Baptist History, Heritage and Distinctives
William Staughton – “Give it to Them Bush Style”

William Staughton was born January 4, 1770 in Coventry, England. He had a brilliant mind and became a published author of poetry when he was but twelve-years old. He was born again early in his life and graduated from Bristol Baptist College in 1792.

He knew William Carey and Andrew Fuller, but the Lord didn’t call him to India, but rather to America.

After serving as pastor in Georgetown, South Carolina, he moved to New Jersey were he pastored two churches. His work was so impressive that he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Princeton in 1798 at the age of twenty-eight.

From 1805 to 1823, he served the First Baptist Church and the Sansom Street Baptist church in Philadelphia. During that time he worked in various schools, teaching everything from botany to theology, as well as doing administrative work.

When he was asked to become president of Georgetown College, he agreed, but before he could take the position he became ill, dying on December 12, 1829.

Brother Staughton’s ministry was highly blessed by God. He not only knew the Bible, but he also knew how to communicate the Bible. Once while pastoring the Sansom Street church, he invited a preacher from the backwoods of Western Pennsylvania to preach. The old man, dressed up in his finest clothes and tried to become what he thought was a big city orator. Completely out of his element, when he started speaking his audience could hardly keep from laughing. Quickly Pastor Staughton pulled the speaker by the coat and whispered, “Brother! Give it to them bush style.” The old gentleman switched back into the same style with which he preached to the country folk at home. The congregation which began by laughing at the preacher ended up in humble prayer.

Brother Staughton’s comment became proverbial – every preacher of the Word of God needs to “give it to them bush style.”

Presented by Thomas E. Kresal from: “This Sunday in Baptist History”

NOTE from Tom:
Reverend Luther Rice, a philanthropist and Baptist missionary who had returned from India, began advocating the establishment of an educational institution (college) in Washington, D. C. for training Baptist ministers. William Staughton supported Rice’s idea. In 1819 Luther Rice and his associates founded an association, and a tract of land was purchased on the outskirts of Washington, D. C. to be held and used for an educational facility. Two years later, the Congress of the United States granted a charter which established Columbian College, now the George Washington University. (The main administration building at George Washington University, Luther Rice Hall, is named in his honor.)

William served two terms as Chaplain of the US Senate. Appointed December 10, 1823, his first term ended on December 13, 1824. His second term began on December 12, 1825, and ended on December 7, 1826. He preached the eulogy of George Washington before the US Senate. During his second term as Chaplain, he delivered the memorial sermon in the US Capitol on July 16, 1826 following the simultaneous deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on July 4, 1826. William used as his text 2 Samuel 1:23, “Lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their deaths they were not divided, they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.”

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