Henry Toler

The danger of bitterness

by Thomas Ray

Henry Toler was born January 3, 1761, in King William County, Virginia. He was converted and baptized when he was about 16 years old. Almost immediately he began to exhort sinners to repent. His talents, which were exceptional, brought him to the attention of Baptist layman Robert Carter, the wealthiest man in Virginia. Carter was so impressed with Toler’s potential that he not only encouraged him to obtain an education, he provided the funds for his schooling.

Acting upon Carter’s generosity, Toler moved to Penn­sylvania in 1771 where he spent the next three years studying under the direction of Dr. Samuel Jones. Upon completing his studies, he returned to Virginia in about 1783. During the next three years, he devoted himself to the work of an itiner­ant evangelist. It was during one of his preaching tours in the Northern Neck of Virginia that he developed a friendship with Lewis Lunsford. Lunsford encour­aged Toler to settle in the area promising he would assist him in organizing a church.

On April 29, 1786, Lewis Lunsford and Henry Toler organized the Nomini Baptist Church in Westmo­reland County with 17 mem­bers. The church immediately proceeded to call Henry Toler as their pastor. God’s bless­ings were upon Toler and within a year the church had grown from 17 to 119. By 1790 the membership increased to 331. In 1795, after a period of only nine years from its birth, the church had grown to 480 members. However, for the next decade the church experienced a spiritual drought and began to decline.

Toler continued to preach and to pray for God’s bless­ings upon his ministry, but it seemed the heavens were brass, and a coldness and indifference seemed to settle upon the people. It is only natural that Toler would become discour­aged, and on more than one occasion he considered resign­ing his pastorate. But in 1806 his faithfulness was rewarded, and the windows of heaven were opened and a spirit of reviv­al appeared among the people. In three months Toler bap­tized 90, and it was not unusual for him to baptize 30, 40, 50, and 60 at a time. It is estimated that during the revival, Toler baptized between 500 and 600 converts. The membership of Nomini Baptist Church greatly increased reaching a high of 875, making it the largest church in Virginia.

Toler’s labors were not limited to his church; he trav­eled extensively. In fact, few preachers having families have been more determined to proclaim the gospel than Henry Toler. It is almost impossible to comprehend, considering the size of the church, his success as a pastor, and his reputation as a preacher, that the church would fail to provide for his financial needs. Unfortunately, Toler’s family suffered and did without so that he could devote his time and energy to preach­ing the gospel.

Sadly, the church’s inattention and lack of con­cern for him and his fami­ly’s financial needs eventu­ally embittered Toler. After preaching the gospel in Vir­ginia for almost 40 years, he resigned his pastorate and moved to Kentucky in about 1816. I wish I could say his success continued in Kentucky, but bitterness has slain its thousands and Toler was no exception. In Kentucky he continued to pastor, his morals were unstained, his preaching was considered superior, but his soured disposition destroyed his effectiveness. Spencer, the historian of Kentucky Baptists, said, “It is probable that he did more harm than good in Kentucky.” Henry Toler lived only eight years after arriving in Kentucky, dying on Febru­ary 23, 1824.