Product Description
The definitive characteristics of Baptists have been gained at great price, and the authors reaffirm those distinctives for the present generation in devotionals that spotlight men and women whose lives challenge and inspire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I WISH I HAD KNEW
AS I CONTINUE TO READ THIS BOOK ON A STEADY BASIS, I AM AMAZED AT HOW MUCH HAS BEEN SWEPT UNDER THE RUG CONCERNING NOT ONLY BAPTIST HISTORY, BUT ALSO AMERICAN HISTORY.THIS BOOK TELLS OF A PEOPLE WHO STROVE FOR FREEDOM, WHO SUFFERED GREATLY, AND WHO MADE A PERMANENT IMPACT NOT ONLY IN AMERICA BUT THE ENTIRE WORLD.I HAVE NEVER BEEN MUCH ON DAILY DEVOTIONAL BOOKS BUT I GIVE A WHOLE-HEARTED RECOMMNENDATION OF THIS GREAT BOOK.IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE AND CHALLENGED ME TO BE A BETTER CHRISTIAN. I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN OF IT BEFORE. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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From the days of Z. N. Morrell and James Huckins to Bill Pinson and Charles Wade, Baptists have played and continue to play an important role in the religious, secular, and political life of Texas. Over the previous one hundred and fifty years several Texas Baptist histories have been written, but not until now have the documents used in the development of these texts been made available in one resource.

In A Texas Baptist History Sourcebook, Joseph E. Early, Jr., has provided the most complete collection of Texas Baptist sources ever issued in one volume. This work consists of church minutes, state and association convention records, denominational newspaper articles, records of Baptist universities, and myriads of other resources. Included in this work are George Washington Truett's sermon "Baptists and Religious Liberty" delivered on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.; James Milton Carroll's Trail of Blood; J. Frank Norris's railings against the Baptist General Convention of Texas; and countless other sources depicting the many years of Texas Baptist history.

This book is designed as a complementary work to Harry Leon McBeth's Texas Baptists: A Sesquicentennial History. Students can follow McBeth's chapter divisions, headings, and subheadings for greater ease in studying the documents. Whether used independently or as a companion to McBeth's work, A Texas Baptist History Sourcebook is a must for an in-depth study of Baptists in Texas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

First-rate companion volume to McBeth's history
Early is a professor of religion at Cumberland College and the author of two previous books on the history of the Baptist denomination in Texas. This one is meant as a complementary volume to Harry McBeth's _Texas Baptists: a Sesquicentennial History_ (1999), currently the standard historical survey. The Baptists have had a prominent role in Texas's history since the Revolution, both as individuals and as an organized body, and a number of histories have been published in the past century and a half, but this volume is the first attempt to bring together in one place all the sources they used. It includes church minutes, state convention records, articles from Baptist newspapers and other publications, speeches delivered in public, debates carried on in private, excerpts from missionaries' logbooks and memoirs, correspondence to and from Baptist leaders, and extended quotations from published histories of churches and universities. And, of course, there's a great deal of material on the issue of slavery and the range of Baptist responses to it. (There is rather less on today's parallel divisive issue of homosexuality.) And throughout all of this, there are names. Many, many names, all of which appear in the index. Researchers in Texas history and genealogy are aware that throughout the state's history, if you were an Anglo, there's a strong chance you were either a Baptist or a Methodist. That being the case, anyone with Texas connections needs to take a close look at this book. And then perhaps follow its footnotes to additional sources.

Indispensible Resource
If you are a Texas historian, a Baptist historian, or a Texas Baptist historian of any variety--scholastic, ministerial, or armchair--this book should be items 1-10 on your wish list. Don't wait to buy it for Christmas; buy it for Bastille Day!

Early's meticulous work springboards from the strengths of McBeth's companion volume without inheriting the weaknesses of the primary volume. It is well worth the money for the included sources alone, and Early's cogent introductions are worth paying the purchase price again.

Within a year this will be on the shelf of every serious student of Texas Baptist history. ... Read more

Product Description
"The Way We Were" is a book about the theological dimensions of the controversy which shook the foundations of the Southern Baptist Convention during the decades of the 80s and 90s. That controversy began at the national level, far from most Baptist laypeople, trickled down to the state Baptist conventions, where it included a much broader audience, and now has moved into local churches where the pain, in some ways, is more sever than it was at either the national or state levels. This revision of the 1994 book could not have come at a more appropriate time for many Baptist churches. It ought to be required reading for every pulpit search committee. . . . I sincerely wish that some rich brothers or sisters, fundamentalist or moderate, conservative or liberal, would come forth today and pay to have "The Way We Were" sent to every Baptist in America.

--Walter B. Shurden
from the Foreword ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Required Reading For All Southern Baptists!
I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church that had been indoctrinated by the "new" SBC regime of the 80's and 90's. I graduated from a Baptist University that broke off from it and mourned the loss of the "old" SBC. I was torn and caught in the middle of a controversy I didn't quite understand. Several churches later I began to see the problems myself and learn of the truth to the SBC's historical beliefs.

I read this book about a year ago and its content has been imprinted in my mind.Humphreys' book helped me to fully understand the theological issues involved in the revisions to the Baptist Faith & Message and how Southern Baptists are not better off than they were before! I regret that I was out of college before I understood the controversy, but I am thankful that I can recommend this book to family and friends in the SBC who have absolutely no clue as to the true historical beliefs of the SBC.

I am sad to say that the SBC with its current leadership is only apt to move further away from its roots and even further away from N.T. Christianity. This book should be required reading for all those who profess themselves to be a 'Southern Baptist' today.

I also recommend reading:
Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices

A Brave Book
I quickly read this book from cover-to-cover.As the Southern Baptist Convention has shifted towards Fundamentalism. I was somewhat surprised and very thankful to see such a well written example of someone publicly taking a stand against the powerful leaders of the SBC.

Part of Humphrey's success with this book is his respectful attitude toward the present and the past SBC leadership.I believe his respect for the current Fundamentlist leadership best represents a succesful Christ like discussion.

This book should be on the reading-list for all Southern Baptists.If I had the resources I would personally buy as many copies of this book as I could to give to Baptist churches.

A very well written book
As one who would be described as from the more conservative end of Southern Baptist life, though I'm no longer SBC, I enjoyed this book.Humphries does a good job of describing the beliefs that Baptists have with all Christians, with all Protestants, with all revivalists, and that are unique to Baptists.

He contends that of the 27 beliefs that once comprised the SBC four have been lost.Those are the priesthood of the believer, congregational decision making, seperation of church and state, and "no creed but the Bible."I don't agree with his assessment about the priesthood of the believer, I don't think it is a belief that has been lost in the SBC, and to his credit he list it as the least tragic of the 4 losses.While congregational decision making has been lost in some churches, in most it is still intact.Now that may change, but at the moment it seems to be unchanged, at least from my experience.I do agree with him that seperation of church and state has been lost, at least for the most part.And I agree with him that this is the greastest tragedy of the conservative takeover.One can only hope that the leaders recognize this and change it in the future.I also agree that the SBC is becoming to credal.While I have no problem with the 2001 BFM, I don't think those who prefer the 1963 BFM should be excluded from missionary service.

So, while I'm not in total agreement with Fisher Humphries on his assessment of the current SBC, I found it to be a good read.

Clarification for Southern Baptists
I believe most Southern Baptists would be enlightened by reading this book.The author discusses what Southern Baptists have in common with all Christians followed by the commonalities with other Protestant denominations such as Methodists and Presbyterians.He then elaborates on the distinctive Southern Baptists beliefs and practices prior to 1979.He also details a number of minority views which have appeared among Southern Baptists over the years.In 1979 the Southern Baptist Convention came under the control of the Conservative element of the convention and has continued to be thus dominated.During this period many of the members of the Moderate element have formed another Baptist organization called the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Having laid this groundwork, the author then talks about what has changed among Southern Baptists since 1979 and what other changes are likely in the near future.

Although he does express his own opinion at times about some controversal matters and one can detect whether he leans to the moderate or conservative view, he is able to keep his presentation factual and I believe unbiased. ... Read more

Product Description

Respected Baptist historian and theologian Bill J. Leonard takes readers through the theological and practical questions that are important to Baptists. In a clear style and with great sensitivity to the varieties of beliefs among Baptist bodies, Leonard considers the big questions of faith. These include Baptist beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, salvation, and the Christian life, among others.

Drawing on historic statements of Baptist belief, contemporary history, and his own background and deep scholarship, Leonard provides reliable and accessible discussions of these issues. His work will be highly illuminating for Baptists of all denominational groupings as well as for others interested in the core of Baptist theological convictions and their various expressions. This book is a strong and trusted voice, and a welcome resource.

This primer is cast in the form of a series of questions and answers. Leonard has devoted himself to understanding Baptists. He draws on his historical knowledge of early Baptist Confessions, his sensitivity to Baptist diversity, and his intimate knowledge of current Baptist life to offer readers a superb guide to Baptist beliefs and practices. - William L. Pitts Jr., Professor of Religion and Director of Graduate Studies, Baylor University

In his own inimitable style honed over years of teaching and preaching, Bill Leonard engagingly dissects Baptist life in all its simplicity and complexity. Focusing on an identity forged before there were denominations, Baptist Questions, Baptist Answers challenges readers to focus on what it means to be a Christian in the Baptist expression of the Christian tradition in a context questioning denominational affiliation.- Phyllis Rodgerson Pleasants, John F. Loftis Professor of Church History, Baptist Seminary at Richmond
... Read more

Product Description

Major SBC spokesmen address key issues of theology, polity,and practice to help readers respond to the most significantchallenges within evangelicalism.

What was once a small, southern, predominantly whitedenomination has become America's largest evangelical denomination.Yet with the Southern Baptist Convention's growth have come thechallenges of increasing fragmentation, theological controversy,and sweeping cultural change. These challenges have caused leadersand members to ask: What does it mean to be a Southern Baptist inthe twenty-first century? How can a fresh consensus be establishedfrom within? What are the core biblical convictions that must beupheld, the key practices that must be sustained, to reach the lostin this age of cultural accommodation?

These essays by editor David Dockery, Al Mohler, Timothy George,Russell Moore, Paige Patterson, and eleven other SBC leadersaddress these important issues and themes from severalperspectives. Their observations will illuminate the way not onlyfor fellow Southern Baptists but for all evangelicals facingsimilar challenges in the twenty-first century and beyond.

Customer Reviews (2)

Core Values of the Great Commission Resurgence
This collection of essays from many of the best known conservative leaders within the Southern Baptist Convention traces the history of the convention and charts a course for its future.The future, in the view of these pastors, scholars and leaders, is to go back to the core biblical values that marked the SBC in the past while seeking to understand how to engage the culture with the gospel.

Recurring themes in the book include the need to avoid the programmatic and pragmatic approaches of the past without neglecting entirely what organized efforts like the Cooperative Program can accomplish.The necessity of regenerate church membership is also often mentioned as a key factor churches must face in the years to come.The plateau/decline in baptisms is pointed out as a factor indicating a lack of evangelism among Southern Baptists.It seems that the conservative resurgence of the early 80's has yet to bear fruit in many respects.These essays say that the SBC must address the stagnated state of some 90% of their churches by recovering the biblical gospel and the, in their view, distinctively biblical heritage of Southern Baptists.

I was challenged and encouraged most by the essays from Ed Stetzer and Danny Akin, but there is much to commend in each essay.Highly recommended for anyone interested in Southern Baptist life and the future of the Convention.

The Future of Southern Baptists
Book titles are important. Smart titles tell you about the book's contents in a memorable way. Brilliant titles make a statement in and of themselves.

Crossway has recently published a collection of essays from a variety of Southern Baptist leaders. David Dockery is the editor of the new book, whose title says more in nine words than some books say in hundreds of pages. Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future (Crossway, 2009) implicitly makes the case that Southern Baptists are indeed evangelicals.

Thirty years ago, Southern Baptists were debating amongst themselves as to their identity. Moderates rejected the evangelical label because they wanted to see us belonging to the tradition of the mainline Protestant denominations. More recently, some conservatives have been reticent to adopt the evangelical label because of the fear we might water down our Baptist distinctives.

The title of Dockery's book demonstrates a willingness to be both evangelical (hence the "evangelical denomination" in the subtitle) and distinctively Baptist (hence the "Baptist Identity" in the title). Ecumenical evangelicalism and distinctive Baptist identity come together wonderfully in this collection of essays.

Before getting into the specifics of this book, let me first point out the curious fact that this very Baptist book has been published by an evangelical, non-denominational publisher - Crossway. One might have expected Broadman and Holman (the Southern Baptist publisher) to put out this book. The very fact that Crossway saw a need for these essays to be published is an indication that other evangelical groups are looking to the Southern Baptist Convention as an example. The future of the American evangelical movement may be tied somehow to the future of Southern Baptists.

The essays in Southern Baptist Identity come primarily from lectures delivered at Union University's recent "Baptist Identity" conferences. Since this book is a collection of essays from a variety of Southern Baptist leaders, the reader can discern some areas of disagreement between the contributors.

For example, Greg Wills comes down very strongly against the idea of open communion, arguing for the practice of close communion (which has been the most widely held historic Baptist position on the Lord's Supper). Yet Nathan Finn (though he agrees with Wills on close communion) believes that the Baptist Faith and Message should leave that question open-ended enough for churches to disagree on the matter.

The book is divided into two main sections. First come the essays that contain theological and historical perspectives on the Southern Baptist Convention. Then, there are essays that focus on specific ministries and convention matters.

David Dockery begins the book by describing the current state of Southern Baptists in the 21st century. He expounds on some of the points in his book Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal.

Dr. Albert Mohler writes about the future of Southern Baptist identity.

Greg Wills, a historian and professor at Southern Seminary, writes about the distinctive identity of Southern Baptists in the past.

Timothy George has a chapter in which he gives his personal testimony and also asks the thought provoking question, `Is Jesus a Baptist?'. He writes:

"We will not meet tomorrow's challenge by forgetting yesterday's dilemma, but neither will we win tomorrow's struggles by fighting yesterday's battles." (92)

He also points out the inherent narcissism of focusing so intently on the identy of Baptists (101), which provides a helpful corrective to some insular tendencies within the SBC.

Russ Moore gives a fascinating glimpse into 19th century Baptist life, particularly the influence of Baptist printed materials in the Whitsett controversy and the pastoral role of T. T. Eaton. (He also has some good words on blogging.)

I particularly enjoyed Paige Patterson's chapter on the Anabaptists. Patterson demonstrates a willingness to learn from these uncles of ours, and he even recommends we look to our independent Baptist brothers and sisters.

"Independent Baptists of a former generation may have been guilty of emphasizing `separation' to the point of legalism, but the trajectory of the contemporary church seems destined to miss the goal of holiness of life and thought." (133)

In the second section of the book, the contributors focus on specific Convention matters that involve our cooperation in common mission.

I thoroughly enjoyed Morris Chapman's chapter on cooperation. Chapman wisely lists ways in which cooperation is undermined, and yet offers helpful suggestions for fostering an attitude of cooperation. Suprisingly, Chapman appears to favor a restructuring of the SBC:

"The SBC needs fine-tuning. In fact, the Convention may require an overhaul, not in its polity, but in its programming and the processes by which it functions daily. A major overhaul by the national Convention and the state conventions appears to be an absolute necessity, letting the facts speak for themselves lest the conventions discover too late they were blind and deaf to a delivery system that better serves the churches." (171)

Such a bold statement makes me wonder why Chapman opposed the Great Commission Task Force, which hopes to analyze the structure of the SBC and recommend improvements. I wonder if Chapman is not so much opposed to the idea of restructuring, but instead is uncomfortable with the people leading the Task Force.

Ed Stetzer has a good chapter on Missional Churches. He writes:

"Our churches need to be biblically faithful, culturally relevant, counter-cultural communities." (193)

Jim Shaddix writes about the future of the traditional church. He makes the case that relevance is not just about form. It's about substance.

The last two chapters in the book are by Danny Akin and Nathan Finn. They set forth a vision for the future for the SBC. These are thought provoking essays that will foster good conversation.

Southern Baptist Identity is brimming with insights that shine light on possible directions for the future of the SBC. The book's recommendations deserve to be read, discussed, debated upon, and in most cases, put into action. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Myopic, But Unparalleled
Fletcher's is the only recent comprehensive history of the Southern Baptist Convention. The past twenty years have produced little but various interpretations of modern Southern Baptist controversies. Unfortunately, Fletcher has succumbed to the same temptation. From the distribution of the text, it appears that Fletcher has raced through the convention's early history just to get to the denominational controversies. It would be easy to criticize Fletcher for his myopia if one could locate any Southern Baptist historian prepared to do otherwise. As the situation now stands, this is the best (indeed, the only) Southern Baptist History available new anywhere. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: Greenwood, S.C. : Attic PressSubjects: Baptists -- HistoryNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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This work features a traditional community's struggle to define itself in the face of agricultural change. Since arriving nearly 250 years ago in Franklin County, Virginia, German Baptists have maintained their faith and farms by relying on their tightly knit community for spiritual and economic support. Today, with their land and livelihoods threatened by the encroachment of neighboring communities, the construction of a new highway, and competition from corporate megafarms, the German Baptists find themselves forced to adjust. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

More about farming than faith
Although the first few chapters were interesting, it seems to me that the author (who reportedly took several years to write this book) ran out of ideas. The middle and end of the book is more about farming and farm changes than it is about the Brethren.Many people who are interested in learning about the Old Order may be disappointed in this book.If you live in the Franklin County area, or are from this area, you will know many of the people mentioned herein. I am glad I bought the book, although I had to force myself to finish it. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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For a long time nothing much has changed for the poor black congregation of the Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church of Clearwater, Mississippi. Eastertime has dutifully rolled around again. The azaleas are in bloom.

And then off in the distance comes a wondrous music-a music that thunders throughout the sky with sweet majesty. It brings in its trail a celestial cloud and signals a heavenly visit: Jesus and Simon Peter have come to town. But they are women. Jewish women-well dressed and built like runway models, to be exact. "At times I've come to earth in the form of a man. But this time I've come as a woman. Is something wrong with me appearing as a woman?" Ms. Jesus asks the surprised churchgoers.

In short order, this unexpected turn of events becomes the norm. Jesus and Simon Peter drink chablis with the locals; arrange for oil drilling on black families' tiny lots; make some folks rich and a few bitterly envious; get caught up in civil rights matters; and figure in a suspense-filled series of events that bring joy and prosperity, hatred and murder, and, as a final surprise, redemption.

When Clayton Sullivan first published Jesus and the Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church with Doubleday in 1993, many sang his little fable's praises. Morgan Freeman called the book "A delightful, if reverent, romp up and down the aisles of a Mississippi Baptist congregation. Fun!"

Eugenia Price said, "That Jesus the Carpenter of Nazareth was the Son of God occurred to almost no one until coarse and uncouth people as well as legalistic, brainy, religious types began to see Him live, act and speak in a way unlike anyone else. Whether they spoke in vulgarities or in pious-sounding platitudes, people were taken off guard by the fact that He was a common workman, homeless, lived simply-even crudely-did and said startling, unorthodox things that shook people to their roots, as in Clayton Sullivan's remarkable fable, Jesus and the Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church. This is a fable. No one is claiming that Jesus might come again as a well-dressed Jewish woman. So, put aside your prejudices and read it. The Gospel is here in all its simple, shining power."

Clayton Sullivan is a retired Baptist minister living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He is a professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Southern Mississippi.

A Muscadine Book ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A wonderful message of faith and acceptance
Jesus comes to the congregation at the Sweet Pilgrim in a most unusual form.The book is very entertaining and, at the same time, very inspirational.A good quick read.

One of the Greatest Books I've read in 2004
The Librarian at the local library recommended this book to me.She stated that she has read it many times.I had not heard about it and decided to check it out immediately.It is such an enjoyable and light read, as well as thought provoking.

Now, my co-workers want to read it.

I consider it as one of the best books I've read in 2004.

Highly Recommended!!!!

Undercover Social Commentary
"Jesus and the Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church" is one of those rare books that hooks you as an entertaining novel before you realize that it is really a thought-provoking social/religious commentary.It is agripping story of hatred, racism, forgiveness, redemption, and faith.As aparable, it is something that Jesus him/herself would have been proud totell.

I listened to it on tape while in college, and I'm thrilled to seethat it is being re-released.

Looking for More Work from Him
This novella just makes you feel good...I hope to see more fiction work from Clayton Sullivan. I have ordered his other non-fiction books, but this remains his best. I hope he publishes more fiction work soon.

Hilarious -- and Bitter-Sweet
This book made me laugh out loud more times than I can count. And in the end it made me cry because the writer was so absolutely right! Unfortunately, I lent my copy to a friend who lent it to a friend -- andnow no one knows where it is. I want it back because it's the kind of bookyou read over and over, and catch new levels of meaning in eachreading...and you can finish it in one sitting -- rare indeed! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Foundational for lived faith
This book by JB Metz has become a foundational book for understanding the role of lived faith in the modern world.The implications for active ministry are far-reaching. His emphasis on the "dangerous and liberating memory of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ" is nothing short of revolutionary.And that is why many people consider this work "dangerous".His other categories of reflection such as, "the future on the memory of suffering" and doing theology with an "apocalyptic sting" is the gravelment of diaconal ministry for all the baptized.

I first read this book in 1981 and have drawn from it lessons for my own ministry. I believe this book should be read by all those preparing for ordained ministry and other forms of service in the Church. ... Read more

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"Baptism: We’ve Got It Right…and Wrong" considers why Baptists must rethink baptism in this post-denominational age. It reviews what the Bible says about baptism and provides the best survey currently available for laypeople. Each chapter includes a guide for individual or group discussion. It describes how and why the practice of baptism changed in church history, including the return of believer’s baptism at the dawn of Baptist history. It helps readers understand the complications different baptismal practices create for today’s churches. It suggests ways to bring renewed vitality to the baptism service and why this is increasingly important. It explores the question facing many families and Baptist churches today as Christians from other denominations enter Baptist church doors: Should the rebaptism of Christians from other denominations be a requirement for Baptist church membership? "Baptism: We’ve Got it Right…and Wrong" is a decidedly honest look at this biblical and sacramental practice of today’s believing church.

Great for Group or Individual Study:

Each chapter includes a guide for discussion and questions for individual reflection or group discussion. Also, the appendix connects the chapters for ministerial application. "Baptism: We've Got It Right . . . and Wrong" is a wonderful resource for those new to the Baptist faith and for lifetime Baptists. ... Read more

Product Description
In volume 3 of the five-volume The Truth in Crisis series, James Hefley continues following the conservative movement in the Southern Baptist Convention as it moves closer and closer to actually taking control of the first of several key agencies and of the moderate movement as it finds itself surrounded by an advancing enemy army.A pivotal battle occursin 1987 to 1989 over control of the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission.Diminutive in size, the CLC was for years the advancing front line of the convention on social and ethical issues.It often served as a bellwether of where the convention would head on public issues.As conservatives defined their battle lines, they drew the line in the sand on the issue of abortion.The old CLC had been heading in a pro-abortion direction; the conservatives would seek to wrestle control and steer the ship in the opposite pattern.Other issues as well as personalities were mixed into the soup of controversy.Author Hefley painstakingly details each of the personalities, issues, and dynamics that would transform the CLC into a powerful conservative voice for the convention on social and religious liberty issues-taking positions that the old leadership would not, or refused, to take.Hefley acknowledges that he was writing "history in the making" and lacked the perspective of future historians who could sit back years later and analyze the outcome more carefully.Yet from the perspective of one decade later, Hefley has done an impressive job of putting down the facts as they occurred and telling the truth even when some tried to intimidate him for it.Dr. Charles Chaney, dean of the Redford School of Theology, Southwest Baptist University, and special assistant to the president of the Home Mission Board, writes in the foreword to volume 3, "These books are a saga of the controversy; not told, to be sure, according to the establishment line. But neither is the story told as propaganda from the side of the conservatives. He tells of both theological conservatives and theological moderates, of political fundamentalists and political liberals. Believe me, they are all flourishing in the Southern Baptist Convention. He describes accurately the theological conflict, the social conflict, and the power conflict. He tells the story for the 'little guy' in the SBC-the lay person, the pastor of the small church, neither of whom have any political influence except in their vote as messengers. Southern Baptist will eventually want to get 'the rest of the story.' Here is where they will have to come to get clues and direction." ... Read more

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Raised in the Primitive Baptist Church, Beulah Buchanan at age 16 marries the much older deacon Ralph Rainey to escape from her oppressive parents, thus jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Over the next six years, Beulah works in her domineering husband's cafe all day and cooks him dinner at home every night, dutifully attends church, and falls into an affair with the preacher. When she embarrasses her husband by not cooking enough food for the ravenous visiting revival preacher, Ralph "chastises" Beulah with his belt. When he tries to beat her again on another occasion, she fights back and locks him in the cooler at his cafe, where he freezes to death. This sounds like and is a Southern Gothic tragedy, but it is told in Beulah's voice, which is innocently hilarious. Beulah is an original, but readers who liked Clyde Edgerton's Raney and Mark Childress's Crazy in Alabama will hear familiar echoes of those Southern women protagonists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Beulah
Beulah was just 16 years old when a deacon in the Primitive Baptist Church stepped up behind her as she practiced Onward Christian Soldiers and whispered, "You sure can play the piano good." Too young to realize she was being conned, she up and married the old coot. But Beulah should have listened to her mother's advice. Her life with Ralph Rainey is nothing but misery and heartache. For six years Beulah suffers in silence, cooking perfect dinners, working without pay at Ralph's Place café, and never complaining. The story takes an unexpected turn when every morning after Ralph leaves, the preacher comes calling. As it turns out, Beulah knows a sinner when she sees one, even if she does enjoy the sinning. The gravy on the rice, so to speak, comes when Beulah cooks her heart out for the visiting revival preachers, only to be chastised by Ralph for running out of fried chicken. Beulah's had enough, and the rest is not hard to figure out. Read this first novel by retired University of Southern Mississippi philosophy and religion professor Clayton Sullivan for the southern Gothic humor and his depiction of the good folks of New Jerusalem, Mississippi. Just don't expect a surprise ending and watch out for Beulah's mouth. Although the voice of this young woman rings clear and occasionally very funny, you do wonder where a girl who's never been allowed to cut her hair, wear makeup, or even date learned to talk like a heathen. Beulah obviously wasn't listening in church.

This Book Has Been Optioned and It Will Make a Great Movie
In digging around (www.claytonsullivan.com) I discovered that this is not Sullivan's first foray into fiction - see the Doubleday published Sweet Pilgrim. I read the interview of him in Southern Literary Review and was curious so bought a copy of Beulah and enjoyed it immensely.Be warned however, this is not a morality tale like Sweet Pilgrim...its pretty gritty stuff yet funny and sad all rolled into one.

Sullivan has a unique gift for capturing the essence of southern life in all its irony and with a healthy dose of cultural self-deprication that is obvious and intended.

This is not a "novelist novel"...its a story for folks who enjoy a good plain story without the complication or pretense of 'modernist fiction' and all its preconceived genre and construct...the best thing about this book is that it doesnt follow rules or a formula...it breaks them.Take a look at the Doubleday published Sweet Pilgrim to get a sense for the bright side to this author's work if you find this book a bit gritty for your taste - you wont be sorry.

The film rights to Beulah have apparently been optioned by a Hollywood movie studio and its being adapted into a screenplay now. Should be a great movie! They should get Charlize Theron to play Beulah....

Better luck next time
Told in first-person by the Beulah of the title, this is a short novel that might have fared better as a long short story and from another point of view. The author is often unconvincing in writing as a woman, and Beulah's speech pattern, an exaggeration of the storytelling style typical of her rural Mississippi upbringing, relies on mind-numbing repetition of everything said and done.
The story: Beulah Buchanan is a backward, not particularly bright teenager who marries a man much older than she to get away from home. The loveless marriage lasts six long years during which Beulah is used and abused, exploited by both her tyrannical husband Ralph and their venal minister, Brother Ledbetter, a Primitive Baptist preacher fond of making house calls on church members whose husbands are away from home. Eventually the worm turns, and turns with a vengeance, but, owing mainly to the repetition, it seems a long time coming, and when it does the reader finds that Beulah, till now a sympathetic character, is even worse than her antagonists. She kills her husband, gets away with it, inherits his prosperous business, and lives happily ever after.
Though billed in dust-jacket notes as "a new take on the Southern Gothic tragedy" told in a "hilarious voice" evoking the comic novels of Clyde Edgerton and Mark Childress, the novel seems unsure whether to play for laughter or sympathy. No matter. Ultimately it forfeits both in invoking the reader's complicity in murder.
The novel also encourages us to think of this as a story of women's liberation, of "a young woman breaking free." And indeed the reader would like to rejoice when, in the novel's denouement, Beulah spills the beans in church on Brother Ledbetter, shoots out the lights at Ralph's funeral, tells the preacher and his congregation to put it where the sun don't shine, gets her hair cut for the very first time, buys a new outfit, starts wearing lipstick, buys herself a Cadillac, and adopts an up-yours attitude befitting the new woman she has become-except that now the reader's moral sense rebels. Murder doesn't sound like the road to freedom or liberation of any kind, and it definitely isn't funny.
The author, a professor emeritus of philosophy and comparative religion at the University of Southern Mississippi, has published other books, but this is his first novel. Thus he may be forgiven for not knowing, apparently, that novels are about the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, and that the reader's sympathies should not be enlisted in championing the wrong side of that moral equation.

Living life in the Rural Rut
Why Beulah Shot her Pistol in the Baptist Church is a smartly written tale of a young Mississippi girl, Beulah Buchanan, raised in the Primitive Baptist Church. When she was only sixteen, she marries Ralph Rainey, a much older man who is a deacon in the church. Beulah has no feelings for Rainey, she hardly even knows him, but he talks sweet to her and tells her she is pretty and so she imagines that life with him would be far better than the one she knew with her oppressive parents.Beulah was mistaken.Ralph Rainey's idea of a wife turns out to be nothing short of slavery and for the next six years, Beulah works in her domineering husband's cafe all day and cooks him dinner at home every night. He doesn't touch her lovingly, but climbs on top of her once in a while for sex.Beulah longs for a gentle touch, and her loneliness leads her to an affair with the preacher.With this affair, everything begins to unravel.

Sullivan writes this story through Beulah's voice and he does an excellent job of showing us Beulah's good heart and potential without compromising the story's integrity.This novel has humor, some dark, which makes Beulah's life with Ralph Rainey that much more convincing.A poignant moment for Beulah is when her husband sets his old tired working mule on fire. The scene is disturbing, terrifying and yet, humorous too.

If you grew up in the rural south, you will appreciate the novel for its authenticity, sad as it may be. If you did not, it's as good as taking a trip into the life of a poor Mississippi girl.

The last chapters are unpredictable. The decisions Beulah makes in the last chapters are a bit puzzling perhaps to ensure an unpredictable final chapter, but in no way to did her decisions lessen her authenticity as a rural Mississippi girl in, as the author says, "a rural rut."
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