3.00. Mere Christian
Mere Christian by Richard Baxter
Preface
Introduction 01 "Good Mr. Baxter"
02 Disciple
03 Student
04 Teacher
05 Preacher
06 Shepherd
07 Peacemaker 08 Reformed Pastor
09 Reformer
10 Husband
11 Evangelist
12 Cross Bearer 13 Citizen of Heaven
Preface
Writing of Richard Baxter, Sir Stephen James observed, "Men of his size are not to be drawn in miniature." While this may be so, it is the hope of the writer that this "miniature" treatment of the life of Richard Baxter will serve as a call to modern church leaders to be diligent in their work. I hope it also serves as an introduction to one of the giants of the faith and an incentive for all believers to cultivate a passionate love of God and a lifestyle of self denial and service. This electronic version is free and may be downloaded. I would be very grateful if, after you have read Richard Baxter: Mere Christian, you would kindly send along any comments, criticisms, suggestions or report dead links by visiting the Contact page.
I would like to thank Becky and Pat Brennan for their kindred spirits, their encouragement, and their generosity in making this work available on the Biblical Eldership Homepage. Thanks also to Alexander Strauch, for asking me to write this book in the first place. His book, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, filled my heart with a fervent desire to shepherd God’s people. His mature wisdom has been a welcome resource over the years. Tim Nunnink, Michele Nunnink and Mark Richey were kind enough to read and critique my first draft, "speaking the truth in love." They, along with my brothers and sisters at the Nevada City Christian Fellowship, have been a constant source of encouragement, love, instruction, and most of all, inspiration.
While I consider Baxter a friend and counselor through my study of his life, a number of men have served as living examples of what it means to "shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28) I wish to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to those pastors who I have come to know personally and who have been my shepherds. As a young believer at Faith Bible Church, Guy Rimestad impressed upon me a love and enthusiasm for the Word of God, which still inspires me to serious study. During the three years our family spent in Maine, Burt Lowry at the Ellsworth Assembly of God demonstrated how to be a thoughtful counselor, a loving family man and the epitome of a servant leader. Joe Browne is a model of faith, integrity and fidelity to Scripture. My brother Paul Webster is an evangelist; There is nothing that excites Paul more than seeing someone come to know Jesus as he does. George Springer, of the Baptist Church in the village of Sedgwick ME, was a good neighbor, a light in that small community, a devoted and humble shepherd. Don McFarland is an elder in the truest sense; humble, devoted to the Word of God, loving and gentle, with an impeccable reputation in the community. Tim Hutchins, Bill Fewell, Jim Robertson, "bi-vocational pastors," were faithful friends and counselors, "exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness..." As an elder at the Nevada City Christian Fellowship, I have been blessed to serve over the years with a number of exceptionally gifted, loving, meek, and humble men. Words cannot express how they have influenced me for the good, as I have observed them in some of the most difficult situations. My only prayer is that I will prove worthy of their confidence in the coming years. My children Sam, Camille, and Emma were very patient, sharing their dad with a 17th century eccentric. To this day, it is not uncommon for one or all to mimic me with the exclamation, "Ahhhh....... Baxter!" and a giggle. Finally, I wish to thank the wife of my youth, Denise, who has encouraged me all along the way in my quest to know Richard Baxter. Concerning Denise, I need only echo the words of Baxter, "...I am not ashamed to have been much ruled by her prudent love in many things. And you will the less wonder when I have told you what she and I were."
Introduction
You see on your screen yet another book on Christian leadership that demands a reading; "a must for the serious pastor or church leader!" But, warns the Preacher, "the writing of books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body." (1) So, you must wonder, "What sets this book apart from the dozens of other indispensable resources on the subject? How do I know that this is not the final book; the one which makes me weary?" The answer lies not in a vigorous writing style, nor pleasant typeface and graphics, skillful editing, or even because it can be read in a single sitting. No, the answer is found in the life of Richard Baxter, arguably the most energetic and successful pastor since New Testament times.
Just as Spurgeon is known as the "Prince of Preachers," so Baxter can be considered the "Prince of Pastors." The well-known Christian author and authority on the Puritans, J.I. Packer, called him "incomparable" (2) in his zeal and abilities as a shepherd of souls, as well as "...the most outstanding pastor, evangelist and writer on practical and devotional themes that Puritanism produced."(3)
Throughout the Acts and the epistles, we are given sketches of the first century pastors, Jesus’ undershepherds, as well as instructions concerning their conduct and character. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, writes that an overseer must be able to teach; he must be free from the love of money and a one woman man. He instructs Titus, on the island of Crete, to appoint elders who are hospitable, self-controlled, and "able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict." (4) The qualities outlined in Scripture must be present in any man who shepherds God’s people, but in Baxter we see them manifested with extraordinary energy and power. His flock is cared for enthusiastically, effectively, and successfully. Therefore, his life forms an ideal portrait of the pastor who does not serve out of a sense of obligation or a feeling of accomplishment; And, certainly not to simply make a living. Baxter shepherded God’s people for His glory and their salvation. To Baxter, conducting the souls of men to heaven made the pastoral work the most important labor a man can engage in. Consequently, he possessed an earnestness which will amaze you. Not content with a simple "sinner’s prayer," Baxter worked tirelessly, intimately, "with fear and trembling" to guide his "good neighbors" to the heavenly Jerusalem. Hopefully, through this sketch of Baxter’s life, you will sense the seriousness of the work you are engaged in as a leader in Christ’s church. Rather than wearying you with another book, I pray that you will be renewed, invigorated, and stirred up to "shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness... (5)
Baxter’s uncompromising love for the gospel and his earnestness for men’s salvation took him many places. It also incited his enemies to bar him from some and to imprison him in others. For this reason, a brief chronology will be helpful to follow Baxter’s life. He was born at Rowton in Shropshire on November 12, 1615, educated in the free school at Wroxeter from 1629 -32, and then went on to be tutored at Ludlow Castle. In 1638 he was ordained a deacon and served as the headmaster at Richard Foley’s School in Dudley in 1639. From 1639-40 Baxter was the curate or assistant to the priest, at Bridgnorth. Then, he went to Kidderminster where he would spend the next twenty years, first as curate and then as vicar, with an interruption of two years as a chaplain in the Army from 1645-47. In 1661 Baxter’s work for Christian unity took him to London, but the forces of intolerance emerged victorious and he was never allowed to return to his beloved Kidderminster. He spent his final thirty years in or around London, first at Moorfields 1662-63, then Acton 1663-69, Totteridge 1669-73, and Bloomsbury 1673-85. He was imprisoned for treason at Southwark from 1685-86. Upon his release, Baxter lived near his friend and editor, Matthew Sylvester, in Charterhouse Yard, Finsbury from 1686 until his death on December 8, 1691.
Sir Stephen James, writing of Baxter, said, "Men of his size are not to be drawn in miniature." Yet, sometimes a "miniature" will capture the interest of those who might not ordinarily tackle a 300 page biography. It is the prayer of this author that a detailed miniature of Richard Baxter will inspire Christian men everywhere to become earnest and effective leaders among God’s people, and perhaps to get to know Baxter better through the excellent biographies available, as well as his own works.
1 Ecclesiastes 12:12 2 J.I. Packer, Introduction to , The Reformed Pastor 11 3 J.I. Packer A Quest For Godliness (Wheaton, IL: 1990) 302 4 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9