When discussing the genesis of the
cross-cultural missionary movement of Baptists one might overlook the life and
work of George Lisle. However, after much research, it is the humble conviction
of this author that it would be a great mistake to do such a thing. George
Lisle is, perhaps, as research would conclude, the first American Baptist to
take the gospel to another culture beyond the borders of the United States of America.
Even before William Carey, the great European missionary, Adoniram Judson,
Luther Rice, and the likes. Lisle, “without
the benefit of a formal theological education and having to overcome the
injustice of slavery, blazed a path that would shape American foreign and
cross-cultural missions, church planting, and the contextualizing of the gospel
for decades to come.”1
George
Lisle was born into slavery in Virginia around 1750 to a slave couple, Liele
and Nancy. George only knew second hand stories about his father. Many of these
stories were filled with testimonies that George’s father was deeply committed
in his faith. George once said that it was believed both among the blacks and
the whites of his time that his father was “the only black person who knew the
Lord in a spiritual way in that country.”2
Like most children born into
slavery, George was separated from his parents at an early age. He grew up
under the influence of his master Henry Sharpe who was an ordained Baptist
Deacon. Henry was known to be a God-fearing man and had a reputation of being
kind to all even his slaves. Sharpe would often take George to church with him and it was through the ministry of this
church that George would see his need for Christ. George once said, after
hearing a sermon on heaven and hell that, “I saw
my condemnation in my own heart, and I found no way wherein I could escape the
damnation of hell, only through the merits of my dying Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ; which caused me to make intercession with Christ, for the salvation of
my poor immortal soul; and I full well recollect, I requested of my Lord and Master
to give me a work, I did not care how mean it was, only to try and see how good
I would do it.”3
George immediately started
preaching to his fellow slaves with the blessing of his master, Mr. Sharpe.
Sharpe’s pastor also noticed the anointing of God on George’s life and urged
the church to officially license George to preach. “Some historians believe
George Liele was the first ordained African-American Baptist pastor in
America.”4 “His preaching was received by black and white
alike...George Liele was a gifted evangelistic preacher who knew how to present
the gospel in the language of his people.”5 Sharpe granted George
his freedom so he could answer God’s obvious call on his life to preach and preaching
he did all over South Carolina and Georgia for the next four years until his
master Henry Sharpe died in the Revolutionary War. Although the research is a
little cloudy about the exact dates of the starting of the first black Baptist
Church, it appears that all historians agree George Lisle was one of the
founders along with a white supporter and two men who came to Christ and grew
up under George’s ministry. The following excerpt appears to be in harmony with
much of the research discovered in this project.
Originally
named First Colored Baptist Church and located in Savannah,
Georgia,
First African Baptist Church traces its roots to December 1777
and is
officially designated the oldest African American church in the
United
States. The roots of the black Baptist tradition can be traced to three
the first
black Baptist congregation was formed in 1773 in Silver Bluff,
South Carolina
on the Galphin Plantation, 14 miles northwest of Savannah, Georgia, through the
efforts of Rev. Wait Palmer (white founder of the First Baptist Church of
Stonington, Connecticut) and George Leile. Galphin
allowed
his enslaved population to worship under the leadership of his slave, David
George, in an empty barn on the plantation. David George was baptized and
trained under the tutelage of Leile, who was evangelizing up and down
the
Savannah River between present-day Augusta and Savannah, Georgia.
Under
George's leadership, the congregation’s number gradually increased to more than
30.6
Similarly to the early disciples in
the book of Acts, as the gospel was moving forward powerfully through George’s
ministry, persecution would strike his family. After his master’s death nearing
the end of the Revolutionary War, Sharpe’s children made an effort to take
George and his family back as slaves. Fortunately, George was able to provided
papers proving his official emancipation from slavery by his master Henry
Sharpe that took place sometime before Sharpe was killed in the war. This
persecution very well could have been divinely used to inaugurate foreign
missions for the American Baptists as God soon made provision for George and
his family to move to “Jamaica as the indentured servant of Col. Kirkland, an
English officer.”7
Once in Jamaica, George would
continue to face persecution. He paid off his debt to Colonel Kirkland,
purchased land, a home, and built a church building. Then the persecution grew
more intense as a law was passed that made the preaching of the gospel forbidden
to slaves. Christians in Jamaica were being beaten, sexually abused, and some
were even being put to death. George, himself, had been placed in prison. In
spite of these
attempts by the Enemy to stifle the work of God, the Church in Jamaica
continued to grow. “Still, by 1814 it was reported that there were 8,000
Baptists in Jamaica including mostly black slaves and some whites.”8 The
work of George Lisle in America and in Jamaica even under such great opposition
was reminiscent of the work of the apostle Paul, Silas, and their companions as
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, “These men who have caused trouble all
over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house.
They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one
called Jesus.” (17:6-7) George Lisle truly rocked his world with the gospel of
the Lord Jesus!
Before this
research project, George Lisle was not a mystery nor was he a man forgotten.
Rather, he was a man who lived in historical obscurity. This author confesses,
that he has never seen the name in print nor has he heard the name of George
Lisle. However, after reading and researching, George Lisle’s legacy now speaks
loudly and clearly. Missionaries would do well to learn from his character,
conviction, perseverance, his commitment to family, and his undeniable love for
the Lord Jesus.
George Lisle
was a pioneer. He paved the way for African Americans in a day filled with an
unparalleled hatred that many in my generation truly do not understand. He won
the respect, friendship, and support of the “white man” in America, England,
Jamaica, and around the world of his day. He demonstrated a level of
perseverance in the midst of persecution that mirrors that of authentic biblical
testimony. He, like the Apostle Paul, knew how it felt to live in chains for the sake of the
gospel. His staunch belief in God and deep conviction of his personal
responsibility to partner with the Holy Spirit to advance the mission of God, rooted in the core of the gospel,
speaks volumes to the apathetic Church of the 21st century. His ability to
impart ecclesiastical leadership to men who spiritually grew up under his
tutelage and his ability to help them develop a strategy to grow and plant new
churches without any former theological training or the help of things like the
internet or the latest church planting manual is both mind boggling and
inspiring. Another noble character trait of George Lisle is that he did all
that He believed God ordained for him to do in this life as a minister of the
gospel without remuneration for his family from any of the churches he planted,
pastored, or preached in while traveling in the ministry of evangelism. Again,
like the Apostle Paul, he was a “tentmaker.” Technically, he was a farmer; but
analogously he was a “tentmaker.”
George
started sharing the gospel immediately after his conversion. As a slave, he
shared with both blacks and whites the story of how Jesus had changed his life.
The conviction of God’s saving grace was so strong it not only changed him
spiritually, it charged him to share as often as possible with as many as would
listen. He wanted greatly for others to know the God that freed him from the
slavery of his sin. Missionaries and all who claim to know Christ should
imitate this evangelistic fervor.
George
obviously understood the leadership proverb written by many in this day, “It
you are failing to plan you are planning to fail.” He had a plan and it worked.
“The growth in these churches also indicates a
direct response to black ministers’ hub-and- spoke evangelism, which collected
converts from peripheral plantations and provided slaves physical
establishments for worship.”9 George worked a simple plan that, with
God’s help, enabled the gospel to spread rapidly and stick. His strategic
efforts to make Christ
known show that he possessed wisdom beyond his years and are worthy of being
studied and repeated in some form today.
The modern missionary should note
George’s reputation for amicability with the white prominent plantation owners,
white clergy, and among the slaves. The gospel flows best through the webs of
relationships. This certainly indicates that the missionary must be able to
relate to people, all different types of people. George Lisle did this as good
as anyone, maybe ever better than most considering he was a slave during the
height of slavery in the United States.
Paul’s
admonition to leaders in 2 Timothy 2 was obviously something George understood.
He entrusted the gospel ministry to young men in South Carolina before leaving
for Jamaica who were “reliable” men and they were able to teach others. The
ministry under his protégés in South Carolina blossomed even after he departed.
This is the true mark of a great leader. The modern missionary will do well to
build people that will be able to work alongside him and continue the work long
after he is gone.
George
Lisle’s life is somewhat obscure compared to the historical testimony of many
other missionaries. No wonder it is written about him that his body, “… rests in an
unmarked grave somewhere in Kingston, Jamaica.”10 The modern
missionary will do well to aspire to greatness in the work for the Kingdom of
God while simultaneously not looking for the praise of man. George Lisle lived
for an audience of one. The modern missionary should do the same. Great will be
his reward!
Bibliography
1George Lisle: First Baptist Missionary
from America,
http://www.faith2share.net/Mission/Missionaries/GeorgeLisle/tabid/284/language/en-US/Default.aspx
2Rippon, John, Letter from George Liele to
Dr John Rippon, The Angus Library: Regents
Park
College, Oxford, The Baptist Register, 1791.
3Holmes, Edward Jr., George Liele: Negro
Slavery’s Prophet of Deliverance, The Baptist
History
and Heritage, August 1965, P. 28.
7Early, Joseph, Jr. Readings in Baptist
History, B&H Publishing, Nashville, 2008, p. 55.
8George Liele: America’s First Missionary,
9In a letter to Rippon, Jonathan Clarke
said that a planter Edward Davis allowed Bryan to build a church on his land,
which Clarke described as “a rough building...a Yamacraw,” a suburb of
Savannah. Jonathan Clarke to John C. Rippon, 19 July 1790, BAR, 1:340.
10 National Libraries of Jamaica,
Biographies of Jamaican Personalities, George Lisle.
Memorial Day, as we know it today, officially became a recognized Federal holiday in 1971. It was then declared to take place on the last Monday in the month of May and was set apart as a time where the Nation would pause to remember the men and women who died while serving their country in one of the United States Armed Services. On this day, many visit national monuments, go to parades, visit cemeteries, and/or host get togethers in their homes. Regardless of the traditions celebrated on this day, most pause to give thanks for the men and women who paid the ultimate price while protecting the freedoms that life in the US provides. 
In 1990, I enlisted in the United States Navy. After finishing bootcamp and Rescue Swimmer school, I quickly deployed to the Persian Gulf. It was a volatile time for us as a nation as we were involved in several back to back conflicts: Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Southern Watch. My experience serving abroad gave me a new perspective on this holiday. 
