With the settling of the American colonies, scattered congregations and groups of people ready to be gathered into churches, together with the small number of ministers anxious for mutual encouragement and guidance, inevitably brought about the need and occasion for the formation of the first Presbytery on these shores. The specific occasion came in due season, with the call for the ordination of Mr. John Boyd to become pastor of the church of Freehold, New Jersey.

John Boyd, a native of Scotland, came as a probationer [i.e., a man licensed to preach though not yet ordained], probably at the solicitation of his countrymen, who, fleeing from persecution, had settled in Monmouth between 1680 and 1690.

Boyd was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia on this day, December 29, in 1706, at the public meeting-house, before a numerous assembly. The original minute book of the Presbytery is preserved at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia. Regrettably though, the first leaf of that book, comprising the first two pages of the Minutes, was lost long ago. We can only speculate as to the content of those first two pages, but we can try to speculate intelligently. Page 3 of the Minutes begins with the end of a sentence which appears to be concerned with the subjects of Mr. Boyd’s trial for ordination. The last half of this broken sentence is as follows: “‘De regimine ecclesiae’ which being heard was approved of and sustained, and his ordination took place on the next Lord’s day, December 29, 1706.”

Of course, we will always wonder what else we could now know if we only had those first two pages. At whose call and by whose authority was this Presbytery convened? Did they consider and adopt the Westminster Standards as their system of faith and government? The best supported opinion is that by this time Francis Makemie’s leadership had become obvious. For one, his trip to the old country for the purpose of bringing additional ministers back to the colonial churches, and the success of that trip, was probably well known. So it seems likely that it was Makemie who convened the meeting.

The Freehold congregation had apparently written asking how Mr. Boyd should be ordained, and so it was Mr. Makemie who arranged for a meeting in the spring of 1706 for the purpose of making the necessary arrangements for his ordination, with Boyd’s ordination trials to take place at what became the inaugural meeting of the new Presbytery in December. The record is somewhat unclear, particularly as to why the delay in settling Rev. Boyd. That took place in May of 1708, with the presbytery requesting the congregation to consent to his preaching every third Sabbath at Woodbridge. But he died later in 1708, and while his tomb remains to this day, Makemie—who also died that same year—and other ministers, most of them, lie in unknown graves.

Of the new Presbytery, George Hays observed in his work Presbyterians (1892):

“Presbyterianism thus grew out of the soil and of the necessities of the case. It did not begin at the top as it had done in France and Scotland, but began at the bottom and by degrees rose to strength. Now Synods are constituted by the act of the General Assembly, and Presbyteries are organized by act of Synod. Then Presbyteries were by the necessity of the situation. In 1717, the Presbytery divided itself and constituted a Synod above it; and in 1788 the Synod divided itself into subordinate Synods and created itself a General Assembly. There is no good reason to believe that this first Presbytery adopted any standards for their own guidance. It looks as though they came together assuming the Westminster Standards as authoritative without any special adoption in this country. They adopted the ordinary parliamentary law as their method of action. They did not even adopt a name, as Presbyteries now have names. It was simply “The Presbytery”; not of Philadelphia, nor of New Jersey, nor of Maryland. There was no other, and when it was spoken of there was no ambiguity. When, in 1716, the Synod was constituted by dividing the General Presbytery into four, these were simply named First, Second, Third, and so on. It was a day of great demands for activity, and of small resources of men and means to meet the requirements. This first meeting at Freehold was the only meeting which was had outside of Philadelphia. That city was so central and so accessible that the early Presbyteries always met there. So, with three exceptions, did succeeding Synods and General Assemblies, all the way down to 1834. The three men who were present at this ordination of Mr. Boyd were Francis Makemie, Jedediah Andrews, and John Hampton. The original members of the first Presbytery included these three, with George Macnish, John Wilson, and Nathaniel Taylor.”

Words to Live By:
Jesus promised that He will build His church. The promise is sure. And it is the Lord our God who sovereignly draws His people into the Kingdom as Christ is lifted up by the faithful preaching of the Word of God. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.—Ps. 127:1, ESV.

Lardner Wilson Moore was born on May 20, 1898, in Osaka, Japan. His father was the Rev. John Wallace Moore and his mother, Kate (Boude) Moore. His parents were among the very first Protestant missionaries to serve in Japan.

Lardener received his collegiate education at Austin College, in Texas, earning his BA there in 1918 and an MA in 1919. He then pursued his preparation for ministry at Union Theological Seminary, in Richmond, Virginia, where he earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1922.

Upon graduation from Seminary, Lardner then married Grace Eagleton, in Sherman, Texas on July 6, 1922. To this marriage, three children were born, including George Eagleton, John Wallace and Robert Wilson.

Moore was licensed and ordained on September 15, 1921 under the authority of Durant Presbytery (PCUS), being installed as a pastor of the PCUS church in Caddo, Oklahoma. Additionally, he served as Stated Supply for a smaller Presbyterian church in Caney, Oklahoma. These posts he held from 1922-1924. [Returning to the States from Japan in 1942, Rev. Moore was able to return to Caddo to conduct the funeral of a member of his former church]

But his heart was set on foreign service and in 1924 he began his career as a foreign missionary to Japan, remaining there until 1968.  A term of service in the US Army, from 1943 – 1947 had interrupted his work in Japan. In that military service, he was commissioned to oversee the translation work of a core group of Japanese Americans. At the conclusion of the War, he also served as a language arbiter during the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal.

In the years following the War, he became president of Shikoku Christian College in Zentsuji, Japan, serving in that post from 1950 – 1957.

In 1968, Rev. Moore was honorably retired, and returning the United States, went on to serve as Stated Supply at a Presbyterian church in Antlers, Oklahoma, from 1969 to 1972. It was in 1973 that he was received by the PCA’s Texas Presbytery. Later, on October 31, 1981 he transferred his credentials into the OPC.

Rev. Moore died peacefully in his sleep on December 28, 1987, within a few months of his 90th birthday.

Words to Live By:
The Lord gifts all of us differently. To some, He gives a great facility with languages, thus equipping them to be particularly useful in the work of missions. If you know someone with such gifting, do all you can to help them along their way in serving the Lord. More than anything, pray for them, even now, long before they ever reach the mission field. Pray that the Lord will prepare them and that He will use them to advance His kingdom. Pray that they will stand strong in the Lord, firmly anchored in Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior.

For Further Study:
For more insight into Major Lardner W. Moore’s work as language arbiter with the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, click here. [See under #8. Language Arbiter]

Image : Photograph of Lardner and Grace Moore in Takamotsu, Japan, in 1963.

Training Others in the Work of Service
by Rev. David T Myers

Born in Ireland in 1723, Robert Smith accompanied his parents to America in 1730. He was of the stock of Scots who had moved from Scotland to Ireland and then on to America. Upon arrival in this new land, the family settled about forty miles from Philadelphia along the Brandywine River.

At age 15, Robert was one of the countless converts of the Spirit under the gospel preaching of George Whitefield in his first tour to America. Shortly afterwards, Robert Smith felt the call of that same Spirit to enter the ministry. His parents supported him in this divine call and encouraged him to enter the church academy of Faggs Manor Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania under the tutelage of its pastor, the Rev. Samuel Blair. This school trained him in theological and pastoral subjects, all of which he did well, quickly acquiring the subjects. It was not surprising then that Robert Smith sought licensure by the Presbytery of Newcastle, New Side, which was successful on this day, December 27, 1749. Less than a year later, after practical work in churches to test his call, he accepted a double call, upon ordination, to the Presbyterian congregations at Pequea and Leacock, Pennsylvania, for which he was to stay, at least in Pequea, for the next forty two years.

What is important for us today is that Pastor Robert Smith began an academy there which was instrumental in educating countless Presbyterian ministers of Pennsylvania and surrounding states. This was before Princeton Theological Seminary was begun in 1812, so its very existence filled the empty pulpits of Presbyterian meeting houses all over the then-known land. And it was no easy school to attend either. The language of choice was Latin, and speaking in class either to the teachers or one another in any other languages was punishable as a fault. Yes, Hebrew and Greek were also studied, and theological and Biblical books were included in the course work. Thus, the academy was preparatory to the College of New Jersey as well as preparatory for work in the pastorate. As many as fifty ministers received part of their education here as well as others who went into other callings in life. It continued for forty years and was one of the forerunners to Princeton Theological Seminary.

The churches of Pennsylvania and surrounding states required an earnest ministry. It was impossible to look abroad for its teaching elders. Further, the cost of travel to the centers of education in New England was too great for the infant church. A school for ministry in their own back yard, so to speak, was the only answer. And God’s Spirit answered that call by raising up the Academy at Pequea, Pennsylvania.

Words to Live By:
Modern churches today face a different challenge, in that some of our future pastors are older in age when their call to ministry comes from the Holy Spirit. Often married with families, future pastors cannot leave established jobs and go to seminaries to study the three or four years required for graduation. This is where local Presbyterian churches can come to the fore. Covenant Theological Seminary, for one, has any number of seminary courses on line which can be inserted into a Sunday School curriculum or special classes during the church week for preparatory work in training. Those local ministries can then offer opportunities for service under the oversight of teaching and/or ruling elders in the local church. Local Presbyteries can take such students under care as they prepare for God’s work. As Jesus put it in Matthew 9:37, 38 “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” —(NASB). Are you asking the Lord of the harvest for a plentiful supply of workers in His kingdom? Pray today, and regularly, for that spiritual need.