United States of America

Preach On! – The Black Robed Regiment and the American Revolution

/ Bob / Leave a comment

The Black Regiment was a derogatory term used by the Loyalists and British officials to refer to pastors who used their pulpits to provide the theological justification and moral authority for the American Revolution; to instill in their congregants an understanding of and a desire for true liberty; and to help them see their cause as a sacred duty.

These ministers of the gospel became more feared than the military might of the colonists. Reflecting on the effectiveness of colonial preachers during the siege of Boston, Peter Oliver, the last royal Chief Justice of Massachusetts, bitterly compared those preachers in their black robes to the actual British military forces: “But as little as the red Regiments performed, the black Regiment played its Artillery to some purpose; and The Pulpit – Drum Eccliastick – Was beat with Fist instead of a Stick.”

The Black Robed Regiment, as they came to be known later, preached sermons which would later be echoed in our founding documents through phrases like “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility” and “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” They emboldened their congregants to stand for the truth and, if necessary, fight for the truth. They were a formidable adversary indeed and their contributions live on.

We have a secular form of government – of the people, by the people, and for the people – but the people who founded this nation did so not in a moral vacuum, but in the morality and justice and truth they learned growing up in an Ecclesiocentric, and at times a Theocentric, world. They were taught the Word of God by their ancestors; inspired to know God’s justice and grace through the preachers of the Great Awakening; and they were inspired by Godly men like the Black Robed Regiment who gave them Godly wisdom and strength to stand up against tyranny and fight for true liberty and true freedom. So while our form of government is secular, the foundation on which it stands is sacred.

May we never forget from whence we came. May we never forget that God’s sovereignty brought this nation into existence. And may we never forget that the sovereign God who brought us into existence as a nation can remove us just as easily.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, June 28, 2026. It is part of a series called From Reverence to Revival to Revolution: The Influence of Christianity and the Great Awakening on the Founding of The United States of America. Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com .

Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Class Notes – Preach On – 06.28.2026Download

Pray and Then Vote

/ Bob

1 Timothy 2:1-4

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Voting is both a right and a privilege here in the United States. But whether you live in the U.S. or in some other county, the admonition Paul gives Timothy applies to us today. Here in the U.S. we have begun to think that our future is determined by the vote. As citizens we should be salt and light within our country and, consequently, we should be involved in the political process as much as is in our power to do so. However, our faith must be in the One Who establishes and allows governments to exist. Our hope must be in Him. Only then can we walk in wisdom and in peace in the midst of a political storm, a geo-political conflict, or a peace–squelching effort on the part of any human or institution.

Daniel 2:20-22

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.