WACO—Even in Christian circles, response to economic injustice easily can be based on worldly charity rather than the heart of Christ, two Baylor University professors told the No Need Among You conference.

Natalie Carnes, assistant professor of theology, and Jonathan Tran, associate professor of theology and ethics, discussed what Christian discipleship demands and how it relates to worldly charity and Christian love.

Unlike the world's response to poverty, Christian love causes Christ's followers to see everything they have as a gift of God, granted so it can be given to those in need, Baylor University professor Jonathan Tran told the No Need Among You conference.

"In (Waco), a city where one out of three people live below the poverty line, in a state teeming with folks who feel the need to fight—often with one another—for scarce resources, in a nation that suffers recession where millions go unemployed … in a world where 35,000 children die daily from poverty, where hundreds of millions live on less than a $1 a day and eat less than a bowl of rice, we are very, very rich," Tran said.

And from this material abundance, Christ calls his followers to give and care for the poor. But even among Christians, this call typically is answered with what he termed "worldly charity"—so called because the majority of the world responds in that manner and is a model of goodness rooted in the world.

"The fact that we Christians tend to applaud this kind of charity, that we tend to aspire to it, shows that we are worldly, if by worldly we mean resembling, not distinguishable from, non-Christian people in the world," Tran said.

Worldly charity requires some response, but it does not demand the same deep level of commitment as Christian love, Carnes noted.

"Worldly charity requires sacrifice but not deep sacrifice, compassion but not overwhelming compassion, a global consideration of poverty without a global indictment of systems that create poverty. Worldly charity allows us to believe God is on the side of the rich and that we can continue living in the same general patterns that we always lived," Carnes said.

Christian love demands self-sacrifice and a greater level of commitment than worldly charity, Baylor University professor Natalie Carnes told the No Need Among You conference. (PHOTOS/Kaitlin Warrington/BGCT)

On the surface, worldly charity looks appealing and adequate, Tran said. But with a deeper look, it is far from the call of discipleship and example of Christian charity that Christ gave.

Christian charity recognizes that apart from God, Christ-followers have nothing, he added. All is seen as a gift of God with the intention of giving away the blessings to those in need.

Christian charity "requires, not the giving of a few coins or the jacket we no longer wear, but that we also give away a sizable chunk of our bank account—maybe even more than we keep—and that we also give away items we may love, even need," Carnes said.

This type of charity means Christ-followers examine all parts of life, being willing to sacrifice convenience and comfort to give to people who have little or nothing.

"Christian charity swims in an ocean of compassion that flows from the life of God and floods our lives and choices," Carnes said.

"Where worldly charity allows your life to remain intact, Christian charity, with its life-drenching compassion, will not. It will inconvenience your life. It will trouble you. It doesn't ask what spare change you have, but rather, 'How have you lived in such a way that you have so much spare change around?'"

Christian charity comes at a cost, but Christ-followers can be sure they are following the heart of God in this sacrifice.

"I have said that we cannot worship the God who made the poor without serving the poor. I might also say that we cannot worship the God who gave everything if we demand to hold on to our things," Carnes said.

MARSHALL—East Texas Baptist University partnered with Second Baptist and Hillcrest Baptist churches in Marshall to provide more than 200 volunteers for a fall festival at an elementary school near the ETBU campus.

The fall festival at Robert E. Lee Elementary School involved students and staff from ETBU's Leading and Learning classes, Great Commission Center and Baptist Student Ministry. The festival included games, food, bounce houses, art and other fun activities for children and their families.

"The students and parents are still talking about our fall festival," said Kresha Lane, principal of Lee Elementary. At the fall festival, ETBU students and professors enjoyed getting to know Lee Elementary students and their families.

"As a Marshall native, it is my desire to bring our community together toward common goals. As a Christian, I know that God always places people in my path to help accomplish his goals, and ETBU was placed in our path for a reason," Lane said.

"Through our partnership, we have been able to give more to our students and parents. Many of our parents are single parents, and they really enjoyed the fall festival, because the majority of the food and games were free."

Each Lee student received 20 free tickets to use at the festival games. Additional tickets also could be purchased for a small fee.

A little rain did not stop Kresha Lane, principal of Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Marshall, from being on the hot seat of the dunking tank. (PHOTOS/ETBU Great Commission Center)

"The students had a great time, and my parents report that it actually felt like a community," Lane said.

ETBU freshman Jordan Rosenberger of Waxahachie spent her time at the fall festival at the ring-toss booth.

"I think that as a college student and as a Christian, it is good to share the light and love of Christ," Rosenberger said.

The one thing that impressed her most while helping at the festival was seeing her classmates and friends demonstrate love to children they didn't know. 

"After helping at Lee, I really felt called to help with ETBU Cares," the university's ongoing partnership at Lee Elementary, she said. "I think it's so cool that God used this service project to push me to help with Lee in the future."

ETBU also recently contributed $4,000 to Lee Elementary to help pay for new playground equipment for elementary students.

DALLAS—Dallas Baptist University has announced a new fund-raising campaign for the Joan and Andy Horner Ballpark.

The new stadium, with the capacity to seat 2,000 fans, is scheduled for completion before opening day in February of 2013.

Dallas Baptist University is raising funds for a new baseball stadium.

With a $2.5 million gift from the Horner family spearheading the construction, fund-raising efforts are under way this fall to complete giving for the facility.

The baseball field will remain in its current location, and the new ballpark will be built around it. Current plans call for a dark-red brick façade that matches the current colonial Georgian architectural style of the other buildings on campus.

"As we strive to develop young men into champions for Christ, this new ballpark is an extraordinary opportunity for our university, our athletics program and our baseball team to advance our vision in building a top-tier program," said Blair Blackburn, executive vice president.

"This stadium is going to be one of the premier ballparks of its size in college baseball, and we have partnered with the foremost architectural firm in the country for sport venue design in HKS," he said.

"There is no doubt that God has blessed our program with this major lead gift to launch our ballpark construction. We are excited about the project and what it means for Dallas Baptist Patriot baseball," Blackburn continued.

The facility will feature club seating, a state-of-the-art press box, two radio booths, a TV booth and guest suites, as well as coaches' offices and a reception area to be added alongside new sunken dugouts and enhanced field lighting.

An outdoor pavilion down the left field line and several party patios on the upper concourse are planned as a part of the fan amenities included in the construction project.

The DBU Patriots ended the 2012 season with a 41-19 record and an appearance in the NCAA Regional Championship, hosted by Baylor University in Waco.

DALLAS—Texas Baptists' new Pastor/Church Connection hasn't even fully set up shop, but already it's helping pastors with their needs.

Congregations looking for pastors and pastors looking for churches to serve are contacting the Baptist General Convention of Texas' new office, which seeks to strengthen congregations by strengthening their ministers.

"We get calls all the time from churches who need help in the interim," said Joe Loughlin, who leads the Pastor/ Church Connection.

Pastor/Church Connection staff also are calling congregations they hear are without a pastor and seeing if they can help those churches.

"We want to provide resources to churches that want help," Loughlin said.

The Pastor/Church Connection already has connected the convention with Baptist University of the Américas, Logsdon Seminary and Truett Seminary to help expand Texas Baptist churches' potential pool of pastors.

In recent years, some congregations have struggled to find ministerial candidates they believed met what their church desired in a staff member, Loughlin said.

"I think the impact could be huge for the BGCT, because we know that most of their theological demographic is in line with who we are and what we're trying to accomplish," Loughlin said.

Addressing the needs of congregations seeking pastors and pastors seeking congregations is foremost on the mind of the Pastor/Church Connection staff members. Research indicates that at any given time, at least 500 Texas Baptist churches are seeking a pastor. The need to fill those positions is critical, Loughlin said.

He asked churches looking for pastors to contact the Pastor/ Church Connection at (214) 828-5294. He also would like ministers looking for positions to contact the department, as well. Initially connections will be facilitated by hand, but the office hopes to soon have a robust online tool to help churches and ministers.

"One hundred percent of what we do is serving the local church," Loughlin said. "It's who we are. It's what we're about.

For more information about Pastor/Church Connection resources, visit www.texasbaptists.org/pastorchurchconnection.

SAN ANTONIO—Not content just to allocate missions funds to the Baptist University of the Américas, members of the Texas Woman's Missionary Union board of directors also gave time and energy to sprucing up the San Antonio campus.

"Donating money is great and absolutely necessary, but —in my opinion—nothing beats hands-on, meeting-people, team-effort, getting-dirty, seeing-smiles, experiencing-hugs, onsite projects," said Gloria Mills, president of Texas WMU for Texas, after a recent a "working" board meeting.

BUA in San Antonio is one of four emphasis areas of the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions this year. WMU Executive Director Sandra Wisdom-Martin moved the fall board meeting from Dallas to BUA's campus so board members could serve as volunteers.

Merle Cross from Gilmer wanted to make sure the BUA campus had newly planted flowers. So, she and Mills went to a store to buy the plants to set them out.

"Merle's conversation with the employee in the garden department inspired the salesperson to give us unbelievable prices on the plants," Mills recalled. "As we worked, students and personnel commented over and over how much they loved the flowers."

Joline Wiley, a board member from Kenedy, described the volunteer activity at BUA as "Texas missions in action. It's putting Mary Hill Davis Offerings to work."

Bonnie Sellers-Martinez, board member from Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana in El Paso, saw the volunteer project as "a contribution for benefit of future missionaries who will minister in Texas and beyond."

Gloria Mills of Henderson, president of Woman's Missionary Union of Texas, plants flowers on the campus.

Campus projects included painting, assembling chairs, tables and desks, as well as framing and hanging pictures in student areas. WMU staff joined board members in the work.

"Seeing a room being transformed was fun. But what was even better than that was seeing the faces of students who were delighted to see their buildings and grounds be-ing refreshed. The appreciation expressed was heart-warming," said Carolyn Porterfield, Texas WMU multicultural consultant.

At the end of the workday, BUA students served the volunteers dinner and presented a program that included personal missions testimonies and music.

"A highlight for me was hearing the testimonies from the students who went on a summer mission trip to London, plus hearing great multicultural musicians was awesome," said Charlotte Watson, board member from Georgetown.

"We heard first-hand how lives were changed and saw results," added Lynn Montgomery, board member from Tyler. "I was touched by the testimonies and experiences of the students and how far the Mary Hill Davis Offering extends. My church and I are really proud to support such a great cause."

Shirley Fannin, board member from Dickerson, recalled visiting with a student who sat by her at dinner.

"He shared some of his life with me. We exchanged email addresses to stay in touch in the future. I promised to pray for him," she said.

Doris Moore, board member from Matador, summed up the day at BUA, saying, "Being at BUA, seeing the caring staff and faculty, and hearing the testimonies of the students was a truly eye-opening, wonderful experience."

Joe Hancock has been named vice president and general counsel of the Baptist Foundation of Texas, effective Jan. 1, 2013.

Hancock, currently senior trust counsel, has been with the foundation 13 years. He holds a bachelor of business administration degree from Baylor University and masters and law degrees from the University of Arkansas.

Hancock succeeds Jeff Smith, who has been named president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2013.

• Donnie Melton to First Church in Wharton as interim pastor.

• Philip Riegel to First Church in Fort Stockton as pastor from Calvary Church in Pilot Point.

• John Ward to First Church in Westbrook as pastor.

• No More Violence, in partnership with the River Ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will hold a conference Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Shiloh Terrace Church in Dallas. Speakers will be Richard Gomez and David Balyeat. The conference will provide tools to use on mission trips and in communities to combat violence. No Mas Violencia is a nonprofit organization established to combat violence by using the truths and values of God. The cost is $15 and includes materials and lunch.

• Buckner Children and Family Services and Dillon International will present two free foster care and adoption information meetings at Buckner's office, 5200 Buckner Blvd, Dallas. A Dillon representative will give an overview of adoption from China, Korea, Haiti, India, Hong Kong, Ghana and Colombia Monday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. A domestic adoption program for Texas families and adoption programs in Russia, Ethiopia and Honduras, available through an affiliation with Buckner, also will be discussed. For information or a reservation to attend the meeting, call (214) 319-3426. A Buckner representative will give an overview of foster care and adoption options in Texas, including foster-to-adopt, Waiting Texas Children and domestic infant adoption programs Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. International adoption options, through Buckner's affiliate Dillon International, also will be discussed. For information or a reservation to attend the meeting, call (214) 319-3425.

• B.H. Carroll Theological Institute will hold its fall colloquy Nov. 12-14. David Crutchley, dean of the religion department at Carson-Newman College, will be featured in three plenary sessions on "Being Fully Human: A Spirituality Out of Africa." Each session will be followed by a question-and-answer period. He will explore the concept that African spirituality has much to teach the rest of the world in matters of faith, religion and humanity. The plenary sessions will be at 2 p.m. Monday and at 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Tuesday. For more information, call (817) 274-4284.

• The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary School of Music will present "A Steinway Pianorama Christmas" Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Truett Auditorium. It will be an evening of holiday music played on 16 Steinway pianos. Tickets are $20 and are available at swbts.edu/pianorama.

• East Texas Baptist University has named Allison Peteet director of alumni relations.

• Kevin Kirk has been promoted to assistant vice president for enrollment management at Howard Payne University. He had overseen student ad-missions since 2009.

• Suzii Paynter, director of the Christian Life Commission and director of the Advocacy and Care Center of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dallas Baptist University during the school's fall convocation.

• Richard Klassen, associate pastor of Richardson Vietnamese Church and recent Truett Theological Seminary graduate, addressed the national conference of Vietnamese pastors. Klassen's speech included excerpts from his doctoral research in crosscultural issues and the role of language in culture.

Anniversaries

• Ross Shelton, fifth, as pastor of First Church in Woodville, Oct. 22.

• Ray Still, 20th, as pastor of Oakwood Church in New Braunfels, Nov. 17. A reception is planned from 10 a.m. until noon.

Deaths

• Eddie Belle Newport, 93, Sept. 29 in Houston. Her husband, John, was pastor of four churches before the couple moved to Fort Worth in 1952 when he began his teaching career at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She was a member of Broadway Church in Fort Worth and taught an adult Sunday school class many years. She also taught the independent Ray Reimers Bible class. She also taught at the Edna Gladney Home, now the Gladney Center for Adoption, and at River Oaks Baptist School in Houston. She loved to travel and led tour and study groups around the world, including the Holy Land, India, New Zealand and China. She was preceded in death by her husband; sister, Mary Martha Leavell; and brother, Frank Leavell Jr. She is survived by her daughter, Martha Shimkus; sons, Frank and John Jr.; six grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

• Bud Looper, 87, Oct. 19 in Nashville, Ark. He was a pastor in Arkansas and Texas. He was preceded in death by his brother, Notie, and twin sister, Dorothy Craig. He is survived by his wife, Aletha; son, Jimmy; daughter, Gwen Sherman; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Ordained

• Thomas Blair and Bill Herman as deacons at Water Valley Church in Water Valley, Oct. 21.

Revival

• First Church, Three Rivers; Nov. 3-5; evangelist, David Billeiter; music, Terry Wilkins; pastor, Lyn Means.

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas has named Scott Willingham as director of its evangelism team.

Scott Willingham

In his new role, Willingham—who served as Texas Baptists’ local-church evangelism director since 2008—will seek to encourage churches in their efforts to share the gospel throughout the state and around the world.

BGCT Executive Director David Hardage said Willingham’s leadership will be critical moving forward in a crucial area. Evangelism is at the heart of who Texas Baptists are, and they are passionate about sharing Christ’s love for people, he emphasized.

“I’m excited about Scott Willingham’s willingness to accept the position as director of evangelism for our Texas Baptists family,” Hardage said. ”I have known Scott for many years and know him to be a man of spiritual sensitivity and personal integrity. Plus, he knows evangelism and practices evangelism.

“His reputation among our Texas Baptists pastors is strong. He’ll build a great team, and they will lead us well.  Nothing is more important to Texas Baptists, and Scott will lead the way forward.”

As director of congregational evangelism, Willingham facilitated the organization of CityReach events, evangelism efforts leading up to each year’s BGCT annual meeting.

Since 2011, nearly 8,000 people from 614 churches participated in events facilitated by Willingham.

He promoted the 4xfour evangelism campaign throughout the state and led many regional clinics for the curriculum, written by Greg Wallace, pastor of Woodridge Baptist Church in Kingwood.

Under Willingham’s guidance, the convention—in cooperation with local Baptist partners—launched [un]Apologetics conferences, which equipped Christian to offer defenses for their faith.

He also led in partnering with Baptist associations and churches to hold regional Engage evangelism conferences.

For Willingham, fostering a culture of evangelistic zeal begins with returning to the basics of the faith. First and foremost, Christians should want to share the gospel in their spheres of influence because it reflects the heart of God, he said.

“Lost people matter to God as evidenced by the cross,” he said. “That’s a core value.”

Discipleship and evangelism go hand-in-hand, Willingham said. Christ’s followers naturally will live out his command to make disciples. The desire to share the gospel is an outpouring of one’s relationship with God, stressed.

“Evangelism starts on the inside,” he said. “What I mean by that is if we don’t pay attention to ourselves inside, we’re not going to be evangelistic. If we’re not walking with God, living with God, we’re not going to share the gospel.”

Encouraging and strengthening Texas Baptists, Texas Baptist pastors and Texas Baptist leaders is important in cultivating evangelism throughout the state, Willingham noted, because evangelism and discipleship happen in local churches.

“We reach the state of Texas through those that hold the keys,” he said. “That is the local church.”

Willingham earned his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and his master’s degree and doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His pastorates include Faith Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, First Baptist Church in Dumas and First Baptist Church in Taylor. He and his wife Lori are members of First Baptist Church in Midlothian.

WACO—Anti-hunger advocates, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and corporate partners have succeeded in “moving the dial” in efforts to reduce food insecurity and ultimately eliminate hunger, speakers reported at the Southwest Regional Hunger Summit, Oct. 17-18 on the Baylor University Campus.

Three years ago, when the Texas Hunger Initiative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture convened the first hunger summit in Waco, Texas ranked second nationally among all states in terms of child hunger.

Jeremy Everett, director of the Texas Hunger Initiative.

“When we gathered here, it seemed we were in a deserted place—and we were,” said Jeremy Everett, director of the Texas Hunger Initiative, a program launched by the Baylor School of Social Work and the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission. “But in deserted times and deserted places, that’s where God moves.”

Today, Texas ranks No. 11, Everett reported. “This year, we will provide 15 million more meals at breakfast for children than last year,” he said.

The hunger summit has expanded to include participants from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico and corporate partners such a ConAgra Foods, Dairy Max and the WalMart Foundation.

Harriet Phillips, the Arkansas governor’s liaison to the No Kid Hungry campaign, reported significant progress in her state, which ranked first in child hunger three years ago but now ranks No. 9 in the nation.

Harriet Phillips, the Arkansas governor’s liaison to the No Kid Hungry campaign.

Arkansas increased participation in SNAP—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called Food Stamps—by at least 5 percent and increased summer feeding programs for children by 25 percent, adding 114 sites, she reported.

Research demonstrates increased participation in SNAP and feeding programs for children reduces food insecurity, economist Craig Gundersen told the summit.

Americans should recognize the public health benefits of the assistance programs and seek to reduce the stigma attached to participation in them, said Gundersen, professor in the department of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois.

While political candidates focus on the middle class, Americans should not lose sight of the precarious position occupied by the working poor who often live at the upper boundary of the poverty line, said David Shipler, former New York Times correspondent and author of The Working Poor: Invisible in America.

“It’s a minefield, and any misstep can set people back,” Shipler said.

But many Americans fail to recognize laborers because “they wear the camouflage of work,” or because their lives “defy the American myth,” he said. The myth says if people in the United States work hard, they will prosper, and if they fail to prosper, it’s because they neglect to work hard, he explained.

“It’s a powerful myth because we wish it to be true,” Shipler said.

Poverty rarely results from a single factor, he noted. Social systems and bad choices by individuals both play a role, and America needs to “address the range of variables,” Shipler insisted.
But hunger almost inevitably results from poverty, because housing, utilities and other fixed costs tend to cause families to spend less on groceries, he noted.

“The part of the budget that can be squeezed is food, and that’s what happens,” he said.

BELTON—From the days surrounding the American Revolution, Baptists used religious arguments to make political points and political arguments to make religious points, historian James P. Byrd, associate dean at Vanderbilt Divinity School, told a conference at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

At the same time Baptists argued for separation of church and state, they did not hesitate to preach on political topics or embrace patriotic causes with religious fervor, Byrd said, addressing an Oct. 12-13 conference on “Baptists and the Shaping of American Culture.”

In a sense, Baptists reflected their culture. Neither Thomas Jefferson nor Benjamin Franklin accepted orthodox Christian teachings, but both used biblical language in public statements. Even Thomas Paine, a deist rationalist, cited Old Testament Scripture in his widely distributed pamphlet, “Common Sense.”

“Thomas Paine realized  ‘Common Sense’ had to make biblical sense” to an 18th century audience, Byrd noted.

Similarly, Baptist preachers such as Isaac Backus and Samuel Stillman applied biblical texts and theological arguments to calls for civil and religious liberty—even preaching on secular topics as specific as repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765.

In a widely reprinted 1772 sermon at Second Baptist Church in Boston, John Allen argued on scriptural grounds the colonists needed to throw off the yoke of the monarchy and declare themselves an independent nation.

“Baptists saw themselves as the patriots of all patriots,” Byrd said.

Once the colonists declared their independence and the American Revolutionary War began, Baptists rallied support from their pulpits and served as military chaplains, he noted. Many preachers of the period cited Jeremiah 48:10 in their sermons: “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.”

As commander of the Continental Army and first president of the United States, George Washington spoke highly of Baptists “because Baptists supported the revolution,” Byrd said.

Baptists returned the favor. Washington spoke rarely of Christianity other than in veiled references to Divine Providence or in support of Christianity’s utilitarian value in promoting good behavior, Byrd noted. But Richard Furman, a Baptist leader from Charleston, S.C., compared Washington to Moses and Joshua, extolling him as “God’s gift to America.”

“Similarly, John Leland the Baptist defender of separation of church and state saw the deist Thomas Jefferson as God’s gift and as his hero, hailing him as an apostle of liberty,” Byrd said.

The tendency to “deify deistic figures” such as Jefferson and Franklin whose words still are “quoted very much like Scripture” remains even in the 21st century, he observed.

“The Founders never go away,” Byrd said. “There seems to be an American obsession with the Founders. It’s as if we periodically have to check in with Benjamin Franklin or ask, ‘What would Thomas Jefferson think?’”

BELTON—The story of Black Baptists in the 20th century reflects the larger story of African-Americans’ quest for equality, historian Adam Bond said.

African-American Baptists shared a common goal of “racial uplift,” but their approaches varied from social-gospel reform to a single-minded focus on saving souls to Black nationalism, he told a conference at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Adam Bond, associate professor of historical studies in the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.

“One could find within the biblical and theological traditions of the black Baptist experience grounds for each position. One could also find ways in which these differing positions supported each other in the work of uplift,” said Bond, associate professor of historical studies in the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.

Bond participated in a panel discussion on Baptists and race as part of a conference on “Baptists and the Shaping of American Culture,” sponsored by the UMHB College of Christian Studies.

African-American Baptist involvement in social and political issues neither began nor ended with Martin Luther King Jr., he noted.

“The cast of socially engaged black Baptist characters is much larger than many people suspect,” Bond said, pointing to the influence of William Henry Jernagin, pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., in the 1920s.

“A ‘race man’ at his core, Jernagin led racial uplift initiatives within and outside of the denomination,” he said.

Bond also noted the significant role of Conseulla B. York, a woman preacher from Chicago with a noteworthy prison ministry in the 1950s.

Among African-American Baptists who emphasized the importance of soul-winning, Bond pointed to J.W. Bailey, who headed the National Baptist Convention USA evangelism department in the 1920s and 1930s, coordinating religious revival meetings around the country.

“Bailey saw this as his primary mission. The easy solution to the race crisis in America was salvation. He believed that the world would be a better place when everyone truly knew Jesus as Lord,” Bond said.

J.M. Gates and Jasper Williams of Atlanta, W. Leo Daniels of Houston and C.L. Franklin—father of soul singer Aretha Franklin—all made a significant impact nationally through their recorded evangelistic sermons, he added.

However, other African-Americans responded with embarrassment to the “chanted sermons” of those “whooping preachers,” preferring instead to emphasize education as the key to racial uplift, Bond noted.

Even so, African-Americans who advocated for education and “distanced themselves from the masses of black folk” followed two widely divergent paths—integration and cultural assimilation on one hand and black nationalists on the other. For example, he noted the father of Malcolm X was a Baptist preacher and supporter of Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Association.

“Did pan-African thought exist among some of the black Baptists in charge of mission work? Were their ideas about cultivating Africa a way to build a nation? Or was ‘nation-building’ within a nation more on the minds of more Baptists than public records disclose? This category of African-American Baptist political thought will be an important one to examine,” Bond said.