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 occurs in 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."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1320569 in Books
• Published on: 1988-05-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 229 pages

Review
"[The author writes] as a journalist who himself was caught up in the swirl of events. Given that perspective, [the author's] accuracy is uncanny . . . Many will analyze matters differently . . . in the years to come, but no one will be able to pursue dissertations or historical monographs without frequent reference to The Truth in Crisis. Every Southern Baptist who desires to have a handle on what is happening in the denomination needs to examine this book carefully." -- Dr. Paige Patterson, then-President of Criswell College and Criswell Center for Biblical Studies and later president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

From the Publisher
During the era reported on in Truth in Crisis volume 3, the Southern Baptist Convention's new conservative agenda and role on the American political scene was born and nurtured. Anyone wanting to understand the SBC's new high-profile public role on major social issues of the new millennium will not want to miss this excellent description of how the conservative wing wrested control from the moderates and literally turned the SBC from a "sleeping giant" into a potent conservative, pro-life, anti-Clinton social force in America in the late 1990s and beyond. Students of American political thought as well as theology will find this book filled with fascinating accounts of how the conservative SBC wing literally rewrote the convention's role and involvement in American politics, particularly in Washington. It began with a change in the leadership of the convention's tiny Christian Life Convention, but the seeds that were planted there played major roles later in the impeachment process of President William Jefferson Clinton, himself a Southern Baptist, as well as the SBC's strong pro-life, anti-homosexual stands.

From the Author
"There are both advantages and disadvantages in writing history-in-the-making. The advantage is that the writer can be a first-hand observer. For this reason, I attended all of the fall, 1987 newsmaking board meetings. The disadvantage is that you do not have time enough to step back and reflect. There will be time enough for future historians to do that. Perhaps this book and others on the controversy will provide starting points for their research. I have tried very hard to get out of the way and let participants in emotion-laden board meetings speak for themselves."