Particular Pilgrims

"We know little else about Eliza’s early childhood, but I have a careful portrait of her drawn about age 18 by William Thomas Fry, an important English engraver. It shows a small, attractive young lady with elaborately curled hair sitting in a chair holding a letter. She bears a pleasant resemblance to her father."

Francis Franklin, father of Eliza, was born on December 9, 1772 in Mursley, Buckinghamshire. He was the youngest of seven children; his parents being William and Mary Franklin. Just before he turned 15 he moved to Oxford to apprentice as a cabinet and chair maker to his cousin, John Payne. He regularly attended the parish church, as he had been raised, but found the Baptist ministry of James Hinton to be more useful. He also took up the habit of reading, especially George Whitefield’s sermons.For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

"It is clear from his letters that Andrew Leslie was marked for India as a missionary after graduation from Bristol Academy. But before he could go there were several things he needed to do."For more information about CBTS, visit CBTSeminary.org

The next person I want to present to you is Andrew Leslie. I’m fairly certain none of you know that name. But I hope that after several episodes, his “hidden life” and “unvisited tomb”, to use George Eliot’s phrases from the last line of her novel “Middlemarch”, will be honored.For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

"One of the few original letters I possess from our Particular Baptist forebears is from Robert Hall Jr. to John Ryland. Robert was the youngest son of Robert Hall Sr. whose life we explored. Robert Jr. was blessed with unusual gifts and was one of the greatest preachers of the first half of the 1800s. Like his father, Robert was a Particular Baptist, but with peculiar views on a number of subjects. I expect we will examine his life at a later date. But know that he was constantly in demand to preach."For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

Now that we have begun to see the gifts of John Ryland and his growth in the grace of humility, it is time to tell more of his story. He spent 10 years helping his father in the school and church before his ordination to the pastoral office. During this time, he was frustrated in his inability to find a wife. And so he wrote to John Newton about it, who regularly responded with good counsel.For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

As a young believer, John Ryland struggled with the ups and downs of doubts and assurance. At times, he despaired of being truly converted. He also knew times of considerable confidence that Christ had saved him. His parents both ministered to his spiritual needs and a few months before age 15, his father baptized him, crying out, “Thanks be to God for this boy”. John said he never forgot that sound and was much affected at the time by it. That same month, September, he joined the church. Their records say, “September 11, 1767, aged 14 ¾” which probably shows the unusually young age of his membership.For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

"John Ryland was born on January 29, 1753, as the oldest child of John Collett Ryland and his wife Elizabeth. His birthplace was Warwick, where his father first pastored and established his boarding school. As mentioned in previous episodes, John Ryland was often called John Ryland Jr. to distinguish him from his father, though technically, he wasn’t a junior. The son often signed his name this way. Later when awarded an honorary theological doctorate, he was called Dr. Ryland, again to differentiate him from his illustrious parent, who, after receiving his honorary degree, went by John Ryland, M.A." For more information about CBTSeminary, visit CBTSeminary.org

John Collett Ryland played an important role in English nonconformist education for forty years. Dissenting academies, as they were called, were necessitated by the reestablishment of the monarchy and state church in 1660. Subsequent legislation made it impossible for conscientious dissenters to gain entrance to English universities. Pre-university education was also difficult because any school had to be licensed by the local bishop. But after the 1720s, non-conformist education began to be recognized and even monetarily subsidized by the government. And so by the time Ryland began to teach, he was generally able to freely run his schools.For more information about CBTS, visit CBTSeminary.org

If you ever heard the name of John Collett Ryland before these podcasts, it was probably in regard to an infamous interchange he was reported to have had with William Carey. There are several accounts of it in print, but I especially like the details and perspectives that Dr. Michael Haykin provides in his biography of John Sutcliff, entitled “One Heart and One Soul”.For more information about Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary, visit CBTSeminary.org