Exiled : Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War

by Kell, Carl L.

• ISBN13: 9781572334489
• ISBN10: 1572334487
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-15
• Publisher: Univ of Tennessee Pr

Summary

It has been one of the major news stories in religion and culture of the past twenty-five years. From 1979 to 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was rocked by assaults on its leadership by fundamentalists, who used questionable tactics to gain top positions and then used their power to purge Baptist seminary presidents and professors, church pastors, lay leaders, and women from positions of responsibility. America's largest Christian, non-Catholic denomination is firmly locked in a "holy war" to secure its churches and membership for a never-ending struggle against a liberal culture. Exiled: Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War is a compilation of first-person narratives by conservative and moderate ministers and lay leaders who were stripped of their positions and essentially became pariahs in the churches to which they had devoted their lives. While other books have described the takeover in historical, political, and theological terms, Exiled is different. Individual people tell their personal stories, revealing the struggle and heartache that resulted from being vilified, dispossessed, and exiled. Kell includes a variety of perspectives--from lay preachers and church members to prominent former SBC leaders such as James Dunn and Carolyn Crumpler. The emotion captured on the pages--sadness, shock, disbelief, resignation, and anger--will make Exiled moving even to readers who know little about the Southern Baptist movement. Exiled will also be of particular interest to historians, sociologists, philosophers of religion, and rhetorical historians.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Carolyn Crumpler
Foreword: Exiled, Indeed	xxv
James Dunn
Preface	xxxiii
Acknowledgments	xli
Introduction	1	(12)
Samuel S. Hill
Southern Baptist Woman in Exile	13	(4)
Eleanor B. Williamson
My Story: A Personal Adventure in Unholy Righteousness	17	(4)
Joe Yelton
A Trustee Who Could No Longer Trust	21	(4)
George Steincross
From Baptist to Baptist	25	(4)
Frank Kendall
No More Knockin'	29	(2)
Rachel Smith Childress
Getting My Head on Straight	31	(8)
Cecil E. Sherman
Still a Baptist Woman	39	(12)
Gladys S. Lewis
My Departure From the Sunday School Board	51	(4)
Alan G. Jolly
Strangers in My House	55	(4)
S. L. Harris
Yesterday's Dreams, Today's Realities	59	(4)
Lavonn D. Brown
One Layman's Reluctant Journey Toward Higher Ground	63	(4)
Wayne C. Bartee
Exiled From the SBC	67	(4)
June Brown
Freedom Has Never Been So Precious	71	(6)
Michael K. Olmsted
A Lot Like Dying	77	(4)
Gregory L. Hancock
The Texas Two-Step	81	(6)
Rick McClatchy
A Liberal Baptist's Story of Exile from the SBC	87	(6)
C. Fred Werhan
Exiled: South Carolina-Style	93	(6)
E.C. Watson
A Separate Peace	99	(4)
Ronald D. Sisk
Exodus from the Southern Baptist Convention	103	(4)
Michael R. Duncan
Finding a Voice in Exile	107	(14)
Paul D. Simmons
The Hijacking of the Southern Baptist Convention	121	(2)
W. H. Crouch
Inside the Gatlinburg Gang	123	(4)
Edwin F. Perry
The Skirmish of First Baptist Church, Jamestown, North Carolina	127	(6)
Pascal L. Hovis
I Am in Exile. I Am Home: Exile of Innocence	133	(2)
Tracy Dunn-Noland
``Exile of Innocence'' Dawn Darwin Weaks	135	(4)
Tracy Dunn-Noland
Withdrawal and Exclusion: Doing the Right Thing	139	(4)
J. R. Huddlestun
Phoenix Rising	143	(2)
Reba Cobb
Poses	145	(2)
Mark Fleming
Early Retirement	147	(6)
Joe E. Trull
Appendix: Comparison of 1925, 1963, and 2000 Baptist Faith and Message	153	(28)
Bibliography	181	(4)
Contributors	185	(6)
Index	191