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HISTORY
OF
Louisiana Negro
Baptists
From 1804 to 1914
BY
WM. HICKS, B. A., D. D.,
Author of "Bible Thoughts, With Questions and Answers,"
and "Things Necessary for the Preacher, Deacon
and Layman to Know."
With a Biographical Introduction by
Bishop W. B. Purvis
NASHVILLE, TENN:
NATIONAL BAPTIST PUBLISHING BOARD.
R. H. BOYD D. D. SECRETARY.
PREFACE.
While thinking of the welfare of our Baptist Zion throughout the state, and wondering what would best serve as a stimulus to encourage our brethren, and arouse our churches to more religious activity, it occurred to me that a faithful record of past achievements both by our pioneer fathers and ourselves would give much impetus to lagging denominational pride, and set up a beacon light to guide and inspire the young preacher of today. To this end I cheerfully set myself to the task, and after consulting God and writing the late Bishop A. B. Flood (President Louisiana Baptist State Convention); Secretary W. E. Purvis, Treasurer T. L. Welch, Sr., Vice President W. M. Taylor, Drs. H. C. Cotton, John Marks, Taylor Frierson, J. M. Carter and others, I received Divine approval and hearty endorsement by the above-mentioned brethren, the State Executive Board and the Louisiana State Convention. This volume promises to set forth as faithfully as possible: (a) The pioneer work of our fathers extending into ante-bellum times; (b) the work of the young ministers and teachers to the present. I am not unmindful of the fact that this is a Herculean task which I can not finish in its entirety, hence the critic must be asked to be reasonable, remembering that it is "human to err." God gives us the rose with the thorns: we must learn to enjoy its fragrance without being torn by the thorns. Roses with their thorns may be found in this work, but the critic must be charitable and fair enough to accept them. It is out of the question to look for all that Louisiana Baptists have said and done since 1801. It would require too many scribes to write their doings, and too large a volume to contain them. Because of inability to obtain cuts and biographies as I desire, mention of many excellent men of our denomination is omitted. I could not tell everything, nor have I tried. I have simply humbly endeavored to answer the questions in part as a denomination: From whence have we come? What have we done? To what have we attained? What are the possibilities before us? Being aware of the fact that we are denominationally young, a voluminous history should not be expected. I simply pray that this may serve as a nucleus of Louisiana Baptist history. Other writers more able than I will tell the Baptist story more fully.
? This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.
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