involuntary. McGready likened these to biblical examples of people leaping for joy, but at the same time, said that these movements were not orchestrated or integrated as part of the worship service. McGready allowed for, but did not appear to encourage, the exercises. Nor did he assume that they were necessarily signs of conversion. His account reveals that he was most impressed by what he regarded as the extraordinary ability of children to exhort as a result of their conversions. Ecumenism and egalitarianism Denominational cooperation, a hallmark of the revivals that began in Logan County, was not necessarily uncommon among frontier preachers, because of the needs related to planting new churches and religious societies in the demanding circumstances of backcountry settlements. However, doctrinal differences between the sects were substantial and often produced suspicion and competition, preventing ministers from the different churches from collaborating, especially in theologically controversial realms such as the means of conversion and baptism, and the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Baptists distinguished themselves apart from Methodists and Presbyterians because of differences over baptism. Presbyterians differed sharply from Methodists because of Calvinist doctrines of universal depravity and predestination, which contrasted with Methodists’ emphasis on free will and universal, rather than limited, atonement. Revival preachers such as McGready circumvented many of the doctrinal controversies during the revivals by stressing the common belief in the necessity of an experience of “saving change.” Egalitarian practices in evangelical religion also advanced during the revivals, as McGready repeatedly mentioned the presence and conversion of blacks in the revivals and the expansion of the role of exhorter to women, children, and blacks, many of whom were enslaved. An exhorter was a lay person who preached an informal or impromptu sermon, encouraging others toward experiential conversion, often immediately after his own conversion. McGready was especially impressed with recurring instances of child exhorters who sometimes exhibited the falling behavior, only to rise later and expound upon the mysteries of the gospel in words that seemed beyond their years. He reported that “the conduct of young converts, and especially of such as were but children, fastened more convictions at these times than all the preaching." McGready accepted children as young as eight in the sacrament based on their conversion experiences, rather than satisfactory answers to questions based on the catechism, one of the usual requirements for participating in communion. McGready repeated throughout his account the universal character