Feet Washing Service

What's wrong with it is the presumption that just because a church has a feet washing ritual, it is right and churches that don't are wrong....

That means there is pride in washing feet.. just the opposite of humility which is what Christ was trying to teach... very ironic!

If people wash feet in a service.. .feet that was washed at home before coming to the service.. then put on clean socks... so they wouldn't be embarassed.. then pat each other on the backs on the way out the doors claiming what a spiritual service it was.. "Oh, so humbling"... then it is a ritual denying the power thereof....

True humbling feetwashing would be going to the streets, washing a homeless person's feet...

This is the trouble with churches today...
We sit in our churches.. in our 4 walls... congratulating each other how right we are, and how wrong everyone else is.

We sit in our churches with rose colored stained glass windows refusing to look out, while thinking we are OH so holy.. because we wash each other's clean feet.

Don't get me wrong.. if a church wants to do this.. .so be it... more power to them... but every foot washing church I have ever seen has been prideful in the fact that they wash feet!

 

Brother, why not just come out and say what you're trying to say?

Navymans, is your church in the Cumberland River Association? Elder W. P. Jones told me that the Cumberland River churches used to wash feet many years ago (some possibly as late as the 1930s). That doesn't make it right. But would that not mean you are fellowshipping churches that were not true to Scripture? Would holding the practice negate them being true churches and in need of reorganization, or did they just need to drop it and keep on being true churches?

TinyTim, you say, "We sit in our churches.. in our 4 walls... congratulating each other how right we are, and how wrong everyone else is." How righ you are! I wonder if those in this thread who have commented against feet washing believe that foot washers have some kind of patent on pride, pharisaism, and sitting behind 4 walls?

 

Post #61 did a great job.

 

I don't believe footwashing is for this day and age, but I don't ever recall saying you were prideful and all those adjectives.

There are a few isolated churches that have this practice, but as a general rule it is not practiced in the main Baptist churches in Canada and never has been a practice.

We are biblically based churches that stood for the truth of God's word down through the ages and including the modernist era,,,they were costly years. It seems strange that not one of us follows the thinking on footwashing.

Cheers,

Jim

 

On the whole, I think it best to assume folks practice or do not practice washing the saints' feet because they believe the Bible either does or does not teach us to do so. There are plenty of proud, lazy, sorry Baptists to go around. If that is an argument against something, we probably shouldn't be Baptists at all!

Jim, in studying feet washing from an historical angle I didn't find much of the practice in Canada, though I expect there is more to find with the proper resources. I think there may be some pattern of the practice prevailing more in warmer climates than colder ones, though we have to be careful of not falling into the cum hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy (mistaking correlation for causation). There also some stages in development that some researchers would correlate to embracing practices such as feet washing and then dropping them -- e.g. going from sect to respectable denomination. But these are historical and philosophical considerations. I guess I'm saying all that to say that being biblically-based churches that stood for the truth is not necessarily the cause that feet washing was never a prominent practice in Canada. Each area has its own underlying factors of development.

 

Robert, In every Bible College, seminary and university I attended, footwashing was a cultural thing and not a practice for continuation any more than the "holy kiss",,a handshake...or women having long hair because women of ill repute in Corinth had their headshaved.......a distinquishing mark. Or like women wearing hats everywhere up to the 50's and even 60's in church, or where a woman cannot teach men, except in a seminary, and future pastors at that...that is a real mystifier to my simple mind.

By the way, we did have a few separate Baptist groups and I know one did practice feetwashing,,in the Kitchener area,,along with the strong Mennonite presence. I think they are all gone now.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Jim, interesting that you mentioned the handshake. Most Baptist churches in the southern U.S. practice the "right hand of fellowship" on receiving members and other occasions, with little thought that it is somehow a cultural thing.

Could you tell me more about the church in the Kitchener area that practiced feet washing, or, if not, where I could find more information? I would like to document it. Among Canadian Baptists I have found it little among the Regular Baptists, apparently practiced by the Predestinarian Covenanted Scotch Baptists in Ontario, and once fairly common among the Free Baptists in the Maritimes. Supposedly a remnant still practice it. There are also about a dozen Landmark Missionary Baptist Churches in Quebec that practice feet washing. Further, it can be found used as part of the Easter season in more liturgical-type Baptist churches, especially on Maundy Thursday. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto is an example (member of the Baptist Convention of Ontario & Quebec and the Toronto Area Association of Baptist Churches).

 

No sir we are ABA, and I have never seen a foot washing service nor want too myself, Jesus or anyone else said this is too be observed as a continueing thing that I can find, but if a Church wants to do this more power to them, but I will refrain from doing so same as I will not build a ark or offer up my son either.

 

Robert, Yorkminister Park Baptist Church is just round the corner from Jarvis St. Baptist Church and Seminary. It was liberal to the core and fellowships with the United Church of Canada, the most liberal body in Canada.

If Yorkminister Park has turned about, I should be greatly surprised. Jarvis St. is the church that led the split from the liberal Baptist Convention of Ontario & Quebec to form the Regular Baptists of Ontario. The Fellowship was formed by a split from Jarvis St. and the independents that alsl left the Convention and was formed in fifties.

We did talk before about the few other groups in Kitchener,,they had a man come up from the USA to pastor every three weeks or so. The ones in Quebec must be new,,in the last 40 years, I pastored at Lachute in early 60's and was not familiar with them. The Maritimes groups are not really baptists, only in name. The are also free will and didn't fit in with any other baptists down there.

Cheers for now,

Jim

 

Jim, I'm sure your evaluation of Yorkminster is right. Concerning the brother from the US, is that the one who came up regularly from Kentucky? I remember you talking about him but can't remember his name. I looked back and see you referenced only one church in Kitchener that practiced feet washing. Do you know the name of it?

The Landmark MB's in Quebec have been there quite some time, though I don't know how long. I'd say over 40 years, but probably not a whole lot longer than that. The original folks had some connection to the French Cajuns in south Louisiana, and that is where they became familiar with Landmark Baptists. The Maritime Free Baptists ultimately tie back to Benjamin Randall, who rejected the doctrines and came out of the Regular Baptists. Of course there are a lot of twists and turns.

 

Brother Navymans, the Cumberland River Association is the local association around Somerset whose churches are affiliated with the ABA. West Somerset Church used to be in both associations. But perhaps something has changed recently. Brother Walter Perry Jones was an old ABA preacher in the Cumberland River Association. The older people in your area will know of him. He was a "native" of the region.

Many may not know it, and others may not mention it, but our ABA churches (that is my heritage) have fairly deep roots in feet washing, though it had died out in the majority of churches by the time the ABA was organized in 1924. Many of the churches in south Louisiana and south Mississippi were still practicing it when the association split in the 1950s. A large majority of churches in the Louisiana State Association practiced feet washing.

 

Robert, it has been a long time since we last discussed these churches. There were 4 congregations in that Kitchener area and yes, the pastor ame up from Kentucky to try and keep the group going, but they were unsuccessful at obtaining a pastor.

I don't think the Maritimes group are called baptist anymore, but don't quote me, I haven't been down there for years. I left the Stevens Rd Baptist Church in Dartmouth in 1969. Interestingly, I started putting a rose on the pulpit when a new baby was born and then took that rose to the mother. I met a lady on the net one evening and she told me about the rose on the pulpit. Funny how little things come back to you.

I don't recall the ones in Quebec at all. Originally The Regular's and then the Fellowship and the Baptist Convention were the only Baptist Churches in Quebec. Now make note of this. I pastored an English Baptist Church in Dalesville and the French Church in Lachute at the same time. Dalesville was the second oldest Baptist Church in Canada, and Lachute was the first French Baptist Church in Canada. The oldest Baptist Church was the First Baptist Church in York, now known as Toronto, and it was a Black Baptist Church.

I wish my memory was better, but fear the strokes have taken the better of it, and I struggle anymore.

Cheers,

Jim

 

You have taught me something for sure and I will ask some of our older saints if they remember this ever taking place in West Somerset.:jesus:

 

Based on this thread I would say the opposite is true. The few who have supported foot washing don't seam to have an issue with those who don't, but those who don't have major issues whith those who do. (Wow... that's confusing)

No doubt that can be the case, as with any thing else we do in the church. I have witnessed those who are proud because they preach, should we do away with preaching?

The entire purpose of the feet washing service is to remind us of Christ service and to encourage us to serve others. The Churches I have been part of are humble servants to those outside of the church.

If this was the attitude of the church members who took part in the service I would agree with you. But the "foot washers" I have witnesses bear no resemblance this.

We are in agreement on this. In fact, our church takes it down to the individual. If you are not comfortable with the foot washing then you can choose not to take part. No one is belittled for making this choice.

Sorry to hear this. I quess this explains the overall negativity on the subject. Please don't put all "foot washers" in this group. The pride is in the hearts of the people, not the foot washing.

 

I don't think I have been critical of those who practice feetwashing, but I do believe it was a practice for the moment and culture of the day and area.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I agree. Jim, like everyone else, has his own opinion, but he doesn't lord it over everyone. Something that I've always admired about him.

 

We had a good old-fashioned foot-washing service last night. There were several first time participants. I preached a message that Christ example was set for us to be humble, serve others, and remain clean. As many of you have mentioned, Washing the Saints feet can not be a replacement for real humility and service outside the church.