and their ‘induction and recognition’ to the ‘ministry of the word and sacrament’ is still undertaken on behalf of the Church by the ‘general superintendents’ or other senior pastors, often with the participation of ministers of other denominations.

The belief that preaching¹⁵, teaching and prophetic gifts were not restricted to ‘ordained’ persons was strong in early dissenting churches and this continues in the wide service of ‘lay’ members, women and men, in the present Baptist Church where all the gifts of the Spirit have been experienced in varying degrees. Most members acknowledge the benefits and insights brought through the ‘charismatic movement’, but ‘dispensational’ teaching that many gifts of the Spirit ceased with the establishment of the canon of the New Testament influences some, while others genuinely find less demonstrative worship more helpful. Certainly the last two decades have seen far greater participation of members in leading public worship and less of the ‘one man ministry’. In this, Chichester Baptist Church has surely moved nearer to the New Testament Church, but it was not able to avoid divisions in the 1980’s.

The government of the church, including the appointment of pastors, elders and deacons, has always been seen by Baptists as a matter for the gathered community of believers in the local church. Evidence of the way this worked in the General Baptist Church and in the 1951 Church has been given in the body of this paper. From time to time desires for a more autocratic or hierarchical system – particularly in regard to election of elders and deacons – have been debated here, but the instincts of most Baptists are to seek unanimity by the leading of the Holy Spirit in the ‘church meeting’.

The missionary outreach of the earlier General Baptist Church was to Virginia in America, to which General Baptists from the Chichester Church were sent. In 1980 missioners from Virginia shared in the ‘Sussex ’80 Crusade’ with the present Baptist Church. In recent years links with missionaries in several parts of the world have been established and concern for worldwide evangelism and relief work is strong.

Little information has survived regarding the Bibles or hymnbooks used, or the instrumental accompaniment (if any) of the 17th century Baptist community here. Changes in these matters since 1951 have been vast. The many new translations of the Bible have presented a problem for congregational use. The Chichester Church adopted the New English Bible New Testament for its Sunday School soon after it was published, but the Old Testament was not published for some years afterwards and the Revised Standard Version was preferred for use in the public worship, until the publication of the New International Version, which is now used here and in many Baptist churches. The Good News Bible, with its excellent line drawings, has been used for children and young people’s work.

The terms ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘modernist’ which characterised attitudes towards the Bible in the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries were not to the same degree the subject of contention in the 1951 church, and both science and faith increasingly became seen as part of God’s creation and revelation. The Chichester Church today, like the early Baptists, adheres as firmly as ever to the divine inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture, but does not despise the scholarship that has contributed to its better understanding and interpretation.

Many of the Anabaptists in Europe in the 16th century held pacifist views, while 17th century Baptists tended to be more militant, particularly in support of Cromwell, though evidence regarding the stance of the Chichester General Baptist Church is absent. The tension between Baptists who took the pacifist view and those who followed the ‘just war’ concept, which divided many churches in 1914 and 1939 had largely been eased by 1951, as the enormity of the prospect of nuclear warfare united Christians in the search for peace and reconciliation.

In 1951 the Baptist Church Hymnal (Revised) 1933 was still widely used in Baptist churches and was the natural selection for use at the new Chichester Church, but soon after The Baptist Hymn Book was published in 1963, that was adopted here. In the last 20 years, with many new songs being composed, and with the development of computers and overhead projectors, the projection of the words of songs and hymns has become the accepted practice, though often resulting in the loss of four-part harmony and difficulty for those unable to read the screen. Some pieces from the excellent (but expensive) Baptist Praise and Worship, published in 1991, have been used in the worship, but purchase of copies for all worshippers has not been felt to be justified. Songs and Hymns of Fellowship continues to be the main source for the Sunday services.

The earlier accompaniment of singing by organ or piano has given way to a return to a wider range of instruments, but there is increasing conviction that all kinds of music should be used to enrich the worship, which should not exclude the Psalms and the great hymns of the church.

The early Baptists were ‘radical’ in the true sense of that word, seeking to ‘get to the roots’ of Christian faith and churchmanship and the application of that faith in the contemporary situation. They saw a need for the Church to be as pure as possible, based upon the insights of the New Testament, and acting in the world to further the prayer of Christ that his will should be done on earth as perfectly as it is in heaven.

These principles were demonstrated in Chichester, as in other places, by the characteristics of Baptist churches outlined in the Introduction. In the 17th century the domination of the throne and of the established church in matters of faith and practice brought Baptists (and other nonconformists) into conflict with them regarding theological matters (notably the nature of the Church and its organisation and leadership) and political matters, the reference to James Sicklemore attending in 1654 “the meeting which disavowed Fifth-Monarchy sentiments” being an indication of this. Mr. Mott and Mr. Spershott both petitioned, in 1773, for the repeal of the penal laws.

The concept of an earthly monarch being head of the Church has always been contrary to Baptist thought, and the extravagancies of the 16th and 17th century kings of England only succeeded in confirming the trend towards republicanism, exemplified in the Commonwealth period, and in the later establishment of the constitution of the United States of America, which was so much influenced by the nonconformist views of dissenters who were among the first settlers in that country. John Ryland, in ‘The Life and Correspondence of John Foster’, says of Foster, a Baptist pastor in Chichester in 1799, “He is a republican in thought.”

The various subsequent Acts of Parliament giving freedom of worship and removing restrictions from nonconformists have largely removed the position of the monarchy from the agenda of Baptists, but there are indications that it will be raised again in the 21st century.

The Baptist Church in Chichester has continued to be alert to support or criticise proposed changes in national or local policy. Concern about the hydrogen bomb in 1951, support for Lord Longford’s efforts towards the application of Christian principles in Parliament in 1971, and for the Shops Bill in 1987, and support of voluntary organisations such as CARE, the Save the Children Fund, Christian Aid, and TEAR Fund, are illustrations of this. On many occasions representations and petitions have been made to Members of Parliament and others.

One thing is quite clear. The local Church is a living community and constantly changing. Movement between denominations is perhaps greater in 2001 than it has ever been. The proportion of members of the Chichester Church brought up in ‘Baptist’ homes is small. The majority have been baptised as believers and rightly are Christians first and Baptist next. If it is right to continue organisations with ‘Baptist’ in the title – the Baptist Missionary Society, the Baptist World Alliance, Baptist Home Mission – they will only be maintained by Baptist Churches – that is the members of Baptist Churches – and that will present a challenge in the future.

The most important factor for the Church, as in all the ages past, is the presence of the living Christ by His Holy Spirit in and among His redeemed people. His presence has been evident – more at some times than at others – in the Baptist churches of Chichester. May this be increasingly true of the Church meeting at Sherborne Road, Chichester, as we come to the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the Church

¹⁵Ernest A. Payne The Fellowship of Believers p.41 “There were in England in the seventeenth century not a few women preachers among the Baptists.” Whether there were any in Chichester is not known.