Jasper Cortenus Massee (November 1871 – March 27, 1965) was a leading

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

Baptist in the early 20th century. As a leader of the more moderate fundamentalist

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

in the

Northern Baptist Convention The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainli ...

(NBC), his efforts towards reconciliation contributed to compromises that ensured its continued existence as a cohesive

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

. Massee was born in

Marshallville, Georgia Marshallville is a city in Macon County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,048 at the 2020 census, down from 1,448 in 2010. History Marshallville was founded in the 1820s. It was incorporated as a town in 1854 and as a city in 1953. ...

. He was the youngest child of Drewry Washington Massee (a physician) and Susan Elizabeth Bryan Massee, and grew up a

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word ...

in Marshallville. He attended

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

, then spent a year teaching before marrying and being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1893. In 1896, after the death of his first wife, he remarried and entered the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at ...

, where he stayed for a year before returning to preaching."Jasper Cortenus Massee." ''Religious Leaders of America'', 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999 Massee presided over a conference of conservative forces in the NBC (entitled "Fundamentals of Our Baptist Faith") in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

prior to the 1920 convention, and was elected president of the Fundamentalist Fellowship that it formed. This group forced an investigation of

liberal Christianity Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 bill ...

in the Baptist schools, but the process led to Massee becoming alienated from its more aggressive members. In 1923, radical fundamentalists formed the

Baptist Bible Union Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

, with Massee continuing to head the moderate faction. He was attacked by the radicals for cooperating with the liberals, while the liberals had little use for his

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. In 1925, he resigned leadership of the Fundamentalist Fellowship, due to his wife's invalidism and the continued infighting, and instead worked towards seeking reconciliation. He was one of 68 Baptist leaders who met in Chicago on 13 March 1926 with the aim of forging a compromise between fundamentalists and liberal modernists in their common interest of supporting the NBC as a denomination.
Yet Saints Their Watch are Keeping
' by J. Michael Utzinger

Books by J. C. Massee

* ''The Gospel in the Ten Commandments'', Butler, IN Higley Press 1922, ISBN B0007G45KS * ''Conflict and Conquest in Holiness'' (1924) * ''The Ten Greatest Chapters in the Bible'' (1924) * ''The Ten Greatest Christian Doctrines'' (1925) * ''Eternal Life in Action: An Illustrated Exposition of the First Epistle of John'' (1925) * ''The Ten Greatest Words About Jesus'' (1926), 155 pages * ''Evangelistic Sermons'' (1926) * ''The Ten Greatest Sayings of Jesus'' (1927), 161 pages * ''The Pentecostal Fire: Rekindling the Flame'' (1930), 150 pages * ''Evangelism in the Local Church'' (1939) * ''The Holy Spirit'' (1940), 144 pages * "Pioneers in Righteousness or Old Testament Character Sermons" (1927), 170 pgs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massee, J. C. Christian fundamentalists 1871 births 1965 deaths

Books by J. C. Massee

Further reading

References

External links