[3] He was secretary of the Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in India and Foreign Parts when it was formed in February 1813 and he prayers for the missions a regular practice for his congregation.

[2] As the head of a congregation and a leader of Baptist organizations, Sharp faced the dilemma of maintaining unity while providing moral guidance on the most contentious issues of his era, war and slavery.

Preaching on April 2, 1846, on the subject of war and peace, he described the pastor's duty and used slavery to make his point:[5] Although a minister of the gospel may not, without stepping out of his place, discuss party questions; yet he may, and ought to ... seek to give a direction to public opinion.

It has pleaded the cause of the poor slave; nay, it has done more than any other single instrumentality to break the fetters of the bondman, and bid the oppressed be free.Sharp was a member and at times a vice president of the American Peace Society,[6] which sought non-violent resolution to international conflicts.

[3] The Boston Journal wrote in an obituary that "his views upon public affairs, and upon the great movements of the day ... were sound, practical and conservative, and fraught with benevolence.