Though he may not current be with COGIC when this video was done he was. As this videos is actually from 2009 time frame and is from the AIM Conference.
Anthony Austin , that’s right. Church of God in Christ (C. H. Mason) came out of the Baptist Church. Unfortunately, split after split has plagued the body for centuries.
When it comes to the Hymns of the Church, the Baptist church was always known for three things, and they were: hymns, anthems, and good preaching. Isaac Watts is recognized as the "Godfather of English Hymnody" and was a Congregationalist who came a little before John Wesley and the Methodists. According to my research, historians trace the earliest Baptist church to 1609. Wesley founded the Methodist Church around 1738. Since the Baptist denomination was founded before the Methodist, I would say that they began hymn singing first. Also, the Baptist would do what's known as, "lining out." You would have someone speak a line in a particular hymn and the congregation would proceed to sing out those same words. I remember well those days because that was the environment that I came out of. Today I worship at an Apostolic church, but there are some things that were and are part of the Baptist tradition.
