In The Name Of God (Biography)

In the Name of God: The Colliding Lives, Legends, and Legacies of J. Frank Norris and George W. Truett is a biography released in September 2021. It was written by O.S. Hawkins, former pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas and President Emeritus of GuideStone Financial Services (the investment and annuity arm of the Southern Baptist Convention).

The biography tells of the lives of Norris and Truett, two of the most well-known Baptist pastors of their day (both in Texas and nationally), their upbringings and eventual rise to the pastorates of the First Baptist Churches of Dallas and Fort Worth, and their conflicting styles and personalities which would ultimately lead to a four-decade ongoing conflict between them.

Synopsis[edit]

Although the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth are separated geographically by a mere 30 miles, the two cities are worlds apart otherwise. Dallas (the older of the two by eight years, founded in 1841) sees itself (even to this day) as cosmopolitan, sophisticated, and socially and class conscious, while Fort Worth (founded in 1849) is more open and brash (at one point openly flaunting the law with "Hell's Half Acre", which was actually two acres on the southeast quadrant of downtown notorious for its saloons, gambling halls, and brothels).

Located in the southern United States, eventually the Southern Baptists would establish churches in the cities, both named First Baptist Church: Dallas in 1868 and Fort Worth in 1873. Each would go through a succession of short-term pastors until 1897 (when FBC Dallas would call Truett as its pastor) and 1909 (when FBC Fort Worth would call Norris as its pastor). Both Truett and Norris would fit their city's personality perfectly: Truett was a peacemaker who carried an air of sophistication, and was generally revered by the public at large; Norris was a provocateur who would have no problem speaking his mind regardless of consequences, and who was either loved or hated depending on one's view of him. And during their heyday, each church would see dramatic growth (reaching what, today, would be called megachurch status); at one time they would be the two largest congregations in the SBC.

The book then devotes two chapters to brief biographies of Norris and Truett. Hawkins mentions what is likely the source of the life-long feud between the men: after graduating from seminary in 1905 Norris was called to a pastorate at McKinney Avenue Baptist in Dallas, a congregation of a mere 13 members located only a mile away from FBC Dallas. By Norris' first anniversary the church had grown to over 1,000 attendees and by his second the church was building a new facility -- however, much of the growth was at the expense of FBC Dallas, many members deciding to change church memberships. Tragically, near the end of their respective lives, both pastors saw their churches begin to dwindle from their glory days: FBC Fort Worth as a result of Norris' never-ending conflict with his own membership (and, sadly, his oldest son who was to take over the church, but Norris never relinquished the reins; his successor was never able to bring the church back to its once proud status), and FBC Dallas as a result of its failure to attract younger families (something that would not change until Truett's successor, W. A. Criswell, took over as pastor).

Hawkins then goes on to mention several other notable conflicts between the two men, among then their differing views on church leadership (Truett supported a deacon-led approach, Norris a pastor-led one), the relocation of Baylor University's theological seminary to Fort Worth (now called Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), their disagreement on how to handle evolution being taught at Baylor, and Norris' expose of accounting fraud involving "The 75 Million Campaign" whereby the denomination "assessed" an amount for each church to give (as opposed to the traditional Baptist view that local congregations were independent and autonomous of denomination headquarters, and had the sole right to determine whether and how much to give for any campaign). He also mentions that while Norris was willing to confront Truett directly, Truett never responded in kind, but had supporters attack Norris. Among such attacks was "The Radio Hate Fest"; after the failure of the 75 Million Campaign, Truett gathered five of the most prominent Texan Southern Baptists, and purchased five, one-hour blocks of airtime on a Fort Worth radio station over eight nights, whereby the men would silence Norris and his influence once and for all. What the men didn't know was that Norris had acquired the one-hour blocks immediately following, and instead of his usual caustic approach, Norris opened each night with a young girls' quartet singing, followed by testimonies of converts who's lives were changed by Norris' preaching, and closing with a Gospel sermon. The Sunday following, FBC Fort Worth welcomed 142 new members, most by conversion and many as a result of Norris' response to The Radio Hate Fest; eventually one of the five opponents would break with Truett and begin a relationship with Norris.

Hawkins then notes seven key areas of Southern Baptist life, which can be traced not to loyalist Truett but instead to independent Baptist Norris: age-graded Sunday School classes. the Cooperative Program, the Baptist Faith & Message, the Conservative Resurgence of the 1980's (which helped the SBC avoid the liberal turn of nearly every major American denomination, it was said that what Norris failed to do in the 1920's the Resurgence accomplished in the 1980's), Biblical text-driven expository preaching, premillennial eschatology (including the pre-Tribulation Rapture and the support for the modern State of Israel, both of which are the overwhelmingly predominant views among Southern Baptists today), and evangelism and church growth (FBC Fort Worth was a forerunner to the modern megachurch and, with his co-pastorate of churches in Fort Worth and Detroit, today's multi-site church, as well as the use of contemporary media to proclaim the Gospel and teaching of the Bible). Hawkins mentions that although FBC Fort Worth declined in the latter years of Norris' life and after his death, its influence was found in many Fort Worth churches (he specifically mentions Sagamore Hill Baptist, where he was raised and ordained to the ministry; though not mentioned in the book on the night of Hawkins' ordination another young man was also ordained: Hawkins' life-long friend Jack Graham, a notable pastor in his own right.

In concluding, Hawkins argues that while Truett was revered during his lifetime and Norris reviled, history bears out that Truett, emphasizing denominational loyalty over doctrinal purity, was a forerunner to the "moderate" camp (Baylor, refusing to accept changes to the 1963 version of the Baptist Faith and Message, named its new theological seminary after Truett), while Norris would eventually prove to be on the right side of matters (FBC Fort Worth, after being disfellowshipped from the SBC in 1924, returned to it in the 1990's). And both men sought to reconcile with those they had offended near the end of their lives (Norris was able to reconcile with several; sadly, an associate of Truett made sure his letter to Norris was never delivered).

Interestingly both men have one tragic matter in common: both were responsible for the death by firearm of another person (Truett accidentally shot and killed J.C. Arnold, the then Dallas Police Chief, in a hunting accident; Norris killed Dexter Elliot Chipps who had threatened to kill him, and was later acquitted by reason of self-defense).

References[edit]